What is the overall quality of the Newport Bay Club?

[inelegancex]

My mother and I are staying in this hotel for the first time in October (we usually stay at Sequoia Lodge) but wanted to try something different and because I thought it looked lovely.
However looking online i've read some horrendous reviews about it, ie rats/dampness and smell/rotting wallpaper/bad television etc and now i'm really worried about visiting because we paid a LOT of money for our stay! I did hear about it being very busy which is understandable but we're not overly fussed about this as it's a big hotel so this is expected.

My mother said she heard something about it being recently refurbished, is this true? When we went to the Sequoia Lodge we found nothing but a spotless hotel, friendly staff and a lovely television with all the things we needed so now i'm really worried this hotel is poor.

Has anyone been and had a good experience? I could really use some reassurance! I know every hotel has bad reviews a long with the good (i saw bad ones for sequoia as well eventhough it was fabulous when we went) so now I am really really worried.

 

[SleepingX3Beauty]

Don't let those reviews frighten you. People tend to write a review faster when their experience was bad then when it was good. All the Disney hotels have loads of these with whining about everything being old and outlived and stuff. These hotels are 20 years old, and some people don't get that they aren't totally modern 2012 style. People pay a high price for a 2 or 3 star hotel and then expect it to be the quality of a 4/5 star one which they just aren't. Fact is with Disney you pay the name and as long as you realize this you'll have reasonable expectations. yet, most people as I said expect to much of it because of the high prices and then are left disappointed in the end. I'm sure it 'll be just as good as Sequoia Lodge, if not better! We're going there in August and I'll be sure to post a TR by then and let you know how it was but I'm sure it will all be totally fine!

 

[K8T]

We booked for a couple of days at the beginning of July, so I will let you know!

We stayed there a few years ago and it was ok, certainly not 5 star but nice enough. The only thing that let it down big style was the queuing for breakfast.

I had the option of the Nw York for the same price and like you read the reviews and am wondering if I should change?! Just thought my 7 yr old would prefer the Newport.

 

[DLPdaft]

if you're reading these reviews on tripadvisor, make sure you are only reading recent reviews (as obviously reviews older than about 2 months will be pretty much useless as the hotel is so big its more or less constantly being freshened up).

And then take it with a pinch of salt.

Granted, the NBC is not my favourite hotel, but when we stayed there there was no sign of rats, no dirty bedrooms/bedding, yes, the bathroom was a little tired and there were a couple of maintenance issues, which were resolved within half an hour of me letting reception know. We were right at the end of one of the wings, and the corridor was a little tired also. But the main public areas certainly had the Wow factor.

 

[jothp]

When we stayed there last June we had no problems. The public areas were nice. We ate breakfast at 7 each morning and had no problems with queueing. Our room was great too but we were upgraded to a suite so that is probably not relevant.

 

[Ware Bears]

We're staying there in August and are really looking forward to it. A little bit of chipped paint or marked wallpaper won't bother me - so long as it's clean is what's most important to me.

When I read some reviews of hotels I wonder if I've actually stayed at the same place or maybe I'm too easy to please!

 

[inelegancex]

Thankyou all for your comments I feel a lot better about staying there now!

 

[grad06]

OMG I have booked this hotel for August and just seen this on trip advisor. I have a huge fear of rodents.

Has any one else seen these?

Can I change my hotel now or would they cancel the booking and then charge us loads more for changing hotel. Really worried about going now!!!

Advice please.

Sorry spelt youtube wrong had a glass of wine!

 

[grad06]

Sorry just seen this post and I have have just asked the same question about the quality of NPB.

Sorry for repeating something.

I have also seen those reports on trip advisor and I am really worried about staying here now.

But hopefully it was a one off.

 

[DLPdaft]

you know, I've read the recent hotel reviews on tripadvisor, down to the one with the mouse in the 6th floor room. You don't have to read between the lines on most of the bad ones to see that those reviewers didn't like DLP (and some just don't). So the hotel was hardly going to get a glowing report.

If you read the review from the guest who saw the mouse in their room (I can't find the clip on youtube but the photo on tripadvisor looks like a mouse to me, not a rat?) he said when he got a response from Disney, they were looking into the rodent issue around the resort. Lets hope they are.

By the way, its not unheard of to see mice around the resort (but I'd be freaking out if I saw one in a 6th floor hotel room!).

 

[cherrymarzipan]

Hi

I can give you our opinion from a couple of very recent trips. We have stayed in the NBC twice this year and as I have said in my "just returned"s have been really pleased with the hotel. The first time in March/April there was some work going on to the rear (lakeside) of the hotel but this had disappeared by this month and the exterior to both sides looked sparkling to me. The planting around the hotel was glorious too by this month where everything looked fresh and green and well-tended. Inside the hotel was clean everywhere I saw. I like the restaurants and if being seated does mean a bit of queuing at least it avoids a scrum and means that you should be taken to a clean table rather than having to push away other people's crumbs as so often happens at the Cheyenne and SF.

For our first trip we had an Admiral's Floor lakeside room which we loved. The view was brilliant and DS adored watching the Panoramagique balloon. The second room was standard and our first impression was that we should not have down-graded as we had a very limited view. However the room itself was identical - still spacious and light and with the same facilities as AF. Well, apart from the kettle not being in the room but this was swiftly remedied after a request at reception. We also quickly realised that we didn't have much time to appreciate a view with watching Dreams every night. In actual fact the room was in a very quiet location which we appreciated and if you are on the same floor as reception as we were it does avoid the scrums for lifts at busy times. Both rooms were clean and both cleaning and reception CMs were polite and helpful. Breakfast CMs were particularly friendly to us and yet they are under a lot of pressure.

