Can someone objectively explain this???

[ptrbryant]

Okay, I know that the boards are mainly used by WDW fanatics and our family is going for the 1st time this May. BUT, I have a question:
I've read frequent comments about "Disney standards" or Disney quality when it comes to the resorts at WDW. Yet, one person I know who stayed at the CBR 2 years ago said the sheets on the beds had rips in them, they were not changed for a full week and that there were paint stains on the door. Another person (not sure which resort they stayed at) said mold was visible on a corner of one wall and on the ceiling; the toilet was leaking water that for the first 3 days (after repeated complaints about it) the only remedy from WDW was to have someone come in and wrap a towel around the base of the toilet 2x a day. The carpeting in another room smelled so foul that it made the whole family feel sick.
How is it possible for things to be in this state at a WDW resort? I mean, it's not like a Marriott or Hilton chain that has 1,000s of properties...there are only a few to maintain. I just can't fathom how they could expect a guest (in the first case, who had no discount on the room!) to stay in such conditions and let it stand as an example of Disney's standards?
I know that these are isolated cases, but it still bothers me. To me, "theming" does not outweigh cleanliness or quality of furnishings.
Gosh, I really don't mean this to sound too hostile! I'm so looking forward to this trip and just don't want to think we could possibly get stuck with one of those "off" rooms!(And it sounds like there's nothing you can do if you are!)
Thanks for reading and I look forward to hearing comments!
TIA!
Karla B.

 

[Kermit]

I think that these cases are huge anomolies. People who do unfortunately have bad experiences are probably a lot more likely to come home and report it on message boards, even if they never visited one before. I've never seen any slight indications of less than perfect housekeeping on any of our trips. I think most people here would agree.

 

[mkymouse4ever]

Not sure if I'm a fanatic, (everyone else thinks I am), have stayed at wdw hotels, and have had some problems, big & small, some fixed quickly others left unhappily. However to us when the magic works just right, you will definately know the difference. We just stayed in a big city very nice hotel, and the first thing said is, its not disney. The rooms are way larger than other hotels, for the price, the little things that add up, well, just saying it is definately worth it to us. You actually can feel it in the air, the enthusiasm, excitement. But when its not there it is VERY noticable. the problems sometimes seem even worse there cause you really don't want to ruin your trip, or magic, and problems due take away from it. Well hope this isn't too confusing. MKY

 

[A Mickeyfan]

I can't explain why that happed to your friends, but I can tell you that I have stayed at Disney Resorts....many many times....and only once did I have a problem & that was at the CBR when the tub faucet would not shut off & it overflowed 2 nights in a row..the first night it took them well over an hour to get to the room....they fixed it (so they said)...the second night it happed again, I called maintance & told them. I left the room & came back a few hours later & it was fixed...this time really fixed. Other than that I have had no major problems & I have stayed at: Poly, Contemporary, BWI, BC, Wilderness Homes, PO-F, PO-R, CS, AS-M, AS-Mu, AS-S & CBR (and I have stayed more than once in most of these resorts). I am not saying that it doesn't happen, I am just saying that it isn't that often. If you have a problem with your room & there are other rooms available they will transfer you if you just ask......

 

[ptrbryant]

Hey, I really appreciate the comments. I was just so shocked when I heard the negative experiences (one from a neighbor and one from another friend). Our family travels quite a bit and, unless there's a special hotel in the destination we're at, we tend to stay at Marriotts--just because the rooms are always spacious, always clean and they renovate all their hotels on 5 year cycles. To me, those are the "givens" of accomodations. Again, I was just so surprised in the past two days to hear about those standards not being met at WDW for those two families.
Thanks for the opinions!
Karla B.

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

DH and I do a lot of traveling, not just to Disney. We have had good and bad experiences. Think of it this way... MILLIONS of people come to Disney World and only a small percentage have these horror stories to tell. I'm sure if Hilton had a website with 35,000 members you would hear plenty of negative comments. It would be impossible for everyone to have a perfect experience.

