Saratoga Springs Resort, what do you think?

[rachy710310]

Hello all!! Need opinions on the Saratoga Springs resort!!! I am looking at the studio/1-bedroom room. Please take the poll, then tell me why... Do you like it dislike it? What do you like and dislike about it?

I will tell what I am liking about this resort:
-Full Kitchen
-Washer/Dryer unit
-whirlpool tub

I am planning my honeymoon and need some advice, what it to be a perfect trip. Help! Thanks to all that responds!

 

[ffindis]

Remember - you only get the full kitchen, whirlpool tub and washer/dryer in the 1 bedroom or larger units. The studio is more like a nice hotel room with a mini kitchen area.

 

[rachy710310]

Yes thank you, I realized that I wanted the one bedroom suite after I already posted it so I am more interested in the one bedroom suite than the studio. Did you enjoy staying at Saratoga Springs?

 

[LaurenLC]

We are DVC members and SSR is our home resort (so we may be a little partial), but we have always enjoyed staying there. I have heard a lot of people say that it is lacks a little Disney "magic", but we don't miss it. It is a VERY big resort, but we think it helps make it seem quiet. Enjoy your trip planning!

 

[Donald is #1]

I stayed at SSR for the first time in May and I loved it! I found the grounds to be very relaxing. I was in the Paddock area and even though I had a walk to the Springs area each day for breakfast, I really enjoyed the walk.

 

[dizzygal]

This should be a great place for your honeymoon! My DH and I stayed here this past December for the first time and it was really nice. The whirlpool is wonderful and being in different room from the shower gives you each a little personal area for your toiletries and getting ready space. The bedroom in a (1 bedroom) is huge and has a folding screen between the whirlpool bath and bedroom. The kitchen was so great to have along with washer and dryer if needed.
My only complaint would have to be that the L/R furniture is not very comfortable for relaxing after a hard day at the parks.
The bus system is fine as compared to any other Disney resort we have stayed in. We also had several meals at the two restaurants in the main building. The little store area also had some staples for keeping a few things in the room/fridge if you want.
Our room was very quiet I know we had neighbors but, we never heard them at all. Hope this helps!

 

[AJKMOM]

I like it. I am an owner at the Boardwalk, so I love that area. We stayed at SSR in February, and it was very nice. It is much larger than I thought, but easy to get around. Bus service was good, close to DownTown Disney and the pool areas were nice. We did not try any restaurants.

 

[Deb & Bill]

And don't forget the Spa! For honeymooners, that's a must. Massages, facials, saunas, etc.

 

[Disney_Mama]

We love SSR. The ability to walk to DTD is a great plus. We were there with the kids in March 07 and are going back with no kids Sept. 07. Can't wait!

 

[ampooh]

we just got back from SSR last week. I personally did not care for it that much. It felt more like a moderate than a deluxe type resort. I have been spoied by the BC. We had a studio which was too small for our family of 4. I don;t care for the doors opening to concrete like at the moderates we've stayed at. I prefer the real resort feel where rooms open to hallways.

It was very spread out for us. We don't care for DTD so location was not a plus for us. I chose it to test a new place with the great AP rate they had out.


I like the Disney Magic I get at the other reosrts we've stayed at. The pool was ok but crowded. SAB is a great pool at BC and believe it or not ot was not at all crowded at the same time. (we had split our stay between the 2 resorts)

I was not thrilled when the 4 pm check in yielded us a room at something to 6

BC's 3 pm check in gave us a room at 1


DH and DS#1 enjoyed community hall a couple nights but I enjoyed the BC more. They had nightly movies on the beach (SSR had movies twice a week) and campfires too.

For our family BC is our fit. For a honeymoon I'd suggest the YC but that is only my opinion

 

[NYDisneyGal]

We bought into SSR in 2005, and have stayed there twice. The resort is large - if you are on the back side of the resort the walk is a bit long to the main pool/food area. We've stayed just across the bridge on the Paddock side, and our last room had a nice view of the water/fountain (even though it was considered a courtyard view). That walk was very nice over the bridge - lots of birds, turtles, and fish to see along the way. The proximity of the resort to Downtown Disney AND the Crossroads area (just off property, with shopping/dining, etc.) is a huge asset. We rent a car, and it takes just 2 minutes to reach the grocery store, an IHOP, Fridays, etc., or about 1 minute to arrive at Downtown Disney. With the kids and all the park walking we did we didn't do the DD walk at all.

The grounds are very pretty, but we are from Central New York and it looks to me an awful lot like home. I tend to prefer the "tropical" themed resorts with palm trees, etc., but found I didn't miss the palm trees too much since you see them everywhere else.

The pool area is great here - very fun water slide, hot tubs are great.

We've stayed in the 2BR villa (we have 3 boys). We LOVE the privacy of our own room, and even on "our side" we have a separate vanity area for my husband and one for myself (the shower area has it's own vanity). My husband and I started a nightly ritual after the kids went to bed of just soaking in the hot tub together and it was really a great way to get all of the "pixie dust" off of us at the end of the day. (...I'll keep this G rated for now *wink*) The kids, of course, had their own double vanity in their room, which was great. Our shower was fabulous. The King size bed was a luxury for us and was VERY comfortable - great pillows. Had to send out a search party for my husband now and then. We all slept very well.

