Reviews of Saratoga Springs Resort (Disney Vacation Club)
Reviewed by Joel0917 Review Date: 09/26/2018
Rating: (8) Recommended
We've stayed in the paddock section probably a dozen times. We always rent a car as the buses can get pretty packed and slow. Rooms are great and the resort is pretty quiet. I've had studios and one bedrooms there. Never a problem with the rooms. The main pool is cool but we prefer the Paddock pool area. Nice water area for kids.
Pros:
Proximity to Disney Springs. Short walk there.Cons:
Buses. Very slowReviewed by Colleen Review Date: 09/26/2018
Rating: (7) Recommended
This is a beautiful resort, but it is very large and spread out. The rooms are dated and a little worn, but even though we had heard some bad reviews our room was perfectly fine. We had a car, but the few times we used the buses we had very short waits. We had done online check-in but we did stop at the main building to leave our bags with bell services and later to pick up our bags, attach our credit cards to our magic bands, and pick up refillable mugs. All the cms there were very friendly and helpful, but we never went back there as it was too far a walk from our room. We loved being able to walk to Disney Springs to dine and shop in the evenings, but this can be quite a walk from some locations.
Pros:
beautiful, peaceful resort nice pools close to Disney SpringsCons:
huge resort rooms are dated and wornReviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 09/26/2018
Rating: (7) Recommended
We stayed in a two bedroom villa in the Paddock section. This is a lovely resort with beautiful grounds. The décor in our room was dated and the carpet a bit worn, but there was really nothing wrong with it at all. We were close to the Paddock pool which we really enjoyed. There was a bus stop right in front of our building, and we had excellent bus service when we needed it. We did have a vehicle, and it was great to be able to park right by the resort. The only drawback to this resort is that it is huge. We had chosen to stay here for the first half of the trip to take advantage of the restaurants at Disney Springs, and although we did walk there every night it was a very long walk from our room. We were also quite far away from the main building and only stopped there once when driving back from the parks.
Pros:
beautiful resort close to Disney SpringsCons:
very large and spread out dated decorReviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 09/26/2018
Rating: (8) Recommended
A reservation at Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa brought to mind luxury and we were excited for the experience. We stayed in a one bedroom villa-preferred. The location was perfect! There was only a short walk to Disney Springs and transportation was reliable and very efficient. The villa itself was immaculate, well-stocked, and lovely. There is definitely a \"horse\" theme to the resort, with a carriage house, bronze horses, old fashioned lamps, and amazing landscape. We had a full kitchen, a whirlpool bath, shower and beautiful décor.
Pros:
Beautiful and inviting. Convenient to Disney Springs. Loved the boat rides for transportation!Cons:
Very uncomfortable sofa bed. Had to ask Mousekeeping for a mattress pad to cover the coils in the sofa. I think these sofa beds have been replaced since our last visit. however. Mousekeeping was great and responded quickly to our request.Reviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 09/26/2018
Rating: (8) Recommended
like the fact that it is a quiet place to stay..nice rooms and good bus service
Pros:
close to Disney SpringsCons:
fartherest away from parksReviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 09/25/2018
Rating: (9) Recommended
Everytime we have gone lately, we stay at SSR. We find it quiet, peaceful and serene. We usually make a building request and it is granted. It is a very large resort with studio, one-, two-bedroom villas, as well as, a grand villa. Many pools since the resort is massive. We only stay here! Also the fact that you are just a stroll away from Disney Springs. Couldn't ask for more.
Pros:
quietness, peacefulness, serene, many choices of accommodations, good food court, close proximity to Disney SpringsCons:
If you want to stay closer to the 'bubble', this resort may not be for you.Reviewed by JessicaBonnell Review Date: 02/13/2018
Rating: (5) Recommended
This was out first stay at Saratoga Springs. We stayed in a studio, in The Springs area. The location in relation to the bus stop/main pool/Carriage House was great! It was a 20 second walk from our building to the buses!
The room was a huge bummer. We only stayed in one room, so maybe we just got a dud. It was very outdated, there is still an entertainment center with a square cut out, with a rectangular television. the drawer knobs were broken...hanging off. But, the worst part was the bathroom. It was much more spacious than most. But, there was carpet in the sink area. Gross. There was mold on both ends of the fabric shower curtain, the bathroom floor was dirty, and the bathroom door was sticky to the touch, I wiped it down with clorox wipes, more than once. It was NOT up to the standard I have come to expect from WDW.
We did rent a surrey bike one day, and went all around the resort. It was so much fun!
