What do you like/not like about BLT?

[ready123go]

We are looking to buy DVC and are considering BLT. I would like to hear from any who have stayed there - likes & dislikes.

TIA

 

[Sandisw]

We own at BLT and have stayed at the resort for at least part if not all of our DVC trips so far.

We love the location and quietness fo BLT. The rooms are beautiful. The only negative I can see is that the studios are on the small side and really not much bigger than a moderate hotel room. For 2 or 3 people, its not bad, but for a family of 4, it could be tight.

We almost always have a car so having parking pretty close to the building is nice. And, the walk from the BLT building over to the main CR building for food, etc. was no more than a 4 - 6 minute walk for us.

The 2nd bathroom in the 1 bedrooms is really nice as well. We only bought DVC because they build BLT so for us, we knew going it we would like it. We also want to feel like we are in a hotel when on vacation and not necessarily like we are "at home" so the design and the feel work for us.

Good luck!

 

[djo]

My husband and I are fairly new owners. Bought our first contract in August 2010 and have added on 4 contracts since, all at BLT. Truth be told we have only stayed at one other resort that being Old Keywest. That one visit was all we needed to reassure us that we had made the right decision (for our family, at this time in our lives) by buying at Bay Lake Towers.

We love the proximity to Magic Kingdom, the monorail, the food market, gift shops and several restaurants all within walking distance of our resort.

Eight of us just returned last Saturday from a 5 night stay at BLT and thoroughly enjoyed our visit!

 

[OKW Lover]

Simple:
Love the location
Don't like the decor

 

[disneynutz]

Simple:
Love the location
Don't like the decor

Same here and we also need to add that we don't like the visible wear and tear for a new resort and the lack of service from the CM's.

Bill

 

[Figment2]

If you're going to spend a lot of time at MK, you can't beat the location. I like to spend time at EPCOT and don't like fighting the hords of people trying to get to TTC at the end of the night (which is why BWV is my home).

Hate the second bathroom. It's a great idea but unless it has changed, there are no hooks to hang anything (your clean clothes are now on the floor), there is no soap dish in the bathtub (even in the cheapest hotel I've found a place to put the bar of soap), the shower just about takes your skin off (and we couldn't change it), there is limited counter space around the sink, there's no lock on the door and if you look just the right way, you can see into the bathroom as there is a gap between the wall and the door. Other than all that, the 1BR are great!

JMHO

Cyn

 

[dbs1228]

Love it! We usually stay in a 2 bedroom and loved 3 baths! I also liked the layout (master bed vs. 2nd bedroom) being on opposite ends of the villa. I have stayed at OKW and AKV and really liked both resorts but the 1 thing I kept thinking about while at the other resorts is how much more of a priority location is to me! I have a feeling we will do split stays 5 -6 night BLT doing parks and then switch to one of the lower key resorts for 3 nights to relax before heading home!

 

[dissybroad]

I've heard that about the BLT showers. Has anyone tried something like loosely tying some plastic mesh like potatoes come in over the shower head to break up the stream?

What problems have you had with service? Will be a cash guest in a 2 BR villa with four generations, 19 months to 80 years.

 

[honeymo78]

Views are amazing - I love MK fireworks from the balcony and watching the monorail go by is a plus.
Our 1 bedroom in Oct was huge and even with only 2 of us, the second bathroom was nice.
Quick walk to CR for shopping and drinks as well as a quick walk to MK.
Now that we drive, having parking so close by was quite nice.
We didn't have any issues with the bathroom doors since they are the same as at CR and we had stayed there several times before joining DVC.
Also had no problems with the shower heads - pressure was just fine and could easily be adjusted.

We too bought DVC because of BLT but we also own at AKV and BWV.

 

[ready123go]

Same here and we also need to add that we don't like the visible wear and tear for a new resort and the lack of service from the CM's.

Bill

I have heard the "wear and tear" concern before. Please tell me about the CM's.

 

[jade1]

Not much negative from us. We found ourselves in the room more than most resorts because the view gave the feel of being right in WDW esp the MK of course. The 1BR was very large and the 2 full bathrooms were great to have. Sleeping 5 was necessary for us as well. The sleeper chair was comfortable and had plenty of space to use. CH 20 on TV had Wishes so need to go to TOTWL or the bridge. Listening to the train from the balcony was fun. Simply having all new stainless appliances and bath fixtures is very nice as well. 7 minute walk to MK was wonderfull. The private pool are was very nice as well. The dining at CR is great and having the monorail was very nice for EPCOT and other dining on the monorail.

