Executive Lanai

[scrapycruiser]

Would love to hear from someone who booked the executive lanai. We have one booked for our end of March trip. How many are there and the locations. Did you feel it was worth the cost ? Why or why not ?
Thanks!

 

[keaster]

We rented the executive lanai a couple years ago. There is only one, its located in front of the AMA AMA restaurant just off of where the fire pit is.

Love it! Cheaper than a cabana, It faces towards the ocean and there is lot of seating and umbrellas/casabellas for shade. The only negative is that it's right at a set of stairs that goes towards the beach so there can be a lot of foot traffic going by and people just kind of checking it out.

Definitely think it's worth it and would book it again with a bigger group!

 

[hilarys]

We have rented it twice and I love it. I prefer it over the regular cabana because I love the view of the ocean and the fact that you can easily go down to the beach. As mentioned above it is definitely not private, but it is great for people watching.

 

[nkereina]

The only negative is that it's right at a set of stairs that goes towards the beach so there can be a lot of foot traffic going by and people just kind of checking it out.

I agree with this. I've also read reports where other guests don't realize the lanai is a private reserved space and encroach on it. The other negative of it, IMO, is that its full sun. There are umbrellas but the times we walked by mid-day, the people were in full sun or partially shaded from the umbrellas. The umbrellas are not as effective for shade as the cabanas are.

Its super convenient to the beach, beautiful views, and its nice to have your own private space. But its not in sight of the pool and its not super convenient to restrooms.

 

[MamaBear58]

I booked this and am confused. My confirmation says "casabella"--singular. But the Executive Lanai seats more and we are a family of four. Are we sharing the executive lanai with another group, so we personally only have 2 seats?

 

[keaster]

I booked this and am confused. My confirmation says "casabella"--singular. But the Executive Lanai seats more and we are a family of four. Are we sharing the executive lanai with another group, so we personally only have 2 seats?

No you never share it, you book it for your party. I'd just call and double check to make sure your reservation is correct.

 

[MamaBear58]

thanks....I think that I will!

 

[WDWmom08]

My confirmation says Executive Lanai Casabella.

 

[nkereina]

I booked this and am confused. My confirmation says "casabella"--singular. But the Executive Lanai seats more and we are a family of four. Are we sharing the executive lanai with another group, so we personally only have 2 seats?

There are no single casabellas that can be booked in advance. The single casabellas are only located on the beach and only available to book day of in person. Other than cabanas, there is just the executive lanai, lower veranda, and upper veranda that can be booked in advance and you book it for your party exclusively. It is not shared, regardless of how many people you have.

My guess is this is just poor wording. The executive lanai has two casabellas and two loungers with one umbrella.

 

[chainkid]

We booked this in June 2015 for 4 couples on first arrival day as we needed a place to crash waiting for our villa. It was the perfect spot for beautiful views and comfortable seating close to both ocean as well as pool. I didn't find it bothersome to have people walking by but by around 2 pm those casabellas were stifling hot and we had to seek AIR CONDITIONING. I prefer them over cabanas which cost more but found after first day we could always find a place near the ocean if not pool. I don't sit in sun much anyway so for us first arrival day was perfect.

 

[jodybird511]

We love, love, love the executive lanai--we booked it for two days each of our previous two trips. Here are some pix to give you an idea of what the view looks like. I think it is a MUCH better value than the cabanas. I will say, though, if you have young children, with whom you are not comfortable giving the freedom to roam the pool area on their own, it's not the greatest location, b/c it is away from the pools/slides/lazy river... Oh, and btw, DVC members also get the "cabana" discount on the executive lanai.