Riviera Resort Now Bookable (ca$h)

[Marionnette]

Potentially daft question and apologies if posted elsewhere (first timer here!) but does this mean that the resort won’t be upon until 16th December of could an earlier booking window follow?

They.are confident that it will be open on Dec. 16, otherwise they would not be taking reservations. They will adjust the booking calendar if it appears that Riviera can open earlier.

 

[Salokin]

They.are confident that it will be open on Dec. 16, otherwise they would not be taking reservations. They will adjust the booking calendar if it appears that Riviera can open earlier.

Thanks, a shame as thought / hoped it would be open sooner. I need to increase my familiarity of the seasons over the pond! We’ll have to visit in a couple of years now.

 

[Lehuaann]

Many cities have hotels which can only accommodate 2 guests. Not every room in every hotel.
It could create issues for guest who are getting rooms via priceline express

edited to add:

Small rooms, only big enough for two (and sometimes one) guest are somewhat common in Europe.

Right, I didn’t mean every room in the hotel, but rather a common booking category.

I had never heard of it and can understand major cities creating them due to space limitations. Like parking, and their resulting fees. The rooms/category remind me of a hotel version of tiny homes.

Disney creating 2-person limited space categories (a Murphy bed?) with parking fees on 30,000+ acres of land seems so NYC...and just boggles my mind.

 

[gillep]

Right, I didn’t mean every room in the hotel, but rather a common booking category.

I had never heard of it and can understand major cities creating them due to space limitations. Like parking, and their resulting fees. The rooms/category remind me of a hotel version of tiny homes.

Disney creating 2-person limited space categories (a Murphy bed?) with parking fees on 30,000+ acres of land seems so NYC...and just boggles my mind.

It could also just be a way for DVC to offer rooms for a lower point cost per night for members. Over the years I have certainly seen people say that they wish DVC had a category for a smaller studio for two that was a lower point cost per night, if enough people expressed interest in this, or if DVC's research showed that it might be profitable, then it makes sense to offer some rooms of this type. My husband and I have our usual trips that we take, and have the points to cover, but outside of those, if we are looking to add on an additional trip, then we are usually looking for low point cost options to stretch our points, or we just pay cash if there are no lower point options left. We usually like to try new DVC resorts at least once, I can definitely see us doing a short trip and trying to get a tower studio at Riviera to save on points while still experiencing the resort.

 

[Marionnette]

Right, I didn’t mean every room in the hotel, but rather a common booking category.

I had never heard of it and can understand major cities creating them due to space limitations. Like parking, and their resulting fees. The rooms/category remind me of a hotel version of tiny homes.

Disney creating 2-person limited space categories (a Murphy bed?) with parking fees on 30,000+ acres of land seems so NYC...and just boggles my mind.

@gillep hit the nail on the head. Riviera is a DVC resort, just like OKW and SSR. It was constructed to appeal to DVC buyers and current owners. Quite a few of the owners are child-free and don’t want anything more than a room and mini-kitchenette. There has been great demand for a lower-point, 2-person option and these pods will be a tremendous selling point. Chances are very good that these pods will not be available to the general public once DVC owners can book them. They will be limited in number and will book up quickly, just like the Value View studios at AKV and the STD. View studios at BWV.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Are 2 guest hotel accommodations standard in major cities?

I know Hilton Parc Soleil in Lake Buena Vista has studios that have one king bed and are limited to two persons only. This is HGVC, not Hilton Hotel, but you can book them for cash as well as Hilton points.

 

[Lehuaann]

@gillep hit the nail on the head. Riviera is a DVC resort, just like OKW and SSR. It was constructed to appeal to DVC buyers and current owners. Quite a few of the owners are child-free and don’t want anything more than a room and mini-kitchenette. There has been great demand for a lower-point, 2-person option and these pods will be a tremendous selling point. Chances are very good that these pods will not be available to the general public once DVC owners can book them. They will be limited in number and will book up quickly, just like the Value View studios at AKV and the STD. View studios at BWV.

A king room would work. My point is they have the space. But a pod? Yes, I am looking forward to seeing the point chart on these.

As far as meeting a lower point demand for owners, I am not feeling the love right now. We and others have been blocked from booking AKV value studios the entire month December and have had to walk other studios for several weeks. Anyway, I will just leave it at that as to not derail the thread.

 

[Lehuaann]

I know Hilton Parc Soleil in Lake Buena Vista has studios that have one king bed and are limited to two persons only. This is HGVC, not Hilton Hotel, but you can book them for cash as well as Hilton points.

Yes, brain fart on the king accommodations Disney already offers.

I had the size of those pods on my mind when I was writing that question.

 

[Lewisc]

There doesn't appear to be a connecting door in the floor plans. I don't even know where on could be placed. And there's no "mini suite" room category on the DVC website. I have a feeling that those pod rooms are stand-alone units.

I haven't seen floor plans. The

Right, I didn’t mean every room in the hotel, but rather a common booking category.

