I never did come and update after my post while there for the grainger convention so I will do so now in an effort to alleviate some concerns and provide information for others.
I love CSR. Still do. What ended up happening pretty much as I was posting was that my husband went to the front desk to talk to them. Let me preface this by saying we have never complained in a hotel or restaurant before. We don't make a habit of it ... but we did have some concerns that were major to us.
We moved to CSR for the first half of our stay after receiving a letter from Pop Century that the main pool would be under refurb. We appreciated the notice. The first 3 days of our stay were room only and specifically for exploring the resort, relaxing and swimming if the weather allowed.
I was able to find a room at CSR and was excited. We stayed there for our honeymoon and LOVED it.
The first two days were great. Our room was Cabanas 8B on the parking lot side. The room was a little worse for wear, nothing terrible.. but showing some age. But I really didn't mind as we could see a bus stop from our window (for going to Downtown Disney) AND we were spitting distance from the Main Pool
We went out in the morning (ended up doing an early ticket pick up and spending the morning at MK) and came back to spend the day by the pool.
That is when I made my other post. Came back to a MAJOR convention dinner being set up and pools closed. The lawns in front of ever single building were covered in tables and chairs.. I can't imagine the irritation to the guests on that side of the building. The parking lot right outside my room was filled with waiters, workers and catering trucks. The pools were closed. There were giant speakers all around Lago Dorado so that all the diners could hear the speaking and music. There was jugglers, stilt walkers and fire throwers practicing in the parking lot.
You get my drift.. this was not a minor annoyance. In fact we felt in the way, and very out of place.
Now for the good news. My husband went to talk to them and basically ask why we hadn't recieved any notice, as we would have chosen another place to stay.
They were extremely accomadating. I think it helped that my husband is polite and kind. He didn't run in there yelling.. he just wanted some answers and to express his disappointment.
They instantly agreed there should have been notice. They offered us water park tickets in lieu of the pool but we already had added them to our passes and then they refunded a nights stay to us without being asked.
I was very pleased with that and feel it only fair to mention that on this thread. I would stay at CSR again in a heartbeat. There were conventions there on a previous stay and it was nothing. Nice people, and no issues. This was a major issue with Grangier simply because of the size of the event. It was abslolutely massive.
I think in future I would just want to know the size and scope of the event before booking my stay. A bunch of conventioners in meetings all day is one thing. This was major and affected every aspect of the resort.
Again, I think it was remedied as well as it could be and though it was upsetting at the time, I don't think it is common and most conventions are nowhere near the size this one was.
I'm waiting for my wonderful DH to get home from work so we can get on the road this afternoon! I'll bring back a review and some fabulous photos!!!
I am sorry it took so long. Once I was home I forgot about it. It really isn't a common thing. I actually like that there are conventions at this resort. The convention area is out of the way, it makes the buses and facilities quieter and less crowded and you barely notice them. Honest. I was a suprised as anyone about the size of Grangier.. but it's not common at all.
