Return to Question of the Week Highlights If you have stayed at Disney's Old Key West resort in the past, how have you enjoyed your stay(s) there? What are the strengths of this resort compared to the other DVC resorts? What about this resort do you think can be improved? Do you feel OKW is "better than ever", "about the same", or "not as good" as it used to be? Answers posted to the list: We have stayed twice at OKW. Once in a studio prior to owning DVC and then in a 2BD. Again this June in a 2BD too. We love it. The entire time we were there last we didn't even see or hear anyone else in our building. We actually thought it was empty but knew that could not be the case in July... The rooms are great - HUGE. Perfect for our family of four. I loved the dining room table and large kitchen as we do many meals in our room. The balcony is huge too - perfect for a cup of coffee and/or breakfast in the morning. The full size washer and dryer allow us to come home with all clean clothes = so no laundry when we get home. I think their strengths are large size rooms, lots of close by parking, good bus system, fun pool with slide and friendly staff. We have not used the store to purchase groceries though as we do that off site... Laurie ----- We're OKW devotees, and I've outlined the details here many times--basically I think it can be summarized by saying it's the most like a home-away-from-home for us. The size, the layout, the parking, the quiet atmosphere, the location, all the amenities--these all make it near perfect for us. In our 10 years or so of ownership, I think OKW has remained about the same which is to say, great! Kim ----- Good morning, my first visit was in 1995 to old key west. I loved the resort right off the bat, it does feel like a home away from home..I miss the HH that used to be there, and at times the bus service is suspect, but the many things that are good about this resort are worth it to stay here..Naturally the size of the rooms and the parking seem to come to mind..Our friend jerrys at olivias, who we see every trip..i wish we got a discount at goods to go, that would be nice..but our last stay in dec, we never heard a peep out of anyone else at the resort..we have stayed at a couple of the other resorts, this one is like an old girlfriend that i just cant wait to see every year..and in exactly 50 days i will be back. htroupe ----- We love OKW for so many things. We've stayed in Grand Villas twice with multiple family members and 2 BD's the rest of the time for DW, DS7, DS6, DD6, and myself. These rooms are amazing for the size and comfort. Everyone can spread out and we have less chance of getting on each others nerves. We love the main pool now that they've added the slide, but we also enjoy the quiet pools. The store is stocked well with what ever you need, but we usually hit a grocery store. The kitchens have everything you need to prepare any meal just like at home. The washer and dryer in the room is priceless. And I can't say enough how much we enjoy looking out over the golf course from our balcony. It always surprises me when I hear people talk about how bad the bus system is at OKW. We've always had great bus service. Sure, every once in awhile we might wait longer for our particular bus, but that's just an opportunity to look around at our beautiful resort. We also enjoy that wonderful leisurely ride to DTD on the boat. I know everyone has their favorites, but OKW has so many things going for it. I guess the only thing that I would like to see is some other eating options. We like Olivias and Goods to Go, but we could use just a little more variety. But this takes nothing away from our stay as we do eat some meals in the room and at the parks or other resorts. As you can tell I'm pretty biased towards our OKW home. To us, it's as good if not better than we ever remember it. Dave ----- OKW is a favorite of mine, I just bought add-on pts there last Spring. The pluses: It has probably the largest rooms of any DVC resort, sometimes 30% more square feet than let's say SSR, the kitchens are particularly huge in 1BDR/2BDR. It is intertwined with a golf course, so some rooms have excellent views. Oliva's is an above average restaurant on location, but seating is limited. It is located between EPCOT and DTD, near SSR and Port Orleans. You have parking right next to your villa and Bus Stops are plentiful. The overall "ambiance" is relaxed and the main pool is on mark with the better resorts. The minuses: It is the oldest of the DVC resorts so if your unit hasn't been refurbed in a while the appliances/beds may be a little worn. If climbing stairs isn't your thing be warned that most buildings don't have elevators, so if your on the third floor, lookout. There are alot of Bus Stops, so depending on where you are in the loop, it could be a long ride. Since the resort is sprawling, you could be a distance from any of the pools or the Main Area(checkin/checkout/restaurant). As far as how it compares now to "then", I have only been going since '05, so I wouldn't be a good source of info on that. OKW reminds me of HHI, so if you like HHI, you'll like OKW. Tim P. ----- We like Old Key West for the extra space in the rooms, especially when we have other folks with us. It is very pleasant and peaceful, but also pretty big, so it's a hike to get some places on the property. We have not stayed in a section that had an elevator, but that would be great for us and something that I would prefer if possible. Will have to remember for future OKW stays. We also like that it is the most economical use of our DVC points. I think that the resort probably shows it's age a bit more than some of the others, but it is still a great resort. Brenda ----- We have been memebers at OKW since 1997 and we have enjoyed every visit. OKW is laid back and relaxing. The property is beautiful ..the units are spacious and the balconies large with peaceful views. We normally rent a car and like that we can park in front of our unit. We've never had a problem with bus service and our units have been well maintained. Yes, we've arrived and found a few small things not in working order (light bulbs, etc.) but a call to maintenance and it's fixed promptly. The best thing about OKW is the size of the villas .. it's a great place to bring guests, as there is plenty of room for everyone. We recently hosted a family reunion in a GV and 3 studios for 14 family members and when we were all in the GV for meals, visiting, etc., we never felt the least bit crowded .. plenty of room for everyone that resulted in priceless family memories! The only "con" that I can think of is the limited food choices at OKW ..but, honestly we like having a kitchen for breakfast and we generally have dinner out at other resorts or in the parks ..so it's not a biggie for us. I think we've only eaten in Olivia's twice in the 10 years we've been owners. As the DVC resorts age I do wonder what DVC will do to continue to keep them up to date ..there will come a time with paint and new furniture won't be all that the units need ... but, then I look at the original resorts that were built when Disney opened and they are still going strong, refurbished from time to time and still very popular ..so I'm assuming DVC will follow suit and OKW will continue to be a DVC resort that we enjoy "coming home" too. Peggy  Return to Question of the Week Highlights   Larison Travel LLP - www.familytravelgurus.com is independently owned and operated. This site is a private enterprise and is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company, the Walt Disney land® Resort, or any of its affiliates.