A hotel snob stays at Shades of Green...

[micmacmissy]

Yes, I'm the hotel snob. I thought a thorough review of SOG might be helpful to those out there wondering if they'll be disappointed after staying in other resorts. We don't vacation very often, but when we do, I like to stay in the best possible hotel. Past WDW trips we stayed at Poly and GF, concierge.

But this trip we were eligible not only to stay at SOG, but to receive the meal plan (practically free) and couldn't pass up the room and 2 meals a day for $150 a night for the entire family. We figured, how bad could it be?

Well, the hotel itself is lovely, modern, and clean. I was impressed by the grounds, the lobby, and the newer section of rooms, where we stayed. Our room was immaculately clean, the beds and pillows were comfy (not GF comfy, but pretty darn good), and the bathrooms were modern and well designed. We requested a room in the new section and were on the top floor at the end of the hallway. Our room overlooked the golf course, which was beautiful. Minor complaints: the dresser drawer front was broken and popped off when you tried the open the door. The mini-fridge smelled awful! Other than that, all was well with the room. When we walked through the older section of the hotel, the hallways looked pretty bad. Cheap dropped ceilings, bad purple molding and old wallpaper--eww! When are they planning on renovating the rest of it???

The hotel, despite being 100% full, was SILENT. We heard no one--it was the quietest hotel I've ever been in, and we appreciated that. The pools were very nice, and our kids loved feeding the fish in the koi pond and playing with the power boats. The bus system was timely and efficient, but didn't run often enough for us--we walked to the Poly and used the monorail often. We didn't once see the Shady Shuttle taking anyone to the end of the driveway.

On to the food....the Garden Gallery buffet was bad. College cafeteria bad. The breakfasts were okay, but not on par with a Hyatt buffet, even. The dinner buffets? Wow--really terrible. Like hospital food. We were totally unimpressed and didn't go back, despite our dinners being free there. We ate at Evergreen's one night (okay, pub food, nothing great) and Mangino's another night (again, just okay). This is one area they could--and should--really improve.

Now on to the service. Aside from the ladies in the guest relations office, who were quite helpful, most of the other employees were clearly NOT Disney employees. Even the front desk manager seemed to lack basic customer service training. No smiling, no "hello", no nothing. Most of the employees we encountered seemed quite miserable. We had two good breakfast waiters, but other than that, yikes.

So, in a nutshell, it was a great value for the money. If the service and employee attitudes had been better, I wouldn't hesitate to stay there again. But I did miss the great customer service and outgoing, happy employees we encountered at the Disney resorts...as we left, we wondered, is it worth paying double to stay at the Poly or GF, though? I don't know...considering we're only in the room to sleep... something to think about for next time!

 

[vicceja]

Thanks for the information. We are proud hotel snobs as well and my boys have defenitely picked up on it as well. We usually stay at the BC, Poly or AKL but to tell you the truth I've been thinking of how it would feel to stay at the other resort to save a little extra money (we visit at least 3x per year), but I just can't do it! My husband works at the Marriott and we could get great rates and I would never even consider it. As much as we enjoy the parks we love to take advantage of all the admenities from the resorts as well.

 

[angelmav]

Your review was pretty spot on as far as what we experienced as well. Nicer resort with bad/terrible food offerings. I had heard alot of good things about Mangino's though so I am a bit suprised you didnt care for it, In fact I dont recall hearing anything negative until now about that one restaurant there. the rest...wish we had driven off site instead, just very poor in the food department.

 

[Sleepy]

In defense of the hotel, they do offer this hotel at a discount because it is through funds provided by MWR and they want to make it possible for military families to have a nice vacation at an affordable price. Maybe if they started charging $400 a night like the other deluxe resorts, they would have the money to fix things up the way a hotel snob would prefer. I can deal with old wallpaper and employees who are not fake cheerful (I've encountered many WDW employees who were less than cheerful) as long as my room is clean and I am waited on I am ok with it. The food at SOG is not the best and neither is most of the food within WDW. All you have to do is go to the restaurant board to see those reviews of even the table service places. At least if I am dissatisfied with the buffet or service at SOG restaurant, I know I only spent appx $10, unlike the buffets within the parks which are closer to $25 (and I have not been overly impressed with some of them). We don't eat the buffets at SOG for the same reason you mention.

