Jambo Joe
Well-Known Member
That’s a lot to read into a sign
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News Coronado Springs Expansion - Gran Destino Tower
- Thread starter P_Radden
- Start date
Jambo Joe
Well-Known Member
I think that’s a good summary. Agree the tower looks fantastic on the inside but doesn’t quite deliver on the outside. The two parts don’t necessarily work that well together- just my opinion
For what it’s worth - the original hotel was always a puzzler to me - they used the standard concrete form used at all the value and mods, dressed up southwest. They have the buildings names like Rancho, Cabana, and Casita even though they aren’t any of those things, which doesn’t help, The place never really created much of a real southwest feel - a prior poster likened it to an apartment complex trying to be southwest in the 90’s. I agree,
Overall the changes will create a vibrant resort with a unique feel. I think overall they are a big net positive.
Sir_Cliff
Well-Known Member
I would tend to agree with @JenniferS on this: Coronado Springs was always a mix. To me, the theming was a bit of a strange mix as Disney described it as a Southwest-themed resort, but the hotel seemed more of a mash-up of Mexican theming with some Southwest elements thrown in. I'm not quite sure why they didn't fully embrace the Southwest theme as it is a very evocative one or go all-out on a Mexican (Yucatán?) resort, but you had a Maya grill, a pool combining the pyramid of Chichen Itza on the Yucatán Peninsula with the statues of Tula in central Mexico, etc. Of course, Catalan theming muddies it further and is particularly interesting to ponder considering Catalonia's increasingly forceful assertion of a unique national identity and push for independence from Spain right now!
aladdin2007
Well-Known Member
While its nice and new and Im sure everyone will love it, as it does look very upscale, I do get the sentiment about it looking like any other orlando hotel.
There doesn't seem to be any Disney details (building, lobby, rooms or otherwise), but that's becoming property wide one by one. You really dont feel like your staying on Disney property anymore, thats my main concern. Personally I dont care for that direction myself but thats what they are doing now. It will still do very well no doubts there.
There doesn't seem to be any Disney details (building, lobby, rooms or otherwise), but that's becoming property wide one by one. You really dont feel like your staying on Disney property anymore, thats my main concern. Personally I dont care for that direction myself but thats what they are doing now. It will still do very well no doubts there.
JenniferS
When you're the leader, you don't have to follow.
Over the years, my family spent 60+ nights in a room that looked like this:
Lots of Mickey. Zero style.
phillip9698
Well-Known Member
My experience with the rooms below deluxe has always been
Before arrival - "So excited for this Disney trip, and glad we are staying on property to fully become immersed in the experience".
Upon arrival- "I forgot how mediocre these rooms actually were, let's put our things down and leave asap".
These new rooms actually look like something I wouldn't mind chilling in for a bit.
I don't understand this. There are Disney details all over, just more subdued than say All Stars.
Mickey on the wallpaper, Mickey head on the bathroom door, hidden Mickeys in the hallway carpets.
The giant Walt/Mickey picture in the lobby.
A wall of Walt photos in the Lounge.
I'm sure more that I'm missing, but this hotel is geared toward adults, not families.
Also, there were no Mickey touches in our rooms at Beach or Yacht either last few stays, a lamp maybe?
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Sir_Cliff
Well-Known Member
This is really where I am most puzzled about the response to the interiors of the new tower. I get that it's not to everyone's taste and is not a great work of architecture, but I don't think most of Disney's hotels below the deluxes ever were. I feel the same way when people get annoyed at Disney updating the decor of the rooms: it may or may not be to your taste, but what was there before wasn't anything to write home about either. My most recent stay was at the Grand Floridian, and that room honestly didn't really match the price we were paying.
The story of the outside of the tower is a waterfall, which on the lake side, leads nicely into the lake.
The story of the inside is "the contemporary Spanish world." Take the influence of Spain from Spain itself and all the ways that influence has morphed in the New World and bring it all together in a fusion of styles with a contemporary flair.
Just like Wakanda is "technofuturistic Africa", the tower is "contempofusion Hispania."
Also... it's pretty.
The story of the inside is "the contemporary Spanish world." Take the influence of Spain from Spain itself and all the ways that influence has morphed in the New World and bring it all together in a fusion of styles with a contemporary flair.
