More about Disney's Beach Club Villas
Stunningly beautiful hotel, pool, location, A++
by TripAdvisor Member nerdy_grrl
The Beach Club is probably one of the most beautiful hotels at Walt Disney World. With it's Cape Cod beach theme, absolutely beautiful decor and excellent location it's really hard to beat. Although as some reviewers have mentioned there are some wear and tear issues in the Villas I found these were only minor things, and overall our Studio was very clean and in good shape. Also housekeeping does not come until the 4th day but you are told this when you reserve - the villas are treated more as condos than as hotel rooms. The kitchenette was very convenient as well as the free laundry facilities on the 4th floor.
Unfortunately for us it was too cold to go swimming (it went down to 34F - yikes!) but the pool area was just gorgeous. The "marketplace" store near the lobby had lots of food available including fresh pastries each morning. The buses and boats to the parks were very quick. We were very impressed by the beauty of the Beach Club Villas and will likely stay here again!
My favorite!
by TripAdvisor Member GuardMusic
May 2004 was our 2nd time at the Beach Club Villas (also June 2003). Previously we had stayed at All Star Music and Dixie Landings (Port Orleans Riverside). I had always wanted to stay at the Beach Club, but it is SO expensive I thought it would never happen.
Using my Disney contacts I found a cheaper way to stay there, but at the Villas instead of the regular Beach Club hotel. I thought - ok - it's close enough!
We had a Studio, just for Mom and me. The sofa bed was much less comfortable than what I expect from Disney, but it was ok. Unlike the moderates the vanity area was around the corner from the beds so the early bird can get up, turn on the lights, and not bother thsoe sleeping. The room was just enough space and the kitchenette was a huge timesaver. We could have toast or leftovers as we were running out the door.
We didn't try the pool until our 2nd trip, as my mom can't swim. However, I convinced her we could just go wading as far as she felt comfortable. At age 60 she had the time of her life! The Villas also have their own smaller pool for relaxation.
Beaches and Cream is our favorite place to eat. We try to have our 1st and last meal here on every trip. Otherwise dining is a challenge at the Beach Club. Next door at the Yacht Club is the Galley for lunch, but that was pretty yucky, which was surprising since there breakfast buffet was awesome. Cape May at the Beach club only has a character breakfast, which makes us adults want to get away from all the kids. The seafood buffet was a huge dissapointment. Your only other choices are fast food at the pool, the incredibly expensive Yachtsman Steakhouse, or walking over to the Boardwalk.
The close vicinity to EPCOT and MGM are priceless. I and others complained for a long time about get food-on-the-go at the Beach Club and they finally listened; there is now "grab & go food" at the new Beach Club Marketplace!
Over the past few years I've also stayed at Coronado Springs, Caribbean Beach, and Animal Kingdom Lodge, but nothing compares to the Beach Club for ME. We are headed back in Dec. 2005 to our Beach Club Villas.
You can email me at ghartler@bsu.edu!
Gayle
Love the Beach Club!
by A TripAdvisor Member
My husband and I are Disney Vacation Club members, and we were delighted to spend a week at the Beach Club Villas. Upon arrival, we valeyed the car (it's free for members). The valet was prompt and attentive; very polite. We entered the resort to check in, and encountered our only (slight) problem of the entire stay. The 'cast member' that checked us in was rude and uninformed about the resort. He didn't point out where our room was located! He was lacking the 'Disney' magic, and we reported this to the manager on duty. He apologized profusely, offered to show us around himself, and told us to go to dinner 'on them' that night at ANY restaurant in Disney World. I think some people who had problems with the cast members didn't speak to a manager; in my experience with Disney, if it's not right, they try to fix it. Anyway, our villa was a studio, with one queen bed, one pull out sofa, TV, dresser, and kitchenette (toaster, mini-fridge, sink, microwave, and plastic utensils). The room isn't the biggest ever, but it is more that comfortable for two people. The bathroom is on the smaller side, with one sink on the outside, and a toliet and tub/shower combo behind a door. The bathroom is has a no-frills approach, and yes, I have seen better at the Universal resorts, but at least its clean -- that's the most important part for me! The decor is 1930's seaside, with pastel colors and white painted furniture. We too, and a view of the drainage canal, but I don't go to Disney for the view outside my room.
