Help with a resort

With the MVT rates out for Labor Day, we’re looking to splurge a bit. Trying to decide between Beach Club, Poly, Contemporary and Grand Floridian. We are frequenters of Beach Club and it’s usually our go to resort, and with September being so hot and Stormalong Bay so wonderful, it seems like a good fit. But wondering if we should branch out a bit. We did Contemporary in June, but DH has never been and I think he would enjoy it. DS has never been to Poly and we haven’t done it since our honeymoon 16 years ago - DS thinks it ‘looks really cool’. And none of us have stayed in the Grand Floridian. Anybody have any votes amongst the 4 and a reason that would push one ahead of the others? It’s only 4 nights, so we’ll probably hit all 4 parks at some point.

I have not stayed at any of those (not through a lack of trying).

This truely comes down to personal taste / preference. I would say as you stay at Beach - perhaps you branch somewhere else. Of the 3 remaining Contemporary is the least appealing. As a child I SO wanted to stay at the Contemporary. In the 70’s it still was “WOW” - now not so much IMHO.

So between POLY and GF. I personally have a pension for the elegance of GF. Some see it as stuffy - I see it as refinement.

The Poly is a classic in its own right and its position next to the TTC makes it even more convenient to EPCOT

Of the 3 however - If budget is not of concern - I would probably stay at GF

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Interesting! Thanks. I agree on the Contemporary. DS loved it because he had never been to a monorail resort and that was very cool for him. We stayed on the Chef Mickey side and it was LOUD! I think DH would like the finishes, which is why I think he would lean there.

But every time those commercials come on with the Grand Floridian…that would be pretty cool.

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You really can’t go wrong with any of them. I personally find the resort to be much more than a place to sleep. I see it as a respite from the hectics of the day. If the contemporary had more interesting grounds - I may say contemporary - but the vastness of concrete is not appealing to me.

Poly always makes me think of when the Brady Bunch went to Hawaii and having been to Hawaii - would rather spend my time at a place like GF. OK it is settled @FindMeAFishingSpot is going to send me to GF!!! HA

I’ve stayed at the CR and I found it just to sterile for my liking; it’s no different than any number of upper-end hotels I’ve stay at for various conferences I’ve attended. If I could afford to stay in the tower with a park view I might have a different opinion, but I wouldn’t stay in the garden wings again. I’ve not stayed at any of the others (but have been to all of the multiple times)Of those, I would choose BC because of it’s location next to EP. As 1 to 1 1/2 days is about all I can take of the MK, being on the mono loop holds no real appeal for me. Between the Poly and the GF, I would probably choose the latter, simply because the theme appeals to me more.

AKL is my “go to” on the rare occasion that I stay deluxe. I would choose WL or BW as alternates to AKL before I chose any on your list. In all honesty, I don’t spend a lot of time at the resort, so most of the time I stay at POP or SOG, and use the money I save on signature dinners…

We can’t praise GF enough. It was a dream to stay there and it came true this year. Can’t compare it to any other resorts because that’s our only holiday to WDW. But I can say that we had high expectations and it well and truly lived up to and surpassed those expectations. We loved it. Whatever you choose I know you’ll have a magical time.

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Well the logical first and most important question is whether any of these sacred spaces will be defiled by the canine species…

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Huh?

I’m guessing that was a chat carryover! I’d love to see a puppy at the resort…we missed ours horribly when we went (not enough to take him with us mind you…but we do FaceTime him when he stays with my parents!).

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I completely agree with @bswan26 about the sterile feeling the Contemporary has. Also, we travelled as a large family with 9 kids under 10. We were put on a very high floor and were terrified that one of the kids would escape and lean too far over the railing. While we haven’t stayed at the Poly or Grand Floridian, we did have meals there. The Grand Floridian felt a bit outdated to me. I’m not sure how the individual rooms are, but the lobby area just seemed older. The Poly was super fun! In fact, we are staying there during our December trip and I cannot wait!

If you like food and dining out then Beach Club every time I would say

If you can park hop then nothing beats dining in epcot in the evenings after a day in one of the other parks. Plus boardwalk nearby and Hollywood Brown derby in HS nearby as well

To be fair, the theme of the Grand Floridian is “out-dated”. Mary Poppins was set some time ago now :grinning:

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HAHAHAHA! Agreed! I have seen a lot of folks say that the love GF, but when we visited I wasn’t feeling it. Maybe I should give it another chance.

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I have never stayed at the GF but I have stayed at the Poly and the YC and BC. You have the monorail at the Poly and you have Ohana’s. At the BC you have Cape May’s Café. If you like Sea Food especially Crab Legs, this is not to be missed. Also the International Gateway let’s you walk to and from Epcot. Not so happy with the Monorail at this stage. Seems to be broke down a lot. Now if you don’t want to spend all that money for a Deluxe resort, you have two choices. Go through the travel agency Magical Vacations Travel and save a bundle and or try the Port of New Orleans Riverside or French Quarter for a change. That’s where we stay and we love it. Has boat service to Disney Springs. DocHopper

The GF is meant to be a late 19th century Florida resort architecturally - by design it is outdated if one wants to view it that way. I found the lobby immaculate though - it wasn’t worn at all and in need of a refurb etc. It is a very Victorian type feel which may or may not appeal to some.

We loved the GF - would definitely stay there again if $ was no issue. Poly and Beach Club are on our short list to consider for our next visit if we can find the right deal so it’s hard to go wrong with any of those choices. If you plan to hit MK hard, it is tough to beat the convenience of the Poly/GF, but if you envision more time at Epcot then Beach offers a lot of pluses.

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Interestingly, the exterior appears to be modeled after the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego…

https://hoteldel.com/about/photo-videos/hotel-del-coronado/

I’ve been to this hotel many times…

Yes, the Coronado being a prime example of a “Victorian Beach resort” from the late 19th century. Wikipedia also claims the Mount Washington Resort in NH (Mount Washington Hotel - Wikipedia) as an exterior design influence (similar to Coronado) and the Belleview-Biltmore in Belleview, FL (Belleview-Biltmore Hotel - Wikipedia) as a general design influence. The Belleview-Biltmore is now closed and mostly demolished. Overall I think the GF is a nice callback to those old Victorian hotels…