BWV - decided to try - disappointed

[Mouseaholic!!!]

Hello All -

I'm posting here because I'm surprised with the Boardwalk Villas.

DH and I decided to stay for half of our vacation at the Villas at Boardwalk and the second half at Boardwalk Inn. We own a Marriot timeshare and thought we were curious.

First....why on earth do you wait until 4 pm to checkin? I have never waited that long for a Marriott property - even during Christmas! We were not allowed into our room until 4:35 ( checked the watch ) and friends didn't get into Animal Kingdom Villas until 6 pm......the night of the Christmas Party.

Yes, I know it's staffing....we spoke with Management. So hire more mousekeepers.

We were just surprised so many of you think that's OK! It isn't anywhere else we have stayed on points.


Second, we were surprised how small the 1 bedroom villa is compared to others in the WDW area. Jacuzzi was nice...king bed was nice....but overall they were much smaller the comparable villa's outside WDW.


Finally.....wow is it outdated. We called our little electric stove .... "the little stove that could". Not all the burners worked and it was rusty.....very sad little thing!

The televisions are old....please......a cash paying guest could pay up to $649 p.night according to the notice on the door.....and you have an old 13" television in the bedroom!!!!

Scuffs and holes in the walls....leaky shower head that was not fixied in spite of 2 calls to maintenance. Mousekeepers that can't manage to find their way to our villa until after 3 pm each day.

I hope these are schedled to be updated very soon. We pay castmember rates but I know the going rate for DVC points and this simply isn't worth it.


Next....we moved to the Boardwalk Inn and we were so glad we ended our stay there. The rooms are freshly updated......flat screen televisions, new furniture, new drapes, carpet, wallpaper and the new Disney bedding is SCRUMPTIOUS after a long day in the parks.

Our room at Boardwalk Inn was always cleaned right after we left in the morning - windows were not smudged - everythng spotless.

What a comparison.


What I don't understand is.......why do DVC members allow their invenstment to become so tired....and.....Why on earth do you put up with hidious room availability at 4 pm on arrival day. When I have arrived at a Marriott property, even if my assigned room is unavailable, they simply switch me to something that is ready. Honestly, the latest we have gotten into a room is before noon. I don't understand why you guys put up with this.

Oh yes, what's with the double points for weekends? I have never heard of this before either!!!

We gave DVC a try....just seems way too much $$$ and trouble to spend for a week (when you add the weekend points). Marriott is so much easier to manage and rooms offer far more luxury.

If you are looking for a GREAT room......just walk over to the Boardwalk Inn and sink into some REAL luxury!!! We will keep our castmember rates and stay there!!

[tjkraz]

Disney hasn't confirmed it yet but I've heard the BW Villas are due for an upgrade in early 2009.

As for the rest of your comments, the only solace I can offer is to say that your experience is not typical. We have always been in our room before 4pm since becoming members--usually well before that. Earliest was 8:30am. We've stayed at the BW Villas a half dozen times and have never had a room with issues like you describe.

I doubt that DVC members are "putting up" with substandard conditions and service any moreso than Marriott owners. You can't draw realistic conclusions when your sample size (number of experiences) is small--in your case, one BWV stay.

The weekend points are higher to balance demand. That's the goal of any point-based system. If the weekly point system were flat, not only would weekdays cost more than they do now but weekends would sell-out much quicker as DVC would be that much more appealing to those within driving distance for use as a weekend getaway.

[Mouseaholic!!!]

Thank you for the thoughtful answers.

We were honestly, very disapointed with our DVC stay compared to the Inn and outside WDW.

They have some challenges to overcome but I'm happy to hear the villa's are scheduled for renovation next year. Our little stove deserves a vacation!

Thank you again!

[littlestar]

I have to admit, the TV's do look like they could have been pulled out of a dumpster :rotfl: Hopefully one day BWV will look as good as the Boardwalk Inn. I know the old girl is looking a little tired compared to the cash side. The only DVC that will be comparable in square footage to a Marriott Vacation Club will be Old Key West. What you lose in square footage, you gain in location at Boardwalk.

As far as getting in the room, we also own with Marriott. And it's hit or miss. We've had units at Marriott Vacation Club that weren't ready until almost 4:00 (sometimes they get us in early, though). The same thing with DVC - sometimes we've gotten in at 10:30 and other times it's been after 4:00.

We own with both vacation clubs and enjoy both for different reasons. The main advantage to DVC is the theming and the convenient location to the parks.

[BWV Dreamin]

I have to admit, the TV's do look like they could have been pulled out of a dumpster :rotfl: Hopefully one day BWV will look as good as the Boardwalk Inn. I know the old girl is looking a little tired compared to the cash side. The only DVC that will be comparable in square footage to a Marriott Vacation Club will be Old Key West. What you lose in square footage, you gain in location at Boardwalk.

As far as getting in the room, we also own with Marriott. And it's hit or miss. We've had units at Marriott Vacation Club that weren't ready until almost 4:00 (sometimes they get us in early, though). The same thing with DVC - sometimes we've gotten in at 10:30 and other times it's been after 4:00.

We own with both vacation clubs and enjoy both for different reasons. The main advantage to DVC is the theming and the convenient location to the parks.
BW Inn just underwent major renovations. They have started, but not completed renovations at BWV yet. Hope they look as good as BW Inn!:banana:

[jimmymac]

I had an experience similar to OP. Arrived at BWV at 11:30, and we were told we should have our room shortly, and they gave us a number to call to see when the room would be ready. I called repeatedly; so often that by the fourth time they recognized my name. I finally got an honest CM who asked me, "What did they tell you when you pre-checked in?" "That the room would be ready shortly," I replied. She then told me, "They shouldn't have told you that. It's rare for anyone to get into the villas before 3 or 4 o'clock." As you might expect, this did not sit well with me and I called Mousekeeping and asked for the Manager. She came on and explained to me that contractually the rooms don't have to be available until 3:00 at the earliest, and "We had over 200 checkouts today and I have only 50 housekeepers." This shocked me me - the number of checkouts is not a surprise - why not have sufficient staff? And if 3:00 is the real room availability, why not tell me so we could have gone to the parks instead of lounging around the hotel? When we finally got into the room, it was quite lovely but definitely showed its age. It surely is in need of a rehab. We too had a small analog TV in the bedroom. I was surprised at the quality of the room compared to the price. We came back from DHS one day at 1:30 PM to take a nap and the room hadn't been touched yet, and there was not a mouskeeper in sight. BWI is much higher quality imho and definitely more bang for your buck

[BWV Dreamin]

I had an experience similar to OP. Arrived at BWV at 11;30, and we were told we should have our room shortly, and they gave us a number to call to see when the room would be ready. I called repeatedly; so often that by the fourth time they recognized my name. I finally got an honest CM who asked me, "What did they tell you when you pre-checked in?" "That the room would be ready shortly," I replied. She then told me, "They shouldn't have told you that. It's rare for anyone to get into the villas before 3 or 4 o'clock." As you might expect, this did not sit well with me and I called Mousekeeping and asked for the Manager. She came on and explained to me that contractually the rooms don't have to be available until 3:00 at the earliest, and "We had over 200 checkouts today and I have only 50 housekeepers." This shocked me me - the number of checkouts is not a surprise - why not have sufficient staff? And if 3:00 is the real room availability, why not tell me so we could have gone to the parks instead of lounging around the hotel? When we finally got into the room, it was quite lovely but definitely showed its age. It surely is in need of a rehab. We too had a small analog TV in the bedroom. I was surprised at the quality of the room compared to the price. We came back from DHS one day at 1:30 PM to take a nap and the room hadn't been touched yet, and there was not a mouskeeper in sight. BWI is much higher quality imho and definitely more bang for your buck
I have stayed in both.....the only reason BW Inn looks better at this point is it just went thru a major rehab!!!! Lets give BWV a chance, it isn't finished yet. They too are to get new bedspreads, curtains, etc. Carpet renovations and painting have already started. I have never checked into BWV before 3:00p. But never later than say 4:15p. I do not expect to get in early. I don't expect that at any DVC resort.

[chalee94]

The televisions are old....please......a cash paying guest could pay up to $649 p.night according to the notice on the door.....and you have an old 13" television in the bedroom!!!!

yep, this is accurate and aggravating. i split a stay between AKV and OKW and the difference between the larger HD LCD at AKV and the puny 13" tv at OKW was stark. BWV and the other older 2042-properties seriously need some refurbing to bring them up to a true semi-deluxe level.

while all of the DVC rooms i have stayed in have been in terrific shape with no holes or maintenance issues, i am sure they exist and sorry that you had to stay in one with so little responsiveness from the staff...

Oh yes, what's with the double points for weekends? I have never heard of this before either!!!

this was discussed more than once on the "Why have you NOT bought DVC?" (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=24822734) thread in which you participated often, so pardon me if i find this particular comment a little hard to believe...

[tjkraz]

I had an experience similar to OP. Arrived at BWV at 11:30, and we were told we should have our room shortly, and they gave us a number to call to see when the room would be ready. I called repeatedly; so often that by the fourth time they recognized my name. I finally got an honest CM who asked me, "What did they tell you when you pre-checked in?" "That the room would be ready shortly," I replied. She then told me, "They shouldn't have told you that. It's rare for anyone to get into the villas before 3 or 4 o'clock." As you might expect, this did not sit well with me and I called Mousekeeping and asked for the Manager. She came on and explained to me that contractually the rooms don't have to be available until 3:00 at the earliest, and "We had over 200 checkouts today and I have only 50 housekeepers." This shocked me me - the number of checkouts is not a surprise - why not have sufficient staff? And if 3:00 is the real room availability, why not tell me so we could have gone to the parks instead of lounging around the hotel?

