Originally Posted By RoadTrip We just returned from our Thanksgiving week trip to WDW. It wasn't the best visit I've ever had. At 7 days it was relatively short compared to the 10-12 days I've become accustomed to. It was also of course much more crowded than when we usually go in January. On the other hand, Thanksgiving Day was probably the single most memorable day I've ever had at WDW, so I certainly can't complain. One thing that I was pleased with from beginning to end was our accommodations at Saratoga Springs Resort. It was our first visit to SSR after buying points there last January, adding to the Boardwalk points we've had for about 8 years. We really love the Boardwalk, so it was going to take a pretty darned good experience to impress us. When we purchased the SSR points we assumed we would usually use them at the Boardwalk. The 11 month/7 month booking window thing really makes no difference when you visit in January. But of course we also had to give Saratoga Springs a try and I am very glad we did. I'll get one thing out of the way right at the start. Saratoga Spring's location is not as good as the Boardwalk. But in my opinion no other DVC resort will ever come close to being as good as the Boardwalk as far as location goes. No, not even the Contemporary Villas. From there you can just walk to one theme park. From the Boardwalk you can walk to two theme parks. In just about every other way I preferred SSR to the Boardwalk. Those who claim that SSR is the first "moderate" DVC resort have clearly never stayed in one of the rooms. Yes, the walkways are outside. They are covered and in some cases enclosed on all sides, but they are "outside". But all you need to do is step inside a villa to see where they spent whatever money they saved on outdoor walkways. I have never seen a DVC resort with such upscale furnishings and fixtures. Granite countertops in the kitchen and bathroom. Granite breakfast bar. Granite shelf and ledge in the shower to hold shampoo etc. Disney used Kohler fixtures throughout the unit. The ceilings are 9-10 feet high (I didn't measure) and have a crown molding border at about the 8 foot level. And what really blew me away... Thomasville furniture throughout. Do you guys know how danged much that stuff costs? I wish I could afford to furnish my house with Thomasville! There were many nice touches that I had not previously seen at Disney. The water hot/cold control for the shower was not beneath the showerhead where you usually find it. It was directly inside the door to the shower so that you could easily turn it on and check water temperature without having to actually enter the shower. A small touch, but a nice one. The kitchen sink was extra deep and under-mounted. Again a small touch, but a nice one. There were many others I noticed that I won’t bother to detail here. If there is a choice between spending more on the halls or more inside the villas I'll take the villas any time. I truly did feel like I was staying at an upscale resort, which is not always the case at Disney's Deluxe and DVC hotels. I really appreciated that they had a counter service eating area in addition to the more formal table service restaurant, the Turf Club Bar and Grill. That has been my primary complaint about the Boardwalk. You have more eating options than at almost any other resort on property, but absolutely nothing in the way of a counter service restaurant or food court. I really appreciated the options provided by SSR. In addition to the counter service restaurant, they have a large "grab and go" selection of ready to go sandwiches, pastries, deserts, etc. I had one of the sandwiches and it was very fresh... it was without a doubt prepared and within a few hours of when I bought it (pretty easy to tell on a sandwich with lettuce and tomato). We dined at the Turf Club twice and were very pleased with the quality of the food. Apparently many other people were too. Although we made reservations the first evening, the second time we dined there it was spur of the moment without reservations... we had to wait over an hour for a table. I have never seen a DVC resort restaurant that popular before... if you want to eat there, get reservations. As for the location... it isn't the Boardwalk, but it really isn't bad. It is much closer to Epcot than the monorail resorts are. It is about same distance to the Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom as you get with the Epcot resorts. One great advantage is if you want to visit other Disney hotels for dining, which we frequently do. From many parts of the resort you are in easy walking distance (5-15 minutes) from Downtown Disney. This allows SSR guests to get to any other Disney resort with just ONE bus trip, not two. As far as bus service to the parks goes, I thought it was more than acceptable. Although there are 5 stops within the resort, you do not share a bus with any other resort. This meant relatively un-crowded busses and quick transit times compared to other DVC resorts. Even at the Boardwalk, if you need to take a bus (MK, AK); you have to share the bus with The Swan and The Dolphin and The Yacht Club and The Beach Club. And let me tell you, that takes FAR more time than stopping a few times in the same resort. We never waited more than 5 minutes for a bus at SSR. Maybe we were lucky. Maybe they had more busses running because it was Thanksgiving week. I would never claim our experience to be typical, but clearly the bus service seemed very good. What else can I say? There are of course great recreational opportunities available with the best Spa on Disney property, the Lake Buena Vista golf course wrapped around the resort, and probably the best pool at any resort that is not a DVC "add on". I think the Saratoga Springs and Resort is one of DVC’s best offerings.
