deluxe vs moderates

[paulengr]

In the past we always stayed off site. Then about 5 years ago the discounts and free dining got to the point that we didn't see value in staying off site anymore, and started staying in the deluxes (poly, WL). Last year in September we changed it up and stayed in one of the Royal rooms at POR. Overall it was a huge disappointment, worse than a decent off site hotel. Cleaning was hit or miss. We left notes AND called EVERY night because they only stocked the room with towels for 2 and it clearly shows 4 in our room, even when asking the front desk multiple times to note this. There was also no towel service at any of the pools, something that only a hotel like a Super 8 would skimp on since it costs very little to offer it. Finally for the one or two nights that we were out late, I'm not sure why they had "do not disturb" tags in the rooms since they were ignored. Since it is one of the largest hotels, I expect better service than a themed version of a $29/night midwest hotel, when we paid around $200/night for an upgraded room. A lot of the "cheap hotel" stuff like a curtain to the bathroom area which we knew about and were expecting I can overlook but the crappy service is another matter entirely. I also know that since we stayed 8 days there was clearly at least one and possibly more crew changes so this is not just one crew or person that did a crappy job.

So my question is....is this the typical experience at a moderate? I don't put a lot of value in room size since we only sleep/shower there, the pools were really nice, landscaping was very good. Bus service was much worse than off site but thats also true of the deluxes so its even scoring there. But if poor basic service (cleaning/stocking rooms) is subpar as a rule then we won't feel bad scratching moderates off our list and we will shorten the list to either deluxes or off site.

Is this just another example of the polish coming off, like the downgraded customer service and landscaping in the parks? Is it the time of year due to college student/local transitions in August/September? Were we just spoiled by starting off with the posh hotels that are a cut above off site? Is this specific to POR, or all Disney moderates? As it stands we won't be back to POR but we were trying to decide between Carribean Beach and a deluxe this year. I thought it was interesting that the "moderate vs. deluxe" threads in the past never mentioned this aspect.

 

[MyTwoPrincesses]

I've stayed at Mods on previous trips and never had those issues. I also travel for work, as a reference, and I usually stay at the W. So while the service at the Mods isn't like a W, I have never had mousekeeping issues. I think it could have been just 1 issue with a mousekeeper. As for towel service at the pools, the Mods do have towels by the pool. I believe that it's only the values that don't have towels by the pools. Why not try CSR? CSR is the closest mod to a deluxe in terms of amenities.

 

[allthingsmickey]

We are Deluxe people generally (we've stayed at the GF, CR, WL, BC, YC, and Poly), but we tried a Royal Room last year for a couple of nights and really liked it. We didn't have any of the issues you had though.

We are trying Coronado Springs later this month for a couple of nights before heading over to the Poly to check that out as well.

We found the staff to be very nice and mousekeeping did a fine job for us. There were only 3 of us in the room. Our room was quiet and we had a corner room.

I hope that your experience was the anomaly instead of mine.

 

[Turk February]

I think you just got dealt a bad hand. I've stayed at all levels and we've had good/decent/not-so-good service at all 3. I've personally never found Mousekeeping to be noticeably better in a deluxe. In fact, a mod (POFQ) is the only place we've ever received towel animals!

 

[AliceIn]

I think it must have been the staff you ended up with that week, not the class of resort. I've had better at a value. We stayed at the AoA last year and had much better service there than you are describing. Our room always had ample towels, and though they don't provide them at the pool, when we called mousekeeping to ask for towel replenishments prior to going swimming, they'd always bring us extras. They did a very nice job cleaning every day, and they always replenished coffee, plates, cups, etc. I was very happy with the service there, and it is a value resort. I also stay at a lot of high end hotels while traveling for work, so I'm pretty spoiled. I'd stay at the AoA again in a heartbeat.

 

[Annielkd22222]

I actually LOVED POR....it's my favorite place. I stay at Boardwalk for the convenience and location. But, no....I don't think that was typical.

