Thoughts the Grosvenor Resort near DT Disney

[ganggreen4jc]

Just booked our summer vacation at WDW this past week through AAA. We're staying at the GROSVENOR RESORT near DT Disney. Can anyone give me some thoughts or experiences with this hotel? Can you still get in early at the parks as with the "Disney" hotels? The "gang" (Mrs GG + 2 teens 18 & 15) and I will be staying there 7/6/05 thru 7/13/05. Coming from So Cal.

We're saving about $500 by not staying at the Caribbean Beach Resort for the week. Also, Mrs. GG wasn't too thrilled with the looks of the All-Star Resorts which would still be in our price range. Should I have chosen one of them over the Grosvenor Resort?

Plenty of time to switch if necessary.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Dalpal]

I have never stayed there, butI have never heard ANYTHING good about the
Grosvenor Resort....If it was me I would stay at any other resort befor staying there...BUT I would ALWAYS stay on site.
JMHO

 

[ECU Pirates]

I stayed at the Grosvner 3 years ago. I was not very impressed with it then. We stayed in a tower room for one night, and it was OK, but had a Courtyard room the rest of the time.
I have read some pretty bad things about it since then.
You DO NOT get the Extra Magic Hour at the Grosvner. The Hilton is the only DT hotel that gets the EMH.
I would suggest the Best Western in Downtown or staying at Disney.

 

[SnackyStacky]

I haven't stayed at the Grosvenor, but I haven't heard anything good about it.

As has been mentioned, it also does not offer Early Entry privleges.

A good alternative may be the Hotel Royal Plaza. I don't know when you're going, but they're closed until spring of 2005. They had some pretty extensive water damage from the hurricanes, so they had to shut down to fix it all up. But it should be nice when they reopen! I stayed there once and we had a pleasant stay.

 

[Minnie&Nana]

Unfortunately, I've never heard anything good about this hotel either. Old dirty, rundown. Guests do not have access to early entry at Disney Resorts.

Did you check out the on site moderates? Depending on what time during the summer you are going there may be a discount code available. You'd have to book now and then hope for a code or what about AAA room only rate?

In all the yrs I've traveled, esp to Disney,I have never found a package to save money. It might take lots of work (you'll find plenty of help here), but you can save money over any package by booking the components separately yourself. If you are going to use a TA use only a Disney Specialist, like the ones mentioned on the DIS boards.

There is plenty of info to be found on DIS to help save moeny and have a fabulous Disney vacation! We're all here to help too!

Good luck!
P.S. Forgot to say Welcome!!!

 

[buckeye]

Have you ever been to WDW before? I noticed that this is your first post here, so welcome!! I would suggest that you go to www.mousesavers.com and read up on ways to save on Disney resorts. There are discount codes released periodically and there will probably be a code for this summer. Then you could stay at a moderate for a less expensive price. We stayed at a moderate for less than $100/night (can't remember exactly) this past June. Let us know what you decide after you do some research! Good luck!!

 

[ganggreen4jc]

Just checked with my AAA travel agent and found out that I could save about $50 by staying at the AS Pop Century Resort, a place we had discussed as one we wanted to go to.

What would you do?

 

[debden]

I haven't stayed at either resort but I did go to TripAdvisor.com and the above posters are correct.The reviews for the Grosvenor Resort are awful.
I also checked out the Pop Century Resort and all the reviews for this resort are great!! Check it out for yourself!! www.tripadvisor.com
The Pop Century gets really high kudos! I'd definitely go with Pop Century if I were you.....
Good Luck whatever you decide!
Debbie

 

[Minnie&Nana]

Just checked with my AAA travel agent and found out that I could save about $50 by staying at the AS Pop Century Resort, a place we had discussed as one we wanted to go to.

What would you do?

I'd try for POP Century - it's just a yr old - it is a value, the rooms are small (260 sq ft), so you might be better with older kids at a moderate. If you don not mind the smaller room, the POP is great fun!

I would highly recommend you do this on your own and not through the AAA Travel Agent - or hold a room, but continue to check for discounts here and at www.mousesavers.com - if you really do not want to do it yourself, then use one of the Disney Specialists Travel COs - Dreams Unlimited is linked ot these boards and lots of people swear by them. They will continue to check for new discounts and automatically change your reservation to reflect the new rate and savings

Go to www.allearsnet.com and check out the info about the POP and the moderates - moderates will depend on what your fami;y prefers for ambiance - Caribbean Beach is like being far away on an Island (steel drum music plays in the food court), Port Orleans Riverside is the deep south, mansions or rustic, Port Orleans French Quarter is a take on New Orleans (very quaint, easy to get around) - you cna also go tothe resort faq found on the Resort Boards and read about the different resorts on each thread.

Lots of work, but SO worth it!!!

