This property is lovely! It is expansive and attractive, and perhaps its biggest selling feature is its proximity to the Disney parks. In fact, it is so close that we cannot believe it is not technically ON the Disney property! The location is nearest to Hollywood Studios, with easy access to the other three major parks (no more than a 10-minute drive on Disney roads/property to the farthest park, which we believe is the Magic Kingdom). The hotel provides a shuttle to the parks several times a day; since March 2013, the cost is $5 per person round-trip (prior to that time, it was free). Because there were three of us, we decided to drive our own car to the parks everyday because the cost was nearly the same (it costs $14 per day to park at any Disney park), and we liked the convenience of being able to leave and return on our own time schedule.
The location seems remote and relaxing, surrounded by forest and wetlands. The complex consists of 6+ multi-story towers (housing 1-, 2-, and 3-bedroom condo units), and many of the towers have their own swimming pool, one of which has a pirate-ship feature (but not in a tacky way!). The property also houses a more traditional hotel building with its own pool. The towers and hotel are arranged around a small lake with a fountain spray in the center, with paved sidewalks connecting one to the other and leading around the lake. Adjacent to the lake side, some of the towers feature hot tubs/jacuzzis, grilling areas, children’s playgrounds, mini-golf, volleyball courts, game rooms, fitness centers, and lazy rivers. Guests can use any pool that they like; they are not restricted to using the one for their building. Some of the towers contain casual restaurants (Escudos, La Cantina, La Cocina Pizzeria, and a small Starbucks), and the hotel features another casual restaurant as well as an upscale dining venue, spa, and fitness center, and gift shop. There is another gift shop (El Mercado) in the main resort building that sells limited food items that you can cook in your condo. The swimming pool areas are officially open from 8:00 am to 12:00 midnight, although it seemed that you could continue using them if you were not loud and disruptive. No lifeguards are present.
We rented a 2-bedroom unit, which was spacious, serene, and nicely furnished. The unit had a combination kitchen/dining/living room area with a large flat-screen TV, dining table that sat 6 people, and a large breakfast bar/island with additional seating. The appliances were stainless steel, and the countertops appeared to be granite or some other high-end material. Plenty of cooking utensils, plates, and serveware are provided, so you can prepare and serve a full meal during your say. The sofa could function as a bed, providing sleeping space for another two guests. The unit had two separate bedrooms, the master bedroom having a luxurious en-suite bathroom (with separate soaking jacuzzi tub), and the guest room having its bath just adjacent. Hairdryers were provided in each bathroom, as well as plenty of towels and other linens, and basic toiletries like soap, shampoo, conditioner, and lotion. The unit supplied laundry detergent (one of the closets held a washer and dryer), dishwasher detergent, and some sample-size coffee packets. Daily or less-frequent maid service can be purchased for an additional fee (we did not inquire as to the price, although it seemed that timeshare owners can remit points for the service). The air-conditioning worked really well, and the lighting in the unit was good. We were in the Torre del Sol building (T6), in unit 6103, on the first floor, so we had a small patio adjacent to the “pirate” pool that held four chairs. You can smoke on the patio; the resort even provides ashtrays. Regular trash cans and recycling cans are provided, and you empty your own trash in the chutes on every floor of the buildings. Wi-Fi was complimentary with a password provided at check-in.
We were prepared to have some issues with parking, based on previous reviews that we read, but there always seemed to be space for us, even though the property seemed fairly full. Some of the buildings have small 2-story parking garages in front of them, and the hotel features a multi-level garage. We would not recommend using the bell services (like we did) - it would have been easier to just unload our luggage ourselves in front of our building than to unload it in the resort center and have it delivered using a golf cart.
We also anticipated receiving a hard-sell on the timeshare aspect of the property, but we did not. We received a voice message that we were invited to attend a free breakfast for guests, and we imagine that is when the pitch would have been made. It is possible that because we had redeemed a friend’s points for two nights of our stay that the company assumed that we already had ownership in the property.
We loved our stay at BCR and would gladly return again!