I think we tend to see the best in things and perhaps we have been lucky but I really look forward to staying at the NBC again some day.

 

[Woolly]

We are going for 6 nights in July. I'll let you know how I get on. We have always stayed previously at the DLH so know it won't be as good. I too have read some of the comments on other sites. My view is that if I go with low expectations based on these comments then the reality will probably be nothing like as bad. That way I'll enjoy my stay. It is good to take some preventive advice to try and avoid some of the problems that have been mentioned. We are staying on the Admirals floor and are going to have breakfast in our room, avoiding any potential queues in the restaurant. I know we pay more but it will just be easier, especially with 3 young children. We traditionally get up very early anyway and get to the park at openeing time every morning. We don't see the room and the hotel as a place where we are going to spend a lot of time, due to being in the parks and eateries for most of the day and night. Becaue the DLH was so close to the parks we often popped back for a rest or change of clothes, etc. I doubt we will do so much of this in July.

I have been into the Hotel before (on my last trip) and thought it looked nice inside and out. It did not appear overly busy when I was there. They have tidied up a lot of the external and internal since then so I don't think it will look too bad. I have to confess that my evening meal in Cape Cod was not the best (but it was ok) and we had to move tables due to the way they were so closely packed together. You could not get in and out of your seat easily due to the seats on the table next to you being so close. It was annoying for all tables that due to lack of space you were conatantly banging into the chair behind you or having to ask if they could move so you could get out or back in. We did get moved to an empty area which had a lot more space. Apart from that it was fine.

I am often guilty of reading reviews about all sorts of things and seeing only the negatives. People who have a good or acceptable time don't tend to report as much as people who have a bad time due to one or two exceptional issues. I have only seen one mention of a mouse. So that's one in how many thousands of people who have visited over the years? I have seen mice around DLP previously. They keep to themselves generally. You can understand why they have a problem with so many people and so much food litter and leftovers falling on the floor (free food for them). I'm sure they have good controls to minimise this but you can never completely eradicate it.

I wouldn't worry about it. You'll have a great time. Just go with realsitic expectations, be polite to others and they will be polite to you, always pre-book or go early to eateries, etc. and let us know how you get on.

Of course, if you genuinly do have a torrid time let us know

 

[cherrymarzipan]

Of course, if you genuinly do have a torrid time let us know

Not sure you'd want to share that....

 

[Happy Tappy]

you know, I've read the recent hotel reviews on tripadvisor, down to the one with the mouse in the 6th floor room. You don't have to read between the lines on most of the bad ones to see that those reviewers didn't like DLP (and some just don't). So the hotel was hardly going to get a glowing report.

If you read the review from the guest who saw the mouse in their room (I can't find the clip on youtube but the photo on tripadvisor looks like a mouse to me, not a rat?) he said when he got a response from Disney, they were looking into the rodent issue around the resort. Lets hope they are.

By the way, its not unheard of to see mice around the resort (but I'd be freaking out if I saw one in a 6th floor hotel room!).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-H9WUxptvg

 

[Woolly]

Not sure you'd want to share that....

Can't believe I put that. I meant terrible time. What was I thinking about when I typed that.

 

[inelegancex]

I really cannot thank you all enough for your comments, you've all helped me a lot! I am now wondering whether we should have booked a lakeside view after hearing how lovely the views are, but it was coming up at around £80 difference so we thought oh well we won't be there much in the evening (although my mother is almost a bigger kid than I am so I know she will want to watch the Dreams show in person every single night!) Although I have heard of people getting free upgrades to this room - has anyone had this before? I think if the option is offered to us at our arrival we would probably pay for an upgrade anyway.

But now I am really a lot more content with our booking and I don't regret it anymore , I was expecting it to be horrendously busy due to the size but this doesn't bother me too much, admittedly breakfast in the Sequoia Lodge was very very busy so I think as long as we get the right times early we'll be okay, we're picking quite a busy time this year aswell (25th - 30th October) so this is expected.

I'm also so relieved with the reassurance about the whole mice issue, my mother is extremely scared of rats and mice so I think this would have ruined a lot for her!

 

[grad06]

Thank you everyone for your comments you have made me feel a lot more relaxed about the booking.
We stayed in SL last time and loved it but I fancied a different place this time.

Thanks cherrymarzipan your comments were great and it is nice to hear your positive comments as not many people give positive comments about NBC. I do try to ignore a lot of the posts that are posted as I do understand that most people only write when they are unhappy about something.

Looking forward to my holiday now. Thanks

 

[RoseBug]

We are really looking forward to staying at NPBC in August, I fully expect it to be busy, manic and a little shabby round the edges (it is 20 years old) but I think it looks wonderful and very aptly themed for our summer holiday! We paid slightly more (but not much) to stay on AF with a lake view, and really excited! I take reviews with a pinch of salt, we have stayed in Cheyenne and New York and found both lovely (New York too business like for us) but read dreadful reviews about them also!

Enjoy your holiday, even if the room is ancient, you'll be in DLP!

 

[inelegancex]

Enjoy your holiday, even if the room is ancient, you'll be in DLP!

This is so true! Thinking about it, even a bad hotel room wouldn't ruin Disneyland for me, it's so hard to be unhappy whilst you're there

 

[Julesdis]

By the way, its not unheard of to see mice around the resort

Some of them are massive too - over six feet tall!!