Read on for my Saratoga Springs resort review:
If you had to ask me to pick what I’d guess is probably the “least popular” Disney resort… well, it’s hard to say for certain because everyone has their favorites and preferences. But I would say the resort I probably hear talked about the least, and the one which doesn’t seem to get nearly enough love, is Saratoga Springs.
There are probably a few reasons for this – I’d guess two of the major ones are themeing and location. When people travel to Disney World and Florida, I don’t know that they think of “Saratoga Springs, NY” as the theme they want for their resort. It’s also a bit further from the parks (though near Disney Springs) than many other resorts.
It’s also a DVC resort, so while you can book rooms there without being a DVC member, it does have “deluxe” pricing (though probably the cheapest of the deluxes) so I think if people are looking to pay $350 or more a night they are probably willing to spend just a little bit more for a “fun” or “fancy” resort.
All that being said, when I traveled to Disney in February I stayed at Saratoga Springs for the first time (other than when we stayed in the Treehouse Villas, which felt like a totally different experience). I booked it because I had DVC points to use, it was available and wasn’t too many points. My expectations were not very high going in.
And I have to say I was pleasantly surprised! There was a lot I really enjoyed about Saratoga Springs, and I would definitely plan to stay there again for the right trip. We stayed in a deluxe studio with a preferred location, so here’s a look at my Saratoga Springs resort review.
Location and Transportation
If you’re planning to spend some time in Disney Springs, Saratoga Springs is a great spot. You can walk to Disney Springs from there, and it’s a really pretty and pleasant walk. There’s also a boat that goes back and forth which is a lovely way to get there too.
Being so close to Disney Springs is great for many reasons, especially if you’re looking for some good options. But especially it was pretty amazing to be that close to Gideon’s. We could actually join the virtual queue and then go to our hotel room for a bit and head over when we were called!
While Saratoga is a bit farther from the theme parks than some of the other resorts, it usually wasn’t as bad as I expected. As someone who loves data, I tracked the amount of time it took us to get around each day.
Epcot was actually closer than I thought – once on the bus, it only took about 10 minutes to travel between Epcot and Saratoga Springs. Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom were both about a 15-minute ride. Animal Kingdom was the furthest away, being about 20 minutes. If you’ve stayed at other Disney moderate resorts or values that don’t use the Skyliner, you’ll probably see similar travel times.
You do have to keep in mind which stop you’re at for Saratoga though. Since it does have 5 bus stops, it might only take 10 minutes to get from Epcot – but if you’re the last stop that’s another 10 minutes or so. Still, I thought Saratoga Springs was really nice, and if you just allot a small amount of extra time we had no issues.
Size of Saratoga Springs
I had booked a preferred room, which meant that we would be close to the main building/transportation. Saratoga Springs is really huge (there are actually 5 internal bus stops) so this was definitely worth the extra money/points.
We were given room 3712, which was a short walk from the lobby, restaurant, and buses. It also happened to be very close to the RunDisney race transportation, which was nice since we were there for Princess Weekend!
It was actually pretty easy to walk around too – there are paths and bridges crossing all around the resort, so nothing was really as far as it seemed. We learned that if we got off 2 stops before “our” bus stop, we could walk a pretty short distance and save some time on the buses.
Themeing
The themeing of Saratoga Springs is mostly focused on horses, which isn’t surprising, but it’s not completely over the top. I actually think Disney could do more with this and really promote it to horse lovers. It’s a little bit niche but there are some people out there who would really love this. I had a few friends growing up who were super into riding and would have thought this was great.
The artwork above the bed was definitely a classy take on the Disney/horse theme, as were the other little touches around the room. There was a coat rack when you first walked in which looked like it would come out of a riding barn, and a few other nice details. And if you use the pull-down bed, you’ll get some great Disney horse art!
I think they could definitely play that up more and make it a little more “Disney” which might be a selling point. I don’t think all the resorts have to be over-the-top Disney like the value resorts, but if I’m at Disney World I definitely enjoy the Disney touches!
The outside is beautiful and there are lots of water features and fountains (you know, the springs). It was so much prettier than I expected. There’s also a golf course right at the resort, so off to the side you have the views of the very well-maintained greens.
Food
There are a few different food options available at Saratoga Springs resort. In addition to the restaurants in the main building, there are several pool bars that do have actual quick service meals or snacks. With the size of Saratoga Springs it’s helpful to know you have options if you’re not near the main building!
In terms of food, you’ll find:
- The Turf Club Bar and Grill (table service)
- The Turf Club Lounge
- The Artist’s Palette (main quick service)
- The Paddock Grill (quick service)
- Backstratch pool bar (quick service)
- On the Rocks pool bar (drinks only)
- Chip n Dale Cafe (snacks near golf course)
And of course you’re only a quick boat ride or walk away from tons of great dining in Disney Springs. My guess is that’s why we don’t see more than one table service option here, and even minimal quick service for a resort of this size.
During my trip I ate at the Turf Club, Artist’s Palette, and got some drinks at the th Paddock Grill.
We ate lunch at Artist’s Palette the first day, and I have to say my meal was disappointing. I got the vegan option, which was the “Vegan Gyro.” I’m not vegan but I’m not a big meat eater so I often favor vegan or vegetarian options, especially at Disney where they are usually pretty good. It’s described as “Plant-based “Sausage”, Hummus, “Tzatziki”, Lettuce, Tomatoes, Onions, Cucumbers, Kalamata Olives, and Golden Raisins in a Baked Pita with Herbed-Red Wine Vinaigrette served with House-made Saratoga Chips.”
