wattage
Registered: January 2010
Location: Richmond Virginia
Posts: 56
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Review Date: Thu April 11, 2013
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Grounds, staff, pools
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Cons:
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Location
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We stayed four nights at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort (3/31 – 4/4/13). Me, My wife and daughter stayed in a deluxe studio in the Paddock area of the resort – one building over from the new pool area. We were close to the back exit of the resort which was convenient for us as we had a car. I highly recommend having a car if staying at Saratoga as the busses take a long time to get to the parks and you are forced to waste a great deal of time waiting for the busses to pick you up.
Our studio was on the second floor directly across from the front stairwell. The room was quiet and clean. The beds were very comfortable and the towels were nice and thick. We stayed using our DVC points so we received towel and trash service only on day three. We had no mechanical issues like our last stay in October 2012. The resort has new locks that only require you to touch your card-key to the lock for it to open your room. We packed thinking we had a washer and dryer in our room, but a studio does not come with that luxury. So we had to utilize the guess laundry on two occasions. The laundry areas were free to use, and had enough washer and dryers that we never had to wait to use either.
The grounds and building of the resort are beautiful and well maintained. I’ll still only stay at Saratoga Springs ONLY if I cannot get in at any other resort, but this trip it was not a bad place for our four nights.
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kermike
Registered: October 2010
Location: Grand Island NY
Posts: 13
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Review Date: Tue April 9, 2013
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Cleanliness, Staff and Transportation
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Cons:
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Evil Black snake I ran into..
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We had the pleasure of staying from 5/30-4/6, I had checked-in online so I could request the Grandstand area since this is first on the bus stops. Staying at Grandstand, we were close by to a smaller pool which was not busy and nice because no chaos. We where traveling with friends and had the 2 bedroom Villa that fit the 8 of us very well. Having onsite laundry made the packing easier.
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bill_p
Registered: March 2013
Posts: 1
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Review Date: Mon March 25, 2013
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Quiet, very peaceful setting
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Cons:
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Maybe a bit spread out
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My family of 4 stayed in a studio for a week, and had a great time. We were in Carousel, close to the buses (and also fairly close to the Paddock pool). The room was a good size for a week's worth of clothes and supplies, and the fold-out bed was very comfortable for our kids (12 and 8). The older daughter is approaching that "teen angst" phase, and probably would have preferred a hotel with a Haunted Mansion theme, but by our 2nd morning there was talking about how much she loved the setting.
The staff was friendly. Service at the Turf Club was wonderful (Rob was our server). Buses were almost always quick to arrive.
Yes, the sections are spread out, so until you learn your way around, it can be a bit of a hike, but overall, we very much enjoyed our stay here and are looking forward to coming back.
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WingsAt46
Registered: March 2013
Location: Michigan
Posts: 3
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Review Date: Fri March 8, 2013
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Would you recommend the product? No
| Rating: 6
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Pros:
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beautiful grounds, near Downtown Disney,
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Cons:
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not enough storage space for clothing or groceries, too much noise from buses and vans
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Cons:
Our room, #3334, was overlooking an intersection and across from the Disney Vacation Club van parking. Every morning we could hear the back-up beeping of the vans, and all day the traffic of buses constantly decelerating and accelerating at the corner. Much too loud to sit on and enjoy the balcony.
The thermostat would (we discovered 2 days/nights into our stay) have to be set at 80°F to keep the place from getting below 72° - according to the dial. However, 72°should feel a LOT warmer than THAT 72°! It was freezing in our villa but we couldn't open the door wall for some warmth because of the bus noise outside. Still, I'd need to get up during the night to re-set the thermostat back up to 80° because it would not warm up the rooms until the temp hit 72°. There was just one extra blanket.
The couch really needed to be replaced. Just sitting on it (I weigh 144#) would leave a deep fold in the cushion and when my husband sat on it (200#), it almost folded in half. We simply could not be comfortable on it for long.
Now for a vacation club suite, I would think storage space would have been of greater importance. In the bedroom, there were 2 small drawers for each my husband and for me. A Hope Chest type piece had a broken drawer so we couldn't use that. There was another in the living room but we stored extra sheets and pillows in that for the pull-out bed.
