Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort Review
Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort is a Moderate Resort at Walt Disney World with a Southwest theme. The resort is very spread out with Lago Dorado, a 22-acre lake, in the center. Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort is described as evoking “the spirit and romance of Spanish-colonial Mexico” during the time that explorer Don Francisco de Coronado searched for the legendary Seven Cities of Gold. Around the same time I believe he was also searching for Three Caballeros topiaries. Coronado Springs Resort is often considered Disney’s convention hotel, but it is so much more (and thanks to its convention hotel designation, the amenities are better). It’s not adjacent to any of the theme parks, so guests of this resort must rely upon bus transportation or their own vehicles. There is no boat or monorail transportation from Coronado Springs Resort to any of the theme parks or Downtown Disney.
Theming-wise, we both think that Coronado Springs is really underrated. There are three different architectural influences at the resort (all under the general umbrella of Southwestern): Ranchos, Cabanas, and Casitas. Ranchos (where we stayed) have more neutral color schemes and draw inspiration from southwestern cattle ranches; Cabanas are more colorful, and are designed to evoke the feel of Mexican beach resorts; Casitas are more urban (yet still colorful), with Spanish architecture similar to what exists in Southwestern cities.
Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort is possibly the most divisive resort on Walt Disney World property. Proponents believe it’s very underrated with nice rooms, a well themed pool, and good dining. Critics feel that the atmosphere is ‘ruined’ by too many convention guests who take away from the ‘vacation’ feel of the resorts; others also complain that the resort is too spread out. As for the positive attributes, I feel they’re all spot on. As for the criticisms, I never once felt that business-travelers were in any way negatively affecting my experience. If anything, I’d much rather book a resort with a lot of business guests who, presumably, won’t be engaging in impromptu cheer sessions or door slamming in the middle of the night. Business people, in general, are more respectful than average Disney guests or other large groups (think youth sports of international tour groups–neither of which typically stay at Coronado Springs), in my opinion. As for the resort being spread out, it absolutely is. If you don’t like walking, this is not the resort for you. I love a nice walk and I find spread-out resorts to have more to explore and a better opportunity to convey their ambiance, so this “negative” is a big positive for me.
As for theme, some areas do an incredibly great job conveying their themes, especially the arid rock-covered paths in the Rachos area. While the Ranchos fit the theme very well, I’m glad the entire resort isn’t designed this way. The vibrance and more cheery architecture around the lobby is great, and we found to strike the perfect balance between Southwestern architecture and a charming ambiance. Ranchos, while well done, doesn’t have a theme I particularly want to see in a resort. That might just be me, though.
The pool is one area that is spectacular. This pool was never busy at all when I saw it (in fairness, we visited during December), and the theming around it is incredible, with a reproduction of a Mayan pyramid, which has a waterfall running down its side. Definitely one of the neater pool areas we’ve seen! Also around the pool area is a hot-tub, game room, and volleyball court. All looked nice-enough, although we didn’t spend any time using them.
The rooms are easily the nicest moderate resort rooms in which we’ve stayed. They seemed larger than other moderates, but this might have just been a more efficient use of space than the others. I don’t measure rooms, so I’m really not sure. More importantly, the beds and pillows seemed more comfortable, and the desk workspace was definitely much nicer than other resorts. Perhaps this was due to its convention-hotel status, but whatever the reason, I really appreciated it when I sat down to dump photos onto my laptop after a long day in Walt Disney World. The theming in these rooms, while noticeable, is definitely more subdued than, say, Caribbean Beach Resort (review). Again, this might by the byproduct of it being the convention-hotel.
Although we didn’t eat at any of the restaurants at Coronado Springs, we’ve heard incredibly positive things about Pepper Market, especially now that it’s a (counter service credit) buffet. The food court looked rather impressive to me, too. I am a bit surprised that there aren’t any nicer restaurants at Disney’s Coronado Springs resort given its status as Walt Disney World’s convention hotel (or at least as the primary moderate convention hotel, as I understand the Contemporary is the main convention hotel…although I don’t have booking numbers to corroborate my belief), but then again, nice restaurants are unprecedented for moderate resorts. Plus, given the out-of-the-way location, a nice restaurant would have to do a lot of convention-business to be sustainable.
Overall, Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort is a bit of a mixed bag, but mostly good. The rooms are great, the pool is nice, and there are flashes of brilliance in theming. I also have reason to believe that the dining is good at Coronado Springs as compared to other moderates, although I can’t vouch for this personally. The convention clientele is actually reassuring for us, as we have less concern that we’ll be stuck next to a rowdy group of cheerleaders or a tour group (in all of our stays at Walt Disney World, this has never happened to us, but it’s still a lingering concern). That said, a lot of the theming doesn’t suit my personal tastes.
