BLT not up to par

[Luna_Lovegood]

We are here at BLT now, and we have the drippy rain shower head as well. We also have a sliding door that sticks and tries to trap me in the master bath, as well as the missing drawer handle under the tv. Overall, however, we've loved being here. Maybe it's because this is our first dvc trip, but we've loved every minute of our time here. And, due to the supercold temps, we've spent more time in the room than usual! Loving the fact that we have a one bedroom to hang out in, rather than our usual hotel room!

 

[dbs1228]

Just returned today from our 1st stay at BLT 2 bedroom. No leaking shower head from master, loved the rainshower head! All bathroom doors worked, furniture in good shape except for minor scratches on the dining table. I was very nervous because of all the reports but I have to say I LOVED IT! I stayed at OKW 2 bedroom in May and actually liked the layout at BLT better and it really did not seem that much smaller to me.

Peace of mind for me, I made the right choice, loved it!!!!!

 

[mac_tlc]

We were just in a 1 bdr on the 8th floor last week. I did not notice any of the equipment problems that so many others have reported. A few nicks on some of the furniture, hightened by the dark color. The only annoying thing I kept noticing is how much the dust shows on the dark furnishings.

I have never minded the lack of a bathroom lock. If the door is closed, don't come in. Shower worked fine, I love the rain shower head -- never used the conventional wall mounted one.

mac_tlc

 

[Caren]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned our biggest gripe at BLT--uncomfortable, cheap-looking furniture. I know sleeper furniture is never as comfortable as regular furniture, but the sofa was virtually unusable--the cushions kept creeping forward, leaving you with the feeling that you were about to slide off onto the floor. The back seams on the bottom cushions were totally sprung and, of course, were quite visible because these were the cushions that crept forward. Also the furniture showed dirt badly. This wasn't a matter of sloppy guests, this was a matter of cheap fabric without stain treatment.

The bathroom in the living area was also unacceptable in our opinion. It's all well and good to say, "just close the bathroom door," but people seated in the living area had a full half-inch gap through which to view the bathroom, even with the door closed. Heaven help you if you had any difficulties with bathroom noises.

 

[smjj]

We stayed in a BLT villa with a family of 10 Oct 16 thru 22. The only issue I had was the lighting in the bathrooms was very poor. When I say poor, I mean very poor. I know they are wanting to save energy but come on. I at first thought there must be bulbs burned out but that was not the case. I did not experience any of the other issues talked about here and other threads about BLT...smjj

 

[spiceycat]

really love BLT - but you got to think what were they thinking.

furniture that is easily damaged - hey kids will be coming here often.

furniture and carpet that easily stains - again KIDS.

with SSR they used the best. with both BLT and BCV (but it got a rehab) they used the worst.

Disney will sue the companies that provide the stuff and get us new stuff - with no cost to members. they have done this before. can't understand what is taking them so long.

if they are waiting for it to sell out before they do a rehab - well wish they would reconsider and do it soooner.

 

[missy2217]

We stayed at BLT in a 2 bedroom dedicated in Sept. The overhead shower in the master bathroom dripped cold water on my head every time I took a shower. I would personally rather have the shower head removed, than to constantly have the cold water drip with each shower. As a person who doesn't like to get her hair wet with each shower, it was very trying at BLT. We did call maintenance a couple of times, but they were never able to stop the drip before we checked out.

I too found the dripping head to be annoying, but I did figure out if I ran hot water through it before I jumped in I would have hot water dripping and that didn't bother me.

I found the laminate to be speared with whatever type of cleaner they used. In the follow up survey I did let them know that the tables, furniture and stainless were rather smeared with the cleaner. They should really use a different product.

 

[smjj]

really love BLT -

Disney will sue the companies that provide the stuff and get us new stuff - with no cost to members. they have done this before. can't understand what is taking them so long.

I am sure you are right but I have to wonder if this is not an exception. It seems this resort was simple built on the cheap. I can see Disney cost cutting in this all the way. If something is defective, sue. I think they just went cheap and now are(we) paying for it. I think the new DVC management rule is build it cheap and they will still come...smjj

 

[DVC SSR Owner]

I haven't been there...is the furniture like cheap sauder or IKEA assembled mdf/particle board type furniture like u pitch after college?