The SPA portion of the resort was down for refurbishing but we were not notified of that until we read through the Welcome Packet at check-in. The Spa was one of the reasons we chose Saratoga.
Pros:
The bed was comfortable, the room darkening curtains kept the room dark, the H2O hair products were great and we had plenty of sheets and towels, coffee, shampoo (dropped off in a basket at our door each morning).
I was SO glad that we didn't buy into the Vacation Club as we had been considering!
We will not be returning to Saratoga. Every year we stay on Disney Property and have never had a complaint. Until now. It was an expensive lesson.
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toolmanjan
Registered: April 2008
Location: Toms River New Jersey
Posts: 10
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Review Date: Sun January 20, 2013
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Clean & freindly resort
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Cons:
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Transportation to parks
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We stayed (myself DW DD & DS) at SSR 1/13 to 1/20. Springs Section southern most building. Our room (2br dedicated) was in excellent condition. We disagree with the previous poster that said SSR was like a moderate resort (far from it).
The only issue we had was with bus transportation. Bus rides to and from the parks are lengthy because of the resorts size. There are 5 bus stops total. The boat service to DTD was great.
My wife was in a walking cast so we asked the front desk for a loaner wheel chair. This worked out great.
The food at Artist Palette (CS) was good. The Caprese flat bread was really good.
One of the highlights of our stay was dinner at the Turf Club B&G. Excellent food & great staff
I won’t say this resort is my favorite however we wouldn’t hesitate staying here again. We would like to try staying in the Congress Park section when we do.
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peters
Registered: January 2006
Posts: 83
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Review Date: Sun January 20, 2013
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Rooms, swimming pool, staff
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Cons:
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Large resort, bus stops
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I've avoided Saratoga for years based on many reviews I've read here and other sites. Thankfully, I was able to see first hand how beautiful this resort is during a 2 night stay in January 2013.
The rooms are spacious and nicely appointed. Cast members were very friendly & helpful, even by Disney standards and the main pool area is wonderful!
The only reason I didn't give the resort a 10 was due to the bus service. As others have stated, there are 5 stops and it takes a long time to go around that resort. While I understand why Disney has it set up this way, it definitely makes the resort seem more like a moderate. If you have a car, I would highly recommend Saratoga!
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quintenglish
Registered: January 2013
Location: Northampton, UK
Posts: 1
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Review Date: Mon January 7, 2013
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Quiet, beautiful, fantastically welcoming
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Cons:
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A bit far from the parks
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I've visited Disney World countless times as this is by far my favourite place to stay. The staff here are friendlier than anywhere else I've been, the area is gorgeous and the facilities are great. Of all the Disney resorts, this is probably the best value for money you will find.
This place is huge though - everything is very spread out, but I don't think this is a bad thing. After all, who wants to be crammed in like sardines?
The only downside is that it feels a little remote in relation to the parks, so unless you have your own car, you will be very dependent on the shuttle buses.
However, Downtown Disney is very accessible by footpath, which can be a near-perfect evening stroll if you can summon the energy.
I would absolutely recommend this hotel 100%. It's far from the most expensive Disney resort, but it's among the best.
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Andybren01
Registered: January 2006
Location: Illinois
Posts: 19
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Review Date: Sun January 6, 2013
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 5
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Pros:
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Clean room, friendly staff
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Cons:
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huge resort
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We stayed here on 11-29-12, our first villa experience. While over all it was ok, I don't know how much I would want to stay here again. Our sliding doors in our villa didn't work, the sofa was hard, the resort itself is huge. Not bad, very friendly castmembers, but just missing that extra touch.
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Rocket4D
Registered: October 2010
Location: Dallas, TX
Posts: 6
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Review Date: Mon December 17, 2012
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Would you recommend the product? No
| Rating: 4
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Pros:
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It's Disney! And good service.
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Cons:
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More like a Moderate Resort than anything else.
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The best way that I can summarize my take on Saratoga Springs is this: This is the one "Moderate" Villa Resort at Disney World. I don't really have many negatives about our stay there, but I just couldn't shake this sense of dissatisfaction with the overall experience.
