Lake Buena Vista Resort Village & Spa

Our Disney planner recommended Lake Buena Vista Resort Village and Spa. I wish she hadn't. We were very disappointed in this "suite". A few weeks before our trip I called and asked if all buildings were the same, if any had recently been updated. I was told that all buildings were the same. We checked in on Friday, March 6 around 4 pm. We arrived on the property at 11 but our room was not available until 4:00. We were placed in building 2, 3rd floor. When we walked in, I was immediately disappointed. The sofa was quite worn, the kitchen and bathrooms were dated, there was a water mark/ring on the table next to the couch letting me know it had not been cleaned. The television sat on a chest that had a drawer that wouldn't stay closed. We would close the drawer, and it would fall open again. The drawers in the chest of drawers in two of the bedrooms would hardly open- some were not usable at all. Because I was told weeks before that ALL buildings were the same, I thought well here were are, no use in complaining, this is a mediocre property. We headed to the grocery and went to bed. The next day we attempted to cook breakfast in the kitchen. There was not one cookie sheet/baking pan. The entire stove moved from the wall when the oven door was open. 3 of the four burners were not attached. The refrigerator door was attached on the wrong side. We made do, cooked breakfast and left for the day. We got back to the room around 9pm, did a quick load of laundry only to discover the dryer didn't work. The next day was our first Disney Park day. We were leaving very early and needed the clothes to be dry.Again, we made do. We went to the Magic Kingdom early Sunday Morning. After a long day at the park we finally called the front desk and told them about the numerous problems. The "manager" asked why hadn't I said anything sooner?? I told her we had a very busy, expensive trip planned. I honestly had not had the time to call her and tell her everything that was wrong. We were on vacation, with our four children- and were a little busy! She said she could have moved us to a "nicer' "updated" building. I told her I was told weeks ago that all of the buildings were the same. She said that wasn't the case. She sent someone to fix some of the items. The maintenance man was very professional, but even he was surprised by the condition of the oven, refrigerator door and the drawer that wouldn't stay closed. We had also begun to notice a mildewy smell coming from the carpet- someone from housekeeping was sent to spray air freshner- as you can imagine this only masked the problem. The next day was another park day, honestly we didn't have time to pack everything up and move to a "better" unit. I could go on and on. We were not pleased. We paid $2,091 for a subpar "suite". We have been to Orlando several times and have stayed other places that were less expensive and much nicer. We will not return to Lake Buena Vista Resort Village and Spa and will not recommend it to anyone.

This was our 6th time at this resort although we had to go a little later than usual this year and ended up there over the March Break. While there, the Coronavirus really took off so the resort seemed less busy than usual. There was plenty of parking and the pool was only busy a couple of days. We always get a pool view room and did so this time as well. If you're out early enough, you can see staff doing the cleaning early in the morning. They added sliding doors to the buildings which is a great idea for when you arrive and your hands are full. We usually eat at Frankie Farrell's on the resort and they have $5 off coupons which weren't in stock when we were there. Only other minor issue is again I wish that they would provide coffee packets for the duration of your stay. we drive so we are able to bring coffee from home but if we flew, it would be more difficult. The best part of the resort is the pool area. Lots of chairs and Lani's Luau is awesome with a great variety of drinks and great staff. The most disappointing part of that area was the people there this time around. Groups were drinking by the pool all day and then leaving their towels on the ground or chairs and all their garbage piled up for staff. There are garbage cans all over and an area to return your towels. Also, I wish they would come out with a rule about throwing footballs, frisbees and other things around the pool that's usually full of little kids. A football thrown by an adult came within inches of hitting my young daughter in the head and if it would have, the football would have been thrown over the fencing. People aren't considerate so please make it a rule. Other than that, the trip did not disappoint and we hope to return next year.