IMO, the error was made by the front desk CM who gave you false expectations. AFAIK, front desk CMs have no way of knowing when a specific room will be ready. All they see are rooms released by Housekeeping. If a room is not yet ready, they cannot tell whether it will be ready in 5 minutes or 5 hours.

If it was a light departure day, I could see perhaps making a statement like that knowing that Housekeeping did not have many rooms to clean.

As for the ratios sited, if true (200 checkouts, 50 housekeepers), I see nothing wrong with that. In fact it's better than I would have thought.

Housekeeping has a minimum of 5 hours to clean rooms from all of the departures. (Probably more since they start looking for rooms to service much earlier than 11am.) But it doesn't take 3 hours to do a single room. I don't know how long they allocate for each unit but it's probably somewhere in the 30-90 minute range depending upon the size. It seems very reasonable for a CM to clean an average of 4 rooms during their shift. What isn't reasonable is to expect every room turned-over within an hour or two of the published departure time.

[CarolA]

Hello All -

I'm posting here because I'm surprised with the Boardwalk Villas.

DH and I decided to stay for half of our vacation at the Villas at Boardwalk and the second half at Boardwalk Inn. We own a Marriot timeshare and thought we were curious.

First....why on earth do you wait until 4 pm to checkin? I have never waited that long for a Marriott property - even during Christmas! We were not allowed into our room until 4:35 ( checked the watch ) and friends didn't get into Animal Kingdom Villas until 6 pm......the night of the Christmas Party.

Yes, I know it's staffing....we spoke with Management. So hire more mousekeepers.

We were just surprised so many of you think that's OK! It isn't anywhere else we have stayed on points.


Second, we were surprised how small the 1 bedroom villa is compared to others in the WDW area. Jacuzzi was nice...king bed was nice....but overall they were much smaller the comparable villa's outside WDW.


Finally.....wow is it outdated. We called our little electric stove .... "the little stove that could". Not all the burners worked and it was rusty.....very sad little thing!

The televisions are old....please......a cash paying guest could pay up to $649 p.night according to the notice on the door.....and you have an old 13" television in the bedroom!!!!

Scuffs and holes in the walls....leaky shower head that was not fixied in spite of 2 calls to maintenance. Mousekeepers that can't manage to find their way to our villa until after 3 pm each day.

I hope these are schedled to be updated very soon. We pay castmember rates but I know the going rate for DVC points and this simply isn't worth it.


Next....we moved to the Boardwalk Inn and we were so glad we ended our stay there. The rooms are freshly updated......flat screen televisions, new furniture, new drapes, carpet, wallpaper and the new Disney bedding is SCRUMPTIOUS after a long day in the parks.

Our room at Boardwalk Inn was always cleaned right after we left in the morning - windows were not smudged - everythng spotless.

What a comparison.


What I don't understand is.......why do DVC members allow their invenstment to become so tired....and.....Why on earth do you put up with hidious room availability at 4 pm on arrival day. When I have arrived at a Marriott property, even if my assigned room is unavailable, they simply switch me to something that is ready. Honestly, the latest we have gotten into a room is before noon. I don't understand why you guys put up with this.

Oh yes, what's with the double points for weekends? I have never heard of this before either!!!

We gave DVC a try....just seems way too much $$$ and trouble to spend for a week (when you add the weekend points). Marriott is so much easier to manage and rooms offer far more luxury.

If you are looking for a GREAT room......just walk over to the Boardwalk Inn and sink into some REAL luxury!!! We will keep our castmember rates and stay there!!



I am rolling on the floor.

Let me tell you about my Marriott check in at one of the resorts in Hilton Head Island.

4 PM. Room not ready and the front desk announces they CLOSE at 5 PM so I will have to go to another resort to get the key if they don't clear the room by five. (Look of disbelief on my face must have been interesting!) Of course the fact that the front desk staff appeared to be the most disorgaized and unprofessional group I have ever seen at ANY Marriott already had me in shock! Asked for my parking pass. They apparently had given it to someone else so I got one with another name on it because they couldn't print out a new one. (Not sure what happens if you get there last, no pass?)

Finally get this room and I am NOT sure what I was waiting on, but I don't think it was cleaning.:rotfl2: There was so much sand on the floor I ran the vacum and cleaned it up! I also had to scrub the tub! Couldn't complain to the front desk, they were CLOSED!

Trash in the hallway area ALL weekend along with the dirty linens from the prior guest.

Condition of villa. Well.... most of the cabinets were banged up. Some of them didn't exactly close. The whirlpool tub sounded like a plane was landing in the bedroom area. They give you "beach towels" Mine were so thin they had holes in them LOL!

Front desk staff... OMG they were so bad I wrote Marriott to complain.

Overall, I nearly walked from buying a Marriott due to this experience.

However, my final decision. Judging an entire company on ONE villa as probably not the best method.

But since you own Marriott "Why do you Marriott owners allow their investment to become so tired....and.....Why on earth do you put up with hidious room availability at 4 pm on arrival day." Why do you put up with the front desk closing at 5 PM? Why do you allow housekeeping to leave the trash and linens in the hall for several days in a row. (I took photos with the date and time each day as proof LOL!)

And to think I paid for that dump of a room!

[eliza61]

Hello All -

is SCRUMPTIOUS after a long day in the parks.

Our room at Boardwalk Inn was always cleaned right after we left in the morning - windows were not smudged - everythng spotless.

What a comparison.


What I don't understand is.......why do DVC members allow their invenstment to become so tired....and.....Why on earth do you put up with hidious room availability at 4 pm on arrival day. When I have arrived at a Marriott property, even if my assigned room is unavailable, they simply switch me to something that is ready. Honestly, the latest we have gotten into a room is before noon. I don't understand why you guys put up with this.

!


BWV's are due for a renovations next year.

As to why I put up with it. Easy because I love it way better than any thing Marriott can offer me. When you get your reservation it says quite clearly what time check in is. No surprises there. If I get there before 4 pm not a problem, the resort stores my luggage and away I go. Then they call me to let me know my room is ready, what's the problem?

I've personally never had a hideous rooms so I can't attest to that. I've done a couple of marriott transfers in Vegas and DC. I like my dvc way better (remember you did ask) than Marriot.

[Tink-n-Belle]

Sorry you didn't love it as much as WE DO!!

[Deb & Bill]

...Why on earth do you put up with hidious room availability at 4 pm on arrival day. When I have arrived at a Marriott property, even if my assigned room is unavailable, they simply switch me to something that is ready. Honestly, the latest we have gotten into a room is before noon. I don't understand why you guys put up with this. ...

Could be that there are no Marriott's located at Disney themeparks where occupancy is usually around 95% or greater. Or maybe everyone checks in and out on the same day??? so they hire many more housekeepers for that checkin/checkout day??? Id bet most guests at DVC villas don't check out at 7 or 8AM on their checkout day. I'd bet many more checkout as late as possible (no late checkouts with DVC, too) so the housekeepers don't get access to the rooms until 11AM at the earliest.

Usually if anything IS available, the member can get an opportunity to get something that is already cleaned and ready to be moved in.

[bobbiwoz]

We did a timeshare presentation with Hilton Grand Vacation Club in Orlando and they had the higher weekend points for Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. The amenities may be better elsewhere, but only DVC has the location, and that's why we bought.

Bobbi:goodvibes

[dianeschlicht]

WHY??? Location, location, location!

[bwvBound]

First....why on earth do you wait until 4 pm to checkin?No matter to us, flying in from the west coast we rarely touch down before 4PM. By the time we reach check-in the clock is closer to 6p and our room is ready.

As for the rest, BWV is our favorite for its location. From there I can easily walk to the Dolphin Convention Center, Swan Conference Rooms, BW Conference Rooms and Yacht Club Convention Center. For the money, there is no better location to stay.

When visiting for vacation purposes ... I can be enticed to off-property locations. We've enjoyed several off-property visits using RCI Bonus Vacations or II Getaway Weeks. What a great range of choices!

[Mouseaholic!!!]

We always stay at a Moderate on arrival day and switch to a Deluxe the following day.

Checkin at 4pm is completely unacceptable for us. I'm not spending "deluxe $$$ --- even at castmember discounts" for a late checkin day.

When we finally (happily) checked into BWI --- we were given one of the best rooms we have EVER had at WDW.......before 10 am.....now THAT's service!

Oh well....that just means it's one more 1 bedroom villa for you folks!!!

Enjoy!

[Mouseaholic!!!]

WHY??? Location, location, location!


BWI - better location loation location

better service service service

[crisi]

BWI - better location loation location

better service service service

I like the Deluxe resorts a lot better than I like DVC - for the service aspect - although honestly, offsite rocks in terms of that.

But as a DVC owner, I'm paying a fraction of the cost for a studio at the BWV than for a room at the BWI - more importantly for my family, I can get a two bedroom - I can't do that at the Inn unless I'm willing to spend the cash for a suite - which would be nice - but which is out of my budget.

If money were no object, we'd stay in a suite at the Inn. But money is an object for us.