My realization that SSR is more like a Moderate Resort than Deluxe Villas came when we went to go have dinner at Port Orleans - Riverside. As we got off the boat at Boatwrights, just about every one in our party looked around and said "Wow! This is really a great resort." My husband and I had the same reaction when we went to have dinner at Coronado Springs the next evening. None of us had that reaction upon arriving at Saratoga Springs, much less during the week of our stay. Nothing was particularly bad, (well, we had a bad experience with our keys not working, but that was resolved pretty quickly with the typical above-and-beyond Disney customer service), but nothing was particularly good, either.
For instance....
The rooms themselves are quite nice, if a bit run down. The sofabed in the living room area might have made a nice bed, but it was a TERRIBLE sofa.
If I were to pick a resort to be staying in when a hurricane hits, Saratoga Springs would be it. The basic construction is solid concrete. The corridors are bare (though nicely painted) concrete. It's probably due to this that the cellphone and Wi-Fi signal was almost non-existant. That sure had me confused. Why bother providing free Wi-Fi if the signal's only going to be blocked by thick concrete walls?
Saratoga Springs is huge, and has multiple bus stops to wait through. Another similarity with Moderate Resorts. I sure pitied the poor people trying to use Disney Transportation to get to and from the Treehouse Villas. Coming back from the parks, not only do they have to wait through 4 bus stops, but after that they then have to get off that bus and wait for another one to come along and take them the rest of the way.
No table service for lunch? Seriously? Artist Palette was a real circus, and The Turf Club no longer serves lunch. I guess the assumption is that anyone wanting a non-quick service lunch would go to Downtown Disney. We did that two or three times, and it was nice enough, but if you missed the boats it could make for over an hour long trip going back and forth.
I've stayed at Wilderness Lodge (both Resort and Villas), Bay Lake Tower, Beach Club, Yacht Club, Animal Kingdom Lodge. All of them have places for lunch, better transportation options, and MUCH better (i.e. comfortable) construction. Saratoga Springs simply doesn't measure up to the "Deluxe" category. It barely makes it to the "Moderate" resort level. Or maybe not even that. If I could stay at Port Orleans or Coronado Springs on DVC points, I would probably stay at one of them rather than Saratoga Springs.
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buntingd
Registered: July 2010
Location: FL
Posts: 23
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Review Date: Sat December 15, 2012
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 7
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Pros:
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great cast members, friendly, helpful
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Cons:
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spa tub not working, missing sheets, DVD not working
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We had a 1 bdrm villa in the Springs villa 3541. We checked in on 12-6 to 12-9. I did online check in. We got there about 11 and our room was not ready but was told we were going to be in one of two buildings in the Springs. We got out key cards went to get our refillable mugs and then left. About 2, I got a voice mail telling me what room we would be in. When we got back that night, we went to our room. Overall the room was fine but there were a few issues. The DVD player would not connect so my DH called down to the desk and waited over 90 for someone to come and connect it. Then we could not find the sheets, blanket and pillows for the pullout sofa so another phone call and wait of 45 minutes for them to bring them. The last thing was the whirlpool tub did not work. Which was a big disappointment was I really wanted to use if after a day of walking around the parks. All cast members were great. This is not our home resort but we have stayed here before. We most likely will stay again because we do like the resort.
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disneyfanatics
Registered: December 2012
Posts: 1
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Review Date: Sun December 9, 2012
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Would you recommend the product? No
| Rating: 4
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Pros:
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Quiet
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Cons:
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Too large, too spread out, no Disney feel.
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We rented points and stayed in a studio room for 7 nights. We knew this was a large resort prior to booking but did not know just how disconnected we would feel from everything. We were in the Congress Park section. We had requested Congress Park facing Downtown Disney but ended up facing a parking lot instead which, while disappointing, was fine as we knew requests were not guaranteed. The room was clean except for a ton of black mold I noticed on the inside of the shower curtain rings. Nasty looking to put it mildly. We visited the Congress Park quiet pool a couple of times and found it to be very pleasant and peaceful. We went to the Artists Palette once to pick up our refillable mugs but never returned to refill them as it would have meant driving over to do so. For anyone looking to feel far removed from all things Disney at the end of the day, this resort would do just fine. We will definitely choose a different resort for our next vacation.