Just like Wakanda is "technofuturistic Africa", the tower is "contempofusion Hispania."
Also... it's pretty.
JenniferS
When you're the leader, you don't have to follow.
This is Hubby walking in a “deluxe” hallway. His head almost touches the ceiling.
There truly is nothing that screams “deluxe” in the Poly corridors. (That being said, it’s still my dream resort, although I am too frugal to pay those rates.)
Clearly the magic of staying at any Disney resort is not confined to the lobby, or the corridors, or the room, or the shower curtain.
If you know what I’m talking about, you’ll get it - when I drive under that entrance sign, I lose 15 lbs, I instantly look 10 years younger, I’m immediately less judgemental, all of my cares and worries are pushed aside, and I ... AM ... HOME.
FigmentJedi
Well-Known Member
Also, lobby chandeliers meant to evoke the dandelion motif from Destino and some names from the short being used. But again, Destino seems pretty wasted in a subdued hotel environment. Now, Destino and Salvador Dali's work as the basis for a dark ride in a Spain Pavilion...
Disney Analyst
Well-Known Member
Oh wow! GORGEOUS! Love love love it!
This is clearly your fault for not marrying a tiki-sized husband.
RobbinsDad
Well-Known Member
I'd like to ask a question - when is the last time Disney World constructed a hotel that had a unique architectural structure? I'm not talking about aesthetics, I'm talking about structure. Wilderness Lodge? OK, but at the end of the day it's not that unique - it's a large hotel with several wings and a national park lodge inspired aesthetic. Animal Kingdom Lodge? Same thing, different continent. The DVC's? Beach Club/Yacht Club? Gorgeous aesthetics, but again, basic hotel structure. I think you have to go back to the original big 3 Seven Seas resorts for something that seemed uniquely-Disney in its structure.
I agree with those that say this seems kind of generic, aesthetically. But to say it doesn't feel "Disney" because it looks similar to a hotel you'd see anywhere is conveniently overlooking the last 25 years of copy-cat resort architecture.
I agree with those that say this seems kind of generic, aesthetically. But to say it doesn't feel "Disney" because it looks similar to a hotel you'd see anywhere is conveniently overlooking the last 25 years of copy-cat resort architecture.
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
Who is saying anything about the structural system of the hotel? Consistency and commitment to a single idea can be accomplished with a conventional structure. Buildings that looks like one thing but are contemporary structures are par the course for themed entertainment.
Absinthe makes the heart go Fonda.
eddie104
Well-Known Member
The Shanghai Disneyland Hotel and Disney Explorers Lodge are probably the most themed resorts they have built this decade.
I think the new Reflections resort is going to look similar to the styles of these new hotels.
RobbinsDad
Well-Known Member
More than one poster since this project was announced has complained about the generic tower structure. Even more have complained that this style doesn’t belong at Disney World.
It’s one thing to dislike the look. I personally think it’s boring, but for example I also think SSR is boring. That doesn’t mean I don’t clearly see what Disney was going for there theme-wise, and it’s pretty clear here as well - some kind of Spanish contemporary chic. In that case, mission accomplished.
Complaining about look is one thing. Calling it un Disney-like just because it’s not your cup of tea is another. I have called out TWDC for many things that seem to be misaligned with the company culture, but if that becomes our collective go-to when it’s simply a matter of personal taste then we become the group that cries Iger.
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
None of this has to do with your claim about the structure. The tower doesn’t have to have a unique structure to not have a generic aesthetic. The Moderate Resorts are themselves generally rather good examples of basic motel forms being enhanced to create something stronger.
The tower has been called un-Disney because it fails to deliver on a tradition of storytelling through design. There is no clear explanation of what Disney was going for even from Disney. It’s a mish mash of different styles that keep getting described differently because they aren’t very unified or consistent. You call it Spanish contemporary, but Disney claims it is also traditional, Modern, Mexican, American and Catalan.
RobbinsDad
Well-Known Member
I guess I don’t understand the storytelling by design assessment. Every WDW resort evokes a theme sure, and some pull it off better than others. But they aren’t attractions, they’re themed resorts. Are you saying this isn’t?