Maid Service?

[rfassett]

Just wondering if using the additional Maid Service in the DVC is something that people do. Just new to this and understand the 4th day rule and all that, but understand daily service is available for a fee ($30 per day for VWL for 1 BR). Same fee applies for every other day service. Is this something that I should consider? Is it something that other members spend the money for? Let me know your thoughts and experiences.

Thanks:) And Have a Great Weekend:cool:

[drusba]

Many consider it unnecessary and look at their DVC home as a true home away from home where you basically take care of your own needed housekeeping.

We don't think that way. We own at BWV and consider our stays a vacation in a hotel where we want all hotel services. Thus, we get daily maid service because we want the room to be clean, have new towels, have someone else do dishes, and beds made by the time we return in the evening. Current daily fee is $25/30/40/50 for studio/1BR/2BR/GV.

[MdmMim]

I don't mind making my bed and picking up a bit, and I actually like having a kitchen or kitchenette to putter in at times. I don't need the maid service, as the trash/towel and full-cleaning days are quite adequate for me. At WDW, there are many other ways to spend the $! :) JMHO

It's nice to have the housekeeping option. Also, I think if I had little kids with me, my answer might be different, as I'd have less time to tidy up, etc. :bounce:

[rbuzzotta]

We just returned and didn't use the maid service. I didn't really mind straighting up as much as I thought I would. I like things to be neat but didn't seem to mind a little clutter on my last trip!!

The washer and dryer do help so much!! I felt I took way to many clothes and we always wore the ones I threw in the washer and dryer the most. Next time I will pack half as much.

On trash and towel day at OKW we only got towels!! I was a little surprised that the maid didn't even remove the trash and only placed the new towels on the sofa. It wasn't too big of a deal just that the trash bins at the bottom of the stairs where full so we kept the trash in our unit until they emptied the bins outside. I hate the look of trash lying next to the trash barrels, which people were doing. On T & T day while we were at VWL the maid was wonderful. She wanted to clean the unit and straigten up for us too but I told her we wereleaving the next morning and to have a nice day and forget about our unit.

I also threw the towels in the laudry daily!!!

I guess it all depends on how clean you want to be and if you want to spend the extra money on the maid service. Either way...have a wonderful stay.

[Nanajo1]

We have never felt the need for daily maid service. We just quickly make the beds or not, hang up towels or throw a load in the washer if necessary, and straighten up as we go. We keep it very relaxed, tidy but not obsessive. I think that you can request the service after you get there if you find you really want it, but part of the beauty of DVC is being "home" and not at a hotel.

[PamOKW]

I think the thought of not having maid service is shocking at first. But, once you "live it" you don't really miss it. Maybe if you have small children along it might be necessary to have the maid service but I think most people make out fine. As Nanajo1 says, "make the bed or not", put the dishes in the dishwasher, towels/clothes in the w&d and you're set.

A studio is more like a hotel room so there is the problem of not having the w/d and dishwasher but even there it's not a big deal.

[Chuck S]

We never get extra maid or towel services. However, when we've invited guests and they have their own unit, they feel it is a little weird without daily service. We explain the rules and additional costs to them, some get services some do not. It is all personal preference. I'm sure a lot deopend on how many folks are in the room. It is usually just two of us in a studio or 3 in a 1 Brdm. If you have little kids, you may want to add a few housekeeping days.

[Granny]

We haven't made our first DVC trip yet but I'm sure we'll be fine with the standard trash & towels service.

The only thing we'll really miss is how great the maids were in the resorts with arranging stuffed animals, etc every day! My DW and I are planning on pulling a few surprise "staged scenes" for our kids so they won't have withdrawals from this. Honestly, it's one of the things they talk about a lot when they talk about staying on-site!

With the washer/dryer, I don't see maid service as a big issue.

Granny

[wdwnut]

hi: i agree with PamOKW. we've never used the maid service, but usually stay in a 1br. the washer and dryer get used about once a day, and i don't think we've ever used that vacuum decoration at all.

