Disney’s Beach Club Villas Review
This Disney’s Beach Club Villas review provides an overview of the Disney Vacation Club Resort. Since our last stay, the rooms at Beach Club Villas have been renovated. Below, we share updated photos of the common areas at the villa wing. We’ll provide an updated look at the rooms on our next stay.
Disney’s Beach Club Villas is a separate resort that makes up part of Disney’s Beach Club Resort. The addition of the word villas to the name signifies that it’s a Disney Vacation Club Resort (DVC).
Disney Vacation Club members will have a first-come, first-serve choice of rooms when reservations become available at Beach Club Villas. However, Disney makes these rooms available on a cash basis to regular resort guests. So, you don’t have to be a DVC member to reserve a room in this area.
At this point, you might be wondering why you would want to stay at a Disney Vacation Club Resort over a regular one. That’s a simple question to answer. DVC Resorts offer more in-room amenities than regular ones. Depending on which room type you choose, you’ll have access to some of the comforts of home. Villas include anything from a small kitchenette to a full-size kitchen with in-room laundry.
Disney’s Beach Club Villas have various room options to consider when renting. They are as follows:
- Deluxe Studio
- One-Bedroom Villa
- Two-Bedroom Villa
- Two-Bedroom Lock-Off Villa
The deluxe studio will be your closest in comparison to a standard room. This room sleeps up to five adults. The setup is a queen-size bed, a pull-down queen-size bed, and a single pull-down bed. Other extras include a kitchenette with a small sink, a microwave, a mini-fridge, a toaster, a coffee maker, dinnerware, and utensils.
Related: Deluxe Studio at Beach Club
A one-bedroom villa sleeps up to four guests. The one-bedroom has a queen-size pull-down sofa in the living room, a full kitchen, and a bedroom with a king-size bed.
Meanwhile, the two-bedroom can accommodate eight guests. It is similar to the one bedroom, except it has another bedroom with two queen beds. The two-bedroom sleeps up to eight guests.
Related: Two-Bedroom Villa at Beach Club
A two-bedroom lock-off unit is also available. It is a combination of a one-bedroom villa and a deluxe studio. The lock-off villa sleeps up to nine guests.
Other than the extra space and baths, the most considerable advantage of the one-bedroom and larger villas is having access to a full kitchen.
But perhaps the most significant consideration for any of the Epcot Resorts, including Beach Club Villas, is its location. Disney’s Beach Club sits across the lake from Disney’s Boardwalk. It’s also within walking distance of Epcot and Hollywood Studios. But you can take the boat to either park if you don’t want to walk.
The entrance to Beach Club Villas is to the left of the resort’s main entrance. You can walk through the Beach Club’s lobby and take a covered walkway near Beach Club Marketplace to access the villas from the resort. A soft, mint green color defines the villa’s exterior.
For comparison, here is the blue color of Disney’s Beach Club Resort versus the mint green of the Beach Club villas.
A statue of Ariel sits outside the entrance of the Beach Club Villas.
As a guest of the Beach Club Villas, you’ll have access to the amenities of Disney’s Beach Club Resort. You’ll also have a few extra amenities available in the villa’s wing.
When you enter the Beach Club Villas, you’re greeted by a foyer with gorgeous flowers on display.
The Drawing Room sits to the immediate right. This space offers a television, several seating areas, and a pool table.
Here are a few photos of the recently redone space.
Back out in the foyer, another entrance leads to the Breezeway.
The Breezeway is similar to a formal living room with several sitting areas.
It’s a great place to take a break or meet up with friends and family.
Other amenities in the villa section include a laundry room on the fourth floor. If you’re staying in a one-bedroom or larger villa, you’ll have a stackable washer and dryer in your room. However, deluxe studios do not have in-room laundry.
Thankfully, the villas have a laundry room on the fourth floor. Guests will have to pay for detergent, but the laundry machines are complimentary.
This is a huge plus for those who want to do laundry. If you stay at a regular resort, you’ll have to trek to one of the laundry rooms and pay for each cycle.
I usually bring detergent and use the laundry machines when we stay in the villas. One of the perks of doing laundry is not having to pack so many items. No matter how hard you hit Walt Disney World during your vacation, there’s always time for a resort day. We usually spend an entire day at the pool and go back and forth to the laundry room until we finish. Then, it’s back to the pool for the rest of the day.
At the end of the day, we’re rested, we have clean laundry, and our room feels fresh and organized. You might enjoy the pool time so much that you’ll find another excuse to do laundry later in the week. Or at least the kids will hope so.
You can’t beat Disney’s Beach Club when it comes to pool time. It wins as the resort with the best swimming pool in all of Disney World. In all sincerity, Stormalong Bay is more of a small water park than a hotel swimming pool. They have a waterslide, kiddie pool, sand bottom pool, lazy river, and cabanas!
The cabanas are an extra charge, but one of those splurges that are well worth it!
