Deluxe Hotels

[Airblue1]

A lot of folks love the Poly. Now am I missing something b/c I felt it was a series of separate buildings that extend from the main lobby. So there seems to be a lot of back and forth at this place? Although it seems to be the better of the choices on the monorail I just do not see the glam in it? The Grand is too fancy for children, I guess when u have stayed at the Hotel Del the Grand is another hotel, don't get me wrong it is very Grand I just feel it is not a great place for kids. Contemporary needs a face lift. It seems like a very busy place and one that is hard to manage at times. All three monorail hotels are very open to the public and resort public. Beach/yacht which is tucked away from Epcot seems to be more like a hotel/resort it doesn't have the castle views, but it seems to run like a hotel in that it is connected and very centered around its guest not of the public guests. Boardwalk is really cool it fits it's theme but again this seems to be another busy spot and kids are better some where else. AKL is far and to be honest giraffes are at the zoo. Because of its proximity Disney Transortation becomes your best buddy WL like Beach seems to be more centered around its guests than that of the resort public. It has a great hotel/resort feel. Going to MK by boat can get a lil old but sometimes better than the avenger rail So with that being said what are your opinions of the deluxe resorts and if I missed one I apologize

[CuteAsMinnie]

Everyone has their favorite and ous is the Wilderness Lodge. It is tucked away from everything but at the same time is just a short lovely boat ride to the CR where you can catch the monorail or a short lovely boat ride, which never get old, to MK. WL gives you the feeling of being someplace remote, quiet and peaceful.

[spoiledraf]

I like the feel of the BC, and yet the YC, although connected, just feels a lot less family oriented. The BW is great but we still prefer the BC over it and love the location of all three. This trip, in 21 days, we will make our first journey to the Poly. Primarily, as mentioned above, it is the most inviting of the monorail resorts for small children. We have only visited it once for a look see and the wife thought it was a bit dark and busy. But since we are taking the grandkids we want to be close to the MK. If it were just the wife and I, I would gladly go back to the GF. I had promised to take my wife to Hawaii when I retired but it looks like the Polynesian is as close as we may get. (Although my neighbors daughter is dating an Hawaian gentleman and they say we may get invited to beach wedding some day!!) We have never tried FW or AKL, but probably will eventually.

[Mousemates]

WL - my overall personal favorite (especially when price is included)...one of our all time favorite stays was in one of the honeymoon suites from which we could watch the bulk of Wishes. Eaitng breakfast with the open lobby on one side and looking out over the pool/courtyard/lake on the other is wonderful. Love the boat transport to MK and monorails.

CR - my favorite monorail resort (and the first place i stayed at WDW)...while some feel its a little on the sterile side, it feels very disney to me. I also the fact that unlike the GF and Poly you can catch the monorail and get a bite to eat without a walk through the weather. The views are also among the best at WDW.

AKL - the WL (which I love) with animals (which I also love)...if only it weren't so far out in the boondocks and a transportation option (to say the AK) besides a bus.

GF - had a great stay, but the crazy expense makes it a splurge/celebration only thing for us.

Poly - my wife loves it, me not so much. I honestly don't get the infatuation with it...the pool is small, no hot tub, and way too much foot traffic going through.

BC/YC - no real difference between the two for us...except that the BC is closer to the poola nd epcot while the YC has the advantage when going to the Studios, the boardwalk and mini-golf....both share (IMO) the best locations in all of WDW.

Treehouses/SSR - unique experience, but the transportation situaiton there was a real time eater during our stay.

[thejens]

If you like to spend any time at resort, AKL is truly amazing. So relaxing and we love to see the animals. It is very kid friendly. Yes, IMHO you need a car, but we have taken busses as well. I love all the disney resorts, even the budget ones, but love the luxurious, theme rich feelings of the deluxe. Love Beach Club for proximity to Epcot. Loved Poly for nice pool, view and proximity to MK and monorail. Love CR for monorail and nostalgic feeling and CG! So far, though, love AKL best. I love the restaurants and CS as well as the beauty and pools.