I had never heard of it and can understand major cities creating them due to space limitations. Like parking, and their resulting fees. The rooms/category remind me of a hotel version of tiny homes.

Disney creating 2-person limited space categories (a Murphy bed?) with parking fees on 30,000+ acres of land seems so NYC...and just boggles my mind.

1. It's not always a category which is bookable. Sometimes those rooms are allocated for corporate contracted rate (airline for flight crew for example) with excess inventory dumped via sites such as Priceline.
2. Some small rooms can be the result of renovating an existing hotel. Very large rooms/suites are divided and the result is some small rooms. Think of using existing windows. One window gives you a small room but two windows gives you a huge room.
3. Same as 2 but converting existing space to hotel use.
4. PP hit another reason, The Tower Studio would be a good room to add on to a connecting room. It could make a nice 2 room suite or add to a 1 bedroom unit making it a 2. PP has a point. Looks like this isn't the case at Riviera but it is for other properties. Sometimes the small room, normally sold as part of a suite, is called a parlor room when sold separately.
   
5. Disney's Murphy beds are as comfortable as a regular bed. Much more comfortable then a sofa bed.
6. Lower points should be a selling point. Sell someone enough points for a weekly stay. After the new DVC owner realizes it's not one week for the entire family Disney has an add on customer.
7. One comment I've heard, DVC studio and one bedroom both sleep 4. Disney heard the complaints. Newer units sleep 5. Riviera now has rooms designed for a party of 2.
   
8. These units seem bigger then what's normally considered a pod. I wouldn't expect a balcony in a pod.

I'm confused. Why were people blocked from booking AKV value studios? Are they being renovated?

 

[JETSDAD]

I'm confused. Why were people blocked from booking AKV value studios? Are they being renovated?

We're not certain. That was the claim, that they would only be taken offline in advance for maintenance....then they showed up as available on the cash side of things so nobody knows (could that have been a mistake, or did they really pull them to rent out for cash).

 

[Deb & Bill]

....

1. One comment I've heard, DVC studio and one bedroom both sleep 4. Disney heard the complaints. Newer units sleep 5. Riviera now has rooms designed for a party of 2.
   
2. ...

1. New units don't always work that way. Copper Creek studios and one bedrooms sleep four. Not five.

 

[AnnaKat]

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/riviera-resort/rates-rooms/

New unit type sleeps only 2.


Pricing is high.

Definitely!!!
SKY HIGH as in !!!!
My quote was $781 for a deluxe studio standard view!!!!
Ouch

 

[AnnaKat]

1. New units don't always work that way. Copper Creek studios and one bedrooms sleep four. Not five.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Definitely!!!
SKY HIGH as in !!!!
My quote was $781 for a deluxe studio standard view!!!!
Ouch

those sleep 5, and it's Christmas week pricing. So not surprising really. Poly Standard Studio that week is $915/night rack. BCV is $800/night that week. So $781 is fairly inexpensive.

 

[Hopefully]

@gillep hit the nail on the head. Riviera is a DVC resort, just like OKW and SSR. It was constructed to appeal to DVC buyers and current owners. Quite a few of the owners are child-free and don’t want anything more than a room and mini-kitchenette. There has been great demand for a lower-point, 2-person option and these pods will be a tremendous selling point. Chances are very good that these pods will not be available to the general public once DVC owners can book them. They will be limited in number and will book up quickly, just like the Value View studios at AKV and the STD. View studios at BWV.

A king room would work. My point is they have the space. But a pod? Yes, I am looking forward to seeing the point chart on these.

As far as meeting a lower point demand for owners, I am not feeling the love right now. We and others have been blocked from booking AKV value studios the entire month December and have had to walk other studios for several weeks. Anyway, I will just leave it at that as to not derail the thread.

Why are you calling them pods? Your bias?

 

[Marionnette]

Why are you calling them pods? Your bias?

No. They are labeled “POD” on the floor plan posted n the Disney website.

 

[Lewisc]

I didn't mean to imply every new DVC resort sleeps 5 in a one bedroom, rather that seems to be a trend. Is Copper Creek even new? I thought that was part of WL which was converted to DVC.

Years ago, via a Priceline Name Your Own Price booking, I stayed at a Hilton in NYC. Pl customers were given small rooms with one double bed. Rooms that would rarely, if ever, be booked by the general public. My memory is the room would have been regular size, except there was a section missing which was occupied by an adjacent elevator.

 

[Lehuaann]

Why are you calling them pods? Your bias?

As Marionnette stated, Disney has the floor plan down as POD. Second photo is the studio.

 

[oceanmarina]

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/riviera-resort/rates-rooms/

New unit type sleeps only 2.

Pricing is high.

Looks great! Thanks for posting! Is it considered a deluxe villa resort?

 

[dansdad]

Looks great! Thanks for posting! Is it considered a deluxe villa resort?

It's a DVC resort like SSR and OKW.