DLH-anyone getting offers to extend their stay?

[limace]

I'd heard from several folks in late June that they were offered the opportunity to extend their stay at the DLH for $129 or so-insanely good rate for this summer. Anyone else getting this? If its happening a lot, I'll be tempted to move my DLH days to the beginning of our trip, rather than the end.

 

[Rhonna]

We had it happen early in May - but it was slow and the DLH had low occupancy at that time. They left the sign on our door the day we checked out and we didn't see it until we were leaving with the bellman. (We couldn't have stayed longer anyhow.)

I highly, highly doubt they are offering it now that Carsland is open and it's summer season. Especially since everyone who stays onsite gets into Carsland an hour earlier than other early entry people.

I wouldn't count on it at all and would be very surprised if someone actually received it this summer. Sorry.

Do you know for certain that someone got this offer after Carsland opened on June 15th?

 

[LisainCalifornia]

I agree, I think it would be pretty unlikely this summer. We have stayed at a DLR a few times a year for the last 10 years, and have never been given this offer--but I have heard about other people who have gotten it. We typically go summer, spring break, and Christmas time.

 

[limace]

Yes, one of the DL podcast team reported being offered when they were there for the CL preview event, and another person posted getting the same offer late June. I was surprised!

 

[Argento]

That is quite surprising to me. If I had to explain it, I would guess that, as ever at our beloved DLR, it is the locals who are driving park attendance to record highs. I would be surprised if the hotels hadn't received a little bump but it's possible that it's not enough of a bump to peg the old occupancy meter.

Maybe we'll see Fall discounts after all.

 

[TinkFreak988]

Last week, standing in line to get in to DL, I was speaking with an AP holder who was staying at the DLH. She told me they had been offered an extra night for $129 and were going to use it. We were there for 5 nights and had no offer of anything. Not sure if the AP part of it had any bearing, as we r not AP holders....

 

[kelmac284]

We are AP holders and we just stayed there last week. We were there Monday night through Wed night and on checkout were offered the extra day. I was surprised because when we checked in they said the hotel was at capacity. But they ALSO gave us a really crappy room. Last time we stayed on the pool view side and the room was twice as big and they also put us right next to a service elevator that went off ALL night long. It was nice to have the offer but we too had other plans AND I wouldn't have stayed in that room another night. I must admit I have been a little dissapointed with them lately.

I always here about people getting upgrades and such but we have NEVER had that happen. We go at least twice a year and usually stay on harbor but when we can afford it we stay at one of the three and every time we have gotten crummy rooms and not once been offered an upgrade. We also have been during our birthdays and not had anything done other than being given a button. When we stayed at PP they went above and beyond. It has always been during my mom's birthday but they gave her balloons, the rice krispy treats and lots of other fun stuff but neither the DLH nor the Grand did squat and they cost more. ??? I like the amenities of the DLH (pool, restaurants) and the rooms are pretty but I have not been that impressed with their service lately.

 

[KittyKat1978]

I got an upgrade at PPH in Feb. I was traveling solo and they said since they didn't have any king bed rooms available, I was upgraded to a park veiw room (7th floor).

 

[DizMe]

We are AP holders and we just stayed there last week. We were there Monday night through Wed night and on checkout were offered the extra day. I was surprised because when we checked in they said the hotel was at capacity. But they ALSO gave us a really crappy room. Last time we stayed on the pool view side and the room was twice as big and they also put us right next to a service elevator that went off ALL night long. It was nice to have the offer but we too had other plans AND I wouldn't have stayed in that room another night. I must admit I have been a little dissapointed with them lately.

I always here about people getting upgrades and such but we have NEVER had that happen. We go at least twice a year and usually stay on harbor but when we can afford it we stay at one of the three and every time we have gotten crummy rooms and not once been offered an upgrade. We also have been during our birthdays and not had anything done other than being given a button. When we stayed at PP they went above and beyond. It has always been during my mom's birthday but they gave her balloons, the rice krispy treats and lots of other fun stuff but neither the DLH nor the Grand did squat and they cost more. ??? I like the amenities of the DLH (pool, restaurants) and the rooms are pretty but I have not been that impressed with their service lately.

First, if you get a room you dislike, go straight back to the reservation desk and request the manager. Explain that the room is not satisfactory. I've had to do this twice (once due to the room being tiny and next to the service elevator and once because our sink backed up in the middle of the night--while we were sleeping!) and both times the manager made it right.

I was very disappointed in PPH, though. I didn't care for it a bit and was surprised at the lack of CM knowledge and helpfulness. No upgrades or goodies, either. DLH has always gone above and beyond for me, though I have had problems from time to time, but I've stayed there so many times I've lost count so you'd expect a problem to crop up occasionally. They've always handled it in a way that was much more than satisfactory so I love DLH for that reason. GCH is another story. They are efficient but I've not had any premium service from them, even when staying concierge.