But if $ is issue, also love moderates and values. I am really wishing I had a trip planned at any of the resorts at the moment!!!

[BrerGnat]

My three favorite Deluxe resorts are Wilderness Lodge, Beach Club, and Contemporary.

I'd have to give the edge to Beach Club, though. It has everything I look for in a hotel, and I like Epcot a lot more than MK (our entire family does), so it's the overall winner for us. We've stayed there on our two family trips and our boys just LOVE the pool so, so, so much. They are water kids, and this pool is heaven for them.

DH and I spent our honeymoon at WL, and I've stayed there three other times. I love the WL. I don't know why, because I don't even like woodsy, outdoorsy type stuff. I hate camping, hate national parks, etc. But, something about this property drew me in the first time I even saw pictures of it over a decade ago, and I just love it. I feel similarly about the Grand Californian at Disneyland. Same architect, and same "wow" factor in the themeing. We want to stay at WL next trip, but it will be VERY hard to not be within walking distance to Epcot.

Contemporary should not be judged by its exterior or "public" areas. Honestly. It's a fabulous hotel to stay at. I love it and have stayed there 4 times. When you are staying there, it really has an entirely different feel, and it never feels overly crowded by the "public", like the Poly does. The rooms at Contemporary are the nicest on property at WDW, in my opinion. They are very comfortable and well laid out, spacious, and functional. I spent 3 days cooped up in a tower MK view room at Contemporary due to a terrible virus one year, and honestly, it was quite pleasant to be so sick in THAT room/hotel. The best part was being able to walk out my room door, 10 steps to the elevator, then once off the elevator, another 10 steps and I was at the Contempo Cafe. When you are not feeling well, but need to get stuff, Contemporary's small footprint and ease of getting to "stuff" cannot be beat.

I have no desire to ever stay at the Polynesian. I would under the following conditions:

-They add a fitness center (critical for me and DH on vacation)
-They add hot tubs to the pool area (real hot tubs).
-They allow you to book specific buildings.
-They allow you to book a room with a balcony guaranteed
-They add double sinks to ALL the rooms.

There are too many variables right now with the Poly, and I don't feel for those prices that I want to be gambling with my accommodations.

GF is out, as far as staying there. I cannot tolerate Victorian decor for more than about 10 minutes.

BW is out for the future. I stayed there to try it, and was not impressed. I like the outside Boardwalk area, but the resort itself is ho-hum, compared to the Beach Club across the way.

I would try YC if BC was not available. The decor/vibe is a bit too "Northeast Yuppie" for us, but I can get past that since the resort itself is so incredible.

[mydisneygirls]

We have only stayed at two...the Poly and WL. I love each of them. Poly has the Hawaiian feel and I like that the room size is large. WL, we stayed there for the first time last year and being from New England, I didn't think I would like it...WRONG....loved it!!!! Although WL is not on the monorail, I found no problem with it. Boat ride to MK and the bus service elsewhere was great.

[Mitzie]

I know it has been said here many times, but one of the things we love about Disney World is there is something for everyone. We have stayed at AKL twice and both were wonderful. DH favorite park is AK so this just keeps that coming at him. We love the location. We like being out there and away from it all. My favorite park is Epcot and have stayed in that area twice and we liked BC better than BWI. The Poly was ok, but we would return to AKL or BC/YC before we would go back there. Still have WL and GF on our list to try.

[JenniferP]

The Polynesian has always been my favorite resort at Disney World. I love the atmosphere, the pool, the lobby, the dining, and the location of the resort. Everything about the Polynesian is just so relaxing and comforting. I love the size of the rooms, I don't mind the walking, and I love the access to the monorail. My second favorite of the deluxe resorts is the Contemporary. I always enjoy staying there!