Walt Disney World’s 16-floor Gran Destino Tower is an expansion of the Coronado Springs Resort and draws its inspiration from great Spanish architects, artists, and a long-ago collaboration between Walt Disney and Salvador Dali.
In the 1940s, Disney and Dali began work on a short 7-minute film titled “Destino”, but their efforts were halted due to financial shortages related to World War II. In 2003 the project was brought to life and finished under the guidance of Roy E. Disney, Walt’s nephew.
Here’s a Storybook Dreams Travel roundup of the Top 8 things we love about Gran Destino Tower.
1. Colors
Vibrant and alive immediately come to mind while taking in the Gran Destino color scheme. Having spent time in Barcelona last year, there’s a very similar vibe to the Spanish city.
2. Lighting
From the overall design of the lighting fixtures to the wide array of floor to ceiling windows, Gran Destino Tower offers plenty of light. We arrived for check-in after dark but found the lobby and common area bright and vibrant.
The large lobby chandelier is definitely an eye-catcher, no matter the time of the day.
3. Rooms
We stayed in a Deluxe Suite and were very impressed with the layout and functionality of the room. Although, it should be noted that the room will only sleep four.
4. Dining and Lounges
For dining options, Gran Destino offers Tolédo – Tapas, Steak & Seafood and Dahlia Lounge. Both are located across from each other on the 16th floor of the tower. Dahlia Lounge also offers outdoor seating with expansive views of Disney property.
On the first floor, guests will find the Gran Destino Barcelona Lounge.
The location offers coffee and pastries in the morning and cocktails for the rest of the day.
5. Open Spaces
Disney’s Coronado Springs has always been a designated convention resort. It boasts ample meeting space for groups and conferences. With the working executive or conference-goer in mind, Gran Destino offers a plethora of meeting spaces or work areas.
6. Elevators
Yes, we agree – adding elevators to this list may seem like an odd choice. However, the elevators at Gran Destino Tower offer a new design in functionality. Gone is the traditional push to call button and row of floors numbers with the corresponding button located inside the elevator. Here’s a look a the new process:
On the outside of each elevator, there is a digital touchpad which indicates all of the floor options.
After touching the desired floor number, the screen will change to indicate one specific elevator which will stop at the designated floor. (The elevators are clearly labeled by letters)
The above screen indicates the 5th floor and elevator B.
Another small screen inside each elevator, located at the top of the doors, indicates which floor it will stop at.
The elevators often would accommodate more than one-floor request during busier times. However, the most amount of stops we observed – including our choice – was three.
7. Accessibility
Parking is close and convenient to Gran Destino Tower, making it an easy opportunity to stop in to experience the dining or bar options. Additionally, with Coronado Spring being connected to Disney’s new Skyliner, getting there from linked parks and resorts will soon be an easy process.
8. Pricing
Coronado Springs has traditionally been classified as a “moderate” in Disney’s resort scale of value, moderate, and deluxe. The pricing for standard rooms at Gran Destino Tower seems to fall on the high end of moderate resort pricing.
- Standard View (Queen beds or King bed) – from $265/night plus tax
- Water View (Queen beds or King bed)– from $288/night plus tax
Granted, the tower is new and outshines the rest of the room options at Coronado. However, in consideration of the high quality of design and amenities, we find Gran Destino Tower closer to a deluxe than moderate. Therefore, we think there’s good value in the room rates.
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