VDH Standard vs Preferred Room

[Nabas]

We have a VDH Standard View Studio booked. This will be our first stay there.

Based on photos, the view is just blah but some of the Preferred View room views don’t seem much better. (For example, some seem to have only a partial view of the pool.)

I’m not sure switching to a Preferred View is worth the price difference, especially since there do not appear to be balconies. (We like morning coffee on the balcony, when a room has one.)

I would greatly appreciate opinions. What would you choose?

 

[starry_solo]

Standard To save the points.
we’ve done standard and preferred since that was available for our bookings.
standard was a view of the street.
preferred was a blocked view of the pool

 

[Nabas]

Standard To save the points.
we’ve done standard and preferred since that was available for our bookings.
standard was a view of the street.
preferred was a blocked view of the pool

Thanks, that's what I was thinking. Based on photos posted on disboards.com, several "Preferred View" rooms at VDH would not make the cut as preferred at WDW.

I guess that's what happens when you don't have the thousands of acres at WDW and have to fit a DVC into a small space.

 

[Wedgeout]

Without the balconies, it’s for the points. Not much difference but adds up the longer the stay. With Standard you know what you’re getting, the backstage/utility/urban view. With preferred it’s a toss up anyway on which side of the building you’ll get. This Discovery tower, is one where being higher isn’t a better view. (Unless in my opinion get a preferred on front side toward the parks/resort, even #’s). With the deluxe studio, the best points splurge is on a garden room.

 

[starry_solo]

We were just happy to be able to try out both types and got both designs. Standard we had Princess Aurora / Sleeping Beauty. Preferred we had Princess Tiana / Princess & the Frog. I did go to look at the 1 bedroom PATF, it was pretty....

 

[UrsulaWantsYourSoul]

Garden studio if avail. Guaranteed either patio or balcony

 

[PiratesOfTheSea]

FWIW there's a rumor that they will be changing the room categories in the point chart at some point because there have been so many guest complaints about the views in the preferred rooms.

 

[Nabas]

Garden studio if avail. Guaranteed either patio or balcony

Interesting option. For the nights we want, it's 20 points for the Standard View, 24 points for the Preferred View, and 28 points for the Garden Studio. The Garden Studio is not available for our nights but, as you mentioned, the DVC website describes this as:

• Garden Rooms are separate from the main tower and provide easy access to the pool. Includes a Balcony or Patio

At WDW, usually it's the least expensive rooms that book first (AKV Club is the exception). I find it interesting that Garden rooms seem to be harder to book than Standard Views.

 

[Wedgeout]

There are only 4 garden deluxe studios. 0149, 0251, 0153 and 0255 (hearing). Easy pool access is just that there is a back entrance gate to the pool, at bbq picnic area. Two stair locations back there. Actually any tower room on first and second floor has that “easy” pool access. Those floors have an exit/entrance door out that rear wing.

 

[nerdboyrockstar]

My preferred view was the residential homes of Anaheim. lol But if I looked all the way down I could see the new pool (we were on a higher floor). No thanks. I'll save the points.

 

[UrsulaWantsYourSoul]

Interesting option. For the nights we want, it's 20 points for the Standard View, 24 points for the Preferred View, and 28 points for the Garden Studio. The Garden Studio is not available for our nights but, as you mentioned, the DVC website describes this as:

• Garden Rooms are separate from the main tower and provide easy access to the pool. Includes a Balcony or Patio

At WDW, usually it's the least expensive rooms that book first (AKV Club is the exception). I find it interesting that Garden rooms seem to be harder to book than Standard Views.

Did you check to see if an accessible room is available for your stay? They kind of hide when doing a search. I like to give accessible peeps a head start in booking but with so few in some categories at some point it’s every person to themselves.

 

[Nabas]

Did you check to see if an accessible room is available for your stay? They kind of hide when doing a search. I like to give accessible peeps a head start in booking but with so few in some categories at some point it’s every person to themselves.

Thanks for that. Do you think a Garden room is worth 8 points per night more?

 

[UrsulaWantsYourSoul]

Thanks for that. Do you think a Garden room is worth 8 points per night more?