Related: Renting a Cabana at Disney World
In addition to Stormalong Bay, the resort has two quiet pools. Guests of Beach Club Villas will have immediate access to the Dunes Cove Pool, the pool dedicated to the DVC Resort.
The Dunes Cove leisure pool sits in the center of the villa’s wing of the resort. It’s along the sidewalk that extends the length of the villas. This pool holds over 55,350 gallons of water. Surrounding the pool, you’ll find plenty of lounge chairs, tables with chairs, and a whirlpool spa.
Outside the Dunes Cove pool area, there’s a charcoal grill with a picnic bench.
So far, most of the amenities we’ve discussed are specific to the Beach Club Villas. However, Stormalong Bay is shared among guests of both the Beach Club and Yacht Club Resorts.
As a guest of Beach Club Villas, you’ll have access to all the amenities between the Beach and Yacht Club. As mentioned earlier, the resort’s proximity to Epcot is the most distinctive amenity. It’s a five-minute walk from Beach Club to Epcot’s International Gateway.
This is a massive plus for those who plan to spend a good deal of time at Epcot. If you get tired or want to take a break, you can return to your room anytime during the day. This also makes it easy to come and go during the evening. You can watch the fireworks and then return to the room at your leisure. The same goes for guests of Disney’s Yacht Club Resort.
Hollywood Studios is a longer walk that takes approximately 15 minutes from the resort. But Disney’s Friendship boats are available for guests who prefer to ride. You’ll also have quick walking or boat access to other Disney Resorts in the area, like Disney’s Yacht Club, Disney’s Boardwalk Inn, and the Swan and Dolphin.
Bus service is provided to and from Magic Kingdom, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and Disney Springs. Bus service is shared between the Beach and Yacht Club.
Dining options at Disney’s Beach Club include Beach Club Marketplace, Cape May Café, Hurricane Hanna’s Waterside Bar and Grill, Beaches & Cream Soda Shop, and Martha’s Vineyard. You’ll also be within a short distance of the restaurants at Disney’s Yacht Club. We have a restaurant guide for the Beach and Yacht Club that discusses all the dining options at the resorts.
Cape May Cafe is the resort’s primary table-service dining option. They have a character dining for breakfast and a seafood buffet in the evening. We have a review of Minnie’s Beach Bash at Cape May Cafe if you want to learn more.
Related: Disney World Character Dining Guide
Yacht Club is home to some of our favorite dining locations at the Walt Disney World Resort. We consider Ale and Compass a hidden gem and dine there often. They have an excellent breakfast. Try our breakfast at Ale and Compass review to find out what we love!
However, if you’re staying in a villa resort, you might hope to save some money on dining throughout your stay. Many guests will use a delivery service to have groceries dropped off at the resort on their check-in day. You can also pick up a variety of items at Beach Club Marketplace to prepare in your room. They’ll have frozen meals, breakfast items, eggs, bread, sandwich meat, ice cream, and more. We have a review of Beach Club Marketplace with pictures of the items available during our last stay.
Other amenities include tennis courts at the nearby Yacht Club, a sand volleyball court at the Beach Club, an arcade, and access to Ship Shape Health Club, a fully equipped gym.
It’s hard to beat a stay at Disney’s Beach Club Villas if you require extra amenities or a prominent location. We look forward to returning to check out the newly refurbished villas within the next year.
In case you missed it, we already stayed in the new rooms at Disney’s Beach Club. We loved many of the updates at the regular resort, including the solid-surface flooring.
You might consider the amenities if you’re switching between a standard room and a deluxe studio. In the past, we didn’t care for the sleeper sofa in the deluxe studios. However, they have been replaced by a queen-size pull-down bed that folds into the wall when not in use. We’ve stayed in similar rooms and enjoy this setup. It’s a welcome change for the Beach Club Villas.
So, if you enjoy having a few small appliances in the room, you might prefer the deluxe studio. However, they are popular and often have a waitlist. So you’ll want to reserve these room types as far in advance as possible.
For more information about the Deluxe Villa Resorts, you might enjoy these other reviews:
- Disney’s Bay Lake Tower Review
- Disney’s Saratoga Springs Review
- Disney’s Riviera Resort Review
- Disney’s Old Key West Review
- Disney’s Kidani Village Review
Before I forget, as a guest of Disney’s Beach Club Villas, you’ll have access to early entry to the theme parks each day of your stay. This is a benefit available to all resort guests. Guests of deluxe resorts and deluxe villa resorts will also have the extended evening hours benefit that’s available on select nights at select parks.
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In the Comments
Are you considering a stay at Disney’s Beach Club Villas? Do you have any questions or comments regarding this review? Please share your thoughts with us in the comments section below. We love to hear from you and enjoy learning from your experiences.
I can’t believe the put a pool table in the Drawing Room! That has always been my favorite place to curl up with a book or journal when I need a little quiet time to reflect and recharge.
Great review!
Thank you!