What’s the difference between a Deluxe Villa and a Deluxe Resort at Walt Disney World
Walt Disney World is home to dozens of resorts. These resorts can range between ninety dollars a night to thousands of dollars a night. To help guests figure out which resorts are the right price for them, the resorts are placed into one of four categories: value, modrate, deluxe and deluxe villas. Deluxe resorts and deluxe villas seem like they must be very similar, some of the resorts deemed deluxe resorts are even on deluxe resort properties. So what are these deluxe villas? What makes them different than choosing a room at the deluxe resort itself? Let’s take a look at what deluxe villas are.
Deluxe villas are rooms larger than an average hotel room that feature at the least a small kitchenette. The villas are available as a deluxe studio, 1 bedroom, 2 bedroom, 3 bedroom, bungalows (where available) or treehouse (found at Saratoga Springs only). The rooms can accommodate lots of guests and can allow guests to make and eat meals in their own rooms. Many villas have their own laundry unit within the villa.
There are three deluxe villa resorts. These resorts feature villas only, they have no standard hotel rooms. Old Key West resort and Saratoga Springs in the Disney Springs resort area have only villas. These resorts are Disney Vacation Club resorts. The villas are occupied by guests using their Disney Vacation Club points, guests renting Disney Vacation Club points and guests who have purchased night stays at these villas. These resorts are sprawling, both sitting on a shared 18 hole golf course. They both host several pools and lots of recreational activities. Disney’s Riviera Resort is the other deluxe villas resort. This high rise building is home to tower studios, deluxe studios, 1 bedroom villas, 2 bedroom villas and 3 bedroom grand villas. The Riviera Resort is found in the Epcot Resort area and is a simple skyline ride away from Epcot and Hollywood Studios.
The remainder of the deluxe villas are located on deluxe resort properties. These deluxe villas can be found in a neighbouring building, closely located or connected to the deluxe resort. There are also a couple that are located directly in the deluxe resort building. These villas share many of the amenities offered to guests of the deluxe resorts. Some share pools and front desk services. Others can use the deluxe resort’s pools and front desk services but also have their own pools and front desk cast members . The deluxe villas found at deluxe resort properties give guests more space while still staying at some of their favourite deluxe resorts. Here are the deluxe villas that are located on deluxe resort properties:
Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort
Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort
Villas and Bungalows at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
Boulder Ridge at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
Copper Creek at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
Disney’s Beach Club Villas
Kidani Village at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
Jambo House at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
Anyone can stay at these villas. A night stay can be purchased through DisneyWorld.com, through your travel agent or by renting DVC points through several rental companies. Disney Vacation Club members can use their Disney Vacation Club points to stay at any of the Disney Vacation Club resorts when available.
The villas are typically going to be more expensive than the average room. For example, a room at the Contemporary Resort will run approximately $550 per night. A deluxe studio at Bay Lake Resort at Disney’s Contemporary Resort will be $695 per night. But a villa at Old Key West or Boardwalk Villas will be less expensive than a room at Disney’s Polynesian Resort or Disney’s Grand Floridian.
We love staying at the villas. We love the extra room it gives us to stay with more family members, the space it gives us for our family of 5. I love being able to do laundry throughout our vacation. So now you should have a better idea of what the difference is between deluxe villas and deluxe resorts. If you want more information on the differences between the hotel tiers take a look at this previous post here. And for more details on individual resorts take a look at these reviews:
A Detailed Review of Disney’s Boardwalk Villas
A Detailed Review of Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort
A Detailed Review of Kidani Village at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
A Detailed Review of Boulder Ridge at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
A Detailed Review of Disney’s Beach Club Resort