I know that other people were staying at this resort, but we rarely saw or heard them (exception: pool area, but that wasn't even all that crowded on a hot day in June). There was virtually no outside noise that came into our room at all.

The laundry is in a closet just off of the main bedroom - it's a top/bottom unit. It worked well and I used it several times. They give you a small box of Tide (single use) when you arrive and with trash/towel service.

The kitchen is nicely laid out and had everything we needed for simple breakfasts and snacks. Dishwasher worked well, and they give you enough Cascade and dish liquid (Palmolive?) to last the week (I didn't really wash tons of dishes....) We never used the stove/oven but did use the microwave (and fridge, of course). My only complaint was the size of the garbage cans/liners - seemed our trash overfloweth all the time in the kitchen and the bathrooms. If you are fussy about that stuff it might be helpful to bring a kitchen size bag from home that you can put stuff in.

Hope this helps - let me know if you want more details. I'll ask my husband, NYDisneyDude, to post a link to our trip report from this June, if you are interested. A pic of the view from our balcony is included.

 

[Deb & Bill]

...It felt more like a moderate than a deluxe type resort. I have been spoied by the BC. We had a studio which was too small for our family of 4. ...

A studio for a family of four was probably your first mistake. I'd never put four people in a studio. And even a one bedroom might be too small if everyone was adult sized.

 

[NYDisneyGal]

Here's the link to our SSR trip report ...

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1505378

 

[NYDisneyDude]

Looks like my NYDisneyGal got the link.

You can also take an "online" tour on the vacation club web site ...

http://dvc.disney.go.com/dvc/guest/resorts/resortDetail?id=ProspectsSaratogaSpringsLandingPage

 

[daisyduck123]

SSR is our home resort. We love it!!

Beautiful grounds, great pool area, love Artist's Palette!

 

[amgine27]

ill be staying there come august and i hope its nice

 

[NMW]

It honestly depends on what type of resort you like. If you like deluxe "hotel" type resorts with interior hallways, a main lobby, room service, very close to a park, you may not like it.

If you like a "condo-type" resort where you can park near your building, have a full kitchen, etc. you may really like it.

Personaly I have never stayed there, only visited back in 2004 (I think ). DH and I did not like it at all. It reminded me of a giant apartment complex and the themeing did not appeal to us at all. That's just OUR opinion though-other people love it. We don't like the "condo" feel-in fact we don't care for OKW either for some of the same reasons. Except the themeing, I love the themeing of OKW.

I agree with Deb and Bill that 4 people in a studio is tight and not anywhere as nice as 4 people in a hotel room at the BC. We don't even like a 1 BDR villa at a DVC resort (1 king bed & 1 sofa bed), as opposed to a hotel room at the BC (2 queens & a day bed).

Before you decide I would look at lots of pictures of the resort and read peoples reviews. although, I would take the reviews with a grain of salt. What other people love/hate about a resort may be completely opposite of how you feel. For example, we have friends that we highly, highly reccomended the BC to (DH's all time fav). Anyway, they stayed there, even got bumped to water view for free, had excellent service, photos with Art, even daily towel animals!! Yet, they were like "eh, it was okay, but we are going back to the the CR next time or maybe GF." DH thinks they are completely insane, of course he's a little biased in his opinion of the BC.

 

[MissyDVC]

We love SSR and ,like others here, it is our DVC home resort so we may be biased . Dh & I spent our 10th anniversary there and have 2 trips planned there with the kiddies in Nov/Dec and Feb. We love the condo-feel and the color schemes of the resort. The 1 bedbroom is roomy and comfortable. We did not try the Spa but it is supposed to be wonderful. We loved being close to DTD and to Pleasure Island. We walked to both places often. We found the buses to be great each time. We never encountered a problem. CMs were very friendly and the food was very good. We actually enjoyed the walks because it was peaceful walking together without the kiddies which is not something that we get to do often enough at home We stayed in Congress Park and felt close to everything. We used the quiet pool area in Congress park and the Hot Tub next to the pool was very relaxing. We also enjoyed sitting on the walkway facing DTD and rocking in the big rocking chairs there. Wherever you decided to stay, I hope that you have a magical Honeymoon

 

[Tom Kurowski]

My wife and I have stayed there many times since it is our home resort. We love it! But all the times we stayed there we had atleast a 1 BR villa; having a washing machine is great and room to spread out is a luxury to us.
We stayed mainly at Congress park with a view of DTD. We enjoy the two walking paths to DTD (which we always use) and the transportation system is great. Never had a complaint about anything.
This september we are sataying a long weekend so we are in a studio; not sure how that will be since we never stayed in a studio there.
We did like BC and BWV since we could walk into EPCOT as well as to MGM but the BC villas seem like they are pushed into the back of the resort.
Wilderness was nice but it was a long walk to get coffee in the morning; otherwise another great place.
Again they are definitely not like the Polynesian or Grand Floridian, but it still is the best money we ever spent.
tom

 

[MEK]

I stayed in a studio with my family of four and it was fine. The kitchen area had plenty of space for storage. I really don't care about a full kitchen because I don't even want to think about cooking. So the studio kitchen was fine. We used the $ we saved by getting a smaller room to add the dining plan. Adding the dining plan was great!

Our studio was in Congress Park with a view of DTD. The pool and grounds were wonderful. I would stay there again in a heartbeat if I could get a good deal.

The buses weren't crowded. The people in Artist's Palette were very friendly. I loved the place.