SSR Trip Report (detailed)

disneycrazed139

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We just got back from BWV for 5 days and SSR for 5 days. A little (okay, maybe a lot) about SSR...

Check in: This was probably the least impressive part of my trip. The particular check-in person wasn't especially friendly, no welcome home, and I didn't get the DDT view I requested. I checked in about 11:30 and was told all the views were gone. I was very disappointed at first, but our room that was assigned...2121 turned out to be the absolute best location possible IMO.

Room: 2121, courtyard view, but really an obstructed DTD view. This was a dedicated 2 bedroom. We were precisely behind the quiet pool and on the bottom floor, so could walk out our back door to the pool and to the fireworks viewing area. The views and landscaping were spectacular. I was very impressed. After my initial disappointment, I fell completely in love with this place and feel more at home there than I imagined I would. The playground area was also right there. The viewing plaza at night is a wonderful place to relax. I felt like I was visiting a botanical garden it was so gorgeous. I would definitely prefer this room next time. The furnishings were very elegant and I loved the tones of the wall...very relaxing. Everything was in order, with the exception of a light bulb. At first, I thought the bathroom fans weren't working. They are just extremely quiet. I really loved everything about the decor and the way the room was set up.
One real plus was the sleeper sofa...I actually let my son have the master bedroom because I thought the new mattresses on the sleeper sofas were more comfortable than the regular beds!

Quiet pool: The quiet pool was just a 1 minute beautifully landscaped walk from the room. It was nicely heated, not crowded, and had very relaxing music. Someone mentioned it was elevator music, but I don't remember that...just remember that it set the mood to the surroundings very nicely. Next to the pool was a laundry room. I believe there was a T.V. in the laundry room.

Feature Pool: People have complained about the walk from the buildings to the pool, but IMO, it wasn't that long--5 minutes or so. It's a nice walk. The pool was actually quite large. It looked small to me in recent pictures but there was plenty of room. There were 2 slides...a small one for little ones and a very fast winding slide comparable to a water park slide (except shorter). One cost-cutting feature that I didn't appreciate was that there was no human monitor at the top of the slide. Instead there was a traffic signal, with a recorded message to "wait for the green light" before sliding. IMO this is dangerous. Especially because this slide is definitely not for little kids--it's very fast. There was actually a child and a parent that walked UP the slide after going down, and this could have been disastrous. I think it is a mistake for them not to have a person there. Accident waiting to happen.

Overall, the pool was beautiful. As others have mentioned, more shade would be nice, but I didn't personally mind. The rockwork and falls were beautiful. They were putting gates around it the last day we were there so that kids don't climb on the rocks. One other little problem in this area is that the ground around the pool is made of a stone that gets extremely hot in the sun. My son always ran when he got out of the pool so that his feet wouldn't burn. The lifeguards were always telling him to stop running. Finally, we dediced the best strategy was to keep our flip-flops right by the pool for when we get out. That worked well. The Donald play area was a lot of fun. On our first day, they were having a pool party with music and games for the kids and parents. I made a fool of myself. It was great fun.

Artist Palette: As others have mentioned, the selection here is a little sparse, but keep in mind that there are only 140 rooms open right now. I am sure selections will expand. What was there looked very appetizing. We only got salads there once. The cost of most things in the sundries was astronomical--even compared to the other resorts. I wouldn't plan on doing any major shopping here.

However, the souvenirs and DVC merchandise were great. They had lots of different t-shirts, jackets, hats, mugs, robes, slippers, note pad, pen, etc. The staff was also very friendly here.

Turf Club: We actually spent quite a bit of time here playing pool. They have some nice snacks there too, including chicken wings, chips and dip, and a very nice fruit and cheese platter. It was very quiet there and the staff were always very attentive.
Out the back of the turf club, is a patio as well as steps to the boat dock. The Turf Club is right off the Artist Palette, so everything is very compact once you get to the main pool area.

Boat: Differing from others...I don't think the boat dock is inconveniently located at all. You can just walk through the turf club and go down the steps. We took the boat from DTD Marketplace back to the resort once, but the buses are quicker. The bus stop was actually a 30 second walk from our room, so it made more sense.

Buses: Empty buses. We had them all to ourselves. It was teriffic. They came pretty regularly. Never had to wait more than 15 minutes. The ride to DTD marketplace took 5 minutes.

Health club/gym: I used the equipment here. It is state of the art. Both times I went it was unstaffed. Lots of T.V.s in there.

Spa: I didn't use any services here, but my sister had a manicure and pedicure, which she says were overpriced. I was given a list of DVC discounted services when I asked for them. Nothing was all that reasonable, but it is set up very nicely and if you have the money to spend on this, I'm sure it would be very enjoyable.

Rentals: The community hall had scheduled activities, board game rental, pool noodle/lifevest rental, etc. There were several bicycles for rent of all sizes and a couple of surrey bikes.

Overall, I loved the location of the resort--close to everything we love, loved the atmosphere. I can't really compare it to BWV. It is just such a different feel. Personally, if I HAD to choose, I'd take SSR. I just loved it.
 
Nice report. I just found out yesterday I get to sneak in a trip in october for 4 days. My next trip won't be until 12/05 with many family members, the number keeps getting larger. Two more adults and baby will be joining us. So of course i need to go and scope out my new home, nasty job but DD and I feel we must make the trip:tongue: . We will be attending MNSSHP and Food and Wine festival for the first time. Reports like your's are very informative and nice to read. Very glad you took the time to write it. Susan
 
Loved all the details!!! Thank you so much for taking the time to post your trip report. I really enjoyed reading all about SSR! :wave2:
 

Thanks for the effort and time you put into your report. Loved hearing about the pools and the additional areas usually left out in trip reports. Cant wait for our stay. Sounds like your room view and location was great.
 
