Bad SSR Reviews

[crims0ntidefb]

I recently purchased at Saratoga Springs but have yet to stay there. I purchased the points first, then as I was visiting Orlando decided to go by and check out what I purchased. It was larger then I expected. I did not expect to see such a spread out place. Since the wife and I like to walk we will diffently get our opportunity when we come back to stay. As I was looking around I noticed all of the sales people and was wondering if the onsite sales people maybe give better prices/rates/extras then just calling DVC. Does anyone know?

 

[lisaviolet]

I recently purchased at Saratoga Springs but have yet to stay there. I purchased the points first, then as I was visiting Orlando decided to go by and check out what I purchased. It was larger then I expected. I did not expect to see such a spread out place. Since the wife and I like to walk we will diffently get our opportunity when we come back to stay. As I was looking around I noticed all of the sales people and was wondering if the onsite sales people maybe give better prices/rates/extras then just calling DVC. Does anyone know?

No, they don't. I purchased without seeing SSR as well. I received the incentive at the time.

As for the F&F discount (15%) I believe that you have to inquire about about it. I think. If you didn't get it and your purchase hasn't fully closed they will give it to you. Did you get it? Have you closed (registered the deed)?

 

[Daitcher]

as many posters here suggest - don't buy there if you wouldn't want to stay there.
so what if i have to wait a little longer for a bus - i'll be sitting in the sun and listening to birds sing in a beautiful environment; check-in/check-out can be a nightmare anywhere given unusual circumstances, so what - the sun will shine, the birds will sing and the nightmare will pass; and why worry about disney caliber staff - they probably won't be uspet if i am not a disney caliber guest!

please don't think me disrespectful - but from where i'm coming from life is too short to be upset by waiting for a bus or struggling through a check-in/check-out - being here to wait for a bus or to check in to a vacation resort sure beats the alternative in my book!

You certainly make some valid points here. If you want to nitpick a resort you could probably find things wrong anywhere. That being said, it isn't unreasonable for people to expect the same service they recieve at other DVC Resorts. DVC is far to much money from a buy in standpoint to expect anything less. IMO SSR CM's and bus transportation should be at there best. After all they are still selling this place. Most timeshares really make a concerted effort to be at there best from a service standpoint when the resort is still selling. A good timeshare maintains that high level of service. Unfortunately many don't. Where is the incentive? The resort is already sold. Now to SSR. I don't agree with your advice of not buying there if you do not want to stay there. I own 350 SSR points and use excatly 0 of them there. I travel slower seasons and have never had a problem booking elsewhere at 7 months. This year alone I will be staying at BWV, VWL, OKW and VB. All of these booked at less than seven months. The reasons many do not like SSR are as follows: 1) Theming. I live in Saratoga Springs, NY and I can tell you the theming is a joke. Putiing up horse pictures doesn't qualify as a theme in my book. Also who wants to travel all the way to WDW and see native northeast landscaping? You don't even feel like you are in Florida. It doesn't feel like SS either, just generic cross between BCV and YC. It looks like every other timeshare. 2) no room service. Many like having this feature after a long day. It is especially convenient for people like me with a small child. 3) no poolside food. Having to go inside to AP is annoying to say the least. Timeshares with little or no services still offer this convenience. Dripping wet people going into AP is a bad idea. Poor planning IMO. Bar is also way to small for a property of this size. 4) condo style. Some people like me prefer hotel like properties. I feel that DVC is to expensive to settle for a condo like resort. Full range of services should be offered at all DVC Resorts. If not, lower the price per point for the condo resorts. I can find tons of condo timeshares in Orlando for a third of the price. SSR isn't for many but that doesn't make it a bad place. Different strokes for different folks. The extra 12 years were too much for me to ignore. The older resorts have maintained resale value but that will soon change. A timeshare with say 25 years use left will not be appealing when the newest resort will offer 50 and SSR still offering 37. Resale values of the older DVC Resorts will be dropping in the next 5-10 years. To the OP, why not stay there and give it a try? Your vacation habits will dictate whether you like it or not. Good luck and don't let the negatives scare you away. This resort has many positives as well.


DAVE

 

[lisaviolet]

