Beach Club Villas Renovations, some good, some disappointing

[KAT4DISNEY]

Also, the hotel rooms are generally refurbed every 5 years, so they'll likely look different 5 years from now, including the hallway carpet.

DVC did announce at the annual meeting that they will also be doing refurbs more frequently. It's likely that ongoing we will see the same routine as established this year. First hotel side, then DVC side getting refurbs. Or vice versa. But all on the same schedule.

 

[rlk]

So.. With the refurbs going on the laundry in DVC is not available... You can get a card from the front desk to use the beach club laundry... By the quiet pool closest to Epcot... Or the right corner when looking at the building from the bc quiet pool.

Do you know how long the laundry room will be unavailable?

 

[michelleiada]

Respectfully, I disagree with the idea that the refurb at BCV lacks theming. How were the previous rooms themed better? I have sat in the villas and looked at photos....what about the original rooms screams "beach"? Nothing! Not the carpet, the drapery, the cabinets, the furniture...I don't get it! There were some wall hangings/prints that were beach themed but they replaced them with beach themed wall hangings. The new rooms feel beachy themed to me with the new color palette and subtle decor. I love it! It's fresh and new and has a subtle beach theme. The bathroom tiles are far more superior to what was in the bathrooms before. I will miss the ceiling fans but it certainly won't ruin my vacation time there. I'm very happy with this much needed refurb.

 

[DougEMG]

Aren't all renovations paid for by maintenance fees and doesn't Disney get a percent of that as their management fee, so would it not be in Disney's best interest (making maximum money) to put in higher quality items, charge members more and then make more fees for themselves. Just maybe they are trying to balance things between quality and costs to members.

 

[ScubaCat]

Aren't all renovations paid for by maintenance fees and doesn't Disney get a percent of that as their management fee, so would it not be in Disney's best interest (making maximum money) to put in higher quality items, charge members more and then make more fees for themselves. Just maybe they are trying to balance things between quality and costs to members.

Yes, exactly. DVD is allowed to pocket 12% of the dues per the master declaration, and you can bet that they max that out every single time. If they keep enough in the capital reserve fund, they could use it for a major refurb just as the deeds expire and then sell the newly refurbed property all over again. There are lots of angles to this, but there is definitely incentive for them to hold costs down. And, not a lot of incentive to spend more than they absolutely have to.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

There are lots of angles to this, but there is definitely incentive for them to hold costs down. And, not a lot of incentive to spend more than they absolutely have to.

The 12% in the pocket contradicts these two statements. Though I agree there is some incentives to keep dues low it's not because Disney can pocket the extra. In fact they can pocket more the higher the dues are.

 

[ParkHoppers]

DVC did announce at the annual meeting that they will also be doing refurbs more frequently. It's likely that ongoing we will see the same routine as established this year. First hotel side, then DVC side getting refurbs. Or vice versa. But all on the same schedule.

I'm glad I saw this as I posed a question in another thread a couple days ago about the fact that maybe Disney was going to do more cheaper generic refurbs more often as opposed to doing a more expensive better themed refurb only once in a while. This would make the rooms stay looking newer longer in theory. I know if you use better materials they will stay nicer longer but people really beat these rooms up these days. Starting to understand what DVC is up to with refurbs lately. I personally wolud like a nicer more expensive themed refurb less often. But that might be because I am one of those that treat the rooms like I would my own home. I am thinking less and less people are doing this though.

 

[corpcomp]

Mousekeeping hates the new floors. First they sweep them then for some reason, the steam them. The floors are already showing scratches

Bill

Hard to explain but the new floors feel like concrete. They have exaggerated raised grooves in them which may be the reason for the sweeping. Just way too dark for my taste.
And re the comment losing the chicken fried steak at OKW, I was equally mad that they removed the gelato bar from the BCV marketplace.

