DVC Resort condition?

[a Really Bad Egg]

All,

We are seriously thinking of buying into the DVC...and are doing all the due diligence.

My concern is that the room ratings on DIS indicate the condition of the DVC resorts to be less than desirable - save the newest SS.

Are these ratings indicative of wht you all are seeing? We were very interested in the BC or BW.

Comments, suggestions?

Thanks.

 

[disney junky]

We just spent a week at BWV the end of June. Two BR two BA. I found the room exceptionally clean and neat. We pay association fees to make sure that the units are maintained. The wear and tear that goes with being a home away from home is much less than I have experienced renting condos in other portions of the country and hotel rooms at which I have stayed. Often reports here concerning substandard conditions of the facilities are the exception rather than the rule. We moved into our new home 14 years ago and it shows. Obviously the conditions can only be new for a short period of time, but I feel confident that Disney will provide a higher standard of excellence for its members than most others in the industry.

 

[Blue&Gold]

2 days in a GV followed by 4 in a 1 BR at BWV in May. 1 BR was beautiful, GV had a couple minor problems---A/C unit leaked water (fixed within 1 hour by maintenance) and a wicker chair that had the seat "blown out." My guess is that the GVs have a "harder" life... Overall, I thought the rooms and the facility as a whole were well maintained. Not fresh out of the plastic, but well maintained. We bought into DVC in May and have 2 more BWV trips planned already---Oct and next May. We're satisfied.

 

[marky]

Hi there,
We have owned dvc for 6 years now, and have just returned home from 2 week BW, 3 night disney wonder cruise, and a 1 week stay at Vero Beach. (We have long vacations in the U.K!)
I can honestly say that in all of our stays in Disney property over the years that every room, and hotel was immaculate.
I realise that with the amount of people that go through the rooms, you are bound to get some unhappy people(You can't please them all, and there are bound to be problems occur with some units at some time), but I can honestly say that our experience with DVC has been fantastic. For us DVC was THE best purchase that we have ever made.
Hope this helps
Mark

 

[spiceycat]

BCV had for a while members not understanding that they need to call maintence when something was wrong.

they though that the maids were responsible for that.

the maids on the whole don't speak english. the maintence/engineer only speak english.

Give BCV time - once the member start to understand that they need to call for anything wrong. this resort will be the BEST.

BWV has gone through a bunch of new members.

DVC use to explain that calling for maintence was YOUR job. I don't think some of guides do this anymore. I am pretty sure that the resalers don't.

If the problem is tiny and no one calls to have it fixed, then it becomes bigger and bigger.

remember this is YOUR home. You certainly don't wait to call the repair service when something goes wrong at home. You should definitely call maintence/engineer/housekeeping when something goes wrong with your 2nd home-DVC. an unlike at home you won't be charged.

BCV is beautiful and SALB (SLB) is the best resort pool in Orlando (my opinion).

 

[dianeschlicht]

I would say they are maintaned very well considering the number of foks that go through them in a year. We have rarely had maintanance issues, and if we do, we just call down, and things are fixed ASAP. Paint, and other items are replaced on a somewhat regualar basis. At OKW, the oldes DVC, appliances and furnishings get replaced and even flooring and tile as needed.

 

[GGOOFY1]

We just spent 8 days at OKW in a 2 Bedroom. We were in building 21, which is one of the older buildings in the resort. Our room was perfect. If anything has ever been less than 100%, we have called and gotten it repaired. The VCR was broken once and they replaced it. I would recommend DVC highly.
This past vacation 7/15-7/31, we stayed at OKW for 8 nights, 6 nights at Seawatch on the Beach in Ft. Myers (a trade with II), and 2 nights at Hyatt Windward Pointe, Key West, a Hyatt Vacation Club. I would rank OKW #1, Hyatt a close 2nd and Seawatch, which is Hilton, a distant 3rd. We stayed in 2 bedroom units for the entire trip. So, I am comparing apples to apples. Good luck in making your decision.

 

[NJBlackBerry]

We've stayed at the BCV twice in the last two years and will be back in September. The only maintenance issue we've ever had was a burnt out light bulb, which maintenance fixed while we were at a park.

 

[loribell]

I just spent 6 nights with extended family in 2 - 2 Bed units & 2 studios at OKW (The original DVC) and my entire family was absolutely blown away by their rooms. Everything was in perfect shape.

I have also stayed at BCV's and theWLV's and have never had any problems there either.

As the others have said, our maintenance fees pay for the upkeep of these resorts. IMHO they are much better than any of the other Dsiney resorts.

Good luck with your decision,
Lori

 

[MattIL]

In general the rooms are in good shape. We had one minor issue during our first stay at BCV in 2003 and the maintenance people took care of it very quickly. Like others have stated, I don’t expect everything to appear brand new, however I expect it to be kept up and for there to be a regular schedule of refurbishing. I haven’t seen anything to make me think this is not happening.