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winnie77
Registered: February 2007
Posts: 8
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Review Date: Sat December 8, 2012
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Peaceful
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Cons:
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none
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Another great stay at this resort. Stayed from 11/27-11/5 in a 2 bedroom in the springs section. I didn't care for this section, it is the last bus stop and in the morning the buses can be full by the time it gets to this stop. Also when you sat out on the balcony you heard and saw everything go by. The only advantage to this section is how close it is to the main house. However the room, was in wonderful condition and the people we took with us was very impressed with the entire room. There was plenty of room for 4 people. I prefer to be in Congress Park and on 12/5-12/7, we downgraded to a deluxe studio in Congress Park w a view of Downtown Disney. Love this much better much more quiet. This room too was in fine condition. I still love this resort. I still love being on Disney property but once you are at this resort you feel like you are a million miles away from everything. Will go back again and again.
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Disney6Pack
Registered: January 2009
Location: Zachary, LA
Posts: 23
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Review Date: Tue December 4, 2012
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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everything
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Cons:
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nothing
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Stayed three nights in a deluxe studio 11/18 – 11/21 on rented vacation club points. My group was me, DD15, DD13, and DD10. Stayed previous night at the Art of Animation Resort and moved to SS around 10am. Had done online check-in 10 days prior with special requests of ground floor in The Springs section. The day prior to the trip my DD10 had sprained her ankle. At check-in, they had a room ready, but it was on the ground floor of The Carrousel section. I explained the situation with my daughter and asked if we could have something on the ground floor in The Springs as I had requested so we could be close to food and main pool. I also asked if I could get a wheelchair for her. The CM was very friendly and said that they would try to open up a first floor room in The Springs, but she didn't know how long it would take. She gave me a free wheelchair to use during our stay. I said I didn't mind waiting and we would probably go to the park while we waited. Left to go to a park and within the hour received a text message with our new room assignment.
Since this was a short trip, we didn't spend much time at the resort. Room was very clean. Towel Mickey was on the bed. This was my first stay in a studio, so I wasn’t completely sure what to expect with the size. There was enough space and storage for four people for a three night stay, but if we would have had more clothes then we wouldn’t have had enough room. I tried the sofa sleeper and found it a bit uncomfortable myself, but DD15 and DD13 slept on it and said it was fine. The only tv we watched as maybe a few hours of the Disney channel, so I didn't really notice anything about the channel selection. TV reception seemed fine to me. Room stayed very cold and I had to turn up the temp in the mornings so that everyone would get out of bed. It ran at night even while we slept, so I don't think we had a motion sensor in our room. Had two laptops and two ipod touches. We had no trouble connecting to the wi-fi. We have verizon family plan with four phones and no trouble with reception in the room. Kids were able to text and talk with no issues. This was my first time staying on points and I knew I would not have maid service. At check-in, the CM told me I would have enough supplies for three days. The room only contained a one day supply of towels though. I did not call to complain. We just reused our towels to stay green. We had our own beach towels which we also used. Everything seemed to work well such as the microwave, refrigerator, coffee pot and toaster. Didn’t use the hair dryer. The safe in these rooms are still the old ones with a key to lock and unlock – no problem with that. Our room was a lock-off that connected to the next room. One morning I heard only a little bit of noise, but nothing that concerned me. Heard nothing from outside the room and could not hear any toilets or showers. Rarely even saw anyone outside in our section when we were coming and going. Parking lot was probably three quarters full, but never had a problem finding a parking spot near our room.
Did not go to any of the food areas or the gift shop so I have no comments on those areas. Did not use the bus because we had a car and a wheelchair. Driving was much easier with the wheelchair. We did not get to explore the resort the way we usually like to because my DD was in a lot of pain. We did go swimming and to the hot tub one night. The hot tub felt great. Two older DDs went in the pool, but said it was a bit too cool. We were at the pool around 10pm and there was no one else there. It was very cool weather during our trip this year. I was very impressed with the entire resort and everyone that we dealt with. They all seemed to be happy and enjoying their jobs. Checked out at around 10am and returned the wheelchair (again CM was great).