 

[Rhonna]

Yes, one of the DL podcast team reported being offered when they were there for the CL preview event, and another person posted getting the same offer late June. I was surprised!

That is quite surprising to me. If I had to explain it, I would guess that, as ever at our beloved DLR, it is the locals who are driving park attendance to record highs. I would be surprised if the hotels hadn't received a little bump but it's possible that it's not enough of a bump to peg the old occupancy meter.

Maybe we'll see Fall discounts after all.

I wonder if people are finally getting tired of the outrageous prices at the DL hotels? Especially compared to the variety of choices at WDW. I would love to see them come down on their pricing - esp. during slow season. A great discount for early Nov. would be great!

And yes, we have AP's. Now I wonder if that's how they pick who gets the offer? Problem is we are from out of state and cannot change our plans at the last minute, which is when they give the offer.

 

[silence]

I'm going to play devil's advocate here....but, why do people EXPECT an upgrade? If you want a better room, pay for the view room.

Guess it just rubs me the wrong way. We have stayed at all 3 properties, in standard and view rooms. We have never rec'd an upgrade, but then, I never expect one either.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

I'm going to play devil's advocate here....but, why do people EXPECT an upgrade? If you want a better room, pay for the view room.

Guess it just rubs me the wrong way. We have stayed at all 3 properties, in standard and view rooms. We have never rec'd an upgrade, but then, I never expect one either.

I'm with you. I have never expected or even asked for an upgrade I hadn't paid for when staying at a hotel. I paid for a standard room at PP and that's what we got, and I was perfectly satisfied with that. I have never received free upgrades at any non-Disney hotel I have stayed at either. That said...the one time we stayed at the DLH, I paid for a a view room on floors 3-6. I gave them my name at check-in, and the CM announced that we had been upgraded to a view room on floor 7. Other than being one floor higher than we might have been, I have no idea what the difference was since we have only stayed there that one time. We loved our view enough that if we ever do stay again and it was an option I would probably pay to book the higher floor view room to try to duplicate the experience, so I guess Disney will have reaped some benefit from the upgrade as well. Even having experienced it once, I would never expect to get a free upgrade again. My rule is pay as much as I am comfortable with for as high a level of amenities as I want and expect to receive.

 

[Rhonna]

Not sure how upgrades got into this thread since the original post and most comments are about the discounted ($129) special the DLH at times offers to guests to get them to extend their stay?

 

[Lewdannie]

We were offered those great rates to extend our stay when we visited DLH in Feb, still regret not taking it up

 

[larina]

I'm going to play devil's advocate here....but, why do people EXPECT an upgrade? If you want a better room, pay for the view room.

Guess it just rubs me the wrong way. We have stayed at all 3 properties, in standard and view rooms. We have never rec'd an upgrade, but then, I never expect one either.

Hmmm, I don't know where this came from? An extra day isn't really an upgrade. AND I don't know of anyone who EXPECTS one. I do know lots of people ask. If there was even a possibility why wouldn't you at least ask? I've had some amazing things happen over the years. When we got married, we were upgraded from a decent room to a fabulous two room suite with a jacuzzi tub. At the Las Vegas MGM Grand, we asked if there were any upgrades and were moved from a standard room to a suite with an incredible view and a full bar/sitting area! At PPH in December, we were made the Big Kahuna family and were upgraded to concierge for free. Those are just the big three that stand out. I ALWAYS ask, we rarely get upgraded, but when we do, it is awesome! Try it some time!

 

[kelmac284]

I can speak to that. I was the one who mentioned it and the reason I did is because my family has been AP holders (first all of us and then down to just myself) for over 6 years. We live up north and they are DEF making money on us because we have usually kept the AP's eventhough there have been a few years where we couldn't make it back. We bought them the first time because back THEN they weren't too bad of a price and then it was one of those things where when it came time to renew I hated to give it up. It went up every year but only a few dollars so no big deal.

BUT in the last few years the prices have gotten outrageous. I am on the payment plan and I don't even want to know how much more it is going to cost if I chose to renew in Jan (which I probably won't be able to) since my particular pass went up 150 dollars this year.

I figure between the hotels, tickets, food, merchandise and everything we do we spend a LOT of money with Disney and most of our trips we stay the entire time so it's not like we are taking our money elsewhere.

As I said we usually can't afford to stay with them but the times we did I felt like we always got the crappiest room.

I know that in the "standard" category there are more than just one type of room. We paid standard in Feb and yet we had a pool view and a MUCH larger room.

Yet this time we were put in the dinky room that was next to the elevator. And to answer the person's question who said we should have moved we didn't hear the elevator till that night and the hotel was completely booked so we couldn't have moved if we wanted to.

They told us it would be at least Wed before there was an opening and that was the day we were leaving!

I have NEVER asked for an upgrade but I know it doesn't cost them anything to do it and I think for loyal customers it would be nice once in awhile to keep you coming back.

We DEF have a choice and if you keep having a bad experience you won't be back.

