The Villas at Disneyland Hotel is a Disney Vacation Club property that opened in 2023. The fourth tower of the Disneyland Hotel, named Discovery Tower, offers 344 new rooms to the Disneyland Resort. In this article I will review the Duo Studio room, the Palette Pool, Palm Breeze Bar, and share my thoughts on the property overall.
Welcome to The Villas at Disneyland Hotel – the newest Disney Vacation Club (DVC) property, now open at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, CA!
This new tower at the Disneyland Hotel, named Discovery Tower, adds 344 new rooms to the resort and gives DVC more options for spending their points.
While I am not a DVC member, I was able to stay because a friend of mine let me rent points from her. However, there are some rooms available at a cash rate. I highly recommend using points if you want to stay here, as the cash rate does not offer very good value compared to using DVC points!
Table of Contents
Look Inside The Villas at Disneyland Hotel
The Lobby and Grounds
The Villas tower, compared to the other three hotel towers with their gorgeous blue tones, may seem kind of bland on the outside, but inside, it comes to life with teal and orange mid-century modern furniture and decor inspired by the art of Disney Legend Mary Blair.
Note there is no check-in counter in this tower. The front desk and bell services are located in the Fantasy Tower. I had no trouble checking in and connected my The Villas reservation to the Disneyland app so I could use the mobile key. I also stored my luggage with bell services when I arrived because my room wasn’t ready.
Inside the ground floor lobby, you’ll find a gorgeous mural painted by artist Lorelay Bové depicting several Disney animated characters.
The spacious lobby also offers plenty of indoor and outdoor space to rest and lounge. There’s also a water bottle refill station near the lobby restrooms which I used four times during my stay!
Also on the ground floor is a well-equipped fitness center that has windows that look out towards the pool.
The new tower offers Duo Studios, Deluxe Studios, 1-Bedroom Villas, 2-Bedroom Villas, and 3-Bedroom Villas. All the rooms are themed to a Disney animated movie, such as Princess and the Frog, Fantasia, and Sleeping Beauty. I stayed in a Duo Studio which was themed to The Jungle Book.
The Pool
The true highlight of the new tower is the Palette Pool and Steamboat Willie Splash Pad. This pool area is open not just to guests of The Villas, but all Disneyland Hotel guests.
During my stay at The Villas at Disneyland Hotel, I tried the Spa Martini and Buccaneer’s Life cocktails. For food I had the Hawaiian Cheeseburger and the Chicken Teriyaki Bowl, both of which are regular menu items at Tangaroa Terrace.
On the other side of the pool area you’ll find a small area for grilling. Not that I planned to use it, but this area was still closed during my stay.
Palm Breeze Bar
This new pool bar menu is available to guests enjoying the Palette Pool, and the bar and lounge area is accessible for all guests of the Disneyland Resort. It is located between the Palette Pool and the Monorail Slide. For non-hotel guests, the bar is accessible through the lobby of The Villas tower near the elevators.
The U-shaped bar offers plenty of seating with monitors available for sports games. Surrounding the bar are various styles of tables from traditional two seat tables to community high top tables.
The Palm Breeze Bar featured mid-century modern design that matches the pool area and the rest of the hotel.
The menu features unique cocktail and mocktails inspired by California-grown ingredients, as well as a full bar for any traditional drink.
I tried the Seasonal G&T which is made with Sip Smith Gin, St Germain Elderflower, Black Pepper Rosemary Syrup, Charred Meyer Lemon Juice, and Elderflower Tonic Water. The tart of the lemon juice balanced out the elderflower beautifully.
I had already eaten dinner so I decided on a snack of hummus and chips – this is the Avocado and Lime Hummus Dip served with vegetables and crispy pita. I was surprised by the huge portion and ended up taking half of it home! It was delicious!
Overall the Palm Breeze Bar is a great addition to the Disneyland Hotel, which was seriously lacking in lounge spaces post-covid.
The Villas Hotel Rooms
I stayed in a Duo Studio, which is a fairly new DVC room type. The room is approximately 250 square feet and sleeps up to two people. The room is tiny but very functional, and everything is laid out very nicely.
The Duo Studio features a sofa that transforms into a bed. You can pull down this queen-sized Murphy bed at night and tuck it away during the day. It was easy for me to pull down, but if you need assistance a Disneyland Hotel Cast Member can come to your room.
I thought the bed was quite comfortable; it felt like some kind of foam and had great support. The pillows were nice too, although the sheets felt a little scratchy. Perhaps they just need to be washed a few times to soften them up.
While space on the bedside tables was limited, I pushed the two ottomans to the sides of the bed which gave me extra surface area for all my girlie things. Each side of the bed has two regular outlets, a USB-C outlet, and a USB-A outlet.
The bathroom is a decent size, featuring one sink, a toilet, and a stand-up shower. There was plenty of countertop space to set out all my things, and the shower had a bench. The bathroom in the Duo Studio is not split; everything is in one room with a sliding door.
Gone are the famous H2O shower amenities, but Disney has done a pretty good job of recreating the Sea Salt scent.
The Duo Studio lacks desk space, but it does feature a small sofa (more like a loveseat) and a movable chair. The flatscreen TV is huge for the room, and the remote is easy to navigate.
While there isn’t an obvious kitchenette in the Duo Studio, the room has everything two people would need for a longer stay. There’s a nice mini fridge, microwave, coffee maker, dishes, cups, and cutlery.
Next to the bathroom is a closet where you can find your pillows and a blanket. I did not see an iron and ironing board; perhaps they conceal it or make it available for Duo Studio rooms upon request.
My second story standard view looked out towards the city of Anaheim.
Overall Review
The Villas at Disneyland Hotel is a beautiful property and I really enjoyed my stay. Cast Members were always in the lobby ready to assist guests. I spent an afternoon working by the Palette Pool which was very relaxing. I can’t wait for the Palm Breeze Bar to open so I can check it out.
My only complaints is that the Duo Studio room is VERY small. And despite the tower opening less than a month earlier, there were already some cosmetic issues with the sofa. Also the tower is a far walk from the Disneyland Hotel lobby and parking lot.
I hope this review helps you with your decision to stay at The Villas at Disneyland Hotel!