DVC combines value with location for us - but it does come with some - what we consider to be fairly minor - sacrifices.

We've only had one trip where I room wasn't ready when we arrived - it was ready at 3:00pm (and I've stayed at Disney Deluxe hotels were my room wasn't ready until 2:00). Usually our rooms are ready when we arrive. We've had "tired" rooms - but nothing unacceptable. Any issues have been taken care of promptly.

[Chester's Mum]

Sorry you had such a terrible stay at BWV. But I too think you can't make a decision about a resort with one stay.

I had my first stay at my home resort in March, and I thought it was wonderful. The staff were helpful and efficient, the room was clean, bed and sofa bed were both comfortable. The bathroom and vanity area were scrupulously clean, and there was a nice selection of toiletries. The towels were thick and soft.

Yes the rooms are a little dated, but I had no issues with holes in the walls, worn carpets or bedding, damaged furniture etc. As a matter of fact there was a nice new enameled iron patio table and chairs on the balcony. The tv could be updated, but I'm not there to watch tv. I was aware of the age of the resort when I bought the points, and I was also aware that dvc updates the rooms periodically.

The location is why I bought BWV. I love the location, from my standard view room at a lower point structure, I could see the fireworks at Epcot. I also love the theming. I feel like I am on vacation when I'm walking around the boardwalk.

I am not able to pay $600 a night for a room, and I wouldn't even consider paying $300 a night for a room off property. DVC allows me to only rent a car for the days I need it, and so saves me money in that respect. Disney always drives me "home" so I can have a drink or two with dinner and not worry. Off property, I don't have that luxury.

And even in this economy, my dvc points are worth almost what I paid for them (I paid $87/pt) on the resale market. I don't think you can say that for most other timeshares. A lot of people on the boards have said, DVC is not for everyone, it has to work for you. Don't make the decision to buy based on what others say. For my money, BWV is good value.:)

[PrincessDadx2]

First....why on earth do you wait until 4 pm to checkin? I have never waited that long for a Marriott property - even during Christmas!

You are mistaken. The check in time for every Marriott timeshare is 4pm also (I own several). Sometimes you are able to get in earlier, but no guarantee. You are more likely to get in earlier as an owner and I am sure it is the same for DVC. The biggest variable is not staffing, but what time people check out and how full the resort was the previous night.

Parts of Marriott Grande Vista were really nasty before their rehab, but that is the same anywhere. The biggest problem is that people don't take the time to call engineering to fix little things so they become bigger things. I always have to call 3 or 4 times a trip to get things fixed whenever I stay at a timeshare. Nothing major, but it all adds up if no one cares.

The rest is location. For the price, I get annoyed at DVC having smaller rooms, smaller tvs, no tv channels, charging for internet (think that changed), no screened porch, etc. etc. but you offset that with having the entire WDW resort available.

[5forDiz]

........And even in this economy, my dvc points are worth almost what I paid for them (I paid $87/pt) on the resale market. I don't think you can say that for most other timeshares. A lot of people on the boards have said, DVC is not for everyone, it has to work for you. Don't make the decision to buy based on what others say. For my money, BWV is good value.:).........

Very good points you make here Chester's Mum :thumbsup2 especially that DVC is not for everyone....it works for us & many many others but it would seem not for OP.

We've stayed on Inn side & had a broken lamp, sagging in middle daybed & bathroom looked like it could have been cleaned better - we called on what we weren't happy with ( lamp took 3 calls if I recall ) and it took a bit but concerns were addressed. This has been our experience as well if we have any issues upon check-in at our DVC villa. I'd like to think our satisfaction getting things done is all in ~how~you make the call...

Gotta wonder though OP: if you were so unhappy with your villa, did you ask to be moved to another ? given the chance I'd be surprised if they didn't try their best to work things out for you .....
( but look on the bright side you'd have missed out on :stir: here! :rotfl2: )

[Mouseaholic!!!]

Very good points you make here Chester's Mum :thumbsup2 especially that DVC is not for everyone....it works for us & many many others but it would seem not for OP.

We've stayed on Inn side & had a broken lamp, sagging in middle daybed & bathroom looked like it could have been cleaned better - we called on what we weren't happy with ( lamp took 3 calls if I recall ) and it took a bit but concerns were addressed. This has been our experience as well if we have any issues upon check-in at our DVC villa. I'd like to think our satisfaction getting things done is all in ~how~you make the call...

Gotta wonder though OP: if you were so unhappy with your villa, did you ask to be moved to another ? given the chance I'd be surprised if they didn't try their best to work things out for you .....
( but look on the bright side you'd have missed out on :stir: here! :rotfl2: )


Why didn't we ask to be moved........because we didn't arrive in our room until nearly 5 pm on a night we checked in.........with 5 pm dinner reservations for Fantasmic. Besides......the problems we had with the room would have been the same with others.....tired and in need of renovation. Move the next day? Heck no.....we probably wouldn't have another room until 5 pm again.....upsetting our Christmas Party plans.

We are fortunate enough to pay castmember rates so in the long run a DVC contract would be MORE expensive for us and we don not like the restrictions. We have seen sooooooooo much DVC available for castmember rates in 2008 that we decided...what the heck.....lets see if it's as great as DVC folks say.

Marriott is far more flexible than trying to use DVC outside Disney properties - at least as it was explained to us.

We enjoy our discounts and excellent service and flexibility so I guess DVC just will not work for us.

[Mouseaholic!!!]

You are mistaken. The check in time for every Marriott timeshare is 4pm also (I own several). Sometimes you are able to get in earlier, but no guarantee. You are more likely to get in earlier as an owner and I am sure it is the same for DVC. The biggest variable is not staffing, but what time people check out and how full the resort was the previous night.

Parts of Marriott Grande Vista were really nasty before their rehab, but that is the same anywhere. The biggest problem is that people don't take the time to call engineering to fix little things so they become bigger things. I always have to call 3 or 4 times a trip to get things fixed whenever I stay at a timeshare. Nothing major, but it all adds up if no one cares.

The rest is location. For the price, I get annoyed at DVC having smaller rooms, smaller tvs, no tv channels, charging for internet (think that changed), no screened porch, etc. etc. but you offset that with having the entire WDW resort available.


By the way, when we arrived at the Boardwalk Villas to checkin it was actually 11 am - we had just come from some retail therapy at DTD. We were told our room would be ready any time and given a telephone number to call.

After our 4th call and the same operator twice, she asked us....."what were you told when you checked in?' When we expalined "any time"....she then told us....."Vacation Club rooms are rarely available until 4. They should have told you to not even CHECK until after 3 in the afternoon".

Our DVC friends at AKV (one of 3 home resorts for them) checked in the following day and were not given their room number until 5:50 pm (we checked our watches when our cell phone rang). (and they were to join us at 6:35 for dinner reservations at LTT during the Christmas Party).

That just doesn't work for us.

[chalee94]

Besides......the problems we had with the room would have been the same with others.....tired and in need of renovation.

a sample size of one is hardly scientifically valid. but when you are determined to be unpleasant up front, then there is no need to bother with any actual evidence before delivering a verdict, huh?

We enjoy our discounts and excellent service and flexibility so I guess DVC just will not work for us.

i can't imagine encouraging someone with a castmember discount to buy DVC. it's not for everyone by any stretch.

but keep on grinding that axe if you feel the need...

[tjkraz]

By the way, when we arrived at the Boardwalk Villas to checkin it was actually 11 am - we had just come from some retail therapy at DTD. We were told our room would be ready any time and given a telephone number to call.

After our 4th call and the same operator twice, she asked us....."what were you told when you checked in?' When we expalined "any time"....she then told us....."Vacation Club rooms are rarely available until 4. They should have told you to not even CHECK until after 3 in the afternoon".

Our DVC friends at AKV (one of 3 home resorts for them) checked in the following day and were not given their room number until 5:50 pm (we checked our watches when our cell phone rang). (and they were to join us at 6:35 for dinner reservations at LTT during the Christmas Party).

That just doesn't work for us.

What you experienced has nothing to do with the quality of service. It's just part of the system to which we are all subject.

You yourself said there were 200 DVC rooms being vacated on your arrival day. Check out time is 11am. Every single one of those guests was well within their rights to remain in the room until 11am. It's mathematically impossible for Disney to accommodate every newly-arriving guest by that time regardless of how many Housekeeping CMs they have working.

The posted arrival time for DVC is 4pm. For cash guests it's an hour earlier at 3pm. There are absolutely no guarantees that you will get into a cash room before 3pm regardless of how much you stomp your feet at the front desk.

The fact that you did receive a BWI room at 10:30am is either an indication that the resort was operating at less than 100% occupancy (rooms were already clean from the night before) or it was just the luck of the draw (the previous occupant of your room had an early flight and housekeeping was able to get in early.)

These aren't service-related issues. Resort hotels do not purposely under-book the facility so that they can accommodate early arrivals the next day. Granting early arrivals is a function of how busy they were the night before, how early guests vacated the next morning and how many rooms must be serviced.

Your single experience is not going to paint an accurate picture of the service that either resort wing offers. We have had about a dozen DVC resort stays and never had to wait until near 4pm to get into our room. The latest was around 1:30pm while the earliest was 8:30am.

[CarolA]

By the way, when we arrived at the Boardwalk Villas to checkin it was actually 11 am - we had just come from some retail therapy at DTD. We were told our room would be ready any time and given a telephone number to call.

