Gran Destino: First Impressions & Photos
We just finished our first stay in Gran Destino Tower at Coronado Springs Resort in Walt Disney World. In this post, I’ll share some photos and offer some thoughts on theme and how this fits into the Walt Disney World experience for me on a personal level.
I wanted to get this out ASAP to help those of you contemplating whether to book the $199 Rooms at Gran Destino Resort Deal. As we discuss in that post, this is likely the best discount you’ll see on Gran Destino (maybe ever?). Fair warning, though: this post reads like a rambling dissertation on design and my personal qualms about the tower. It covers some of “the usual” topics with which you might be familiar if you read any of our Coronado Springs construction updates.
This is to say that if you’re a first-timer planning a trip to Walt Disney World, you might want to instead read the forthcoming review. (Alternatively, you can just scroll through and look at the photos I got up at 3 a.m. to capture.) My perception of Gran Destino is absolutely colored by being a certain type of Disney fan who grew up in the (late) Vacation Kingdom of the World era…
Gran Destino will undoubtedly make a strong first impression on most guests (us included!), but there’s ultimately no there there in a thematic sense. It’s pretty and extravagant; Disney’s take on the type of hotel tower you’d find in Las Vegas. Not that there’s anything wrong with that–Las Vegas has some truly magnificent hotels that overwhelm and impress.
Like so many of those, Gran Destino seems built with a penchant for grandeur. It’s never as ostentatious as the best (worst?) of Las Vegas, and is more like “Las Vegas Lite.” Perhaps it’s a matter of perspective, but I view this as a positive.
Gran Destino does a good job of toeing the line between eye-catching and nouveau riche garishness.
The good news is that its flashiness is relatively restrained, and works surprisingly well. The bad news is that the design is superfluous, without the real goal of reinforcing any semblance of theme.
Disney’s telltale signs of something being thematically lacking are a surplus of hidden Mickeys and backstory. I realize that many of you probably love both of these things, and that’s sort of the idea–they’re crutches for scoring easy points with fans.
There’s also a lot of both at Gran Destino.
Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against hidden Mickeys or backstory–so long as they’re accompanied by strong visual design. Don’t tell me a story, show me one. Imagineering’s best work needs no accompanying words to explain what’s going on, whereas the worst usually has plenty (too many) of them.
This is why you don’t need any knowledge of Japanese to adore Tokyo DisneySea, and why mastery of the English language won’t help with whatever it is that Chester and Hester have cobbled together.
In the case of Gran Destino, Imagineering goes for a deep cut: the collaboration and friendship between Walt Disney and Salvador Dali. This ultimately resulted in the short film Destino, which was released in 2003. There’s also Dali & Disney: Destino, a book that is really fascinating and beautiful.
Imagineering credits the surrealist animated short for the visual style of the tower, which it claims is “a whimsical, magnificent visual feast, diverse in its design and execution.” The lobby intends to pay homage to the Catalan Modernism style, and there are flashes of famed Spanish architect Gaudà in the lounge and rooftop restaurant.
Unfortunately, this is indeed limited to mere flashes, and most of the connections to Dali, Destino, and whatever other influences might exist in the design are superficial. Pieces of art, a few fluid lines somewhere, or a ceiling elsewhere. The tower isn’t actually themed to Destino; there are simply a scattering of decorations and stylistic choices to make the connection.
It’s interesting that Disney chose to invoke Dali, Destino, and Catalan Modernism as inspirations. Those are among the most ambitious sources possible, and Gran Destino is not. Even if an earnest effort had been made, there’s no way Disney could live up to Dali or even GaudÃ. Imagineering didn’t swing for the fences with Gran Destino, but if they had, you couldn’t fault them if they fell short. So why even try to draw a tenuous connection when there isn’t one?
I don’t know the answer to that. I do know that Gran Destino is actually pretty interesting and visually engaging when disregarding the supposed ties and taking its visuals on their own merits. There are a lot of patterns, bursts of color, textures, and those aforementioned flashes are absolutely striking when you’re in their presence.
My view here is that Gran Destino exceeded expectations, but that probably comes down to my low expectations. It’s far from a thematic high water mark, but based on concept art and what I saw as it was being built, I was fearing a casino-esque tower with generic gaudiness. Without question, Gran Destino is more interesting and cool than what I expected.
Inside, Gran Destino reminds me of the imposing and eye-catching look of the Swan and Dolphin, which I view as a best case scenario. It doesn’t have the singular vision or ambition of a starchitect, but it’s also not simply a bland convention center tower.
Others might compare it to a Disney Cruise Line atrium, but I don’t think it’s nearly on that level.