You certainly make some valid points here. If you want to nitpick a resort you could probably find things wrong anywhere. That being said, it isn't unreasonable for people to expect the same service they recieve at other DVC Resorts. DVC is far to much money from a buy in standpoint to expect anything less. IMO SSR CM's and bus transportation should be at there best. After all they are still selling this place. Most timeshares really make a concerted effort to be at there best from a service standpoint when the resort is still selling. A good timeshare maintains that high level of service. Unfortunately many don't. Where is the incentive? The resort is already sold. Now to SSR. I don't agree with your advice of not buying there if you do not want to stay there. I own 350 SSR points and use excatly 0 of them there. I travel slower seasons and have never had a problem booking elsewhere at 7 months. This year alone I will be staying at BWV, VWL, OKW and VB. All of these booked at less than seven months. The reasons many do not like SSR are as follows: 1) Theming. I live in Saratoga Springs, NY and I can tell you the theming is a joke. Putiing up horse pictures doesn't qualify as a theme in my book. Also who wants to travel all the way to WDW and see native northeast landscaping? You don't even feel like you are in Florida. It doesn't feel like SS either, just generic cross between BCV and YC. It looks like every other timeshare. 2) no room service. Many like having this feature after a long day. It is especially convenient for people like me with a small child. 3) no poolside food. Having to go inside to AP is annoying to say the least. Timeshares with little or no services still offer this convenience. Dripping wet people going into AP is a bad idea. Poor planning IMO. Bar is also way to small for a property of this size. 4) condo style. Some people like me prefer hotel like properties. I feel that DVC is to expensive to settle for a condo like resort. Full range of services should be offered at all DVC Resorts. If not, lower the price per point for the condo resorts. I can find tons of condo timeshares in Orlando for a third of the price. SSR isn't for many but that doesn't make it a bad place. Different strokes for different folks. The extra 12 years were too much for me to ignore. The older resorts have maintained resale value but that will soon change. A timeshare with say 25 years use left will not be appealing when the newest resort will offer 50 and SSR still offering 37. Resale values of the older DVC Resorts will be dropping in the next 5-10 years. To the OP, why not stay there and give it a try? Your vacation habits will dictate whether you like it or not. Good luck and don't let the negatives scare you away. This resort has many positives as well.


DAVE

Good points Dave. Hopefully, they will work on some of these. Unfortunately, they won't be planting any tropical plants for us northeasterners!!!!

The first time I finally saw SSR I thought "hey something is missing for me...what is it?" I went over to OKW and thought "voila...that's it SSR reminds me of home!!!!" I like to hang out at the resort on vacation so it really hits home....yep home!!!

I'll survive though....

 

[DisneyFreaks]

The doors to the rooms are not on the exterior of the buildings like the value resorts. The walkways are internal to the buildings but they are not enclosed (i.e. no A/C). They are similar to what you would find in an apartment complex. All of the rooms do have balconies.

Thanks for explaining this everyone. I have looked at tons of pics of SSR and never noticed the semi enclosed walkways. By chance does anyone know of a good picture showing that side of the buildings?

 

[DVC-Don]

I'm sitting in my 1 bedroom at SSR right now and have not waited more than 15 minutes for a bus or run into any non-Disney CM's at all.

 

[ddave]

I'm going over paperwork and DVD that DVC sent my way and am now thinking.... "Should we buy in at SSR or buy a resale at another resort????"
The reviews I saw on another site were enought to get me questioning... Most of the complaints were about:
... the transportation in that other than those staying at SSR use the bus to get around and it creates a bussing problem for those staying at SSR.
... that you wait long periods of time to be able to get a bus to get anywhere.
... that the SSR staff are not "Disney caliber" in that they aren't friendly or helpful and on top of that, check in and check out is a "nightmare"
... that you end up staying on the bus transporting to other areas on WDW for long periods of time because EVERYTHING is so far away in comparison to the other resorts
Can anyone comment on this..????

We do not own at SSR. We own at OKW and VWL. We have stayed at SSR twice and enjoyed it both times. We did not experience any of the above issues in either trip. Hope this puts you at ease.

There was one day where the buses were a little slow to MK. There happened to be construction on the road where you go by the Contemporary. Two of the 3 lanes were closed down.

 

[Daitcher]

Good points Dave. Hopefully, they will work on some of these. Unfortunately, they won't be planting any tropical plants for us northeasterners!!!!

The first time I finally saw SSR I thought "hey something is missing for me...what is it?" I went over to OKW and thought "voila...that's it SSR reminds me of home!!!!" I like to hang out at the resort on vacation so it really hits home....yep home!!!

I'll survive though....

Thanks. It certainly wouldn't be a fate worse than death to stay at SSR.


DAVE

 

[Eeyore In Disguise]

I think you should buy your DVC points at your favourite resort if possible. Saratoga is such a big resort and I don't think there would be much trouble booking shorter notice there whatever your home resort, except for very busy periods of course. However, If you do buy at Saratoga it will be much more difficult for you to book accomodation in other resorts due to the booking windows. We bought half our points in Wilderness Lodge and half in Beach Club Villas. It works really well and we have never been disappointed. Either way it is a great scheme.

 

[disneycrazed139]

For us, DTD is the last stop of the day, so it makes sense to be located next door. BCV was great in most ways but a nightmare getting back to at night from DTD. Up to 1 hour bus waits and multi-resort busses aren't good for tired people. If we are at SSR, we can walk back to our rooms in 7 minutes (if in Congress Park). This is the actual time it took--walking at an average pace.

If your feet are too tired or if you are at PI or West side late, you can take the bus around the corner.

 

[TinkGirl]

We just got back from SSR about a month ago. Our family absolutely loved it! We arrived on Magical Express with other guests and the whole check-in process only took about 15 minutes. Every CM we came into contact with was friendly and helpful. The resort itself is peaceful and beautiful. There were a few days that we had to wait 15-20 minutes for buses, which was my kids' time to torture each other. Other times the wait was short--it was just luck. We did find it easy to walk to DD. We visited other resorts by catching the buses there. We are staying at BWV in June and only hope to like it as much as we enjoyed SSR.