We booked this hotel via Hotels.com for 5 nights with great expectations. It was not cheap. Now it may just be me - but am I the only one to think that if you don't book direct with Disney you are treated in a slightly inferior way? Let me explain with the example of the room that we were allocated. For those who know the property we were in a room at the end of an extremely long corridor somewhere over the ESPN restaurant area. One immediate niggle for us is the pillows which resemble giant marshmallows and for us did not give a quality night's rest. However, in the bathroom, one of the washbasins had a large dark crack in the bowl - hardly hygienic.
It had been a long trip so we reported it the following morning and to give credit where it is due, we were allocated another room much closer to the main part of the hotel without fuss. So aren't such problems reported by Housekeeping or the rooms inspected? Or more the case, do they simply rely on some customers just accepting the room as it is? Perhaps the Hotel is due for some updating. We certainly believe so.
We do love the Boardwalk area and have visited the Hotel on many previous occasions - especially the Belle View Bar with it's colonial atmosphere, although this too can be the venue for extremely loud/excitable customers without a thought for others sharing the same space.
Would we return? Probably not as other hotels give more for less money and probably have to try harder to compete with Disney hotels.
It is a hotel in beautiful surroundings which we needed to get out of our system. We had also dropped a lot of hints about celebrating our Wedding Anniversary but received no further acknowledgement from Disney.

We take Disney very seriously. Our yearly trips are plotted and planned in advance to the minute, and we like it that way! We've stayed in several Disney deluxe hotels over the years but we had never ventured over to the Epcot area hotels until this past summer. Wow! BWI is just so convenient to both Epcot and Hollywood Studios. They walk to the studios is much longer than the walk to Epcot, and for some it's probably too long at 20 minutes (w/ kids). But for us it was great to not have to rely on transportation and know exactly how long it would take us to get from A to B.
We stayed in the beautiful VP Sonora Suite. It had a spacious living room and dining room. A guest bath and a small kitchenette (no cooktop, but a microwave, a pod-stystem coffee maker, and a sink) and a small bar. On the righthand side was a bedroom and bathroom, set up exactly as a standard room and to the left was the master bedroom with a beautiful princess bed and a marbled, spa bathroom. Our balcony stretched over the entire length of the suite and was the perfect place to spend mornings and evenings watching the bustle of the boardwalk area.
The club lounge is nice and staff were helpful and friendly. They always remembered to ask what we had planned for the day and how we enjoyed the day before. Every morning, gluten free muffins were provided for my GF daughter and soy milk was provided for my DF daughter.
We ate at both Cat Cora's restaurant and Flying Fish. Both were very good and both handled our multiple allergies like a dream.
The pool area can get very busy and noisy. I found it to be less relaxing than other Disney pools (no Disney pool can be totally relaxing of course!!). My kids, however, said it was the most fun of all the Disney pools we've tried.

We just came back from a week long stay at the Boardwalk Inn. To be fair, I will list all of the positives as well as the negatives. We have previously stayed at three of the moderate resorts and this was our first deluxe stay. We were only able to take advantage of that because Disney offers a great military discount on rooms. The room was nice and clean. We had to ask for several extra blankets as there is no coverlet or duvet on the beds. But the linens were fresh and clean. The room had an awful mildew smell during our entire stay. I had to keep the ceiling fan (which was a plus) on or a door open to air out the smell. The bathtub was in serious need of repair with chips, rust, and mildew. However the bathroom was a nice size and the vanity area was really lovely. Housekeeping did a fantastic job every day with lots of magical surprises for my two daughters, 10 and 12. We stayed on the fourth floor and had asked for a nice garden view, which we received. However, there was a huge tree directly outside our balcony which completely blocked our entire view. We couldn't see the grounds or the sky. The location was fantastic as others have noted. You can't beat the short walk or boat ride. Also my girls absolutely loved the boardwalk entertainment at night. There were magicians, jugglers, etc. We enjoyed the atmosphere very much but there were not really any quick breakfast options The bakery was closed for refurb and the little stand outside just had muffins, croissants, and cereal. We would have liked a little more variety in that area. You could try to get into Kouzzina's for breakfast but its not really traditional breakfast. The staff left us many surprises our first day there as we were celebrating my husbands recent return from Afghanistan. Chocolate strawberries, a large white chocolate Mickey, and a few other nice little things. We really enjoyed the pool. We had the opportunity to swim at the Beach Club pool for one day but it was very crowded and lots of walking involved. My girls actually preferred the Clown pool at Boardwalk,. The water slide was better and it was more contained. The staff was friendly and helpful on a daily basis. I would probably not spend the money to stay here again, however. Not even with our discount. I found my stays at the moderate resorts to be just as nice at a fraction of the price. We had a nice time and enjoyed being so close to Epcot and Hollywood Studios. I also wanted to mention that the actual Boardwalk itself is very clean and well maintained.

