Another question - do all studio rooms that are newly renovated at beach club have a Murphy bed?
See below.
I believe you can. We rented points at the Grand Californian Villas and I was able to call up the front desk with the reservation number and put requests on it. For the WDW DVC rooms, the reservation number should be capable of being linked in
MDE, and then you can make room requests with online check-in.
We had the person from whom we rented make our requests at the time of booking and have done so every time we rent points. We received two of our three requests in order of our priorities--close to main building, low floor and pool view. When I did online check in, I did NOT make any requests, I simply checked in. We could have had the pool view request but it was on the fifth floor. We opted to take the courtyard view and be on the first floor near the main building. Having a newly renovated room was not a priority for us. This has worked for us at both BC and BCV.
All of the newly renovated studios will have murphy beds. Anyone can put in a room request, but in my 15 or so visits to the BCV, I only get what I want (quiet pool view) about half the time. If you aren't a DVC member you can fax or email the BCV room assigner/concierge with your request. I always call when I'm in the ten day window just to make sure they have my request on file.
That's one of my very few complaints about BCV. You can't book a view like at VGF or BWV, where you can request woods view, water, view, boardwalk view, etc. at different price levels.
We had conversations over the course of our stay with another couple who were told they had a renovated room (studio) and it did NOT have a Murphy bed. This studio had new furnishings, but no wood laminate flooring at all and no Murphy bed. Also, the tv was not the newer larger version but the carpet was new. Either they were misled at check in OR the studio was rented before it was fully refurbished/renovated.
We have never been permitted to make requests since that had to be done through Member Services and we were renting points. Is this something that is permitted closer in time to your arrival? As I said, we have always simply had the member make the requests on our behalf and it has worked well for us. Just curious for future stays.
The rehab process is moving along quickly it would appear--at least the tough part, stripping the room and installing the flooring, painting, etc. I can't really say I saw any furnishings being installed, but the construction part was definitely moving along. Over the course of our stay the rooms were being renovated in the center, pool facing section and westward over the canal. I didn't walk to the back of the building, but that is where the couple was staying (2nd floor) who thought they were given a renovated/rehabbed room.
A few days we were really inconvenienced by the inability to get ice. We (and when I say we, I mean my husband) had to trek all the way to the 5th floor to find a working machine (noonish). Our refrigerator was the best we ever had because it actually froze everything--not just cooled it--literally our cream cheese and creamer in the door was frozen as were our water bottles. Usually those refrigerators barely cool the contents--be forewarned!
We were in room 105 and we really enjoyed our location:
PLEASE NOTE: That is a full size coffee pot (12 cups) and we were told the studios only had 4 cup pots. Of course, we believed it despite our previous visits when there were 12 cups and bought 4 cup filters to take along. Lesson learned--trust your own knowledge based upon experience rather than everything you read!
Who knows what the new studios will have?
Love the size of this shower/toilet area better than BWV but you sacrifice the size of the vanity/sink area to get it.
Final note, disregard the date stamp on my photos--they were taken 5/13/16 but silly me, I forgot to check the date setting after emptying the camera of its batteries for recharging.
We had a fabulous stay with no real issues and we would definitely stay again IF we can get the points from a renter--we wanted to be there for F&W, but that was not happening but we will be back at BWV and are fine with that too.
Forgot to mention--notice the clock/docking station still in this room. Apparently the sweep was not clean and we were thankful!
