Saratoga Springs – Stats and Facts
- First opened: May 2004
- Opening sale price: $98
- Current sale price (direct):
- Average sale price (resale):
- Contract Expires: 2054
- Number of rooms – 888
- Room size (each type)
- Deluxe Studio – 355 sq. ft
- One BR – 714 sq. ft.
- Two BR – 1075 sq. ft.
- GV – 2113 sq. ft.
- Treehouse – 1074 sq. ft.
Some are fond of calling Saratoga Springs the “DVC resort of last resort”. With that being said, buying into this property is often a bargain when it comes to price per point when compared to other properties. Combined with the lower maintenance fees, if an 11-month booking window is not a priority, Saratoga Springs is often a great option for getting DVC points without breaking the bank.
The resort is one of the more expansive properties at Walt Disney World. From the Treehouse Villas all the way to Congress Park, you can almost always find availability here. The amenities like the pool, spa, gift shop, and dining are located in the center of the resort with the villas and Congress Park (which is the area with the Disney Springs walkway) on opposite sides of another. This means essentially you can’t have your cake and eat it too at Saratoga. If you want to be close to the walkway to Disney Springs it will not be a close walk to the amenities of the resort, you’ll actually be a short drive away.
One of the hidden gems at this resort, however, is the Senses Spa. This is arguably one of the best (and largest) spas at Walt Disney World and is often overlooked. If you’re planning a stay at Saratoga, you should definitely consider booking a treatment (or two).
About the Room
I would first like to say the room was beautiful and well kept. It definitely had that “home away from home” feel to it and overlooked Disney Springs. Saratoga is currently undergoing renovations and it seemed like I was in a rehabbed room – however, there were still no USB outlets which confused me a bit. Aside from lack of convenience when it comes to walking to the resort’s main area, I found this resort to be beautiful. However, the distance between most villas and the main area is a big consideration for me.
Dining at Saratoga Springs
You have two dining options at Saratoga Springs. Artist Palate is the resorts quick service location (located inside the main building). This is also where the resorts gift shop is located, and more often than not this area can be crowded and confusing. In our recent visits to Artist Palate, we’ve found the food here to wanting. Wanting of flavor, imagination or basic value. While some like it, we’ve had consistently bad experiences here and feel it’s time for a ‘re-imagination’ of the menu.
The second dining location at this resort is the Turf Club. This is a table service restaurant (1 table service credit on the Disney Dining Plan), and can also be accessed via the main building, or right above the pro shop that supports the golf course adjacent to the resort.
Our dining review is at the Turf Club, and the video pretty much speaks for itself. The Turf Club benefits from a lack of dining options at the resort, but only if you don’t feel like taking the quick walk/drive over to Disney Springs. Given that this restaurant sits in the shadow of some of the most impressive dining options at WDW (Disney Springs), we were surprised that the food wasn’t better. Most of the team didn’t enjoy their meal very much at all while a few of us thought it was just “okay”. Needless to say, this location left much to be desired.
Overall Rating – 7.8
- Check-in experience (10%) – 3
- Overall condition of the room (50%) – 9
- Friendliness of cast (20%) – 9
- Amenities/Common areas (20%) – 6
Check-in – 3, I was told my room would be ready by 3 then waited outside in 100-degree heat until after 5
Condition of the room – solid 9, the room was spacious and beautiful with a great view
Friendliness – again a 9, check-in was brutal but everyone I spoke to was professional, friendly and helpful.
Amenities – 6, a lot is under construction so the quick service is currently a shell and everything is pretty far from most of the rooms. With that being said Cms were all great.
From the photos and videos, it seems like you were in a regular room not a renovated one. The renovated rooms look entirely different. Very nice and modern.
Having just watched the video there are some points i agree with but some i do not, having stayed at Saratoga springs around 12 times in the past 10 years i have seen some changes, i remember when you could stay in Congress Park and not pay extra to stay there. One of the points everyone says and also you all mentioned in the video is how far away rooms are from the main eating areas and pools, now i have stayed in many places in Saratoga and apart from the tree house villas all rooms are a 10-15 minutes walk tops, infact congress park is 5 minutes walk, the spring less then 5 minutes, the paddock 5-10 minutes, the grandstand 5 minutes and the Carousel is 10 to 15 minutes so not that bad at all. Ine thing i love about Saratoga is your rooms, your not like at the end of a massive hall way or worse at the beginning, we have stayed at many Disney resorts and some are horrible, for example, we stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge and were the third room down the hall way from the main lobby and every night you heard children running up and down the hall way coming home late from the parks then early the next morning a different set of kids running up and down the hall way excited to go to the park mega early but for us we just had a rough night sleep and now an early wake up due to our room location, none of this every happens at Saratoga, one as you have your own front room and two the walk ways are concrete and you do not get that thump of feet sound on wooden floors and Animal Kingdom is not the only Disney resort we have had this issue so this really needs to be pointed out.
Now i agree for a massive resort the Quick Service and Table Service restaurants are not great and the shop should be huge based on the size of the resort compared to shops at other smaller resorts.
My biggest regret is Disney has taken away the carousel feature you used to view when you entered reception and there used to be an older gentlemen who used to greet you every time you arrived, these have now gone and it does not feel very Disney, when you arrive at locations like Animal Kingdom or the Polynesian or The Grand Floridian you feel like your at a Disney resort, you could pick up Saratoga and place it anywhere and it will not feel any different.
Location wise its ideal if your planning on doing more then Disney, its an easy bus ride to every park but it is also ideally located if you wanted to take in Sea World or Universal Studios with the I4 easily accessible and also the location to Disney Springs, nothing better on a warm night to stroll to Disney Springs or take the boat and enjoy an evening meal, drink or shop.
I do think Saratoga gets a hard time due to it’s size but it is also a great resort to stay in if you do not want to be disturbed.
Just for consistency in ratings, if you are going to deduct points for amenities being far away from many SSR villas (check in, restaurant, store, main pool), you should have considered the same deduction for OKW. That’s a possible issue with two different people rating the resorts. So sorry Pete was flagged!
Love the shows!
The room you reviewed was not renovated. If I am not mistaken none of the renovated rooms are completed. There are pictures of models online but no actual rooms. Two buildings in Congress Park are down for renovation. They started at Congress Park because they are the oldest buildings.
We own at Saratoga and the Poly.
Although I agree this place is huge and you can get quite far away from amenities, if you have a car Saratoga and Old Key West are the most convenient resorts. At the end of a long day, park your car right in front of your building and take a quick stroll to your room.
We always get at least a one bedroom, have breakfast in the room, and are out for the day. We don’t really care how far away food is.
The last time we stayed (my wife and I) we requested a “quiet” room. They put us at the far end of one of the remote buildings, didnt hear a peep from any other guest. We slept like babies! It was like we had the place to ourselves.
Sometimes it feels great to get away from all the hustle and bustle, this place is perfect for that.
Sometimes people exaggerate how bad it is to get to the main building. The walks aren’t that bad and the grounds are gorgeous. We had a room at Animal Kingdom once that was a hike and a half to anything! It can be much worse elsewhere!
Love the Poly but also love it here.