John, thanks for sharing that update. I had noticed that some of the studios didn't have balconies, so this is good news.
We are thinking of trying to get into WSJ in 2018 and we're wondering if a studio in this section would be better than a 1BR in VG (where we were a couple years ago). Only two of us and the studio is obviously smaller. However, the location may be better.
Any insights anyone can share would be helpful. Note, we have 81k SO's.
Best regards.
Mike
Hi Mike,
Hope we can cross paths in 2018!
It is a personal preference thing. We have been in both.
The advantages to us in the hillside 1BR are:
1. Much larger
2. Full kitchen with cooktop and oven
3. Parking right outside
4. Pools serving just the hillside units, more private
5. Best views of the whole resort
The disadvantages to us were:
1. Units are showing wear
2. At least some of the 1BR's are accessible only by stairs, an issue if you are lugging groceries or equipment.
3. You had to take a shuttle to get up to your room from the rest of the resort
4. You feel a bit isolated from the rest of the resort
5. Sometimes the tap water would look brown
The advantages to the Coral Vista studios to us were:
1. New appliances and furniture
2. You can easily walk to the other parts of the main resort
3. Close to the main pool, but not too close
4. Close to the dock
The disadvantages to us on the Coral Vista studios were:
1. Studios are a lot smaller than hillside
2. No oven, small food preparation area,Small cooktop can really handle only one pan at a time
3. Remote parking
Putting in balconies will take care of the bottled up feeling the 2nd floor studios had. Also the dishwasher was also a big improvement from hand washing.
For us, we like meeting people and the convenience to the rest of the resort tilts us to Coral Vista, but it really is a personal preference