Just back from WBC... thoughts

[pinktinkmommy]

So we didn't get off to the best start at WBC.

Checked in Fri, June 2 at 4pm. Nominal wait. Front desk guy was super nice. My only request was for a refurb room with flat screen and new bedding. Oh, and a non-parking garage view. He told me they were all done. Didn't sound right, but I went with it. He gave us building 2, 8th floor, corner room (846). Our luggage arrived just as we did (nice!). Um, refurb room, not so much. Call to the front desk and was on hold for 15 minutes. Someone then picked up the line, said nothing and hung up. I was just a teeeeeny bit po'd. DH got through by calling on his cell phone. The lady was incredibly rude. Won't go into the details but she snapped at me twice and I ended up just hanging up and deciding to deal with it. TVs weren't an issue but the bedding was to me. Oh well.

Headed out to MK for the evening and returned at midnight to a steaming hot second bedroom. Turned the AC down, put the kids to bed and waited while DH made a grocery run (unsuccessful-- nothing is 24 hours!). The vents in second bedroom weren't moving any air. Call to front desk. Maintenance will be right up. Wait, wait, wait. Call again at 1:30-- ticket is closed and they don't know why. He showed up 5 minutes later. Fiddled with it, showed us how to override the system to make it just run constantly (push & hold the F/C button on the left side-- when the display says 6P, it's on override). Said he'd return at 10am, no need for us to be present. Finally got to bed at like 2:30am. UGH. Oh, and we FROZE as override is set to 66 degrees. Second bedroom was still warm with the doors open but not intolerable.

Came back to the room at 3 to find the same situation. Called the front desk-- ticket closed, don't know why. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? DH had to wait in the room while the rest of us went to the pool. Maintenance came out, said all the rooms are like this, poor design, no point in switching rooms. That doesn't sound right to me. DH ended up talking to the head maintenance guy who said the same thing so we gave up and just went with it. We closed one of the vents in our room and the door and it wasn't so cold in there. If the kids forgot and closed the bedroom door, it was HOT in there. But it was bearable.

DS lost his phone at the resort. We texted it and got a response that it had been found and to text them when we got back from the park and they'd meet us. Except they never did. Then the battery died. Lost & Found at the resort was MARVELOUS! We knew the name of the girl who found it and the tower #, and they looked through all the check in forms to try to find them and left a few messages. SO nice and helpful. They even called us today to follow up (one of the girls working on it hadn't gotten the message it was resolved). The jerks who found it left it in a drawer in their room and checked out. Couldn't just hand it to anyone working there so it would be turned it. Unbelievable, but obviously that had nothing to do with the resort. They were nothing but fantastic with this-- surpassed Disney for sure.

Pools were OK. The ones at 4 & 5 are the best. Lounge chairs are nicer, pools better. Lazy river by the main building is a joke. No issues with not finding chairs at any time of day. Bar staff very friendly-- A+ in my book; again, probably better than Disney. Pool at 2/3 is a little cheesy, IMO. Lounge chairs are old and the strappy kind. The pavement is ridiculously hot. You could easily get 2nd degree burns in a few steps. Unbelievable that it's not treated. Kids liked the slide, but preferred pirate one. Lots of kiddos in the mushroom pool. My kids are too old so I didn't personally check the temp, but I asked a couple people and they said the temp was fine. Quite a few unsupervised younger kids who kept jumping into the hot tub. Irritating for sure, but not really the resort's fault (though they were never told to get out by staff).

Liked the room. Living room furniture is super uncomfortable but we weren't there much so no matter to me. We had a nice view of the golf course. Karaoke night was not so fun while on our balcony. Wowza, people cannot sing! I thought drunks were bad-- teenage girls are even worse! Bed and pillows were fine-- on par with Disney deluxe, pillows probably better. Room was immaculately clean and I'm very picky. Room was quiet. Never heard anyone while inside.

We would stay here again. I admit to being upset when we visited the Poly and the Contemporary as those are my favorite places to stay. But the thought of sharing a bathroom between 5 people (including a nearly teenage girl) made me realize it would have had its own challenges this trip. DH loved the resort and didn't have the regrets I did, but he's the frugal one in the family so the $$$ alone made him very happy. I would definitely stay here over a non-monorail Disney resort. DEFINITELY. We don't do Disney busses, so we'd be driving either way in a non-monorail resort (and some in a monorail one, too). Missed evening EMH a little, but not too much. MK was open late all week so it didn't really matter. That's about the only park we do for EMH.

