AT BCV's now and NOT HAPPY!!!!

[crisi]

Somebody has to get each room, based on location within the resort, they should not waive the fee.

Agreed. Blondietink, All you are doing is sticking some other dvc member with that room.

And those problems are pretty much every DVC rooms we've had over a decade of ownership. The problems you are describing are, in my experience, DVC standards. Stove burners have been out more often than not. Our big one is broken drawers, we've never been in a room without a broken drawer. Sometimes missing pulls, sometimes with broken rails. Unfortunate, but true.

 

[vicki_c]

I'm always more surprised when I receive the text or call than when we don't. It's not that unusual of problem - at least for us and I doubt we're all that unique.

That has been our experience as well - calling or texting - sometimes the notification system seems to work, sometimes it doesn't - and it doesn't matter whether it's DVC or not - it's the same system. Just not something we rely on.

 

[CMOORE185]

So, we checked out of Sheraton Vistana Resort today (very happy here) and go to DTD to do some shopping. Got to BCV's and checked in ...... long lines, even though we did online check-in. Gave them out phone number to call when the room was ready. Well, 4 pm comes and goes and DH goes back to registration. the keys to our villa had been ready for 3 HOURS and nobody called to let us know. Stormalong Bay is so vcrowded you can't get a chair in the part that actually is open. Get to our 1 bedroom villa and it is in the worst part of the resort overlooking the road! Very loud noise all the time with trucks, buses and cars wizzing by along with fumes. Can't even sit out on the balcony and carry on a conversation. So, DH goes back to registration to complain. Thre is no other room available (well, if they had called us when the room was ready instead of 3 hours later, maybe we could have gotten a different room). We can have a different villa tomorrow. So, that means we have to pack up everything tomorrow and move again! YUCK!!!!

The condition of the room is also not very good. Lots of dents in the walls, tables, refrigerator shelves broken/missing. Just not very good. We have been DVC members since 2005 and this is the worst we have had. We stayed here at BCV's last April and we had a wonderful stay, but there isn't much magic here now.

Put me in the group that says they should not have waved the room change fee. I see no legitimate reason you need to change rooms. IMO Disney caves into people way to easily. Someone has to get this room, why not you.

 

[Corinne]

Good luck with any complaints. When we were there in Dec and brought to the attention of the on duty manager the condition of our room as to lack of cleaning, stains and things broken.

He laughed and said, "You know you are in the DVC section not the deluxe resort don't you"?

How rude! How did you respond to that!?

 

[Dean]

How rude! How did you respond to that!?

You tell the person you don't appreciate their attitude and that you don't want people in charge of a DVC resort that feels that way. You then talk to a higher manager, either the actual front desk Manager of the GM. IMO, this would be worth missing part of my vacation to deal with.

 

[hakepb]

Good luck with any complaints. When we were there in Dec and brought to the attention of the on duty manager the condition of our room as to lack of cleaning, stains and things broken.

He laughed and said, "You know you are in the DVC section not the deluxe resort don't you"?

I wonder what would be said if the Hotel Impossible (newer show on Travel Channel) guy showed up at DVC?
He has said that service should be the same at a 3 star resort as a 5 star, just room size and amenities should be different. During the episode I saw, he was talking to the housekeepers and asked them where their written checklist was to report maintainence issues.
I don't think Claire would be happy with his report

 

[Dean]

Agreed. Blondietink, All you are doing is sticking some other dvc member with that room.

And those problems are pretty much every DVC rooms we've had over a decade of ownership. The problems you are describing are, in my experience, DVC standards. Stove burners have been out more often than not. Our big one is broken drawers, we've never been in a room without a broken drawer. Sometimes missing pulls, sometimes with broken rails. Unfortunate, but true.

My comment was related to change for location or similar. I think there's a certain amount of issues that are acceptable and some that are not. Dirty and unusable are not acceptable, little scuffs here, a sagging door there, etc should be. Other than things that are needed and unusable (stove example), these are not appropriate items to move rooms.

 

[bobbiwoz]

You tell the person you don't appreciate their attitude and that you don't want people in charge of a DVC resort that feels that way. You then talk to a higher manager, either the actual front desk Manager of the GM. IMO, this would be worth missing part of my vacation to deal with.

I have to remember this. Nothing like that ("bad" attitude from a manager) has ever happened to us, but that's the attitude I would hope to take.

I've had a room with road noise, and lived with it. I found something to like about it, in that case, I was on the first floor and enjoyed the bunnies that visited (not because of feeding) the patio. I think that dwelling on the bad aspects make them seem even larger or worse.

Bobbi

 

[jodifla]

My comment was related to change for location or similar. I think there's a certain amount of issues that are acceptable and some that are not. Dirty and unusable are not acceptable, little scuffs here, a sagging door there, etc should be. Other than things that are needed and unusable (stove example), these are not appropriate items to move rooms.