After our 4th call and the same operator twice, she asked us....."what were you told when you checked in?' When we expalined "any time"....she then told us....."Vacation Club rooms are rarely available until 4. They should have told you to not even CHECK until after 3 in the afternoon".

Our DVC friends at AKV (one of 3 home resorts for them) checked in the following day and were not given their room number until 5:50 pm (we checked our watches when our cell phone rang). (and they were to join us at 6:35 for dinner reservations at LTT during the Christmas Party).

That just doesn't work for us.


I am fine with this, BUT you seem to think that Marriott doesn't have any of these issues. I had all of the same issues at a Marriott resort. Well actually MORE .... They never volunteered to call me to tell me the villa was ready.... because they were CLOSING the front desk. (I still find that bizarre and I complained to Marriott about that too. As a single female traveler I don't stay at "bare bones" hotel with no staff on duty at night for SAFETY reasons. For what Marriott charges and thier reputation it never occured to me to check on this!!!)

[Deb & Bill]

...The fact that you did receive a BWI room at 10:30am is either an indication that the resort was operating at less than 100% occupancy (rooms were already clean from the night before) or it was just the luck of the draw (the previous occupant of your room had an early flight and housekeeping was able to get in early.) ...

Plus in the DVC villas, you have studios, one bedroom, two bedroom and grand villas. Some preferred pool/water view, some preferred BW view and some standard view.

At BWI, how many room categories are there - maybe two or three?

So the odds of the room type and location you needed being ready earlier was much greater at BWI than at BWV

[ORD2KOA]

I just got back from OKW and blasted an e-mail to DVC the minute we got home, telling them that if we had been prospective buyers instead of long-time owners, that there was no way in the world that I would buy into DVC. I couldn't believe the room. The first one had towels on the floor (this was 5 pm) and an unmade bed and mold along the shower that was sickening. The housekeepers couldn't understand what our problem with the room was. GRRRR. OKW was fully booked (we checked in Sunday), but I did get the manager to move us out of the horrible room, but the second room wasn't much better. Mold in the bathroom, mis-matched knobs in the kitchen. This was NOT what we bought into. I really can't believe what a mess the place was. They power-washed the building on Tuesday morning, Wednesday morning there were still puddles on the landings and mud on the sidewalks. I'll be interested to see what kind of response I get from them. I'm still shaking my head wondering what the heck is going on there. They need to stop building and start cleaning the units.

[fishermouse]

We always stay at a Moderate on arrival day and switch to a Deluxe the following day.

Checkin at 4pm is completely unacceptable for us. I'm not spending "deluxe $$$ --- even at castmember discounts" for a late checkin day.

When we finally (happily) checked into BWI --- we were given one of the best rooms we have EVER had at WDW.......before 10 am.....now THAT's service!

Oh well....that just means it's one more 1 bedroom villa for you folks!!!

Enjoy!
Thanks, we can use the extra room, it will be taken by a very happy DVC member. By the way if you take time to read the contract the check in time is not 10am. I've had it both ways sometimes I get a room as soon as I arive and sometimes I wait. This is WDW not like there is nothing to do while you wait. We generally go to a park or pool maybe go grocery shopping, MS will put your bags etc. in your room when it's ready so why hang out in a lobby. You can come back at midnight all your belongings will be in the room waiting for you, it's vacation so I figure lets get on with it, we can unpack later.

[eyeheartgoofy]

Yeah. I would have to say that our experience with VWL is on par with what the OP reports. My parents have stayed in "regular" rooms at the lodge while we stayed DVC ... their rooms were much cleaner and better maintained (not to mention the new TV's at the lodge).

We put up with it because of the price. I'm not a cast member and we travel in peak seasons that are usually blacked out for discounts. Owning my small DVC contract allowes me to stay on site and the nicer properties (even if our room isn't the nicest, the resort location and amenities are nice ... location, location, location).

We are staying at BWV for spring break. We transferred points into our account from another member for the purpose ... 6 nights is going to cost us $1400 in a garden/water view studio. A standard room at BWI for the same 6 nights would cost us $3206. A room at All Star Movies would be $1017 (and that doesn't even include a mini fridge!) and Coronado Springs would be $1513.

[jade1]

First....why on earth do you wait until 4 pm to checkin?

We were not allowed into our room until 4:35 ( checked the watch ) and friends didn't get into Animal Kingdom Villas until 6 pm

Finally.....wow is it outdated.

Oh yes, what's with the double points for weekends?

If you are looking for a GREAT room......just walk over to the Boardwalk Inn and sink into some REAL luxury!!! !!

Why wait until 4PM is right (or 6PM for AKV), we check in and walk 10 minutes to EPCOT-one of the main reasons we are there. The room will be there when we get back.

It will be refurbed and back to BWI quality. Some of us want that sooner-since we dont pay the dues. :rolleyes: There were threads on here all summer how bad BWI was-before it was done.

Actually it's half the points during week nights, not double weekends. ;)

[jade1]

Check this out from just 5 months ago.

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1898854

[Mouseaholic!!!]

Plus in the DVC villas, you have studios, one bedroom, two bedroom and grand villas. Some preferred pool/water view, some preferred BW view and some standard view.

At BWI, how many room categories are there - maybe two or three?

So the odds of the room type and location you needed being ready earlier was much greater at BWI than at BWV



WHO CARES - we have one of the best rooms at WDW in our opinion and we didn't have to wait until after 4 pm for it.

By the way, our DVC friends who checked into AKL left WDW for the weekend (because of the double points I guess) and returned late on Monday. Why?......."we never get into rooms before 4 pm so why arrive early".

Beat a dead horse you say....yes, sometimes you guys do that.

Yes, DVC is not for everybody. We were willing to give it a try with a wide open mind. The idea of a 1 bedroom villa was very appealing and we had looked forward to the experiment for months.

Read into it what you want guys....but the room and poor service while at the Villas was not worth the CASTMEMBER rate much less the cash rate. That was the bottom line for us.

We had a wonderful time at WDW as we always do. But the room was a disappointment, hands down.

[eliza61]

Why wait until 4PM is right (or 6PM for AKV), we check in and walk 10 minutes to EPCOT-one of the main reasons we are there. The room will be there when we get back.It will be refurbed and back to BWI quality. Some of us want that sooner-since we dont pay the dues. :rolleyes: There were threads on here all summer how bad BWI was-before it was done.
)


That's the only part of op's post I didn't understand. :confused3 No one I know waits around. Op did you guys want to get into the room immediatley or did you wait around the resort for a room. Most people I know, no matter where they stay, check in- have their luggage stowed, get their tickets and then away they go.

[crisi]

WHO CARES - we have one of the best rooms at WDW in our opinion and we didn't have to wait until after 4 pm for it.

By the way, our DVC friends who checked into AKL left WDW for the weekend (because of the double points I guess) and returned late on Monday. Why?......."we never get into rooms before 4 pm so why arrive early".

Beat a dead horse you say....yes, sometimes you guys do that.

Yes, DVC is not for everybody. We were willing to give it a try with a wide open mind. The idea of a 1 bedroom villa was very appealing and we had looked forward to the experiment for months.

Read into it what you want guys....but the room and poor service while at the Villas was not worth the CASTMEMBER rate much less the cash rate. That was the bottom line for us.

We had a wonderful time at WDW as we always do. But the room was a disappointment, hands down.

I'm really glad you found that out before you purchased. Now you know.

You seem to get that DVC isn't for everyone - and almost everyone on this board will agree with you. What you are not getting is that DVC IS a good solution for some people. Its one of the very few ways to stay on site affordably in a multi room unit (the other is the cabins at Ft. Wilderness). Its the only way to get a room walking distance from Epcot for what works out to be less than $100 a night. When we have room condition discussions there are people who have always been delighted with the condition of their rooms - either they've had better luck than I have or are less picky (I've never had an unacceptable room, but delighted would be pushing it). When you consider that many of the BWV owners bought in for around $60 a point - its is a good value - if you are willing to go timeshare instead of hotel - which means later check in times, rooms refreshed less often, no daily housekeeping, and no late checkout.

[LSchrow]

just to note:
while CM rates are nice, they are not available for all dates at all resorts.

with CM discount (yes, there is one), buying DVC was a HUGE cost savings for accomodations (just look at how many CMs own ~ the vast majority "did the math" :) . & there is still a recognizable savings without the additional CM discount.

as many said, DVC is not for everyone. we're thrilled with ours (tho occassionally "step down" into concierge at a deluxe resort for a day or 2, just for a change of pace ~ the BWVs are still the top resort for the more than 20 ppl in our family :thumbsup2 off-site is not even a consideration. our time & money are too precious to waste).

different strokes.:santa:

[ORD2KOA]

... their rooms were much cleaner and better maintained (not to mention the new TV's at the lodge).

We put up with it because of the price. .

I find this to be a problem.

The unit we were in at OKW was not up to par, and it makes me wonder if DVC members aren't complaining because they think they're getting a deal. We've owned for 14 years. We think we get value from ownership, but there isn't any excuse for the rooms not to be clean, and in the instance of the two we saw at OKW this week, they really are unacceptable.

I think members need to speak up. You paid to build, you pay property tax and you pay upkeep costs. DVC needs to take care of the property.

No DVC member should accept less than a first-class experience when we're at our "home away from home." That's what we bought. We didn't buy "oh, it's good enough because we got a deal" accommodations, and neither do the people who book into those units directly from Disney.

