Everything You Need to Know About Gran Destino Tower at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort

Last Updated: July 12, 2019

The front entrance of Gran Destino Tower and now Coronado Springs Resort

General Info

This is the original check-in lobby at Coronado Springs that now sits empty while Disney decides what to do with the space.

Gran Destino Tower is now the main entrance for Coronado Springs Resort and is where every guest checks in no matter what part of the resort you are staying in. The tower has 16 floors and is the newest addition to the Walt Disney World Resorts. It was added as another resort for conferences and is the cheapest option for anyone looking to host a conference at WDW. The conference rooms in the original part of Coronado Springs Resort (Vintage Coronado) are still there, so there is plenty of space for multiple conferences being held at one time.

One of the conference rooms in Gran Destino Tower

Since Gran Destino Tower is just an addition to Coronado Springs Resort, it does share buses with Vintage Coronado but has a bus stop next to it. There was no new pool built for Gran Destino Tower, but the three quiet pools and large main pool are all available for guests staying in the tower. There is a bridge that leads right to the main pool, giving quick and easy access to get to it.

There are plenty of spaces to work around the main lobby and lower lobby at Gran Destino Tower since many of the guests staying in the tower will still need to work while here. It’s also nice for anyone just wanting to read or relax for a bit outside of their room. There are also books to read and enjoy on many of the work tables, so be sure to check those out.

Some of the more notable features in the Gran Destino Tower are the elevators, touch screens, and “light walls.” The elevators have the floors listed on the outside of the elevator, and when you press which floor you’re going to, the screen tells you which elevator is the one you’ll be taking. This is very cool and awesome, but the one downside we found was that if you hit the wrong floor and don’t realize it till you’re in the elevator, you’re going there either way. The touch screens in the lobby show a map of the resort as well as where conference meetings are being held. The light walls behind the check-in desk and all around the lobby are linked together, so it can be changed to one color, multicolor or from one color to another. For instance, for July 4, they changed the colors to red, white, and blue to celebrate the day. It’s beautiful to watch.

Theming

The first thing you need to know is that there are Hidden Mickeys everywhere in the resort. Everywhere you turn, you’ll find more Hidden Mickeys, so when you come here, be sure to spend time exploring and trying to find as many as possible!

The theming at Gran Destino Tower was designed after the Destino short film that was created by Walt Disney and Salvador Dali. The beautiful decor everywhere displays bright colors, beautiful artwork, metal work, curved lines and edges, and Spanish influence, all with Hidden Mickeys incorporated as well. Much of the artwork around the resort and in the rooms are pieces directly from the Destino short.

The Rooms

One of the coolest features of the new rooms in Gran Destino Tower is the iTV. It welcomes guests by last name on the reservation and has the same features as a smart tv. It also has the ability to pull up your My Disney Experience, so you can view your schedule, PhotoPass pictures, and more right on your tv. You can also see hours and fireworks show times of the parks as well as stream Disney movies right there for free. We were told this will eventually be a feature throughout all the Walt Disney World resorts, but that is going to take a long time to implement.

Gran Destino Tower has all the normal room categories you’d expect in a Walt Disney World resort, but with the added bonus that even though it’s a moderate resort, they have a club lounge. We were told by cast members that the bookable room categories on the website for “Club Access” can be any room in the tower, as any room can be given club level access. There are also Deluxe Suites that always include Club Access, but they’re spread all over the tower, so we had a Deluxe Suite on the seventh floor even the lounge is on the fifteenth floor.

The furniture in the rooms is very similar to the furniture in the other buildings at Coronado Springs Resort.

There are only a few rooms in the tower that have tubs as this is meant more for conference guests who are here for a conference and staying in Gran Destino Tower. You can request a room with a tub, but know that the number of rooms with tubs is limited, so you may not be able to get one. If a tub is really important, we’d recommend staying in a room in Vintage Coronado Springs.

The Views

This is the view from the Chronos Club. You can see Epcot on the far left, and Hollywood Studios straight ahead.

The room views from the rooms in Gran Destino Tower are water view (overlooking the beautiful pond and fountain behind the building) or standard view (overlooking the main gate and parking lot, but also Hollywood Studios and Epcot). The club level lounge, Toledo Restaurant, and Dahlia Lounge all have views of a few of the fireworks shows in Hollywood Studios and Epcot. No music is pumped in, but it gives a unique view of the shows and is a lot of fun to watch, especially since you don’t have to fight the crowds in the park. (Side note: if you haven’t seen the shows in the park, we recommend doing so first before seeing the view from here. The shows were designed to be seen from the front, so it loses its magic if you haven’t seen them before.)

