What's a resort you swore you'd never stay at, but did and ended up loving?

[plygph]

I have 2
OKW just thought of this place old as it was the first WDW DVC property. But a friend of mine raved about it so we tried it know what? He was right it has become our favorite large rooms.
AKL Kidani did not ever think I would stay at AK too far out of the way. First bought into DVC had some points expiring this resort was available so we gave it a try. We have fallen in love with it. The pool area I think is one of the best for families with kids. Can’t wait to stay here with the grandkids.

 

[Octoberbaby]

Coronado Springs...the new room refurbishment may have had a lot to do with it because the rooms are very nice. The size of the resort is still an issue, and would recommend a preferred location. There are wonderful dining choices though, and I am shocked that I now actually prefer it over POR or FQ. We are staying in the tower in Dec, and I may even prefer it over a Deluxe resort after seeing how those rooms are.

 

[astronautika]

Wilderness Lodge. Too remote, boats are slow. One day taking a break from Magic Kingdom, midday, we took a look around, had lunch enjoyed the view. We were looking for a getaway weekend and Wilderness DVC came up. We took it. ALL I CAN SAY IS WOW! We had the most relaxing weekend ever.

This was my experience with Wilderness Lodge, too. I'm not outdoorsy, to say the least, so figured this would be the theme I'd be least interested in. Visited one afternoon and knew we'd be scheduling our next full trip at Wilderness Lodge. We were hooked on that next trip. It's definitely one of our favorites, especially at Christmastime! It is just so peaceful, but still so easy to get to other places on property. Especially with all of the Deluxes being down to one non-bus transportation option right now, it's really a non-issue!

We love Wildnerness Lodge and are heading back next week to say in a Copper Creek 1-bedroom for the first time!

 

[dd316]

Coronado Springs resort.

I would love to hear why? We ended up cancelling our upcoming stay there are and had never been before.

 

[buzznina]

I wouldn't say "would never stay at", we like trying different resorts. But we did not think we would enjoy GF, because we "thought" it would be too stuffy. It became our families favorite resort.

 

[Pooh2]

I would love to hear why? We ended up cancelling our upcoming stay there are and had never been before.

The rooms were newly renovated (one stay in Tower, one stay in standard King room), got a great price with AP discount, conveniently located, beautiful grounds. Try it!

 

[dvc lover 1970]

Also if you have TiW, the quick service at SSR is the only resort quick service that accepts TiW.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Also if you have TiW, the quick service at SSR is the only resort quick service that accepts TiW.

All Stars, Pop Century and AoA accept it.

 

[wdw4rfam]

OKW, ended up buying DVC there. All stars- our back up when out of points and need cheap. Just don’t understand the hate there. We love way more than POP.

 

[craigkerstiens]

I don't know that it was on our "never" list, but copper creek wasn't ever one of our first choices. Though I'll say we absolutely loved it there. Ahead of time it seemed fine and nothing spectacular, and having to bus everywhere was a major detractor for us.

In the end we definitely didn't love having to bus still, but we found the resort absolutely lovely and would happily stay there again.

 

[Octoberbaby]

I would love to hear why? We ended up cancelling our upcoming stay there are and had never been before.

I posted a few comments about CSR. I thought I would hate it. Turns out I don't at all.

 

[tuckymom]

CBR. Always heard: too big, no special transportation.

Planned a trip 3 weeks out last year and it was the only place that had rooms available out of every value and moderate resort. We did want to spend SO MUCH MONEY on a deluxe for a last minute trip!

Between the refurb, the skyliner, the awesome pool and bar, Sebastian's, etc. it was way better than we anticipated. Staying there again later this year assuming its still open!

 

[tinabina919]

Swan & Dolphin! We stopped there on a resort bus while staying at Boardwalk and thought it looked so dated. Then when extending our last trip by a night we really wanted to stay in the Boardwalk/close to EPCOT and found a super cheap room at the Dolphin, decided to give it a try and ended up loving it.

 

[Sarahslay]

BWI! I swore up and down I would only stay there if forced. The clown pool is nightmare inducing, the rooms are dated with a decor I don't care for, and the food is so inconvenient if it's raining. However, I got a steal on a room there in late January due to a Disney IT glitch (surprise surprise) and couldn't pass it up, so I ended up with a BWI room after all and loved it! If it weren't going to still be closed I would be staying there again in November.

 

[Arielfan98]

Doesn't exactly fit your question, but growing up my parents always lectured the importance of value. Therefore, we always stayed at The All Star Resorts to save money and would spend the entire day in the parks and just use the room to sleep in. I was indifferent to this vacation style, but as I got older I realized I really do prefer moderate resorts because I cannot just stay in the parks all day and I enjoy using a gym. I also love going in the pool and hot tubs. I also don't want to spend more than I have to, so Coronado Springs and Port Orleans will do for me as well.

 

[linzjane88]

I didn't think I would love Kidani as much as I did but I totally feel in love with it. Actually every DVC resort I have stayed so far (AKL, BLT, AUL, BWV, and Poly) has exceeded my expectations with the exception of BLT but even then I'll still stay there for the location if its available.

 

[got15]

For us, it was the Boardwalk Inn.. we were nervous w/ the Clown pool and lack of places to eat and the whole Carnival vibe... what we found was that it was charming, the staff was wonderful and we fell in love! The green was a great place to watch movies in the evening and the kids enjoyed the different activities there as well.. all in all it has now become one of our favorites.

 

[P'colaBeachBum]

This is more like it never dawned on us to stay there. A friend stayed at AKL Jambo and loved it! She was so impressed with Boma and Jiko and the general feel of the resort. We never thought of staying there because of location. The friend passed away and when we were ready to go back to WDW I booked the resort....it was love at first sight. It was everything and more that she described. She loved animals so every visit I donated to their animal fund in memory of her. We have stayed there 5 times and it broke my heart that it was not going to be open this year, we had a reservation for Jambo savannah view and had to move.

 

[cmrdgrs]

For me it's really the opposite. I've stayed at resorts I thought I would love, and hated them. I think the resort that surprised me the most as to how much I liked it was BLT. Unfortunately, I don't own there and it has become a family favorite.

 

[PrincessNelly]

Saratoga Springs for sure.

We thought it looked boring and felt like an apartment complex when we had previously visited for a DVC Tour.

We scored a last minute DVC rental for cheap and we loved it so much. It was like a home away from home. So quiet and relaxing. We may bye DVC resales there!

We also were prepared to hate the All Stars since they have a bad rep but honestly we were blown away with All Star Movies. The renovation was fantastic and the theme was so cute.