The neutral color scheme found in many of the buildings leaves a bit to be desired for me. In the grand scheme of things, this may seem insignificant, but it’s enough that we probably won’t stay here again for a while. Fun theming is a big draw for me, and Coronado Springs seems to lack this in many of its buildings. The lobby and pool are a different story, but with Caribbean Beach Resort and Port Orleans Riverside as alternatives that I love, I just can’t get too excited about Coronado Springs. That said, I hardly hate it, and it’s worth giving each element in this review appropriate weight as they matter to you, as my ultimate conclusion here may seem contrary to the sum of the individual elements of the resort.
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Your Thoughts…
What do you think of Coronado Springs…is it a stuffy convention hotel, or a great value with Deluxe-level amenities? Share your thoughts in the comments!
26 Responses to “Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort Review”
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I must say, Coronado Springs is my favorite of all the Disney resorts we’ve stayed at. I’ve been to all the moderates and Animal Kingdom Lodge (a splurge last year). It’s the only moderate with queen size beds, which is a plus! We were in whichever section is literally in the back end of the resort last time, and it was quite lovely. While it was quite a walk back to the main buildings, the bus stop was close and it was very quiet! I don’t know that we’ll try Pepper Market now that it’s buffet (we have so many ADRs already, it’s crazy), but the food we got before (breakfast and lunch) was good and there was *so* much.
So, yeah, Coronado Springs get a gold star in my book.
Good to hear! Like I said in the review, my ultimate conclusion is really based on my preference as to theming. Looking at it more objectively, I think CSR is a GREAT resort!
I’ve been planning a trip for sometime now and Coronado is on my list of possibilities. Thanks for a very informative and (for me) timely review.
Glad we could help!
CSR is awesome. Pepper Market is great. We have stayed at all the moderates and this is the only one we will return to.
I’m pretty split on my view of CSR. We loved our room, the Pepper Market, the views across the lake. However, we did have a bad experience with convention guests – I suppose they had some sort of social one evening, and quite a few got very drunk and were making a ton of noise all night at the pool by our room. Wouldn’t prevent us from ever going back, I just think we’d put in some additional requests for where our room is located.
Good call on the room request. To be fair, I’ve encountered drunk guests at All Star Music, Boardwalk (many, many times there), the Poly, and Grand Floridian. I don’t think that conventions necessarily draw people looking to party–but they might!
I’ll be staying on-site for the first time in August and before booking I deliberated for a while over whether to stay at Coronado Springs or Port Orleans Riverside. In the end I chose Riverside, but I think Coronado looks great too! Have you written a review for Riverside? If so I’d love to check it out!
We last stayed at Riverside before my DSLR days. The photos I have of it are awful at best. That said, we really liked it. A charming little resort with great ambiance!
Coronado Springs is a resort that we always debate booking, but we’ve yet to actually make it there. Like you and Sarah, the convention crowd appeals to us. I think it makes sense in that we’re an adult couple with no children. We don’t have delicate sensibilities that will be offended by conventioneers “partying” between meetings or whatever it is that people seem to dislike about this crowd. Also, the rooms look beautiful. I love the color scheme that was introduced after the refurbishment. Ultimately we tend to stick with French Quarter when we go moderate because we like the resort’s compact footprint, but we’ll do CSR one of these days!
Do people normally complain about the partying? I’ve always seen complaints about the ‘stuffy’ business atmosphere.
In any case, partying doesn’t bother us, either. I lived in a frat house in college, so I’m fairly used to that. As long as these convention attendees aren’t cheering and pounding on doors at 4 am, I have no issue with them.
We stayed at the CSR in October 2011. We really liked it. It was very clean. I liked the experience, it wasn’t over-the-top Disney, just right for my family. Pepper Grill was nice. I wish they had different children’s meals. For example, I think the hot dog or pizza came with chips – how about a cup of fruit instead of the chips? Gotta pay extra for that…
The one thing that I’ve never seen in a review which is super important to me is the bed coverings! (I assumed that all newly upgraded WDW hotels had them). CSR have the down comforter with a white duvet cover, not the bed spreads. The bed spreads, that who knows when they were cleaned last. And you know if there is a white duvet cover, it is going to be cleaned and washed at any chance there is a mark on it. I am making the assumption that they put on new duvet when a new guest arrives.
I’ll be honest. I just made a reservation at POFQ because it has been newly updated. I just took a closer look and I saw they have the “old fashioned hotel” bedspreads. Yuk – grosses me out. I hate to be a pain, but I’ll be asking for fresh, clean bedspreads when I get there.
In regards to the pool. I wouldn’t call it, “spectacular”. It was a big pool, with 1 tiki spitting water, 1 slide and a large hot tub. The Mayan temple is there, with water coming down from it, but doesn’t do anything. Also, I will say my 6 year old loved the slide, but it was a long trip up the stairs and he was out of my sight while I waited at the bottom. I noticed at POFQ that their slide seems that he will not be out of my eyesight for very long. Makes a mom feel better while she is at the bottom waiting.
Excellent point with the bedspreads. Perhaps I glossed over it a bit by only saying that the beds are really nice, but this is one of the reasons that the beds are really nice. Those comforters (and the pillows!) are great!
