Chasing refurbs?

[CaptainAmerica]

So I have a total of 300 points, 200 at SSR and 100 at AKV. All recent resale, so no Riviera access. My typical use will be one 8-night trip per year, varying between one studio, two studios, 1BR, and 2BR, depending on who else is traveling with us (grandma and grandpa, etc.)

I like all of the DVC resorts, except for Riviera, which is why I went resale in the first place. My general preference would be to simply to stay in whatever rooms are newest, so my plan would be to try and book whatever resort has been most recently refurbished. My question is whether this is "a thing" among members and if I should expect difficulty booking recently refurbed rooms because everyone is doing the same thing I'm doing.

 

[Brett Wyman]

We definitely prefer to stay in recently updated or refreshed rooms. Although we will still stay at others as well. We just stayed at BCV just a few weeks before the remodels start there. Boarder Ridge for instance we haven't been interested in for years(especially when CCV is basically the same points cost), but after the refurb we are excited to check it out.

 

[HIRyeDVC]

I could see why some people would prefer to stay in newer rooms. For me, it's still all about location. BLT, BCV, and BWV are my top priorities. Then CCV and Riviera.

 

[BamaGuy44]

It's probably a thing, but I think more people pick based on location, point charts, amenities, etc. They have their favorites regardless of refurb status. I haven't been tracking it that long, but I'd be surprised if a recent refurb made a resort noticeably harder to book. If I'm wrong I'm sure the veterans will be along soon to correct me

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I could see why some people would prefer to stay in newer rooms. For me, it's still all about location. BLT, BCV, and BWV are my top priorities. Then CCV and Riviera.

I'm not heavy-enough into one park or the other for location to matter to me. BLT, for example, is fantastic to Magic Kingdom but I find it horribly inconvenient to everything else. Everything has enough trade-offs where that's not part of my calculus.

 

[UrsulaWantsYourSoul]

I do think there are some people who are actively avoiding Boulder Ridge currently though. I’m excited for those owners that soon hopefully will have a much needed refurb. Come on it has to come soon!

 

[HIRyeDVC]

I'm not heavy-enough into one park or the other for location to matter to me. BLT, for example, is fantastic to Magic Kingdom but I find it horribly inconvenient to everything else. Everything has enough trade-offs where that's not part of my calculus.

I guess we all do Disney and DVC differently. Since we are coming from Hawaii, we go for 2 weeks at a time and do a two-stay split, 1-week at BLT and the other week at BCV/BWV. The week I'm at BLT, we primarily focus on MK with maybe a day at AK. The 2nd week we're at BCV/BWV, we solely prioritize HS and Epcot. BLT monorail to Epcot is still much better than bus to anywhere else right?

 

[HIRyeDVC]

I do think there are some people who are actively avoiding Boulder Ridge currently though. I’m excited for those owners that soon hopefully will have a much needed refurb. Come on it has to come soon!

Poor Boulder Ridge. I don't own there but I can't wait for the refurb to happen to open up more rooms at WL, especially during the holidays.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

BLT monorail to Epcot is still much better than bus to anywhere else right?

No, BLT monorail to Epcot is about 3x as long as a bus from AKV.

 

[stitch'sgirl]

Curious what you don't like about Riviera - we are headed there in a couple of days, but only for a night

 

[Sandisw]

Never thought to do that. I like my favs trips now revolve sound those 2…RIV and VGF.

I guess I am lucky right now because one is new and the other renovated!

 

[kilik64]

I live by the advice of the illustrious TLC

Don't go chasing waterfalls, please stick to the rivers and the lakes that you're used to.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Curious what you don't like about Riviera - we are headed there in a couple of days, but only for a night

Just not my scene. It strikes me as "rich old lady who doesn't actually like Disney very much and would have much rather purchased Hilton Grand Vacations Club, but knows her grandkids love Disney so she buys at Riviera as a compromise."

That said, I love-love-love they Skyliner so I'll definitely be making some cash trips to Caribbean Beach Resort once those rooms have been refurbished.