I'll post our view photos in the view thread. Didn't take any of the room. Looks like everyone else's!

 

[mareed]

I came here to post our WBC thoughts and some of ours are duplicates of yours, so I'll piggy-back on this thread!

We also checked in Fri, June 2 about 2:00 pm with no wait at all. We'd made no room request and the original room assigned to us wasn't ready, but when I mentioned my only request was for a quiet location convenient to parking, they found a 1-bedroom room in tower 5 that was ready right then. It was nice to go ahead and get settled in right away!

We also had MAJOR A/C issues similar to yours! At first, the main issue was that the bedroom was about 5 degrees warmer than the living room. This was with the thermostat set at its lowest of 65. We always travel with an alarm clock w/ temp display, and it was about 69 in the living room and 74 in the bedroom. We prefer about 69 for sleeping in a hotel.

Called asking maintenance to come up to see what they could do - perhaps allowing the thermostat to be set lower so we could get the bedroom cooler. They did come up pretty quickly for us, but we got the similar story as the OP in that the design of the rooms is bad and the rooms end up at different temps. It couldn't be set lower than 65. We were told that it was even worse in the 2 bedroom units! He closed some of the vents in the living room and also told us how to set the bypass. He said the bypass would keep it running all the time and would stay that way until we turned the unit off and then back on.

With the bypass setting and closing living room vents, we were finally able to equalize the bedroom and living rooms, but this was after we'd been messing with it for about 2 hours and it was midnite - thus delaying our first night of sleep quite a bit. I was about ready to drag the king-size mattress into the living room just to get some sleep.

We also had trouble with the ceiling fan in the bedroom. It was horribly off-balance and wobbled and squeaked when on the high setting. We would have been able to cope with the warmer temp a bit better if we could have the fan on high. It took 3 different maintenance calls before they finally got it fixed! The first time they just turned it down with the pull cord on the fan so that it couldn't go to "high" setting with the wall control. Uhm - no, I don't think so. Then the night maintenance guy said the balancing kits are kept locked up so only the daytime staff can do it. We spent 30 minutes on hold for a manager at one time, and the fan was finally fixed so that we could use it on high speed on our 4th day there. Lots of excuses and night-crew blaming a lazy day-crew...

Also, we found that the bypass worked differently than described. I firmly believe that it was effectively bypassing the motion sensor because it did eventually cycle off sometimes. I also think that it reset itself periodically (perhaps every 24 hours) because we woke up one night sweltering to find that it was 75 in the bedroom again. I turned unit off and set bypass again and it cooled down - but again was up 1-2 hours that night sweltering before it was finally cool enough to sleep. After that, I turned it off and re-set the bypass nightly before bed and it was OK.

Hopefully this tip about the thermostat bypass will help some others. This was a huge deal to us and I was surprised that I hadn't read about it here since I'd read so much about WBC. I don't care how great the rest of the resort is - if I can't get the room cool enough for sleeping comfortably then that's a major problem!

 

[shaylyn]

I came here to post our WBC thoughts and some of ours are duplicates of yours, so I'll piggy-back on this thread!

We also checked in Fri, June 2 about 2:00 pm with no wait at all. We'd made no room request and the original room assigned to us wasn't ready, but when I mentioned my only request was for a quiet location convenient to parking, they found a 1-bedroom room in tower 5 that was ready right then. It was nice to go ahead and get settled in right away!

We also had MAJOR A/C issues similar to yours! At first, the main issue was that the bedroom was about 5 degrees warmer than the living room. This was with the thermostat set at its lowest of 65. We always travel with an alarm clock w/ temp display, and it was about 69 in the living room and 74 in the bedroom. We prefer about 69 for sleeping in a hotel.

Called asking maintenance to come up to see what they could do - perhaps allowing the thermostat to be set lower so we could get the bedroom cooler. They did come up pretty quickly for us, but we got the similar story as the OP in that the design of the rooms is bad and the rooms end up at different temps. It couldn't be set lower than 65. We were told that it was even worse in the 2 bedroom units! He closed some of the vents in the living room and also told us how to set the bypass. He said the bypass would keep it running all the time and would stay that way until we turned the unit off and then back on.

With the bypass setting and closing living room vents, we were finally able to equalize the bedroom and living rooms, but this was after we'd been messing with it for about 2 hours and it was midnite - thus delaying our first night of sleep quite a bit. I was about ready to drag the king-size mattress into the living room just to get some sleep.