We all have different expectations and we are fine to give opinons. I agree with what you said, however, you have to keep in mind that SOG is funded by MWR.....not WDW. There is no way I can compare SOG to Hard Rock Hotel or POrtofino Bay Hotel at Universal Studios. Sure, I prefer the decor, etc at Universal hotels, but again, I pay almost 3 times more a night to stay there and should expect more.

 

[plutospup]

We stayed at SOG this past summer, and I tend to agree with most of what the OP said. We had a poolside room in the older section that was in excellent shape, and the hallways were just as nice. Obviously, not all areas were as nice. DD and I did use the Shady Shuttle. We did have to ask, but they quickly brought it up and took us to the end of the driveway near the Poly.

I have to agree with what the above posters said about SOG/WDW food. We ate at the SOG dinner buffet twice. It was alright. Certainly not horrible, but it was a buffet. I don't expect great things from any buffet, especially at WDW. Most importantly on those occasions it was convenient. It certainly saved us a lot of time compared to if we would have gone off property, or even some other restaurant on property.

One secret about SOG...ice cream. They have a wonderful ice cream shop. You won't find fancy dishes, or bowls, but...the quality is outstanding.

When it comes to "bang for the buck" IMHO SOG hands down beats WDW moderates, and values.

 

[bdcp]

We have stayed at some very, very nice hotels all over the country and I don't see them having much of anything over SOG. I don't really care if the staff says hello to me everytime I walk by them. But, in our experiences at SOG, everyone and I mean, everyone is friendly. The rooms are very large also. The nicest part is all the guests are very nice and polite to each other. The quiet hotel, the quiet pools, the relaxed atmostphere is what we enjoy. We never saw a single child running up and down the halls or roaming around unaccompanied, nor are there slamming doors at all hours. Military parents tend to be more into discipline and don't allow their families to infringe on anyone else. As for the food, why is the OP surprised? That opinion has been posted by most everyone who stays there. We do eat the breakfast buffet, because for the price, it's perfectly fine. When we want something more elaborate we walk to the Poly. We have eaten in Evergreen's for a quick dinner a couple of times also. We just do not eat dinner at the buffet or the italian place. We tend to have our meals in the parks or have ADR's for a show or at another resort. The value of staying at SOG outweighs any minor detail. SOG is in a premium location and for the dollars spent, is a very, very good deal. We've discussed staying at the Poly, but I just can't bring myself to pay $400/night for a hotel room that not only isn't bigger, but really isn't any closer to anything. We could easily do it financially, but why? For $125-130/night (DH is an O-6, hence the rate), that means we are spending less than half than we would anywhere else, except maybe a value. Values just don't appeal to us.

 

[micmacmissy]

As for the food, why is the OP surprised? That opinion has been posted by most everyone who stays there. We do eat the breakfast buffet, because for the price, it's perfectly fine. When we want something more elaborate we walk to the Poly. We have eaten in Evergreen's for a quick dinner a couple of times also. We just do not eat dinner at the buffet or the italian place.

Never said I was surprised...I knew going into it that SOG had pretty bad reviews for food. We were expecting that. I didn't go into it with high hopes...I went in expecting mediocre food and we got...mediocre food, at best.

As for the service, that did surprise me. It was clear these were Army MWR employees and not Disney employees (who are extensively trained in Dale Carnegie customer service). When I'm on vacation, I do expect hotel employees to be, at the very least, polite. For example, each morning when we entered the buffet area, the hostess (whose entire job is pretty much to greet and seat, no?) didn't even say "good morning"...instead we got blank stares or just, "four?" to which my husband would reply, "Good morning, how are you? Yes, there are four of us, please."

I am fully aware SOG is funded by Army MWR...but good employee attitudes don't cost the hotel anything extra in operational costs!

The entire point of my review wasn't to insult anyone or trash SOG. If you reread my post, you can see there are so many wonderful things about it, which I pointed out. My intention was to write it from the perspective of someone who is a little discriminating, because when I was using DIS to result this topic, I didn't find many SOG reviews written from this perspective.

That said, I hope the information helps!