Stormalog Bay (the pool area) is fabulous! There is a little kid's pool complete with a sandy bottom and sand everywhere (for building castles). There is also a huge pool that ranges in depth from 3 feet to 6 feet, with whirlpools, a huge (waterpark-like) waterslide, and small waterfalls. There is a lazy river area (it's on the small side, but still wonderful), which is very deep, but has a current so you can rent an inner tube and float all day. The pool area was extremely well maintained, and the lifeguards (plenty on duty) would periodically don snorkel equipment and pull out stray leaves that would fall in the pool. This area alone warrants the price of the rooms! It is so peaceful and relaxing. We went in the off-season, so we always had our pick of chairs in any part of the pool we wanted. I read in another review that they don't check if you are a guest at the hotel at the pool anymore, but that is incorrect information. Someone came by each morning and looked at our room keys and gave us a bracelet identifying us as guests. (Only guests of the Beach Club and Yacht Club are allowed to use the pool.) The Beach Club has a 'Soda' shop quick serve restaurant (eat-in or take to the room or pool)on property with awesome burgers and hot dogs grilled to order. Try the super thick shakes and malts! They also have Cape May Cafe, which has a nightly Clam Bake buffet for dinner. There are plenty of non-seafood items too. Most people loved it, and it comes highly recommended, but it wasn't great the night we were there. The character breakfast (with beach-clad Goofy, Minnie, Chip and Dale) was very tasty. Although there are not tons of restaurants on property, there are dozens of choices within walking distance -- you can go to the Yacht Club, the Boardwalk, the Swan, the Dolphin, or Epcot for lots of food options.
Yes, the Beach club is expensive (paying cash; my husband and I stayed on 'points'), but the pool was well worth it. The location is super -- you can walk to Epcot within 5 minutes and take a boat ride (if the boat is full they won't wait for you, by the way)to MGM within 10 minutes. The Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom bus usually run 20-30 minutes. The only annoying bus is the Downtown Disney bus, which does pick up at The Swan, The Dolphin, The Yacht, and the Beach Club, and the Boardwalk -- YIKES! But there are 'special edition' buses that run during busy nights that specify 'Yacht and Beach only.'
My husband isn't the Disney fan that I am, and was really apprehensive about spending a week at Disney, but after staying at the Beach club, he told me to book it every time we stay at Disney, and he offers to go more often! I think Disney has made another believer in magic!
Definitely dropped a notch
by TripAdvisor Member fvb9
First of all, I love Disney, and am a proud Vaca Club member.
We stayed there for Thanksgiving, and the stench of smelly diapers left sitting in hallway garbage cans for days was more than I could take. The rooms are showing significant wear in only three years, as are the hallways.
My repeated request for a room near an elevator was not only not met, but we got a room furthest away from everything (elevators, parking, lobby).
We were happy to leave, and will probably book at SS next year.
loved it but some problems
by A TripAdvisor Member
Just got back from the BCV yesterday and I did love it, don't get me wrong, but there were a few problems worth mentioning. FYI....we had the two bedroom villa.
The pull out sofas were very uncomfortable, you could feel every single spring in them so I would not recommend them for an adult. We did have a whirlpool tub but the drain did not plug fully and we had to keep adding water as it would drain out. There were not enough outlets for our taste. The room was pretty run down, considering they are not that old. We had ripped carpets and stained couches and bedspreads. The first night we went out onto our baclcony but could not find the switch for the light out there. When we called the lobby they informed us that they were solar lights and should turn on by themselves, if they were not on, it was becuase the bulb must have burned out. They said they would replace it but they never did (we were there for 8 nights). While there we counted, there were only 3 balcony lights on for the entire complex. You would think they would be better about that. On our second day we came back to our room and discoverd out maid had left our door WIDE OPEN! It is a good thing we were tired and came back early. When we called the housekeeping manager he was apologetic but did not offer any discounts, a personal visit, nothing. At one point we thought we misplaced our safe key, when we called the lobby to ask them for a spare they informed us they do not have spare keys and would need to totally change the lock. They would charge us $35 for inconvenience. Luckily we found the key and did not need to do that. They use the cheapest toliet paper, it feels like sandpaper. So much for luxery ammenities. Finally, they only clean the room every 4 days, they will make the beds every day, but will only change sheets every four days. Bottom line for us was the room was ok, the size was perfect. We loved the pool area and proximity of the villas to the parks. We would go again but only durning the off season when the prices were lower. If we had ever paid full price for the villas, we would have been very, very dissapointed.
Love the Beach Club
by TripAdvisor Member healin1
We have stayed in a standard room at the Beach Club but this was our first visit in a 1 bedroom villa. I wanted to be able to give the Villas 5 stars but just couldn't because of a few issues. First as others have already stated in their reviews in a few short years they have taken beating are in need of new carpet (at least in our villa) paint etc.. The king size bed was not comfortable unless you prefer a firm mattress. Housekeeping was not the greatest and had to call a couple times as in our 8 night visit the floors were not getting washed among some other housekeeping issues. On a positive note, the 1 bedroom is about 750 square feet and I would recommend it for a family of 4. I took a peek at the studios and they are quite small and would only recommend them for 2 people as they are only about 350 square feet.