We also had trouble with the ceiling fan in the bedroom. It was horribly off-balance and wobbled and squeaked when on the high setting. We would have been able to cope with the warmer temp a bit better if we could have the fan on high. It took 3 different maintenance calls before they finally got it fixed! The first time they just turned it down with the pull cord on the fan so that it couldn't go to "high" setting with the wall control. Uhm - no, I don't think so. Then the night maintenance guy said the balancing kits are kept locked up so only the daytime staff can do it. We spent 30 minutes on hold for a manager at one time, and the fan was finally fixed so that we could use it on high speed on our 4th day there. Lots of excuses and night-crew blaming a lazy day-crew...

Also, we found that the bypass worked differently than described. I firmly believe that it was effectively bypassing the motion sensor because it did eventually cycle off sometimes. I also think that it reset itself periodically (perhaps every 24 hours) because we woke up one night sweltering to find that it was 75 in the bedroom again. I turned unit off and set bypass again and it cooled down - but again was up 1-2 hours that night sweltering before it was finally cool enough to sleep. After that, I turned it off and re-set the bypass nightly before bed and it was OK.

Hopefully this tip about the thermostat bypass will help some others. This was a huge deal to us and I was surprised that I hadn't read about it here since I'd read so much about WBC. I don't care how great the rest of the resort is - if I can't get the room cool enough for sleeping comfortably then that's a major problem!

Do you mean that you had a different set of instructions for bypassing the thermostat?

I'm going to save the directions for our trip to BC in Sept. I'll be pretty upset if we can't get the rooms cool enough

 

[JimMIA]

We stayed in a one-bedroom in Tower 4 from May 15-21 and had zero A/C issues. I don't think it's a universal problem, although we do hear that complaint occasionally in the 2 bedrooms.

(I also think we have to remember the "Lumpy Pillow Rule" here -- if ANYthing is not perfect, it will probably turn up on an Internet post.)

Never heard an A/C complaint in a 3- or 4-bedroom.

I'm inclined to believe that pobody and pothing is nerfect.

 

[mareed]

Do you mean that you had a different set of instructions for bypassing the thermostat?

I'm going to save the directions for our trip to BC in Sept. I'll be pretty upset if we can't get the rooms cool enough

If you have the problem encountered by the OP and me, you'll have some rooms that are cooled just fine, and some in the condo that aren't.

Our instructions were the same as the OP. We just found that the effect was different than we were told (i.e. we were told it would make the A/C run contstantly, and this wasn't true because I did notice it shut off at some time while we had it on bypass). I believe it's bypassing the motion sensor which will solve the issue with getting hot during the night, but does nothing for the different circulation of air in different rooms (i.e. in the 2 bedroom it sounds like it is the secondary bedroom that is really hot, and in our 1 bedroom it was the 1 master bedroom that was hotter than the living room).

Perhaps they've fixed this issue in the newer buildings (I was in building 5) as it sounds like the maintenance staff are well aware of the problem.

 

[delmar411]

we had the same A/C problem in Tower 1 and Tower 6 both in 2bedrooms. But the 2nd bedroom in Tower 1 had a ceiling fan so it made it much better. No ceiling fan in the Tower 6 2nd bedroom so the kids were very hot and unhappy. Had maintenance up to work on the Tower 6 room but he really couldn't fix anything. He suggested closing more vents as well but the vents wouldn't close and the ones that would were already closed.

Clearly a design flaw. We kept the place at 65 and it was warm all the time except right in the living room.

I'd just request Tower 1 if we stayed there again.

 

[saysay]

I have stayed 2 times in tower 5 with no AC issues in any of the rooms. Our unit was always cool and comfy. AC issue is NOT good, sad to read this, but going back in July.

 

[grandmadebby2]

We have never had AC problems when we stayed and now I am a bit worried about it. My DH can be a bear to live with if he can't sleep, and he can't sleep when its hot. Maybe I should pack a fan in the van.

 

[shaylyn]

I also cannot sleep in a room that is too hot. Dh and I even pack small fans in our suitcases

If we do encounter an a/c problem, will they switch our room if we complain loud enough?

 

[pinktinkmommy]

(I also think we have to remember the "Lumpy Pillow Rule" here -- if ANYthing is not perfect, it will probably turn up on an Internet post.)

Never heard an A/C complaint in a 3- or 4-bedroom.