Enjoy your trip! You are really in for a life changing experience.

 

[Regina]

UGH, did somebody say HILTON? Try blood spattered all over the bathroom wall and dust on the drapes that was so thick you couldn't see the pattern.

Give me Disney anytime.

 

[MAKmom]

The only room complaints I ever rememeber reading about on here was about CBR....They just had a renovation. O yes the Poly mold smell thing. Just stayed there & it was fine.

 

[Pirate's Life for Me]

My family was at the POR and the room we were in was very dusty and the air-conditioner had fuzzy dusty mold in it. The walk way in front of our room had a bag of dirty linens left there for at least 2 days. A towel cart was shoved under a stair well half way on the walk-way and this was not moved the entire time we were there. We were there Feb. 16th weekend in Alligator Bayou. Now I know that this is not normal and I went to the front desk and I talked with the manager. He was very nice and told us we could change rooms and take care of the other problems. No charge of course. Now things do happen and Disney has always tried to fix them right away and were really generous to us. This time and in the past have tried there best. But I have to say yes housekeeping really needs some help. The CM at guest relations, check-in and out are wonderful. I am still going back in April for a birthday trip to the POR because I think things will be better this time.

 

[Pirate's Life for Me]

My family was at the POR and the room we were in was very dusty and the air-conditioner had fuzzy dusty mold in it. The walk way in front of our room had a bag of dirty linens left there for at least 2 days. A towel cart was shoved under a stair well half way on the walk-way and this was not moved the entire time we were there. We were there Feb. 16th weekend in Alligator Bayou. Now I know that this is not normal and I went to the front desk and I talked with the manager. He was very nice and told us we could change rooms and take care of the other problems. No charge of course. Now things do happen and Disney has always tried to fix them right away and were really generous to us. This time and in the past have tried there best. But I have to say yes housekeeping really needs some help. The CM at guest relations, check-in and out are wonderful. I am still going back in April for a birthday trip to the POR because I think things will be better this time.

 

[eeyore0062]

Mold...the bane of existance in Florida. It is humid down there, and mold will grow, despite the best of intentions... just try to keep it away!

As for the complaints about CBR, as someone else above stated, it was refurbished last year. We stayed there and it was immaculate... not a problem in sight!

In fact, of the resorts that we have stayed in, we have never had any complaints about housekeeping (if you want fresh towels everyday, just leave them in the bathtub, and they will be provided... our beds were always changed everyday, and it was never dusty and dirty), of course this can vary from housekeeper to housekeeper. If you don't like the state of your room when you return, please report it to the front desk immediately, and they will accomodate you...that is the Disney difference!

Also, please remember, that right now, they are working shorter handed than before, so the housekeepers may have many more rooms that they are to clean than before, so if you return to your room at 2 pm and your room is not cleaned, they probably haven't gotten to it yet. Call the front desk, and they will make sure that you will be next on the list, and in the meantime, change and go to the pool or playground.

I think some of the problems that have been noted were from people who didn't take initiative to call and let the front desk know that they were dissatisfied at that time, and then they get home and complain (Which does no one any good at all).

Take it from me, once you stay on Disney property, regardless of how nice the Hilton may be, you won't want to stay elsewhere. It just has the Disney Magic that the others lack.

Don't take too much stock in some of the complaints... you really have to go and form your own opinion!

 

[eeyore0062]

Mold...the bane of existance in Florida. It is humid down there, and mold will grow, despite the best of intentions... just try to keep it away!

As for the complaints about CBR, as someone else above stated, it was refurbished last year. We stayed there and it was immaculate... not a problem in sight!

In fact, of the resorts that we have stayed in, we have never had any complaints about housekeeping (if you want fresh towels everyday, just leave them in the bathtub, and they will be provided... our beds were always changed everyday, and it was never dusty and dirty), of course this can vary from housekeeper to housekeeper. If you don't like the state of your room when you return, please report it to the front desk immediately, and they will accomodate you...that is the Disney difference!