I love staying at Disney resorts and I would recommend this one to anyone. Disney always provides that extra magic. I probably won't stay here again for a while because it's my goal to try all of the Disney resorts, but I do look forward to eventually coming back.
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xoktenox
Registered: August 2008
Location: Long Island
Posts: 14
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Review Date: Mon November 26, 2012
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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beautiful landscaping, clean, close to DTD
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Cons:
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sometimes buses were less than efficient
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We stayed at SSR in a studio villa on DVC points (borrowed from a friend) for our honeymoon from October 31-November 10. We enjoyed ourselves so much. SSR was a beautiful, clean, albeit large resort. We requested to stay in the Congress Park section, on the 2nd floor and both of our requests were met. We had an obstructed view of DTD but could clearly see the Characters in Flight balloon from our balcony. The short 5-7 minute walk to DTD from our room was wonderful. It got chilly a few nights that we were there but the brisk walk to DTD for some dinner to bring back to our room was excellent. We also love having the kitchenette in the studios. For 2 adults, this is more than enough for us to store some milk, water and beer, as well as to toast bagels or have a bowl of cereal in the morning for breakfast. This resort is definitely large and I can see how being in one of the outlier areas of SSR could be frustrating for a guest. However, we had no such complaints with our location.
Artist's Palette was an adequate counter service food court for my husband and I. We ate breakfast here once and lunch twice, ordering different items each time and enjoyed everything. There's not a huge selection to choose from but we certainly didn't feel like there was something we wanted that we couldn't have because it wasn't available there. We sat outside for lunch and had our food brought right to our table in a timely matter which was very nice. We did laundry for free and also enjoyed the pool and hot tub too.
My husband and I had a rental car for the last week of our trip but relied on buses for transportation from Wednesday until we picked the car up on Saturday. The buses could sometimes be less than efficient. I'll say our longest wait was probably 25 minutes for a bus but on average it was more like 15 minutes each time. It wasn't a huge deal to us and didn't put us in a bad mood but it is worth noting since it was, at times, annoying. We never were turned away from a bus because of it being full and we only ever had to stand on a bus coming back from the parks at night. Otherwise, they were usually on the empty side.
My husband and I overall loved our stay at SSR. We enjoyed it so much we purchased DVC with SSR as our home resort while we were there! We can't wait to return and wouldn't hesitate to stay at SSR again.
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tjm6515
Registered: May 2009
Location: Jax, FL
Posts: 41
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Review Date: Mon November 19, 2012
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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themeing, clean, quiet
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Cons:
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bus service, food choices in resort, distance from parks
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We stayed during the 2012 Wine & Dine half-marathon weekend. We stayed as non DVC members (i.e. guests). The resort was beautifully themed and enjoyed the lush landscape. Our room was a deluxe studio wit queen bed and fold out couch. Room was plenty big for two adults. More than 2 adults and one child and it would be cramped quarters. Rom was very clean and all staff was very friendly. Also being close to DTD (can walk or boat), we were able to spend some time at 'The Festival of the Masters' at DTD. Had we planned better, the room had a mini fridge, toaster, and microwave and may have been able to make some in room meals.
The cons, bus service to Magic Kingdom was lousy. We waited at the Congress Park bus stop, we had no fewer than 3 buses for the other parks show up until finally a Magic Kingdom bus arrived. I theorize this is due to the distance from SSR to MK, took nearly 20 minutes from bus stop to MK.
The last con was the in-resort food selection. Artist's Palette’s food was good but service was lousy. Only one register open so had to wait in line a long time to order food, then took 15 minutes to receive your food once ordered, that is if you could find a place to sit as the dining area was small. The other food option (Turf Club) was fair and prices were unreasonable for meals.
All in all, would recommend this resort if you are using your own vehicle for transport to MK or staying at this event as a host resort to a runDisney event. During the race, charter buses were used for participants and showed up every 15 minutes.
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