Walt Disney World has more hotels on its property than any place I’ve ever seen. And no wonder, because it’s one of the most visited places in the world, they need to have a ton of options and space for everyone to visit and experience the magic of Disney.
Coronado Springs Resort and Gran Destino Tower are part of the moderate hotels on Walt Disney World property. Disney offers hotels in a few ranges like value, moderate and deluxe.
Click here to view the full list of Walt Disney World Hotels.
While this resort may be listed as a moderate hotel, it definitely doesn’t feel like one. The Gran Destino Tower is stunning, with Spanish-inspired art and lush green lawns and trees covering every inch of the property. The lake in the center of the resort connects all of the buildings and blends so well with the surrounding areas and almost looks natural.
So much so, that when I posted photos of the resort I had people messaging me where we had gone because they thought we were at Disney World. It was fun telling people this is what properties at Disney World look like – absolutely breathtaking.
This post is all about the Coronado Springs Resort Gran Destino Tower.
We stayed at the resort for 3 nights and 4 days during runDisney weekend. We ran our first-ever half marathon! That was an insanely amazing experience of its own and I highly recommend signing up for any of the upcoming runDisney races in 2023 and 2024.
We booked our stay about 4 months in advance because we didn’t want to risk not staying on Disney property for race weekend. We did a lot of research of all of the hotels within our budget and Coronado Springs came out on top.
When you’re booking your trip, start with a budget and go from there. It’s easier to set the main framework and work within it, rather than trying to fit everything in. Decide on a level of resorts within your budget and if you want to stay at a Disney-owned property or not and then do your research on location, amenities, food, etc, to see what suits your family best.
If you’ve already narrowed down a few places and are looking into staying at the Coronado Springs Resort, then this post is going to provide some insight into everything the resort offers.
Coronado Springs Address
Address: 1000 West Buena Vista Drive Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830
Coronado Springs Resort is closest to Hollywood Studios and Blizzard Beach. If you’ve been to Walt Disney World before, you can find it near the Swan and Dolphin Resort. It was also a very short bus ride to Disney Springs from the resort.
For runDisney race weekend, it was an easy choice. The resort provided transportation to and from the Expo and the half marathon. It was also an easy location for us to use Lyft to and from the airport and visiting locations off Disney World property.
Coronado Springs Pool
Coronado Springs has one large pool complex and three smaller pools they refer to as leisure pools. The main pool is called the Dig Site and you can spot it by the 50-foot Pyramid and 123-foot long waterslide.
The Dig Site also has the largest hot tub on Disney World property, seating 22 people. You can also find a kiddie pool area, a sand volleyball court, an arcade, and a pool bar.
The large Dig Site pool is by far the most crowded and popular for families with young kids. It gets very busy but they have a lot to do. When we grabbed a drink at the pool bar, we could see Cast Members hosting games and a dance party in the pool area. I believe they were also doing holiday crafts. There is an activity chart available at the hotel, so you can see everything happening on the property during your stay.
The three leisure pools are located in the surrounding hotel areas. Other than the main Gran Destino Tower, which is relatively new, there are three other themed buildings; Casitas, Ranchos and Cabanas.
In each of these areas, you will find a smaller, regular-sized pool, with tons of seating and easy access from the buildings.
When we went to the pool we hung out at the Casitas location to avoid the larger crowds. It was quiet, empty and right next to the fitness center, spa and salon.
Coronado Springs Fitness Center
Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort has two fitness center locations. One is located in the Gran Destino tower just off the lobby elevators and the second is located by the Casitas Pool. Both fitness center locations had cardio and strength training equipment. The fitness center located near Casitas was a bit older but well-renovated with updated equipment and the fitness center at Gran Destino was brand new.
Spa Services Coronado Springs Resort
Coronado Springs also offers spa services to guests for an additional price. You can view the entire spa services menu and prices here.
La Vida Salon at Coronado Springs Resort offers hair and nail services. From the menu, it also looks like they do cute hair and makeup for kids similar to what you can find at Bibbidy Bobbidy Boutique.