 

[corpcomp]

I'm glad I saw this as I posed a question in another thread a couple days ago about the fact that maybe Disney was going to do more cheaper generic refurbs more often as opposed to doing a more expensive better themed refurb only once in a while. This would make the rooms stay looking newer longer in theory. I know if you use better materials they will stay nicer longer but people really beat these rooms up these days. Starting to understand what DVC is up to with refurbs lately. I personally wolud like a nicer more expensive themed refurb less often. But that might be because I am one of those that treat the rooms like I would my own home. I am thinking less and less people are doing this though.

Expensive does not equate to care.
Last year I sold a beach house on the outer banks.
It was 8 BR and we really spent a lot to keep it up but every year we had to repair and replace lots of items trashed by the renters. During high season, mid July we got about $7000 a week so you would think people spending that much would take better care. I asked my neighbor in front of me who was oceanfront 10 BR getting $14,000 if renters took better care of his place. He said No, they trash mine too. Standard phrase down there is vacationers pack their bags but leave their brains behind. All the store owners called them Tourons, tourist morons.

 

[Kidanifan08]

We kind of like the new look. The colors are very neutral compared to before, but the vibe still feels very beachy to us. Unfortunately, we have a balcony overlooking the bridge by The Land, but I have been able to watch turtles swim around in the water, so it's kind of like A Kidani savanna view

As someone else mentioned, the tile does have the appearance of sand. One nice thing is that there are hooks on the back of two of the bathroom doors; can't remember if those were there before. I do question the decision to eliminate the fan, but at least our A/C is working well. The fridge is small; we brought stuff over from Jambo and had more room for it over there. I was able to look into one of the first floor rooms that they are working on, and frankly, I much prefer this new scheme to the peach colored walls and vine carpet. The laminate floor is a little strange, and it does create an echo, but it's not bad, overall. I am going to try to attach some photos of some of the decor; never done this before so I hope it works!

 

[ttepsich]

View attachment 181326 View attachment 181327 View attachment 181328 View attachment 181329 View attachment 181330 View attachment 181332 View attachment 181333 View attachment 181326 View attachment 181326 View attachment 181327 View attachment 181328 View attachment 181326 View attachment 181327 View attachment 181328 View attachment 181326 We kind of like the new look. The colors are very neutral compared to before, but the vibe still feels very be achy to us. Unfortunately, we have a balcony overlooking the bridge by The Land, but I have been able to watch turtles swim around in the water, so it's kind of like A Kidani savanna view

As someone else mentioned, the tile does have the appearance of sand. One nice thing is that there are hooks on the back of two of the doors; can't remember if those were there before. I do question the decision to eliminate the fan, but at least our A/C is working well. The fridge is small; we brought stuff over from Jambo and had more room for it over there. I was able to look into one of the first floor rooms that they are working on, and frankly, I much prefer this new scheme to the peach colored walls and vine carpet. The laminate floor is a little strange, and it does create an echo, but it's not bad, overall. I am going to try to attach some photos of some of the decor; never done this before so I hope it works!

 

[ttepsich]

Great pictures!! Thanks. Looking forward to our trip there in October. What a welcome change. What size room were you in? I hope the "smaller" fridge you refer to isn't in the studio.

 

[Kidanifan08]

Great pictures!! Thanks. Looking forward to our trip there in October. What a welcome change. What size room were you in? I hope the "smaller" fridge you refer to isn't in the studio.

The refrigerator is this one:

http://www.sears.com/kenmore-10.7-c...-04676393000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1#

It's full sized, just small. We're in a one bedroom.

 

[jodifla]

View attachment 181326 View attachment 181327 View attachment 181328 View attachment 181329 View attachment 181330 View attachment 181332 View attachment 181333 View attachment 181326 View attachment 181326 View attachment 181327 View attachment 181328 View attachment 181326 View attachment 181327 View attachment 181328 View attachment 181326 We kind of like the new look. The colors are very neutral compared to before, but the vibe still feels very beachy to us. Unfortunately, we have a balcony overlooking the bridge by The Land, but I have been able to watch turtles swim around in the water, so it's kind of like A Kidani savanna view

As someone else mentioned, the tile does have the appearance of sand. One nice thing is that there are hooks on the back of two of the bathroom doors; can't remember if those were there before. I do question the decision to eliminate the fan, but at least our A/C is working well. The fridge is small; we brought stuff over from Jambo and had more room for it over there. I was able to look into one of the first floor rooms that they are working on, and frankly, I much prefer this new scheme to the peach colored walls and vine carpet. The laminate floor is a little strange, and it does create an echo, but it's not bad, overall. I am going to try to attach some photos of some of the decor; never done this before so I hope it works!