If you love a balcony and spend time on one yes. If not then no. It’s nice to open the door and hear the sounds of the resort and get the vibe more than just looking through the window. But it all comes down to how precious your points are plus there’s tot on top of that.

 

[Genie+]

Thanks for that. Do you think a Garden room is worth 8 points per night more?

That is a big point jump. We love our balconies on vacation and find upgrading room views can be worth the splurge. For VDH if we were just doing 3 nights I’d try for the garden/balcony, but 5 nights would try for standard.

 

[gisele2]

I should have come here for advice, just rented a prefered studio at VDH... Well will report here when we come back from our trip. What room number should I ask for?

 

[Nabas]

I should have come here for advice, just rented a prefered studio at VDH... Well will report here when we come back from our trip. What room number should I ask for?

Some of the Preferred View rooms seem to have a really good view, worth the points. But some seem to be below what I’d expect for a Preferred View.

 

[Wedgeout]

I should have come here for advice, just rented a prefered studio at VDH... Well will report here when we come back from our trip. What room number should I ask for?

With the deluxe studio, I’d rather be on the resort/main entrance side (even numbered room preferred). All subjective since views of the DVC pool and splash pad area are nice too. Especially with the evening lighting. Depends how much too you want to try for Tiana (even numbered floor or if studio is attached to a one bedroom) or Aurora (odd numbered floor). Room views link for more specific requests. Have fun.
https://www.disboards.com/threads/v...-hotel-dvc-view-from-the-room-thread.3931280/

 

[ehh]

FWIW there's a rumor that they will be changing the room categories in the point chart at some point because there have been so many guest complaints about the views in the preferred rooms.

Link to the rumor?

This would be a double-edged sword that I'd be wary of. Because there's so many Preferred View rooms, reclassifying chunks of PV rooms as SV will require one of the following changes:

1. DVD sells fewer points total. This seems unlikely.
2. The avg points/night of remaining Preferred View rooms goes up.
3. The avg points/night of Standard View rooms goes up.

My guess is it would be a combo of 2 and 3, but that's pretty much lose-lose for guests. They can only bump PV points so much because there's Garden rooms above in the hierarchy, too.

Guests that are fine with Standard View as-is lose out because points go up. Guests that are fine with Preferred View as-is lose out because points go up. And the guests who dislike the worst Preferred View rooms also kind of lose: they can book a SV for barely fewer points than PV (current gap averages just 1.4pts/night for Duos and 3pts/night for Studios, and SV would have to have higher points than currently), or finally get a 'good' view but have to spend more points.

 

[PiratesOfTheSea]

Link to the rumor?

This would be a double-edged sword that I'd be wary of. Because there's so many Preferred View rooms, reclassifying chunks of PV rooms as SV will require one of the following changes:

1. DVD sells fewer points total. This seems unlikely.
2. The avg points/night of remaining Preferred View rooms goes up.
3. The avg points/night of Standard View rooms goes up.

My guess is it would be a combo of 2 and 3, but that's pretty much lose-lose for guests. They can only bump PV points so much because there's Garden rooms above in the hierarchy, too.

Guests that are fine with Standard View as-is lose out because points go up. Guests that are fine with Preferred View as-is lose out because points go up. And the guests who dislike the worst Preferred View rooms also kind of lose: they can book a SV for barely fewer points than PV (current gap averages just 1.4pts/night for Duos and 3pts/night for Studios, and SV would have to have higher points than currently), or finally get a 'good' view but have to spend more points.

Saw it a week ago on the DVC Fan FB group. From what they were told by the manager it sounds like there’ll be a new “Partial View” category of some sort. How do you think the point chart will shake out with a new category added?

 

[CarolynFH]

Saw it a week ago on the DVC Fan FB group. From what they were told by the manager it sounds like there’ll be a new “Partial View” category of some sort. How do you think the point chart will shake out with a new category added?

If they’re simply separating out rooms in a category, they could keep the points the same. That’s what they did at BWV when the Preferred view category was split into BW view and P/G view. They can’t change the total number of points for the resort now (unless they add rooms as they added BPK to VGF), and trying to balance the number of points in the units might be very difficult if they raise some and lower others.