I'm inclined to believe that pobody and pothing is nerfect.

I don't really think that a room that is well over 80 degrees is a minor complaint. The maintenance people all told us that it's a design flaw and they indicated it's all two bedrooms. I don't think that's right, but it does sound like it's common. I also don't think that having to stay up until after 2am to deal with it is no big deal. We'd been traveling all day and just wanted to sleep. My two kids who toughed it out in the sauna room were literally drenched in sweat; I ended up having to wash the sheets. The other one slept on the couch. I don't ask for perfection but there are certain basic expectations for any room and a properly functioning cooling system in Florida is one of those.

As to the override, I thought it might just be overriding the sensor, too. The first night it seemed to run constantly, but not later in the week (thank goodness). No matter what it does, I think it's good info for people to have that are staying at WBC to have just in case. Hopefully it's not needed.

They did offer to change our room, but honestly I really didn't want to repack and unpack again. Too much of our vaca time wasted. The override worked enough that I was willing to tough it out.

It didn't ruin the resort for me at all, but it was a frustrating start and something they need to address. They also need to get their front desk staff to be a bit more helpful. Everyone-- and I do mean EVERYONE-- else at the resort was fabulous. We didn't even have any issues from the timeshare people once we left the parking pass desk.

 

[Jules425]

While we had a wonderful experience, I will agree that there is a problem with the 2nd bedroom and the air. You could tell a noticeable difference between the hallway where the washer/dryer was and the bedroom. My kids were so tired that they didn't seem to notice, but I probably would have. We were in building 5 and there is not a ceiling fan in the 2nd bedrooms even to stir the air around. The rest of the until could be freezing, but that room was warm.

 

[Disney Ella]

We were in building 3 and my kids complained that their bedroom was hot. This was in November when it was only in the low 80s, so I can only imagine how uncomfortable it is now. I wonder if there is anything WBC can do to improve the situation. I would think they would get tired of all the complaints and maintenance requests.

 

[mareed]

DH and I were discussing the A/C problem with our 1-bedroom unit over lunch and came to the conclusion that we would not stay there again because of this. It sounds like from the talk we had with maintenance and with the other reports here that the 2-bedroom units are even worse. It may not be that all units have this issue, but it sounds like it's more than just a few and I won't take my chances on having this ruin a trip in the future.

I'll stick with Windsor Hills where we've had great luck with before.

I'd read much information about Wyndham Bonnet Creek on this board before and it was overwhelmingly positive, and I don't recall seeing anything about A/C problems.

 

[Belle5]

We have been toying with the idea of staying at WBC for some time. This thread pretty much killed the idea. DH has very severe breathing issues and to not have enough cool air will cause him great respiratory distress. We cannot take the chance of having a 2 bedroom unit with this problem.

Thanks, OP, for bringing this to our attention! We would have had a terrible vacation if we had the same unit (or one like it) that you had!

 

[katallo]

We didn't have a problem with AC, but did have a problem with our washer and dryer and dishwasher. The frustrating part was each time we called maintainance they took the info and when there was no resolution they said the ticket was closed. We also had to use our cell to contact the front desk rather than using the direct line from our unit.

 

[CookieDiva]

We didn't have a problem with AC

Was yours a 2 bedroom unit, katallo?

 

[CookieDiva]

I am just asked Denise Price from Vacation Upgrades and she said that they just recently returned from a 2 bedroom unit at WBC and had no problems, so it sounds like this may not be a issue in ALL 2 bedroom units.

I am thinking that we may be willing to take a chance...

 

[DisneygirlTeacher]

I hope every single one of you that has had a/c problems will email, write and call the management. It is so hot here in Florida right now and July and August aren't even here yet! There is absolutely NO excuse for the a/c not to be working properly in these units. I can't even believe people would go and take the chance of having a/c issues. If they get enough complaints, maybe they will wake up and do something about it. No way would I stay there after hearing this, although, we always stay on property and now I know one reason why!

 

[katallo]

Was yours a 2 bedroom unit, katallo?

We have had one and two bedrroms without AC problems. We did report our washer/dryer maintainance issues to the front desk and hopefully it will help the property resolve this. That being said, this is a beautiful property with so many amenities it makes the trip worthwhile.

 

[CookieDiva]

We have had one and two bedrroms without AC problems.

That is good to know. I realize that this is a problem in some units, not all. I will hope that we get a unit where everything works well. If not, my DH can be a tiger.