Herbed red wine vinaigrette sounds delicious, but they absolutely drenched it in this. As a result everything was just a big soggy mess. I’m usually impressed by the plant-based meats at Disney, but this “sausage” did not taste very good. I definitely wouldn’t get this again, though the chips were fantastic. I also got a great cupcake and really liked that they had bottled sparkling water from Sarataoga NY.
The Turf Club was a very good meal, in my opinion. It wasn’t a standout or anything, and not really worth making a trip to the resort if you’re not staying there, but if you’re going to be spending some time at Saratoga Springs it’s a convenient and tasty dinner. We had the tempura appetizer which was good, and my dinner was excellent. It was the Braised Lamb Pappardelle and had a lot of good flavor.
The rooms
Since this is a DVC resort, the rooms are set up slightly differently than standard hotel rooms. You have studio rooms (your closest to a regular hotel room, and where we stayed), and then 1 or 2 bedroom villas, plus the treehouse villas.
All of the rooms have a balcony/patio. While we did have a balcony, it wasn’t the best view as we looked out over the parking lot. If you got a room facing a different direction though the resort is actually incredibly beautiful and you could have a great view.
When you first walked in the bathroom was on your right and the closets to the left. On the other side of where the bathroom was you had your small kitchenette area. As a DVC resort, you get a little bit more than the standard hotel room. In addition to a fridge and coffee machine, you also have a microwave, a toaster, and disposable plates, bowls, utensils, etc. It’s really nice having a microwave in your room at Disney if you want to take any leftovers for later!
Like all DVC studios, there is one queen-sized bed and one queen-sized pull-down Murphy bed. Getting them all switched over to the pulldowns is so nice because they are much more comfortable than the pull-out couches. If you don’t need the second bed you can just leave it up and you have a nice little seating area. There’s also a coffee table, a standard dresser and TV. And yes, at least in this room this was actually a dresser and not a 5th pull-down sleeper like in many of the other resorts.
Overall the room was very nice and updated, and you definitely get all of the amenities and that feeling of being in a deluxe resort here… typically at a price that is a good bit lower than many of the other deluxe resorts.
The pool
Saratoga Springs actually has a lot of pools. You’ve got one in each area of the resort, but there are several which are quite large and have a lot of features. It’s not some places where you have one main pool and then some other “quiet pools” that are basically just a rectangle to swim in (and nothing wrong with that, of course!).
The main pool is the High Rock Spring pool, but unfortunately it was under a full refurbishment while we were there (like, the whole thing was drained and under construction). Normally this would be your best pool area, with slides, hot tubs, and more.
However, the other big pool area is the Paddock Pool, and this is where I spent time – and I was pretty impressed! It’s really big and also has a water slide and hot tub, plus a really fun looking kids play area.
The pools at Treehouse Villas and Congress park are your typical “just pools,” though they do have hot tubs as well. The Grandstand pool is a bit bigger, has a hot tub, and a kids play/splash area.
Things to do at Saratoga Springs
Believe it or not, there are actually a lot of activities and things to do at Saratoga Springs! Plus you’ve got Disney Springs right next door for even more options. But at the resort itself, you have plenty of things to keep you busy.
Like all of the Disney resorts, they have your typical events and activities happening. These include things like movie night by the pool, an arcade, playgrounds, and a nightly campfire. You’ll also find a Community Hall here which is common with DVC resorts – you can stop by here for things like arts and crafts, board games, ping pong, and more.
With so much space, it’s not surprising that Saratoga Springs also has a lot of outdoor options. There are sports courts that have basketball, tennis, and shuffleboard. There’s also a rental place for bicycles and surrey bikes, and a location for fishing. You also have the biggest jogging trail out of any Disney resort here as well.
This is the resort to stay at if you want to golf, because the golf course is right here at the resort itself (there is also a golf course by Magic Kingdom). It’s called Lake Buena Vista Golf Course, and I don’t golf so I can’t tell you much about it – but Disney says this location has hosted the PGA Tour, the LPGA Tour and USGA events, so that sounds like it’s probably a good one.
The full name of this resort is “Saratoga Springs and Spa Resort,” so yes, there is also technically a spa here. The “technically” is because it still hasn’t reopened since the 2020 shut-down. There was a lot of construction in this area of the resort, so hopefully we see that opening at some point in the next year or so.
Would I stay again?
While it’s never going to be my go-to resort, I would definitely stay at Saratoga Springs again. For certain trips I think it would be a great choice. While writing this Saratoga Springs resort review I thought of a few other times when I would want to be back here. For my personally, here are a few times when I think I might book Saratoga again in the future:
- Traveling with friends who are very into golf
- A trip where I want to spend a lot of time in Disney Springs
- A vacation where I need to get in a long training run for something
- If it’s a last minute trip and there is limited resort availability (yes it’s obviously more money, but I would easily choose this over the All-Stars… and honestly I might pick it over most of the moderates too).
- I’m traveling with a larger group on a smaller budget and want to take advantage of the villas
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Have you stayed at this resort? Do you agree with my Saratoga Springs resort review?
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