And I don't want to nor can I afford a pricier room but as I said it would be nice once every few years to be offered something a little bit nicer considering just how much your paying EVEN for a standard room.

Just as an example we stayed at the grand cal a few years back which we have only ever done one other time because of the price and we specifically asked for a room close to the elevator as my mom is almost 70 and has bad knees. So what did they do? They put us ALL the way at the back. We had to walk down 3 hallways and were the VERY last room. We tried to change and again they were "booked" and there was nothing they could do. At the DLH in 09 we got put in a room that was the smallest room I have EVER seen. It only had double beds and was one where you opened a door and there were 2 more doors. So it was like they took a normal room and cut it in half. It was in a corner and we had 4 people and could barely fit our luggage. We also overlooked a roof and air conditioners. This time was almost the same. The room was half the size of the one we had in Feb, had a view of a roof and then the whole elevator mess. At PP we have always gotten the standard room and yet it was large, had a fold out sofa, we have always gotten the chocolates and rice krispies etc. I LOVE this place and the ONLY reason we stayed at the DLH was because the kids liked the pool better. My aunt who NEVER goes to Disney and came with us 2 years ago paid WAY less than our standard room and was put in a park view room at PP that was HUGE. WHY because she lived in So cal. She will NEVER go back and I felt like that was insulting to give a local a nice room like that and say to heck with people who actually DO come all the time and are loyal. Makes no sense. They wasted that room because she will never go back and I seriously doubt that if they did that to any other locals that it would make THAT much difference. I mean if you are local WHY do you even NEED a room half the time!!!

My family chooses to go to DL because we live in CA and up till this year it was the cheapest thing we could do. We don't even fly anymore because it has gotten outrageous but it was still something we could drive down and with AP's do it relatively inexpensively. But now with the tickets through the moon, the hotels and just about everything else they are even pricing us out of that.

I guess they don't care because they have plenty of people who still will pay to go but it is sad for the loyal people who have come for years and spent quite a bit of money who can no longer afford to go.

 

[DizMe]

I'm going to play devil's advocate here....but, why do people EXPECT an upgrade? If you want a better room, pay for the view room.

Guess it just rubs me the wrong way. We have stayed at all 3 properties, in standard and view rooms. We have never rec'd an upgrade, but then, I never expect one either.

I think you misread this. No one expects an upgrade. The discussion you are probably referencing was about sub-par rooms, and yes, there are a few of them. The manager himself told me that when the hotel is very full, they will sometimes use those rooms but will move people if they complain. The room I had booked (standard 2-queen room, ap rate) did not have to have a view or be anything fancy. The room we got was so narrow there was a long hallway into it instead of the regular entry, and a tiny...I mean TINY room. It was so small there wasn't room for one queen-size bed. It had a double bed and you could only access one side of it...no dresser, either, because there wasn't room. The reason for this size was that the rest of the room space had been given over to the elevator and service area. We just didn't even fit in the room so we went back downstairs. The registration clerk told us there was nothing else available. We asked for the manager and were promptly moved to a much nicer room.

The point is that IF YOU DIDN'T GET WHAT YOU PAID FOR, don't be afraid to complain to a manager. The clerks can't do anything for you so you need to ask for the manager.

I've never asked for an upgrade. I always pay for the room I want and totally agree that people shouldn't expect extras--just be grateful for them if they get them. For me, the only hotel out of the DLR hotels that has given extras out of the blue like that has been DLH. I DO expect great service, and again, DLH has been the only one out of the 3 that I would rate as exceptional in that regard.

*As far as the extended stay offer, I've received it on almost every trip to DLH. I've never gotten the offer from GCH although once I asked them if I could get it and they gave it to me! At the $129 rate! That was especially cool because we were staying concierge.

 

[Disney Jen]

We just checked out of the Grand Californian on Sunday, July 1 and were given the option to stay another night for $199.

This was our first time at DL and we are not So Cal residents or AP holders.

 

[larina]

...I have NEVER asked for an upgrade but I know it doesn't cost them anything to do it and I think for loyal customers it would be nice once in awhile to keep you coming back.

...I've never asked for an upgrade. I always pay for the room I want and totally agree that people shouldn't expect extras--just be grateful for them if they get them...

If you don't ask, you don't know what the possibilities are. If something is really important to me (like the view at PPH) I pay for it ahead of time to be sure I get it. But that is rare. Most of the time I don't really care about a view enough to pay for it, but I'm sure as heck going to ask if there's a chance for a view when I arrive. Always better to have a view than not.

I agree people shouldn't expect extras, but you'll never get them to be grateful for if you don't ask! Very rarely do they offer upgrades without prompting form the customer.

 

[nunzia]

I just got an email about extending my Destination D stay (and I had booked at the amazing rate of $200 per night to begin with). It didn't have a rate shown, so don't know what that would be. When I first got that rate, I already did extend my stay at DLH by 2 nights and cancelled the HoJo reservation.