I do think the pool is pretty spectacular, but I guess others’ opinions on that may differ! That’s why it helps to have people offer feedback in the comments–it gives future readers a more broad spectrum of opinions upon which they can base their hotel decision!
I really want to love CSR for all the reasons you mentioned. I’ve stayed there twice: in Aug 2004 and in April 2011. Both times I had major service issues. The first, a pipe burst in our room and flooded it. The second, the spray blasters got water in my key hole and my door wouldn’t open, so I was trapped outside for hours while they fixed it (they had to eventually replace the entire key and I had to get new keys at the front desk after midnight). While I love the theming and the rooms, I just can’t get over the 2 issues I’ve had both times I stayed there. I’m sure they’re just anomalies though and I’ll eventually return. CSR and POFQ are the best Mods on property (I think).
I have a vacation planned here in Nov. We cannot be anymore excited about it. I have read mixed reviews about CSR but I love the whole southwestern flair and we had to decide between this and Caribbean beach. I stayed at CB once before and to be truthful even though people rave over CB it didn’t leave me with any spectacular memories. I was advised the Ranchos were far away from everything and the Canista were mostly convention people so I requested a room in either cabana 8b or 9a. Any thoughts on that?
Great review! We stayed at CSR last fall and really liked it. We had a king preferred room and that bed was heavenly! Also loved that it was quieter/more adult friendly.
Where do you reccomend a room for a guest in a wheel chair (dad is 75) who wants to be close to a place to grab a coffee and muffin in the morning? We also have two children who do not want to be too far from the main pool area. We made reservations here towards the end of August. Very excited to see this beautiful resort in person. Your review with pictures made us even more excited.
If you’re looking only at Moderates, probably French Quarter, or a preferred room at one of the other Moderates. In general, Wilderness Lodge or Contemporary would be good choices.
Can I say WOW! Just wow. Awesome site, these pictures are INCREDIBLE!! Whatever camera you use is extremely professional and you just take great pictures! Thanks for all this info. I stayed in CSR last May with my Fiance and let me say, this resort is HIGHLY underrated..I’ve been to Disney multiple times and stayed at The Caribbean Beach and Port Orleans and totally overlooked this place. Lots to look at here and great for walking around at night especially. And the pool? Can’t beat it. Thank you again for this great review
We will be staying at Coronado Springs Resort. We will be eating breakfast at the resort each day and possibly using a smaller pool in the evening. We would also like to be within a reasonable distance of the large pool. Which area would be best to request a room in?
My family and I stayed here quite a few times during our yearly disney vacations and loved it. We felt it was a perfect compromise between an expensive deluxe resort and a value resort. The food is truly wonderful, as is the pool. I have heard some complaints about the size of the resort and the amount of walking that you have to do to get to your room, but this was never an issue and we often found that most convention guests requests the larger rooms in the back of the resort. It is also worth pointing out that the Coronado Springs is the only moderate with a fitness center (that was important for us but maybe not for other people
).
My fiancé and I will be staying here on our honeymoon in August and are really excited about it!
PS: We love your blog, keep up the good work! From one young couple to another, we think you have a really good thing going here!
My husband and I stayed at CSR on our first trip together. We got an excellent price on our room and I appreciate the understated theme in some areas. The rooms are nicely updated and, as mentioned before, the beds are heavenly. We loved the little hidden Mickey details.
The resort being spread out was such a positive for us. Our room was towards the back of the resort, so after our time in the parks we would catch the bus to the main building, refill our drink mugs and take a stroll around the lake to our room. We found the hammocks on our last night and spent an hour just laying around, taking in the beautiful night air! We LOVED this resort!!
I am not the only one who likes a spread out resort–that’s refreshing!
My family, my sister’s family and my parents (11 total) are going to Walt Disney World in July. I’ve only ever stayed at the Beach Club resort but we are looking for a moderate priced resort and considering Coronado Springs. I fully expect we’ll spend the majority of our time in the parks so high priority for us is easy access to transporation into the parks, short wait time at the bus stops, not a long bus ride, etc. I’m sure there are no guarentees for this at any resort but do you have any recommendations? Thank you for any tips you can offer!
Thanks for this review! Staying at CSR in August, for a convention. : ) Well, my husband’s convention, we’re just along for the rides (haha). Our 1st time in a moderate resort, so I’m looking forward to it. And the queen beds! I have been nervous though, the reviews seem to be 1/2 and 1/2. We are used to Pop and the All Stars, but really enjoyed our cabin in FW. And I’m still confused about the dining options, is the Pepper Market the only CS for breakfast and lunch? I’ve heard it’s changed recently? Not a buffet anymore? At any rate, we are looking forward to our stay there, excited to try something new. The kids are looking forward to the pool with a slide!
I think this review addresses both sides of the half and half on CSR. The people who dislike it seem to do so because it’s so spread out and because it’s a convention hotel with a slightly different atmosphere. Those who love it do so because of the theme and overall quality. Based upon how those characteristics matter to you, you should have a good idea of how it will work out for you.
Pepper Market is no longer a buffet, correct.