 

[lugnut33]

I have not been to BLT yet but was just reading a post that they wanted $130/pt. Does not sound like its worth it at all! Hopefully your next experience will be more memorable in better ways!

Yeah, but DVC will solve all of that by the tiered benefits. <sarcasm>

 

[dbs1228]

I haven't been there...is the furniture like cheap sauder or IKEA assembled mdf/particle board type furniture like u pitch after college?

Yes I have to say the furniture reminded me of IKEA and that was the 1st comment our friends made when we were discussing the the furniture. As I said I love the resort, materials used are less then desirable, but love the location and layout of the 2 bedroom.

 

[Debbie & Bill]

I recently sent Member Satisfaction this email and was wondering if anyone else has had similar problems.


I Recently stayed in Bay Lake Tower on Dec xth thru the xxth in Room 7810 and 7808 (two bedroom lockoff). I was extremely disappointed in the condition of the room for a building which has only recently come online. I am an owner of Bay Lake Tower and would expect a much better experience from DVC. First of all the bedroom door in 7810 did not latch and the drawer handle was broken off under the living room tv. I called maintenance and these were addressed but the handle continued to give us problems throughout our stay. I was also extremely disappointed to find the rain shower head had been replaced with an ugly brass cap which I also called maintenance about and was informed that it had been permanently removed. I had not seen any notice regarding this design flaw and was shocked to hear that. There was also extensive wear on the black laminate in rm 7808 and a tear in the couch in that room as well. The bathroom in 7808 had shower hooks which were completely rusted and the grab bar in the bath was screwed in with non stainless screws and had a trail of rust streaming into the bath. I had brought a friend as a guest and he was contemplating joining DVC but was second guessing that decision based on the condition of the room.
I was extremely disappointed in the overall condition of the room and the fact that its condition had declined so fast after the buildings opening.
I was also disappointed in the fact that the bathroom lock situation has not been fixed yet. I had three small kids in the room and having bathroom doors that do not lock are a safety problem and privacy problem.

Don't like saying this but DVC is not very good at taking care of the unit's, many complaints are found all over the disbards. My thought is a letter to the CEO demanding a answer. My next trip will do just that if we have another problem.

 

[csharpwv]

DW and I stayed there in early December 2009, just a few short months after opening and much like other posters have said - outfitted BLT on the cheap.

The wall unit in our studio (dresser/TV stand etc) had scratches all over it, the paint on the furniture on our ground level patio was peeling, the carpet was seemingly not a commercial grade carpet, the table and chairs were showing a worn finish, and the ottoman had some signs of wear as well.

We own at BLT - and we were disappointed in the lack of services, the overall size of the Studios (we were in a Studio at Villas at Wilderness Lodge the first night of our stay) just seemed to be very small compared to the size of a regular hotel room... let alone a 'deluxe studio'.

We were very impressed by the lobby, the bamboo gardens, the fountain, the high end 'condo' feeling we had standing in the courtyard, and really just the overall appearance and excitement of staying at a 'new' resort.

However - there should have been more thought put into pulling off contemporary design in the way they approached it.

But then again something to be remembered is the very nature of contemporary style and design - it is 'with the times'. So maybe DVC plans to renovate BLT on a more frequent basis to keep the rooms looking up-to-date. We can hope... anyway!

Like most others - I am interested to see how friendly time is not only to the appearance of the resort - but also to the materials that DVD chose.

With the remodeling of the Studios of move the sink already - I think DVC/DVD may be much busier keeping BLT in repair than what they had originally anticipated - at least if the low maint. fee cost per point is any indication of their estimation.

Let's hope it doesn't totally fall apart in 5 years and require a complete renovation - that's about when we will be ready to stay in a Grand Villa!

 

[ELKHUNTER]

We stayed there on the 15th before a cruise and dispite some premature wear and tear, it was not too bad and both shower heads worked just fine. We were in room 7544.

