A Week at the updated Coronado Springs

Before summer slips away, we thought we would do a review of the updated Coronado Springs resort at Disney World since we had the opportunity to stay there this summer.

As I mentioned before, I am on a quest to stay at all the Disney world resorts. This isn't as easy as it sounds because 1) We find our favorites and we like to go back more than once, I'm looking at you Polynesian Village, and 2) Disney keeps adding more resorts.


We booked our most recent Disney trip sort of at the last minute, so of course availability was limited to only a few resorts but when we saw Coronado Springs was one of them, we decided we wanted to try it!


This actually was not our first visit to Coronado Springs resort. We had stayed here years ago ( I don't remember when , but it was a split stay when we came for a race weekend. We stayed at one resort for a few days ( I don't remember which one), and then for some reason we got moved to the Coronado Springs because of availability. And we visited it briefly another year when the Princess Half Marathon race Expo was held in the Convention Center here. This is one of the "business" hotels and has a convention center and many conference rooms.


All Disney resorts have a theme and Coronado Springs had a Spanish type theme. Being here reminded me of being in Cancun.


  Of course the star of the property is the new Destino Tower. There is a restaurant and lounge located in the top of the tower. I did not visit either of them but I heard there is a great fireworks view from there.



                                  This is where the main lobby and check in is. Isn't it gorgeous?


Besides the tower, there are three main villages that guests can stay in on this resort. They are the Casitas, the Ranchos, and the Cabanas.  We were in Casita building #5 on the 4th floor (which is the top floor for this building.


This was our view.   It looks like the tower (the main building) is far away, but really it is connected by a bridge over the water  and is really only a short walk away.  You can also walk along the water on the paved path as well.   You can actually see the fireworks from this balcony. 

Another view from our window on the 4th floor.


                                        We had a really nice room with lots of space.



As with many of the moderate resorts, there were sliding doors to separate the main sleeping area and the bathroom and then another door separating the sink/vanity/closet/wardrobe area and the tub and toilet.

One thing I did miss was having that little table and chairs near the window. We had one comfy chair but no table.  I wonder if this was because the desk area was so large?  The cabinet on the far right was a fridge and we had a Kerig coffee station right above it. Also, I would like to note that even though this is a resort that caters to the business crowds, there was not one pen in our room.  I thought for sure I would find a pen and a note pad. Nope! I had forgotten to bring one so the nice waiter at Be Our Guest restaurant gave me hers.


Although I forgot to take a photo of the lovely main pool with a water slide, each of the Villages had there own pool, which seemed to be a bit more quiet.



Oh, and don't think just because this isn't a beach resort that you won't be able to put your toes in the sand!  On the cabana side there is a beach area with lounge chairs and hammocks! I spent a bit of time here relaxing after our Resort Race.

Speaking of resort race, although we did not run it, there is indeed a race here at Coronado Springs. It takes place on Sunday mornings and is called The Running of the Coronado!  If you can not take part in the race, there is a jogging route you can do on your own and there is a sign posted behind the tower that shows you the route.

Coronado Springs also has a fitness center and Spa ( something other moderates do not have).  On the resort activity calendar you will find wine and paint activity ( for an additional fee), and sunrise and sunset yoga and other fitness classes for a fee.  I found this interesting that Coronado charges extra for Yoga and fitness classes because Yoga is also offered at the Contemporary and Wilderness Lodge ( and a few other resorts) and it is complimentary ( and so are their aqua fitness classes).  Since those other resorts are Deluxe resorts, I guess you could say it is built into the price. But still, I don't think guest of Coronado Springs should have to pay extra for those. I guess it didn't really matter because we were never available to participate anyway!

I can't end this post and not mention the food at Coronado Springs. There are so many options but we did not try them all. We really did not spend a lot of time eating at the resort but the few meals we ate at  El Mercado De Coronado were fabulous! 


My favorite meal was this Tex Mex chicken and rice bowl. They didn't even skimp on the guacamole!  Another night I got Chicken tortilla soup and it was equally fabulous!

I was impressed with Coronado Springs and would not hesitate to ever stay here again. The grounds themselves make the resort feel more like a deluxe than a moderate. I feel we got a really good rate on our room when we visited but I have a feeling that in the future this may become one of the higher price moderates, so if you are thinking about staying here I'd book it sooner than later.  -M













24 comments:

  1. Looks lovely! I'm with you on the Polynesian Village. We stayed there when I ran the WDW half. I'd go back in a heartbeat.

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    1. That will always bee one of my favorite resorts. Not just for the looks, but also for the convenience of the location!

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  2. I've only been to Disney once and we stayed at the Polynesian Village. It was really nice. When I saw your title, I was thinking about the Hotel del Coronado in San Diago. I would love to stay there sometime!

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    1. Actually I do believe the Disney Grand Floridian is designed after the Hotel de Coronado!

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  3. Looks great! It's funny that you mentioned about the lack of pen- we were just at the Grand Floridian and there wasn't a pen or notepad either, nor was there any body lotion!!

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    1. That is so odd! I wonder why they stopped providing that stuff?

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  4. Looks lovely! I wonder if too many people steal pens so they stopped having them? Or they think people don't need to write things down on paper any more?

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    1. I actually found a pen and pad in the lobby on the last day. They have a row of work desks there for the business travelers. Perhaps they think business travelers will have their own pens...haha

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  5. Very nice! We usually stay at Shades of Green (due to the hubby's military affiliation), which is right by the Polynesian. Such a beautiful area! At first I thought your title said Colorado Springs, and I was confused...didn't think Disney was out there LOL

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    1. The Shades of Green area certainly is nice. Nope, never been to Colorado Springs!

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  6. Disney always looks nice... It looks sort of basic inside (basic for Disney that is) - I can see where this is more a business suite place though.

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    1. Yes, doesn't really give that Happy Disney vibe, although their were slight Disney touches, like the art on the wall.

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  7. My mom and I stayed here for Princess. It was clean, quiet, and i loved having the food court. We hit it up for Mickey waffles after we each had successful 10k's!

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    1. I love their food court as well. I had the Mickey waffles after our resort race as well!

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  8. This looks really nice and upscale for a moderately priced property!

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    1. Yes, I can see where this could turn into a Deluxe resort. I wonder if Disney would do that?

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  9. THat's such a fun goal to stay in all the Disney resorts! I've never been to Colorado Springs but it's popped up on my radar a few times. Mostly for races in the area, because that's my motivation to travel LOL.

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    1. This is Coronado Springs and it is one of the Disney resorts. I have a few resorts left on my list to visit!

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  10. Looks great Disney! ♥ I have never visited there. The insider is very nice. I will must visit there.

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  11. This is not in Colorado. It is in sunny Florida! Even better right?

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  12. It looks like a really lovely resort. I may have to bug Mr. Judy about going to Vegas sometime, as we both like it, just to be able to lounge by some water again . . .

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  13. I totally get you on returning to the same resort hotel over and over because you enjoy it so much - we do that with Universal Studios. This hotel looks really beautiful and I can see why you wanted to return to it.

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  14. It looks like a really lovely resort. I am very happy to read this. Actually Fantastic. sportswear for women

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