News Disney Riviera Resort announced

[trainplane3]

Well...the hotel grounds look nice to walk around. Like...the nicest parts of the hotel are when you aren't looking at the building.

We may buy into it down the road if it turns into Saratoga 2.0 just for funzies. Judging buy the emails and promos I've gotten for it, this isn't selling fast at all.

 

[wedenterprises]

What a waste of a perfect theme.

 

[JayKZ]

Well...the hotel grounds look nice to walk around. Like...the nicest parts of the hotel are when you aren't looking at the building.

We may buy into it down the road if it turns into Saratoga 2.0 just for funzies. Judging buy the emails and promos I've gotten for it, this isn't selling fast at all.

Saratoga 2.0? Not a DVCer (though we've rented points a couple of times), so I don't get the reference. Thanx!

 

[trainplane3]

Saratoga 2.0? Not a DVCer (though we've rented points a couple of times), so I don't get the reference. Thanx!

Saratoga took a very long time to sell out. Actually, I'm not even sure when it did.

 

[pdude81]

Saratoga also has 14 million points.

 

[Creathir]

Saratoga also has 14 million points.

It’s also a resort with a very basic theme...
I’m not sure what folks are complaining about here with Riviera.
This is not a stand alone resort. It is a DVC resort, in tower form.
There is theming, there are even restaurants, the lobby looks on par or better than most other DVC lobbies. Sure there are exceptions, Kidani’s lobby is more grand, but it still is much more basic compared to its sister resort of AKL.

Riviera is an absolutely beautiful DVC resort and the hate it’s receiving is totally unwarranted.

 

[lazyboy97o]

It’s also a resort with a very basic theme...
I’m not sure what folks are complaining about here with Riviera.
This is not a stand alone resort. It is a DVC resort, in tower form.
There is theming, there are even restaurants, the lobby looks on par or better than most other DVC lobbies. Sure there are exceptions, Kidani’s lobby is more grand, but it still is much more basic compared to its sister resort of AKL.

Riviera is an absolutely beautiful DVC resort and the hate it’s receiving is totally unwarranted.

You’re right. The Beaux Arts, Art Nouveau and Art Deco are all known for their big blank walls, contemporary massing, fake roofs and robots.

 

[HauntedPirate]

No DVC is supposed to be a moderate.

Though, that would be hard to tell with their new, tiny one-room rooms and that they've moved all DVC resorts out of the Deluxe category on MDE and into their own category.

Someone would have to recheck their advertising to see if Disney has ever used "deluxe" in the description of the resort.

I'm fairly sure DVC used to say, "Deluxe accommodations" in commercials/videos.

 

[dreday3]

You’re right. The Beaux Arts, Art Nouveau and Art Deco are all known for their big blank walls, contemporary massing, fake roofs and robots.

Well I think Gran Destino does show the influence of Catalon....wait....

 

[mm52200]

It’s also a resort with a very basic theme...
I’m not sure what folks are complaining about here with Riviera.
This is not a stand alone resort. It is a DVC resort, in tower form.
There is theming, there are even restaurants, the lobby looks on par or better than most other DVC lobbies. Sure there are exceptions, Kidani’s lobby is more grand, but it still is much more basic compared to its sister resort of AKL.

Riviera is an absolutely beautiful DVC resort and the hate it’s receiving is totally unwarranted.

Nothing about it screams Riviera other than us being told that repeatedly. The resort is very bland. The lobby of Gran Destino, a moderate resort, is more impressive than that of this brand new “deluxe” resort.

 

[RandySavage]

Riviera is an absolutely beautiful DVC resort and the hate it’s receiving is totally unwarranted.

What one likes or dislikes is particular to themselves... but in light of the art of Architecture (Traditional architecture, not what passes for it today), this building is terrible or, more objectively, on par with any piece of hotel architecture you'd find from Shenzen to New Jersey to I-4 Orlando.

What made Disney Deluxe Hotels special back in the day is they strove to go beyond modern design practices and evoke a bygone Age of Elegance, when architecture still had art at its core, was built on a couple thousand years of human progress and craftsmanship mattered.

Here's a visual Analogy: House to House, Hotel to Hotel.

As noted, with effort & care Disney could have built a magnificent building in this historic theme/style. But they phoned it in as cheaply and ineptly as they possibly could. Massive wasted opportunity.

 

[Heppenheimer]

Nothing about it screams Riviera other than us being told that repeatedly. The resort is very bland. The lobby of Gran Destino, a moderate resort, is more impressive than that of this brand new “deluxe” resort.

Having actually visited the French Riviera, I agree. Nothing about any of the concept art or pictures I have seen of this resort even remotely reminds me of the region it claims to evoke. They should have called it the Bland Floridian.

