Sneak Peek at Downtown Disney’s B Resort

Today, we were able to get a preview of the brand new B Resort & Spa, located in the Downtown Disney area.  It is on the site of the former Royal Plaza Hotel, but the building was gutted and completely redesigned for the new hotel, which the company is touting as a “four-star resort with attractive prices.”  At first glance, they appear to have hit their mark with that designation.

The event started with a greeting from the general manager, Keith Wolling.  He briefly spoke about the property and what visitors can expect when staying at the B.

We then heard a few words from the president of “Visit Orlando” as well as the culinary manager of the resort.  They spoke about the overall theme of the B, which is the concept of “Self-Expression Hospitality.”  The letter B is really short for the word “be,” and they encourage guests to tailor their experiences how they desire them to be.  This idea was prevalent as soon as we checked in for the event.  They gave us a name badge that included the letter B and a blank space for us to fill in.  They told us to write down whatever we wanted to “be” today, whether it be a famous person, a state of mind, or just “on vacation.”

After hearing from the management team, we were then broken up into small groups to enjoy a personal tour from a manager at the B.  After a stroll through the lobby, we were brought outside to the pool area, which is also home to the “Chic Lanai” rooms.  The heated pool has a zero entry area as  well as interactive water elements and a kids zone.  The lower level lanai rooms have their own cabana style terraces where guests can have drinks delivered from the pool bar.  There are a total of 118 lanai rooms in the 394-room resort.  The interior of the one that we were shown featured a king size bed along with bunkbeds.

The next spot we visited was a “B Enhanced” junior suite.  It has a separate bedroom with a king size bed and an extended living area with a pull-out queen size sleeper sofa.  This is a nice accommodation for families looking for a little extra room and privacy.  I like the old fashioned rotary style phone in the bedroom, however it still had touch-tone buttons.

 

Our next stop was a “Captivating” double queen room.  Although this would be considered a basic hotel room, it still had a four-star feel.  There are floor to ceiling windows with great views of Downtown Disney.  There is also a 47” wall-mounted flat screen TV, which can be found in every room at the B.  These rooms can sleep up to five guests, as they include a pull-out sleeper sofa.

 

The final accommodation that we were able to photograph was a “Stunning” king room.  These types of rooms were aptly named due to their location on the upper floors, which provides guests with stunning views of the surrounding area.  The room we visited had a great view of a majority of the Walt Disney World resort.

 

We were given a sneak peek of one the “Master Suites” located on the 17^th floor, but were asked not to take pictures, since they haven’t put the finishing touches on it yet.  There are two of these large suites at the resort, which feature a living area, dining room, kitchen, and master bedroom.

In addition to the wonderful accommodations at the B, there is also a unique restaurant called “American Q.”  It is being run in partnership with China Grill Management and will feature an a la carte menu of barbecue dishes from more than a dozen regions throughout the United States and Latin America.  In addition, there will be an “all-you-can-eat” selection of BBQ meats, poultry, and seafood served table-side by “cowboy and cowgirl” carvers.  The appetizer and salad buffet will be served from the bed of a cherry red Ford F1 pickup truck from the 1950s.  Finally, guests will have the opportunity to take part in spontaneous line dances led by the servers.  Although we couldn’t see the restaurant as it is still under construction, we were given the chance to sample a few offerings, and they were delicious.  I give two thumbs up to the candied bacon!  This is going to be a unique dining location, which I am looking forward to experiencing as soon as it opens.

The final part of our tour took us to the large convention and meeting space area.  This part of the resort features over 25,000 square feet of flexible space that can be broken up into 11 different rooms.  The largest of these is the Grand Ballroom, which was quite impressive.  This space features beautiful round chandeliers, each one taking over five hours to install.  In addition to the indoor meeting rooms, there is a large outdoor terrace that can be used for receptions.  This area connects the meeting space to the pool area.  Finally, there is a unique and fairly new piece of technology that can be found in the meeting area as well as the main lobby called “Monscierge.”  This digital touchscreen concierge allows guests to get more information on local attractions as well as print out their airline boarding passes.  Many hotels offer this on desktop computer, but this is the first time I’ve seen a large wall mounted “tablet” providing this service.

I had stayed in the old Royal Plaza Hotel back in the 1990s and it was an adequate resort in a good location.  I have to say that I am thoroughly impressed with what I’ve seen today, and there is no question that the B is a major improvement to this property.  All of the staff and management that I encountered were very friendly and helpful, and I expect that guests will enjoy the amenities, accommodations, and hospitality at this location.  With room rates starting at $159, I would be surprised if it wasn’t fully booked much of the time.  The B Resort & Spa will be opening to guests this coming Monday, June 16^th with a grand opening celebration sometime in September.  The Spa portion of the resort is scheduled to open later this summer.

Dave Drumheller is a lifelong Disney fan.  He operates WDWGuidedTours.com which offers private guided tours to help guests avoid the lines, avoid the stress, and get the most out of their vacation.  He also runs the DigitalDisneyWorld.com website where he features a daily photo from Walt Disney World.