Just returned from a short stay in a BWV standard studio and BLT TPV 1 BR.
Don't know if this has been discussed....but now your reservation confirmation says "check-in is after 4:00 p.m." Our BWV studio was ready at 3:30. Was wondering if we would get a refurb (I did not ask for one, it did not make a difference to us) and we did not. We were on the last wing by the tennis courts, lower floor. We heard no construction noise, but it was a weekend. The room was very, very clean (tub, toilet, fridge, sinks, floors). Of course the carpet looked "old", but it is. A couple of spots here and there, but nothing to get upset about. But it was free of any surface dirt. No complaints at all. Everyone at that resort (both CM's and vacationers) always seem very happy and friendly. Complete strangers always greet each other in the hallways. We only spent one night there and hated leaving, but we were moving on to a one bedroom at BLT. The hallways looked a bit different....some wallpaper is different, along with paint colors, and some of the hallway carpets have changed....but you could tell they were not quite finished.
They are still using the paper parking passes at BWV. It was very busy because of F&W, and I did see the guard at the booth make people do a u-turn and leave. Other things I noticed since our last visit....outside doors (like the ones under the turrent facing the parking lot) are now locked during the day. And although we had not yet checked in to our room, my magicband was able to unlock those exterior doors. I am glad to see them taking extra security measures.
Bay Lake Tower was also very busy. Our room was not ready until about 4:45, but we were a one bedroom on a very high floor. BLT is also still using paper parking passes. BLT still has not worked out their magicband glitches....we could not open the pool gate or the doors leading to the outside because we had not used our bands to open our room door.....quite frustrating to have to knock on the glass of the lobby behind the desk to ask a CM to open the door or to escort us to the pool gate.
Our room was wonderful. And also very clean. All of the common areas at BLT were also well kept....I was very apprehensive when we got to our room after reading some reviews where BLT was called a "dump". I never saw garbage in the halls; although I did see some spots on the hallway rugs where someone spilled bleach or something. But I did not observe any "filthy, trashy" conditions that have been reported here, and I did do some exploring on different floors.
My only negative comment is the pool. I love, love the resort but am not a fan of the pool. It is always too cold and it is a bit small. The hot tub needs better regulation, as young kids treat it like it is their own private pool with parents not caring that they are jumping and splashing. I did use the Contemporary pool a couple of times....it is extremely hot over there....less trees and no shade from the building. And not as noisy. I did notice that the music from the pool party at BLT has been turned down quite a bit (hooray). They also added some more lounge chairs and umbrellas that are in the concrete between some chairs. Also, more tables and chairs near the bar andthe ping pong table has been moved over to the area where the bocci ball court is.
I did grill the conciarge about a couple of things. I asked about what to do with our dirty dishes the morning we leave. she said NOT to wash them, as housekeeping puts everything in the dishwasher and rewashes everything. I guess they want to make sure things are sanitized properly.
I also asked about parking at BLT when not staying there to go to TOTWL. It depends....on what crowd levels are and it there is a convention going on or something, but she said it was "part of being a DVC member". I told her the website says otherwise; so.....no real answer. But I did see many, many people parking at the BLT lot and walking over to the Halloween party at MK. Not a big deal....even on those busy nights, the BLT parking lot is not filled.
I was also happy to see that they seem to have cracked down on CM's parking in the close parking spots for BLT (had observed many, many times CM's parking in BLT spots and going to the Contemporary). Some park way at the other end by the tennis courts....which is fine, as I can see that their lot fills up very quickly in the morning.
Watching the Halloween fireworks from our balcony was priceless. I don't think I will get tired of that for a long time. Much more spectacular than Wishes. Plus you can turn on the TV and listen to the voices too. We had not been to BLT in a few years.....cannot beat the one bedroom with the two full baths....we never run out of towels before T&T day.
All in all, a great trip.
Don't know if this has been discussed....but now your reservation confirmation says "check-in is after 4:00 p.m." Our BWV studio was ready at 3:30. Was wondering if we would get a refurb (I did not ask for one, it did not make a difference to us) and we did not. We were on the last wing by the tennis courts, lower floor. We heard no construction noise, but it was a weekend. The room was very, very clean (tub, toilet, fridge, sinks, floors). Of course the carpet looked "old", but it is. A couple of spots here and there, but nothing to get upset about. But it was free of any surface dirt. No complaints at all. Everyone at that resort (both CM's and vacationers) always seem very happy and friendly. Complete strangers always greet each other in the hallways. We only spent one night there and hated leaving, but we were moving on to a one bedroom at BLT. The hallways looked a bit different....some wallpaper is different, along with paint colors, and some of the hallway carpets have changed....but you could tell they were not quite finished.
They are still using the paper parking passes at BWV. It was very busy because of F&W, and I did see the guard at the booth make people do a u-turn and leave. Other things I noticed since our last visit....outside doors (like the ones under the turrent facing the parking lot) are now locked during the day. And although we had not yet checked in to our room, my magicband was able to unlock those exterior doors. I am glad to see them taking extra security measures.
Bay Lake Tower was also very busy. Our room was not ready until about 4:45, but we were a one bedroom on a very high floor. BLT is also still using paper parking passes. BLT still has not worked out their magicband glitches....we could not open the pool gate or the doors leading to the outside because we had not used our bands to open our room door.....quite frustrating to have to knock on the glass of the lobby behind the desk to ask a CM to open the door or to escort us to the pool gate.
Our room was wonderful. And also very clean. All of the common areas at BLT were also well kept....I was very apprehensive when we got to our room after reading some reviews where BLT was called a "dump". I never saw garbage in the halls; although I did see some spots on the hallway rugs where someone spilled bleach or something. But I did not observe any "filthy, trashy" conditions that have been reported here, and I did do some exploring on different floors.
My only negative comment is the pool. I love, love the resort but am not a fan of the pool. It is always too cold and it is a bit small. The hot tub needs better regulation, as young kids treat it like it is their own private pool with parents not caring that they are jumping and splashing. I did use the Contemporary pool a couple of times....it is extremely hot over there....less trees and no shade from the building. And not as noisy. I did notice that the music from the pool party at BLT has been turned down quite a bit (hooray). They also added some more lounge chairs and umbrellas that are in the concrete between some chairs. Also, more tables and chairs near the bar andthe ping pong table has been moved over to the area where the bocci ball court is.
I did grill the conciarge about a couple of things. I asked about what to do with our dirty dishes the morning we leave. she said NOT to wash them, as housekeeping puts everything in the dishwasher and rewashes everything. I guess they want to make sure things are sanitized properly.
I also asked about parking at BLT when not staying there to go to TOTWL. It depends....on what crowd levels are and it there is a convention going on or something, but she said it was "part of being a DVC member". I told her the website says otherwise; so.....no real answer. But I did see many, many people parking at the BLT lot and walking over to the Halloween party at MK. Not a big deal....even on those busy nights, the BLT parking lot is not filled.
I was also happy to see that they seem to have cracked down on CM's parking in the close parking spots for BLT (had observed many, many times CM's parking in BLT spots and going to the Contemporary). Some park way at the other end by the tennis courts....which is fine, as I can see that their lot fills up very quickly in the morning.
Watching the Halloween fireworks from our balcony was priceless. I don't think I will get tired of that for a long time. Much more spectacular than Wishes. Plus you can turn on the TV and listen to the voices too. We had not been to BLT in a few years.....cannot beat the one bedroom with the two full baths....we never run out of towels before T&T day.
All in all, a great trip.
