If friends ask us, we can rest assured that a deluxe resort, suites or concierge-level rooms, or even the Fort Wilderness cabins, are out of the question due to the price, which would cost as much for a 2-week stay as many of our set pays for 6 months worth of home mortgage payments. To give some perspective, although my husband and I are attorneys with good salaries, we live in a rural farming community in which my friends and I can be heard to complain that the "prices at the Salvation Army Thrift Store are getting to be outrageous." Because a vacation to Disney World is such an expensive luxury for folks in our neck of the woods, and because most of our friends would prefer to use their monies for additional nights and park tickets rather than more luxurious accommodations, the extent to which a more-than-$200-per-night hotel room would never be remotely worth it to them (or to us) simply cannot be overstated.
For this reason, if a friend asked, I'd first recommend the resorts that I think are the best value, with a low price but decent amenities and new-ish fixtures: Pop Century or a standard Little Mermaid room at AoA, for those who want to minimize the budget and will be spending most of their time at the parks. If they're a little more well-off or if there's a terrific room discount, we'd recommend one of the freshly-refurbished Port Orleans resorts (French Quarter if they hate long walks, Riverside if they want a more leisurely experience). If they're adventurous and "like luxury" (mentally replaying Will Farrell "Jag-u-ar" SNL sketch here) and their family is not large, I'd recommend renting DVC points and living it up in a standard studio at the Animal Kingdom or Boardwalk. If they are avid campers with a nice RV or fifth-wheel, we'd suggest driving and staying in the Fort Wilderness campground.
Once price is accounted-for, however, it really does come down to "personal theming preferences," as the previous poster noted. We prefer moderate accommodations (as a family of 4, we appreciate the added space) and just happen to prefer the Port Orleans resorts to Caribbean Beach (which has a great theme, but is cursed with double beds instead of queen-size, something my 6'+ husband prefers to avoid) and Coronado Springs (which is very spread-out, but I don't think it's as attractive on those long walks to the main building as Port Orleans Riverside, and the restaurant there set the scene for our most "meh" meal ever at WDW).