 

[maxiesmom]

I've stayed at POR many times, and never had any of the issues you did.

Btw, when you call down you are not getting the front desk. You are getting a call center. And leaving notes can be kind of fruitless, if you end up with a housekeeper who doesn't read English. Next time, if you are not getting what you need after the first day, head down to the front desk. That way you know they are getting your message.

I do have to disagree with you about the curtain dividing the sleeping area from the sink area being cheap. I think it is a nice bonus, and am glad to have it when I am trying to get ready in the morning.

I'm not sure about the pool towels, but I'm thinking they are only provided at the themed pools. But I think that is the same at the deluxe resorts too. I don't remember seeing towels by the quiet pool at the Poly or the Beach Club.

We probably stay at moderate resorts more than any other level, so I can say no, that kind of service isn't what you typically get staying at a moderate resort.

 

[scjo68]

I am sorry you had such a bad experience at POR.
We have enjoyed our trips at POR, POFQ, as well as our Deluxe trips at Poly and CR.

Poly and CR had better locations/ were on the monorail line. And of course the rooms were much larger than the moderate rooms.

Other than that, I can't say there was a huge difference in quality between the deluxes and moderates in our experience.

Pool towels were available at all the main pools.
Housekeeping was consistently good at each resort.

I am surprised that you felt like bus service on-site was worse than bus service off-site. We have generally found bus service on site to be good. We have taken nine trips that were on-site, where we have almost exclusively used WDW transport. I can think of maybe 3-4 times we have waited longer than 15 minutes for transportation. We haven't really stayed off-site, so I can't compare. I just always had the impression that off-site transport to parks was not as good. And the many folks I know that have stayed off-site have always driven to the parks with their own car. I don't think I know anyone personally who has depended on off-site resort transportation to parks for their trip. Where did you stay off-site that bus service was better than Disney's bus service?

I do occasionally read of poor housekeeping/service at Disney resorts here. So you may be correct that overall consistency in resort service quality is slipping. But so far, that has not been our experience.

 

[maxiesmom]

OP--I see you are trying to decide between the Caribbean Beach and a Deluxe resort this year. My suggestion is that you go deluxe. Caribbean Beach is the only moderate resort that hasn't had a full refurbishment in the last few years. Rumor is they are starting now, but who know when they will be done.

If you are open to a different moderate, I suggest you try Coronado Springs. The bedding is more upscale (imho) than at the other moderate resorts. They have nice doors that close off the sink area from the sleeping area. Plus it is the only moderate that has a health club on site. And I know they had towels by the quiet pools too.

 

[boscov]

I have to say, I've stayed at POR several times, and what you experienced is definitely out of the ordinary. They have always been extremely accommodating, IMO. As for your CBR vs Deluxe, I would highly recommend a deluxe resort. PP said it, no refurb yet, plus I just hate the layout or the resort, size of the resort, food court, ect. It just really wasn't my thing at all. If you are going deluxe, I recommend WL or BC. Those are my 2 favs.

 

[staceymarie]

We always stay deluxe and my cousin who lives in Florida always comes for a few days and stays with us. She just spent a few days with her son at POR and she didn't care for it. There were numerous issues and she even complained to the front desk that "This would NEVER happen at Contemporary!". Lol--a deluxe snob.

 

[jtirishbelle]

We stayed at POR in early october 2012. We had similar issues to what you stated above. This was our second trip. Before that we stayed at SSR in January 2011.

We absolutely loved SSR. I know alot of people on the boards here complain about bus service at SSR, but we found the bus service there to be far superior to POR. The bus service was horrible at POR. We waited for close to an hour for a bus from Down town Disney back to the resort. We watched other resorts have between 3 and 5 buses each pick up guests for their resort while our resorts lines grew longer.

As far as the mousekeeping, we stayed for 7 nights. Maybe 2 of those nights we had excellent service. The rest of the time it was blah.

I would not choose to stay there again.