I also find it kind of odd that Coronado Springs is now purportedly themed to Mexico and the American Southwest, plus Spain. If that doesn’t strike you as a lot of varied places, imagine if Walt Disney World had a Canada & Maine Resort that added a giant Big Ben Tower. Same idea.
In this sense, it’s probably for the best that Gran Destino didn’t go all-out for an immersive, richly-themed space. A tower that truly had a transportive sense of Spanish Modernism would’ve been even more visually jarring against the rest of the Coronado Springs Resort’s landscape. The downside of the milder style of decor at Gran Destino means it’s not authentically Spanish, but the upside is that it’s not at extreme odds with the rest of the resort.
This might all sound pretentious, and maybe it is. In fairness, I’m not turning my nose up to Gran Destino in favor of Grand Floridian or other, more hoity hotels. If anything, Gran Destino is more pretentious than my no-nonsense favorites like Fort Wilderness or Port Orleans–immersive themed places, but hardly resorts with an air of pretension.
The difference between Gran Destino and these bygone era Walt Disney World resorts is that they strove for idealized and romanticized themes that transport you to another time and place. Those resorts are immersive, warm, and reassuring. Gran Destino has no theme, isn’t transportive, and strives for something different entirely.
This is not to say Gran Destino isn’t impressive or doesn’t serve a role. It absolutely has a sense of grandeur and lavishness. There are some truly fun touches, and the sense of place is both hip and inviting, which I find lacking at most of the Vegas-style hotels. Gran Destino can be those things and also a bit vapid. Sort of like thematic junk food–it’s innately appealing on one level even if it doesn’t have an overarching sense of theme or cohesive design.
I recognize that Gran Destino is big, bold, and cool. The style accomplishes more than I expected, while never being too bland or too gaudy. While these first impressions probably read fairly harsh in places, I actually like Gran Destino, in isolation and on the inside, quite a lot. It’s different and offers tremendous value for money relative to comparable Deluxe Resorts.
While Gran Destino doesn’t really have a theme and isn’t what I personally want out of a Walt Disney World resort, the finished product will work for many guests. Moreover, I can recognize that not everything at Walt Disney World needs to cater to my personal tastes.
Quite simply, this tower was built for convention-goers who don’t care about Walt Disney World. Gran Destino is going to be a home run for that crowd, plus a lot of other potential guests. That came as something of a surprise to me. (This is something we’ll cover further in our full review.)
At the end of the day, Gran Destino doesn’t resonate for me in a way I’d expect from a Walt Disney World resort. When it comes to Disney resorts, I want something I can’t get in the real world: immersive themed design. Luxury is nice, but far less important, as that’s readily available from real world counterparts.
That’s just me, though. Arguably, fans like me are perfectly served by the some two dozen other resorts at Walt Disney World.
It still pains me that this was built at Coronado Springs–a resort absolutely at odds with the new tower–to save on infrastructure costs. It simply does not fit in terms of theme, architecture, scale, etc., at Coronado Springs. There is no way to justify its presence at this resort from a show perspective.
It’s really unfortunate this lesson wasn’t learned with the Swan & Dolphin. Gran Destino definitely would be more at home in the Disney Springs area than towering amidst one of Walt Disney World’s sprawling Moderate Resorts. Disney likes to tout the Four Keys (show trumps efficiency), until its inconvenient or less profitable, of course.
Nevertheless, I’m sure the target demographic of convention goers will love Gran Destino. Others who simply want a condensed tower hotel environment with a sense of luxury at a reasonable price (compared to other Walt Disney World resorts) will likewise find a lot to like about Gran Destino. We will have a full review soon that breaks the resort down from a less emotional, more objective perspective.
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Your Thoughts
Does Gran Destino appeal to you, or does this strike you as too much like Las Vegas, and underwhelming thematically? Think it’s an otherwise nice resort that would have been fine if built elsewhere? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
I may have a slightly more varied view of Gaudi’s work and of how much Spanish influences are there.
Gaudi, while most known for his later work, actually explored a range of styles that can be traced from Bilbao to Madrid to Barcelona. When you look at this hotel through that work, mor of Gaudi’s influences are noticable. And I suspect they equally pulled from Spanish architecture influences in general. I can see styling that reminds me of Madrid, Bilbao, and even hints of some of the details I saw in Sergovia and Toledo. I can also see the influences of some of the architecture from inside some of the more iconic cathedrals also from Spain.
I think they were going more from the perspective of celebrating Spanish art, even if they only gave nods to Gaudi and Dali. I can see it in the decision to use darker wood accents to the tile patterns on the floor, to the sculptural details on the columns.
This could easily be a hotel in Spain, and it looks it. While I detest staying at conference hotels because of too many years of working conventions, I will admit I’d be tempted to stay here simply because of how much it reminds me of Spain.
