Saratoga gives me a bit of hope. I also wonder that now with the buildings getting older more of the budget is being spent on the bones of the structure leaving less money for finishes? I am crafting an email right now to voice my concern over the lack of feeling these renovations have, maybe if more people wrote in the message will get through.While I believe the Disney of old would have done a far better job, I instantly got SSR just from the first picture. However, I did not get OKW from the first picture.
Also, I have never been in either lobby. Been by each of the buildings thousands of times, in them, no.
These are new. I like the idea they were going for. If all the furniture wasn’t from wayfair I don’t think they’d stick out as much, but together makes it feel cheap.I never thought Saratoga Springs had much of a theme to begin with, but the cartoon IP horses are really unseemly. Were they there before or is that part of this refurb?
Either way they are a terrible idea; makes it look like a value.
You don't have to be a professional interior designer to see that these new lobbies have very little theming and look like generic lobbies of generic hotel chains. And these aren't one (or two) offs. The Riviera is just as bad. Marshalls and Home Goods is the new aesthetic for Disney hotels.I didn't realize this board had so many professional interior designers. I should hire all of you for my next project.
Yes, I have the same feeling. Generally I understand how some of the 1990s-era theming might need to be streamlined for 2020s tastes. The problem is that Disney's hotels are increasingly not even furnished like particularly nice hotels. They certainly don't seem special in the sense that the furnishings look like things we could all find in retail stores and, if we can afford to stay at the hotels, could probably easily afford to buy.You don't have to be a professional interior designer to see that these new lobbies have very little theming and look like generic lobbies of generic hotel chains. And these aren't one (or two) offs. The Riviera is just as bad. Marshalls and Home Goods is the new aesthetic for Disney hotels.
Theming aside, they don't even look like lobbies for particularly nice hotels even though these are part of Disney's most expensive, deluxe tier accommodations. They look not just generic, but cheap. We've all seen Marriott Coutryards and Hilton Garden Inns that look nicer than these.
In case you haven't, here's a pic of the lobby of first Marriott Courtyard that came up in a search (Nashville). To my untrained eye, this is so much nicer than what Disney is doing and it's just a Coutryard, not even a true Marriott. If Courtyard can do it why doesn't Disney? (Of course we know the answer to that question.)
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Completely agree. Virtually everything in this picture looks bad. Even the table/sideboard thing looks pretty ugly and synthetic sitting on its clear plastic legs.WHY? All of this is just unnecessary junk that has nothing to do with the resort. We couldn’t find a horse statue? A nice potted plant? A table/hutch/buffet whatever this is That actually fits the time period? If I was the resort GM Id tell them to take all this stuff back and just leave an empty wall. I’d prefer that over this junk.
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WHY? All of this is just unnecessary junk that has nothing to do with the resort. We couldn’t find a horse statue? A nice potted plant? A table/hutch/buffet whatever this is That actually fits the time period? If I was the resort GM Id tell them to take all this stuff back and just leave an empty wall. I’d prefer that over this junk.
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Exactly. I’m curious to see what this looks like in a couple months and if WDI gets any pushback from resort leadership. If it is not adding to the story then why have it?This looks like something you'd see in the lobby of an office building. Something they just grabbed and threw in so it wasn't empty space.
I still have hope that those balloons at poly are a placeholder for the real glass ones seen in the rest of the resort, but I agree that it feels like WDI outsourced the lobby designs and it’s not turning out well.Honestly, it just feels very outsourced. Here's a budget and a general idea. Get it done to feel "faux nice" and call it a day. The resorts are almost feeling like an after thought, because they feel they have the audience. So why bother. (And, given the internal spend overrun, I can see some reason why there.)
I just think about something like the lobbies and entries of the Lodges. To this day, some of the most spectacular entries to any hotel I've been in. The juxtaposition there isn't flattering.
Yeah that looks ridiculous. You have to wonder how some of these furnishings will look after a few years of guests using them too. I don't like the lighting fixtures in the SSR lobby either. While the old lobby could use work for sure it was at least evocative of a time and place, late 1800s Saratoga? This is evocative of nothing, same problem I have with Riviera.WHY? All of this is just unnecessary junk that has nothing to do with the resort. We couldn’t find a horse statue? A nice potted plant? A table/hutch/buffet whatever this is That actually fits the time period? If I was the resort GM Id tell them to take all this stuff back and just leave an empty wall. I’d prefer that over this junk.
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SSR only evokes nice apartment complex to me and always had. This lobby redo is a net 0. At least the pink is gone.Yeah that looks ridiculous. You have to wonder how some of these furnishings will look after a few years of guests using them too. I don't like the lighting fixtures in the SSR lobby either. While the old lobby could use work for sure it was at least evocative of a time and place, late 1800s Saratoga? This is evocative of nothing, same problem I have with Riviera.
Yeah, SSR’s theme has always been “Disney Institute didn’t work.” Of course, it’s hard to imagine what successful theming would look like. I have a fairly deep knowledge of history and, particularly, the history of tourism, and if you asked me to describe the essence of a Saratoga Springs hotel, I’d just stare at you. I’m familiar with the inspiration for pretty much every other Disney hotel but - what is distinct about Saratoga Springs architecture?SSR only evokes nice apartment complex to me and always had. This lobby redo is a net 0. At least the pink is gone.
Yeah, SSR’s theme has always been “Disney Institute didn’t work.” Of course, it’s hard to imagine what successful theming would look like. I have a fairly deep knowledge of history and, particularly, the history of tourism, and if you asked me to describe the essence of a Saratoga Springs hotel, I’d just stare at you. I’m familiar with the inspiration for pretty much every other Disney hotel but - what is distinct about Saratoga Springs architecture?
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