Granny
Yeah, I'm a guy
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2001
- Messages
- 14,437
It's been a little challenging to post observations since returning from 9 nights at BWV July 15-24. But here are my observations.
Yes, it was hot. And a little rainy at times. And pretty crowded. But we had a great time as usual on our summer trips.
Without further ado here are my comments. I focus only on those areas that are pertinent to this board.
Villa: BWV 2BR Standard View villa…room 5069 (1BR) & 5071 (studio).
Check in: I checked in at 10:30 a.m. and was amazed that once again our room was ready!
This was the third time we had been so fortunate, and it has only happened at BWV. The lady checking me in was telling me not to expect anything quickly because they were booked to capacity the night before. She was as surprised as we were...in fact, she suggested that I go up to the room right away and not take my things up since she thought there was a decent chance it hadn't really been cleaned yet. But when I walked into the room it was completely ready!! 
Room Cleanliness: The rooms were clean...very clean. Because of these boards I checked very closely since I hadn't seen issues before. I checked under the sofa, for mildew in the bathroom, for dirty dishes. All were very clean. There was the usual wear and tear but I can't complain about the condition we found our room in.
Room Maintainence: We found the room to be generally well maintained. Some paint chipping around door knob handles. I had to contact maintenance for toilet in studio portion not flushing properly (most likely due to previous occupants). They came up right away and fixed it and we had no other issues with it the rest of the week.
Mousekeeping: Very good except one kind of unusual thing. They cleaned the 1BR portion and Studio portion separately. So on full cleaning day we came back in the afternoon to find the 1BR portion cleaned and the Studio still not cleaned. I found a mousekeeping employee and she informed me that they do those separately...even different staff. It was a bit of a challenge to understand her but I believe she indicated that there are "studio mousekeepers" and "1BR mousekeepers"...since they have different supplies that they carry around on their carts. I guess that makes sense, but it was strange coming back to a half-cleaned 2BR villa. We left and when we returned a few hours later the Studio portion was also cleaned.
Room Location & View: We were on the top floor, the first villas nearest the elevators. Very convenient to the elevators but not the best location, IMHO. I'll leave more comments on that to another thread.
Bus Service: Not bad on the waits at all, but very crowded as usual. It was annoying on return trips getting off at Swan since it was rather hot in the middle of July. Still, that was better than an additional 15-20 minutes letting it make the rounds to S&D, Y&BC and finally BWV. Not a big deal, but we are among those who wish that they could work out a better bus situation for BWV. Of course, that is offset somewhat by not having to take a bus to two parks.
CM Attitudes: The BWV CM's were really outstanding. And some went way above and beyond to help us when our trip ran into a bit of a snag. All in all, the CM's were excellent. But that's what we've almost always found at BWV.
Valet parking: No charge, and they asked if we were DVC members every time we dropped it off. Very smooth and quick. They ended up with a fair amount of my money due to their great service!
Glitch: I only mention this because others may run into a similar situation. This trip we shipped a carton down to BWV to help us avoid needing to use the roof luggage rack on our vehicle. We addressed the package as we had been instructed on these boards...to the Front Desk of BWV. We tracked it and just before we left we saw it had been signed for at WDW.
When I asked about the package at check-in they couldn't find it. They said that sometimes it comes to another general delivery area and they'd check that and either send it to my room or leave a message on my phone. It would take no more than 30 minutes they said.
Four hours later and no package and no phone call. Back to the Front Desk where a different CM looked in back and had no clue. Then the manager (she was working the lobby) stepped up and gave the CM more directions. She apologized to me and said that they'd either send the package to my room within an hour or leave a message on my phone.
Fast forward another 6 hours to the evening and still no package or message. We're getting a little nervous since we have a lot of clothing and other things in the carton. I go down to the front desk for the third time and talk to the third different CM, telling her the whole saga. Now this CM looks like the least experienced one I had talked to yet, but she goes in the back room behind the front desk. Next thing I know she is lugging my box out to me! I really think it was there all the time but that the first two CM's didn't bother to really look for it...maybe it had another carton on top of it? In any event, when the last CM asked if I wanted Bell Services to bring it up to my room, I (rather too quickly, I'm afraid) said "No Thank You, but I'll take it from here!"
All in all, I put it down as a glitch and it didn't have any real impact on our vacation other than several worrisome hours. In the end, it worked out fine.
I think one problem was that the package arrived two full days before we checked in. Next time, I think I'll try to time it closer to check-in so that it doesn't have a chance to get buried.
AKV Models: I have to agree with everyone who has reported that the AKV models at SSR are really spectacular. The additional roominess (compared to BWV/VWL/BCV) is noticeable and the decor and theming are wonderful. They did a great job taking notes on previous DVC resorts and put together a very practical and beautiful villa layout. And the extra bathroom in the 1BR/2BR is possibly the best idea they've had yet (in addition to the sleeper chair to expand occupancy). A real winner, and we look forward to a visit.
Bottom line: All in all, another great DVC stay at a great resort. As always, we left counting our blessings for having the opportunity to buy into a program like DVC and really enjoy our vacations in style.
