Gran Destino and Contemporary Resort are Walt Disney World’s two tower resorts. While very completely different in some methods, in addition they have lots in widespread and go well with some related trip objectives. In this put up, we’ll examine and distinction the lodging, crowning a champion in a number of classes together with theme/decor, rooms, eating, transportation, swimming pools, and price.
Of course, Gran Destino Tower is technically a part of Coronado Springs, which additional muddies the comparability. However, Contemporary Resort additionally has Bay Lake Tower and the Garden Wing along with the A-frame, which is the first topic of this comparability. In different phrases, it’s not an apples to apples and even complete comparability, however a take a look at every resort’s tower plus some shared facilities.
While we’ll draw our personal conclusions as to which is healthier, alongside the way in which we’ll clarify our reasoning, so you may kind your personal conclusions. Since a lot of it is a matter of subjective, private choice, we really feel that’s one of the best ways to method these comparisons. Plus, it might be a reasonably quick weblog put up if we didn’t provide explanatory textual content together with the winner of every component…
Theme/Decor: Gran Destino – Neither of those resorts are themed within the conventional sense of the time period. The designs are usually not all-encompassing, and they don’t transport you to a different time or place. Both are extra about structure and inside design, with out the pretenses.
Contemporary Resort debuted in 1971 as an exemplar of utopian and fashionable design. It was noteworthy in a number of methods, significantly the monorail breezing by way of its atrium, which imbued it with a way of futurism. The resort was and is critical structure, worthy of criticism and scholarly debate about its deserves.
While its core structure stays intact, the inside has turn into a hodgepodge of disparate kinds, which might be the results of Disney’s Contemporary Resort having visible muddle added over the many years. More and extra stuff has been added through the years with none coherent imaginative and prescient. It’s ironic that the atrium is known as the Grand Canyon Concourse, as a result of the layers of muddle are just like the sedimentary rock layers within the Grand Canyon. Except ugly as an alternative of awe-inspiring.
Being newer, Gran Destino has a more energizing and extra finely-tuned inventive sensibility. It’s architecturally and culturally insignificant, however within the right here and now, it merely appears and feels nicer. The foyer pays homage to the Catalan Modernism model, and there are flashes of famed Spanish architect Gaudí within the lounge and rooftop restaurant.
The tower doesn’t go all-in on this, but it surely’s nonetheless fairly good. Specific items of artwork reference the collaboration between Walt Disney and Salvador Dali that resulted within the quick movie Destino, which is sort of the deep lower. In common, the foyer is grandiose, fairly, and makes use of an array of complementary colours, patterns, glass, and textures. This is important as in comparison with the Contemporary, the place primarily all the design selections conflict with slightly than complement each other.
Rooms: Contemporary Resort – Gran Destino has giant, fashionable rooms that may work effectively for a solo traveler or a pair, with enhancements aimed toward performance for enterprise vacationers. Gran Destino Tower was designed largely for conventioneers who aren’t significantly serious about Disney and the design is thus very muted.
The loos are good, however the design is perplexing in that the bathe and sink can’t be used concurrently besides by those that are intimately conversant in each other. In addition to that, not one of the rooms have balconies, which is an enormous loss.
On the opposite hand, the usual rooms at Contemporary Resort have been not too long ago redone with the Incredibles injected into a contemporary model. While the rooms are lighter and brighter with a crisp look and mid-century fashionable aesthetic, in addition they look low-cost. From the flooring to the furnishings to the surfaces, these rooms merely look and feel decrease finish with character particulars affixed through stickers and different superficial prospers.
With that mentioned, these rooms are considerably bigger, the loos are good and upscale, and all rooms have balconies. Most households are going to far want the Contemporary Resort rooms because of this, and a few non-families may want them as a result of measurement, as effectively. The model isn’t nice, but it surely’s extra enjoyable and completely practical. The solely vacationers prone to want Gran Destino’s rooms are those that actually suppose the cartoonish model of the Contemporary is just too cheesy, or those that actually favor operate over kind–and don’t care about balconies.
