Review: The B Resort & Spa in the Disney Springs Resort Area
By Dave Shute
The Basics: Where to Stay The Disney Springs Resort Area Hotels
B Resort & Spa Best Western Doubletree Suites Hilton Buena Vista Palace Hilton Holiday Inn Wyndham
THE B RESORT & SPA
Guests at the B Resort & Spa are eligible for Disney World’s Early Entry program.
The B Resort & Spa offer multiple room types in two different accommodations buildings, a mid-rise tower where the majority of rooms are found, and a two story option known as the “Lanai” building.
The best features of the B Resort & Spa are its fun and colorful decorating and design choices, especially in the lobby area, and the quality of its staff.
Uniquely among the Disney Springs Resort Area hotels, it offers a spa. Amenities otherwise are more than adequate, but not distinctive.
Weaknesses include the absence of balconies and of divided baths in tower rooms, and poor storage in all rooms. For a Disney Springs Resort Area hotel, the B Resort & Spa offers relatively high prices, and doesn’t quite have the comparative amenity level–especially in its pool complex–to justify them. It shares with all the Disney Springs Resort Area hotels weak park transportation.
I’ve stayed at the B Resort & Spa three times, most recently in September, and my full review has five pages:
- The overview of the B Resort & Spa you are reading now
- A photo tour of a standard two queen tower room at the B Resort & Spa
- A photo tour of a two queen Lanai building room at the B Resort & Spa
- Amenities and dining at the B Resort & Spa
- The pool at the B Resort & Spa
ACCOMMODATIONS AT THE B RESORT & SPA
The B Resort & Spa in the Disney Springs Resort Area has several room types in two buildings–the main tower and the Lanai building. Rooms with a king bed, a king and a set of bunk beds, two queens, and two queens with a fold-out couch are available–as well as suites.
The floor plan is of a typical B Resort & Spa tower room, with two queens and a small couch that folds out into a single bed. There’s small set of drawers in the wardrobe across from the couch–my Lanai room had no drawers at all. Each room has several other storage options–particularly cubby-style storage.
The bed side of B Resort & Spa tower room.
The bath is not divided, has no tub, and includes a glass enclosure to its large shower. This makes it the opposite of family friendly.
A photo tour of a two queen tower room at the B Resort & Spa is here.
The one hundred or so Lanai building rooms are more usable, offering both divided baths…
…and, in about a quarter of them, pool-side patios. Another quarter have balconies overlooking the pool. The other half of Lanai rooms offer balconies or patios just ten feet from parking–I saw no one using these on my stays, so either my timing was off, the view kept people inside, or the spaces are locked off, as they are in tower rooms.
A photo tour of a two queen Lanai building room at the B Resort & Spa is here.
DINING AT THE B RESORT & SPA
The principal dining venue at the B Resort & Spa is the American Kitchen Bar & Grill.
The American Kitchen serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. It’s a fine option.
It includes a bar, and there’s another bar–not always open on my visits–at the pool. Snacks, drinks, and grab and go items are available in a shop between the lobby and the pool.
The B Resort & Spa also has a Disney gift shop offering souvenirs, park tickets, and such.
There’s more on dining and the other amenities at the B Resort & Spa here.
THE POOL AT THE B RESORT & SPA
The B Resort & Spa’s pool is average among the Disney Springs Resort Area pools–better than those at the Best Western and Doubletree Suites, but not with as many amenities or as much kid appeal as those at the Hilton, Wyndham, or Hilton Buena Vista Palace.
It includes a traditional pool with a zero-entry section and water jets that kids can play in, and a small hot tub.
For more on the pool at the B Resort & Spa, see this.
THEME PARK TRANSPORTATION AT THE B RESORT & SPA
The B Resort & Spa, according to its marketing materials, “allows you to revel in the excitement of the theme parks, found just outside our doors.” In fact, the nearest theme park as the crow flies is two and a half miles away, with no walking paths, so you will need transportation.
The B Resort & Spa participates in a transportation program sponsored by all the Disney Springs Resort Area hotels. One group of buses serves the Hilton, Holiday Inn, B Resort & Spa, and Doubletree Suites, Palace, and another the other three hotels here.
Buses run about every thirty minutes, each serving two parks–so, for example, to get to Disney’s Animal Kingdom, you may have travel to the Magic Kingdom first. Moreover, unlike the buses from Disney-owned resorts, Magic Kingdom buses drop off at the Transportation and Ticket Center, not the park itself, necessitating another transit, via monorail or ferry, to get to that park.
In addition to the theme park buses, buses to and from Disney Springs run through the evening.
On the important dimensions–frequency, and the time it takes to get to and return from the parks–the transportation system at the Disney Springs Resort Area is much worse than that at the Disney-owned resorts, but better than that at most off-site hotels.
Having your own car or a rental is a much better option. Self-parking at the B Resort & Spa is $22/night and valet parking is $28/night. Parking at the theme parks is $25/day.
For more on transportation at the Disney Springs Resort Area hotels, see this.
PRICING AT THE B RESORT & SPA
Pricing at the Disney Springs Resort Hotels is much less visible than that at the Disney-owned resorts, and multiple prices for the same room e.g. for non-refundable stays, stays by folk with AAA, etc. are common. Discounts and deals are also common, and these hotels commonly show up on the various hotel deal sites.
Pricing for most of them is also obscured by mandatory “resort fees.” Resort fees are a mandatory extra cost added every night of your stay, whether you like or not. I personally find mandatory resort fees a misleading and unethical practice. A fee that is mandatory, and charged each night, should simply be rolled into the nightly room price.
The B Resort & Spa resort fee is (after tax) $33.75 per night–among the three highest Disney Springs Resort Area fees.
Prices at the B Resort & Spa (before any discounts you might find, but including resort fees and taxes) are generally among the highest of the seven Disney Springs Resort Area hotels, and are typically comparable to those for a Disney-owned moderate resort.
For those looking for a colorful and playful decor and generally sound amenities, other than perhaps the pool, the B Resort & Spa can be a reasonable option for couples, offering amenities somewhere between those of a Disney moderate and a Disney deluxe at a price commonly closer to that of a Disney moderate. For families, it is not quite as attractive for the price as several other Disney Springs Resort Area hotels.
The long-time travel agent partner of this site, Kelly, can book you into the B Resort & Spa or any other Disney World accommodations. Contact her using the form below!
PHOTO TOUR OF A TOWER ROOM AT THE B RESORT & SPA
This review continues here.
MORE ON THE B RESORT & SPA
- Overview and summary
- Photo tour of a B Resort standard tower room
- Photo tour of a B Resort Lanai pool-view room
- Dining and amenities at the B Resort & Spa
- The pool at the B Resort & Spa
OTHER KEY PAGES FOR WHERE TO STAY AT DISNEY WORLD
- Where to stay–the Basics
- Where first-timers should stay
- Reviews of all the Disney World resorts, based on my 160+ stays in them
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