where to stay [Favorite Deluxe and Moderates]

[drewtime]

Hi Everyone!

I just have a quick question for all of you experts

What is your favorite deluxe hotel, and moderate hotel? I'm planning a trip to WDW this summer, and would love your feedback.

Thanks so much!

[wishiwasthere]

I have only stayed at one deluxe hotel, Polynesian, twice. Love everything about it. Relaxing, peaceful, beautiful, I could go on. The rooms are huge. The only thing I did not like is that the bathroom is all in one (toilet, shower, and sink). I prefer the sink on the outside of the bathroom to help in getting ready quickly.

When it comes to moderate hotels I have stayed at Riverside, French Quarter, and Coronado Springs. I have no interest in staying at Caribbean Beach. My favorite is French Quarter. Love the ambiance and the intimate setting about the hotel. I am looking forward to heading back there hopefully around the holidays next year.

[carolinakid]

I have stayed at the Polynesian, Boardwalk, Yacht Club, Beach Club and Dolphin. I loved them all, but we prefer an Epcot resort because we tend to spend the most time at Epcot and the Studios and we love to be able to walk to both parks. I've never stayed at a moderate.

[3Princesses1Prince]

We've only stayed at the BC and we are convinced we couldn't ever stay anywhere but an Epcot resort again. Next time we will get PHs so we can eat in Epcot every day if we want.

[Doofenshmirtz]

For the Moderates we almost always go with French Quarter, for the Deluxe, it gets down to what kind of trip you want.

My overall favorite is the Grand Floridian, like some I used to think it was too stuffy to ever stay there, last fall we got a great rate, less than what we would pay for a moderate, so we stayed there and loved the place .

This past weekend we stayed at the Beach Club, while not as relaxed as the Grand Floridian, cant beat the location.

Sooooooo my thought process for selecting which resort:
If you plan to spend the bulk of your time in the Magic Kingdom and not much resort time, go with the Contemporary. (Easy walk)

If the bulk of the time is Magic Kingdom but will spend time at the hotel, go with the Grand Floridian.

If the bulk of the time is Epcot / HS go with Boardwalk, Yacht or Beach Club

If your group likes animals. you can usually get a good rate at the Animal Kingdom lodge and I really like it but usually skip over it because of location. (If I plan on going moderate, that takes location out of the equation and I add in AKL to my search, several times I have been able to get a rate at AKL that was less than what I would have paid at the moderates)

[drewtime]

thanks so much everyone for your wonderful suggestions. i had never even considered the french quarter, and will definitely have to check it out.

[tappenfeat]

Favorite Deluxe: Animal Kingdom Lodge (2x) with the Savannah view! Glorious!!! LOVE IT!

Favorite Moderate: Port Orleans French Quarter. Love the layout and the pool.

We've stayed at: Grand Floridian, Polynesian (2x), Port Orleans Riverside, POP! Century, Caribbean Beach Resort, Fort Wilderness Cabins, and our RCI Timeshare on occasion in addition to the others mentioned above. But, those would be my top picks!

[buzz2001]

Deluxe - Beach Club

Moderate - Coronado Springs

[houseofmouse]

Moderate- Port Orleans for sure. Such a gorgeous property and quiet!

We are doing Beach Club in June. This will be our first time at a Deluxe!

[Drince88]

I've stayed at all but one of the Values and all the Moderates (that are currently open) and 2 Deluxes.

For me the order of Values are: Pop Century; Music; Movies; Sports.
-I haven't stayed at Music, but for me, values are in order of age. I don't pay for a location or view, and don't need more than a standard room.

Order of Moderates are: French Quarter; Riverside; Caribbean Beach; Coronado Springs
-I like the more intimate size of French Quarter and the single bus stop. Caribbean Beach some of the rooms can be far from the main building with the food court (that was a REAL problem after I did the half marathon there with my blisters on my feet!). And I don't like the food options at Coronado.

Deluxe: I've stayed at Beach Club (twice) and Boardwalk Villas.
-And that's probably the order I'd put them in - just because of Stormalong Bay being better than the Clown pool.
As far as the other deluxes, aside from the Epcot area, I don't have an overwhelming need to stay at them, though I'll probably cave and stay at AKL at some point, and then I WILL pay for a Savanah view. Unless we do a super extended family trip and a villa would be cheaper for the same number of beds as what we'd get at a moderate.

[scoobydooby]

Port Orleans resort is our favourite moderate. I like the size of French Quarter and single bus stop but prefer Riverside's theming and food court. If you like to swim they are the best moderates as they both have great pools with slides and you can legitimately pool hop. My children loved that.

