Gran Destino or Yacht Club

[MissViv]

I have a trip planned to meet my niece in Tampa & go to Disney again for 4 nights.

We booked the Gran Destino with the FL discount but we can upgrade to the Yacht Club for a whopping $865. diff.

We will have a car for driving to the parks when we need to but I would love the proximity to Epcot from YC. I have been to Disney many times and never stayed at either.

Would you pay the difference and switch?

 

[EricsBiscuit]

Depends what your financial situation is. Personally, I have been staying at Uni for most of my trips for the last year now. Their rooms are better and at 1/3-1/4 of the price.

 

[dreday3]

So we've stayed at both. Yacht a few times and Gran Destino just this past October.

As far as luxe feel and decor - Gran Destino wins for us. It's GORGEOUS. New, open/light. Great bars within hotel. Toledo is beautiful but we didn't eat there, but gets good reviews. Three Bridges is outside on the water and we loved it. Ate there 3 times.
The rest of CSR was very just okay to us. Grounds are pretty, but non-descript, feels like you are in a sub-division in Arizona.

For us though, the bus situation at Gran Destino was bad. Bad enough it puts us off staying there again. And we definitely didn't have that "disneybubblefeel" while there, so if that's important to you, keep that in mind.

Yacht is very nautical feel, wood tones, darker. You have a lot of options for food due to location to Epcot, Boardwalk area and Swan/Dolphin. Better pool. Walking/boat to two parks really can't be beat. The whole area of the Boardwalk - you definitely get that Disney bubble feel!

If you could swing the price difference without issue, I'd pick Yacht over Gran Destino just for overall ease to parks and feels more Disney (I love hearing the boat horns!). But if you choose Gran Destino and keep in mind above, I don't think you will be disappointed.

 

[MissViv]

So we've stayed at both. Yacht a few times and Gran Destino just this past October.

As far as luxe feel and decor - Gran Destino wins for us. It's GORGEOUS. New, open/light. Great bars within hotel. Toledo is beautiful but we didn't eat there, but gets good reviews. Three Bridges is outside on the water and we loved it. Ate there 3 times.
The rest of CSR was very just okay to us. Grounds are pretty, but non-descript, feels like you are in a sub-division in Arizona.

For us though, the bus situation at Gran Destino was bad. Bad enough it puts us off staying there again. And we definitely didn't have that "disneybubblefeel" while there, so if that's important to you, keep that in mind.

Yacht is very nautical feel, wood tones, darker. You have a lot of options for food due to location to Epcot, Boardwalk area and Swan/Dolphin. Better pool. Walking/boat to two parks really can't be beat. The whole area of the Boardwalk - you definitely get that Disney bubble feel!

If you could swing the price difference without issue, I'd pick Yacht over Gran Destino just for overall ease to parks and feels more Disney (I love hearing the boat horns!). But if you choose Gran Destino and keep in mind above, I don't think you will be disappointed.

Thanks for your input, yes we were worried about the bus situation at Gran Destino. Leaning more towards Yacht Club but would like to hear from more that have stayed at both.

 

[Joesixtoe]

Both are very nice. CSR to me is just a nice, peaceful resort. I love the pool area and the theme going on there and throughout the resort. The rooms in the tower are very nice and modern. Yacht club was amazing I thought, interms of the view we had of the boardwalk across the way, the beds to me were some of the best on property as well as the theme of the resort was my style. Also the pool to me is best on property, as well as now your in the bubble, you can park your car, let it rest and just enjoy the small world around you.

 

[wdwfan22]

I would move to Yacht club. Grand destino is nice but it’s still a moderate resort. It’s more crowded and of course smaller rooms. We tried it when it first opened but don’t need to return.

 

[tpoly88]

I would move to Yacht club. Grand destino is nice but it’s still a moderate resort. It’s more crowded and of course smaller rooms. We tried it when it first opened but don’t need to return.

I agree if you can the yacht club is really nice and probably my favorite hotel on property due to proximity to epcot and ease of getting to HS. The rooms at the yacht club are decent size and quiet unlike the Floridian. The main pool is great but they also have a quiet pool on the side toward the dolphin. My vote is for the YC

 

[MissViv]

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions. Well, we decided to upgrade to the Yacht Club. Now I need to pick a room on Touring Plans, any suggestions?

 

[Ayla]

So we've stayed at both. Yacht a few times and Gran Destino just this past October.

As far as luxe feel and decor - Gran Destino wins for us. It's GORGEOUS. New, open/light. Great bars within hotel. Toledo is beautiful but we didn't eat there, but gets good reviews. Three Bridges is outside on the water and we loved it. Ate there 3 times.
The rest of CSR was very just okay to us. Grounds are pretty, but non-descript, feels like you are in a sub-division in Arizona.

For us though, the bus situation at Gran Destino was bad. Bad enough it puts us off staying there again. And we definitely didn't have that "disneybubblefeel" while there, so if that's important to you, keep that in mind.

Yacht is very nautical feel, wood tones, darker. You have a lot of options for food due to location to Epcot, Boardwalk area and Swan/Dolphin. Better pool. Walking/boat to two parks really can't be beat. The whole area of the Boardwalk - you definitely get that Disney bubble feel!

If you could swing the price difference without issue, I'd pick Yacht over Gran Destino just for overall ease to parks and feels more Disney (I love hearing the boat horns!). But if you choose Gran Destino and keep in mind above, I don't think you will be disappointed.

I've stayed at both within 6 months this year and I totally agree with the above post.

 

[Imhere]

I've stayed at both, and like them both and would stay at each again.

Between the 2, if money wasn't the deciding factor, I'd always choose Yacht.

People say Destino Tower is like a deluxe, but, I think *many* of the people saying that never stayed at a deluxe.

 

[marymarypoppins]

Yatch CLub for sure!

 

[Buzz2001]

GDT is tremendous. Toledo, Three Bridges, and Dahlia Lounge are great options for food and drink. Great tapas. We had no issues with buses except leaving DS. You'll find it hard to find a more relaxing and romantic resort than CSR

 

[MissViv]

It's 2 women so we don't need romantic. We chose YC for the convenience to Epcot & HS.

Thanks for all the suggestions!