While some elements of the interior design are reminiscent of or pay nods to Modernisme and Spanish design more generally, Grand Destino is no way a fully realized take on Spanish design and architecture of any variant. Compare this boxy, undistinguished building with resorts like the Grand Californian or Wilderness Lodge. Both of those resorts execute their respective design inspirations (Craftsman and the Arts and Crafts Movement for the former, National Park Service Rustic for the latter) to great effect. Those resorts ooze their theme and design from their core. That’s the difference: Grand Destino merely evokes Spanish design (and only faintly) via some scattered visuals and textures; Grand Californian really is a piece of Craftsman design. Grand Destino’s design is so understated that it’s just vague and contemporary. The interior is pleasant, but not an inspired piece of design. Now, Gran Destino is technically part of a Moderate resort, so maybe it should be judged to a lower standard. But there really is no excuse excuse from a design or show quality perspective for placing such a boxy, anonymous building in this location.
Seeing how Gran Destino has turned out should one wonder what Riviera will be like? Other than a very large “big” intruding on 2 resorts….
Does the “Reflections” theme of Walt’s love of nature turn into Disney-speak for ‘we may not have cleared out all of River Country’….
DVC has their own big uglies in Bay Lake Tower and Grand Floridian 2 (ruined the Wedding Chapel) – possibly in theme with the resort but still obtrusive in nature.
I agree with you about wanting to getaway to a themed resort … Disney used to be good about storytelling … the bigger the back-story the more they are stretching to cover their short comings ….
(“Our next hotel will be based on a dream Roy Disney once had … which Roy? … does it matter ….”)
I adore Gaudi’s creations in Barcelona, so was delighted to see some tributes to his style in the public spaces (going just by your photos). I guess my complaint is that it isn’t enough. I’d like the whole resort to scream Barcelona. Instead it seems to be just those bits thrown in here and there, without an overall immersive theme as you’ve said.
I’ll be there in August and am looking forward to staying there. Admittedly, it seems that Disney is leaning toward more bland and generic resorts. But this one looks pretty cool. It’s my first stay at Coronado Springs.
Throw in some video poker machines, rebrand it as “Vegas Springs”.
Loved the Big Ben analogy, because I was all “Whaaaaaa….” when I realized they were throwing Gaudi and Dali into a Southwest/Mexican themed resort. In fairness, it does look nice (though since some of the family ancestors hail from Barcelona and Catalan, I might have an innate favorable cultural disposition (never mind that great, great, great grandad came over in the 1800s). The problem is, it doesn’t look Disney nice.
OK, I will be the only one to go against the grain. I like it a lot. I love CSR with and without the tower. I can’t afford the deluxe resorts and since the kids are grown i have no desire to stay at the value resorts. The PO resorts look like where I live and when I go to Disney I want to stay somewhere different. I like the quiet of CSR and the tower looks great. But that is why they make more than one flavor of ice cream! To each his own. I for one, am excited about booking a CL room there for 2020.
I’m looking forward to staying at the tower this December. This will be my Fifth time to Disney World and I can’t even tell you how many times to Disneyland (a lot ) I’m wanting a more adult atmosphere as I’ve done the kid visits enough now. I’m hoping for luxury and if I get it wow what a deal. Disney deluxe always fell short for me, I’ve enjoyed my only other moderate (riverside). Not everyone wants a Disney themed room! I loooovvve Disney but I’m ready for a grown up room and hotel
“Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against hidden Mickeys or backstory—so long as they’re accompanied by strong visual design. Don’t tell me a story, show me one. Imagineering’s best work needs no accompanying words to explain what’s going on, whereas the worst usually has plenty (too many) of them.” You’re spot on with the backstory. Convoluted backstories without visuals is unnecessary.
“The difference between Gran Destino and these bygone era Walt Disney World resorts is that they strove for idealized and romanticized themes that transport you to another time and place. Those resorts are immersive, warm, and reassuring. Gran Destino has no theme, isn’t transportive, and strives for something different entirely.” This is why I will never stay at Gran Destino. I would rather stay at Fort Wilderness or Port Orleans.
I definitely can see the appeal here, but the difference between immersive theme and decoration is very stark. Not having been to any of the WDW resorts I could only go off my reactions to photos and reviews, but Coronado Springs was my second or third choice in terms of theme and my husband’s outright favorite. The tower definitely detracts and adds a discordant element to the whole.
That said, I love Dali, Gaudi and Spanish Modernism and the flashes of it you captured here I do for the most part enjoy in isolation. It’s definitely treading the line of garishness (and occasionally crossing it) but so did many art and architecture styles from the early 20th century. How many amazing old movie palaces have we lost due to complaints about the “garishness” of Art Deco over the years? I would hang those light fixtures from the second to last photo in my home if I could find them.
