We booked a tree-house villa at Saratoga Springs. Megan duBois I’ve visited Disney World frequently for 25 years, and I recently stayed at its Treehouse Villas. The accommodations are located in Saratoga Springs Resort, and we booked with Vacation Club points.
I stayed in the woodsy villa with 5 other people, and we thought it was great for big groups. As a frequent Disney World visitor, I’m always looking for new places to stay. The villa is tucked away in the trees.
Megan duBoisI’ve booked luxurious Disney resorts like the Grand Floridian and the Riviera, and I was afraid I was running out of options for new accommodation experiences. That was until my family booked a tree-house villa at Saratoga Springs Resort, for my birthday using our Disney Vacation Club (DVC) points. The villa costs about $1,000 a night, so we saved a lot of money using our DVC points since we pay an annual fee for a set number of points we can use across the Disney World property.
For three nights (one weekday night and two weekend nights), the villa cost us 139 points. For reference, a regular room at Saratoga Springs costs closer to 10 points (or $450) a night. The Treehouse Villas are secluded in a wooded area separate from the main resort.
We were able to make our way around the resort pretty easily. Megan duBoisI tried to do online check-in, but my family and I didn’t receive a text. We were able to go to the Carriage House lobby building at Saratoga Springs to chat with an employee, and to our surprise, our room was ready early, around 1:00 p.
m. To get into the Treehouse Villa area, we had to drive a short distance away from the main resort to an unmanned gate and press a button for someone to let us in for the first time. Upon driving in, I was surprised at how lush the area was with trees.
It really felt like being out in the woods. Finding our assigned tree house was challenging at first, but we made it there without too much trouble. The location is great if you have a car.
The resort grounds were beautiful. Megan duBoisI loved that the tree houses were in a wooded area near Saratoga Springs but still felt like a whole different hotel. The one downfall to the location is transportation.
To get to the theme parks without a personal vehicle, you have to take an internal shuttle to the main resort area, then transfer to a park bus. Because we had a car, we were able to just drive ourselves around. But there was only one parking spot available per tree house.
For a villa that sleeps up to nine people, that can be a big challenge. But luckily, ours was located near the pool, which had additional parking. There’s also a dock where you can catch the boat to Disney Springs.
The boat drops off and picks up guests near Rainforest Cafe. If you don’t have a car, I think the boats were pretty quick and reliable. Our villa was cute and perfectly themed for the outdoors.
There were lots of wooden details. Megan duBoisOur Treehouse Villa was clean and cozy, with a partial pool view and plenty of trees surrounding the structure. The entryway to the tree house had river-rock-style tile, which opened up to a massive living room, dining area, and kitchen.
The common space had floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the trees. There was a place for everyone to eat. The table was a decent size.
Megan duBoisThe dining area had a large table that seated six people, and there were three additional bar chairs at the kitchen counter. We found everything we needed in the kitchen. There’s a full kitchen in the villa.
Megan duBoisThe kitchen was well-equipped with a full-sized refrigerator, oven, microwave, sink, dishwasher, and coffee maker. There were also plenty of plates, cups, silverware, pots, and pans for all of our cooking needs. Unlike the more traditional hotels at Disney World, the Treehouse Villas are meant to be like vacation homes where you cook many of your meals.
We were able to cook breakfast all three mornings we were there. Lunch was mostly snacks that we brought from home, but we went to Wine Bar George (my favorite restaurant at Disney World) one day via the Disney Springs boat. My family also cooked dinner two out of three nights.
The other night we went to Jiko at Animal Kingdom Lodge for a fancy night out. We also cooked and ate some of our meals outside. We were able to cook on the grill outside.
Megan duBoisThe villa comes with a charcoal grill, where we cooked dinner one night. My dad made cheeseburgers, and they were perfect for a casual dinner. We could socialize and sleep in the living room.
The couches pulled out into beds. Megan duBoisThe living room was spacious with a large couch and cozy chair, both of which pulled out into beds. There was also a second chair, but it didn’t transform into a sleeping space.
The TV in the living room was big, and we watched plenty of Mickey Mouse cartoons in our pajamas each morning. One bedroom had a bunk bed. I think the bedroom is meant for kids.
Megan duBoisThe first bedroom was likely meant to be a kids’ room because it had a bunk bed. There was also a TV, a large closet, a set of drawers, and a small set of shelves. The second bedroom had a queen bed.
There are three different bedrooms in the villa. Megan duBoisDown the hallway was the second bedroom, which had a queen-sized bed, a set of drawers, and a small closet. There was also a large TV in the room.
The hall bathroom was spacious enough. There’s one bathroom in the hallway and another in the main bedroom. Megan duBoisIn the hallway with the first two rooms was a bathroom, which had a single vanity, a toilet, and a combination shower/tub.
Tubs are hard to find at newer Disney hotels, where glass-encased showers are the trend, but we appreciated it because we were traveling with a 2-year-old. The hallway was also where the full-sized washer and dryer were located. We used it often since we played in the pool and went to Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon water park one day.
The main bedroom was the most spacious. All the bedrooms had their own TVs. Megan duBoisOn the other side of the Treehouse Villa was the main bedroom, which had a queen-sized bed, a TV, a desk, a set of drawers, and a huge bathroom.
The main bathroom also had a combination shower/tub. The bathtub was really nice. Megan duBoisThe bathroom attached to the main bedroom had a single vanity, a toilet closet, and a unique shower set up.
The shower had a glass door, and a river-rock-style tile, but also included a large whirlpool tub inside. We spent a lot of time on the deck. The deck was very spacious.
Megan duBoisSince the villas are up on pedestals, there was a flight of stairs that led up to the actual building and the attached deck. We spent a lot of time out on the deck, which had a small table and four outside chairs. It was a great staging area for tongs, a spatula, and trays for food when we grilled.
The deck overlooked the woods. But it wasn’t super quiet in the morning and afternoon because our tree house was close to a bus stop. The pool was nice but nothing special.
We didn’t have much of a problem with crowds at the pool. Megan duBoisThe pool at the Treehouse Villas was nice. When we went it wasn’t crowded, but it filled up when people returned from the theme parks in the late afternoon.
There was also a hot tub — which seemed to be the popular spot each night — and plenty of loungers and tables. There’s no slide or lifeguard at the pool, which may be a dealbreaker for some guests with kids. But Treehouse Villa guests can also use the pools at Saratoga Springs, which offer those amenities.
It was a great way to spend a weekend at Disney World. The experience was very different from other Disney resorts. Megan duBoisMy parents, two best friends, and a 2-year-old loved our time at the Treehouse Villas.
The overall vibe and amenities — undesirable parking situation aside — made it a birthday weekend well spent. I definitely plan on staying here again knowing how fun it was. Plus, it was a great value it was since we used our DVC points.
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From: insider
URL: https://www.insider.com/trying-tree-house-villas-at-disney-world-worth-it-2022-8