Right. Instead, as an OWNER, I would call maintenance and ask them to attend to things so the next person didn't face it.

Someone has to get the less than perfect rooms.

 

[n2mm]

OP, hope your trip gets better! Did you make any room request when booking? Just curious. I always do and while they are not always honored, it does make me feel better that I at least try to make a request. I think I run about 50% of getting my request. At the BCV, my fear is being in a room near the outside smoking section. We arrive at the BCV next Thursday and while I did make a location request, I always get a little nervous because I'll be there for 16 nights and want to like my room. I would have no problem paying the change room fee if I hate my room and knew I could get a room I enjoy more, esp. for the length of my trip. I did read that SAB is openning back up as we speak, so hopefully things will get better.

 

[Dean]

Right. Instead, as an OWNER, I would call maintenance and ask them to attend to things so the next person didn't face it.

Someone has to get the less than perfect rooms.

For the things that are fixable, I would agree. Same for minor cleaning issues. However, many of the things don't affect function and are minor but would only be fixable if one closed off the room for a day or more.

 

[MsTessP]

As far as road noise, hallway noise, etc.....as long as it isn't *too* noisy...we have solved that issue. We use a "sound machine" at home which provides us with white noise to block out sounds. That way, other folks in the house can stay up and watch TV, have conversations, shut doors, etc., without disturbing anyone trying to sleep in the next room.

We used to travel with our machine, but now we use an app that is available on our smart phones for just a couple of dollars. Our current app even records a sound, so we have recorded the white noise sound from our unit at home. It sounds like a fan or an air conditioner and really helps us sleep and stay sleeping in spite of sounds from outside the room.

For some people who have issues with noise levels away from home, it can make all the difference. I would have great difficulty sleeping without a sound conditioner now - in fact *dead silence* would be an issue for me!

 

[mjc2003]

We had a very similar check in problem this past early November, plus we had an exhausted baby and it was past bedtime. I nearly fell apart begging for a room, turns out they"forgot" to call us when it had been ready for hours. Then it took an hour to find a sleeping solution as several pack and plays were broken. This ruined the magic, we are staying off site this year. Horrible. Hang in there.

I am confused. If you were begging for a room, how did it come to pass that it took hours to find out the room was ready? Did you beg when you arrived and then leave the desk area for a few hours awaiting the call? Also, was it past "bedtime" or "naptime"? Because if you got there after bedtime (presumably 7-8 pm for an infant) and it took several hours, are you saying the room wasn't ready until close to midnight? We were there in November as well, with two small kids. We never got a call. We simply waited around, kids ate and swam while I checked every 20-30 minutes. Of course the room was ready before I got a call or text. I would think with a small child you would just keep checking. Also, if it took an hour to get a working pack and play that can be annoying, but it sounds like you let a couple of issues that arose during the first few hours of your trip ruin your vacation to the point where you are staying off site this year? How was the rest of the trip? Do you realize that you could stay off site (as happened to us a few years ago at Reunion) and find out that there were no pack and plays available even though we were promised one? It sounds like they brought you "several" pack and plays and were attentive to your needs.

We stayed at Jambo last year and it took a few tries and about an hour to open the pullout, two maintenance guys had to come with a special tool. Both of my children were exhausted, it was well past bedtime. It was very frustrating. However, the rest of our trip was so great that I almost forgot about that issue until now.
I do agree that it's crazy that a guest would be told a call would be forthcoming when the room is ready, but the call never comes. But like I said, with little kids I always just keep checking.

I'm always more surprised when I receive the text or call than when we don't. It's not that unusual of problem - at least for us and I doubt we're all that unique.

We are 1 for 3. 3 DVC trips, 1 phone call. We stayed DVC cash twice before and never got the call, so I guess we are 1-5. As I said above, with two small kids I don't sit and wait for a call. I politely check back every 30 minutes or so.

Good luck with any complaints. When we were there in Dec and brought to the attention of the on duty manager the condition of our room as to lack of cleaning, stains and things broken.

He laughed and said, "You know you are in the DVC section not the deluxe resort don't you"?

I too would be curious who you reported this response to and how it was handled. I certainly hope you didn't just let this go?

I wonder what would be said if the Hotel Impossible (newer show on Travel Channel) guy showed up at DVC?
He has said that service should be the same at a 3 star resort as a 5 star, just room size and amenities should be different. During the episode I saw, he was talking to the housekeepers and asked them where their written checklist was to report maintainence issues.
I don't think Claire would be happy with his report

I watched the show last night, I think you are talking about the hotel in Montauk? That guy is great. DVC would make his head blow up.

Right. Instead, as an OWNER, I would call maintenance and ask them to attend to things so the next person didn't face it.

Someone has to get the less than perfect rooms.

