My party of 8 spent $1,500 a night on a deluxe 2-bedroom villa at Disney World, and it was a great option for a large group

As a travel planner at Marvelous Mouse Travels, I know picking where to stay is the first of many stressful choices for a Disney vacation.

Recently, my family visited Disney World with another family, and we all wanted to stay together.

We chose a two-bedroom villa at Saratoga Springs, and it was perfect for what we needed.

Saratoga Springs Resort — which is modeled after the historic city in New York — is an equestrian-themed, Victorian-style hotel with over 1,200 guestrooms.

It's one of the resorts in walking proximity to Disney Springs, the property's shopping, dining, and entertainment district.

Guests can choose from studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom villa units. The resort also has unique Treehouse Villas that can accommodate up to nine guests.

The High Rock Spring pool features waterfalls, zero-depth entry, and a slide built into the rocks. Young children can enjoy the Donald Duck splash play area.

The Paddock pool has a waterslide and a horseshoe-shaped whirlpool spa. Small children can splash in the aquatic play area with two small waterslides.

Three other leisure pools, each with a whirlpool spa, are located near the Treehouse Villas, Congress Park, and the Grandstand.

Our kids loved the Paddock pool, and we spent a number of afternoons there.

Typical fare includes sandwiches, salads, and burgers, as well as plenty of poolside drinks.

Our favorites were the shrimp tacos, bacon-cheddar cheeseburger, and fried-chicken sandwich.

The Banana Cabana was my favorite umbrella drink. It's made with Cruzan mango rum, Parrot Bay coconut rum, Bols crème de banana, orange juice, and pineapple juice.

The Chip and Dale Cafe is a snack stand at the nearby golf course, and the Backstretch Pool Bar serves typical American classics.

The Turf Club Lounge and On the Rocks both offer bar service, and the Turf Club Bar and Grille offers sit-down table service for dinner. Some popular menu items include the filet mignon and salmon, in addition to a wide range of children's options.

The resort also has a quick-service restaurant, the Artist's Palette, with grab-and-go options for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We liked the pizza, pulled-pork sandwich, and turkey club.

The entire resort has been undergoing renovations in recent years, and I enjoyed the new theming and decor in the fresh, updated space.

Our villa had a full kitchen, a living room, and a dining area in addition to two bedrooms and two bathrooms.

There was even a washer/dryer in the living area if we needed to do any laundry during our trip.

We also had a nice patio that looked out onto the beautiful grounds.

The first bedroom had a king bed, and the second bedroom had two queens.

The living area had a sofa sleeper that could accommodate two and an additional child-size pull-down bed.

The king bedroom had an attached bathroom with double sinks, a bathtub, a shower, and a toilet, and the other bedroom had an attached bathroom with a sink, shower, and toilet.

Having two bathrooms was great for a group of eight getting ready every morning.

Since we had a full kitchen, we ordered groceries to the room for breakfast, snacks, and evening drinks.

We ate breakfast in the room every morning, brought water and snacks to the park, and even threw in a couple of pizzas one night when we got back late and hungry. All of that saved us a lot of time and money.

The adults also sat on the patio for a glass of beer or wine some of the nights. It was a great way to relax after a long day at the parks.

Being close to the pool and a bus stop helped limit our walking throughout the day.

Saratoga Springs offers bus transportation to all four theme parks and Disney Springs. It's also possible to walk over to Disney Springs.

If you're going to frequent the shopping, dining, and entertainment district often during your stay, it's a great resort option for you since it's so close.

Our villa ended up costing $1,500 a night, which was shared between our two families.

Some may think the resort isn't as exciting as some of Disney's other offerings, but it was the perfect spot for our families on this trip.

Having more space to spend time with our group, staying in a recently renovated villa, and having a full kitchen made this a great choice for us. Plus, the proximity to Disney Springs didn't hurt.