We spent 5 wonderful nights at the Buena Vista Palace including part of the Memorial Day weekend. We were continuing our vacation in Fort Lauderdale and my fiance said "I wish we could take this hotel with us wherever we go." We had reserved two Disneyview Fireworks rooms with two queen beds, through Hotels.com, for a great price including the 4th night free and a $20 gas credit. The price lowered after we'd paid for the rooms and they returned the difference. We had late check-in and per our request the Buena Vista reception team put us in King bed rooms, which were on the 26th floor. Yes, we were hit with the resort fee, as others have stated, but many hotels charge for parking, internet access, etc. and so the $16 per night they tacked on was reasonable, if unexpected. Going back to Hotels.com, the disclaimer is there. Caveat emptor, buyer beware, and read the fine print BEFORE you go on your trip. Always a good idea to look at the hotel's website and look for the "this hotel may charge additional fees" is you're booking through another source. And, speaking of room details, it was surprisingly spacious, the furniture was modern, solid, with comfortable beds and a sitting area and balcony. The Wifi was great. Towels were plentiful and a call to housekeeping brought us more of them and additional hypo-allergenic pillows. The staff were accommodating and with a call, came to fix minor things like lots of dust on the bathroom's outtake fan. Our room's door didn't close automatically and although we'd asked them to fix it, that wasn't done. However, everything else, except the parking, was exceptional. As the Memorial Day weekend approached and the hotel filled up, the self-parking spots dried up, too. There are not enough handicapped spots for the size of the property. Some people who did not have handicap permits parked in the spots. However, Aaron at the front desk apologized for the inconvenience and comped the valet parking.
The Buena Vista property is breath-taking in scope and well maintained. It's the largest of all the hotel properties in the area that are associated with Disney but that don't carry the name. Years ago, we stayed at the Grosvenor (now Wyndham) which is next door and having to go to the Buena Vista to rent cameras, loved it so much we vowed we'd stay there on a return visit.
The staff is professional and courteous. The rooms are well-appointed and comfortable. The bedding is hotel quality and the pillows are in great shape. It appears to be recently renovated. I agree with the reviews that talk about the high prices in the market ($7 for 2 cups of coffee at the Starbucks) and the restaurant and so we shopped at the local Goodings in the Crossroads shopping complex or at a nearby Walmart and Publix supermarket. We made our own coffee and had breakfast either in the room or at the Dunkin' Donuts on S. Apopka Vineland Rd. (say "Hi" to Doreen).
The proximity to Downtown Disney was great. We're not wedded to Disney properties, per se, since our kids are older and the expense of the small rooms on the moderate properties like Port Orleans, is not worth double the rate, at least to us. We changed our reservation to the Buena Vista when we found this hotel. There were families with young kids either who stayed there by choice because of the great rate and value and some business folks. Whoever or however you're travelling and for what purpose, we highly recomment the Buena Vista to folks looking to TripAdvisor reviews for experiences with the hotel. Didn't get to use the great gym facilities but the fitness room has machines and free weights. Yes, the parking can be a problem but you don't sleep in your car. After a long day walking through Universal and Disney we looked forward to going "home" to the beautiful Buena Vista.