BRV 2 Bedroom

[pregnantw4thprincess]

Help me out everyone - I keep hearing how overdue BRV is for a refurb. Just how bad is it?

We are currently booked for 2 days at WL, Deluxe room CL - after that we move to the Contemporary. If I switch to the BRV 2bdrm for 3 days (not an option at CL - room is only available for 2 days) I can book at the Riviera instead of the Contemporary (which would make me very happy!)

Is it that bad at BRV?

Thanks in advance - I appreciate it!

 

[Lorana]

We stayed at BRV 2BR in February, after being in a 2BR at Riviera, so we went from new and shiny to a bit worn and dated. That said, despite the stark comparison, we did not think that the rooms were that bad. They were definitely dated, and the furniture was worn and well-loved/used. But otherwise it was clean and comfortable, and we just love the Wilderness Lodge. I honestly think I may not have noticed as much of how badly it needed the refurb if it weren't for the fact that we were just at Riviera. If you need to use the living room sofa bed, however, you will want to get a mattress pad!

I took a bunch of pictures - let me see if I can find them and post them for you.

 

[Lorana]

I did remember that a bunch of photos were recently posted here, too: https://www.disboards.com/threads/boulder-ridge-renovation.3866419/page-5

 

[Stargazer65]

We stayed at BRV 2BR in February, after being in a 2BR at Riviera, so we went from new and shiny to a bit worn and dated. That said, despite the stark comparison, we did not think that the rooms were that bad. They were definitely dated, and the furniture was worn and well-loved/used. But otherwise it was clean and comfortable, and we just love the Wilderness Lodge. I honestly think I may not have noticed as much of how badly it needed the refurb if it weren't for the fact that we were just at Riviera. If you need to use the living room sofa bed, however, you will want to get a mattress pad!

I felt the same way when we stayed there in April. I thought it was perfectly fine and I love the WL resort.

(Of course my house is also a bit worn and dated, so I'm not so picky when it comes to room accommodations)

 

[pregnantw4thprincess]

I did remember that a bunch of photos were recently posted here, too: https://www.disboards.com/threads/boulder-ridge-renovation.3866419/page-5

Thank you! The bathroom is the only part that gives me slight pause - it looks a little bleak in there

 

[pregnantw4thprincess]

I felt the same way when we stayed there in April. I thought it was perfectly fine and I love the WL resort.

(Of course my house is also a bit worn and dated, so I'm not so picky when it comes to room accommodations)

Our house was built in 1782, so worn and dated is kind of par for the course here, too

 

[Lorana]

Thank you! The bathroom is the only part that gives me slight pause - it looks a little bleak in there

It may look a little bleak, but the hot tub is AMAZING.

 

[Murron]

Many will downplay the condition of the rooms. I found it disgusting and unacceptable. I thought the first stay was a one off, but the second stay sealed it for me. I'm not an overly critical person, nor am I a person that throws pixie dust on everything Disney. CC is the better option if you want to stay at Wilderness.

 

[Brian Noble]

Is it that bad at BRV?

This seems to be an eye-of-the-beholder thing.

If you are coming to DVC in part to be surrounded by luxury and elegance, then you won't really find it at BRV. That's not so much due to the condition of things; you will find evidence of use, but the aesthetic is not particularly current and it "feels" a bit dated. If you've seen some of the newer refurbishments/resorts, it will be even more obvious.

On the other hand, the aesthetic is also very Wilderness Lodge, and I will not be surprised if it feels less "lodge-like" when it is (finally) refurbished, given the direction other refurbishments have taken. In fairness CCV manages to capture the feel while looking more current, so it's not impossible and I'm holding out hope. But, if you are going to the Lodge because you like the idea of the Lodge, you'll probably find the rooms perfectly adequate.

I think a lot comes down to expectations. If you are expecting a comfortable "well-loved" room, you'll find it. If you are expecting something worn out and past its prime, you'll find that too.

 

[Stargazer65]

This seems to be an eye-of-the-beholder thing.

If you are coming to DVC in part to be surrounded by luxury and elegance, then you won't really find it at BRV.

But, if you are going to the Lodge because you like the idea of the Lodge, you'll probably find the rooms perfectly adequate.

I think Brian explains really well why there is such a disparity of opinions regarding current BRV.

This is how one person goes there and is like "Ooh-aaH, I'm staying at Wilderness Lodge" and thinks the aesthetic is fine and barely notices the wear and tear.
Whereas someone else checks into the same room and is thinking "We're on the threshold of hell".

