Disney’s Beach Club Resort Review
Beach Club is a Deluxe Resort at Walt Disney World in walking distance of EPCOT and Hollywood Studios, with Skyliner gondola and boat transportation to those parks. This hotel review features room photos, restaurant info, commentary on the amazing pool and much more. (Updated May 30, 2021.)
As Walt Disney World’s phased reopening continues, Disney’s Beach Club Resort is now open as of Memorial Day weekend! This belated return comes after the Beach Club Villas reopened last June and Disney’s Yacht Club Resort reopened last August. There are now only a handful of hotels that remain closed–see Walt Disney World 2021 Resort Reopening Dates for more info.
The most noteworthy thing to know right now is that capacity at Stormalong Bay pool, aboard the Skyliner, and on buses is reduced due to physical distancing, which can lead to longer waits and lines. However, since Yacht Club and the Disney Vacation Club wing of Beach Club have been open for nearly a full year, there’s not much at the resort that remains temporarily closed. Most shopping, dining, and recreation are available–let’s start with a list of what’s open…
Dining
- Beaches & Cream Soda Shop
- Beach Club Marketplace
- Martha’s Vineyard
- Ale & Compass Restaurant
- Ale & Compass Lounge
- The Market at Ale & Compass
- Hurricane Hanna’s Waterside Bar and Grill (bar only)
- Cape May Cafe
Shops
- Beach Club Marketplace
- The Market at Ale & Compass
Activities
- Pools
- Poolside Activities
- Pool Cabana Rentals
- Movies Under the Stars
- Fitness Center
- Seaside Retreat
- Sports Courts
- Fishing Excursions
Note: Although the fitness center is available, salon and spa services remain temporarily unavailable.
Regularly lumped together with its sister resort, the adjacent Yacht Club Resort (sometimes even referred to as “Disney’s Yacht & Beach Club Resort”), Beach Club is very different. Most obviously in that its exterior has a light blue color scheme as opposed to the gray of Yacht Club, but also in the more laid back theme. Beach Club is modeled after seaside resort cottages found in New England in the early 20th century, rather than a refined yachting club.
We feel that Disney’s Beach Club Resort is among the most well-rounded hotels at Walt Disney World, with a great location, strong table service dining, great theming, and top-notch amenities. It’s the resort we’d choose for our Walt Disney World vacations if money were no object. While it’s not without criticism, Beach Club fires on all cylinders to rank as one of our top Walt Disney World resort-hotels.
On the exterior, the Beach Club looks great. It was designed by Robert Stern, who also designed the Newport Bay Club in Disneyland Paris, which is strikingly similar to Beach Club. Apparently, Disney was quite satisfied with Stern’s take on seaside cottages.
That, or Michael Eisner was obsessed with his childhood summers in New England and directed the company to build a number of hotels in the late 1980s in this general style. Regardless, the airy Victorian look of the trim against the blue siding of the resort along with the touches of theming give the hotel an element of whimsy.
Both inside and outside, this contrasts nicely with the more stately design of the Yacht Club. While the two hotels are more or less the same, we’ve noticed that the Yacht Club is a tad stuffier (not to the point that it’s actually “stuffy,” it’s just closer to that point than the laid back Beach Club).
Inside Disney’s Beach Club Resort, the seaside motif continues, with paintings of New England and fixtures that evoke the beach feeling. The color scheme is generally cool, consisting primarily of light or pastel greens and blues.
The rooms also continue this theme, but here’s where we think the hotel stumbles a bit. Disney’s Beach Club Resort is attempting to execute an early 20th century theme, so in theory the rooms should always have a timeless feel of that era, but they don’t.
This was true of the old rooms, and it’s still true of the new ones. The problem with the old was that it was as if they’re an early 1990s take on the early 20th century. They felt like something you’d see on the Golden Girls, and most definitely weren’t timeless.
On the other hand, the new rooms are generic and bland it looked. These look like rooms you could find at some random Hilton anywhere in the country for about $400 per night less.
