BLT not up to par

[tomjul811]

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.

 

[GoofItUp]

You did the right thing bringing things to their attention while you were there and following up with an e-mail. Hopefully they can (continue to?) correct the problems BLT has experienced. And hopefully your next trip will be more satisfactory.

 

[jolia]

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!

 

[cvjw]

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.

 

[disneynutz]

As owners at BLT I can say that for us the resort is a disappointment.

The plumbing in the shower, missing soap dish, lack of hooks to hang your towel on, lighting, back to back sinks in the studios, selection of building materials, and the rusty name tiles on the founders fountain.

We can only hope that Disney learns from their mistakes.

Bill

 

[LIFERBABE]

So the solution to the dripping rainshower head, was to permanently remove them? I wonder if this was just this villa or all villas.

Sorry you had a not so great stay. I noticed similar issues in my villa.

 

[disneynutz]

So the solution to the dripping rainshower head, was to permanently remove them? I wonder if this was just this villa or all villas.

Sorry you had a not so great stay. I noticed similar issues in my villa.

We have stayed in 5 different rooms at BLT and the overhead rain shower head has dripped in all of them. I'm sure that Disney thought that it was a nice idea, it just didn't work out. I would imagine that the shower valves can be confusing for some folks.

Bill

 

[DVC Mike]

BLT is hands-down my favorite DVC resort at WDW.

I do think, however, that some of the materials used are showing signs of wear.

 

[tomjul811]

I didn't mean to take anything away from the resort as a whole but rather point out some shortcomings. I did love the location and watching the fireworks over the castle from my couch. My issue is the fact that there seems to be a total lack of concern from disney regarding the fit and finish of the resort as well as the upkeep.

 

[Nancy F]

I had a wonderful Studio. Rm #8018 was great. The only thing wrong was a stain on the arm of the pull out. But you can't blame Disney for that. I blame the people staying in the rooms. I'm hoping that the studios will hold up better than the other rooms. Time will tell.
Nancy

 

[Tara]

BLT is hands-down my favorite DVC resort at WDW.

I do think, however, that some of the materials used are showing signs of wear.

I think this is a fair assessment. BLT remains my favorite resort by far.

When we checked in last, the bathroom door in the 2nd bedroom was broken (literally torn off the bracket keeping it in the track, and easy to miss if the door was open - it was - and housekeeping had no reason to close it). We called, they fixed it, end of story.

 

[Sammie]

FYI: on BLT, DVC upper management signed off on all of these issues even after being advised by Disney operations teams that they felt they would lead to problems.

It is a shame that such a wonderful location and design was built with materials that are very quickly showing wear and tear.

I hope structurally it is built better than the materials chosen for the rooms.

This resort has only been open 16 months, since DVC rehabs less often than Disney resorts can you imagine what it is going to look like in another year.

 

[conandrob240]

I was extremely disappointed with BLT as well when stayed there a few months ago. The fact that you hav eot check in at the main resort and that there are no facilities for food or beverage (othr than pool area which closed pretty early) was a future deal-breaker for us. And, I totally agree about the condition of the rooms. I was shocked to see loose door handles, toilet paper holder hanging off, wear, doors that didn't close right, etc. For such a new resort, it had lots of problems. Showed me there was very poor material chosen for these rooms. All "flash" but no quality. Can't beat the location & view but, other than that, a real disappointment.

 

[Cyndibear]

BLT is hands-down my favorite DVC resort at WDW.

I do think, however, that some of the materials used are showing signs of wear.

I totally agree with Mike!!! Love, love, love BLT. Agree that there was a poor choice in materials used but I hope that DVC will get that fixed. Good thing there are other DVC resorts to choose from!!!

Cyndi

 

[toniosmom]

Having just stayed there myself, I understand what you mean. I believe our room didn't show as much wear as yours, but it was still there and disappointing considering the age of the resort. One of my biggest issues was the gap and the lack of locks on the bathroom doors. Since it was just me and my son, we didn't have a problem, but I am planning to stay there next year with my parents as well and that will definitely be a problem. There is a significant lack of bathroom privacy there. We still had the overhead rain shower and I didn't notice a leaking problem. I also didn't notice the water pressure problem others have complained about. But what's up with the lack of a soap dish? I didn't like leaving the soap on the seat so that it could get all soft and scummy after sitting in a puddle.

Regardless, because of the location, BLT is my current favorite resort. You just can't beat the walk to MK.

 

[Sammie]

Having just stayed there myself, I understand what you mean. I believe our room didn't show as much wear as yours, but it was still there and disappointing considering the age of the resort. One of my biggest issues was the gap and the lack of locks on the bathroom doors. Since it was just me and my son, we didn't have a problem, but I am planning to stay there next year with my parents as well and that will definitely be a problem. There is a significant lack of bathroom privacy there. We still had the overhead rain shower and I didn't notice a leaking problem. I also didn't notice the water pressure problem others have complained about. But what's up with the lack of a soap dish? I didn't like leaving the soap on the seat so that it could get all soft and scummy after sitting in a puddle.

Regardless, because of the location, BLT is my current favorite resort. You just can't beat the walk to MK.

The gap and the lock issue is being addressed. Which is good.

 

[nickspace]

During our stay we also noticed that many of the materials used to finish the rooms were low quality. The room looked nice but it was obvious that there would be premature problems because of the lack of quality finishings.

I like buying quality materials myself because the cost of installation is the same no mater what you buy. If you buy poor quality material you will pay more in the long run. You will have to buy replacement material more frequently and installation once again.

 

[jade1]

Not good. We will be there in 2 weeks-plan on pics of any issues.

 

[keishashadow]

I had a wonderful Studio. Rm #8018 was great. The only thing wrong was a stain on the arm of the pull out. But you can't blame Disney for that. I blame the people staying in the rooms. I'm hoping that the studios will hold up better than the other rooms. Time will tell.
Nancy

We were absolutely thrilled with our studio in Oct, if we didn't have youngest heading off to college next fall would've finally added on there this year, still on back burner.

IMO the storage units are top notch to hide your gear keeping the sleek contemporary vibe, just need some sort of shelving in BR vs sticking things on back of toilet-yuk.

If they could eliminate the turkey vultures visiting the balcony it'd be near perfect in my mind although if I had the issues OP did, my take would certainly be different.

Can't say I noticed issues w/either shower or door handles/latches.

Q for those who own/regular visitors: Would you say DVC went cheap on the hardware to cut construction costs?

 

[DVC SSR Owner]

Financially, DVC will be better off selling you points with less money spent by them on quality furnishings. Then, they will just raise your dues when things need replacing. Maximum profits for them. Also, even if maintenance has to be called often, that person's salary and benefits are paid with your dues! Endless cycle, but no money out of DVD's pockets. When JL tells you to inspect the rooms and more mousekeepers and more maintenance men are needed, your dues will go up and it is no skin off his back. They will just get a raise with their set 12 percent management fee. Get it?