A Resort View vs. Water View Room at Disney's Gran Destino Tower

A stay at Gran Destino Tower is a treat. We love that Disney’s Coronado Springs has this elevated option that often feels more like a deluxe resort than a moderate. You will, however, have a choice to make when it comes to selecting a tower room. Would you prefer a resort view or a water view room?

We’ve had the unique opportunity to stay in both room types over the past few visits. So I wanted to circle back and compare them. I also wanted to make a few clarifications about the resort. The Tower is a tall building that has slight angles on both sides. This is a window-only hotel when it comes to rooms. Rooms at Gran Destino Tower do not have balconies. That said, each side of the hotel offers pretty distinct views. Rooms facing the front of the resort are considered to have a “resort view.” Most would call this a standard view, but you will get a bit of a bonus. Here is the front of Gran Destino Tower for reference.

Now, we’ll look at the “resort view” from our last stay, which was at the center of the resort over the port cochere. This was room 9537 (See Gran Destino Tower Rooms for a room tour with photos.)

Had we been on the far left angle, our room view would have shifted more toward Disney’s Hollywood Studios. (You probably won’t have a view of the fireworks from the far left.) Rooms on the far right are similar to this view, but will have a slight angle more toward the Magic Kingdom. We could see fireworks from both the Magic Kingdom and Epcot from our centrally located room. I do always like to stress, however, that while we were fairly close to Epcot, these are by no means what I would consider “stellar” views of the fireworks. That said, it’s always fun to be able to look out of your room and see them.

Now, here is the view of the resort side of Gran Destino Tower.

We’ve been fortunate enough to stay in a room with a water view at Disney’s Gran Destino Tower. While I like both options, I can see why the water view is an upgrade. Here is a daytime example from a previous stay.

a water view room at daytime from Gran Destino Tower

The special moment, though, was at sunset. This side of the resort faces the West, and we had the most gorgeous, somewhat lingering view of the sun setting in the evening. Of course, you might not ever be in the room around that time to enjoy it. So you’ll want to consider how much time you’ll spend in the room when deciding if the water view is worth the extra cost.

a water view room at sunset as seen from Gran Destino Tower

As far as Disney goes, they define the two tower views the following way:

Tower Resort View: Views of Courtyard, Landscaping, or Parking Areas
Tower Water View: Views of Pool or Lake*

*Gran Destino Tower does not have a pool, but you can see a view of the Cabanas quiet pool from the right side of the resort view. All rooms on the resort side offer a view of the lake.

Final Thoughts

We hope this overview helped you make a decision when it comes to selecting a room at Gran Destino Tower. For more on the resort, you might enjoy the following:

You might also enjoy our resort guide to Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort.

In the Comments

Have you ever stayed at Gran Destino Tower? What kind of view did you have? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below or on our social media.