Review of Recent Stay 4.7 through 4.14

[scanne]

Hello.
I haven't posted here in a while. But I wanted to share my recent trip experience.

We were in WDW from 4.7.15 through 4.14.15. We were booked at Coronado Springs with an annual passholder rate and the regular dining plan.

My DH and I stayed at Coronado in 1998 when it was pretty new. This was our first time back there. We were in Ranchos section with a water view (that was a pool view).
This section was near bus stop 4 and a 5-10 minute walk to the main building.

When we got into our room, we were underwhelmed. It was musty, dark, the carpet was damp and the tiles in the bathroom were moldy. There were also some fruit flies in the bathroom.


We didn't really do/say anything - we went to MK and thought that "it is just a room/just a place to sleep."

Sadly, when we got back to the room later that night, we knew we would not enjoy our stay there.
So, I called the front desk and very politely explained the situation and asked if there were any other resorts with availability that we could switch to.

The CM was extremely kind and helpful. She called the Polynesian, Port Orleans Riverside and the Contemporary for us. The Polynesian wanted an extra $410 per night and the Contemporary and Riverside didn't have anything until the 10th. I was willing to pay a little more, but not $410 per night more....

So I asked her to check WL and AKL...
When she got back on the line, she had good news. AKL could accommodate use at the same rate we were paying for Coronado, but it would be a standard view room. I was completely fine with that. The standard rooms at AKL are close to the lobby and bus stop. I saw that as being awesome!

So we transferred over to AKL after 2 nights at Coronado.
When we checked in at 10am, we were again told that we had a standard view.
Our room was ready in the middle of check in. When the CM showed us our room on the map, it was certainly NOT a standard room.

We were on Kudu Trail, all the way down the left side of the resort with (what I would consider) a partial savannah view. It was a longish walk from the lobby, but was so quiet and peaceful AND I felt that it was pixie dust since we could see the animals from our balcony and were not asked to pay anything additional.

We were MUCH happier with the accommodations at AKL. The beds were 1000x more comfortable. The room and bathroom were very clean. (I also didn't like having just one sink at Coronado - with two adults and two tweens, we needed that extra sink!). We ate at Mara a few times, swam and had breakfast at BOMA.

Transportation was great as well. Buses were quick and not that crowded (we only had to stand once on a bus to MK).

Overall, I am glad I inquired about transferring....it ended up making all the difference in our vacation.

 

[TJA]

So glad everything turned out great for you guys. I think you did the right thing in switching, and how great is that they were willing to price match AKL and CSR. Nice little bonus to see the animals as well .

 

[Smurfgirl]

Thanks for the review! Now I'm scared for my upcoming trip to Coronado. I always stay at FQ, but my mother in law is paying and wants to stay at Coronado.

 

[gogo]

It's nice that you were able to switch resorts. I've had problems several times regarding room issues (noise, water soaked carpet and an enclosed balcony at WL which I didn't like because you could not see if you were seated on the balcony).I was able to switch rooms in all but one instance and in that particular instance I did not pursue it. Switching resorts would be a hassle but settling for something less than you expected or paid for would have put a big damper on your trip. I personally like CSR but agree that the rooms are on the dark side. I've stayed three times and on the last visit I did feel the room we had was darker than the previous stays. But, the reason I like CSR is the beautiful theming. I love walking around the lake and enjoying the different areas.

 

[wdw4rfam]

We weren't thrilled with coronado either, and we got the cabanas like we requested. It was my least favorite resort of any we have stayed at, including the values.

 

[LynJ]

We stayed at Coronado over Christmas and were equally underwhelmed. I didn't ask to change, although it likely wouldn't have been an option Christmas week anyway. Our issues:

1) The room we were originally assigned, when we arrived to it, clearly was filled with other people's belongings. We didn't try our magic bands on the door, because we could clearly see suitcases and souvenirs through the partially open curtains.

2) Since the room was already occupied, we had to trek back to the main desk and get reassigned. They were completely flummoxed by our explanation and said that they would send someone to investigate, but that the room was supposed to be empty and ready for us.

3) Since they had to change our room, we did not receive a first floor room, as requested. We did get close to a bus stop, which was our other request, and the building did have an elevator, so it worked out. The room mix up did cause us to miss our first fastpass that night.

4) The cleaning staff left a full bag of trash sitting on our bathroom counter. Apparently they bagged it up and forgot to take it with them.

5) Sugar ants in our water cups that we left in the room. Interesting, because the cups never had pop or any sugary substance in it.

6) Change machines in the laundry room were out of order. And I do mean EVERY change machine. When we went to try to get change from the market, we were informed that we could only get $1 in quarters (not enough for a load) unless we wanted to go back to our room, get $10, then go to the front desk and get a full roll of quarters. Since I was in a bathing suit carrying $1 bills (expecting the change machines to work), this was highly inconvenient.

7) Dryers in the laundry room didn't work properly. We ended up drying clothes with a hair dryer so we could go back to the parks, and hanging clothes throughout our room. Front desk refunded the $4 in quarters, but seemed generally shocked that the dryers didn't work (despite numerous hand-written signs on the various dryers stating that they didn't work well).

Never again. We loved the parks over Christmas, but I don't honestly think you could pay my husband to stay at Coronado again. We've never stayed deluxe, but after that experience, we booked a bounceback at Wilderness Lodge. Hopefully it will be a big improvement.

 

[Grumpy247365]

Great review. I would love to stay at the AKL in the future. I'm also happy that you decided to say something about the condition of the room at the CS. For the price of a Disney Resort room, the room should be clean and smell clean as well. I think some people would just deal with it and then post something negative about the resort on Trip Advisor. Glad you had a nice time.

 

[wishicouldgomoreofte]

I'm glad you were able to have a nice stay at AKL. It is my favorite resort.
I am sorry CSR was bad and you had to spend 2 nights there.
I hope all your future trips are great!

 

[kerri0616]

Love AKL! If I could afford DVC, that's what I'd buy! Never stayed CSR, but I'm glad you were able to work things out. Nice to hear a positive story on the boards.