[DisneyMim]

We've never used the maid service at DVC resorts and don't miss it at all. I will say though that we spend some of our vacations during the year at non-DVC resorts at Disney and elsewhere, so we get our "maid service time" during these visits. We have found over the years that we all actually like not having daily maid service. We have long ago given up doing the parks commando style and never get up early in the morning. We LOVE lingering over breakfast and talking, something that unfortunately we have little time for at home. We don't have to think about a maid wanting to come in and clean. Hubby and I are both neat freaks anyway and don't mind doing our own. The washer and dryer are great, we always have clean towels. You really have to see what works for you. The nice thing is that you have the option of maid service when you want it.

[Peggy Sue]

We have done both. Our first DVC trip was in a 2 bedroom. We invited DH sister and BIL along. (4 of us) We decided to request the daily maid service, and after a few days we all agreed it was over kill and really not necessary. We had plenty of towels, and it was easy to toss in a load of towels every day. We just didn't mess up the unit enough to warrant a full cleaning every day.

When we travel by ourselves, we stay in a 1 bedroom and we don't set up extra housekeeping. When we bring guests along, we have housekeeping in every 3rd day, which seems to work just fine. We end up with lots of towels, don't have to worry about the trash, bathrooms are cleaned and beds changed/made...everyone seems to be happy with this arrangement.

It's just nice to have the option...

[DVCKid]

I thought it would bother me but I don't miss the maid service at all! I actually love the freedom of not having to worry about when they're going to be there to clean.

For some reason it makes me really nervous to watch someone else cleaning while I'm doing nothing. Maybe I'm strange, but I always feel pressured to leave the room by a certain time so the maid can do her job. This isn't usually a big deal when we're staying in a regular hotel room. But, we like to spend time in our 1BR "apartment" when we're at a DVC resort. It really is like being home--except smaller and much easier to keep tidy.

[dvcdudes]

We don't miss the maid service at all. My DW always straightens up and 1/2 makes the beds before we go out for the day even when we stayed in Disney's regular hotels. She does the same now at the DVC resort.

[eva]

We feel the same way that a lot of DVC members do. We have never paid for the extra maid service and don't miss it at all. I've always been an early riser so I do any dishes that were left from the day before and throw a load in the washer before the rest of my family gets up in the morning. We are not very messy so picking up as we go along is not a problem for us. When my husband gets up I make the bed while he is in the shower and then we are on our way for the day. We always get a 2-bedroom when our two teenage daughters are along with us and we give them the choice as to how neat they want to keep their room. I just close the door if they don't make their beds. I really enjoy keeping the room the way I like it and not having to worry about when to get out of the room so the maid can come in to clean. I have a tendency to be one of those people that tidies up the room before the maid comes in anyway.

[donald@home]

When we were in Hawaii we stayed at a condo that came with daily maid service. The entire morning was spent trying to be out of the room when the maid would be there. We would come back in the afternoon and sometimes the maid would not have been there yet and would show up while we were trying to nap or eat. It was then we realized how great it was NOT having daily maid service at WDW. We've never paid for maid service at DVC and probably won't in the future.

[rfassett]

:earsboy: Hey- thanks for all the Great posts. Isn't this a wonderful forum? I have decided that this is one issue and decision I will leave entirely upto my DW. If she wants to be pampered for the 10 days we are there in December, I will request the Maid service. My guess, however, since we are only three, and since we three are not at all messy, and none of us have a problem with picking up after ourselves or making the bed, she will probably want to spend the $ on other Magical stuff - like a new outfit, or something like that.

Hey - Thanks again! But this does not mean I want to end this thread. I rather enjoy reading other people's opinions and experiences. My DW says it is like learning from the those that have traveled before us so we do not have to make all of our own mistakes.

:) Again, thanks, and continue to have a Great Weekend.:smooth:

[PamOKW]

With a 10 day stay, you'll get a full cleaning on the fourth day that you may find is enough to keep you going. On the 8th day they'll come back and give you fresh towels and take the trash.

wdwnut -- I confess that we have used the vaccuum. :( But what is that mop and bucket about???:earseek: :earseek: (I really think some of those things are just there to make it easier for Housekeeping.)