Granted, there’s a certain premium to be paid for the location advantage of a Walt Disney World hotel room, but part of that premium is that the rooms are different than “ordinary” hotel rooms. Or at least, they should be.
With Beach Club, one of the best-themed resorts in all of Walt Disney World, I expected more.
The rooms are devoid of warmth, theme, and charm: the style is totally plain and nondescript, there aren’t any whimsical touches, and the new look isn’t an extension of the resort’s overarching theme.
In fairness, this is a criticism we have for many of the rooms at Walt Disney World. It’s very difficult to balance a themed environment with a modern feel and amenities in the rooms themselves.
However, Disney has done a much better job striking this balance with more recent new room stylings at Riviera Resort, Saratoga Springs, and Polynesian Village Resort.
Let’s turn to dining. There are several excellent restaurants on-site in every category except standard counter service with Beaches & Cream, Cape May Cafe, and Yachtsman Steakhouse (technically at the Yacht Club), putting it right up there with the best of the Deluxes in terms of quality restaurants.
That’s the good news. The bad news is that the counter service options at Beach Club (and all around Crescent Lake) leave a lot to be desired. We’ve managed to have success recently with Beach Club Marketplace, but it’s still a far cry from the options in World Showcase at Epcot or other food courts around Walt Disney World.
Our pro tip: in lieu of the counter service at Beach Club, head to Crew’s Cup Lounge, where you can get a delicious burger for about the price of a counter service meal. Much better food at a comparable price!
Another good option at Yacht Club is Ale & Compass Restaurant or its adjacent lounge. This is a fairly unpopular restaurant, meaning it’s relatively easy to score a last minute Advance Dining Reservation. While it’s design is a bit on the dull side, the food is very good!
Speaking of Crescent Lake, it should be noted that there are three other hotels within an incredibly short walk. Disney’s Boardwalk Inn doesn’t share amenities with the Yacht & Beach Club Resorts, but it’s so close that the restaurants there might as well count as Beach Club restaurants, too. Same goes for the Swan & Dolphin, and arguably even for the World Showcase restaurants.
If table service dining is going to be a highlight of a trip, staying at one of the Crescent Lake resorts is the best option. There are numerous dining options all within walking distance–including a couple of Signature Restaurants.
Walking from Beach Club to Disney’s Hollywood Studios takes around 15 minutes–maybe a tad longer if your room is closer to Epcot. However, you also have the option of taking the Disney Skyliner. That will take about the same amount of time, but the aerial gondolas are a much more pleasant way of getting there!
This distance to Epcot is another major benefit to staying at the Beach Club, as it’s only a 10 minute walk to the International Gateway from the grounds of the Beach Club.
Boat service is also available to both Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and generally takes just about the same amount of time as walking. It can be a little faster if you’re lucky, or a lot slower if there are long lines for the boats.
If you don’t mind walking, that’s by far your best option. For us, the ability to walk to both of these parks is huge. Disney bus transportation is unpredictable and often inefficient, so being able to avoid buses for two parks is a huge benefit.
The flipside is that bus transportation to Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom from Beach Club leaves something to be desired. There is always at least some sort of shared bus service operating, but exactly how many buses share the service depends upon the season.
We have had better bus service when staying at Pop Century for less than one-third the nightly rates of Beach Club. It’s disappointing that the Epcot-area Deluxe Resorts don’t offer better service in this regard than a Value Resort.
Of course, the main draw at Disney’s Beach Club Resort is Storm-Along Bay. I had salivated over this pool for some time before we finally stayed at the Beach Club, to the point that my expectations were probably impossibly high. It did not disappoint; in fact, it’s the #1 pool on my Top 10 Pools at Walt Disney World list.
For those unfamiliar with it, Storm-Along Bay is a sprawling pool complex 3 acres in size with sand at the bottom (for a while, I mistakenly thought “SAB,” the acronym used for Storm-Along Bay, stood for “Sand At Bottom”). Not only does it have sand at the bottom, but it also has a lazy river, an amazing water slide, great places for relaxing, and an excellent poolside bar.