The Yacht and Beach Club definitely has the best pool Disney has to offer. Stormalong Bay is a 3 acre sand bottom pool with a shipwrecked fun slide for the kids. There is also a sand area for the little ones to make sand castles. For lunch Beaches and Cream Ice Cream shop has wonderful cheeseburgers and ice cream creations which is located right at the pool but doesn't serve at the pool which is a shame because there are only about 6 tables inside and the wait was 45 minutes to get a seat and they don't take advance reservations. So plan on putting your name down before your really hungry!
Overall we still love the Beach Club and the Villas and would recommend a stay there. The location can't be beat as it is a 5 minute walk to Epcot and a 10 minute boat ride to MGM. You can see the Epcot fireworks from some of the villas or from the bridge on the way to the Boardwalk. It's also nice to be able to stroll along the Boardwalk at night, grab a cup of coffee, hot chocolate or a pastry and enjoy the evening around the lake.
We used the Disney's Magical Express Service and it was wonderful! I know it's been getting mixed reviews and I can imagine when it doesn't work out it can be a disaster such as lost luggage! It took about 3 hours for our luggage to arrive to our room so I recommend bringing a carry on with items you will be needing immediately upon arrival at the resort such as bathing suits etc..
If you have any other questions write me at kathleenlynn@comcast.net and I'd be happy to help!
My New Disney Favorite
by TripAdvisor Member BoogRock
Too many positives to elaborate on here, but this is definitely the place to be. You get all the amenities associated with the Beach Club Hotel, including the A+ location, awesome sand pool, concierge, on-site restaurants, wonderful service, etc. However, the villas are in their own quiet, uniquely decorated building located just far enough from all of the hustle and bustle of the main hotel. The rooms, lobbies, hallways, and public areas are just breathtakingly beautiful. The in-room kitchonette saved us a fortune on breakfast and lunch. The staff were AMAZING. I absolutely loved returning to this relaxing place each night after a busy day at the parks.
Great Location, upkeep could be better.
by A TripAdvisor Member
Excellent location, spacious, fairly well appointed villas. Worth the off season rates (not a member, paid cash). Minor complaints: Grounds not kept as nice as typical Disney hotel grounds. Weeds everywhere, bare patches in the grass, sidewalks need power washing, railings need paint, pool tiles cracking, etc. Rooms could use new carpets too. The whole place is only a few years old but it looks 10 years old. Sofa beds a joke but the villa was nice otherwise. Housekeeping was pretty good.
Disappointed that I could not spend more time
by TripAdvisor Member vkb_10
After trying to make a reservation for the Coronado Springs for the Presidents day weekend, the only room available was at the Disney Club Villas. I was a bit skeptic because I thought it was overpriced. However, after spending a day at the parks, we checked in around 9 pm. Check in was quick and efficient, and instead of the one bedroom villa I had reserved I was upgraded to a two bedroom. The room was excellent, in great condition, the balcony wrapped all around the villa. I was disappointed that I only spend one night there.
This will be my first choice for my next trip.
BCV, solid, with great location
by TripAdvisor Member BernieMaggie
We have previously stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge (AKL) in Disney, which we loved. We also loved BCV, but for different reasons. The AKL is out of the way, almost a destination within a destination, which some might like, others not.
BCV, on the other hand, is in a central location. It is a short walk to Epcot, a longer (about 1/2 mile) walk to MGM. There are a whole bunch of restaurants nearby; at the Boardwalk, Spoodles (loved it!), Big River, and Flying Fish, at the Dolphin, Shula's and Todd English, at the Yacht Club, Yachtsman, and at the Beach Club, Cape May. You can also walk to a lot of restaurants at Epcot in the world showcase.
The Villas themselves are beautiful, relaxing, and quiet. As a matter of fact, the whole Beach Club/Yacht Club area is remarkably quiet and laid back for Disney.
We were upgraded to a 2 bedroom villa, which had to be on the order of 1500 sq. ft. - very spacious and comfortable. Two baths, with the master bath having a wonderful whirlpool. Full kitchen.
The Marketplace is just a walk across the courtyard, great made to order sandwiches and salads, cappucino and latte at surpisingly reasonable prices. Also, the basic convenience store stuff, and Disney souvenirs.
We would go back again, especially with a family. We were pitched the Disney Vacation Club (not a real hard sell, though), which actually seems like a pretty good deal, but only if you are sure you will be staying predominantly at Disneyworld or a sister Disney property.
Photos
Oh Canada pavilion inside the World Showcase @ WDW
Getting autographs
Chip giving autographs
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