Staying at the Boardwalk Inn is not cheap, that's why it's considered a deluxe resort. What you're really paying for here is the location. It's an easy walk to Epcot and within walking distance to Disney's Hollywood Studios. Walking to Epcot was excellent for us because its our favorite resort and we tend to spend a lot of time there, especially for dinner.

There are only a few Disney resorts within easy walking distance to the parks: Boardwalk, Yacht/Beach Club, and Contemporary (Swan and Dolphin don't count because it's not Disney owned- The Tishman Group does and leases the land from Disney).

Compared to other on property resorts, here are some unique things/places you'll find at the Boardwalk Inn:
1. High quality restaurants (Flying Fish and Kouzzina), as well as two casual/bar restaurants (Big River Grill and ESPN Club)
2. A bakery and sweets shop with ice cream
3. Night life including jugglers, magic acts and also clubs/lounges
4. Beautiful view of the water
5. Short walk to Epcot via the International Gateway
6. Scenic walk to Disney Hollywood Studios (though in my opinion a tad long, especially after a day of walking)
7. Boat to Epcot and Hollywood Studios
8. Walking distance to Swan & Dolphin (mini golf voucher can be used there)
9. Walking distance to Yacht and Beach Club (Great places to eat there like the Yachtsman Steakhouse, Beaches and Cream, and Cape May Cafe)

The size of the rooms are pretty similar as other deluxe resorts--two sinks outside of the bathroom, a balcony, etc. You can also get room service (moderate resorts get pizza delivery).
Many complain that the halls can be really long and it can be annoying to get down to the boardwalk and buses. We didn't have this problem since we were near the courtyard. There are only two ways of getting outside, both on each side of the lobby. One way goes down the steps to get to the boardwalk, the other goes to the front of the resort to the bus stop.

Ahh yes, the Disney bus transportation. This a common complaint about ALL Disney resorts. It doesn't matter if you're staying at a value resort or the most expensive Deluxe resort, the bus system at Disney can be bothersome to many. Luckily, by being so close to two of four parks, you don't have to experience these troubles as much--the only places you need to take a bus are: Downtown Disney, Typhoon Lagoon, Blizzard Beach, Magic Kingdom, and Animal Kingdom. We did sit at the bus stops for extensive amounts of times, even in the off season. The bus areas get crowded and even more so when you get on the bus. When we were there, Boardwalk shared a bus route with Swan, Dolphin, Yacht Club, and Beach Club. That's 5 stops total. This annoyed me because Swan/Dolphin was almost always first, in which case it was much faster to walk from Swan/Dolphin to Boardwalk instead of waiting for our stop since it was almost always last. I know during busy times of the year, there are less stops but you would think staying at a Deluxe resort would buy you your own bus stop.

I wouldn't consider the bus system a con for this resort, since it's a common problem in all of the Disney resorts as I said before. However I do have some cons/problems with this resort:

1. No quick service meals options - For those on the Disney dining plan, this can be bothersome. Moderate/value resorts have food courts but you won't find ANY option to use a counter service credit at Boardwalk

2. No places to fill your refillable mug yourself - I have heard they are changing this with the new renovation being done to the Boardwalk Bakery (which was closed while we were there. This was disappointing as the tent up in the meantime didn't seem to have good or fresh baked goods). To get your mug filled you need to show your cup and they will give you a paper cup of the drink. They WILL NOT take your cup and fill it for you. The only option for breakfast is coffee, tea, or hot chocolate unless you drink soda in the morning. I seem to recall one of the moderate resorts had apple juice as an option.

3. Limited snack options for Dining plan users - Many places on the boardwalk don't even accept the Disney Dining Plan at all. This includes "Boardwalk to Go", which you would think would accept it, though it may not even be owned by Disney or Boardwalk, although its logo is plastered all over it. Snack options in general were limited to things in the Sweets Shop and Bakery outpost that was up while the Bakery was being renovated. Again, bakery options were limited and didn't taste fresh. I think once the Bakery reopens this will be a completely different story.

All in all, I really enjoyed my stay. Will I be turning? For the price, probably not. There are a few lovely moderate resort choices that I will sooner return to. Each deluxe resort has its own unique feature or offering... Contemporary is modern, has the monorail, and is walkable to Magic Kingdom; Polynesian has monorail, lovely theming, and boat to Magic Kingdom; Grand Floridian is just gorgeous and breath taking, with monorail and boat to Magic Kingdom; Beach/Yacht Club is walkable to Epcot, a faux beach, has a pool area that is practically a theme park in itself, and a boat ride to Hollywood Studios; Wilderness Lodge is the least expensive deluxe resort and has beautiful theming, but only bus service to the parks; Animal Kingdom has animals roaming around its beautiful property.

So when choosing a resort you just have to ask yourself... what do you want? What parks are most important to you? How much are you willing to pay for it?

If you want a lively resort that is walkable to Epcot then the Boardwalk Inn is for you.