Welcome!! You have lots of folks happy to help right here

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Agree also to book room only *yourself* at either a Value or Moderate using AAA discount (and if a code comes out later you should be able to apply it to your reservation). You can make decisions about tickets later on, you'll have time to figure it out using these boards. Lodging with Disney is a decision you won't regret.

As far as a Value vs a Moderate: ask yourself what your plans are - if you need just a place to sleep and shower and will be in the parks most of the time, then a no-frills Value is the way to go; if you think you might want to spend some time relaxing at your resort then the Moderates offer more choices like water boats, bicycles, sit down restaraunts (at most), pool slides, hammocks, etc...

Check out this thread: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=688355&referrerid=70088

There are also good pictures of the resorts on www.yourmagicaljourneys.com

 

[ganggreen4jc]

Thanks for all the input folks! We will probably make the switch to POP just because of the benefits fron Disney resorts alone.

 

[stargzr]

Welcome to the Dis! I have stayed at the Grosvenor and would only recommend you stay there if it was only for a night or two. For the length of your stay I would suggest you go ahead and stay at a Disney resort. As you mentioned, the resort benefits alone would make up for the additional cost, especially the use of the buses, which are not good at all at the Grosvenor. And the Disney ambience you get from staying at a resort is so important to make your trip a magical one! I'm sure you will have a great time! Be sure to post a trip report when you get back.

 

[pammy1027]

We had a wonderful 3 night stay at the Grosvenor in January this year. I had also heard bad things about them, but for the Courtyard rooms. We had a wonderful Tower room where we could view all the fireworks. The rooms are large, have refrigerators, and were very clean. They were offering a great deal on their website including the unlimited passes to everywhere. The employees couldn't have been any nicer, the bus service was outstanding, and it's the closest hotel to DTD and Pleasure Island. We will be staying there again!!!!

 

[bongo59]

well.............i am a disney vet............been 58 times since 1990............i have stayed there and it is a pitiful place that needs a major overhaul..........the just repainted the exterior but they need the extreme makeover guys at Disney to do one on this joint...........the only good thing i can say about the place is the location is ideal to DD and to the shopping mall for food.............also easy access to all the disney buses since the main terminal is located right there.................this was the last place i stayed before joining the DVC.............i would recommend renting a house locally over staying there really.

 

[tjlamphere]

Agree also to book room only *yourself* at either a Value or Moderate using AAA discount (and if a code comes out later you should be able to apply it to your reservation). You can make decisions about tickets later on, you'll have time to figure it out using these boards. Lodging with Disney is a decision you won't regret.

As far as a Value vs a Moderate: ask yourself what your plans are - if you need just a place to sleep and shower and will be in the parks most of the time, then a no-frills Value is the way to go; if you think you might want to spend some time relaxing at your resort then the Moderates offer more choices like water boats, bicycles, sit down restaraunts (at most), pool slides, hammocks, etc...

Check out this thread: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=688355&referrerid=70088

There are also good pictures of the resorts on www.yourmagicaljourneys.com

I didn't know you could book now, and if a code comes up prior to your arrival, you could use the code to get a reduced rate. How does that work and who would you book through now? I have AAA if that would help.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I didn't know you could book now, and if a code comes up prior to your arrival, you could use the code to get a reduced rate. How does that work and who would you book through now? I have AAA if that would help.

BaciBecky explained it well above:

I would highly recommend you do this on your own and not through the AAA Travel Agent - or hold a room, but continue to check for discounts here and at www.mousesavers.com - if you really do not want to do it yourself, then use one of the Disney Specialists Travel COs - Dreams Unlimited is linked ot these boards and lots of people swear by them. They will continue to check for new discounts and automatically change your reservation to reflect the new rate and savings

The way I've done it is to call Disney Reservations (407-W-DISNEY) and book a room at your WDW resort of choice. Watch Mousesavers and when the discount code comes out call them up and tell them you'd like to apply it to your existing reservation. As long as they have discounted rooms still available you should be able to get it. If not keep trying. Continue to watch that website and follow the information on these boards. (The discount code for Jan-April 05 expired 12/1/04 unfortunately).

 

[luvey]

i don't know if it was mentioned, but the hilton in dtd does have early magic hour. it's a decent hotel. i stayed there in august for my first trip to disney. i didn't want to be overwhelmed with disney magic as my first time. and i enjoyed it so much that i plan to go there again. one of the things i did really enjoy about it was that i could walk 5 minutes from my room to dtd.

i found a good rate through mousesavers for $79 a night by booking the hotel myself. one of the women we met on the trip was able to get a room for $25 a night. i went at the end of august so i think that made a difference with the price. even without the mousesavers rate, the AAA rate and net savers rate was very compareable.

i did my research and choose not to stay at the grovesner, when i saw it, i was glad i made the choice i did.

good luck.