It looks like a beautiful hotel, don't get me wrong. But the effect is like if they had posted a tiki in front of the Contemporary back in the 70s, dressed the staff in Aloha shirts and renamed it the Polynesian.

 

[mlayton144]

I believe the architectural style of the buildings exterior for this resort is called “brutalist”, google it for examples. They then dressed it up with lipstick and called it European. The interior looks nice though , but from the outside it just oozes cheapness

 

[DisneyOutsider]

I believe the architectural style of the buildings exterior for this resort is called “brutalist”, google it for examples. They then dressed it up with lipstick and called it European. The interior looks nice though , but from the outside it just oozes cheapness

It's not brutalist. Contemporary resort is the closest thing that WDW has to Brutalist.. and I love it.

 

[mlayton144]

It's not brutalist. Contemporary resort is the closest thing that WDW has to Brutalist.. and I love it.

Agreed about the contemporary but that totally fits the era that it was built and I love it too , the riviera brutalist architecture was not intended to be this , but it’s budget dictated that concrete mess that the exterior is being sold as some riviera theme , not too different from kidani’s industrial block skeleton with African dressings on the outside , anyone with a discerning eye can tell the difference in quality va the older resorts at WDW

 

[Creathir]

What one likes or dislikes is particular to themselves... but in light of the art of Architecture (Traditional architecture, not what passes for it today), this building is terrible or, more objectively, on par with any piece of hotel architecture you'd find from Shenzen to New Jersey to I-4 Orlando.

What made Disney Deluxe Hotels special back in the day is they strove to go beyond modern design practices and evoke a bygone Age of Elegance, when architecture still had art at its core, was built on a couple thousand years of human progress and craftsmanship mattered.

Here's a visual Analogy: House to House, Hotel to Hotel.
View attachment 432927


View attachment 432934

As noted, with effort & care Disney could have built a magnificent building in this historic theme/style. But they phoned it in as cheaply and ineptly as they possibly could. Massive wasted opportunity.

You missed my point completely.

I’m not arguing the design of the resort is exceptional compared to any major hotel in the world.

I’m saying people are complaining this DVC exclusive resort is not on par with other standard Disney resorts, which is right, because these are two completely different products.

Saratoga Springs’ theme is upstate an New York equestrian theme. You know what it feels like to stay there? Florida Retirement Community.

DVC is not meant to feel like a 4 star hotel experience, it is meant to feel like home. That is their big schtick, Welcome Home. The idea is that this is not just a vacation hotel, this is a vacation home.

To compare their properties with actual resorts is not a fair comparison. They are apples and oranges.

It’s design is not offensive...sure it’s tall, but the overall theming is more broadly executed than most other DVC exclusive resorts.

I think a lot of the hate is because it sits on the carcasses of former CBR rooms and folks just want to hate it for disrupting the vibe at CBR. Which is totally fair. But we also don’t know the entire story there. For all we know those buildings had foundation issues or some other major problem which required them to be raised. We just don’t know.

As a stand alone DVC exclusive resort, it looks fantastic to me. It has an exclusive Skyliner station with a 5 minute flight to Epcot, the rooms are very well appointed, several eateries on site including a rooftop table service, and the rest of the resort grounds offer quite the list of amenities.

For being DVC, I think it’s fantastic.

 

[Disnutz311]

You missed my point completely.

I’m not arguing the design of the resort is exceptional compared to any major hotel in the world.

I’m saying people are complaining this DVC exclusive resort is not on par with other standard Disney resorts, which is right, because these are two completely different products.

Saratoga Springs’ theme is upstate an New York equestrian theme. You know what it feels like to stay there? Florida Retirement Community.

DVC is not meant to feel like a 4 star hotel experience, it is meant to feel like home. That is their big schtick, Welcome Home. The idea is that this is not just a vacation hotel, this is a vacation home.

To compare their properties with actual resorts is not a fair comparison. They are apples and oranges.

It’s design is not offensive...sure it’s tall, but the overall theming is more broadly executed than most other DVC exclusive resorts.

I think a lot of the hate is because it sits on the carcasses of former CBR rooms and folks just want to hate it for disrupting the vibe at CBR. Which is totally fair. But we also don’t know the entire story there. For all we know those buildings had foundation issues or some other major problem which required them to be raised. We just don’t know.

As a stand alone DVC exclusive resort, it looks fantastic to me. It has an exclusive Skyliner station with a 5 minute flight to Epcot, the rooms are very well appointed, several eateries on site including a rooftop table service, and the rest of the resort grounds offer quite the list of amenities.

For being DVC, I think it’s fantastic.

The hotel is not a DVC exclusive resort. I am staying there in February and do not belong to the DVC. Yes, primarily sold as a DVC resort but if there are open rooms, Disney will sell them to the masses.