Coronado Springs Tower Rooms
The view from our room was stunning! We were on the 7th floor and had a gorgeous view of the water and property. The hotel is absolutely beautiful, including the hallways and paths around the property too. Our floor was nicely decorated, it was clean and well-lit.
We loved how big the bathroom area was. The double sinks, plus the separate restroom were great. The shower also had a clothes line to dry your wet clothing items and that helped a ton with our swim suits.
It’s always a major plus when there is a mini fridge and coffee maker in the room. It would have been great if there was a microwave but there was one available in the main dining area if we needed it.
I heard parents asking around for the microwave to heat up milk for their kids, so it would help if Disney could provide a few more to make it a bit easier on families. I understand they can’t be in every room but maybe one added to the Barcelona Lounge to keep it central to the rooms.
We ordered snacks from Door Dash and we were able to fit everything in the fridge. We made sandwiches for the days and Cup O Noodles at night. We always ave fun with hotel snacks.
The view was absolutely amazing and I’m so happy we stayed in the tower. We were on the seventh floor and I don’t think any of the other smaller buildings would have had as nice a view.
Overall, the room was spacious for the two of us. With the extra bed, we could spread out our bags and lay out clothes for the next day. We didn’t have any issues at all and loved the blackout curtains so much and how hot the water in the shower got.
@julia.vaness Room Tour at the Gran Destino Tower at Coronado Springs Resort at Disney World. We loved our room and this hotel! #disneyworld #disneyworldhotels #disneyworldroomtour #disneyworldhotelroom #disneyworldgrandestinotower #coronadospringsresort #coronadospringstower #coronadospringsdisney #disneyvacationplanning #disneyworldcoronadospringsroomtour #disneyscoronadosprings #disneycoronadospringsresortroomtour ♬ original sound – Julia Vaness
Dining at Coronado Springs Resort
There are four full-service restaurants at Coronado Springs, a few lounges, and a couple of cafes. Overall, I would say they need more dining. Although the resort does have good offerings, they aren’t all open at the same time and it basically left us eating at Rix.
Toledo, a tapas, steak, and seafood restaurant is open from 5:00 – 10:00 PM, so it was only good for an evening dinner. It is a premiere dining location and its wonderful for a date night. I would suggest making reservations in advance.
Rix Sports Bar & Grill is a third-party restaurant on the Coronado Springs property. It has large TVs everywhere, so it’s great to catch a game, and serves up your regular bar food. We ate here twice and the food was fine but not great. For a quick bite or drink it’s okay, it’s also the only full-service restaurant open all day on the property.
Maya Grill is the third full-service dining location on the Coronado Springs property. This Mexican-style restaurant is open from 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM. We weren’t able to try this location but the menu looked good. Since we were here for the race weekend, we had an earlier dinner and were in bed by 6 PM to be up at 2 AM for the race the next morning.
Three Bridge Bar and Grill at Villa Del Lago is the fourth full-service restaurant on the property and is open from 4:30 PM to 12:00 AM. It’s outdoors and situated in the middle of the water. It was great views and another location I recommend making a reservation for if you aren’t there early. Once again, because this restaurant is only open for dinner, we weren’t able to dine there. The food and drink menus look great and I would love to try this restaurant out the next time we are at Disney World.
Bars & Lounges at Coronado Springs Resort
The Dahlia Lounge is the premiere bar at Coronado Springs Resort. It’s located at the top of the Gran Destino Tower and has stunning views of the surrounding area. The lounge is open from 5 PM to 12 AM, so it makes for a great date spot or a nice place to enjoy a drink after a long Disney day.
The Barcelona Lounge is the lobby bar. It’s actually located just below the entrance, down a grand staircase. The area is beautiful, with floor-to-ceiling windows and it was never overly crowded, even later in the evening.
We stopped by here a few times for coffee first and then cocktails. I will say that we weren’t a huge fan of the service, the bartenders seemed a bit annoyed on two separate occasions but the drinks were always great.