Originally Posted By Sport Goofy << And what really blew me away... Thomasville furniture throughout. Do you guys know how danged much that stuff costs? I wish I could afford to furnish my house with Thomasville! >> I'm sure the furniture is nice, but Thomasville is not much more than a mid-grade furniture maker these days. I'm not even sure they manufacture any furniture in the U.S. anymore, although they still have showrooms in North Carolina furniture country. They have a huge contract furniture business for the hospitality industry, which generally provides furniture that isn't the same stuff you would buy for your home. I wouldn't necessarily consider the Thomasville brand to be any sort of premium product, although they do a good job of marketing themselves that way to the masses.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip ^^^ Hmmm... disappointing. The parents of my best friend in High School owned a furniture store carrying high-end furniture. At the time two of the top brands were Drexel and Thomasville. How things change...
Originally Posted By jmuboy WOW, as a DVC owner I may have to give SSR a second look. Never stayed there or been in a room, only visited the common areas. Thanks for the report.
Originally Posted By Dznygrl Thanks for the report! We bought into SSR last April and will be staying there for our first time in three (count 'em, THREE!) days. We did get a chance to see the model of the one bedroom that they built over at Disneyland, and were quite impressed. I'm very excited about staying there! We also have reservations at the Turf Club, so I'm glad to hear that the food is good.
Originally Posted By TDLFAN >>so it was going to take a pretty darned good experience to impress us.<< Just going anywhere outside of MN would accomplish the same.
Originally Posted By DVC_dad -^^^^^ LOL I agree with you Trippy. The resort really does have a little nicer furnishings, and while the Thomasville stuff may not be what it used to be, the Thomasville stuff in SSR is as good as "hotel" furniture can be. I know, I spent a night on a sofa sleeper with a sick child last year. Like I said I agree with everything you claim about SSR, I have 200 points there. HOWEVER I still greatly prefer Boardwalk to any other DVC property. And as for counter service, my god man, you can get room service from the boardwalk restaurants, and you can WALK into the world showcase of Epcot! (Epcot back gate). Heck, man just go get liquored up at the bar by the pool, who needs counter service. Ok I'm kidding. That has been MY chief complaint about Boardwalk too, with 6 kids its a really big deal. But alas, while I love SSR, and hate Beach Club, and, most often book OKW due to room size, my favorite is still Boardwalk and not just by a little. I live for room service to deliver Buffalo Wings from ESPN grill when at BWV!
Originally Posted By DVC_dad SSR has the BST Halloween party of all the resorts IMHO, a pool party a movie, its fun.
Originally Posted By jmuboy Does everyone hate the BC Hotel and the BC Villas? I do.....just checking to see what others thought.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<But alas, while I love SSR, and hate Beach Club, and, most often book OKW due to room size, my favorite is still Boardwalk and not just by a little.>> My wife would probably agree with you. Although she also agrees with everything I wrote, she is a HUGE Boardwalk fan and that will always be her favorite. You'll notice that I did not use 'we' in the following sentence: <<In just about every other way I preferred SSR to the Boardwalk.>> She likes SSR enough though that she has no problem with the idea of alternating between Boardwalk and SSR every other trip. I really like quiet, laid-back resorts; which is probably why my other favorite resorts are Old Key West and the Wilderness Cabins at Fort Wilderness. Those resorts get me away from the craziness of the parks during peak periods like last week. At the Boardwalk, the craziness comes home with you... kind of like the ghosts at Haunted Mansion. I will certainly give the nod to Boardwalk if you are looking for late evening entertainment. My only complaint about SSR is that the Turf Club dining room closes at 9 or 10 PM; the Turf Club Bar and Artist's Palette (counter service dining) both close at 11 PM. During a period like last week when the MK is open until at least midnight every night, it would be nice to come back to the resort and get a bit to eat and a drink. I know that Downtown Disney is just minutes away with restaurants open until 2:00 AM, but after a day in the parks I don't like dealing with the craziness and crowds there.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 While I agree with much of what Trippy said about Saratoga Springs (especially about the dining and spa there), which frankly gets a bad rap because it isn't next to a park, I have to disagree about the furnishings. Thomasville is hardly upscale ... unless you shop at ... WalMart. My advice is if you really want to see what an upscale timeshare looks like stay at one of the lovely Hyatt Vacation Clubs like in Bonita Springs or Key West ... or the Hilton VC on the Strip in Vegas ... the DVC units will look quite downmarket compared to those. (oh, and let's not even talk about the new Four Seasons entry at the very high end!)