[rsackett]

I am going to BWV for the first and most likley the last time (II trade) the end of June.:cool1: We are so looking forward to it. This is the first I have heard about a referb going on in 2009. Do you owners thing it will be done by the end of June?

Ray

[dis-happy]

We've done more than a dozen dvc trips and have never NOT gotten our room early. We always check in during the morning, sometimes have been given the room right away, other times we leave, call, and get in by 2 pm. Most of the regular dvc-ers will tell you that they've gotten a room before 4 pm at least a few times. I think it's odd that your friends said they NEVER get in before 4 pm.

Finally, DVC is a boon to people who travel as a family with children, especially more than 2. I can see how a 1 b/r villa might seem ho-hum to a couple who is on the meal plan, but with children (including a new toddler) it is a must for us. It's the reason we bought, all the room of a time-share (kitchen, large bathroom area and washier/dryer) but within walking distance to the parks. In the future, if you travel with children, you may change your thoughts on how much nicer it is to close the door in a 1 b/r versus 5 people all trying to sleep together in a BWI room (plus, the new AKV and BLT rooms will have 2 baths in the 1 b/r).

One added note: what you said about on-site vs. off-site is true for all Disney properties, not just DVC. You can stay at the Ritz-Carlton and many other nice area hotels for less than a Deluxe room and get better accomodations and better service. It all comes down to location.

[Muushka]

And I thought it was going to be a complaint about the loooooong hallways!;)

[bevis]

WOW. How cheap are these Castmember Rates!!!

[disneynutz]

We've done more than a dozen dvc trips and have never NOT gotten our room early. We always check in during the morning, sometimes have been given the room right away, other times we leave, call, and get in by 2 pm. Most of the regular dvc-ers will tell you that they've gotten a room before 4 pm at least a few times. I think it's odd that your friends said they NEVER get in before 4 pm.


More often than not we don't get our room until 4:00 PM or later. Maybe it's the room size, resort, or time of year. Last month we had a 2 bedroom at BWV, we new that it was on the 5th floor due to a comment made at the Front Desk when I checked in at 8:00 AM. Our room was the last to be cleaned on the 5th floor and several Mousekeepers were working on it so they could go home. We were in the room at 4:45.

Our record was at SSR last year, 6:15 PM for a 1 bedroom. We were told that the delay was caused due to a Manager requesting a VIP cleaning. Due to the late check in we were made the "Family Of The Day". We got a certificate, some balloons, and badges to wear. :banana:

[np4gp]

I have only stayed on our points twice since closing in October but we checked in at 12ish at SSR for a one night stay for MNSSHP and then we checked in at 9AM 2 weeks ago at SSR for a 5 night stay. I was shocked, but very very pleased.

[Missy Bruin]

Hey everyone,
My family and i were came down to the world and stayed at boardwalk in june at the beginning July and had a horrible time and will never go back again.

Well we i had the earl flight out of providence at 6 am i know i was not going to check in until 4pm.Here was dvc's first mistake when we called to make the reservation eleven months ago for a two bedroom i was suppose to get a boardwalk view well when i got there in the morning i was told there were no more boardwalk views available.Totally not acceptable.So instead my family which is a party of eight a two bedroom was given a pool view to me i consider that the back of the house.I would rather of had a view of the swan and listen to the boats go by then listen to kids screaming by a pool all day and night.

So as the trip went on i would say about the second day we came back from one of the parks and we were getting ready to go to the pool well i went to use the bathroom and the toilet started overflowing water was coming every where.Well maintenance was great came right down and fixed the problem.Well the very same same day we all came back started taken showers and getting ready for are dinner ressies and i started to blow dry my hair and i noticed that the blow dryer was making stranger noises all of a sudden the blow dryer was on fire.I unplugged the blow dryer threw it into the sink and then the flames were gone i called once again down to the front desk and the ask me if i need fire and rescue we said no everyone was fine the sent maintenance down for a second time that day to replace the blow dryer.My thoughts about the boardwalk LOCATION ,LOCATION,LOCATION that's about all it's good for.

I did put in a complaint with dvc and they apologize for what happen.They noticed i had a reservation for the food and wine festival this past october we had a blast.Well they promise us some first class VIP TREATMENT we are still waiting for it.By the way we stayed at saratoga springs our home resort.
I JUST LOVE IT THERE.

Talk to you all soon
MISSY AND FAMILY

[vicki_c]

Well, we thought our Food & Wine stay at BWV (1 BR) was wonderful last month! No complaints at all!

Booked on short notice and got the room through a waitlist (our home is SSR), room was clean, comfortable, location was of course, great -- we have no complaints. I didn't even notice the size of the TV -- we did watch it, but I'm not really focused on my TV when I'm at Disney. :goodvibes Oh, and our room was ready when we arrive around 11 AM. We've had 3 DVC resort stays this year and our room was ready at every location when we arrived, which was much much earlier than the 4 PM check in time (SSR - 7 AM, VWL - 1 PM, BWV - 11 AM). I don't ever expect it to be ready before 4 PM, because that's the published policy, but my experience so far has been excellent.

Overall it was a great trip -- just like every Disney trip!

[Dean]

Hello All -

I'm posting here because I'm surprised with the Boardwalk Villas.

DH and I decided to stay for half of our vacation at the Villas at Boardwalk and the second half at Boardwalk Inn. We own a Marriot timeshare and thought we were curious.

First....why on earth do you wait until 4 pm to checkin? I have never waited that long for a Marriott property - even during Christmas! We were not allowed into our room until 4:35 ( checked the watch ) and friends didn't get into Animal Kingdom Villas until 6 pm......the night of the Christmas Party.

Yes, I know it's staffing....we spoke with Management. So hire more mousekeepers.

We were just surprised so many of you think that's OK! It isn't anywhere else we have stayed on points.


Second, we were surprised how small the 1 bedroom villa is compared to others in the WDW area. Jacuzzi was nice...king bed was nice....but overall they were much smaller the comparable villa's outside WDW.


Finally.....wow is it outdated. We called our little electric stove .... "the little stove that could". Not all the burners worked and it was rusty.....very sad little thing!

The televisions are old....please......a cash paying guest could pay up to $649 p.night according to the notice on the door.....and you have an old 13" television in the bedroom!!!!

Scuffs and holes in the walls....leaky shower head that was not fixied in spite of 2 calls to maintenance. Mousekeepers that can't manage to find their way to our villa until after 3 pm each day.

I hope these are schedled to be updated very soon. We pay castmember rates but I know the going rate for DVC points and this simply isn't worth it.


Next....we moved to the Boardwalk Inn and we were so glad we ended our stay there. The rooms are freshly updated......flat screen televisions, new furniture, new drapes, carpet, wallpaper and the new Disney bedding is SCRUMPTIOUS after a long day in the parks.

Our room at Boardwalk Inn was always cleaned right after we left in the morning - windows were not smudged - everythng spotless.

What a comparison.


What I don't understand is.......why do DVC members allow their invenstment to become so tired....and.....Why on earth do you put up with hidious room availability at 4 pm on arrival day. When I have arrived at a Marriott property, even if my assigned room is unavailable, they simply switch me to something that is ready. Honestly, the latest we have gotten into a room is before noon. I don't understand why you guys put up with this.

Oh yes, what's with the double points for weekends? I have never heard of this before either!!!

We gave DVC a try....just seems way too much $$$ and trouble to spend for a week (when you add the weekend points). Marriott is so much easier to manage and rooms offer far more luxury.

If you are looking for a GREAT room......just walk over to the Boardwalk Inn and sink into some REAL luxury!!! We will keep our castmember rates and stay there!!Some of your criticims are appropriate, others show a lack of understanding. I am wondering the breadth of your previous experiences but I'm guessing you have no more than 5 or 6 Marriott stays under your belt. The rooms are smaller but not tiny, much like the Marriott's in more in demand places like HI and Aruba or even the new lakeshore reserve in Orlando will not be that much larger. Certainly BWV is due for an update with flatscreen TV's and nicer appliances. Check in at all of the Marriott's I know of are 4 as well and it's not been uncommon to be 4 or after in my 10 years of experience. IMO, Marriott does generally handle it better than DVC but the difference is not as great as you suggest. IMO, anything after 4 PM should be the exception so it is NOT ok with me for DVC to take liberties beyond 4 pm.

As for weekend vs weekday point, you obviously have not experience with timeshare points systems, only Marriott reward points. This suggests you likely bought retail and believed the party line from Marriott in that area. Marriott rewards points are worth AT MOST 1 cent a point. You can generate a better value on paper by using them for places like Paris, London, Rome and Sydney. Or you could have traded a Marriott studio or 1 BR in to DVC through II for a much smaller cost overall.

I love Marriott and I love DVC and they both have their good and bad points. Once you have more experience and a better diversity using your Marriott ownership you will be a little more forgiving of a single bad stay. I own both and have for many years and use each of them for their benefits and avoid each in their areas of weekness whenever possible.

[jpeka65844]

Hello All -



The televisions are old....please......a cash paying guest could pay up to $649 p.night according to the notice on the door.....and you have an old 13" television in the bedroom!!!!