 

[pregnantw4thprincess]

I think Brian explains really well why there is such a disparity of opinions regarding current BRV.

This is how one person goes there and is like "Ooh-aaH, I'm staying at Wilderness Lodge" and thinks the aesthetic is fine and barely notices the wear and tear.
Whereas someone else checks into the same room and is thinking "We're on the threshold of hell".

We have stayed in a 2bdrm at CC 3 times, so maybe we had better not

 

[RoseGold]

The cash rooms have completely different maintenance. What the timeshare is doing is irrelevant to cash rooms, especially club level. I would imagine those rooms are quite nice. I’m sure you can see a YouTube walkthrough.

I stayed in an accessible BR 1BR room last Christmas, and i thought it was fine. The sleeper sofa was I think 2012, it was OK. The room walls were beat up from wheelchairs, but hey, so is my house. I didn’t have a lot of the issues others seem to have with worn out furniture and such.

 

[GGGT]

We returned a couple of weeks ago and had another good trip.

The CM's were great and the resort was very well kept and the foliage was lush and "full". We had a 2 BR and honestly didn't notice any wear or tear in our unit.

 

[pregnantw4thprincess]

The cash rooms have completely different maintenance. What the timeshare is doing is irrelevant to cash rooms, especially club level. I would imagine those rooms are quite nice. I’m sure you can see a YouTube walkthrough.

I stayed in an accessible BR 1BR room last Christmas, and i thought it was fine. The sleeper sofa was I think 2012, it was OK. The room walls were beat up from wheelchairs, but hey, so is my house. I didn’t have a lot of the issues others seem to have with worn out furniture and such.

That is super helpful to know - I didn’t realize they were different!

 

[pregnantw4thprincess]

That is super helpful to know - I didn’t realize they were different!

@RoseGold , is there any information that you are aware of regarding which rooms are cash vs DVC at the resorts? Most interested in BRV atm, but also staying at Riviera this trip (I have changed soooo many times). Really struggling with whether to keep my CL (even though I need to switch to a CC studio for a day before moving to Riviera) or book a 2Bed BRV for our WL time.

Thanks in advance! I really appreciate the advice!

 

[Sandisw]

@RoseGold , is there any information that you are aware of regarding which rooms are cash vs DVC at the resorts? Most interested in BRV atm, but also staying at Riviera this trip (I have changed soooo many times). Really struggling with whether to keep my CL (even though I need to switch to a CC studio for a day before moving to Riviera) or book a 2Bed BRV for our WL time.

Thanks in advance! I really appreciate the advice!

All of BRV is DVC. RIV will be all DVC as well but only about 50% declared at this point so the rest is currently available for cash stays.

As DVD sells RIV, they will declare more rooms into the condo association.

 

[pregnantw4thprincess]

All of BRV is DVC. RIV will be all DVC as well but only about 50% declared at this point so the rest is currently available for cash stays.

As DVD sells RIV, they will declare more rooms into the condo association.

So they are not separate as indicated above? I realize they are physically in the same building, but RoseGold indicated that the rooms are in separate buckets with separate maintenance.

 

[RoseGold]

So they are not separate as indicated above? I realize they are physically in the same building, but RoseGold indicated that the rooms are in separate buckets with separate maintenance.

WL cash rooms, which includes club level, have nothing to do with DVC, CCV or BR. It is possible to book DVC Rooms with cash. BR has no club level.

 

[Sandisw]

So they are not separate as indicated above? I realize they are physically in the same building, but RoseGold indicated that the rooms are in separate buckets with separate maintenance.

Rooms owned by Disney at their resorts are on different schedules than those part of DVC.

Regardless of how one books BRV, they get refurbished based on the condo association timeline.

It will be the same with RIV… DVC sees a soft refurb about every 7 years and hard goods about every 14 years.

 

[pregnantw4thprincess]

WL cash rooms, which includes club level, have nothing to do with DVC, CCV or BR. It is possible to book DVC Rooms with cash. BR has no club level.

I know that BR has no CL - I think the disconnect was a misunderstanding of your initial response. I thought by “cash rooms” you meant rooms at BR that we’re rented via Disney, not on points via DVC. I must have been mistaken

I think when it comes down to it, villas are just a better choice than CL for our family - I can’t believe I am saying this, but I *love* having a washer/dryer in our room. With a 6 and 7 year old iI could easily run a load a day! I wish there was a CL option for the villas (other than the unicorn rooms at AKL if they still offer that) - would be the best of both worlds!