If the room was updated, the resort would have been more more enjoyable.
Pros:
lovely grounds, beautiful exteriors, nice pools, friendly staffCons:
outdated decor, grimy room, very little selection QS and gift shop, multiple bus stopstReviewed by annat856 Review Date: 11/20/2017
Rating: (9) Recommended
My party of 6 had a wonderful vacation the first week of September. Now that my kids are teens and young adults we really need the amount of space that a 2 bedroom villa offers. I must say that this was one of my favorite trips we really loved our villa and that it was steps from the paddock pool was wonderful. Check in went fast too fast the girl was new and she failed to do a crucial step to activate our bands. They had staff come to us as we waited in the hall and go fix the bands and return them to us so we wouldn't need to run back and forth to fix everything. The grill at the paddock pool had a nice selection of food and we ate there a few times. We checked the news periodically to see if we would need to leave early due to Hurricane Irma. We ended up checking out a day early friday the 8th instead of the 9th. We were refunded the extra day. Our car trip home was crazy and long!! Glad we drove though cause flights were grounded and many people were stranded. Loved Saratoga Springs!
Pros:
beautiful resort, helpful staffCons:
far from the parksReviewed by maddox4 Review Date: 11/15/2017
Rating: (0) Recommended
My husband (56) and I (54) stayed here in a studio the end of Sept. We received a text on our way in the car around 4pm that our room was ready so we didn’t have to go check in at all….seamless entry into our room with Magic Bands from our last Disney trip in March17. DH is a stroke survivor and while we don’t need wheelchair accommodations, we had requested a ground floor room close to the main pool and gym and received just that. It also had a wheelchair type shower and sink and while very thoughtful (increased the size of the bathroom exponentially) , it shrunk up the bedroom and left no counter space in the bathroom. I ended up setting the ironing board in the bathroom to hold our toiletries, etc. The room was spotless, furnishings starting to show a little wear but nothing bad. This was our literal “Disney on a dime†trip! We had booked the accommodations thru David’s DVC rentals for September (value season), chose to not go to a single park, ate breakfast in our room daily and we had one of the best trips we have ever taken to Disney. This was the perfect resort to accomplish that challenge for us. Quiet, beautiful scenery within just a short walk to Disney Springs and boat connection service to Port Orleans, great gym (which my DH used daily) and walking paths for me. While I love the parks, it was so relaxing to not have to be on a schedule and we used our car to visit other resorts for meals, shopping, etc. Many have commented the resort is too boring but we have stayed here at least 4 times and wouldn’t hesitate to come back.
Pros:
quietCons:
none for usReviewed by liltinksmom Review Date: 09/18/2017
Rating: (6) Recommended
We checked in Sept 6th around 6pm. NO wait. The person at check in seemed a little off or flustered, he didn't even have us set up our magic bands with a pin....thank goodness we didn't head out to dinner without them activated with a pin! (We went to the gift shop to pick up our mugs and that is when we were told we would have to go back to the front desk to activate it and set up a pin.... ugh ok.) We had already requested through our travel agent and upon my parents check in on Monday the 4th of Sept. that we be VERY near one another. They told my parents that they had it already set up. However, upon my check in there was no such record and even though we were in the same building and on the same floor we were VERY far apart. My mother was NOT happy, I just said that it was fine. (Not really, but what else could I do?) We went to Disney Springs for dinner and ate at Art Smiths Homecoming, and it was really good! DO NOT attempt to walk from DS to the Grandstand area of SS...it was a LONG walk!!!!!! I am sure that there was a quicker way, but we couldn't figure it out.
Our room was really nice and I liked the separate bath/sinks.
We just happened to arrive before Hurricane Irma, which also put a damper on our trip. We were scheduled to go home on Sunday the 10th, but my husband (back in NC) convinced us on Thursday night that we needed to head back home Friday morning! 🙁 We only got to stay Wed nt and Thurs nt...so didn't become really familiar with surroundings.
Upon check out we encountered another "OFF" employee. This was to the point of another employee telling her....you have a guest...to which she replied, "I know." (She had never acknowledged us in any way) I was already unhappy that I was having to leave early and you could tell she wasn't happy to wait on me or my Mom. ( I truly AM sorry that the employees were having to work knowing a hurricane was coming, I don't mean to sound cruel). We asked her several times if we would receive some sort of refund for at least our room portion. She said that she was sure we would....Not really the answer I was looking for, ya know? Still waiting for a credit to appear on my credit card...ugh!
All in all I am going to sum it up that I did enjoy the rooms, but will probably not stay here again....