 

[sukhakuli]

I can't say that this has been our experience in general. The staff has always been exceptionally helpful and nice to us, in fact we got better service there than when we stayed at the Contemporary.

I think the breakfast buffet is fine. It's not knock your socks off good, but a basic waffle and some bacon can't really be screwed up, KWIM? I've never eaten at the Italian place.

One secret to a good cheap breakfast, though. Get a breakfast sandwich at the bar down by the buses. It's super easy to grab a few sanwiches, a couple of bananas and some coffee and eat your breakfast while you are traveling to your park.

We always have stayed in the old section, and I have been happy with it. My parents stayed in the new section and the rooms seemed smaller, as did the bathroom. And I don't think they had a balcony.

 

[Sleepy]

As for the service, that did surprise me. It was clear these were Army MWR employees and not Disney employees (who are extensively trained in Dale Carnegie customer service). When I'm on vacation, I do expect hotel employees to be, at the very least, polite. For example, each morning when we entered the buffet area, the hostess (whose entire job is pretty much to greet and seat, no?) didn't even say "good morning"...instead we got blank stares or just, "four?" to which my husband would reply, "Good morning, how are you? Yes, there are four of us, please."

Quite honestly, I have encountered one word greetings or less than enthusiastic greetings at several WDW restuarants. Doesn't matter if they were trained by the best of the industry, if they are not a friendly person or they are in a bad mood for whatever reason, that is how they greet people. Yes, I have gotten a "How many?" or "Come this way" from a hostess or two at WDW. Most CS people don't even speak.

The entire point of my review wasn't to insult anyone or trash SOG. If you reread my post, you can see there are so many wonderful things about it, which I pointed out. My intention was to write it from the perspective of someone who is a little discriminating, because when I was using DIS to result this topic, I didn't find many SOG reviews written from this perspective.

I did not take your information as trashing or insulting. I read it as someone trying to compare two things that just can't really be compared. Given the fact that SOG is funded by MWR, it can't possibly hold up to the standards of a Deluxe WDW hotel in terms of decor or even the standard of food (if you don't charge an arm and a leg for the meals, you can't expect to be able to prepare the most expensive and fanciest of dishes). You also can't really compare employees since less than enthusiastic employees can be found many times during any given day throughout WDW. Just read the reviews of people on this resort board. Bad attitudes and lack of interest by many hotel employees, managers and supervisors.

I do appreciate an honest review and that is what you have given. I know many people who have stayed at SOG like to refer it to a deluxe in terms of location, room size and how the property looks since the renovation, however, I would hope that someone would be aware that you also get what you pay for and to expect a room decorated with fine furnishings, similar to Grand Floridian, for $110 a night only means they will be disappointed immediately.

 

[hildarumpole]

Minor complaints: the dresser drawer front was broken and popped off when you tried the open the door. The mini-fridge smelled awful! Other than that, all was well with the room. When we walked through the older section of the hotel, the hallways looked pretty bad. Cheap dropped ceilings, bad purple molding and old wallpaper--eww! When are they planning on renovating the rest of it???

When you discovered the problems with the dresser and fridge in your room, did you lodge a complaint? If no one lets maintenance or the hotel manager know there's a problem in a particular room, the problem tends to persist, even in the best hotels. I would suggest you write a letter to the hotel manager or fill out the comment card, if you took one from your room. Let him know about the particular problems in your room, as well as your impression of the old section, the quality of the food service, and customer service. After our visit, I filled out the comment card and was surprised to receive a lovely reply letter from the manager a week later. I detailed some concerns I had about the bus service, praised some wonderful employees, and simply checked a box indicating the keyboard in our room didn't work. He apologized for the keyboard and told me it would be fixed, said he would direct my concerns about the buses to the contractor, and let the named employees know of my appreciation. I've filled out a lot of hotel comment cards and have never received a personal letter in response. The thing that impressed me most about the SOG employees was that they were helpful and professional, while being very low key and non-intrusive. The Disney CMs usually have more energy in their interractions with the guests, but that doesn't always add up to good service. The worst service I encountered was by some of the most outgoing Disney CMs. Some of them reminded me of the waiter in the movie "Office Space" with all the flair. I don't need to make friends with the staff, I just want everyone to do their job. Everyone has different demands and expectations when it comes to customer service, so if the SOG vibe isn't right for you, that's fine. There are a lot of wonderful options in around Disney.

