Buena Vista Palace
When mom and I took Melody to Disney World back in October, we stayed at a new (to Melody and me) hotel. Melody and I would be spending a few days at the hotel alone during the day, so we picked this hotel because of the amenities. Mom had stayed there before, so she knew there would be plenty for us to do.
This hotel is considered a Disney Springs hotel and one of a few that, while not an official Disney hotel, they get some of the benefits such has extra magic hours and Fastpass+ bookings at 60 days in advance. So on our drive in, we were able to see the infamous Walt Disney World sign.
We arrived fairly late. I would say around 11:00-11:30 pm. Below are a few pictures outside as you arrive at the entrance. It is a really tall tower hotel. Well at least the main building is.
Below are some pictures of the grand lobby. It was much more grand to me than Hilton Lake Buena Vista. (You will see me making numerous comparisons between the two since they are similar in location and cost.). The lobby is a few stories high and contains lots of seating and a bar. There is also a concierge located at the entrance. And you can even find a selfie station which was neat but we never used. Our room was in the main tower where the lobby was located. So we took the elevators nearby. All of the elevators are decorated on the inside with Disney advertisements.
As you can see above in the elevator we stayed on Floor 17. Our room was located right off of the elevator. I was afraid being close to the elevator would be noisy, but the only noise we encountered were the people next door to us.
So unlike Hilton LBV, there is only one sink at this hotel. Thankfully it is outside of the actual restroom. But having two sinks is beneficial with a toddler or baby when you are washing cups and bottles. There were traditional toiletries provided as well.
Our bedroom had two queen beds. There was a large TV on top of the dresser. Inside of the dresser you could find a fridge (which froze everything easily) and a safe (which did not work and we had to call to have it fixed the next morning).
There was a desk that contained a coffee area and a pull out table for additional workspace. It also contained the room service menu which you can see below. We never used room service though.
There was a chair and a lamp next to the desk. The lamp had additional plus and USB ports for more charging space.
We did receive an amenities card and some additional things such as sunscreen and discounts. We used the sunscreen once. Hilton LBV had better coupons that was paid for using your resort fee (the same resort fee paid here). We had water and coffee provided there. So the resort fee wasn’t very beneficial.
Our room was an Epcot Fireworks view room. So we had a small balcony with two chairs and a table. Each evening we were able to see both the Epcot fireworks and Magic Kingdom ones.
The room itself was more updated and nicer looking that those at Hilton LBV. I loved the fireworks view even though we only watched them one evening.
Letterpress is where Hilton Diamond members were able to have their complimentary breakfast. However anyone can eat there and pay for it if they decide to. The complimentary breakfast included the buffet where if you paid you could order off a menu too. We did not have to wait a single morning for breakfast but my parents did on a past visit. I think it could be timing since were eating a later breakfast maybe.
The restaurant itself was really nice, and if you did have to wait, there was plenty of seating to have while you waited. There was a nice view of the water that you could pretty much view anywhere.
So while it is complimentary and a buffet, there is a waiter that brings your drinks. So you do feel obligated to tip vs at the complimentary breakfast at Hilton LBV. The buffets are similar however. There are both hot and cold items as well as pastries. A big difference is the omelet station you can find here. We never used it, but there wasn't usually a long line. It just wasn’t what I really wanted.
Overall the breakfast is really nice, but I like the come and go and exclusiveness you find at Hilton LBV.
Citrus was the food shop/quick service location. It is located next door to Letterpress and is opened 24/7. They have many grab and go items throughout the store. They also offer a variety of sandwiches and ice cream that you can order and have made for you.
We only used Citrus once during our trip, and it wasn’t the best experience. One evening we stopped for drinks and a snack on our way in from the parks. So it was around 9 or so. But whether you are doing grab and go or ordering food, you check out in the same line. And based on our experience, they fix the food for each person before taking the next order. A solution to this would be to have an “express” line for those people that are ordering grab and go items only. We had to wait quite a while for something that was already ready which was really frustrating.
It is convenient and offers plenty of seating if needed. However the grab and go location at Hilton LBV was a much better experience. Even if they had someone ordering food, they would quickly wait on you if you had a simple grab and go item.
Now for some of the outdoor spaces. From the same floor as Citrus and Letterpress, you can find the walking path to the Disney buses and Disney Springs. On this path you can find a small courtyard and the gym.
You will also notice this hotel was “3” towers. Two of the towers are the “main” building and are fairly tall as you can see below. On the walking path you will find the third tower. This is much smaller but is also closer to Disney Springs.
Speaking of, if you ware walking to Disney Springs, it is actually quicker to take the path from Citrus as if you are going to the pool. When you get to the tiki hut, instead of going left towards the pool, go right and that will take you to Disney Springs. This bypasses the bus stops altogether.
Also on the same floor as Citrus and Letterpress, you can find the arcade. Melody really wanted to stop every time we walked to the buses or Disney Springs. So we did finally stop and get some pictures. It was an ordinary arcade, but Melody enjoyed it.
The pools are really the highlight at this hotel. We spent time at two of the pools, but I think there were more to be found. The main pool is fairly ordinary but it is large and has two entrances. Melody loved the stairs because they were large and allowed her more freedom. Surrounding the pool were cabanas but they were either taken or not in use. I did not investigate their cost either.
The second pool was a lazy river/zero entry pool. There are two entrances here as well. One entrance is directly into the lazy river. Another entrance is the zero entry pool/splash area. Melody loved this because it was shallow until you made it to the lazy river, and it contained water features she loved to play in.
Also in the pool area there is a large green grass area that has a lot of outdoor games during the day, and some evening they play movies here.
There is a bar and grille were you can eat and/or drink. If you don’t want to go and eat there, you can have them bring it directly to you at your lounge chair which is really nice. You can also find really nice and clean bathrooms next to the bar.
You do not need to bring a beach towel because you can find those at the tiki hut outside of the pool area and also throughout the pools too.
So there are a few things I think are important to review that I haven’t discussed yet. One are the buses. They were far from dependable. They arrived at random times which wasn’t ideal for planning. We were also the last stop which is nice on the way to the park, but long on the way back. At Hilton LBV the buses were consistent and you were the first picked up and first dropped off.
Lastly was the walk to Disney Springs. While this may not impact everyone, it is a MUCH longer walk than at Hilton LBV. Not only do you have to walk through the resort, you also have to walk to the end of the straight and then you will find a crosswalk to Disney Springs. I would say it was roughly a 15 minute walk. It looks like it is directly across the street, and it is, but there is no crosswalk there.
Between Hilton LBV and BVP, I will pick Hilton LBV. On our travels there, we tend to spend our time at either Disney Springs or Disney itself. So the bus and walk are important. The rooms were outdated, but they are currently being renovated. The big reason I would ever stay at BVP would be if I planned to only spend time at the pool. But typically pools are important to us. I did like the hotel, but I just preferred so much more at Hilton LBV. But you can’t really go wrong with either.