Although it might seem like just a big pool with a dirty floor, in reality, it’s about the coolest thing ever. In fact, it’s so stellar that it cannot be adequately described without making up a new word. Storm-Along Bay is awesometubtacularnesszing!
Some people may tell you that some other pool at Walt Disney World is actually better, but unless that pool is called “Typhoon Lagoon” or “Blizzard Beach,” they are flat out wrong. Storm-Along Bay completely lives up to its hype, and is far and away the best hotel pool at Walt Disney World. It’s not even close.
One of our favorite splurges at Walt Disney World is doing a split stay (see our How to Do a Split Stay at Walt Disney World Hotels post) to take full advantage of Stormalong Bay and Club Level. Book a 1-night stay at Beach Club for the end of your trip and taking a late flight out on your last day. Alternatively, you could do that night in the middle of a three-resort trip, with a couple of relaxed resort days to decompress amidst your vacation. We describe the highlights of this strategy in our Stone Harbor Club Level Review.
Disney’s Beach Club Resort has many other amenities, including a health club, business center, babysitting, tennis courts, and other recreational facilities, but none of these measure up to Storm-Along Bay.
Overall, Beach Club scores highly for us because its theming perfectly conveys the relaxed feel of a seaside resort community, and this theming compliments a Walt Disney World vacation nicely. Like all of the Epcot-area resorts, Beach Club scores highly for its table service dining and convenience to Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. This location makes it the perfect place to stay during Epcot’s many festivals.
The biggest downside to Beach Club is its high nightly cost. Anyone wanting richly themed environments at Walt Disney World might also be disappointed by the guest rooms. Then there’s counter service dining, which is so-so at best all around Crescent Lake. Finally, commuting to the two “Kingdom” parks is another downside; guests who will be spending a lot of time at Magic Kingdom and don’t care much about a resort’s pool might want to think twice about Beach Club. Those who enjoy poolside relaxation, nice dining, and Epcot will likely agree with us that Disney’s Beach Club Resort is one of the top hotels at Walt Disney World!
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Your Thoughts
Have you stayed at Disney’s Beach Club Resort? What’s your take on it? Prefer it, Yacht Club, or BoardWalk Inn? Do you agree or disagree that Beach Club is one of the best Walt Disney World hotels? Do you think Storm-Along Bay lives up to the hype? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing feedback about your experiences is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
I’ve never stayed at Beach Club (too poor/cheap!) but I agree with you that the bus situation is terrible! A few years ago, we decided to visit the Boardwalk after visiting DTD. We had no idea what the bus situation was like (we were Disney newbies then!) so we happily hopped on the Boardwalk bus. After stopping at Yacht, Beach, Dolphin, and Swan, we finally arrived at the Boardwalk. It took forever! If we had been familiar with the layout of the Crescent Lake area at all, we could have gotten off sooner and walked, but like I said, we were newbies then. I can’t imagine paying Deluxe prices and having to deal with that hassle. That’s one thing we love about Pop; it’s cheap and has its own bus line! However, if money was no option, I would love to stay at the Beach club. It looks lovely and the pool looks amazing!
Mary Ann and I are really looking forward to our first stay in a Studio at the Beach Club Villas. We love the BoardWalk area (especially Flying Fish) so staying around Crescent Lake was in the cards when we planned to be there this coming December. We’re really looking forward to the location, the pool, the foodie locations and the walking distance to Epcot and DHS… plus the Christmas spirit opportunities all around us. Love to read your blog and enjoy your photos. Thanks for all you do.
BruceWDW
Really enjoyed reading this article! My family and I are going to be staying here at the villas for the first time!! This article has made us so much more excited to go! This will be our second visit but first time staying on property and know for sure our fun is going to at least double from our first visit in 2012. Thx again for this article!
