Boardwalk Quality Issues

[Mich Mouse]

Hi All,

Preparing for our upcoming trip to the Boardwalk Villas. So, I am doing a lot of research....I looked at trip Advisor and found quite a few people had written about the need for renovations, poor quality of the rooms.

Is this an issue or are these people just complainers? Have any rooms been redone, so I might request a recently renovated room? That would be more important than the view to me, especially for the price we are paying.


Also, Are there any common areas like to BCV has the quaint sitting rooms throughout the resort. Just wondering. I have a feeling the rooms are lovely, and the complaints are not just. Just want some assurance.

Thanks for your opinions.

 

[bicker]

The BWV are very nice. We've stayed there just about every year for the last six years, and while the place is aging (of course), it is still kept clean and neat.

 

[Granny]

Hi All,

Preparing for our upcoming trip to the Boardwalk Villas. So, I am doing a lot of research....I looked at trip Advisor and found quite a few people had written about the need for renovations, poor quality of the rooms.

Is this an issue or are these people just complainers? Have any rooms been redone, so I might request a recently renovated room? That would be more important than the view to me, especially for the price we are paying.


Also, Are there any common areas like to BCV has the quaint sitting rooms throughout the resort. Just wondering. I have a feeling the rooms are lovely, and the complaints are not just. Just want some assurance.

Thanks for your opinions.

Think about it. Thousands of people staying at BWV and how many problems were noted? People who are happy with a resort don't usually write anyone or file a report. So by the very nature of the report, you will usually only see "bad" reports.

I think you will have a great time at BWV.

As for common areas, there are some nice areas at BWV such as the Bellevue (sp?) room and the back porch area with the chairs. Also, the lobby itself has some nice places to sit down and relax, read, etc.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I know that I tend to write more bad reports on Trip Advisor than positive ones. Especially the ones that really ticked me off. Had at least three of those on our trip out west.

BWV is a great resort and you'll have a wonderful time there.

 

[KeriZ]

We were just there in May for 11 nights and we thought it was fantastic. We were on the ground level in a two bedroom and thought that there were definately some wear but the housekeeping was absolutely fantastic.

Now if you want to talk about needing some updating issues we stayed at the Hard Rock afterwards (which was my favourite hotel) and we had a horrible experience.

But I think you will really enjoy the hotel and the concierge staff are excellent and very accomodating.

Keri

 

[JimMIA]

Is this an issue or are these people just complainers?

My experience has been a little of both. DVC is designed to operate at close to 100% occupancy and they always seem to be pretty full when we go. That causes more wear and tear than a hotel that is operating at 70% occupancy. OTOH, DVC maintains a group of rooms out of inventory for refurbishment/repair, so they may be more on top of things than a regular hotel. I was in an Embassy Suite in LA last year where almost nothing worked. They moved me to another room and it had no telephone (two room suite, no phone in either room) and the lights in the bathroom didn't work -- not bulbs out, electrical problem. Never was fixed, BTW.

The other side of the story is the "Lumpy Pillow Rule." If a pillow is lumpy, you'll hear about it here and on sites like you mentioned. Sometimes, the problems are horrendous, and other times they are frankly things that I wouldn't even notice. One thing I always look for is the action the complaining party took...or didn't take. I often find that they never reported anything, and were horrified only upon returning home and starting their rant on the Internet. A little drama livens up a complaint post a little more than justified sometimes.

We have found issues in DVC rooms. We call housekeeping and they come take care of it. Then, we go ahead and enjoy our vacation.

 

[Missy Bruin]

My family and i recently stayed there on june 25th-july 1st.We had a really graet time as usaul but.... i know what you saying here it comes.You see our home resort is SSR but we really love the epcot area so much.Well let's see where should i begin first off noboby welcomed us home.When we checked into our studio room number 3059 bells services took almost a hour to bring our luggage and our groceries they finally arrived we were missing about four bags of groceries room condition itself was terrible there was a cigarette burn mark next to the kitchen sink and the bathroom sink was clogged.The beds were terrible the pull out couch was not too bad.Even the tv dresser drawers were broken as well.Even though we got a lousy room this trip to wdw was one of our better trips for some reason.I did recently hear that the boardwalk is giong to go the some renovations with there rooms.Well will have to wait and see. Well talk to you all soon MISSY AND FAMILY

 

[disneymama73]

We just stayed at BWV last month, and I was very happy with our room. The hallway carpet needs to be replaced, but no big deal to me. It was clean, and that's good enough for me.