We didn’t try any meals or snacks here but they do have small options available for the morning and again around 3 PM when the bar re-opens.
Siestas Cantina is the poolside bar at the Dig Site. This area is always packed because it’s the largest pool on the property and they have a ton of activities for the kids.
The food is pretty average here, kind of snack bar type of food but they do have some fun tropical cocktails. We ordered the chicken fingers (always a good choice), the firecracker shrimp (skip) and the chicken salad sandwich (not bad).
Laguna Bar is located just outside the lower lobby of the Gran Destino Tower. It has great views of the water and is a perfect spot to relax before any evening activities. This is a simple bar, nothing fancy. It’s open from 5 PM to 11 PM. You can find snacky type food like nachos and burgers and also some fun blended drinks.
Cafe and Market at Coronado Springs Resort
Cafe Rix is a morning coffee and baked goods shop. It’s open from 7 AM to 12:30 PM and is a good spot for a little treat before heading out for the day.
They offer simple grab-and-go items and also some yummy pastries. In the morning it can get quite busy, so be sure to give yourself enough time before the rest of your plans.
El Mercado is the quick-serve cafeteria-style restaurant on the property. It has simple food, not great but it’s fine and is typical for other moderate-level Disney hotels we’ve stayed at.
Overall, I feel like it was lacking a bit since the rest of the hotel is so grand but we did enjoy breakfast here and picked up a few snacks during our stay too.
I only saw one microwave on the property during our stay and it was in this area in the El Mercado dining room. We did like how much they had in this area in terms of condiments and drink choices.
In addition to your average salt and pepper and ketchup and mustard packets, they also had hot sauce, honey, lemon juice, tea, creamer, and a ton of sugar options.
Panchito’s is a convenience-type store that doubles as a gift shop. You can find all of the popular Disney World Resort items here and some small first aid items, snacks, drinks, and Disney clothing and pins. We picked up snacks here too and I had to keep myself from buying more souvenirs.
It’s located in an in-between section from the Barcelona lounge to the rest of the restaurants. It’s connected to a great sitting room with lounge chairs, tables, games, and TVs for the kids.
Coronado Springs Transportation
Bus transportation is available at the Coronado Springs Resort. Their bus terminal is very organized, clean and well-lit. During the runDisney Wine and Dine race weekend, they even offered separate bus transportation to the Expo at the ESPN World of Sports and to and from the half marathon.
You can also self-park at the resort for $20 a night. Valet parking is also available for $33 a night. Be sure to call ahead to check parking prices or confirm at the front desk before parking your car.
The three other “neighborhoods” that are not at the tower are a bit of a distance from check-in in the main lobby. If you’re driving and not staying in the Gran Destino Tower, I recommend checking in and then driving to the other building. They have parking around the entire property, so you can drive right up to your building.
We took a Lyft to the hotel and it was very easy to drop off and pick-up. Ride shares are available at all times and we typically only waited 5 minutes for a car.
The Disney Skyliner was available from Hollywood Studios, so we just took a short bus ride to that property and hopped right from there. It was very easy and all of the bus drivers are very friendly if you need to ask questions.
The property has four bus stops, the last being at the Gran Destino Tower, which we loved because as soon as we were picked up, we were right on our way to the Parks. On the way back to the hotel, the tower will be the last stop.
Things To Do at Coronado Springs Resort
There are tons of activities to do at the Coronado Springs hotel. Each day they have signs posted with activities for everyone in the family including outdoor movies, campfire activities, Spanish mosaic art classes and we even saw wine tasting available.
The property has so much to offer guests on top of the wonderful pools, walking trails, volleyball court and arcade.
While you’re there, check out some of the upgraded activities if you have spare time outside of the Parks.
If you haven’t already guessed, we loved staying at this hotel. It was prettier than we could have imagined and it was a great place to stay for race weekend and to celebrate our fourth wedding anniversary.
If you have any questions about the property, let me know in the comments. And if you have any tips for our next stay at Disney World, I’d love to know all about them.
See you at the Parks!
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