Saratoga Springs, a Disney Deluxe Villa resort, has a theme described by Disney as recalling a late-1800s, Victorian-style, upstate New York retreat.
It consists of 1,260 studio and one-, two-, and three-bedroom villas across the lake from Disney Springs. Housed in 18 buildings, most accommodations are of recent vintage, while the fitness center and check-in building are retooled vestiges of the erstwhile Disney Institute Resort. An adjacent 60-unit DDV complex, Treehouse Villas at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa, opened in 2009.
The fitness center is one of the best at Walt Disney World. The Senses spa, like the Grand Floridian’s, was refurbished in 2013 along the lines of those on Disney’s cruise ships. Service and decor are very good, and this Senses location is easier to get to than the one at the Grand Floridian if you’re staying east of the World.
Surrounded on three sides by a golf course, Saratoga Springs is the only Disney-owned resort that affords direct access to the links (the military-only Shades of Green also provides golf on-property).
Furnishings and soft goods are less whimsical and more upscale and masculine than at other Disney resorts. Chairs, sofas, and tables are substantial—perhaps a little too substantial for the rooms they inhabit. The overall effect, however, is sophisticated and restful.
Saratoga Springs has five pools of which one is at the Treehouse Villas. The main pool is located at Springs where you also find the food hall, check-in, and the Sense Spa. There is no sit-down restaurant at the resort.
The resort is vast. If staying at the Congress Park section of the park it is a quick walk to Disney Springs, but just like most of the other sections it is way too far from the other amenities of the hotel. Walking or taking the resort shuttle bus to get around is very time consuming. Unless you have a car, getting around by bus is a real hassle.
Good (and not-so-good) rooms at Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa This resort’s sprawling size puts some of its best rooms very far away from the main lobby, restaurants, and shops. If you don’t have a car, the best rooms are those in The Springs, numbered 3101–3436 and 3501–3836. Ask for a room toward the northeast side of these buildings (away from the lobby), as the southwest rooms border a well-traveled road. Avoid rooms 4101–4436 in Building 14; a pedestrian walkway runs behind the patios of this building and gets a lot of use in the early morning from guests headed to breakfast.
If you have a car or you don’t mind a couple of extra furlongs’ walk to the lobby, rooms 1101–1436 and 2501–2836 in Congress Park offer quietness, a view of Disney Springs, and a relatively short walk to the bus stop. Also good are rooms 4501–4826, 6101–6436, and 6501–6836 in The Paddock. Avoid rooms on the northeast side of the 5101–5435 building of The Paddock, as well as the northwest side of the 5501– 5836 building; these border a swimming pool and bus stop.
In addition to being quiet, rooms 1101–1436 of Congress Park and rooms 6101–6436 and 6501–6836 of The Paddock afford the closest walks to Disney Springs shops, restaurants, and entertainment.
For more information on all accommodation at Walt Disney World, check out The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World by Bob Sehlinger and Len Testa. If you enjoyed this post, sign up for our newsletter here.