 

[keishashadow]

pssst...there was dust on the bathroom door frame when we stayed in a studio this June - shocking! Only reason I noticed was I used to own a cleaning service, force of habit .


If anything, I thought the WL villas last Dec. were a bit run down around the edges.

DS thought both sofa beds were uncomfortable.

Of course, I think the overall quality was outstanding & a great value.

 

[Amy&Dan]

We stayed at BWV in May and while we had a wonderful stay and would go back again in a minute we did find our room had some wear and tear issues. The shower was really awful and needed some serious repair and regrouting. The doors and trim were very grimey and sticky. Did it ruin our stay? Not in the least. I had some Chlorox wipes and got the doors cleaned (I think partly some kid who had a stinky finger thing had been in that room before us, the door knobs would stick to your hand!). The staff was wonderful, the pool area was fabulous and being so close to Epcot and MGM was very convenient. When I read that this resort was up for a refurb I wasn't surprised. I must say the unit was lovely, very nicely decorated, the bed was very comfy and the common areas were gorgeous. I just think our unit was due for some TLC and it sounds like it will get it soon. Also, we had stayed at SSR the past two stays and its brand new so that might have spoiled us a bit. I agree with another poster, that since DVC resorts run so full as a rule of thumb they don't get much time to do minor overhauls on rooms throughout the year. There was a porch with rockers off the main lobby where I sat one day, sometimes when I am caught up in the daily grind of life I remember my half hour of sitting on that rocker, my first hour at BWV, and it makes me smile with a good memory!

Oh, and I frequent tripadvisor a lot but I have learned to take those reviews with a grain of salt. Many of my favorite hotels around the country, The Disneyland Hotel in particular, consistently get bad reviews and I consistently have great stays!

 

[CoolDisneyCat]

We had a wonderful stay at BWV in June. Our room was in fine shape. The only problem I saw the whole time was the door to the pool was dirty with hand prints. The very next day, it was painted!

You really do have to read negative reviews with a grain of salt. If 100 people stay and 1 is unhappy, who are you most likely to hear from??

BW is a great place .. so many restaurants . walking to Epcot .. the decor .. have a super trip!

 

[ScooterL]

We've stayed at BWV at least once a year (usually twice) since 1999 and yes, we've noticed that the rooms vary a bit - some of them show a lot of wear-and-tear (particularly paint and tile) - while others look almost new. I think that for the most part the maintenance people do a good job with upkeep - on our last trip they were painting the white trim in the hallways and that looked fresh and nice, but as others noted, the carpet in the hallways is getting really worn. But I've never been in a room that seemed really run-down, and any issues that we've called about (like a leaky faucet or shower head) have been addressed quickly.

Laura

 

[PVA]

We have stayed at BWV about five times over the last four years, and I have found it to be in better repair than most hotels I travel to around the country. Each year for the past few, there has been some major capital improvement going on. First it was the tear down of the offices for the install of the croquet park, then the Boardwalk "Board" renovation and last year a repiping and painting issue. Everytime I was worried about problems and every time DVC came through with minimal, if any, discomfort or inconvenience to the guests. We hardly knew they were doing work! Have a great trip and enjoy.

 

[drusba]

It has been about 4 to 5 years now since they repainted all the rooms and replaced carpeting (including hallway) and that is likely coming up again in the next couple of years. They have replaced mattresses more recently, and many of the couches have been replaced on an as needed basis. The outside porches were entirely redone 3 to 2 years ago. I have never had a bad room at BWV. I have had some minor issues on different visits (and have been more than 20 times) -- some lightbulbs out, bathroom sink draining real slow, air conditioner made a loud noise, washer did not work, remotes needing bateries. In each case, we immediately called maintenance and reported the issue. In each case, the matter was fixed within two hours. Many do not call maintenance and they should. Unless maintenance knows about the problem, it cannot do anything about it.

 

[thelobstershanty]

We have been to BWV so many times, we have lost count. We have never had a villa that was in bad condition. We have had villas that show normal use but never a villa that was in the condition that some report about. Of course we have never had a room anyway on WDW property that was in horrible condition.