On our last trip I left an itemized note of small issues in our room. None were a big deal, just little things. We too had a broken fridge shelf, and two of the burners on the stove were a bit off. We also had loose doors under the sink, which I fixed with a small travel screwdriver. People have to assume ownership. The OP lists several things that could have been fixed in minutes, like a lightbulb being out or a replacement shelf. Why can't we have a checklist in the rooms that, as owners, we could leave for maintenance?


To the OP, I understand your frustration and hope the rest of your trip is better. We are all going to encounter rooms with issues, but the issue with SAB would be particularly frustrating. As I understand, this was a maintenance issue that had to be addressed immediately, so at least it's not like they decided to do work during a very busy few weeks--apparently they had no choice.

 

[nalajms]

He laughed and said, "You know you are in the DVC section not the deluxe resort don't you"?

Does this mean that certain rooms are DVC and others are not? I thought the whole building was DVC owned. We've only done 2 cash stays at BCV and didn't have any room issues like broken drawers or broken appliances. Does this mean I'll likely end up with a bad room if we book on points?

 

[mjc2003]

Does this mean that certain rooms are DVC and others are not? I thought the whole building was DVC owned. We've only done 2 cash stays at BCV and didn't have any room issues like broken drawers or broken appliances. Does this mean I'll likely end up with a bad room if we book on points?

No, the whole building is DVC, just some rooms are available for cash but it's a % of the rooms, not certain rooms that are set aside. There can be some (generally minor) maintenance issues, and if you call they will usually fix them rather promptly. We personally don't get offended or even care to notice things like a scuff mark on the wall or slight wear in the carpet. I would say that 98% of what we need is usually fine. I'm not offended by a lightbulb not working, they usually work until they don't. No big deal. Any larger issues we have had have been remedied ASAP. "Major" issues like a broken appliance are very rare and are addressed. We had the same issue as the OP with the fridge, there was a broken shelf. They replaced it. No big deal.

Because of the nature of DVC rooms being more like a "home" (vs a regular hotel room), people spend more time in the room. Also, often there are 2-4 people in a hotel room but a 2 bedroom villa might have 8 people. More people spending more time in the room can lead to wear. What you have experienced so far with cash rooms with no issues is really the norm.

 

[Pakey]

I own at BCV and have had villas there with the road noise. There are posts all over the dis here about that section and the road noise. I chalk it up to it being part of the experience of owning/staying at BCV.

I agree, room change fee should be charged in this case. OP, I hope the rest of your stay is more enjoyable. I've owned DVC for about 15 years and I expect dings/nicks/minor things in all of the villas. I don't let these issues affect my vacation.

It's a shame about SAB. We've been there when there's been partial closure and it certainly does clog up the open areas.

 

[crisi]

My comment was related to change for location or similar. I think there's a certain amount of issues that are acceptable and some that are not. Dirty and unusable are not acceptable, little scuffs here, a sagging door there, etc should be. Other than things that are needed and unusable (stove example), these are not appropriate items to move rooms.

In our case the stove was usable, the burners just needed to be reset into the stovetop. Several times we've had burners that have just been disconnected..I've assumed it's a standard housekeeping thing to reduce fire risk. The first time it was "huh?". After that, we plug in burners.

 

[Dean]

In our case the stove was usable, the burners just needed to be reset into the stovetop. Several times we've had burners that have just been disconnected..I've assumed it's a standard housekeeping thing to reduce fire risk. The first time it was "huh?". After that, we plug in burners.

Hi Crisi, I didn't mean to hit home with you. I guess I didn't make my point very well so I'll spell out my goals when I post to such issues since it's clear to me over the years that this distinction has often been misunderstood.

When I post about such issues I try to post to the principles involved rather than a specific circumstance unless it's a very clear and specific situation. That does two things, it avoid giving an opinion directly on a situation where I don't have the full story and likely never will have due to having only one side, it also allows me to avoid posting info directed specifically at another person. However, if I do post to a principle and someone finds themselves accused by the principle involved, so be it. In this particular case, that's why I posted that someone wanting a change for view alone should be charged rather than saying that the OP should be charged. If it ends up being one and the same, I'm OK with that.

 

[Corinne]

You tell the person you don't appreciate their attitude and that you don't want people in charge of a DVC resort that feels that way. You then talk to a higher manager, either the actual front desk Manager of the GM. IMO, this would be worth missing part of my vacation to deal with.

I know, that is how I would have handled it at well, but I was curious how the poster responded, and what was, if any, the solution. I would have also contacted Member Services, just to let them know how you had been treated.

 

[SecretPoohLove]

We have BLT booked for dec and wanted to switch at 7 months to BCV. Should I not bother? I am a very light sleeper, and we have a 2 yo hat goes to bed early. It we got a really noisy room, would be dissapointed in switching. What section should I request for the most quiet? Or would 4 or 5 floor suffice?