Here's the kicker. I was a cash paying guest at BWI over the weekend and paying $550 for a deluxe room and yes, those have a flat screen but no DVD player! The concierge CM told me the suites are the only ones that have that. For a stay with DS 3, I'd rather have the "19 and a DVD player than a flat screen and none. I'm still not even sure why they did flat screens b/c Disney gets no HD channels.

[CarolAnnC]

I notice the OP did purchase a Marriott timeshare rather than DVC, and being a castmember that is an interesting choice. I know castmembers do receive a nice discount, or at least they used to, on DVC purchases.

I don't believe trading it into DVC will be a choice for them anyway, now that they are switching to RCI for a partnership in 2009.

I would, like others, suggest that to judge the whole DVC group of properties and villas based on this one stay would not be prudent. As we can see from others' experiences here, they vary widely for Marriott as well as Disney.

Lastly, I would like to remind everyone to please remain civil in this conversation, and do not berate nor argue with others who may not share your opinion. After all, we are a discussion board and do welcome various opinions on any given topic. Thanks all!

[marshmallow]

Hello All -

I hope these are schedled to be updated very soon. We pay castmember rates but I know the going rate for DVC points and this simply isn't worth it.
............

If you are looking for a GREAT room......just walk over to the Boardwalk Inn and sink into some REAL luxury!!! We will keep our castmember rates and stay there!!

I work for another timeshare company and my husband works at Disneyland so we purchased DVC at cast member prices.... incredible deal. Our first visit to a DVC resort will be in Jan at SSR.

The resorts in my company pay attention to the source of a reservations. Priority is given in room assignments to Owners and Exchanges(they want those high ratings) Employee rentals get the worst rooms. That may have happened here.

However the owners do have the responsibility to make sure the board of their resort is spending the assessment fees to properly maintain and refurbish the property.

[Sammie]

I do have to agree that Disney does a much better job of rehabbing and maintenance to thier Resorts than DVC does and that is a shame.

[Tinkerbellcrafter]

We have never done a marriot timeshare but I do know that whether you are paying cash or using points you can still wait for a room until after 4pm depending on the season. We were actually plesantly surprised from our trip this past week....we checked in at 11am and our room was ready at SSR. Gorgeous room, 4th floor, DTD Disney view. It couldn't get any better! In fact, with all of our DVC stays, we have never had to wait past 2 for a room and we do not wait at the hotel...we go our merry way and call to see if it is ready.

I think you should give DVC another chance. It is the best value, in my book because there is no way I would pay $300/night for a room. I top out at $200 even in NYC. Of course Passholder rates are great at $169/night for DVC resorts!

[Mouseaholic!!!]

Some of your criticims are appropriate, others show a lack of understanding. I am wondering the breadth of your previous experiences but I'm guessing you have no more than 5 or 6 Marriott stays under your belt. The rooms are smaller but not tiny, much like the Marriott's in more in demand places like HI and Aruba or even the new lakeshore reserve in Orlando will not be that much larger. Certainly BWV is due for an update with flatscreen TV's and nicer appliances. Check in at all of the Marriott's I know of are 4 as well and it's not been uncommon to be 4 or after in my 10 years of experience. IMO, Marriott does generally handle it better than DVC but the difference is not as great as you suggest. IMO, anything after 4 PM should be the exception so it is NOT ok with me for DVC to take liberties beyond 4 pm.

As for weekend vs weekday point, you obviously have not experience with timeshare points systems, only Marriott reward points. This suggests you likely bought retail and believed the party line from Marriott in that area. Marriott rewards points are worth AT MOST 1 cent a point. You can generate a better value on paper by using them for places like Paris, London, Rome and Sydney. Or you could have traded a Marriott studio or 1 BR in to DVC through II for a much smaller cost overall.

I love Marriott and I love DVC and they both have their good and bad points. Once you have more experience and a better diversity using your Marriott ownership you will be a little more forgiving of a single bad stay. I own both and have for many years and use each of them for their benefits and avoid each in their areas of weekness whenever possible.



Sorry ..... but I'm out of town 2 weeks out of four each month (though that level of travel IS getting old). I travel for work, with my husband AND another friend who ALSO has Marriott points (and a disgruntled DVC member who did not get into his room until later than WE did).

I cannot remember getting into a room in the last 2 years any later than maybe 2 pm....EVER.


The bottom line is Disney could do better they just choose to NOT do better - payroll the largest controlable expense in a hospitality budget by the way. I suspect if you DVC folks started to push the point.....you would not have to wait until 5 o'clock to check in.

[Mouseaholic!!!]

I work for another timeshare company and my husband works at Disneyland so we purchased DVC at cast member prices.... incredible deal. Our first visit to a DVC resort will be in Jan at SSR.

The resorts in my company pay attention to the source of a reservations. Priority is given in room assignments to Owners and Exchanges(they want those high ratings) Employee rentals get the worst rooms. That may have happened here.

However the owners do have the responsibility to make sure the board of their resort is spending the assessment fees to properly maintain and refurbish the property.


Employees get the WORST rooms in DVC....yet another reason to skip it.

I cannot remember getting a bad room at WDW or DL.....I guess we have been lucky or maybe we just bring more Pixie Dust with use when we travel at WDW. Our BWI room two weeks ago was one of the best we have had at WDW.

Oh by the way.....we LOVED the location of our room at BWV. They had given us the location of our room and we actually found it HOURS before it was ready.....there was not a mousekeeper ANYWHERE on the entire floor.....we know....we checked.

[tjkraz]

Sorry ..... but I'm out of town 2 weeks out of four each month (though that level of travel IS getting old). I travel for work, with my husband AND another friend who ALSO has Marriott points (and a disgruntled DVC member who did not get into his room until later than WE did).

I cannot remember getting into a room in the last 2 years any later than maybe 2 pm....EVER.

Seems to be an interesting failure to communicate developing here...

In this one thread you've got posts from multiple Marriott owners who have not received their room until much later than 2pm. At the same time there are also many DVC owners who got into their room much earlier than 5pm (I have personally never had to wait any later than 1:30pm to get into a DVC room, but I'm sure others have.)

Continuing to make broad assumptions based upon your ONE DVC experience simply is not productive.

The bottom line is Disney could do better they just choose to NOT do better - payroll the largest controlable expense in a hospitality budget by the way. I suspect if you DVC folks started to push the point.....you would not have to wait until 5 o'clock to check in.

In your own post you claimed that there were 50 housekeeping CMs on duty to clean 200 rooms. That's an average of 4 rooms per CM. I see absolutely nothing wrong with that. You can't expect Disney to hire 200 people to each work one hour per day. :headache:

[Mouseaholic!!!]

Seems to be an interesting failure to communicate developing here...

In this one thread you've got posts from multiple Marriott owners who have not received their room until much later than 2pm. At the same time there are also many DVC owners who got into their room much earlier than 5pm (I have personally never had to wait any later than 1:30pm to get into a DVC room, but I'm sure others have.)

Continuing to make broad assumptions based upon your ONE DVC experience simply is not productive.



In your own post you claimed that there were 50 housekeeping CMs on duty to clean 200 rooms. That's an average of 4 rooms per CM. I see absolutely nothing wrong with that. You can't expect Disney to hire 200 people to each work one hour per day. :headache:



I expect Disney to hire adequate mousekeepers to care for their guests. One day our mousekeeper came to our room at 4 pm to clean the room....unacceptable.

Oh by the way, I have a handful of DVC friends....one in particular is a DVC-aholic owning at.......Vero Beach, AKV, BWV, WLV, will buy at Grand Cali in California......he is at WDW at least once each month for a Jiko dining event.....and he said he never gets into his accommodations until late in the afternoon.

I don't consider that one event exclusively.....he was the the DVC guest who was meeting us for the Christmas Party and got his AKV room after closer to 6 pm. THAT is unacceptable.

[tjkraz]

I expect Disney to hire adequate mousekeepers to care for their guests. One day our mousekeeper came to our room at 4 pm to clean the room....unacceptable.

Is there a published standard for the appropriate time for room cleanings? :confused3

Oh by the way, I have a handful of DVC friends....one in particular is a DVC-aholic owning at.......Vero Beach, AKV, BWV, WLV, will buy at Grand Cali in California......he is at WDW at least once each month for a Jiko dining event.....and he said he never gets into his accommodations until late in the afternoon.

With a published check-in time of "after 4pm", that seems perfectly reasonable to me. Certainly 5pm and later IS unacceptable and I suspect those occurrences are quite rare in the grand scheme of things.

I don't consider that one event exclusively.....he was the the DVC guest who was meeting us for the Christmas Party and got his AKV room after closer to 6 pm. THAT is unacceptable.

I agree...that incident IS unacceptable. But let's not act as if that's the norm for DVC because it is not.

[Dean]

Sorry ..... but I'm out of town 2 weeks out of four each month (though that level of travel IS getting old). I travel for work, with my husband AND another friend who ALSO has Marriott points (and a disgruntled DVC member who did not get into his room until later than WE did).

I cannot remember getting into a room in the last 2 years any later than maybe 2 pm....EVER.


