Well, here is my somewhat overdue review of my recent stay in a studio at SSR. I promise that Ill try to be brief!! I had a quick long weekend between travels for work, and ended up spending a lot of time working during this short vacation.
I did rent a car as always, so cant comment on the bus system. Also a note that I spend about 275 nights/year in brand new four and five star hotel rooms for work, so I consider myself a hotel room expert!
Check in:
At 11am, the wait was 20 minutes; there was an expediter trying to clear some of the line. Once it was my turn, service was excellent very personal service, some of the best I have had at WDW while checking in
Room location:
Congress Park, top floor studio, last room on the end of the building. View of Bongos, Cirque du Soleil, House of Blues looking straight ahead, and Rainforest Café looking to the left. Probably the best view I have ever had at WDW. I had had a choice of the Springs or Congress Park; this room was not ready at 11am but the desk clerk suggested that it was worth waiting for it was!
The walk to DTD was about 5-7 minutes, another plus
Noise level:
Absolutely quiet! I am a dozer rather than a sound sleeper, but actually slept. I know that I had different neighbours at least two nights of my stay, but never heard them. Nor was there noise from the stairwell next to my room
Quality of guest room:
Excellent; almost brand-new condition. Bed a little softer than I am used to in new hotels, pillows a little thicker than I like, but those are personal preferences. I particularly like the sofa with ottoman (with a tray on top to be used as coffee table if needed) one of my hotel room likes is somewhere to sit (other than the bed) while watching TV or reading
I will admit that when I first toured SSR, I really didnt like the outside corridors they looked like a low cost attempt to be indoor corridors, if that makes sense. Well, I never noticed them during my stay they werent as dark as I had thought.
Kitchen was well stocked with a dozen plates and bowls vs the 4 I usually receive in studios. My only peeve is the 12 cup coffeemaker, which takes up too much counter space. I would think that a 4-6 cup coffeemaker would suffice for most studio guests. All other appliances were in brand new condition.
Resort amenities:
I frankly didnt use them much; did wander around on my last day. I have eaten at Artists Palette before and find it a very middle of the road menu (with good reason, I suspect, being that they dont have much space and need to please the greatest number of people with a small menu)
Looking forward to the Turf Club Restaurant, but that area looks somewhat small for a restaurant
Atmosphere:
Sadly this trip involved a lot of work from my last project (I received phone calls while riding the TTA, outside Morocco, in the Land, etc etc!!). I spent a lot of time in my room working, but the HSIA worked well, and the spectacular view made it almost bearable
Overall rating:
I rate this stay as excellent. It served me well for my purposes, but I can see how others would find Congress Park remote, in particular with no car. I will definitely return, but would hesitate to send some of my family members there, only because they may find it 'out of the action'. As always, I believe that is important to choose a resort based on the intention of your vacation, and SSR served me well this trip. I will definitely return and in fact have a December stay already booked!
I did rent a car as always, so cant comment on the bus system. Also a note that I spend about 275 nights/year in brand new four and five star hotel rooms for work, so I consider myself a hotel room expert!
Check in:
At 11am, the wait was 20 minutes; there was an expediter trying to clear some of the line. Once it was my turn, service was excellent very personal service, some of the best I have had at WDW while checking in
Room location:
Congress Park, top floor studio, last room on the end of the building. View of Bongos, Cirque du Soleil, House of Blues looking straight ahead, and Rainforest Café looking to the left. Probably the best view I have ever had at WDW. I had had a choice of the Springs or Congress Park; this room was not ready at 11am but the desk clerk suggested that it was worth waiting for it was!
The walk to DTD was about 5-7 minutes, another plus
Noise level:
Absolutely quiet! I am a dozer rather than a sound sleeper, but actually slept. I know that I had different neighbours at least two nights of my stay, but never heard them. Nor was there noise from the stairwell next to my room
Quality of guest room:
Excellent; almost brand-new condition. Bed a little softer than I am used to in new hotels, pillows a little thicker than I like, but those are personal preferences. I particularly like the sofa with ottoman (with a tray on top to be used as coffee table if needed) one of my hotel room likes is somewhere to sit (other than the bed) while watching TV or reading
I will admit that when I first toured SSR, I really didnt like the outside corridors they looked like a low cost attempt to be indoor corridors, if that makes sense. Well, I never noticed them during my stay they werent as dark as I had thought.
Kitchen was well stocked with a dozen plates and bowls vs the 4 I usually receive in studios. My only peeve is the 12 cup coffeemaker, which takes up too much counter space. I would think that a 4-6 cup coffeemaker would suffice for most studio guests. All other appliances were in brand new condition.
Resort amenities:
I frankly didnt use them much; did wander around on my last day. I have eaten at Artists Palette before and find it a very middle of the road menu (with good reason, I suspect, being that they dont have much space and need to please the greatest number of people with a small menu)
Looking forward to the Turf Club Restaurant, but that area looks somewhat small for a restaurant
Atmosphere:
Sadly this trip involved a lot of work from my last project (I received phone calls while riding the TTA, outside Morocco, in the Land, etc etc!!). I spent a lot of time in my room working, but the HSIA worked well, and the spectacular view made it almost bearable
Overall rating:
I rate this stay as excellent. It served me well for my purposes, but I can see how others would find Congress Park remote, in particular with no car. I will definitely return, but would hesitate to send some of my family members there, only because they may find it 'out of the action'. As always, I believe that is important to choose a resort based on the intention of your vacation, and SSR served me well this trip. I will definitely return and in fact have a December stay already booked!
