Saratoga Springs

[eplcreel]

Planning a trip in January and looks like SS is my best option; I've never stayed there before so I was just curious the opinions of others about the resort?

 

[nerdboyrockstar]

I just stayed there for the first time recently after staying at nearly every other Disney resort and thought the resort was absolutely beautiful. The renovated rooms are fantastic. Food and drinks by the pools were good.

I know most of the cons I read about was about the bus service because the resort is SPRAWLING but we drove so didn't have that issue. Don't think we were technically in a preferred location but still walked to Disney Springs and were there in 10-15 minutes and did not have to deal with the parking garage situation.

 

[CarolynFH]

We were there in early June and really liked it. We were in Paddock building 45, and the Carousel bus stop (2nd stop) was right in front of our building. It was about 10 minutes walk to the Paddock pool in one direction and the Carriage House and that pool in the other direction. We spent a lot of time in the heat of the day reading in the living room in the refurbished 1 BR and found the couch very comfortable. The biggest issue was the bathroom - very pretty, lots of storage, but entirely too many doors opening into it!

 

[eplcreel]

So is there a bus that goes around the resort? Never realized it was that large.

 

[is_this_ya_boy]

It’s the resort transportation busses, but they make stops at The Grandstand, Carousel, Paddock, Carriage House, and Congress Park.

 

[Stargazer65]

So is there a bus that goes around the resort? Never realized it was that large.

It’s the resort transportation busses, but they make stops at The Grandstand, Carousel, Paddock, Carriage House, and Congress Park.

Yup, and there is even a separate bus that runs from The Springs to the Treehouse Villas. I think the Carriage House stop is called The Springs (same place though).

 

[Stargazer65]

Beautiful resort, we stay there a lot, our last visit was in February. I haven't stayed in a refurbished room yet, but looking forward to it next time. One of the biggest plusses for us is being able to walk to DS.

 

[shoegal9]

I didn't love my first stay there in 2019... but the refurbishment is gorgeous. As for the grounds, it is just so peaceful there. In March I had coffee on my balcony early every morning and just enjoyed the peace and quiet. That being said, we do prefer to stay in the preferred studios and request Congress Park. Not only are the views lovely, but the short walk to Disney Springs from Congress Park is unbeatable.

 

[The Jackal]

We were there in early June and really liked it. We were in Paddock building 45, and the Carousel bus stop (2nd stop) was right in front of our building. It was about 10 minutes walk to the Paddock pool in one direction and the Carriage House and that pool in the other direction. We spent a lot of time in the heat of the day reading in the living room in the refurbished 1 BR and found the couch very comfortable. The biggest issue was the bathroom - very pretty, lots of storage, but entirely too many doors opening into it!

Well the bathroom door issue is not just at SSR. BRV, BCV and BWV along with SSR all have the same room designs and layouts. The rooms are almost the same size. Of the 4 resorts all the studios are within 4 square feet of each other, yet BRV, BCV and BWV all sleep 5 in a studio. They did not put the little Murphy bed in the studio during the refurbishment. They put it in the 1 and 2 bedrooms at SSR instead, but BRV, BCV and BWV do not have the little Murphy bed in their 1 and 2 bedrooms. My opinion is those studios are too small for the 5th sleeping surface, 1 bedrooms have a lot more room.

 

[PalmettoPath]

One of our very favorite resorts when we want to stay away from the parks. Very quiet 65 acres with five pools. It's like a vacation subdivision. We prefer to stay in College Park for the proximity to Disney Springs at the Marketplace entrance. We even created The Great Saratoga Springs Pool Hop Challenge. How fast can you do all five pools across the 65 acres. We rent bikes and work on a route. You have to stay in each pool for one minute. Our record time is approx. ~21 minutes lol. Our very first time was around 34 minutes, then we honed it down from there. Plus, the recently renovated rooms are very nice and a refreshing change from the old brown color palette.

 

[CarolynFH]

Well the bathroom door issue is not just at SSR. BRV, BCV and BWV along with SSR all have the same room designs and layouts. The rooms are almost the same size. Of the 4 resorts all the studios are within 4 square feet of each other, yet BRV, BCV and BWV all sleep 5 in a studio. They did not put the little Murphy bed in the studio during the refurbishment. They put it in the 1 and 2 bedrooms at SSR instead, but BRV, BCV and BWV do not have the little Murphy bed in their 1 and 2 bedrooms. My opinion is those studios are too small for the 5th sleeping surface, 1 bedrooms have a lot more room.

The newly renovated bathrooms at SSR have been reconfigured, which is the cause of the issue with the doors. The shower is now next to the doorway to the other bathroom, and the shower door and living room door swing open into the same space, so only one can be open at a time. Furthermore, the living room door swings into the doorway between that bath and the 2nd bathroom (the one with the tub, connected to the master bedroom), and someone entering from the living room could easily open the living room door into the face of someone entering from the 2nd bath. The toilet is where the shower is at BWV and has its own water closet, probably the largest one I’ve seen, and that door opens out onto the sink, which is between shower and water closet. All the doorways are wide enough to admit a wheelchair, but the wheelchair can’t exit the water closet if someone is standing at the sink, because to open the door completely means to open it almost all the way to the sink. It’s a veritable forest of doors in that bathroom, and much worse than the bathroom at BWV is!