Dining: Toss Up – Both of those resorts are exemplars of Walt Disney World’s eating scene. Contemporary Resort has a robust lineup with California Grill, Steakhouse 71, Chef Mickey’s, and Contempo Cafe. The predominant standout is California Grill, which at the moment contains a enjoyable Walt Disney World fiftieth Anniversary dinner menu.
We are also enormous followers of Steakhouse 71, which is the resort’s mid-tier foyer restaurant that serves nice choices for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It’s strong and pretty priced. Chef Mickey’s and Contempo Cafe are extra hit & miss, however they full a really well-rounded culinary lineup at Disney’s Contemporary Resort.
At Gran Destino, Toledo is prime notch, Dahlia Lounge is pleasant, and Barcelona Lounge is gorgeous. The solely “problem” right here is that Gran Destino has no counter service restaurant, with the (cheap) expectation being that visitors will stroll over to El Centro, which was the primary foyer and is simply ~5 minutes away from Gran Destino Tower.
In this constructing you’ll discover the El Mercadero de Coronado meals courtroom, plus Maya Grill, Rix Cafe, and extra. In the center of the sprawling advanced is Three Bridges Bar & Grill, the over-the-water desk service restaurant that’s one in every of our Walt Disney World hidden eating gems.
Which of those resorts is superior relies on your priorities. On the bar and lounge entrance, Gran Destino wins out. It has has quite a lot of top quality and nice worth eating places that we may revisit time and again. By distinction, Contemporary Resort has two of Walt Disney World’s most iconic eating places in Chef Mickey’s and California Grill. Personally, we’d take the lesser recognized choices at Gran Destino, however we’re guessing most Walt Disney World followers wouldn’t.
Transportation: Contemporary Resort – This is a simple one, because the Contemporary is the closest resort to Magic Kingdom, simply accessible through the sidewalk. It’s additionally on the monorail loop with direct entry to Magic Kingdom and connecting service to Epcot. Both parks could be reached in below quarter-hour, which is much extra environment friendly than any bus service at both resort will ever be.
Accessing Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom from Contemporary Resort requires taking buses, however we’ve discovered the bus service to be fairly environment friendly. At the very least, it’s not making a number of stops.
By distinction, the bus service at Coronado Springs has been downright abysmal since Gran Destino opened. In addition to there being a number of stops round Coronado Springs, plainly Walt Disney World didn’t improve the frequency of buses as soon as the tower opened to account for all the added visitors.
Consequently, buses are routinely full and over-crowded, particularly at peak hours. It will get a little bit higher when Coronado Springs is internet hosting a conference, as these visitors are much less prone to make the most of buses. It’s not like a conference goes to be on the town when reserving Gran Destino, although.
Transportation is unquestionably the largest weak point of Gran Destino, which in any other case comes very shut to being the right Deluxe-caliber tower resort at Moderate costs. We’d go so far as to say this is likely one of the worst 5 resorts at Walt Disney World for transportation. No huge deal for those who plan on renting a automotive or utilizing Uber/Lyft, however we’d warning towards reserving Gran Destino for those who’re going to rely closely on Disney transportation and plan on taking noon breaks or touring at peak instances.
Pools: Gran Destino (With An Asterisk) – This is a troublesome one. Technically, it’s “Gran Destino Tower at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort.” That at is the operative phrase right here, and it means visitors of Gran Destino can use the Dig Site Pool. That’s crucial to Gran Destino having any shot right here, because it in any other case doesn’t have a pool.
Whereas transportation is Gran Destino’s achilles heel, swimming pools are for Disney’s Contemporary Resort. The resort has two swimming pools, each of that are among the many weakest at Walt Disney World. The Feature Pool (that’s each a descriptive title and its correct identify), sits between the A-frame tower and the Garden Wing. This space is usually unthemed, and provides a sizzling tub, kiddie pool, and water participant space. There’s additionally the close by Bay Lake quiet pool. While neither of those are something particular, they do provide nice views of Bay Lake and are surrounded by serene white sand seashores.
Nevertheless, a simple win for Gran Destino Tower, regardless of it being technically pool-less.
Cost: Gran Destino – Another simple one. Before low cost, Value Season nightly room charges at Gran Destino Tower are ~$275 and Regular Season is simply over $309 per night time. These are for a daily room with a typical view. On prime of that, there are typically fairly good offers, particularly exterior of conference and particular occasions season.