We stayed in both a water view room, and a deluxe suite, and this was our view both times. Deluxe suites can be standard view, but you may have a water view based on availability.

The Club Level

The Club Level Lounge in Gran Destino Tower is called Chronos Club. It has a capacity of 133 people and has seating for around 80 or so people. It has plenty of space for a lot of people without getting too crowded.

The Chronos Club is one of the largest Club lounges on property.

There are a few board games around the lounge for guests to enjoy, especially on rainy days (which we’ve been getting a lot of recently) as well as a kids area with little seats and lots of toys. 

The Continental Breakfast and Light Snacks (mid-day) are basically the same each day. Breakfast consists of fruit, yogurt, cereal, bread, bagels, bacon, scrambled eggs, and an amazing chocolate chunk banana bread that is baked fresh daily. You must try this if you stay Club Level in Gran Destino. It is amazing! For Light Snacks they have raw vegetables and dip, trail mix, gold fish, olives, bulgur grains salad, sun butter and banana toast, oatmeal raisin cookies, chocolate chip cookies, sugar cookies, and house made potato chips. The chips and chocolate chip and sugar cookies were all really good! There are a few items that are out all day. They have bowls of candy and Ghirardelli chocolate squares always out. Individually wrapped apples and oranges as well.

The drink area contains hot tea, coffee, a cappuccino machine, soda, water, cold tea, and apple juice that you can get any time of the day. After 11 there is beer in the fridge, in the evenings they have wine and champagne, and during dessert they have cordials. However, you can request any drink at any time of the day, such as mimosas in the morning, and they will accommodate you.

Dinner (technically “hors d’oeuvres” but definitely enough food for dinner) has some food items that are staples while others get switched out each night. The staples consist of fire roasted vegetables, a meat and cheese platter, breads with jams and compotes, small hors d’oeuvres, and fruit. The main dishes get switched out each night. They always have a meat and a plant-based option. We had a variety of options for the meat dishes, including lamb chops from Three Bridges Restaurant, shrimp paella style, mussels, and lion fish nuggets. Some of the plant-based or healthier food items were blended burgers, jackfruit quesadillas, plant-based meatballs, and plant-based crab cakes.

The Dining Options

There are 3 new dining options in the Gran Destino Tower. The first is the lounge on the lower lobby called Barcelona Lounge. It’s a coffee bar in the morning, and a bar in the evening. They serve a few cold appetizers but not full meals since they don’t have a kitchen. Because it’s in the lower lobby, there are only a few seats at the bar but plenty of seating options in the lobby itself. It can get loud with other guests around, but the lobby is beautiful and worth sitting in and relaxing while you wait for your drinks and appetizers. Spain is known for their tonic, and we were told the tonics here are the best around.

The second dining option is on the 16th floor called Dahlia Lounge. This lounge is located next to Toledo and gets its food options from there. Dahlia Lounge has a balcony on the outside where you can watch the night time fireworks shows from Hollywood Studios and Epcot. They don’t pump in the music, but it’s still worth watching if you’re there. The lounge is a good size and very open and has picture of Walt Disney on the walls. Highly recommend going here even just to see these pictures and the view.

The third dining option is Toledo Restaurant. Toledo is a Spanish-inspired restaurant with tapas, entrees, tonics, and wines. The restaurant is dark and loud, but the food was incredible. The windows surrounding the restaurant show a great view of Coronado Springs and the parks during the day, and a couple of the night time shows at night. The music isn’t pumped in, but it’s still enjoyable to see while you’re eating, especially so high up. The food was delicious.

The Activities

All of the activities at Coronado Springs are open to guests both in Vintage Coronado and in Gran Destino Tower; however, there are a few activities that are more convenient for guests staying in the tower. There is a new state-the-art workout room in Gran Destino Tower that is open to guests in any part of Coronado Springs, but its location makes access much easier for guests in the tower. There’s also a fire pit right outside Gran Destino Tower where you can find out more about Coronado Springs Resort’s inspiration every Sunday, Tuesday, and Fridays at 8:15 p.m.

Conclusion

Gran Destino Tower is beautiful and a great place for anyone to visit, but as it is geared towards adults, specifically ones attending conferences, we wouldn’t recommend families stay here unless you just want to stay in the new tower to see it. The room sizes are good and very practical but not necessarily family friendly. The dining options and views are nice, so we recommend trying those, but the overall atmosphere and vibe of the tower is more adult focused. If you’re looking for a place to host a conference, this might be a good fit for you and your company, so definitely check it out as it has a great location, amenities, food options, workout space, activities, and meeting space.