Is Beach club worth £1200 more for a fortnight than AKL

[YorkshireT]

Originally Posted by Donaldfan

Where do I start!

I should say, I went the last two weeks of September when the kids were apparently back at school. I say apparently as there were loads at Beach Club.

Port Orleans French Quarter

My room was lovely, light and airy, no sign of damp, cracked tiles etc.

The staff were amazing, including the front desk staff. Nothing was too much trouble for them. They made me feel as if I was part of the family, not an annoying guest of the resort.

I loved the food court, there was absolutely masses of choice, I looked forward to my evening meal there.

The pool was great, not too busy particularly in the evening which is when I do most of my pool time.

I loved the theming, the layout, the nice little Disney touches. To me it was special.

Beach Club.

My room was damp with patches of mould, some of the tiles in the bathroom area were cracked.

The front desk staff were very stuck up - the two occasions I spoke to them they talked down to me, made me feel as if I was wasting their time. I got to know a couple of other guests and they said the same thing.

When I was there, there was very little choice in the way of quick service food at the Beach Club Marketplace unless you like pizza. I'm allergic to cheese so that was a no no. I had one meal (burger and curly fries) at Hurricane Hanna's and was sick a few minutes after eating it. I know Epcot is close by but I like eating my evening meal at the resort.

I didn't like the main swimming pool, wherever I was and whatever the time of day, I was constantly being splashed by kids jet propelling themselves into it, including 10.00 at night. Thankfully the quiet pool was totally the opposite and I spent most of my pool time there.

As regards the general atmosphere, I didn't feel like I was at Disney - I could have been at a generic hotel anywhere.

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Funny how people see things differently. The room sounds unacceptable and I bet set the mind against the place (I’d be the same). I’ve only stayed in a 1 bed in the DVC side and it’s very nice indeed.
The pool- it’s something most feel is the big advantage, but I see if you don’t want kids around. Did you use the DVC quiet pool - that’s a good one.
I’d agree the quick serve there isn’t good. But with Epcot minutes away (from the DVC side) we always go there anyway (particularly Japan and Mexico).
The atmosphere at Xmas was wonderful with characters in the lobby, Santa and even one night a full choir doing carols- quite magical. I’ve also found the staff on front desk very good also! Maybe with the complaints you had again it didn’t show them in their best light?
I do actually slightly prefer Boardwalk maybe give that a try. I personally prefer the pools and the overall atmosphere is different with a more adult and heavily themed hotel.

[duchy]

Originally Posted by U2fan

Totally agree, AKL as a hotel is far superior to the Beach Club. The location of the Beach Club is great but certainly not worth that much more.

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That’s incredibly subjective.
AKL rooms are definitely smaller and the location is inferior . It also suffers from high footfall from non resident sightseers and diners in a far more invasive way than the BC does. It’s also very dark which isn’t appealing to everyone. Finally the constant drumming in the public areas isn’t good for anyone with hearing sensitivity (like ASD kids). AKL is also the only Disney hotel I’ve had to get a room change as the room wasn’t fit for occupation (floor and carpet soaking wet ) and we ended up with a dry but less desirable room (from partial Savannah to overlooking a building site as pool was under renovation)

Overall I personally wouldn’t stay there again but would stay at the BC but there are others I’d consider before the BC. I’d definitely rate the Boardwalk above the BC like the previous poster.

[Donaldfan]

Originally Posted by YorkshireT

Funny how people see things differently. The room sounds unacceptable and I bet set the mind against the place (I’d be the same). I’ve only stayed in a 1 bed in the DVC side and it’s very nice indeed.
The pool- it’s something most feel is the big advantage, but I see if you don’t want kids around. Did you use the DVC quiet pool - that’s a good one.
I’d agree the quick serve there isn’t good. But with Epcot minutes away (from the DVC side) we always go there anyway (particularly Japan and Mexico).
The atmosphere at Xmas was wonderful with characters in the lobby, Santa and even one night a full choir doing carols- quite magical. I’ve also found the staff on front desk very good also! Maybe with the complaints you had again it didn’t show them in their best light?
I do actually slightly prefer Boardwalk maybe give that a try. I personally prefer the pools and the overall atmosphere is different with a more adult and heavily themed hotel.

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One thing I forgot to mention at the Beach Club. They were testing the new Epcot firework display at midnight every night of my BC stay! I expected Illuminations at the usual park closing but not the new display at midnight too. I'm not a night bird and I slept about two hours each night in the end and was wrecked in the days. Anyway on the advice of a friend I contacted Disney when I got home and told them about all these issues. They've given me 5 free nights at a deluxe resort of my choice. I had a garden/woods view room at Beach Club so the equivalent room type. These 5 nights don't have an expiry date. So this September's stay is 7 nights in a standard room at POFQ (paid for) and 5 nights in a lagoon room view in the Polynesian (on Disney).

[robbrdbry]

Originally Posted by Rescuer

Worth £1200 difference no but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t do it.

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We've stayed at beach club a couple of times now, we're huge EPCOT fans, so international gateway being 5mins away is an absolute selling point for us. Also the ability to walk home from HS is a massive plus as we've stopped at the boardwalk for a bite/beer on the way if we're tired out. That pool is easily the best pool disney have to offer too and the ability to see two parks worth of fireworks on an evening is something else, especially if you can catch EPCOT's from your balcony.

But the decision is ultimately yours.

[Guest]

I have only stayed at YC but am hoping to get to stay at AKL sometime, I always visit it during the day at least once on every trip. I think the higher cost of YC is justified, newer brighter rooms, balcony’s and good location. I don’t think I would pay £100 per night more though. Epcot is my least favourite park but the area including the boardwalk is really nice in the evenings.

We were only at YC / Disney for five nights and so didn’t want to spend any of it by the pool so don’t have an opinion on that. Visitors cannot get through the gate so I don’t see why anyone would feel more on view than at any pool.

We found the QS at YC/ BC quite limited, I don’t think I have been impressed with QS at any of the deluxe’s that I have been to other than the one at Grand Floridian.

[wifey]

I would work out where you will be spending the most time before booking anywhere. Then work out the room “view” type you want and they work out how many days you want to stay for. Also factor in how good at swimming your child/children are because the lazy river and all the areas of the water park/pool area is deep and very strong in places. You will need to keep a close watch on them.
We loved Yacht Club and Beach Club because it was relaxed yet close to Epcot and DHS and the Boardwalk area. We were very lucky to see the fireworks from both parks and the buses are shared between the resorts there. It’s never overly crowded and the bus stops have shelter and info screens. It never took long to get to anywhere from there and it was also easy to book an Uber or Lyft from the resorts to Universal and they dropped us off as close as possible to the doors. No issues for us we loved it.