BWInn hears from me!

[CindyBella]

Back two weeks ago. Just got a postcard in the mail asking me to complete an online survey about my recent stay at the BoardWalk Inn.

I was very honest. This was not my favorite resort and I will probably not stay there ever again. The staff was not very friendly. No one went out of their way to make my trip special. No one was rude but the front staff needs to constantly be aware that they are the first people we encounter as we start off our Disney vacation. I don't know if any of you are like me but I am practically bouncing from the walls with energy and excitement from finally being at WDW. I have encountered staff at the front desk that have made my stays more magical by merely giving my kids coloring books and stickers and making me feel as if they have been waiting all day for me to check-in. ( This was at the AKL (still my favorite).) Sadly, I was just another number at BWInn.

There was a billing problem. I booked with an AP rate of $238 per night and was charged nearly $370 per night! It was a mistake and they corrected it but with no great apology or explanation of how it happened. They fixed the rate for the rest of the nights but forgot to credit the difference of the first 2 nights. I wasted an hour waiting for them to correct the problems and never recieved an apology on both occasions.

The room was not in the best shape either. The bedding was not in great condition. The baseboards and walls were dirty and the wallpaper had stains under all the mirrors where it appeared that someone had wiped their fingers to remove excess make-up. GROSS. I would never pay $370 per night for a room like this. I can't believe some people are.

Bus service was bad, bad, bad. Why when people are paying $370 per night must BWInn share with 5 other resorts? Yes it is nice walking to Epcot and taking a boat to MGM but Disney has to know Magic Kingdom is the most visited park. The buses to MK filled up very quickly.


Anyway, after completing the survey, I thought I would come here and share my thoughts on the BWInn with all of you. Even though it was not my favorite resort we love WDW and are already thinking about our next trip in October!

CindyBella

 

[Cinderella37]

Wow! I'm shocked that you had such a terrible experience. This is our favorite resort. We've always encountered very friendly CMs and our room has been spotless and in great condition. The rate mix-up was not the fault of the front desk at the BWI, but a problem from CRO or WDTC. The front desk has nothing to do with billing, but it is frustrating when you're on vacation and you have to deal with things like that happening. What kind of room (standard, water view) were you in?

Sometimes people have a run of bad luck with a resort that a million other people love. This happened to us at the GF last year. We stayed there 8 times in 7 years and had a horrible experience in July 2003. People were so surprised at what happened to us, and even though 100 families could have been there at the same time and had a great stay, we simply didn't.

Sorry your experience was so bad, but billing problems can happen anywhere. I'm surprised that no one even apologized at all. Rooms should not be in that condition, though. Did you call housekeeping or the front desk? They may have been able to move you to another room or at least try and clean up for you. You could write a letter detailing your experience, but your best course of action would have been to talk to someone while you were there. I know, hindsight's great, but at least you may have moved to another room that was up to the BWI standard.

 

[bigbabyblues]

I'm sorry you had such a bad stay, hope you find a resort that's better for you for your next trip!

 

[CindyBella]

We did try changing rooms. They gave us a pool view but the room was a corner room and had almost a trapezoid shape to it. Even though it was twice as big as the other room, it had such an odd shape we decided to stick with the first one. After that, I did not want to deal with finding a room that made me happy. I also did not want them to think I was trying to get into the presidential suite at a garden view price.

 

[johnsonet]

I, too, am sorry you had such an unsatisfying stay. I hate to hear stories like yours...It just goes to show how much of an impact friendly, helpful people make and how they can in many ways make or break a vacation. Had you had smiling faces and helpful CMs, I'll bet the (admittedly gross) stain in your room would have barely even registered, you know what I mean? When front-desk staff are apathetic and "un-Disney" it is a disappointment (at least for me). It's sort of a slap in the face when you're so excited and have had magical interactions in the past...I TOTALLY sympathize. Of course not everyone can be Mr./Ms. Personality but they SHOULD be courteous and helpful. It is after all the hospitality business Isn't it amazing, though, that you could go back tomorrow and have an absolutely, completely OPPOSITE experience? I've read so many complaints about GF
but I absolutely love it there and always feel welcomed. I'm also in total agreement about the bus service. 5 deluxe resorts share a bus to MK? Forget that!
Hope your next trip is wonderful~

 

[jjsmom]

Close friends of ours were there Mother's Day week.

OK. I have been very hesitant put this out on the board because it happened to them, not me.

They got in their room and it was very dirty; they described a similar seen as yours and much worse. They apparently changed rooms. Room #2 was much smaller (3 adults; 1 infant, 1 preteen). That was not acceptable. After much time had passed (and the family desparately needing a room) and much complaining to heaven-knows-who; they were moved to Beach Club (they loved it and definately want to stay there again; but it still wasn't worth all the hassle).

The thing is, they were so excited because this was their 1st time staying in a deluxe.

I hope they get a chance to fill out the survey too.

 

[CindyBella]

I am glad to hear I was not the only one who thought the room was not in acceptable condition. I was excited too because this was our first "Deluxe". I really thought we were going to be "living it up" at the BWI because it is pricey but our favorite resort is still AKL. The rooms are smaller but I love it. We have fond memories there.

Maybe Disney Deluxe it is not the same as other Hotels idea of Deluxe. Maybe if we really want to "live it up" we will have to try the new Ritz in the area !

 

[Cinderella37]

Honestly, even though I adore WDW resorts, especilly the BWI, there's no comparison between a Disney resort and a Ritz -Carlton or a Four Seasons. Though many of them are larger than WDW resorts, the service and accommodations are impeccable. It's practically perfection and the funny thing is, many categories of rooms are cheaper than WDW. For what we pay for a deluxe concierge room at the BWI, we could have a small concierge suite at most of the RC properties. Only problem is - it's not Disney, which is why people keep coming back.