Did Biff build this? Marty and Doc had better find the time machine quick, before Disney Executives ruin everything. If left up to Chapek or whichever snooze- fest suit is in charge of resort design, then the Grand Floridian (with its renovations on the bar, etc.) may fall prey to “those who have the power, yet don’t need the classics or truly appreciate artistic creativity “. I initially thought the entry pillars reminded me of Atlantis, as I’ve not been to Vegas, but the outside completely made me think Oceans 11 – sans huge fountain. Spot on Tom! We have reservations for Wilderness Lodge for our next trip.
My impression about a tower at Coronado before it was built was that it would not fit in with the resort. My impression after seeing the finished product is even more severe. They ruined a perfectly good resort, one that we have stayed at several times. Right now, Tat $199 price tag looks like you are paying too much for nothing. I can see the appeal for Convention-goers, but there is not much appeal for true Disney fans
.
We took advantage of the Disney Visa rate and switched from Pop to Gran Destino for our arrival night in August (before switching to Yacht Club for the rest of the trip). I’m really curious to see what I think of it in person. I’m actually really excited to have a pseudo-luxury hotel option for a less-than-luxury price. However, having stayed at Deluxe resorts for a few trips now, the bus-only transportation at Gran Destino might be a sticking point for me. Still, really excited to check it out! Semi-lavish with some hidden Mickeys, cool art and amazing views is a pretty good fit for this Disney lover (so it would be incorrect to assume that Gran Destino won’t appeal to Disney die-hards, as well)!
Appreciate the review. This hotel is pretty garish and seems like it just wants to serve the influencer crowd. I would pop in for a drink at that red-stained-glass bar, though.
your thoughts on the theme, or lack thereof, are spot on. ever since the concept art for this i sat saying, “no, no no.” it just doesn’t fit. i’m already tired of the high rises. swan and dolphin should have ended that. coronado is my favorite moderate resort and this just totally ruins the look and feel.
I travel to Las Vegas every year for a convention, and have stayed at most of the well-known resorts on the Strip. This looks exactly like one of those. They are all expensive, visually stimulating, good quality resorts, that more or less make Las Vegas what it is. I have always enjoyed the way that Disney’s immersive resort themes can make even the spread out, 2,000-room resorts feel intimate. Gran Destino seems a departure from the norm, which might be ok for a lot of guests. It just doesn’t look like what I want from a Disney stay.
I still don’t understand why they went with a Spanish theme at a resort that was Mexican themed. It makes no sense to me. I like the design of the interiors more than I thought I would…. not as a ‘Disney Resort’ but as a hotel itself not thinking of Disney. But still not seeing any relationship to Coronado Springs in any way (scale, design, theme). Makes me wonder if the original part of the resort will undergo a phase 2 renovation/re-imaging that strips away the mexican theme all together. Especially since the change on the main entry sign seems more like a band-aid than anything else. I get that the fresher modern design and building type appeals more to conventions and I would totally stay there (considered changing from Port Orleans French Quarter for our November trip). The whole thing makes me a little sad since I worked on some of the graphics for this property as part of my first job out of college. They also did the graphics for Port Orleans (Dixie Landings) and Boardwalk. Sigh.
Ok, but I would really love a Canada & Maine resort! 😉
I appreciate your review, and based on the photographs — garish is the perfect word for Gran Destino. And I agree, it is absolutely out of place a Coronado Springs. We go to Disney World pretty regularly, and it won’t be a place we’ll stay — will continue to choose Yacht/Beach Club, Boardwalk, and Animal Kingdom Lodge.
Looks like extremely limited appeal for a family with kids under 10; good to know.
Thanks for posting!
“It still pains me that this was built at Coronado Springs–a resort absolutely at odds with the new tower–to save on infrastructure costs. It simply does not fit in terms of theme, architecture, scale, etc., at Coronado Springs. There is no way to justify its presence at this resort from a show perspective.”
I think you summed things up well there. I think the new hotel smell and top notch cast (they always are at openings … even at the All Star Music!) and service will lead to a positive review in general. A lawyerly one if you will. I thought the WDWNT review of the hotel tower and the restaurant were very good as well.
Honestly, not much at WDW is very good today. And it’s kinda tough to say that when your site’s viability depends on driving people to the biggest tourist trap in the swamps.
But I enjoyed the post nonetheless. Would have rather read Tokyo content, but I am funny that way!
P.S. Would love a blog post on your thoughts about Abigail Disney and the vicious way Burbank is dealing with her.
Thanks for the review. I agree it looks like Vegas lite and for me that’s definitely not a good thing. Lived in Vegas and am not at all a fan of that style.