Disney World's Awful $970 Hotel Room - Review

Disney's contemporary resort is a special place in Walt Disney World Its Origins date all the way back to some of the earliest Master plans of the property and was ultimately built as one of two hotel resorts around the Magic Kingdom in 1971. with the monorail running through the massive A-frame building the engineering work of U.S steel has held up today as a spectacular building but Disney has also kept up with pricing and today the Contemporary Resort is one of the most expensive hotels on property and potentially in the entire State of Florida above the normal rooms there Disney also offers a club level service which I've always been curious on who can actually justify the prices and if it's actually worth it so that's what I'm going to try and figure out today this is my review of Club level at Disney's contemporary resort [Music] foreign now for basically all my time coming to Central Florida I've held contemporary resort in rather high regard I've stayed there twice in my life once on a family vacation and another when I was taking Refuge from Hurricane Irma in 2017. so I actually really do like this hotel mainly from its inspiring design now looking back even the most recent room interiors were a bit dated so it made sense when contemporary received a renovation through the second half of 2021. all of the rooms were rehabbed with the theme of The Incredibles found together with a retro futurism design now when I wanted to try one of these rooms out in club level I was fully expecting to get one of those rooms that have been heavily promoted I actually called the morning of to see if we can get a room to which we did and paid full price for what Disney expects you to pay for this I'll reveal that price a little later in the video but let's go ahead and get checked in oh wow this was not the room I was expecting okay so this is a club level standard King room with a Theme Park View and right off the bat this hotel room is pretty bland at first glance you'd easily be forgiven if you had thought this was a very old room in the resort somewhere in the garden Wing but it is indeed a refurbished guest room as it's themed and I use that word very lightly to the character Edna Mode from the Incredibles now everyone's taste is different but I think this hotel room is embarrassingly bad its main interior is honestly comparable to a low-level Marriott Hotel I've genuinely seen Spring Hill Suites that are better appointed than this room that's also including the quality of the materials which feel cheap and flimsy at about the same level as Ikea furniture actually worse since they're not even fitted properly while the bed is actually very comfortable along with what feels like high quality linen it's hard to Miss Edna modes staring down upon you as you sleep and still even those rather subjective tacky posters are contained in very cheap what looks like Amazon basic poster frames and then there's the bathroom that continues to let down with tile that looks like it's straight from Home Depot and with no waterfall shower head it all feels very okay not exactly the Ultra Luxury bathroom I was expecting I think the best comparable is maybe a bathroom out of a nice Sheridan Hotel what's really annoying though is the fact that the bathrooms prior to the new renovation were in my opinion far better than what we have now a really luxurious mix of white and red real marble tiles lined the entire bathroom now compared to this or even the other new rooms to me at least it feels like a massive downgrade now those rooms were actually designed in 2005 with a resort-wide renovation and while they certainly are from that era they do hold up in some aspects now what's particularly interesting is that in 2011 Disney announced a renovation for this club level floor they made a whole press release and everything detailing how the entire 14th floor would be turned into health and wellness Suites the entire floor would be drastically renovated to feature environmentally friendly Design Elements bamboo fluorine and a bunch of other stuff slated to be completed by late 2011 it just never happened instead the floor got a rather generic yet updated design until recently when we got the mode now the adjoining doors to the other room let in a lot of noise which really hindered the privacy in here I mean we could hear entire conversations of our neighbors talking at a pretty moderate sound level that along with a spider web in our bathroom really didn't give the Ultra Luxury experience I was expecting [Music] [Laughter] at this price point you would be expecting a room far better than what we have here that's including the lower tier rooms too which I think Disney could have done so much better with mid-century modern is such a beautiful time period for design and all you need to do is look up examples of what other hotels have done and it's night and day at this price point I would expect our room to look like this rather than this but I am leaving out the best part of the room and that's the balcony since we're on the highest guest floor of the building the Terrace is much larger than others seen on Lower floors ours also came with a Theme Park View which as you expect is facing the Magic Kingdom and really all of Seven Seas Lagoon there's no denying that it's very cool to walk out onto your private Terrace and watch the fireworks over the most visited theme park in the world supposedly you are able to pipe in music from the fireworks show onto your TV to listen along but we couldn't really get that working even if we did though when we were standing out on our Terrace we'd have