I've read several posts about Mother's Day weekend being a disaster at the BWI. Anyone who had problems stay concierge (not that it should matter - ALL rooms should be clean)? The dirty room part freaks me out - I will not stay in a dirty room, which is why we left the GF to begin with and switched to the BWI. Now I'm nervous. Just because it was great in December may not mean it'll be great in 8 days...

 

[lulu71]

I have a theory, which FWIW, is true for me so I wonder if it is true for anyone else. Once I had an established "favorite" WDW resort (you know, we all have them) it is hard for any of the others to hold a candle to them. I'm not trying to discount any of your complaints, but I can speak from my experience that even the GF was unacceptable to me and just didn't feel right. So I keep going back to the same old place (trying a new one next trip though, although I may switch it) that "feels right" to me! It sounds like AKL is probably the resort that "feels right" to you.

 

[CindyBella]

Lulu you are right It was so hard to book something else. I just thought with all the resorts at WDW why book AKL for the third time in 2 years? We will still try other resorts (hopefully we will have a better experience ) but, I love AKL .

 

[Cinderella37]

Once we find a resort we love, we stick with it. My parents took me to the Poly every year from the time I was three until I was 19. My fiance and I stayed at the GF every year from the time I was 19 until July 2003 (seven years). Hopefully, we'll be staying at the BWI for many years. I don't like change and I do agree that once you find a resort that you love, everywhere else pales in comparison (no excuse for a dirty room, though).

 

[Eeyore2003]

We found the BWI very nice in December. It was quiet and classy. The people were very nice. We've always stayed at the CR before and love that one too. Also, we don't spend as much time at MK. We spend tons more time at Epcot and MGM and enjoyed being closer to them, different strokes for different folks, and also a different time in our lives. When our kids were little, there was no place like the convenience and amenities of the CR for us. Perhaps if you enjoy MK the most, a MK resort would be a good answer for you. I'm not fond of the buses usually either and if you're travelling mostly to MK you can't beat the convenience of the monorail. We also found that if you're in a hurry or have to be somewhere at a certain time, the best way to get there fast is by car instead of bus. We do this if we go for EMH at a park we would normally have to take the bus, you can also park pretty close for EMH.

 

[TerriBelle]

We have had better CM's at the moderates then at the Deluxe. We have stayed at the CB and PO for single nights before moving to DVC stays. Both times the CMs at check in gave the kids coloring books and stickers. We recieved special straws at the food court. Lots of very friendly CMs.

None of our visits to BC, YC, BW, and Cont did we recieve anything at check-in. I always wondered if since they had convention facilities they weren't quite as into the family stuff. We have always had a great stay at these resorts and the CMs were nice - they just weren't great! For us the location of these resorts is much more important.

 

[kathy carleton]

We were at BWI 3 weeks ago, and i must say that even though the room, location and amenities were impeccable, I found the resort experience to be rather impersonal. It has been something that i have been trying to put my finger on.... I guess that is the only way for me to explain it.... there were no personal touches (not a hint of an animal towel, etc.. even though we left $$...). we have stayed at AKL. YC, WL, BC (working our way through all resorts), and for personality and friendly cm's, i would have to say the BWI is last. Yet, I am not sure that anything can compare with AKL and WL, their cm's know how to add that true "magic" to your stay. This is the only way I know of to describe it- there was no extra "disney magic".

 

[LiloH]

I didn't want to be a negative Nellie, but I had a similar unpleasant experience at the BW Villas in June. Our room was not nearly as clean as we would have liked and it had this generally run down look (tiles missing from the bathroom, bashed in base boards, etc)
But, the real kicker for me was the cast member we encountered upon check-out. We had a 10am flight. We stoped by the front desk at 7:45am on our way out to meet the town car driver (who we'd paid in full on the way into the resort) to ask them if it was possible to get things shipped back for us. (WE called before we went down and the CM we talked to said it was no problem at all to do that and just to drop stuff off at the desk!)
We waited on line for almost FIFTEEN minutes to be helped though there were people behind the counter not doing anything. When we got up there at just about eight the CM behind the desk was extremely rude. He told us we needed to go to the business center which wasn't yet open and that we'd have to wait. I told him we had to get to the airport and that our car was waiting for us. He told us, (and he wasn't kidding either!) that we should just get another car if this one couldn't wait. I started to get upset and we went back and forth for a few minutes and he finally sighed as if I were torturing him and said he'd do it, even though he wasn't supposed to. (In spite of what the nice CM said on the phone!)
I was really put off by his attitude. We did get our stuff like two days later, expertly wrapped and shipped, but I don't understand why the CM at the desk was so upleasant. I've shipped from the desk before with no problem and the female CM on the phone told us to come on down and do it. I dunno, I guess it seems less bad in hindsight, but I was really upset at the time. That's not the kind of thing you usually expect from Disney.

 

[ADisneygirl]

I agree with lulu71 when they said that people find a resort that "fits" them and feels "right". It becomes our favorite, and we compare all other stays to our times at our fav. resort.

I am sorry that my favorite resort did not live up to your expectations. Every resort can have a rude CM, a dirty room, a less than magical stay, etc. That being a fact certainly doesn't mean that those conditions are acceptable. I would have changed rooms until I was satisfied. A clean room is very important. If it annoyed the CM's, well so be it.

Also, I totally agree that the resorts need their own bus services. At least only share with ONE other, not five. It is annoying to share with so many other resorts.

As for our stays at the BWI, we have had nothing but wonderful memories made and anticipation of our next visit there. We love it! Less than two weeks now to wait!

I hope that your family's next trip to the World will be a more pleasant one.