Thanks for the pictures! There are some nice details there. Cannot understand taking out the ceiling fans. Crazy!

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

The refrigerator is this one:

http://www.sears.com/kenmore-10.7-c...-04676393000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1#

It's full sized, just small. We're in a one bedroom.

10.7 Cu feet is not full size. If that is it then they have definitely reduced. I know manufacturers have changed fridge shapes and it's hard to find fridges that fit into particular sized spaces - they've gone taller but wow - that's one small fridge for a 1 or 2 BR villa!

 

[smjj]

10.7 Cu feet is not full size. If that is it then they have definitely reduced. I know manufacturers have changed fridge shapes and it's hard to find fridges that fit into particular sized spaces - they've gone taller but wow - that's one small fridge for a 1 or 2 BR villa!

Yeah, when we were there last June the larger frig. was pretty full with all our delivered food, water and stuff. Hope this will not be an issue when we return this coming Oct...smjj

 

[Kidanifan08]

10.7 Cu feet is not full size. If that is it then they have definitely reduced. I know manufacturers have changed fridge shapes and it's hard to find fridges that fit into particular sized spaces - they've gone taller but wow - that's one small fridge for a 1 or 2 BR villa!

Good point. I should have been clearer. It is not a studio/dorm sized fridge. But it definitely is not close to what we had at Jambo. This one is probably 6-8 cu. ft. smaller. We have a 3 soda 12-packs, a 12-pack of beer, a gallon of milk, two 6 oz chip dip, two 6 oz cold cut packages, and a half dozen yogurt cups with a little room to spare. We have bottled water, salad dressing and tonic in the door and lettuce, lemons and limes in the produce drawers. The freezer section is quite small. May be tough to fit full-sized frozen pizzas in very easily.

 

[theSurlyMermaid]

View attachment 181326 View attachment 181327 View attachment 181328 View attachment 181329 View attachment 181330 View attachment 181332 View attachment 181333 View attachment 181326 View attachment 181326 View attachment 181327 View attachment 181328 View attachment 181326 View attachment 181327 View attachment 181328 View attachment 181326 We kind of like the new look. The colors are very neutral compared to before, but the vibe still feels very beachy to us. Unfortunately, we have a balcony overlooking the bridge by The Land, but I have been able to watch turtles swim around in the water, so it's kind of like A Kidani savanna view

As someone else mentioned, the tile does have the appearance of sand. One nice thing is that there are hooks on the back of two of the bathroom doors; can't remember if those were there before. I do question the decision to eliminate the fan, but at least our A/C is working well. The fridge is small; we brought stuff over from Jambo and had more room for it over there. I was able to look into one of the first floor rooms that they are working on, and frankly, I much prefer this new scheme to the peach colored walls and vine carpet. The laminate floor is a little strange, and it does create an echo, but it's not bad, overall. I am going to try to attach some photos of some of the decor; never done this before so I hope it works!

I'll go even further. I love it. It is like modern beachy to me. I thought the old decor looked straight out of the set of the Golden Girls.

 

[ScubaCat]

I'll go even further. I love it. It is like modern beachy to me. I thought the old decor looked straight out of the set of the Golden Girls.

Still shouldn't have removed so many amenities. Nevertheless, a refurb was definitely overdue. We'll be there in September so I'll be able to judge more fairly then. Still, that tub is just stupid, and removing the shutters and ceiling fans. No taste.

 

[wdwstar]

did anyone have a picture of the bathroom floor. I just love that tile and trying to find where I can purchase for my bathroom floor.