[mistermouse]

When originally considereing DVC we were concerned about the lack of housekeeping services - but during our first trip we actually cancelled one of the two extra maid days we had arranged. We were in a 1BR and had no problem keeping the place "clean." It was actually nice not having to worry about maid service and daily schedules!
Kind of the same when we are at home - it's only when we are busy working endless hours that it seems difficult to keep up with housework - but not so at WDW.
A studio room might feel a bit different because of the smaller space; we would be more likely to arrange extra service while in a studio.
I guess the best advice is - if you want the maid service, wait and arrange for it when and if you need it; you may actually like not having the daily routine to deal with.

[baileybrad]

The daily maid service is something that you will really not miss. We have small children and it is has been a hassle many times working the maid visits around napping. Just when we would get it right we would have a different maid and she would not come in for early service even though we had worked it out with central housekeeping.

At the DVC resorts, we make our beds and pick up abit after ourselves...no big deal. For those that choose to pay extra, may god bless. We can find many more things to spend our cash on while on vacation. You will not miss the service. You will miss the cash if you choose that option. But that's what makes this a great country....choices. Have a great stay!

[mickey7861]

We also did not find a need for daily maid service. I've rented at other condos in NH with limited (very) maid service so it was really no big deal. We had a 1 bedroom so throwing the towels in the laundry was easy enough. Didn't touch the vaccuum but I did have to use the mop! On DD's birthday we had a party with some local relatives and DH spilled a 2 qt. pitcher of crystal light in the kitchen....the whole thing!!! Other than that I just threw a load of laundry in daily and started the dishwasher when we left for the parks each day. So nice to unpack clean clothes!

[rbuzzotta]

mickey7861, we didn't touch the vacuum decoration either!!! After all, it is vacation.........Didn't touch the stove decoratin either!!!

[jel0511]

We are taking our first trip home in a week, and I don't think we will miss the maid service. We've taken trips before when we've rented villas, that only include once a week maid service. We didn't mind picking up after ourselves, actually we liked it. It felt more like home and made us more comfortabale knowing someone wasn't always trying to get in!!!

[TampaDisneyFreaks]

When we went "home"to BWV last Aug/Sept for our first trip as DVC owners, we were a little nervous about the no maid service. We bought the extra trash and towel service for every other day (it was only $6 per day for that). We did so because we tend to grab food and bring it back to our room so we generate a lot of trash that way. We ended up with out neraly as much trash as we usually make, so it wasn't woth it in that respect. Also, they never took the dirty towels (we were in a studio) except for the regular 4th and 8th day service, and brought new towels each visit. By the end of our 9 day stay we had around 70 or 80 (not exaggerating either) fresh towels in our room. We even mentioned that we didn't need any more clean towels, but they kept accumulating. We figured why fight it, it could be worse and they forget to bring the towels when we need them or not take out the trash. We didn't miss the daily maid service and rather enjoyed not having the daily maid service. Our other DVC trips it didn't really matter as we were there only for about 3 nights at a stretch anyway. If it is still $6 per day for the extra trash and towel, we might use it once or twice during our upcoming 10 day stay at BWV, but certainly not daily and the every other day seemed a bit too often. But if it is $25 per day, no way would we use it. When we stay at other WDW resorts on a cash basis, we feel kind of rushed/inconvenienced knowing that we had to get out of the room every day for the maid and make sure we came back late enough to give them enough time to visit our room. We actually long for the times we stay at DVC resorts and don't have to worry about someone else coming into our room every day.

[princess angel]

I seem to be in the minority here, but there is no way, you will ever catch me making a bed, washing a dish, doing a load of laundry everyday, or cleaning anything on my vacation!!!!!!!!!

that is not why I joined dvc. I joined to ensure magical vacations for many many years to come!!! not to cook and clean in a condo!

when we stayed at BWV for 10 nights in May, I scheduled housekeeping for every other day. they actually came 6 times. and it was great! they charge $25 a day for a studio. well worth it!!!

to me a vacation is a vacation from work, and from work at home too!!!

Laura :)