Originally Posted By RoadTrip OK, OK. Got it on the furniture. Last time I was familiar with Thomasville it WAS considered high end. It isn't now. I found a Thomasville furniture client list and they are huge with Best Western and Comfort Inn and Suites. On the other hand, they also list Hiltons and Marriott’s among their customers. At Disney World the Contemporary and the Swan are listed as clients in addition to Saratoga Springs. The collection used is listed as "Custom" so Disney apparently has it made to its own specifications. I would hope they are high, but of course there is no way to tell.
Originally Posted By DVC_dad I would love to try those higher end time shares especially the really high end Four Seasons, unfortunately I only use timeshares at WDW. At this point its "paid for" so unless I sell, I'm locked in. I realize there are far nicer places to stay Spirit. But I don't own any of those.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 For the record - Thomasville - while now a diversified company, still makes many collections - in premium woods and craftsmanship -- some bedroom sets still in the $10,000 - $12,000+ range and beyond-and dining rooms not far behind -- if that is Wal Mart - they've come a long way... let's not trash the whole brand - while they ( Furniture Brands) certainly have opened up a lucrative - assembly line - grouping also ( Creative Interiors)- they also make top line furniture right there will snob appeal Ethan Allen. However the high end furniture lines have taken a beating in the last 10 years -- with most people clamoring for low cost - lower quality goods. one such example: <a href="http://hemingway.thomasville.com/" target="_blank">http://hemingway.thomasville.c om/</a> the writers desk and chair are over $3000 so Spirit-- when can I add pieces to this at Wal Mart ? The Creative Interiors division that sells to Target and Wal Mart doesn't make the high end stuff...
Originally Posted By vbdad55 p.s. - they've also just hired a top exec away from Ethan Allen.... to try and revitalize the top end lines image etc...however with the economy the way it is today -- that is one uphill job
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<For the record - Thomasville - while now a diversified company, still makes many collections - in premium woods and craftsmanship -->> Thanks vbdad. I can't claim to have experience with the brand recently, but Thomasville has long been known (I thought) as a premium brand. I also realize that a division of Thomasville is making ready-to-assemble furniture for Target. So what? Until recently, a division of the same company that produced Mercedes Benz also produced Dodges. I do have some knowledge of furniture. I worked in the furniture store owned by my friend's parents the whole way through High School. And the furniture at Saratoga Springs seemed to me to be better quality than what I had seen at some other DVC resorts. Nothing more. Nothing less.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip Hmmm... I copy/pasted the wrong stuff. This post contains a bit more information than the last... <<For the record - Thomasville - while now a diversified company, still makes many collections - in premium woods and craftsmanship -->> Thanks vbdad. I can't claim to have experience with the brand recently, but Thomasville has long been known (I thought) as a premium brand. I also realize that a division of Thomasville is currently making ready-to-assemble furniture for Target. So what? Until recently, a division of the same company that produced Mercedes Benz also produced Dodges (which I like but realize are not a Mercedes Benz). I do have some knowledge of furniture. I worked in the furniture store owned by my friend's parents the whole way through High School. I have also retained an interest in high-end furniture, even though I rarely buy it. Most of the furniture in my home comes from places like HOM and Schneiderman’s. They are upper-middle to lower-high end furniture stores in the Twin Cities. At times I’ve seen Thomasville there. When I have, it has been quite expensive. My statements were based on my experience. Nothing more, nothing less.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<the writers desk and chair are over $3000 so Spirit-- when can I add pieces to this at Wal Mart ? The Creative Interiors division that sells to Target and Wal Mart doesn't make the high end stuff...>> Hey, I never said I was a furniture expert. My stuff cost far less ... but I know quality-wise it's better than most of what I have long considered Thomasville to be. And while the furnishings at SS are hardly crap. I think they're quite nice. They are not high end in any way, shape or form.
Originally Posted By MPierce Well if it's not linoleum topped alluminum trim tabels with vinyl chairs it's high end to me. How I love the look of a Naugahyde seating group with simulated wood accessories, and a shag area carpet rug. We had some good friends stay at the SSR, and they really liked it. That view across the bay of Downtown Disney, has got to be fantastic at night.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<So what? Until recently, a division of the same company that produced Mercedes Benz also produced Dodges (which I like but realize are not a Mercedes Benz)>> Well, you get some points, Trippy. But as someone whose last American car was a Dodge (after I said I'd never buy another Ford or GM product) and as someone who drives a Mercedes now, I can say the two are similar like Six Flags and Disney. Why do people who aren't right-wing wackjobs buy American automobiles when in 2007 the quality is maybe 15% better than it was in 1987? (lights the wick and runs ...)