to leave the door open to hear the TV that would let in perhaps all the bugs in Central Florida would really be neat if they put small speakers on each balcony that could be turned on and off by the occupants while all of this is a really nice perk it doesn't impress me all that much since this is a very similar experience you can easily get for free all you need to do is walk out on the public emergency staircase which faces the Magic Kingdom and climb the stairs to the roof if you don't want to walk up all those stairs you can easily go to the public seating area on level 4 which albeit has a lower view but a comfortable one this is all Allowed by Disney and they have really good speakers and it's free but this is a Disney Club level room which means it also comes with some exclusive perks uh sort of Disney Club level rooms are often placed on the top floor of their hotels and usually offer the best views it's the same here and along with it there's a club level Lounge which is pretty small throughout the day and much like the cruise line they switch small hors d'oeuvres in and out and have some very okay offerings for dinner and breakfast there's a coffee machine a water dispenser and in the evenings there's some complimentary alcohol again though it's somewhat limited and feels is more like a mid-tier airport lounge that applies to the alcohol too as it's all self-serve with a small selection of just a few bottles of wine and maybe two brands of beer those are your only premium choices and there is no staff to make cocktails as for the other perks of being in club level uh well they're pretty sparse you get a special check-in experience where you'll be chauffeured up to your floor and room and you'll have access to concierge staff who will personally see to any Disney World requests you may design along with some perhaps slightly elevated Disney service and a few welcome gifts that's really all you get so what's the hotel itself like I know some people are going to be shouting at me justifying Disney's price for this room based on its location and that is somewhat true this is contemporary and it's one of the most conveniently located hotels on Walt Disney World property placed along the Monterey line which gives you a unique way to travel around the lake to Epcot and of course the Magic Kingdom the resort is so close to the ladder Park in fact that you can walk there in just about 15 minutes amenities are also pretty decent with three on-site sit-down restaurants to choose from from the often poorly reviewed Chef Mickeys to the newly renovated Steakhouse 71 which I've heard great things about at the top of the hotel there's California Grill which recently saw a menu change for the 50th anniversary and has gotten mixed reviews with very high prices there's a small bar tucked away on The Concourse level along with a quick service option a large family pool populates the immediate Lake Shore area with a very nice circular quiet pool that's built onto the lake the whole Lakefront area is very nice with quiet and lovely trails around the resort while that's all nice and good the property is definitely starting to show its age now some of that is understandable like the small elevators since the structure was designed in the late 60s so things like a drop ceiling in the bathroom or low ceilings and tight corridors all make sense but this hotel is really in like three different areas of design I mean you've got original design motifs from the 70s others from the 90s and a lot from the renovations in the early 2000 thousands any sign that Disney has actually updated this property besides the rooms can only be found in sections of the lobby now this strikes me as a bit odd since this new retro design language is actually really solid and it would have been perfect to carry on into the rooms and really into the entire Resort as a whole the main Concourse inside contemporary is well past its day with tired dated and dirty looking areas one half of this valuable unique real estate crams three dining venues while the other half has three different retail shops it just feels like wasted space or at least square footage that is in desperate need of a renovation this hotel is just simply not aesthetically at the price caliber to which they're asking for so that brings us to value and oh boy so just based on our room alone what would you say it's worth per night 190 280 alright what about with the context of where it is and the added luxury of a lounge 400 and fifty six hundred and ninety dollars our room cost nine hundred and sixty six dollars with tax let that sink in I really did not go in with High Hopes but a part of me figured there must be some reason why people pay these rates and allow Disney to price what they deem is fair market rates I cannot give you any Silver Lining here this is straight up an offensive and insulting rate for this type of room and not far away is the Ultra Luxury Four Seasons Orlando which has an unbelievably beautiful property with great food and a room much more fitting to its similar Ultra expensive rates really it's hard to justify that enormous price tag per night as well but there are plenty of luxury hotels in the area from the new JW Bonnet Creek to the Ritz Carlton both of which have nightly rates at even or well below the base rates at contemporary if we're comparing Club level however there really is no competition the lounge contemporary is small and has limited offerings at varying degrees of quality juxtapose that to another hotel like the Ritz Carlton and it's really night and day their Lounge is huge and has a high quality selection of food and snacks about