EDITED TO ADD: I can't seem to find the e-mail address for the proper place to send a note to recognize some of those great CM's that were so helpful on this trip. Anyone have that handy? TIA
Yes, it was hot. And a little rainy at times. And pretty crowded. But we had a great time as usual on our summer trips.
Without further ado here are my comments. I focus only on those areas that are pertinent to this board.
Villa: BWV 2BR Standard View villa…room 5069 (1BR) & 5071 (studio).
Check in: I checked in at 10:30 a.m. and was amazed that once again our room was ready!
This was the third time we had been so fortunate, and it has only happened at BWV. The lady checking me in was telling me not to expect anything quickly because they were booked to capacity the night before. She was as surprised as we were...in fact, she suggested that I go up to the room right away and not take my things up since she thought there was a decent chance it hadn't really been cleaned yet. But when I walked into the room it was completely ready!! Room Cleanliness: The rooms were clean...very clean. Because of these boards I checked very closely since I hadn't seen issues before. I checked under the sofa, for mildew in the bathroom, for dirty dishes. All were very clean. There was the usual wear and tear but I can't complain about the condition we found our room in.
Room Maintainence: We found the room to be generally well maintained. Some paint chipping around door knob handles. I had to contact maintenance for toilet in studio portion not flushing properly (most likely due to previous occupants). They came up right away and fixed it and we had no other issues with it the rest of the week.
Mousekeeping: Very good except one kind of unusual thing. They cleaned the 1BR portion and Studio portion separately. So on full cleaning day we came back in the afternoon to find the 1BR portion cleaned and the Studio still not cleaned. I found a mousekeeping employee and she informed me that they do those separately...even different staff. It was a bit of a challenge to understand her but I believe she indicated that there are "studio mousekeepers" and "1BR mousekeepers"...since they have different supplies that they carry around on their carts. I guess that makes sense, but it was strange coming back to a half-cleaned 2BR villa. We left and when we returned a few hours later the Studio portion was also cleaned.
Room Location & View: We were on the top floor, the first villas nearest the elevators. Very convenient to the elevators but not the best location, IMHO. I'll leave more comments on that to another thread.
Bus Service: Not bad on the waits at all, but very crowded as usual. It was annoying on return trips getting off at Swan since it was rather hot in the middle of July. Still, that was better than an additional 15-20 minutes letting it make the rounds to S&D, Y&BC and finally BWV. Not a big deal, but we are among those who wish that they could work out a better bus situation for BWV. Of course, that is offset somewhat by not having to take a bus to two parks.
CM Attitudes: The BWV CM's were really outstanding. And some went way above and beyond to help us when our trip ran into a bit of a snag. All in all, the CM's were excellent. But that's what we've almost always found at BWV.
Valet parking: No charge, and they asked if we were DVC members every time we dropped it off. Very smooth and quick. They ended up with a fair amount of my money due to their great service!
Glitch: I only mention this because others may run into a similar situation. This trip we shipped a carton down to BWV to help us avoid needing to use the roof luggage rack on our vehicle. We addressed the package as we had been instructed on these boards...to the Front Desk of BWV. We tracked it and just before we left we saw it had been signed for at WDW.
When I asked about the package at check-in they couldn't find it. They said that sometimes it comes to another general delivery area and they'd check that and either send it to my room or leave a message on my phone. It would take no more than 30 minutes they said.
Four hours later and no package and no phone call. Back to the Front Desk where a different CM looked in back and had no clue. Then the manager (she was working the lobby) stepped up and gave the CM more directions. She apologized to me and said that they'd either send the package to my room within an hour or leave a message on my phone.
Fast forward another 6 hours to the evening and still no package or message. We're getting a little nervous since we have a lot of clothing and other things in the carton. I go down to the front desk for the third time and talk to the third different CM, telling her the whole saga. Now this CM looks like the least experienced one I had talked to yet, but she goes in the back room behind the front desk. Next thing I know she is lugging my box out to me! I really think it was there all the time but that the first two CM's didn't bother to really look for it...maybe it had another carton on top of it? In any event, when the last CM asked if I wanted Bell Services to bring it up to my room, I (rather too quickly, I'm afraid) said "No Thank You, but I'll take it from here!"
All in all, I put it down as a glitch and it didn't have any real impact on our vacation other than several worrisome hours. In the end, it worked out fine.
I think one problem was that the package arrived two full days before we checked in. Next time, I think I'll try to time it closer to check-in so that it doesn't have a chance to get buried.
AKV Models: I have to agree with everyone who has reported that the AKV models at SSR are really spectacular. The additional roominess (compared to BWV/VWL/BCV) is noticeable and the decor and theming are wonderful. They did a great job taking notes on previous DVC resorts and put together a very practical and beautiful villa layout. And the extra bathroom in the 1BR/2BR is possibly the best idea they've had yet (in addition to the sleeper chair to expand occupancy). A real winner, and we look forward to a visit.
Bottom line: All in all, another great DVC stay at a great resort. As always, we left counting our blessings for having the opportunity to buy into a program like DVC and really enjoy our vacations in style.
EDITED TO ADD: I can't seem to find the e-mail address for the proper place to send a note to recognize some of those great CM's that were so helpful on this trip. Anyone have that handy? TIA