Never stayed at a Deluxe but we are booked at the Beach Club this summer. We chose Beach Club over all other Deluxes for the pool and chose it over Yacht Club only because it is closest to Epcot. We plan to eat at Epcot about 8 nights out of 14. We have visited all the Deluxes and I must say I loved the theming of Wilderness Lodge and AKL but the latter has such a distant location I would probably not stay there. I have no interest in the Polynesian or the Contemporary as their theming does little for me. As for the Grand Floridian. Maybe one day!

[danyoung]

Tough question. I've hopped around to several of the WDW hotels over the years, staying in everything from values to deluxes depending on budget. All the the moderates are about the same as far as comfort and size of room, so it comes down to which theme works best. For me that's the Coronado Springs. I really like the layout of the place, with the rooms surrounding the 15 acre Lago Dorado Lagoon. It feels almost like a deluxe to me!

As to deluxes, it really depends on what location is important to you. It's very special to stay in a Comtemporary tower room overlooking the Magic Kingdom and all the boats and monorails out on the Seven Seas Lagoon. And it's cool to just go downstairs and hop on a monorail. But if Epcot is more important, than either the Boardwalk or the Beach Club will work out the best. And from there you can also walk to the Studios as well. The theming of the Animal Kingdom Lodge really needs to be seen to be believed. And the rustic design of the Wilderness Lodge is pretty cool too.

I'm not sure if I was at all helpful to you. For me, just staying at the World is very special, and there's something good to be said of just about all of the on property resorts!

[CBFETT]

For Deluxe it's the Poly hands down. Love everything about it, layout, rooms, relaxation factor, theme, and especially the Volcano Pool! Nothing like looking out over Seven Seas Lagoon from the pool or Water Slide and seeing the CR, GF, Boats, Monorails all in action. Also seeing the Nightly Water Padgent and Wishes from the Poly beach is awesome! I will say a close second it staying at the CR and being in a Tower Room over looking the MK! For the same reasons Dan stated, plus at night having the curtians open and seeing the castle lit up as you fall asleep is very beautiful.

For the Moderates, it's Coronado Springs. Even though we have stayed at POR three times, we love the layout, pool and themeing better at CS.

[drewtime]

You are all so helpful. Thanks so very much for all of your input. I would not have thought of POR, but definitely want to do that and the Poly. My dad passed away almost a month ago, and I'm using a big chunk of my inheritance on this trip. My boys have had such a hard time. I asked them where they would want to go on a vacation--I brought up Hawaii, etc. They both answered WDW in unison.

So, thanks to all of you for your wonderful input. I just love this site, and all of the nice people who give their time to help out Disney travelers. I'll be sure to post a trip report afterwards.

[Barberella]

Since you mention boyS - depending on their ages, you may want to think about the Alligator Bayou section of POR. The latest POR refurbishment of the Alligator Bayou section saw a 5th small bed installed. Descriptions of the resort are here: http://allears.net/acc/faq_dxl.htm and Alligator Bayou room photos can be located on this page: http://allears.net/acc/g_dxl.htm

[cbarry]

I was going to ask how many are in your party? Do you have more than 4? Keep in mind the only regular rooms that sleep 5 are at the Poly, Grand Floridian, Contemporary, Beach and Yacht and Boardwalk. Anywhere else at the deluxe level and you have to spring for 2 rooms or a large villa.

In the Moderates the only one with room for 5 is Riverside, specifically in Alligator Bayou as mentioned above. The Fort Wilderness cabins are also considered Moderate and can sleep 5, but I consider those in a different self contained category altogether.

Not sure if that's a concern for you.

[drewtime]

Hello,

There will be 4 of us. Thanks very much for the great suggestions

[palmickey]

Have you considered a DVC suite?
Often you can rent these, from an owner, at quite a savings over what you would pay for a deluxe hotel room.

I haven't seen a rental board on this site, but there is a very active one on mouseowners, along with lots of advice related to renting DVC points from DVC members.
A few of the DVC suites are part of a Deluxe hotel (usually off in their own section, but with all the other advantages of staying at that hotel).

As for favorite, it is all about trade offs. If I was going during the summer, pools would be important (Beach Club Villas). If the goal was to squeeze in as much park time as reasonable proximity to a major park would be more important than the pool (BLT at the Contemporary or possibly Beach Club Villas or Board Walk Villas).
If my kids had an interest in animals I might choose Animal Kingdom Villas.
If I was after a more relaxed visit; where all rooms have a view of nature, larger rooms, large balconies, I would choose OKW.

[drewtime]

Thanks so much to all of you for your wonderful suggetions. Based upon your advice, I've decided to go with POFQ for part of our stay and the POLY. My boys and I are so excited about our trip. Seriously, I wouldn't have even thought of POFQ if it hadn't been for you. It looks like a beautiful property, and we are looking forward to the carriage ride!

It's good to know that I'm not alone in my extreme love for Disney

[tappenfeat]

Your choices are excellent!!! Congrats and have a Magical trip!!!

[drewtime]

Thanks so much We can't wait!