Making Deluxe Resorts More Affordable

[clyde106]

Hi all!

We're looking to book our 2022 holiday soon and really want to stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge again. We last stayed at AKL in 2017 and it was around £1,800 each for 2 weeks including flights with TUI. I've just done a dummy booking with TUI, BA, and VA and it's now more like £4,000+ each!

So how do people make this more affordable? Are deluxe resorts just that price now? Is there a certain time I should book or look at booking hotel and flight separate? Do people stay at a lower-cost resort for most of the time and just do a few nights in deluxe?

I've seen that you can buy DVC points and do it that way. Do you think this lowers the cost?

I'd love to hear from anyone who's stayed in a deluxe recently and has any tips!

[123]

Well your flights are probably £600 of the cost, so that's £2,400 for the hotel. Or £171 a night which in my view makes it only just expensive enough to be considered a deluxe hotel.

This is just what good hotels cost, there are only really two options, expand your budget or reduce your expectations

I went onto the website to do a dummy room booking for a random two week period next year and the cheapest I can find 2 weeks in an all-star budget resort is £1900 (or £138 a night) so if you really are getting an option to book a deluxe at £171 a night I would be snapping their arms off...

[elise]

Have you looked at renting DVC points through somewhere like David’s Vacation Club rentals or from the DVC forum on here ?
I have done it 3 times , but I think it’s hard/ impossible to get refund if it gets cancelled.
I am giving it a miss this time and going for a moderate .

[sha9]

People usually book when there’s either free dining or a room discount of some kind to make it more affordable. Renting DVC points can make it more affordable however given the current climate it’s not something I would do. Renting from a third party site that offers insurance makes it safer but more expensive and often not much cheaper than booking with a free nights offer.

[blackbird]

Originally Posted by 123

Well your flights are probably £600 of the cost, so that's £2,400 for the hotel. Or £171 a night which in my view makes it only just expensive enough to be considered a deluxe hotel.

This is just what good hotels cost, there are only really two options, expand your budget or reduce your expectations

I went onto the website to do a dummy room booking for a random two week period next year and the cheapest I can find 2 weeks in an all-star budget resort is £1900 (or £138 a night) so if you really are getting an option to book a deluxe at £171 a night I would be snapping their arms off...

See more...

The price for the hotel part would be £242 per night given the price they posted.

[Tinks2014]

If you have your heart set on a deluxe have you thought of doing a few less nights there and moving to a cheaper resort to offset the cost ?

[DisneyYoda]

Free DDP.

We have booked OKW twice (2020 would have been third time) since 2015 (1 bed villa) and the only thing that made it affordable was free DDP. Prices have risen 8% a year. They rose 20% after the Brexit vote and as far as I can see didn't reduce as the pound recovered.

We personally are now priced out of a deluxe stay. If they bring back free DDP and the other onsite perks then we would take another look. Trouble is once you've got used to the OKW villa space it's difficult to choose a cheaper option. I'd rather try a different type of holiday.

[Softy]

Yes, the prices have gone up a lot since 2017. AKL is loads cheaper using DVC.

[meanwoodwhite]

I put my money i was going to spend last year and put towards purchasing DVC.

I'll more than make my money back in 2 trips.

Everything after that I'll be paying about $90 a night in dues

[YorkshireT]

Unfortunately this price inflation was why I bought into DVC.
I managed to pick up one 160 point contract for £10k resale in 2016 when there seemed to be very good prices around (which would get you 10 -14 nights in a deluxe studio maybe depending on time of year with about $1200 a year dues- so after the £10k investment it would cost about £80 a night to stay in deluxe- and of course you can sell the contract any time).
Prices have gone up now quite a bit though exchange rate is now better.