By distinction, rooms at Disney’s Contemporary Resort with commonplace views begin at over $500 per night time in Value Season and solely improve from there with busier seasons and as you enhance the view class. Theme park view rooms are steadily $800 to $1000 per night time, and are much less prone to be discounted. With that mentioned, Contemporary Resort steadily has higher share off financial savings–simply normally with worse availability or solely sure classes of rooms.
Verdict: It Depends – For us, it’s Gran Destino with out hesitation. We love the vibe, subtle model, extra laid again and grownup ambiance. We’re additionally enormous followers of the eating scene at Gran Destino, which provides distinctive worth for cash because it caters to conventioneers and can’t coast on its longstanding repute. The superior pool and every part else is simply icing. The largest drawbacks for us are the dearth of balconies and inefficient transportation, however we have a tendency to not take noon breaks and use Uber/Lyft at peak journey instances.
However, we acknowledge that not everyone seems to be us, and that’s okay. If we have been Walt Disney World first-timers or taking babies on a rite-of-passage journey centered round Magic Kingdom, all of this category-by-category evaluation would exit the window. Contemporary Resort could be the hands-down winner solely based mostly on its proximity to Magic Kingdom. Even making an allowance for the considerably increased value and different on-paper weaknesses, we’d e book the Contemporary. Location is the primary three guidelines of actual property, and being a stone’s throw from Magic Kingdom makes it simple to miss lots.
Heck, at the same time as adults who like to consider ourselves as rational and goal, the situation of Contemporary has a robust pull. We’re ready to withstand the temptation after we see the worth, however there’s definitely one thing to be mentioned for energy strolling to the park within the morning ~quarter-hour after waking up. Ditto having the ability to bypass lengthy waits on the bus cease with that very same quick stroll on the finish of the night time, rapidly crashing after we’re drained slightly than coping with a irritating, prolonged, and unpredictable commute.
Ultimately, this comparability finally ends up coming down to 2 issues: value and placement/transportation. If these two resorts value the identical quantity or near it, we’d virtually definitely select Disney’s Contemporary Resort. It’s laborious to place a value on a balcony with a view of Bay Lake or Cinderella Castle, however “less than $400 per night” (generally the associated fee differential between the 2 resorts) would most likely be it for us.
However, the opposite huge distinction comes with the situation. Gran Destino Tower is out in no man’s land, not likely in any resort ‘district’ and requiring bus transportation to entry each theme park at Walt Disney World. It’s additionally laborious to place a value on environment friendly monorail transportation and having the ability to stroll to Magic Kingdom, but it surely turns into barely simpler when you’ve handled a couple of complications of the bus system on the different resorts. In that case, the premium pricing of Contemporary turns into simpler to justify, particularly for those who’re not on a good price range or cash isn’t any object. If you don’t cringe on the value differential, Contemporary is the straightforward choose right here.
While we hope this put up is useful in providing a head-to-head comparability of essentially the most essential parts of every Walt Disney World resort expertise, we all know it’s not definitive or the ultimate phrase for each visitor. In addition to studying the feedback earlier than making your personal resolution, we propose supplementing this with our full evaluate of Disney’s Contemporary Resort and our Gran Destino Tower at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort Review.
Planning a Walt Disney World journey? Learn about resorts on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews web page. For the place to eat, learn our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To lower your expenses on tickets or decide which sort to purchase, learn our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets put up. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips put up takes a singular take a look at intelligent objects to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will assist. For complete recommendation, the perfect place to begin is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for every part it’s worthwhile to know!
Your Thoughts
Is cash the deciding issue for you, or is location/transportation? Do the monorail or being inside strolling distance of Magic Kingdom present sufficient worth so that you can assist bridge the worth hole? What in regards to the rooms, eating, or the rest that the Contemporary boasts? Is there one other variable you may consider to make Disney’s Contemporary Resort the higher choose? Are we lacking a key variable that might, probably tilt the scales within the Gran Destino’s favor? Do you agree or disagree with our picks? Any questions we may help you reply? Hearing your suggestions–even if you disagree with us–is each fascinating to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas beneath within the feedback!