Also, please remember, that right now, they are working shorter handed than before, so the housekeepers may have many more rooms that they are to clean than before, so if you return to your room at 2 pm and your room is not cleaned, they probably haven't gotten to it yet. Call the front desk, and they will make sure that you will be next on the list, and in the meantime, change and go to the pool or playground.

I think some of the problems that have been noted were from people who didn't take initiative to call and let the front desk know that they were dissatisfied at that time, and then they get home and complain to their friends, or on these public forums. (Which does no one any good at all). Or they call Disney once they are home (which is not the proper time to let them know that there were problems with the room), and expect that they will be compensated. If Disney never knew there was a problem in the first place, then an apology is all you can really expect.

Take it from me, once you stay on Disney property, regardless of how nice the Hilton may be, you won't want to stay elsewhere. It just has the Disney Magic that the others lack.

Don't take too much stock in some of the complaints... you really have to go and form your own opinion!

 

[LoveMickey]

I have stayed at Disney many times, CB (3x), POR (2x), WL (3x) and I have never experienced the problems others mention.

Have stayed at other hotels and have not so clean rooms. But Disney has always been the best.

If someone is unhappy about their room, they should ask to have it switched. I have never had to do this, but I do not think it would be difficult,

Sometimes I know people like to complain and you do hear more on these boards when someone has an issue to bring up.

It's the nature of life, to complain, we complain about the weather all the time now don't we?

 

[atruesag]

Problems do occur at the resort just like at home. The C/M try their best to correct the problem including moving the guests if need me. I have been on both sides of the problem (mover and moved) at WDW and other resorts. Plumbing problems seem to be hard to resolve in a timely manner, but my experience has been that maintenance, front desk and housekeeping try to communicate with each other regarding all of the situations that occur.

Disney standards are higher that most other places and for sure are higher then other propular vacation areas.

I trust that you will have a wonderful vacation and just go with the flow, as they say. Use your own expectations and not others since everyone has their own expectations. That is not to say ignore what others say.

WDW serves their guests better then anyone else.

 

[DancingBear]

Originally posted by ptrbryant
How is it possible for things to be in this state at a WDW resort? I mean, it's not like a Marriott or Hilton chain that has 1,000s of properties...there are only a few to maintain.

Although they are not a chain like Marriott, Disney does operate several of the largest hotel properties in the State of Florida, with a total of some 23,000 rooms, so it is not surprising that some people have had problems with their rooms.

I once stayed at the Waldorf-Astoria for business on short notice with a late-night check-in, and ended up in a room which was in dire need of renovation, with a large noisy A/C unit on the roof right outside my window. In the morning I asked to be moved and ended up with a very nice, newly renovated room overlooking Lexington Ave. This can happen anywhere.

I agree that the situations your neighbor and friend experienced are anomalies. I can certainly understand their disappointment. We have stayed at PO-FQ, CSR, CBR, AS-Sp and WL, and never had any problems. The theming and landscaping of the Disney Resorts sets them apart from most other properties, and add to that standards of CM training, cleanliness, etc., that are USUALLY above average, and that is the WDW experience that you've heard folks talking about.

 

[walt's assistant]

A Disney hotel is a hotel and that means that things that can go wrong in any hotel can go wrong at a Disney hotel. I agree that the Disney folks work VERY HARD to make each experience wonderful and perfect; I would also agree that Disney sets its standards higher.

My wife used to work in the travel industry and she'll be the first to tell you that you are more likely to hear from a disgruntled person than you are from a satisfied person. Why? "Being satisfied" is an expectation people have when they go on vacation that should go without mention.

We stayed at WL in1997 and a room that was near the loading dock. The sounds of trucks backing into the loading dock (you know the sound...BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP) kept us up all night. The Disney folks tried to move us but the hotel was full. So they did other things to accomodate us and make things right.

All things considered, I would stay at a Disney property without hesitation. The CMs really do their level best to make everyone's experience perfect.