 

[drusba]

I think an issue you might have with chasing refurbs is the issue of completion. It can take up to a year or more for a refurb to be completed as only portions of a resort are done at a time, with the result that, until the refurb is actually completed, there will always be some rooms out-of-service, and that can sometimes lead to the remaining rooms filing somewhat quicker than usual during the time of the refurb. Also, during that time, you have the risk, even if you reserve time in the later part of the refurb time, such as reserving a room 11 months out when the refurb begins on the assumption it will be finished by then, of getting a room not yet refurbed

 

[stitch'sgirl]

Just not my scene. It strikes me as "rich old lady who doesn't actually like Disney very much and would have much rather purchased Hilton Grand Vacations Club, but knows her grandkids love Disney so she buys at Riviera as a compromise."

That said, I love-love-love they Skyliner so I'll definitely be making some cash trips to Caribbean Beach Resort once those rooms have been refurbished.

Thanks for the input - I visited a couple weeks ago and agree something was just different.

 

[LisaDKG]

We love and actively seek a recently refurbed room!
We were thrilled with our stay last summer at Poly in a room that I don't think anyone had been assigned before us. We also loved our stay at SSR in a 1 bdrm in November - everything shiny and new which was in stark contrast to our previous stay years ago when the drapes in our studio were stuck together and covered in mold
We have distinctly avoided BRV and even our home resort of BLT is less desirable to us as we've had some pretty shabby studios there.
I could care less about view and location IN the resort, but a clean, fresh-er room wins out for me by a mile.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

We love and actively seek a recently refurbed room!
We were thrilled with our stay last summer at Poly in a room that I don't think anyone had been assigned before us. We also loved our stay at SSR in a 1 bdrm in November - everything shiny and new which was in stark contrast to our previous stay years ago when the drapes in our studio were stuck together and covered in mold
We have distinctly avoided BRV and even our home resort of BLT is less desirable to us as we've had some pretty shabby studios there.
I could care less about view and location IN the resort, but a clean, fresh-er room wins out for me by a mile.

How do you think (or not) about full hardgoods refurbs versus softgoods only? I feel like the spot where the villas take the biggest beating is in the kitchens, and I'm trying to decide what I'd consider "newer" in 2023... SSR (two years off of a full refurb) versus GFV (one year off of a partial refurb).

 

[LisaDKG]

Captain America, I wish I could compare apples to apples but although we almost always do split stays, we don't often stay in the same category on the same trip! Our stay at the beginning of Sept. at the Poly was (obviously) in a studio but then we switched to BCV to a 2 bdrm. Then during our November stay, the first leg was in a VGF studio, then to a CCV 2 bdrm, then finally a 2bdrm at SSR!
During the Poly to BCV stay, I was for sure struck by how dated the BCV kitchen was and during our Nov. trip I was pretty shocked at how run down/dirty the VGF studio seemed after switching to CCV and SSR. Across the board comparisons weren't possible but I guess I assumed that wear and tear and foot-traffic over time makes all the difference.
I don't actually think I knew that GFV had a partial refurb more recently than SSR (we were in a Preferred 2 bdrm). It might just have been luck of the draw but while we found that the finishing in our GVF studio seemed high-end, there were a lot of fixtures that were loose or falling off, a tile was broken and it seemed really dusty. I of course mentioned all the deficiencies that I saw to the staff but it really didn't leave a good impression!
Maybe that's the specific error of comparing studio stays to 1-2 bdrms. I imagine that studios see way more turn around and general use than the other villas. Now that I think about it, that is definitely what I've seen at BLT - we had a bad/dirty/rundown stay in a studio a few years ago but I was quite content with a more recent 1 bdrm stay. Funny how that is! (sarcasm included!)

 

[HIRyeDVC]

This entire thread makes me sad that we need to even consider this before choosing a place to stay. Our dues should pay for refurbs as well as daily wear and tear. It's a shame we haveto wait 7 to 14 years for the rooms to get some love. The hotel side would never go that long without getting some TLC. Just my thoughts.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

This entire thread makes me sad that we need to even consider this before choosing a place to stay. Our dues should pay for refurbs as well as daily wear and tear. It's a shame we haveto wait 7 to 14 years for the rooms to get some love. The hotel side would never go that long without getting some TLC. Just my thoughts.

The membership is notoriously cheap. They would not tolerate a dues increase for the sake of more thorough and frequent maintenance.