The Immoderate Moderate: Coronado Springs Today

By Dave Shute

FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE CHANGES AT CORONADO SPRINGS

Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort has always had—thanks to the demands of its convention and meetings guests—the best amenities among the Disney moderate resorts.

It has been the only moderate with concierge rooms, the only moderate with suites, the only moderate with a spa, the only moderate with workout facilities, the only moderate with a lap pool, and the moderate with the most extensive set of dining options and bars.

Appetizers at Toledo

With the opening in July 2019 of the new Gran Destino tower, its restaurant Toledo and two bars Dahlia Lounge and Barcelona Lounge (both serving appetizers and the Barcelona Lounge also functioning as a coffee shop in the mornings), and, in a different area, the Three Bridges Bar and Grill on Villa Del Lago, Coronado Springs has upped its game even more, and its level of amenities now far outpaces the other moderate options.

Appetizers at Three Bridges/Villa Del Lago

I stayed here in late July. While I will publish more about this stay later—updating my overall review of Coronado Springs, and including a photo tour of a Gran Destino standard room—I can affirm the quality of the new Toledo, Dahlia Lounge, and The Three Bridges/Villa Del Lago at Coronado Springs in particular. The Port Orleans resorts are now substantially outclassed in terms of amenities, and Caribbean Beach–which is closer to the new Coronado Springs than the Port Orleans resorts in dining and bar quality, and will become even better (in the totality of its amenities) after the Skyliner opens—is also behind Coronado Springs.

THE ROOMS AT GRAND DESTINO

I have more mixed feelings about the rooms at Gran Destino—in particular for family visitors.

At about 400 square feet, Gran Destino standard rooms have more square feet than any other traditional moderate rooms—and more, in fact than the majority of the deluxes.

Some of the hall in a Gran Destino room

However, compared to standard rooms elsewhere in Coronado Springs, much of this extra space is wasted from the point of view of livability, in the entry hall—about 76 of the extra 86 square feet.

(I’ve written elsewhere about how you need to incorporate this adjustment to your thinking about square feet when comparing rooms with outside entrances and baths in the back,to rooms with inside entrances and baths at the front—baths at the front require a hall area that baths in the back don’t need.)

The Gran Destino bath is both nicer and about 20 square feet larger than the baths in rooms elsewhere in Coronado Springs.

But it is less livable for families, being divided less well (instead of the tub/shower and toilet in one space, and the sinks in another, it has a glass walled shower and sinks in one space, and the toilet in its own space—leave the sliding barn door to the bath open while showering in the glass-walled shower, and if someone enters the room from outside, all will get a surprise) and offering—so far as I can tell–only showers, not a tub/shower combo that offers folks a choice.

Gran Destino Standard Room

If you are tracking with the math, you can tell that the living area in Gran Destino rooms is about 10 square feet smaller than the living space in regular Coronado Springs rooms—this is mostly not noticeable in livability.

While rooms elsewhere in the resort have a bit of Three-Caballeros-styled Disney theming, these rooms have no Disney theming that I noted. I do quite like the overall look and feel of the complete set of spaces of Gran Destino—but I don’t see much here that visually appeals to kids.

The easy access to Toledo, Dahlia Lounge, and Barcelona Lounge is a win, as is the room access from interior corridors, as is the location—the best at Coronado Springs—and the temperature-controlled enclosed walkway from the tower to the shops and dining at El Centro.

But on balance, for the typical premium of 18% more (on average over 2020, more than $50 a night) than standard rooms elsewhere at Coronado Springs, I’m still noodling over whether these rooms are the best choice for family visitors.

The long-time travel agent partner of this site, Kelly, can help you book–or avoid!–one of these Gran Destino rooms. Contact her using the form below.

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