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The grand, turn-of-the-century summer homes of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket
are recalled in Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club Resorts, two fantasy-themed hotel
adventures at Walt Disney World Resort.
Guests can walk or go by tram from the resorts to Epcot International Gateway,
or travel by water taxi to the Disney Hollywood Studios.
The luxury club hotels on the shores of 25-acre Crescent Lake are designed by
noted architect Robert A.M. Stern, best known for his East Coast seaside homes.
The resorts take guests back to the 1890s with fancy-cut shingles, French doors
and other post-modern embellishments that are the trademark of Stern’s work.
The imagery follows through in Stormalong Bay, a 2 1/2-acre water recreation
area reminiscent of a Nantucket beach with a life-size shipwreck with water
slides, snorkeling in a sandy lagoon and a meandering swimming area that
seemingly flows into the surrounding lake.
The rambling, 1,215-room resort -- 630 rooms in the Yacht, 583 in the Beach --
also has a 73,000-square-foot convention center adjacent to the Yacht Club
Resort that includes a 36,000-square-foot ballroom capable of seating up to
2,800 for dinner.
Complementing each other, the three-, four- and five-story club hotels
nonetheless have distinctive architectural styles. Each hotel has its own
entrance motif, main lobby, restaurants and retail shops.
Oak floors, antique chandeliers and rich millwork and brass evoke memories of
New England summer days in Disney’s Yacht Club Resort. Cast members in navy
blue blazers greet guests as they check into the silvery-gray clapboard hotel.
The nautical theme carries through in the hotel’s restaurants. With porthole
windows and a picturesque wall of moving sailboats, the 224-seat Yacht Club
Galley features regional New England foods like chowder, fresh fish and
home-baked breads along with sandwiches, steaks and chicken specialties.
The 194-seat Yachtsman’s Steakhouse is inspired by Northeastern eateries with a
glassed beef-aging room, open-air kitchen and hardwood-fired grills for meats
and vegetables. The dining area features a spacious rotunda room as well as a
private room with seating for 12.
For hors d’oeuvres and drinks, the rustic Crew’s Cup Lounge offers beers from
around the world in frosted mugs. The room is designed in reclaimed southern
pine with copper accents, and the walls are lined with art and memorabilia of
Ivy League rowing teams.
The 630-room hotel has 30 suites, including presidential and vice-presidential
suites. Spacious rooms decorated in blues and whites carry through the nautical
theme. All have French doors that open onto porches or balconies.
Interior furnishings for both hotels are by Design Continuum of Atlanta
consulting with Stern.
Landscaping, as well, helps set the stage, with deciduous trees like Japanese
elm, Bradford pear trees, magnolias and crepe myrtle. Gardenias and roses bloom
in intimate brick courtyards.
An expansive croquet lawn at the Yacht Club Resort goes with the relaxed,
leisure spirit of the 1870s, and the resort’s marina lighthouse welcomes guests
home after a day in the Disney theme parks.
Beach Club More Whimsical
The pale-blue-and-white "stick-style" Beach Club is "a little bit of this, a
little bit of that," said Stern with a smile. Stick style, he explained, was
the prevalent architecture for seaside wooden cottages in the 1860s and 1870s,
"like grandmother’s fabulous beach house -- ceiling fans, chintz, gingham."
The crisp colors open up the hotel’s lobby with white wicker furniture,
24-foot-high ceilings, natural French limestone floors and a seashell motif.
Cast members are dressed in more casual pastel knickers or dresses.
Restaurants range from an authentic clambake with a rockweed steamer in the
218-seat Cape May Cafe to Martha’s Vineyard, a cozy 59-seat lounge featuring a
wide variety of wines.
The hotel has 29 suites and four hospitality suites, and all of the 583 rooms
continue the "summer cottage" ambiance with cool colors, a scattering of
seashells and French doors to outdoor porches and a white-sand beach.
Both hotels offer child-care facilities and are accessible to handicapped
guests.
Stormalong Bay Highlight of Resort
Guests can splash through three lagoon areas -- including one specifically
designed for younger water-lovers, with a depth of 2 to 3 feet.
A spiral stair on board the life-sized shipwreck ascends to a 150-foot mast,
broken and askew to serve as a flume plummeting toward a rocky outcropping
where 150 more feet of spins complete a fast-moving thrill slide.
Each hotel also features a "quiet pool" in alcoves far removed from Stormalong
Bay. There also are motorized watercraft at the resort marina.
A tile-lined, 12-person Jacuzzi, reminiscent of the famous old health spas, is
the centerpiece of the resorts’ 4,750-square-foot Ship Shape Health Club. A
steam bath, sauna and massage rooms also are included. A weight room and
aerobics room both have staff trained to assist guests.
The centrally located Beaches & Cream old-fashioned ice cream parlour is
the place to head after a swim or workout, where guests can order burgers and
decadent desserts like banana splits, frozen hot cocoa, floats, shakes and
malts.
Meeting Space Themed to Yacht Club Resort
A 73,000-square-foot convention center carries through the oyster-gray color
and architecture of the Yacht Club Resort, with elegant, "patriotic" red, white
and blue interiors. Largest space is the 36,000-square-foot Grand Harbor
Ballroom, with seating for 2,800 for dinner. The remaining space may be divided
into more than a dozen meeting rooms.
The convention center is joined to Disney’s Yacht Club Resort by a covered
walkway.
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