Disney’s Beach Club Resort is a Walt Disney World Hotel near Epcot. Sitting along the banks of Crescent Lake, Beach Club is themed to late 1800’s and early 1900’s New England seaside resorts. With a great location, dining and amenities, Beach Club is a deluxe resort at WDW. In this post, we’ll review the hotel, sharing photos of the resort and room while offering our thoughts on Disney’s Beach Club Resort’s value.

Beach Club opened to guests in November of 1990 along with it’s sister resort, Yacht Club. The two resorts share amenities and are similar in design. The outside of Beach Club is a light blue as opposed to Yacht Club’s gray and there are some thematic differences. Like a few other Disney resorts, picking early 20th century New England beachside resorts as a theme is an odd choice. Then again, it falls in line with the other Disney Crescent Lake hotels. The trio of the Boardwalk, Beach and Yacht Club Resorts were all designed by A.M. Stern and have a cohesive feel all while being unique in their own right.

The outside of the Beach Club is beautiful with light blue paint and white trim. Victorian “Stick-Style” architecture is used at both Beach and Yacht Club, giving a feeling of those east coast neighborhoods just off of the beach. Across the lake is the more lively Boardwalk Resort, where guests could go enjoy some entertainment. All three of them combine to make a little faux-community – one that tells a story. As for the looks of the three, I think the outside of Beach Club looks the best, especially set against it’s white sand beach.

Once inside, Beach Club Resort’s lobby has high ceilings and ample seating while still being somewhat understated. Unlike the Yacht Club, the theme isn’t quite as obvious here. I think there are pros and cons to that but overall the lobby is inviting and a nice place to sit and relax. There are other small areas throughout the resort to enjoy some comfy seating, as well. Let’s move on to the room!

We were incredibly lucky and had our group upgraded to a 2-bedroom suite for our stay. Here’s a look at the living room, with a pull out bed, table and TV. The couch was comfortable enough and the room had some space but not nearly as much as two bedrooms at Old Key West or Saratoga Springs.

The kitchen has all of the regular amenities – sink, dishwasher, oven/stove, microwave, toaster, refrigerator/freezer, and dishes. If you’re looking to make a few meals in while staying here, this is more than enough to accommodate that.

This is one of the bedrooms, with comfortable beds, light blue walls and a bathroom attached. If you’re looking for a studio room, this is basically what you’d get. I like the little lamps above the beds and the room had a decent amount of space.

Here’s a look from the other corner of the room. All of the rooms had TV’s. I think the chair is interesting but it wasn’t especially comfortable.

Here’s a look at the two sinks connected to the above bedroom. What a nice arm that person has in the mirror.

Beyond the sinks is the shower and toilet. As a huge supporter of showers over bath/shower combos, it should be no surprise that I liked this bathroom. This room was behind a door so others could use the sinks while someone was in there.

Here is the other bedroom. If you want an idea of what 1-bedroom villa would look like then it would be this combined with the living room.

Like the other bedroom, there was a bathroom attached here. This room was more comfortable than the other bedroom and had plenty of space.

Lastly, here’s the other bathroom. That tub is wonderful.

Here’s the sink and tub/shower combo. It’s a fine bathroom. The room also has laundry facilities available. Our specific room had an incredibly large balcony and all rooms come with a balcony of some kind.

Overall, I think the room is my least favorite part of Beach Club Resort. Don’t get me wrong, everything is really nice and modern. I just didn’t find a lot of character or details in the room. Beach Club seemed a little generic in that realm, with not a ton of nods to the theme. Is that a reason not to stay there? Probably not. I’d rather have a really nice room as opposed to a room on theme that isn’t very nice. I guess where the issue lies is that you could have both and some resorts (the Poly and Animal Kingdom Lodge, notably) do.

Moving outside of the room is where Beach Club Resort really shines. Sharing table-service dining with the Yacht Club means that this resort has some of the best sit down dining in Disney World. Yacthsman Steakhouse, Beaches & Cream, Ale & Compass, and Cape May Cafe makes up a very strong slate of options, not to mention the Boardwalk restaurants just a short walk away. While the counter-service dining is not as robust, there are a few options as well as Crew’s Cup Lounge, one of our favorite lounges in Disney World.

As far as location goes, this is my favorite place to stay in WDW. Just a 5-minute walk to Epcot and a 15-minute walk to Hollywood Studios, you can’t get more convenient than that. There is also boat service to both parks and the Disney Skyliner, an attraction in its own right, close by. The bus service to Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom being somewhat lacking is the downside here but it’s more than offset by the short walks to other parks.

The dining and location are two incredible amenities but I haven’t brought up the best part about Beach Club Resort yet. Sorry for burying the lede. Stormalong Bay is the Yacht & Beach Club feature pool and it is absolutely fantastic. The pool has a sand floor. Honestly, that doesn’t sound all that exciting but then you experience it and it’s wonderful. There’s also a lazy river, incredible slide in a giant pirate ship, pool bar, kid pools, and plenty of lounging to do. Throw in actual lounging on the beach right outside of the pool’s gates and there’s a full day to be had here if you so choose. Stormalong Bay is like a mini waterpark except that it’s included with your hotel stay. There are also several other pools throughout the grounds available to guests, though far less exciting.

As for the cost, Disney’s Beach Club Resort is one of the pricier Disney World hotels. Outside of the three hotels on the monorail loop, Contemporary, Polynesian and Grand Floridian, Beach Club Resort is regularly the most expensive. Generally, you can find a studio room for just under $300. Is it worth it? That’s very relative and dependent on how much time you’ll actually spend in the parks. If you’re going to focus on hotel pools and spend a lot of time at the resort then splurging for a night or two here is an excellent option. If money isn’t much of an issue for you then I think you’d be hard pressed to beat Beach Club Resort.

Overall, Beach Club Resort is one of our favorite places to stay not just in Walt Disney World but anywhere. While the rooms are somewhat generic and the price is high, Beach Club makes up for it with the best collection of amenities that any WDW hotel offers. The location, dining, and pool can’t be beat.

Overall Rating – 9.5/10

Have you stayed at Disney’s Beach Club Resort? Let us know your thoughts or questions below in the comments! Planning a trip to Walt Disney World? Check out our planning guide for help! If you enjoy what you’re reading here on Wandering in Disney, please subscribe to the blog and like our social media pages. You can do both of those things on the right side of this page. Thank you for reading, we really appreciate it!