We have been DVC members for 4 years, and, through being somewhat frugal, have made ample use of our points in this time period. We own at Saratoga Springs and added on at Animal Kingdom, staying several times per year at a variety of Disney properties, including: Port Orleans, Caribbean Beach, Coronodo Springs, Saratoga Springs, Old Key West, Vero Beach, Animal Kingdom and most recently, Beach Club Villas. We have stayed in studios up to 2 bedroom villas. For this trip, my husband and I were taking advantagef of our points and annual passes to have an affordable long weekend getaway in January. We opted for a studio. We have been trying to stay at Boardwalk or Beach Club, and actually waitlisted them both. We were very excited to get into the Beach Club, and for the opportunity to stay so close to Epcot, the Boardwalk and all that the Epcot resorts have to offer. In the end it was just alright.
We got a room right by the parking lot. We were sure it was as far away as you could get from the walkway to Epcot, and the boat to Hollywood Studios. This was somewhat disappointing, considering that the person at the desk was telling us about our great, waterview room. Not sure what water that was... In addition, it was January, not on a holiday weekend or anything, there is no way they were at capacity, and it would have been nice to get a decently located room. Once checked in, walking to the room from the front desk was hilarious. By the time we got there, we were laughing histerically, it was sooooo far. Then we looked outside and saw that if we had driven around and parked, we would have been right next to our room. At least it was good for a laugh.
Resort and Room: The resort is pretty grand, that can't be denied. The pool area was the best I've seen at the Disney resorts, but, Animal Kingdom is great too, and the beach with the movie screen and giant waterslide, would undoubtedly be a big hit with the kids, just didn't matter on this trip. We generally thought the resort , including the room, and especially the carpet, was dirty. The main hallways were just gross. However, this is a down time of year, and we noticed a difference in all Disney areas, parks, etc. too. The room was ok, a studio with a queen bed and sofabed. The bed in the room was disappointing. It appeared that the room had been renovated, as it had a flat screen tv, etc., but, the bed was uncomfortable at best. We both had massages at the resort, and still left with backaches. Honestly it was very reminiscent of Old Key West. in design and everything, but, it costs more, even in DVC points to stay here, obviously for the location. Also, the TV service is just awful. I realize that many people are too tired to even watch tv after a day in the parks, but, especially in the DVC areas, where many of us are there quite often, we don't have to spend every second running through the parks, and want some time to relax. There aren't even menu's/guides/pay-per-view movie options. We are in our mid 30's, are health care professionals, and we have stayed in a lot of hotels, both for business and pleasure. In this day and age, I'm not sure how you can call it a deluxe resort with no spa, and a tv with only basic programming. If i had payed cold, hard cash for this room, I would be angry, quite honestly.
Spa/massage services: There is not a spa on site, and when we asked about massages, they were very nice, and gave us a $50 off coupon, so, we booked services. But, there isn't a spa on site, and no one explained this. There were just 2 rooms behind the gym area where we got the massages. For the price we paid, even with the discount, it was way too much for there not to be a spa facility to enjoy. This was disappointing and we felt, somewhat misleading.
Location: It is definitely the place to stay, even over the Boardwalk, if you love Epcot. Being able to walk in the backside and take advantage of restaurants there is definitely the big advantage of this location. It was 5 minutes from the hotel exit/walkway to the gates basically. We took the boat to Hollywood Studios, because ithe best way to walk there was not clearly marked, and after riding over, were betting that it would take a brisk 20-30 minutes to walk there, which could be pretty miserable with kids or in the heat. The bus stop was really a hike from the room we were in also as it drops you off at the resort side.
Restaurants: We walked over to the Boardwalk and had no trouble getting into Cat Cora's new restaurant, Kouzzina, and would agree with many other reviews we have seen that it was not worth it. Much too expensive and the food was simply not good, steak was tough, hummus bland, just really nothing good about it, unfortunately. We tried Cape May's at the Beach Club. We had heard great things about it, and there were always lines of people waiting outside, and it was great. We always get reservations months in advance when we go with the kids, but, thought this time, in January, we would play it more by ear. So, we tried to get reservations once there, but, couldn't. We decided to try just showing up without reservations, even at ~8pm, put our names in, and never waited more than 15 minutes, including at Ohana at the Polynesian, which is always fantastic. We did try the Kona Cafe there for lunch one day, and thought it was awful. But, tried Bongos at Downtown Disney and it was amazing!!!
We went over to the Animal Kingdom to check out Kidani Village, and it looks really great and well designed, especially if you like to drive, as we do. The Disney transportation can be great, especially for Magic Kingdom, but, the convenience of a car can be hard to beat. Kidani village has underground parking throughout the villa area, so, you will still be able to park close to your room, which is always a plus at the end of the long days with the kids. The pool area, while not as nice as the resort itself or beach club, was still really cool. We also went to check out the Bay Lake Villas, and you have to park out at the parking lot and use all the contemporary restaurants/shops, etc. The pool didn't look that great either, so, for the extra points it would cost to stay there, it didn't look like a great choice either.
All in all, we just weren't impressed with the Beach Club. It would be really bad, we thought over and over again, if we weren't using points to stay there and had to pay cold, hard cash, since it appears to be usually 3-400/night.
- Disneys Beach Hotel
- Disney Beach Club Villas
- Disney Beach Club
- Disney Beach Hotel
- Disneys Beach Club Villas