The bottom line is Disney could do better they just choose to NOT do better - payroll the largest controlable expense in a hospitality budget by the way. I suspect if you DVC folks started to push the point.....you would not have to wait until 5 o'clock to check in.So you don't even own a timeshare? have you ever stayed at one before? As I noted, I agree they could and SHOULD do better, however timeshares are much different than hotels and one cannot extrapolate well from one to another. Also, if you travel that much you're likely in the highest category for your rewards such as Platinum elite with Marriott and as such you are usually given preferential treatment and as such your experience is skewed. I have traveled extensively with Marriott Timeshares and it's unusual that the rooms will be ready before around 3:30-4 pm. Keep in mind it takes a lot longer to clean a timeshare room than a hotel and due to the kitchen and whirlpool, it's a lot more than just sq footage. I do agree with you that it should always be by around 4 but to expect it prior is unreasonable. I own 4 different Marriott's and have a lot of info in this area from HH Marriott's as I have a friend who is a resort manager with Marriott and was Manager at Marriott's Grande Ocean for a few years. Marriott on HH has had trouble getting people to work for what they are able to pay so they're brought in crews from the islands for busier times.

It sounds like timeshare are not your thing so you should likel avoid them as they have inherent compromises and it doesn't sound like you think the inherent benefits are worth it.

[CarolA]

Here's the kicker. I was a cash paying guest at BWI over the weekend and paying $550 for a deluxe room and yes, those have a flat screen but no DVD player! The concierge CM told me the suites are the only ones that have that. For a stay with DS 3, I'd rather have the "19 and a DVD player than a flat screen and none. I'm still not even sure why they did flat screens b/c Disney gets no HD channels.

OMG... I cannot imagine paying that for ANY Disney room:rotfl2:

I just checked... The Ritz Carlton Club Level room for next Sat night is $349 And Disney wants $510 for a room that's not as nice. That's almost $200 for LOCATION??? Actually it's more then $200 for location. You are losing a star or two (depending on rater) in the rankings.... WOW! Got to hand it to Disney for getting that. The Ritz basic room is $249! I am just amazed at what Disney pricing is doing. Welcome to the REAL Fantasyland!

[Brian Noble]

When I book a unit---as a conventional rental, an internal timeshare booking, or an exchange---I'm told when check-in time is. Generally, the room is ready by then, or soon after. I don't expect it to be ready earlier. If it is, it is strictly a bonus. As noted, timeshare resorts are less likely to have their units ready early, for a variety of reasons---higher overall occupancy rate, a few "common" turn days, etc.

Dean makes a good point. Timeshares aren't hotels. They operate fundamentally differently. DVC timeshare units are more "hotel-like" than most, for a variety of reasons, and that can be good or bad, depending on your perspective. But, still, they are not the same as hotels.

Some people are hotel people. Others are timeshare people. Furthermore, some find DVC units wonderful, others perfer more traditional timeshare units and resorts. That's why Baskin Robins has 31 flavors.

Got to hand it to Disney for getting that.
Never underestimate the marketing prowess of the Mouse. Mickey isn't selling you a hotel room---ever. He's selling you a "vacation experience"---the whole thing. Here's an analogy: the European tour. You can book "a tour" from a tour operator, that bundles lodging, transportation, guided tours, and even some meals. Or, you can put those things together yourself. The latter is almost always less expensive, all things being equal, but the former provides a single sales point and a seamless experience, without ever having to learn even a few words of the local language.

Again, different people find value in different places, 31 flavors, blah blah blah.

[Dean]

OMG... I cannot imagine paying that for ANY Disney room:rotfl2:

I just checked... The Ritz Carlton Club Level room for next Sat night is $349 And Disney wants $510 for a room that's not as nice. That's almost $200 for LOCATION??? Actually it's more then $200 for location. You are losing a star or two (depending on rater) in the rankings.... WOW! Got to hand it to Disney for getting that. The Ritz basic room is $249! I am just amazed at what Disney pricing is doing. Welcome to the REAL Fantasyland!
You could say that about every Disney room on property whether timeshare or otherwise. Location is everything to some. I stayed off property for a week in Oct in a 2 BR for the Hilton which is better than DVC in many ways and my total cost was about $300. There are at least 7 or 8 timeshares in the Orlando area that are better resorts in many ways than are the DVC resorts, some more clearly than others. DVC's big draw is location and the one thing Disney does better than any other is the theming of the resorts.

Many timeshares hav gone to check out of 10 instead of 11 exactly for this issue. Most allow not or limited late checkouts. The Hilton I mentioned above allowed only a certain # of units per building to check out an hour later (12 instead of 11). Come to think of it we were actually after 4 getting in to our unit at Hilton and even then had to ask and get assigned a different unit than we were originally assinged to. They were trying to fulfill our location request and that unit was not ready. Getting in to the unit was far more important to us so we asked nicely if there was another unit since we had our 6 w/o grandson with us. They were very helpful in doing so. And it does illustrate one issue that also doesn't apply to hotels normally, that is one the unit is assigned you're pretty much at the mercy of when the people in that unit check out and when the housekeeper can get to that unit. Considering it does take a lot longer to clean a timeshare, if this is the 3rd or 4th on their list, it could take a while.

As I mentioned, Marriott does better in this area overall than DVC, of this there can be no doubt. One thing Marriott's do as a rule is if you are changing units, even other Marriott resorts in the same area, they will allow you to stay in one unit until the other is ready.

[MinnieVanMom]

So the OP doesn't like the DVC and owns at Marriot. The answer is simple, they can keep going to the Marriot, Ritz or anywhere else they want. No one has to stay at the DVC. If you don't like the DVC don't stay there. Easy and simple.

That is why there are choices for everyone.

[Dean]

So the OP doesn't like the DVC and owns at Marriot. The answer is simple, they can keep going to the Marriot, Ritz or anywhere else they want. No one has to stay at the DVC. If you don't like the DVC don't stay there. Easy and simple.

That is why there are choices for everyone.I'm not even sure they own timeshares or have timeshare experience. The central criticism is still valid, don't lose site of that fact, it's the additional info that removes credibility.

[jade1]

Am I the only one who hasn't tried all the burners on the stove? :confused3 Will make it a to do for next visit. Will let maintenance know the results.

[anonymousegirl]

Why is this thread still running? OP, obviously DVC isn't for you. Stop trying to bad-mouth it and MOVE ON. Your posts are becoming very troll-like.

You have stated what is UNACCEPTABLE to you. Fine. We get it. But we like DVC. You are not going to change that with your stories of other timeshares and how much "better" they are.

Is DVC perfect? No, of course not. Was your experience perfect? Apparently not. Point made. DVC isn't for you.

Goodbye.

[aurorafan]

Dean makes a good point. Timeshares aren't hotels. They operate fundamentally differently. DVC timeshare units are more "hotel-like" than most, for a variety of reasons, and that can be good or bad, depending on your perspective. But, still, they are not the same as hotels.

Some people are hotel people. Others are timeshare people. Furthermore, some find DVC units wonderful, others perfer more traditional timeshare units and resorts. That's why Baskin Robins has 31 flavors.

This is the point I was going to make as well. I have next to no experience with timeshares, but I do know they are condos or are treated as condos, regardless of whether or not they are located in a hotel building (like DVC). I think one of the problems people have with DVC might be they are expecting (either conciously or unconciously) a hotel experience, just with a larger room size/nicer amenities (kitchen, whirlpool, etc.). I know from the condo my parents owned at a ski resort that they are not hotel rooms and walking into one is not the same as walking into a hotel room, nor is the overall experience the same (if that makes sense).

I agree that some of the problems mentioned (mold, things breaking etc.) need to be addressed at the time, but age issues--scuffs, worn carpet, etc. can and should be expected at the older resorts. Honestly one of the reasons we bought at AKV was the newness of the place ;). We visited the Beach Club and Boardwalk on our trip last week, and I'd love to stay at the Boardwalk after they refurbish it, but truthfully I'm not willing to risk disappointment until they do refurb it (bad as that may sound ;)).

[CarolA]

As to the OP>

Perhaps it's time to adopt the "Don't feed the troll" theory and quit responding.

We respond to him, but he has failed to respond to those of us who have had issues with Marriott.

So why bother? Is he really worth the effort?

[eliza61]

Am I the only one who hasn't tried all the burners on the stove? :confused3 Will make it a to do for next visit. Will let maintenance know the results.


:lmao: I tend to use the same 2 burners all the time. Its some type of defect I know. :lmao:
As to the OP>

Perhaps it's time to adopt the "Don't feed the troll" theory and quit responding.

We respond to him, but he has failed to respond to those of us who have had issues with Marriott.

So why bother? Is he really worth the effort?

As usual, you are soo right. ;)

[Dean]

As to the OP>

Perhaps it's time to adopt the "Don't feed the troll" theory and quit responding.

We respond to him, but he has failed to respond to those of us who have had issues with Marriott.

So why bother? Is he really worth the effort?I generally look at these type of issues the other way. I think it's good to get the issues out in the open and discuss them. There certainly are improvements DVC could, and I think should, make in the areas of unit assignments and unit preparedness and it's likely only going to come to light on threads where things are "beaten to death" if you will. Marriott and many other systems out perform DVC routinely in this area. Also, when there are unfair criticism, I think it's helpful both to the OP and the readers of a thread to define that as well.

[fishermouse]

I expect Disney to hire adequate mousekeepers to care for their guests. One day our mousekeeper came to our room at 4 pm to clean the room....unacceptable.

Oh by the way, I have a handful of DVC friends....one in particular is a DVC-aholic owning at.......Vero Beach, AKV, BWV, WLV, will buy at Grand Cali in California......he is at WDW at least once each month for a Jiko dining event.....and he said he never gets into his accommodations until late in the afternoon.

