momof3poohlovers
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 11, 2004
- Messages
- 770
We just got back last week from a 10 day BLT stay. Let me preface this by saying that I love BLT, it is my favorite resort and I plan on staying there again and again! I'm so glad to be a DVC member and in spite of the issues we had, we still had an amazing stay. Some of the things we loved about this stay are:
1. I loved the weather! Coming from the desert in CA, I loved the rain and watching the afternoon thunderstorms! I found them more entertaining than the parks!
2. I love the sparkling clean look of the resort and we didn't encounter one grumpy cast member.
3. Our room was so incredibly quiet even though we were right next to the elevators.
4. Other than the housekeeping issues I mention below, our room was absolutely spotless when we checked in.
Now the not so bad, the bad, and the ugly:
1. Arrived at BLT at 11 PM due to a late flight. Arrived at the resort to be told by the guard at the gate that we were to check-in at BLT not the Contemporary. I told him I thought the check-in desk closed at 10 at BLT and he told me that someone was there 24 hours a day for check-ins.
Park out front of BLT and see someone behind the desk there talking to a guest but can't get in without a key. Wait for a few minutes and a guest happens to come up and I follow him in. I waited for about 10 min. for the CM to finish with the guest (some kind of room problem) and tell her I am checking in. She informs me that I need to go over to the Contemporary because it's past 10. It's now about 11:15 PM.
2. Arrive at Contemporary and there is a line with about 7 families/people in front of me. There are 2 cm's helping people. It takes me until about 12:15 to reach the front desk.
One cm spent almost an hour with 1 guest. I really felt bad for her but that's a whole other story! I have to admit I was irritated. I did online check-in and never imagined that I would have to wait in line so long to check-in and the rest of my family is in the car, tired and hot, waiting for me. I explained I did online check-in and was staying at BLT. She explained that they did not have the packets from BLT and so she would have to start the check-in process all over again.
I am finally out of there at 12:30 AM an hour and a half after I arrived.
3. I reserved a Lake view room. I had 2 requests, high floor and an even numbered room. We received an odd numbered room on the 3rd floor. I know they are just requests so I didn't say anything but it was disappointing. I have to admit though, being very close to the elevators was great and we didn't have a lot of problems getting an elevator because most people get off on the 5th floor.
4. DD goes to get into her bed in the 2nd bedroom (2 bedroom villa) and there is something that looks like poop that we are hoping is chocolate on her blanket and top sheet. It is now about 1:30 AM and we are exhausted. Housekeeping is called and I have to say they are pretty quick to bring new bedding but DD is not happy about sleeping in the bed.
My guess is someone checked into the room decided they didn't like the view, changed rooms and maybe the maid figured the bed hadn't been slept in, didn't see the "chocolate" and just remade it.
5. Get into the master BR shower and the rain shower head is spilling a lot of cold water onto my head. This is the 2nd time I have had this issue at BLT so I thought I would just change it to only the rain shower head, at least the water would get warm but it was broken. Maintenance comes to fix it and leaves a can of solvant that says in bold letters "fatal if ingested". Of course we don't see it but my 3 year old does and tries to spray it in his nose.
We bring it down to the front desk who just takes it and asks what our room number is.
6. Air conditioner sensor is broken, I guess they were aware of it before we checked in because the guy who calls our room back when we call to get it fixed tells us the sensor is broken and that they plan on fixing it when we check out so we need to "bypass" the sensor every day or so to keep it running.
7. We are told they need to replace the fire alarms and the mattress in our room. We arrive back late from the parks to find a bare mattress on our bed with all of the bedding, mattress pads, etc. lying on the floor.
8. We get a phone call at 10:30 PM waking our 3 year old up, to ask if they can come and replace some kind of adjuster valve in our shower. I explain we are all in bed already as we were planning at being at the parks first thing in the morning and that our shower had been fixed a few days earlier and seemed to be working fine.
9. Day 8 and no one comes for T&T service. I call and am told that they did come. I guess I must be crazy, because the towels I had placed on the floor to be replaced were still sitting there and the trash cans were still full. No one ever showed up even after the call. By this point, I am tired and give up!
I know it sounds like a lot but it really wasn't as bad as it seems. We never missed out on park time because of the issues and as I said, most things were dealt with in a reasonable amount of time. I wonder if we got a room that was maybe taken out of inventory for repairs, they ran short on rooms and since we checked in so late at night, we got stuck with it? I did speak with MS once we got back. We will be back at BLT in Sept. because my dd is getting married on the Disney Cruise and my mom who is dying from cancer will be with us. This will be her very last trip to Disney and I want it to be magical. I don't want to have to deal with any issues if they can be avoided. I was asked why I didn't speak to a manager while we were there and I explained that I am there to enjoy my vacation, I really didn't want to take time away from that. Plus, like I said all of the things were fixed/resolved so what was the point. MS did transfer me to the BLT front desk manager and he was awesome. He wants me to call him the day before we check-in and has said he will try and make sure everything will go smoothly to the best of his ability. I am happy with this.
My advice, try never to check in late at night!