Can you get the Epcot monorail without entering Epcot gates? We plan on just visiting the MK but I don’t want to deal with the buses.
You can take a taxi to the front of Epcot, but there’s no walking path that doesn’t require entering Epcot.
Anyone know when the refurbishment is happening? I’m booking either Beach Club or Yacht Club, but will go with YC if rooms aren’t updated at BC.
Also, which rooms at BC have view of Epcot? We like watching the fireworks at night.
Thanks for the info!
Agreed regarding hideous bus service to and from Magic Kingdom for Beach Club resort…we are talking 1 hour waits and maybe there is room for you on the bus. We ended up taking a mostly unfilled bus to the Swan resort and walking. And Beach Club is very expensive…geez, throw us a bone, or rather a bus! Polynesian resort is so nice and so much better for getting to and from the Magic Kingdom. Come on WDW…fix this documented bus issue!
We stayed at the Beach Club at the end of Sept 2013 and loved the resort and location but I did have the same problems with the bus service to the MK and DD…it stopped at all the other lake resorts.
Great review! We just booked a one bedroom by renting points for our first stay here! So excited to be able to stumble home after drinking around the world!
Have a great trip! 🙂
This is a great review! Question: Are the rooms at Beach Club Villas quiet? We stayed in a regular Beach Club room with a large balcony (garden view) in Feb. 2014, and when there were people staying in the room next to ours (which was an adjoining room), we could hear every word they said — even when they were quietly saying goodnight prayers with their children. It was frustrating, and felt like an invasion of privacy (both ours and theirs). The noise from the hallway was also unacceptable. We could hear the footsteps of every person walking by. We never heard anyone in the room on the other side, and I don’t know if it was occupied or not. Thankfully, the adjoining room was vacant all but two nights of the trip. So… just wondered if we ended up with an especially noisy room, or if they are all like that. The bed was super comfy, but if all the rooms are as noisy as ours, I’ll think twice about staying there next time. Thanks!
We stayed at Beach Club Villas in September 2013. Th room was ready for a refurb, but that wasn’t too big a deal, and we got a large balcony that we requested. Looked straight over the trees to the Canada Pavillion and Epcot fireworks and you could also see MK fireworks if you looked directly left from the balcony. If the 2014 refurb info is true, that will work out well for our next trip which probably won’t be for another two years, if that. I’d like to see them add the fold-down bed under the tv like they have now at the Grand Floridian Villas; that way our two boys won’t have to share the fold out sofa in a Studio.
The main reason I am posting is because our bus experience was great. It went straight to MK from the Beach Club stop, and only stopped at the Yacht club on the way back, which is in the same parking lot. So, if you are planning a September trip, the bus transportation should be good.
We are traveling as a group of 15 with small children. We currently have two, 2Br villas? Are there any special requests we should make in regards to room location?
We’re taking a family vacation with three families including two children. I heard that the Beach Club had a lot of things for the kids. We’ve stayed at the Dolphin over the past years but would like everyone’s feedback on the very best place for your money if we wanted to go to Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Universal and Blizzard Beach – 4 nights and 5 days. I liked the Dolphin but it didn’t have a babysitting service or things for the kids to do and no great pools.
Beach Club is our “home” resort for DVC and I agree with all of your comments. The crowded, hot buses at the end of the day are the absolute worst. I had a minor panic attack and jumped off the bus at Swan and walked back to the hotel. I would rather walk over to the Transportation Station in Epcot and take the monorail over to MK. At least you get some fresh air.
I think my two biggest complaints are the rooms being in disrepair and the fact that Disney rents out DVC rooms to non-DVC members. Every time we stay there, we need to request a different room – one year we were on ground level (see above comment about being robbed) and one year they tried to give us a room with a view of the service road. Having to book 180 days out and being members since BEFORE the resort was completed should guarantee a nice clean room. We’re going in August and am preparing to have to go through the room nonsense again.