From what I have seen the feel of the hotel is more modern hotel style than themed. Along the lines of a Marriott Autograph Collection. I for one am a little happy to not have a theme in your face all the time and I am a big Disney World nerd. A departure for Disney, sure, but I don't mind it. The 1 bedroom villa that I am staying in looks great and is perfect for our needs. If it wasn't for the room and the Skyliner connection, I would not be staying there.

But the sheer fact that there is huge blank walls on the outside of the building, a generic pool, and bad connectivity with some of the F&B outlets, is what a lot of people are saying. It looks like someone designed a very nice 4 story hotel and grabbed the computer mouse and stretched it to 16 stories, forgetting things in between. It also does not blend with the Caribbean Beach resort steps away. They should have gone the Atlantis Resort in the Caribbean route and then it fits holistically.

And that stupid Richie Rich stylized logo is the worst!!

 

[mm52200]

You missed my point completely.

I’m not arguing the design of the resort is exceptional compared to any major hotel in the world.

I’m saying people are complaining this DVC exclusive resort is not on par with other standard Disney resorts, which is right, because these are two completely different products.

Saratoga Springs’ theme is upstate an New York equestrian theme. You know what it feels like to stay there? Florida Retirement Community.

DVC is not meant to feel like a 4 star hotel experience, it is meant to feel like home. That is their big schtick, Welcome Home. The idea is that this is not just a vacation hotel, this is a vacation home.

To compare their properties with actual resorts is not a fair comparison. They are apples and oranges.

It’s design is not offensive...sure it’s tall, but the overall theming is more broadly executed than most other DVC exclusive resorts.

I think a lot of the hate is because it sits on the carcasses of former CBR rooms and folks just want to hate it for disrupting the vibe at CBR. Which is totally fair. But we also don’t know the entire story there. For all we know those buildings had foundation issues or some other major problem which required them to be raised. We just don’t know.

As a stand alone DVC exclusive resort, it looks fantastic to me. It has an exclusive Skyliner station with a 5 minute flight to Epcot, the rooms are very well appointed, several eateries on site including a rooftop table service, and the rest of the resort grounds offer quite the list of amenities.

For being DVC, I think it’s fantastic.

I mean the DVC resorts are still called resorts at the end of the day so it’s not unfair to compare them.
And as a DVC member we do enjoy themed resorts and things that look like more than the bare minimum.
Look at Boulder Ridge as example of a DVC done well. The whole outside of the building is themed well, it was has a gorgeous lobby, themed amenities that match.
Even Old Key West which is a purely DVC resort as well is better themed than Riviera.

 

[nickys]

The hotel is not a DVC exclusive resort. I am staying there in February and do not belong to the DVC. Yes, primarily sold as a DVC resort but if there are open rooms, Disney will sell them to the masses.

From what I have seen the feel of the hotel is more modern hotel style than themed. Along the lines of a Marriott Autograph Collection. I for one am a little happy to not have a theme in your face all the time and I am a big Disney World nerd. A departure for Disney, sure, but I don't mind it. The 1 bedroom villa that I am staying in looks great and is perfect for our needs. If it wasn't for the room and the Skyliner connection, I would not be staying there.

But the sheer fact that there is huge blank walls on the outside of the building, a generic pool, and bad connectivity with some of the F&B outlets, is what a lot of people are saying. It looks like someone designed a very nice 4 story hotel and grabbed the computer mouse and stretched it to 16 stories, forgetting things in between. It also does not blend with the Caribbean Beach resort steps away. They should have gone the Atlantis Resort in the Caribbean route and then it fits holistically.

And that stupid Richie Rich stylized logo is the worst!!

You have misunderstood the relationship between DVC and Disney as far as resorts go.

A DVC exclusive resort is one that only has DVC rooms. Saratoga Springs, OKW, (Kidani) and now Riviera are the only DVC-exclusive resorts at WDW. All other resorts are “attached” to a non-DVC Resort and share facilities with them and therefor contribute to the costs. Kidani is slightly different, as it is part of AKL.

Anyone can stay in any of the DVC villa resorts, because Disney themselves own 2-3% of the points at each of the sold-out resorts. It owns even more at Riviera just now because all rooms declared have not sold.

 

[Disnutz311]

You have misunderstood the relationship between DVC and Disney as far as resorts go.

A DVC exclusive resort is one that only has DVC rooms. Saratoga Springs, OKW, (Kidani) and now Riviera are the only DVC-exclusive resorts at WDW. All other resorts are “attached” to a non-DVC Resort and share facilities with them and therefor contribute to the costs. Kidani is slightly different, as it is part of AKL.

Anyone can stay in any of the DVC villa resorts, because Disney themselves own 2-3% of the points at each of the sold-out resorts. It owns even more at Riviera just now because all rooms declared have not sold.

Thanks for the clarification.