 

[micmacmissy]

When you discovered the problems with the dresser and fridge in your room, did you lodge a complaint? If no one lets maintenance or the hotel manager know there's a problem in a particular room, the problem tends to persist, even in the best hotels.

Everyone has different demands and expectations when it comes to customer service, so if the SOG vibe isn't right for you, that's fine. There are a lot of wonderful options in around Disney.

Yes, we did alert them to the room problems at the end of our stay, and I did fill out the comment card. Neither the dresser door nor the refridgerator were priority items for us, so there was no reason to ask for immediate repairs or a room change.

I certainly didn't mean to imply that SOG was that bad or that we didn't enjoy the 'vibe'...we did enjoy our stay overall...and will certainly consider staying there again. Just wanted to put my two cents out there...

 

[Marshypooh]

My family has only stayed at SOG once, but we had a very pleasant and enjoyable experience. The lobby, grounds, and view are absolutely beautiful. Our room was kept very clean and tidy and I felt the same way about the hotel overall as well. Our room was larger than the deluxes we have stayed at and that nice big bathroom was great. The overall atmosphere was peaceful and relaxed. I agree with bdcp. Military families tend to have a great inner discipline and respect for others. And of course, those rates can't be beat!

I found most of the employees to be very nice, polite, and cheerful. No, we did not get that over-the-top Disney service, but I was very satisfied with the service we did receive. We didn't eat at any of the SOG restaurants but that's because we have our favorites at the parks. We did have one meal at Evergreen's. The food and service were not great, but OK. Next time we stay there I will make time to try the other two restaurants and that way I can form my own opinion about them. Plus I like to try new places anyway. Plutospup is right about that ice cream. It was some of the best I've had at Disney. A pleasant little surprise.

I also felt like the busses did not run enough. That is actually the only thing we were disappointed with. However, on the plus side, we loved taking the walk to the POLY everyday. It was so peaceful and pleasant as well as beautiful. We especially loved the walk back at night. We were asked several times by a "shady shuttle" driver if we would like a ride to the edge of the property, but we always declined because we liked the walk so much. We did take the guy up on his offer one day as it was pouring the rain!!

Micmacmissy, I think you wrote a very good review as you let others know what you liked and didn't like, and why. My family has our favorite WDW resorts that we like to stay at too, and SOG is included in that list right along with AKL, POLY, and CSR.

 

[Maine-iac]

The hotel, despite being 100% full, was SILENT. We heard no one--it was the quietest hotel I've ever been in, and we appreciated that.

Yes this is absolutely true. SOG is such a quiet resort which is great for sleeping and napping.

 

[LilGMom]

I posted this on my question thread about SOG but I'm hoping that I can get an answer from either here or there.

I just read on the SOG site that guests pay $5/day to self-park. Would I be correct in assuming that SOG guests have to pay for parking at the WDW theme parks? Or are SOG guests given passes like at the WDW resorts that list days of stay and allows them to park in the theme parks for free?

TIA.

 

[angelmav]

I posted this on my question thread about SOG but I'm hoping that I can get an answer from either here or there.

I just read on the SOG site that guests pay $5/day to self-park. Would I be correct in assuming that SOG guests have to pay for parking at the WDW theme parks? Or are SOG guests given passes like at the WDW resorts that list days of stay and allows them to park in the theme parks for free?

TIA.

You get a sticker saying your at the resort for your vehicle when coming through the gate initially and that allows you to park around the world for free. We never bothered to drive and relied on the SOG busses which went from decent to poor depending on where we were trying to go.

Sleepy, they have actually raised the prices of their dinner buffet (all ears is WAY off on that) so the dinner isnt nearly that good a deal anymore. Yes its a bit cheaper than WDW buffets, but for what they are charging, it is pretty poor (I could deal with the food if the price was cheaper). The breakfast we actually enjoyed and it was a good value too. We didnt care for the breakfast sandwiches at the little shop on the way out though, we found them to be soggy but we only ate their once. Evergreens does have amazing pizza and a great Key Lime pie!