 

[PoohNFriends]

Maybe they thought the materials would be good enough and guests might overlook the lack of quality materials because they were in love with the location?
I've never stayed there, but just trying to figure out what Disney was thinking in using poor materials .

 

[LOVETHATPOLY]

We stayed there shortly after it opened. It is one of our homes and we loved it. However, the table top did have scratches and the kitchen island did have a tear in it. Hopefully, they will improve the furnishings.

 

[vaughan100]

We stayed in a 2 bedroom lake view in July and it was awesome. My favorite view of any Disney hotel I have stayed in. I do have to concur with what some others have said: I thought that the furniture showed scratches easily and the couch showed stains easily. My thought was that the furniture style was classy and sophisticated but wouldn't hold up. It's like visiting that gorgeous house that your friend with no kids has. You think,"This is beautiful but my kids would tear it up in a matter of weeks. "

I did not experience any leaky shower head. I just used the top one though and didn't try switching between the 2. The kids used the sleeper chair and pull out couch,they were fine we had no complaints there. our doors were fine, bathroom lighting was fine. I would have liked to have a lock on the master bedroom door.

All in all though, we loved the layout, loved the view and loved the style. We have stayed in 3 other DVCs and liked this one the best. It was just so stylish, great location, lots of space, & an extra bathroom. I love having all the restaurants so close in the main concourse and the monorail to take us easily to the other hotels/ parks. We are staying there next Oct, it'll be interesting to see how everything held up. I can't see Disney just letting everything get junky.

 

[BUDDYBEAR]

we love blt

 

[jade1]

I recently sent Member Satisfaction this email and was wondering if anyone else has had similar problems.


I Recently stayed in Bay Lake Tower on Dec xth thru the xxth in Room 7810 and 7808 (two bedroom lockoff). I was extremely disappointed in the condition of the room for a building which has only recently come online. I am an owner of Bay Lake Tower and would expect a much better experience from DVC. First of all the bedroom door in 7810 did not latch and the drawer handle was broken off under the living room tv. I called maintenance and these were addressed but the handle continued to give us problems throughout our stay. I was also extremely disappointed to find the rain shower head had been replaced with an ugly brass cap which I also called maintenance about and was informed that it had been permanently removed. I had not seen any notice regarding this design flaw and was shocked to hear that. There was also extensive wear on the black laminate in rm 7808 and a tear in the couch in that room as well. The bathroom in 7808 had shower hooks which were completely rusted and the grab bar in the bath was screwed in with non stainless screws and had a trail of rust streaming into the bath. I had brought a friend as a guest and he was contemplating joining DVC but was second guessing that decision based on the condition of the room.
I was extremely disappointed in the overall condition of the room and the fact that its condition had declined so fast after the buildings opening.
I was also disappointed in the fact that the bathroom lock situation has not been fixed yet. I had three small kids in the room and having bathroom doors that do not lock are a safety problem and privacy problem.

Here now at BLT room 8020 and it is beyond magnificent IMO. By far the best WDW room I have ever had. Had a party for 12 of us last night and they could not belive the room and view when they walked over. The 1 BR is huge IMO. A few minor scuffs in some furniture but you would have to be looking hard to find anything. Could not find any of the problems encountered above in this villa-doors all latch, drawers all have handles and they match/work, shower head stainless and does not drip, shower bar not rusting,no tears in furniture.

The doors still do not lock which is on the list to be changed I hear.

A very satisfying purchase for us.

 

[LIFERBABE]

After my last stay, Dec 7th, I wrote MS regarding my concerns. They were very diligent in making sure they reached me.
They are aware of the issues and they are/will be addressed. Many of materials used were not up to specifications as presented by the supplier

Several complaints have been received.

IMO, DVD should sue the suppliers to recover their losses.
If I had purchased these materials at home depot and the shower hooks rusted and stained my tub I would not be happy!

I'm just glad they are listening and hopefully address everything

BLT is my home (I have my rusty name on the fountain to prove it) and it is a great location but the project cost cutting was just too much