I don't consider that one event exclusively.....he was the the DVC guest who was meeting us for the Christmas Party and got his AKV room after closer to 6 pm. THAT is unacceptable.

Not to be argumentative but it's hard to believe your statement, which now puts your entire tirade in the dumpster. I go down 3-4 times a year sometimes I get a great view sometimes not sometimes we get in as early as 10am sometimes after 4pm. To say someone goes at least 12 times a year and never gets a room until late afternoon is IMO just trying to stir the pot. Unless of course he never arrives before late afternoon, which would make your argument mute. I have arrived at all times of day early morn afternoon and late night, and rarely have I had to waite what I would consider an unacceptable time , it has happened but not often. I will be at BWV in a few weeks so I'll let everyone know how things go. Since I am arriving late approx 9pm checkin time won't be relevent.

[fishermouse]

Am I the only one who hasn't tried all the burners on the stove? :confused3 Will make it a to do for next visit. Will let maintenance know the results.

They have a stove????? I just use the microwave toaster and coffee pot...

[DebbieB]

I do have to agree that Disney does a much better job of rehabbing and maintenance to thier Resorts than DVC does and that is a shame.

Keep in mind that rehabs at DVC resorts come from member dues. A portion of each year's dues go into a reserve fund. I definitely want my dues to pay for necessary repairs. But I can't see taking out perfectly good tv's and replacing them with flat screens just because they are the latest craze. They also are going to have to replace the cabinet, I don't think flat screens would fit in the current ones.

[littlestar]

Keep in mind that rehabs at DVC resorts come from member dues. A portion of each year's dues go into a reserve fund. I definitely want my dues to pay for necessary repairs. But I can't see taking out perfectly good tv's and replacing them with flat screens just because they are the latest craze. They also are going to have to replace the cabinet, I don't think flat screens would fit in the current ones.

Some of those old tv's at Old Key West from the early 90's are probably too heavy to lift. :rotfl:

[crisi]

Keep in mind that rehabs at DVC resorts come from member dues. A portion of each year's dues go into a reserve fund. I definitely want my dues to pay for necessary repairs. But I can't see taking out perfectly good tv's and replacing them with flat screens just because they are the latest craze. They also are going to have to replace the cabinet, I don't think flat screens would fit in the current ones.

That's sort of how I feel about improvements and DVC. I don't think DVC units are rehabbed to CRO standards - but I'm getting a relative bargain on an on-site room - and I'm not particularly interested in paying more dues so I can have a flat screen TV, or a room without scuff marks on the wall.

Rooms should be clean - there isn't an excuse for not clean. And at some point they do get "too worn" - but I don't expect - or want to pay for - a pristine room.

If that means I end up making a phone call to maintenance because a light bulb is burned out or the faucet drips - I can handle that.

[Pennyguy23]

I expect Disney to hire adequate mousekeepers to care for their guests. One day our mousekeeper came to our room at 4 pm to clean the room....unacceptable.

Oh by the way, I have a handful of DVC friends....one in particular is a DVC-aholic owning at.......Vero Beach, AKV, BWV, WLV, will buy at Grand Cali in California......he is at WDW at least once each month for a Jiko dining event.....and he said he never gets into his accommodations until late in the afternoon.

I don't consider that one event exclusively.....he was the the DVC guest who was meeting us for the Christmas Party and got his AKV room after closer to 6 pm. THAT is unacceptable.

Everything for you is unacceptable. You can't judge on one stay alone. Its just not fair. But Thats fine don't go back. Another room for us folks who love it. If it's so "unacceptable", just pay your CM discount room. We will save a great deal of money and enjoy ourselves doing it.

[keishashadow]

WHY??? Location, location, location!
it's the 'disney difference';)

they have the on-site lure, don't have to necessarily have all the bells & whistles, imo BWV is charming as is:confused3 (as long as they do basic maintenance/refurb & housekeeping is on the ball ill be happy)

im not paying DVC big bucks for the most deluxe accommodations, just the vibe & the percs..we've stayed in more cushy digs offsite, just not the same for us

[Sammie]

Keep in mind that rehabs at DVC resorts come from member dues. A portion of each year's dues go into a reserve fund. I definitely want my dues to pay for necessary repairs. But I can't see taking out perfectly good tv's and replacing them with flat screens just because they are the latest craze. They also are going to have to replace the cabinet, I don't think flat screens would fit in the current ones.

Believe me we pay enough in dues to keep the DVC resorts up to the standards that Disney resort does.

DVC simply wants to hold onto our money until the last possible moment before rehabbing. Personally I could care less about TV replacement. I want appliances that work, carpet that is not stained and thread bare, I want walls that are clean and not marked up excessively. I really think DVC can do a much better job in maintenance and housekeeping without raising dues.

[dis-happy]

Believe me we pay enough in dues to keep the DVC resorts up to the standards that Disney resort does.

DVC simply wants to hold onto our money until the last possible moment before rehabbing. Personally I could care less about TV replacement. I want appliances that work, carpet that is not stained and thread bare, I want walls that are clean and not marked up excessively. I really think DVC can do a much better job in maintenance and housekeeping without raising dues.

I think there is also an element of responsibility of the owners, not just to call in maintenance if something is broken but to take care of the rooms while staying in them. I'm a mom to four kids, but we keep the room neat and we all know not to make a huge mess in the bathroom, eat so that there aren't crumbs and stains left on the couch, etc. I've seen a couple of posts where members caught a glimpse at the condition of the room after someone checked out, and it was appalling. It surprises me that people will act like animals in a hotel room simply because someone else has to clean it up. I've stayed in other timeshare properties where people were warned up front that damage fees would be charged if the room is left in disrepair. Something like that for DVC might be a better way of distributing fees for the few who ruin it for the many.

Also, I doubt that the CRO resort properties are ever as busy as the DVC ones. Except for an occaisional weekend night, BCV tends to be booked solid and BWV/VWL aren't far behind.

[Deb & Bill]

I think there is also an element of responsibility of the owners, not just to call in maintenance if something is broken but to take care of the rooms while staying in them. I'm a mom to four kids, but we keep the room neat and we all know not to make a huge mess in the bathroom, eat so that there aren't crumbs and stains left on the couch, etc. I've seen a couple of posts where members caught a glimpse at the condition of the room after someone checked out, and it was appalling. It surprises me that people will act like animals in a hotel room simply because someone else has to clean it up. I've stayed in other timeshare properties where people were warned up front that damage fees would be charged if the room is left in disrepair. Something like that for DVC might be a better way of distributing fees for the few who ruin it for the many.

Also, I doubt that the CRO resort properties are ever as busy as the DVC ones. Except for an occaisional weekend night, BCV tends to be booked solid and BWV/VWL aren't far behind.

I agree with this. And if Disney ever started actually charging guests for the damage, maybe it would stop. When you see crayon markings on the furniture or walls, someone just wasn't watching a youngster.

[tjkraz]

I think Disney made some logistical mistakes with the earlier DVC resorts in terms of the design and materials used. The quality of materials used at OKW has always struck me as being a grade above at least BCV and BWV. But all three of those resorts have the disadvantage of light-colored furniture and fixtures.

I have personally seen the models for the Animal Kingdom Villas and the Grand Californian and I have to say that the darker room designs and heavier, more durable woods used for furniture and room finishes will hold up MUCH better in the long run. In terms of quality, they are closer to OKW than the other DVCs, and the darker finishes will absorb the impact of guest abuse much better than the lighter woods. BLT looks to be similar in quality, although I have not personally seen the models yet.

When you have walls, trimwork and furniture all finished in very light tones, every scuff, scrape and bump is going to show. Disney could paint a BWV room tomorrow but if the next guest scuffs the wall up while moving a suitcase, the room will give the appearance that it hasn't been serviced in months. Same thing for those light-finish laminates used on the armoires and other furniture. They aren't terribly resistant to scratches, and the scratches and scrapes are very evident when present.

I guess that's the price we pay for a seaside resort design like BCV and BWV. You can't really take a dark design like VWL or AKV and drop it into BWV.

Disney could do better with things like appliances (kitchen, washer/dryer) and hopefully those will come in time. We've already seen them upgrade things like mattresses, sofbeds and patio furniture when the time is right.

[las3888]

I kind of think the OP is a little ironic due to my own experience at a Marriott resort in Phoenix. We stayed on the cash side and had a WONDERFUL visit. it was gorgeous. We loved our room, the main resort, etc. The villas or timeshare portion of that resort though was located down a dusty road. You couldn't walk to the main building. When we drove around the villa area, we felt like we were visiting a trailer court. The building was new, but it just had this second-rate feel to it. It was a sad substitute for what we had just experienced.

While I don't doubt the BWI is beautiful, the BWV rates much much higher than the villa portion of the Marriot resort that we had visited.

However, I am HIGHLY annoyed with the 4pm check in and to me, I think 4pm is as EARLY as it can be. I expect 5pm actually. But the other DVC resorts to me don't have the poor check in time that BWV does. Regardless, we don't often arrive until AT LEAST 1pm into Orlando. It takes time to drive, get lunch, then check in. If our room isn't ready, we visit the grocery store (we need to go anyways) and we are usually checked in by the time we get back.

I wish we had the nice TV's, but in the end, I LOVE walking to EPCOT or HS and will watch what little TV I watch on vaca on a cheapo tv than deal with driving, and other transportation issues when visiting EPCOT or HS.

To each his own!