Should You Book Hospitality House Or Preferred Rooms?

The last thing that any Disney Vacation Club member wants to do is waste our previous DVC Points. Alas, booking a DVC room requires a few choices, one of which can seem a bit vague. DVC lists Room Types with odd titles like Preferred and Hospitality House. When you’re new to the program, you probably don’t even know what that means. So, should you book Preferred or Hospitality House rooms? Let’s discuss the options.

What Are These Room Types?

In the days before DVC members could book reservations online, we relied heavily on the kindness of strangers. We’d call the DVC phone number and ask a Cast Member to help us book a room. Then, we’d politely ask for the DVC customer service agent to add a room request. As soon as new DVC resorts opened, members deduced the best rooms and made the requests accordingly.

Later, Disney grew wise to the practice. It walled off some of the most in-demand Room Types by charging more for them. So, when you want what Disney calls a Preferred Room, you must pay for it. 

Obviously, these aren’t Disney’s only unique Room Types, but we’re focusing solely on the Preferred category today…with one exception. I’m also including Hospitality House since it more or less started the trend. And I’m excluding any resort with more than Standard/Preferred as Room Type options. That’d get too complicated. So, here are the applicable DVC resorts:

• Disney’s Old Key West Resort
• Disney’s Riviera Resort
• Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
• The Villas at Disneyland Hotel

Should You Choose Hospitality House?

Let’s begin with DVC’s oldest property, Old Key West. Since Disney introduced the Hospitality House booking options, members have faced a choice, one that’s easier than the rest of the list. 

DVC doesn’t charge more points for a Hospitality House reservation. That’s the oddity in this conversation. You’re merely deciding whether you’d like to stay near Hospitality House. Surprisingly, this answer varies wildly within the DVC community.

Personally, we not only prefer Hospitality House but also request a specific building: 64. We love being close to the action at Old Key West, and the Hospitality House section includes the hotel lobby, Olivia’s Café, and Conch Flats General Store. So, we vote yes.

Other members disagree due to the preference for other parts of the resort. Many members have stayed at Old Key West a lot over the years, and they’ve grown loyal to other sections such as Miller Road and Turtle Pond. 

Since there’s no additional DVC Points cost, I’d recommend booking at Hospitality House if you’ve never stayed at Old Key West. It’ll streamline your hotel stay. While you’re there, look around to decide whether you prefer a different area. The internal bus routes may play a factor in your decision, too.

Should You Choose Preferred at the Riviera?

At Disney’s Riviera Resort, you must choose between Standard and Preferred View. The cost for Preferred View ranges from three to eight points per night for Studios and as much as 13 points for Villas. 

For that big a difference, the Preferred room needs to be substantially better. Sadly, it isn’t for the most part. You’re hoping to catch a glimpse of the fireworks or the pool, both of which are absolutely possible. However, some rooms overlook the gondolas or Disney’s Caribbean Beach.

Meanwhile, some of the Standard View rooms offer perfectly respectable views of EPCOT. Others aren’t so great, but you’re saving yourself so many points that I feel it’s the smarter play. I’d argue that there are very few “bad” views at the Riviera due to its location and clever design. Thus, you’re not really gaining anything by spending more DVC Points for a view. 

Should You Choose Preferred at Saratoga Springs?

saratoga springs

Here’s the outlier on the list in terms of what you get. At the other two resorts where you’re paying more for Preferred rooms, the advantage stems from the view. At Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa, Disney charges you for a better location instead.

If you’ve ever visited this resort, you understand why. DVC repurposed the former site of the Disney Institute, transitioning it into a massive hotel campus. Saratoga Springs hosts 1,320 hotel rooms. They’re spread out, with some of the buildings closer to the lobby and others near the bridge to Disney Springs. 

For many years, DVC members requested rooms close to the bridge or the lobby. Eventually, Disney codified the bookings by adding the Preferred Room Type. You’ll find these rooms in The Springs and Congress Park sections of Saratoga Springs. 

When you want to stay near the hotel lobby, Carriage House, you should pay for Preferred and hope you get a room at The Springs. Similarly, Disney Springs fans want to be at Congress Park, which is a short walk from the entertainment complex. 

Since you cannot pick which building you’ll get with Preferred, I don’t see much of an advantage to it. You’re paying two to six more DVC Points per night for a Studio and as much as 15 points for a Villa. So, the value only exists if you’re fine with your room being at either of Congress Park or The Springs. If you have a preference, you’re flipping a coin.

Should You Choose Preferred at Disneyland Hotel?

Here’s the trickiest choice of the bunch, and I’ll go ahead and tell you that I recommend Preferred. Here’s why. At The Villas at Disneyland Hotel, you know what you’re getting when you book Standard View. Your room will overlook parts of Anaheim that aren’t very Disney or sections of the hotel campus that are less glamorous. It’s a bad view. 

Conversely, with Preferred, you’re again rolling the dice. You’ll either enjoy a view of the parks or the pool. Again, nothing is guaranteed here, but there’s a bright side to this. You ARE getting a view of something. That’s better than accepting the 100 percent chance of a bad view in Standard Rooms, in my opinion.

You will pay as little as one point for a view in a Duo Studio. With regular Studios, the difference is never more than four points per night. And you’ll always get a Preferred View if you book a suite. So, you’re got little to lose and everything to gain by choosing Preferred here. Among the paid options, it’s the only Preferred View I recommend.

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