1. I loved the weather! Coming from the desert in CA, I loved the rain and watching the afternoon thunderstorms! I found them more entertaining than the parks!
2. I love the sparkling clean look of the resort and we didn't encounter one grumpy cast member.
3. Our room was so incredibly quiet even though we were right next to the elevators.
4. Other than the housekeeping issues I mention below, our room was absolutely spotless when we checked in.
Now the not so bad, the bad, and the ugly:
1. Arrived at BLT at 11 PM due to a late flight. Arrived at the resort to be told by the guard at the gate that we were to check-in at BLT not the Contemporary. I told him I thought the check-in desk closed at 10 at BLT and he told me that someone was there 24 hours a day for check-ins.
Park out front of BLT and see someone behind the desk there talking to a guest but can't get in without a key. Wait for a few minutes and a guest happens to come up and I follow him in. I waited for about 10 min. for the CM to finish with the guest (some kind of room problem) and tell her I am checking in. She informs me that I need to go over to the Contemporary because it's past 10. It's now about 11:15 PM.2. Arrive at Contemporary and there is a line with about 7 families/people in front of me. There are 2 cm's helping people. It takes me until about 12:15 to reach the front desk.
One cm spent almost an hour with 1 guest. I really felt bad for her but that's a whole other story! I have to admit I was irritated. I did online check-in and never imagined that I would have to wait in line so long to check-in and the rest of my family is in the car, tired and hot, waiting for me. I explained I did online check-in and was staying at BLT. She explained that they did not have the packets from BLT and so she would have to start the check-in process all over again. I am finally out of there at 12:30 AM an hour and a half after I arrived. 3. I reserved a Lake view room. I had 2 requests, high floor and an even numbered room. We received an odd numbered room on the 3rd floor. I know they are just requests so I didn't say anything but it was disappointing. I have to admit though, being very close to the elevators was great and we didn't have a lot of problems getting an elevator because most people get off on the 5th floor.
4. DD goes to get into her bed in the 2nd bedroom (2 bedroom villa) and there is something that looks like poop that we are hoping is chocolate on her blanket and top sheet. It is now about 1:30 AM and we are exhausted. Housekeeping is called and I have to say they are pretty quick to bring new bedding but DD is not happy about sleeping in the bed.
My guess is someone checked into the room decided they didn't like the view, changed rooms and maybe the maid figured the bed hadn't been slept in, didn't see the "chocolate" and just remade it.5. Get into the master BR shower and the rain shower head is spilling a lot of cold water onto my head. This is the 2nd time I have had this issue at BLT so I thought I would just change it to only the rain shower head, at least the water would get warm but it was broken. Maintenance comes to fix it and leaves a can of solvant that says in bold letters "fatal if ingested". Of course we don't see it but my 3 year old does and tries to spray it in his nose.
We bring it down to the front desk who just takes it and asks what our room number is.6. Air conditioner sensor is broken, I guess they were aware of it before we checked in because the guy who calls our room back when we call to get it fixed tells us the sensor is broken and that they plan on fixing it when we check out so we need to "bypass" the sensor every day or so to keep it running.
7. We are told they need to replace the fire alarms and the mattress in our room. We arrive back late from the parks to find a bare mattress on our bed with all of the bedding, mattress pads, etc. lying on the floor.
8. We get a phone call at 10:30 PM waking our 3 year old up, to ask if they can come and replace some kind of adjuster valve in our shower. I explain we are all in bed already as we were planning at being at the parks first thing in the morning and that our shower had been fixed a few days earlier and seemed to be working fine.
9. Day 8 and no one comes for T&T service. I call and am told that they did come.
I guess I must be crazy, because the towels I had placed on the floor to be replaced were still sitting there and the trash cans were still full. No one ever showed up even after the call. By this point, I am tired and give up!I know it sounds like a lot but it really wasn't as bad as it seems. We never missed out on park time because of the issues and as I said, most things were dealt with in a reasonable amount of time. I wonder if we got a room that was maybe taken out of inventory for repairs, they ran short on rooms and since we checked in so late at night, we got stuck with it? I did speak with MS once we got back. We will be back at BLT in Sept. because my dd is getting married on the Disney Cruise and my mom who is dying from cancer will be with us. This will be her very last trip to Disney and I want it to be magical. I don't want to have to deal with any issues if they can be avoided. I was asked why I didn't speak to a manager while we were there and I explained that I am there to enjoy my vacation, I really didn't want to take time away from that. Plus, like I said all of the things were fixed/resolved so what was the point. MS did transfer me to the BLT front desk manager and he was awesome. He wants me to call him the day before we check-in and has said he will try and make sure everything will go smoothly to the best of his ability. I am happy with this.
My advice, try never to check in late at night! 
Bill
It's nice to post a legitimate complaint about a resort and not get bashed for it! As far as my attitude, having my mom get sick has really changed my perspective. I am trying to find the joy in life and cherish every moment with my family because as I am learning, you never know when you won't be able to anymore. My mom has traveled with us on most of our Disney trips and all of our Disney cruises. She was supposed to come on this trip as well until she found out she had stage 4 stomach cancer. 