My home resort is Saratoga Springs, and I do like the layout, but most definitely you hit tall the points on why BC is the best. The pool and location are amazing. Got to admit I don’t really do the dining, though I did eat at the buffet Christmas Day one year. I like to dinner at Downtown Disney or Epcot, or even off property. Chevy’s at the Crossroads (great Mexican food) is only a 20 minute walk from Downtown Disney at there are other eateries there.
I’m lucky to be staying there this March 2014 having just booked in August. This will be my sixth time plus a stay at the Yacht Club. Love it.
Thanks for the write up and the pictures.
Question, looks like the parking is far away from the resort. For health problems I’d need to be able to pull up close to drop someone off at the Beach Club, is this possible? Thanks
We will be staying at the Beach Club Villas for the first time in February, 2014. My biggest question is what part of the villas would you recommend staying in? ie. certain floor, etc. Thanks for all your wonderful reviews. They are such a help!
Thanks!
Laura
We really have no preference, but you might check with the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World to see if they have recommendations.
JUST STAYED AT BEACH CLUB LAST WEEK OF AUG 2 WEEKS AGO AND IT WAS AMAZING,THE POOL WAS AWESOME IN IT EVERY NIGHT AFTER PARKS TO RELAX AND DRINK.MOVIES AND SMORES ON THE BEACH EVERY NIGHT FOR ALL HOTEL GUESTS,FIREWORKS FROM POOL AREA CAN BE SEEN,EPCOT WAS A 3 MIN. WALK AND YOUR IN GERMANY DRINKING OCKTOBERFEST BEER,WHICH IS THE BEST..THERE ALMOST EVERY NIGHT AS WELL. BUSES WERE NOT BAD IN THE AM,AT NIGHT LONGER RIDES TO GET BACK BUT NOT THAT BAD.FOOD SERVICE WAS GREAT,ALL STAFF THE BEST..BEYOND CLEAN AND ROOM WAS GREAT EVEN THOUGH WE WERE NEVER IN IT 5 DAYS OF THE BEST TIME..SO MANY MEMORIES.WE ACTUALLY DID EVERYTHING POSSIBLE AND NO REGRETS OR COMPLAINTS..PLANNING ON RETURN VERY SOON…..P.S TOM THIS SITE IS HANDS DOWN THE MOST INFORMATIVE ON THE INTERNET TO DATE..KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK..DISNEY SHOULD THROW YOU A BONE EVERY NOW AND THEN FOR YOUR HARD WORK..THANKS AGAIN!!!
We are actually staying at another resort but want to use storm along bay- is it easy to get into? Or do they have it on lock down 🙂 Any advice would be appreciated!
Thanks
It’s extremely difficult to use the pool if you are not a guest at the Beach Club. It’s one of the few pools that does not participate in the DVC pool hopping. If you’re staying at another resort it’s very unlikely you’ll be able to use the pool. They’re ruthless and they’ll check!
For this family, our beach club stay was HORRIBLE! We stayed in room 1514. This room is ground level.
The room is easy access to anyone. We were robbed. 2 iPads hd nook and beats headphones. The security detail was useless. We had to call them 3 times for them to come to room. Anyhow no resolution. It must be understood that our sense of security was very low. After reviewing the room setup and lack of security guards and cameras I feel that being robbed was fortunate. A child predator, rapist and obviously a thief would have no problem breaking into these ground level rooms and committing crimes. B very careful. These rooms are right next to the Epcot entry. It is easy access for anyone. This family’s Disney experience was ruined. The staff was no help whatsoever. They basically swept everything need the rug.
More problems at hotel. Our patio had a backed up drain. Every time it rained the down spout would overflow on to the patio like a fountain. So we could not enjoy the patio during rain. Also in the hall at there was room service left overs sitting in halls for days. The whole hallway stunk. Was very pungent. And very unpleasant!
Be very careful when booking at this resort. Very unsafe. If something very bad happens you are on your own!
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