The room being on a circle meant a slight pie shape-this allowed for an 18 foot wide wall of glass by 6 feet high staring out at the MK, with no chance of seeing a neighbor or building off to the sides. It was like the room was on top of 10 story flag pole.

View sitting on the king bed:

Pool:

Dislike-not having SAB and a 5 minute walk to EPCOT, so we split stay with BCV.

 

[DVC96]

We stayed there a year ago in a studio - which seemed really small. The location was great for going to the MK. Also, we like to spend a lot of time at the pool and the pool was just too small. We enjoyed our BLT experience but won't be staying there again anytime soon.

 

[Rest&Relax]

We bought BLT for the location. Monorail resort, walking distance to MK, the views, & TOTWL. DH & I love to visit other resorts and you can easily walk to MK bus stop and catch any resort bus you want. This is why BLT is our December resort getaway!

Down side: The wear & tear starting to show for a new resort. We don't care for the hotel feeling as much as we prefer the more relaxed layed back feeling. (That's why OKW is also our home resort)
BLT is also not built for short people: kitchen cabinets are higher than other resorts. You must be 5' or taller to see in the master bathroom mirror.

We have not experienced any major problems and we always enjoy our stays there but we love staying at other resorts depending on the season. This is why we love DVC.

 

[kritter]

We stayed there a year ago in a studio - which seemed really small. The location was great for going to the MK. Also, we like to spend a lot of time at the pool and the pool was just too small. We enjoyed our BLT experience but won't be staying there again anytime soon.

We are staying two nights in April in a studio. THat is my fear that we will think it is too small for the four of us. But thinking it is just two nights. I think we will be happy when it is time to head to our home SSR!!

 

[honeymo78]

We stayed there a year ago in a studio - which seemed really small. The location was great for going to the MK. Also, we like to spend a lot of time at the pool and the pool was just too small. We enjoyed our BLT experience but won't be staying there again anytime soon.

Now that you mention it, we agree that the studio seemed small. However, we only stayed in the studio for one night and have only stayed at one other studio, OKW, for one night. We don't normally stay in studios, we bought points for a 1 bedroom or more, but just needed somewhere to stay for 1 night before our moving to AKV concierge. Maybe it depends on where you are on the curve as to how big it is - we had standard view I think or maybe lake view for the studio. Our MK view 1 bedroom was HUGE and since we likely won't be in a studio again, the size will never be an issue.

 

[mickey&minniealways]

We are staying two nights in April in a studio. THat is my fear that we will think it is too small for the four of us. But thinking it is just two nights. I think we will be happy when it is time to head to our home SSR!!

If you are previously a fan of the values or some of the smaller moderates you won't have a problem. Unfortunatly some of us are spoiled. Especialy those of us who are big OKW fans like myself. Those rooms are huge comparativly. But they are big compared to some of the others also. So it all depends on what you are used to.

 

[BBG-BLT]

We love the location (walk to MK is so easy). Love the monorail

Don't like the "feeling" as much (kind of a get up and go feeling) not so much a stroll and relax like some of the other resorts

Love the TOWL and the pools at the BLT and CR - love the Community Hall

Don't like having to walk over to the CR for everything.

 

[ready123go]

These are all really great insights. Keep 'em coming and thanks.

 

[MommaSnowwhite]

We stayed in a 2BR in Oct. with 7 people. It was great to have 3 bathrooms. I loved having the Community Hall, the walk to the MK, the Monorail, all the amenities of CR and 2 pools to choose from. I really didn't see many negatives. We loved the resort, the views and the close parking!

 

[The 6 J's]

We were just there from 3/20-3/27. Family of 6 plus grandparents who joined us for 1/2 the week each in a 2BR.

Loved the location, the lake and pool view. We were in the last room on the inside bottom of the C and could actually watch the higher fireworks of Wishes over the TOTW from our balcony. It was great being on the 16th floor and just strolling down to the TOTW and observation deck any time we wanted. When I called for help with online check-in I just asked for the highest floor possible.

I thought I would not like the walk to CR for everything but it turns out it wasn't that bad and the kids quickly learned the route. The view and the breeze from the stroll across the walkway was very pleasant but I could see it being annoying if the weather was bad. We only walked MK once and that was enough for us. If it wasn't so hot and we didn't have a loaded double stroller with one of the kids with a broken leg in it maybe we would have walked more but the monorail was just fine for us. Not having to fold up the stroller for the monorail was a huge plus.

The only negatives were the BLT and CR really aren't our style which isn't a big deal and the fact that the bathroom door in the middle section of our suite was almost impossible to open once it was closed. Our kids kept getting trapped in there and you had to yank it open so hard that it was too noisy to use when people were still sleeping. Beds were pretty comfy. We definitely want to try to stay there again.