Thanks for posting such a comprehensive report! We'll be at SSR in just 2 days and can't wait!!!

One note about the water slide: we stayed at the Poly last October and they also had the traffic signal telling you when to go down the slide. No CM there either. I never really thought it would be a problem, but you said you saw a child and adult trying to walk back up the slide?:confused: What were they thinking?
 
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Thank you for your report.

We will be there in a couple of weeks and my girlfriend and I have reservations for a La Stone massagen at the spa...it's GIRL day!

pinnie
 
Room 2121 is on the bottom floor? Or is the room number Building 2, room 121?

Room 2121 is on the first floor. I don't know what building number it is technically. I can tell you it was the yellow and green pastel building of Congress Park. It wasn't the first building next to the main area but the second. They are both right next to each other though and there is very little difference in terms of walking distance to the bus or pool between the two buildings that are now open.

Another little detail I forgot to mention...music at the main pool consisted of a track with some popular music mixed with music that I would categorize as a cross between classical and rock. In the evening it seemed a little less popular sounding and more toned down. Went well with the atmosphere.

Oh...one more thing! The view of the resort
at night from the Pleasure Island area, especially at night, is amazing. I wonder if that's part of the reason why they recently opened Pleasure Island up to all without admission. (you still have to pay to get into clubs, but you can walk freely from Marketplace to the Westside whereas you used to have to pay admission.) Having this open gives visitors plenty of opportunity to gaze at the complex across the lake and get a better view than you could from the Marketplace.
 
Thanks for the great report! So glad you had a good trip. Interesting about the comparison to BWV...it's true that they are really very different resorts. We'll be thrilled to stay at either. We loved SSR too!

Originally posted by disneycrazed139
2121 turned out to be the absolute best location possible IMO.

Was it Non smoking and non handicapped? I've added it to the room report list.

At first, I thought the bathroom fans weren't working. They are just extremely quiet.

I thought they were very quiet too...which was nice. However, I don't think they did the job very well...and it was irritating that you couldn't leave them on afterward when you were out of the shower.

There was actually a child and a parent that walked UP the slide after going down, and this could have been disastrous. I think it is a mistake for them not to have a person there. Accident waiting to happen.

Did the lifeguards fail to see this? Our experience was that they were very attentive and focused on the slide (and the whole pool for that matter). Several whistles for running and warning for kids to move away from the slide area quickly after they slid down. I'm betting they will add a guard at the top of the slide as the resort gets larger and the slide is used continually.

However, the souvenirs and DVC merchandise were great.
Yep...we spent some bug bucks in there. I love our new SSR beach towels! ::yes::

Spa: I was given a list of DVC discounted services when I asked for them.

Do you mind sharing the list with us? Thanks!
 
What a wonderfully detailed report! Thank you! :) I'm an even prouder SSR-owner now! :teeth:
 
Thank you for taking the time for this report and good timing too. we will be there in 2 months.::MickeyMo
 
I'll try to answer some of the questions posted by Katie...

-- 2121 was a non-smoking room and also non-handicapped.

-- The lifeguards knew about the parent and child going up the slide. I wasn't there when it happened, but my son excitedly reported the whole thing to me because apparently a child came down the slide although no one was actually hurt. Others reported it because I went to the lifeguard to mention what my son had seen, he said that he was aware of it. Not sure how it was handled. Unfortunately, I don't think there is a way for the lifeguards to see what it going on at the top of the slide. It is blocked by the rockwork. If you look up, you can't see the children about to go down. It is obstructed.

-- Regarding the spa services, I'll definitely post the list of DVC deals. I threw it in one of my bags but I'm a little disorganized right now so I'll post it as soon as I dig it out!
 
For those interested in the spa, when I asked for spa service discounts for DVC this was the list I was given. It states at the bottom of the list that these prices are a 20% discount off the regular prices. (I included their description of each treatment as listed on the sheet where it isn't obvious what the treatment is):

-Swedish massage (50 minutes): $80
-Mystical Forest Therapies (50 minutes) $100 "A Saratoga Springs Signature Series treatment. A calming, therapeutic combination of reflexology and Swedish massage will energize, resotre balance and relieve stress"
-Aromatherapy facial (50 minutes) $92
-Mustical Forest Body Masque and Wrap (50 minutes) $96 A Saratoga Springs Signature Series treatment! Powerful trace minerals and a custom blend of essential oils promote collagen renewal and stimulate natural tissue regeneration. Restore your state of natural well-being!"
-Hydro Massage Therapies (45 minutes) $84 "Wash the world away with your choice of hydro massage treatments. Each uniquely designed to soothe, revitalize, refresh, relax, and detoxify and rejuventate specific conditions! Your physical and psychological well-being is restored as you relax."
-Spa manicure (50 minutes) $40
-Spa pedicure (50 minutes) $52
-Disney Vacation Club Package $372
includes Hydro Massage Therapy of choice, Mystical Forest Masque and Body Wrap, Mystical Forest Therapies, and Aromatherapy Facial.
 
Disneycrazed, was this your first experience to stay at a DVC resort? I am wondering what you thought about DVC versus staying in regular hotel accommodations.
 
Thanks for such a great and detailed report. This is how I keep my cravings going until or first trip home to SSR in August
 















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