 

[ScooterL]

Oh, that's right...I'd forgotten about the new mattresses! I love them - or at least the king-size one, since it's the only one I've tried. VERY comfy with a nice pillowtop!

Laura

 

[Laurajean1014]

We were on the 4th floor in April for 11 days and it was perfect. Didn't see signs of wear and tear. And everything was clean.

 

[bub]

Have stayed many times at BWV over the past 10 years, with only very minor issues. This time for the first time (stayed 7/31 - 8/7) we had a fair amount of mildew on the grout in the shower. There was also a large hole in the molding by one of the bathroom doors. This surpised me but didn't ruin my stay. The king mattress was excellent, and my daughter thought the sofa bed (one of the new design) was fine. We had a problem with the remote that was called in by the CM who brought our bags to the room (yes, the kids were already checking out the TV!). The jacuzzi looked fine, but I did run it with dishwasher soap after reading about so many doing that on these boards. The CM who checked us in lacked personality but got the job done - I never care if they say "Welcome Home!" or not - the guard at the gate did welcome us.

Overall, the space and amenities in the room are great and worth the price (or the investment in DVC). I do agree that maintenance and housekeeping are slipping from what we saw 10 years ago, but I find they still outperform most other hotel chains.

 

[crisi]

My family and i recently stayed there on june 25th-july 1st.We had a really graet time as usaul but.... i know what you saying here it comes.You see our home resort is SSR but we really love the epcot area so much.Well let's see where should i begin ........When we checked into our studio room number 3059 bells services took almost a hour to bring our luggage and our groceries they finally arrived we were missing about four bags of groceries room condition itself was terrible there was a cigarette burn mark next to the kitchen sink and the bathroom sink was clogged.The beds were terrible the pull out couch was not too bad.Even the tv dresser drawers were broken as well.Even though we got a lousy room this trip to wdw was one of our better trips for some reason.I did recently hear that the boardwalk is giong to go the some renovations with there rooms.Well will have to wait and see. Well talk to you all soon MISSY AND FAMILY

Not to belittle your experience, but this is why you can't take someone else experience and say use it for yourself. What bothers one person may not bother another:

first off noboby welcomed us home: I have honestly no idea if in three stays anyone has ever said welcome home. I think they did once. Not something I care about.

When we checked into our studio room number 3059 bells services took almost a hour to bring our luggage and our groceries they finally arrived we were missing about four bags of groceries: We had something similar happen with ME. One bag arrived several hours later. But it showed up and it wasn't a big deal - took a phone call to make sure it wasn't lost. And with ME, the bags just show up in your room - no need to hang around and wait.

room condition itself was terrible :

there was a cigarette burn mark next to the kitchen sink: Happens - unfortunately, with the cost of countertops if it happens once, its staying until the room gets refreshed. I think all of the counters we've had at BWV have had burns of some type or another.Personally, white was a poor choice - I expect that the BWV countertops have the same issue as the BCV carpet - poor color choice - and that any future replacement will be with the same granite look they have at SSR - hides sins.

and the bathroom sink was clogged: That would bother me.

The beds were terrible the pull out couch was not too bad: We had a bad matress on one trip - but my husband is a "picky bed person" - we've gone through four mattresses in fifteen years together - so his complaining is taken with a grain of salt (I didn't think it was bad). We haven't had a decent pull out, but the kids are little and will sleep on a bed of nails.

Even the tv dresser drawers were broken as well: We've had this almost consistantly - some drawer somewhere is broken - either the TV or the nightstand. Since we don't use them, it doesn't bother us. (I do prop anything obviously broken in place so I don't need to look at it.)

I do say that - as a result of these experiences - that the DVC rooms aren't kept up as well as the Deluxe resorts. But none of this (unless the clogged sink didn't get fixed) would class the room as lousy for us. And we still think we get a bargain.

 

[DisDaydreamer]

Our home resort. I don't know... I think you can find problems in any resort Disney or non. Our neighbors have a ton of Fairfield points. When they travel we watch their pets. They always like to give us some points to thank us. I can tell you that there is just no comparing the quality of the construction, furniture, appliances or the maintenance. Disney is top grade.