John park hopper
Well-Known Member
I hope I live long enough to see Disney build another generic DVC and no-one buys into it --like the Star Wars hotel
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News New Polynesian Resort DVC villas building to open 2024
- Thread starter wdwmagic
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LittleBuford
Well-Known Member
BrianLo
Well-Known Member
They blueprinted the cake bake shop model on that one!
BrianLo
Well-Known Member
You need to spend a bit more time at Riviera. The grounds, rooms and food locations are quite evocative. But I did qualify my post with ‘nice’ for a reason. It is themed, but apparently not enough for many tastes. Had the massing been better pulled off I don’t think there would even be much debate left.
Also you need to broaden your comparisons beyond Marriott, it’s not even accurate. There’s no ambiguity that Poly Island Tower and Riviera can be mistaken for one another. So why accuse them all of being Marriotts.
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Bocabear
Well-Known Member
Marriott is now the biggest conglomerate hotel chain made up of multiple brands... I did spend a few days at the Riviera... We were all a bit surprised by the lack of theme...or anything particularly special about the hotel. The room was nice. The restaurant and bar at the top were nice...The pool was a pool. We did like the mosaic downstairs and the proximity to the Skyliner... The six of us in our party all had the same opinion... It didn't feel like a Disney hotel... it was nice to have the Skyliner when it was working...when it wasn't it felt very cut off from everything and made us wish we were back at our home resort of Bay Lake Tower. I think we all wanted to like it...but just felt like we were staying in a "Good Neighbor" hotel in Disney Springs, and not actually at a Disney resort...
rle4lunch
Well-Known Member
I will say that Riveras's quick service downstairs is probably in the top 3 QSR's in all of WDW. It's only downfall was that it was freezing in there! In MAY!
BrianLo
Well-Known Member
See the funny thing is the only hotel I would compare on property to a Marriott is Contemporary. Riviera is definitely not remotely the strongest, my top five domestically are easily the lodges, grands and Aulani.
I think some of it is a splash of personal preference and I acknowledge I’m somewhat younger and like millennial design trends. Though I really don’t like contemporary… But I’m sure less minimalistic hotel theming will swing back in style in a decade or two.
Only if that's considered to be on the low-end of the theming scale. It could be considered the first "Bob Special©".
Bocabear
Well-Known Member
If the theme is contemporary design, it is themed.
So in that way I guess the "theme" was successful. Like the Poly though, I wish the design had been designed to better match the existing campus of buildings...so it felt more part of the resort organically....and not the add-on that it is. When a resort has a designated "theme"... that is a place or time period, I would expect the completed project to actually look like it... not just another contemporary building...
If the theme is "Contemporary Design" it fits the theme. It's not outer space, or the future...just contemporary...
So in that way I guess the "theme" was successful. Like the Poly though, I wish the design had been designed to better match the existing campus of buildings...so it felt more part of the resort organically....and not the add-on that it is. When a resort has a designated "theme"... that is a place or time period, I would expect the completed project to actually look like it... not just another contemporary building...
FiestaFunKid
Well-Known Member
Marriott must be stepping it up of late. Please tell me where I can locate all these mid-century modern, A-frame designed resorts, with monorails running through the building and over their concourse featuring dining with characters. Also, bonus points if the pools are set on a beautiful lake and there is a view of a theme park.
James Alucobond
Well-Known Member
I assume a large part of what he's referring to is the quality of the interior. The GCC, much of the convention center, and even the finishes in the rooms (which were recently redone!) do not match other Disney resorts in the same category. Aside from the updated lower level lobby, it's evocative of absolutely nothing in its current state. The monorail and the proximity to Magic Kingdom are the only things that still feel special about it, and staying there always feels like a significant step down from its sister resorts.
FiestaFunKid
Well-Known Member
I'd agree with much of this - and lament the current disjointed theming....but still see it as vastly unique experience vs a standard hotel like a Marriott.
BrianLo
Well-Known Member
Hey, I was trying not to be hyperbolic here. Stripping away the ancillary things, it really looks like an airport terminal hotel, many of which also have integrated transit. YMMV if you see the resemblance or not.
I understand the allure of Contemporaries location and that the contemporary largely informed US airport design in a big way.
It’s just probably bottom of my deluxe list, but that’s the nice part about our opinions. I also don’t really like WDW’s current monorail system and prefer the Skyliner. But major points to its short walk, even if the Grand Flo walk is more scenic.
MagicRat
Well-Known Member
Man that is a waste of existence to hope to live long enough to see something primarily fail. Surely you value more things than hate watching.
Epcot82Guy
Well-Known Member
Yes. But they were accompanied by pitchforks... So we may be discussing different things...
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
They’re really not. The Island Tower started as an HHCP project but I believe this final iteration ended up with HKS, who also did Destino and Riviera. Reflections, now Lakeshore Lodge, is a WATG project. Gensler did do the Swan Reserve, but that wasn’t actually a Disney project. So even if they did do the Island Tower that’s only one of these recent hotels.
Gensler | Creating a Better World Through the Power of Design
Gensler is a global architecture, design, and planning firm with 57 offices and 6,000+ professionals across the Americas, Europe, Greater China, and APME.www.gensler.com
EDIT: They are a big partner of Disney. But, most of these are directed by Disney itself and outsourced. Gensler actually has some pretty cool projects. Very modern and somewhat minimalist in design, but striking nonetheless. (They aren't that great at Chicago School-style IMHO. Their buildings tend to stand out more than reference their neighbors.) I think this is a matter of what the client wants.