what you would expect from the Ritz Carlton now I tweeted a picture of our room which if you weren't following me yet you should go do so and while many agreed with my shock some people took to Disney's defense one saying that this room requires the context of Club level to better justify its price adding it comes with unlimited alcohol among other benefits I disagree realistically you're only going to have a few glasses of wine maybe a few beers a night it's not cocktails It's Not Top Shelf liquor it's very generic red and white wines that's all they give you so that paired with snacks and food you get throughout the day what does that really add up to a hundred and fifty dollars maybe you can stay in a suite at the JW hire your own driver to take you to the parks and buy several full bottles of top shelf alcohol for less than it would cost you to spend one night in this room now others correctly asserted that you're paying the high prices for the close access to the Magic Kingdom to wrap this whole review up that is really what you're spending so much for it's the convenience but I guess you then have to ask yourself is the convenience really worth it I mean my God you spend a full week here and you're getting close to ten thousand dollars if you include Park tickets Genie plus some Resort parking which by the way despite spending 966 dollars a night Disney still does charge you for Resort parking but I suppose it'll all come down to what matters to you more do you care about the absolute fastest way to get to one of the four parks in Walt Disney World or do you care more about the quality of where you're putting your head down at night and really regardless of what type of room you're staying in it still comes in at a high cost while those lower level rooms are certainly nicer even at the lowest here over in the garden Wing still comes in at around 530 dollars a night in the off season if you want to be facing the theme park expect to pay not much less than eight hundred dollars a night now that's before any promotions and discounts Disney usually offers so those are just rack rates but regardless this is all for a hotel that Disney clearly thinks is completely passable and is worth its Ultra Luxury price point category the renovation in the lobby should have absolutely extended to the rest of the resort and whatever you may think of The Incredibles integration in the rooms at least they're modernized they definitely look cheap and they may not fit into the overall design language of the resort but then again what even is that anymore as for our room it was clearly thrown together by a designer who does not care and whether it's a factor of budget cuts or a simple ignorance to their highest paying guests this experience is a complete joke there are so many other hotels in the area even many more on property that far surpass this in quality and theming so let's give this an actual rated review I'm calling it Jake is it any good score and it's based on five different categories which are rated out of ten for a possible perfect score of 50 out of 50. we'll start with location and obviously this is contemporary's strongest category it's super close to the Magic Kingdom but you have to take the monorail to switch at the TTC if you want to go to Epcot everywhere else requires a lengthy bus weight so I'll give it an 8 out of 10. amenities are pretty solid as well with two pools and a decent selection of mostly mediocre food and beverage options the fact there's a rooftop observation deck is great along with nice lake views around back I'll give it a 6 out of 10. luxury slash quality is severely lacking here with no discernible Ultra Luxury elements in their rooms other than perhaps the beds the rest of the resort while nice does not invoke a sense of luxury at least not in the way it's priced or marketed it's a two out of 10. service is something Disney has always exceeded in we met some friendly cast members and received a kind anniversary gift which is appreciated though some made us feel a little out of place which I suppose as we were I'm giving it a 6 out of 10. finally there's value regardless of the perks the combined value of a few snacks a glass of wine and a Spring Hill Suites room is nowhere close to what Disney is asking for it it's an easy one out of ten only saved by its great View and location and that brings the total score to 23 out of 50. contemporary is a Fine Place to spend time however unlike its name suggests the resort is ironically stuck in several different decades with clear neglect by Disney that wouldn't be such a problem if the property wasn't treated and priced like an ultra luxury resort hotel it being one of the most expensive in Florida with a rich and fascinating history behind it it's a shame the building has fallen into a state like it has now and it's pretty egregious what Disney is charging for rooms here in my opinion there are much better places to stay around the area and unless Disney wants to seriously make a competitive Club level product this will always be a disappointing experience my name is shake and thank you very much for watching

Channel: Bright Sun Travels

Views: 833,964

Keywords: disney world, contemporary resort, review, jake williams, bright sun films, hotel review, bad hotel, horrible price, disney, disney company, ripoff, consumer review, contemporary hotel, disney contemporary, 4k, family friendly, disneyland, florida, four seasons, ritz carlton, jw marriott, orlando, theme parks, magic kingdom, epcot, monorial, hotel room review, terrible hotel, bad hotel room

Id: 9xWOu84qDQ0

Length: 15min 19sec (919 seconds)

Published: Wed Nov 09 2022