I think if you really pay close attention to non-DVC hotel rooms that wear and use will also be present. This is true in WDW and at other locations. I think sometimes that we have an unrealistic expectation of perfection when it comes to our Disney experiences. I think when it involves the DVC this is even stronger since we put up a substantial amount of money at the start when we purchase our points.

My family has been very happy and if you love WDW and plan to make regular trips then I think joining DVC is a good choice.

 

[JimMIA]

One thing to keep in mind is that all of us here share that natural human tendency to post only when something is wrong. If you look at all of the posts here, you'll find three basic types: inquiries, complaints, and on the Community Board, some fun/silly posts.

Also, things often get worse and worse the longer you spend typing posts about them. I've read a number of posts where the writer was really worked up...about something I probably wouldn't even have noticed, and certainly wouldn't have complained about. Some people shrug their shoulders at minor inconveniences, others freak out...so most of us take a lot of the complaining posts (especially the ones which are really fervent) with a generous helping of salt.

 

[Granny]

JimMIA, I agree totally!

Basically, people don't take the time to put down positive comments on surveys like that. But they are more apt to report a problem as it occurs.

We have found all of our DVC rooms to be adequately maintained and refurbished. Have we seen some wear & tear from time to time? Yes, but nothing major or that would diminish the overall look and feel of a room.

 

[rinkwide]

I'd suggest looking into an independant review/rating such as from AAA.

 

[tjkraz]

One thing to bear in mind is that Timeshare resorts have a bigger challenge ahead of them than standard hotels due to the high occupancy levels. According to Disney's Annual Report, average occupancy at their resorts runs about 80%. That means that on a typical night, resorts like the Grand Floridian or Polynesian have 20% of their rooms that will not be occupied. If problems are reported by departing guests or housekeeping, the room can easily be taken out of inventory until the problem is resoved. If you check-in and are less than satsified with the quality of the room, the resort has plenty of space to move you elsewhere.

At DVC, that's often not the case. Timeshares are designed to run at 100% occupancy, with a small margin for scheduled maintenance. But, even with the maintenance allocation, these things need to be planned a year in advance. If 400 rooms are schedule to be occupied and only 398 are in excellent condition, 2 guests are going to get sub-standard rooms. There simply aren't any other alternatives.

Realistically, there are many times of the year when the resorts are not 100% booked. You will read many instances of guests being upgraded from a Studio to a 1B or a Standard to a Preferred View due to maintenance issues. But again, when the resort is fully booked, they have to find somewhere to put each guest.

The DVC housekeeping schedule complicates matters, too. Full cleanings are only offered when a guest stays more than 7 days. So, between the 11am check-out time and 4:30pm check-in time, housekeeping has as little as 5 1/2 hours to get a room ready for the next guest--a room that probably hasn't been serviced for a week. Things like stained carpets and physical damage to the room or its furnishings can be very difficult to correct in such a short period of time.

If you're expecting Five-Diamond quality service from DVC, I think you'll be disappointed. There is no daily housekeeping. Most of the rooms do not have access to room service or valet parking. While many people like BWV, VWL and BCV, which are attached to full-service hotels, I think the OKW and SSR better epitomize the condo-style, Home Away From Home philosophy that DVC was created to provide.

Bottom line on maintenance: as a whole, I think that honest room ratings at DVC resorts will always run behind those of the cash resorts. But, if you go into it with the understanding that resort staff is ready, willing and able to help resolve your problems, you'll be fine. Make them aware of the problems to help yourself AND the next guest to check into the room. Don't be a silent complainer.

 

[JimMIA]

I'd suggest looking into an independant review/rating such as from AAA.

That's a very good suggestion. I don't have the link, but there is a very recent hospitality industry customer satisfaction survey that ranks DVC as the best timeshare. I'm sure someone else can provide a link; it's been posted here several times.

 

[JimMIA]

But, if you go into it with the understanding that resort staff is ready, willing and able to help resolve your problems, you'll be fine. Make them aware of the problems to help yourself AND the next guest to check into the room. Don't be a silent complainer.

Excellent point. Time and time again, we hear excruciating tales of woe. Eventually, one of the vets here (often Doc) will ask a simple question -- "Did you tell anyone at the resort about your problem?"

The answers to that question almost always show an inverse relationship between the wattage of the complaint and reporting the problem.

People who report problems when they occur write, "We had a problem, but we called them and they fixed it in an hour."

People who scream the loudest often have not told anyone of the problem until they post it here. It's one of the little mysteries here on the DIS.

***
Also, just a little note on tjkraz' housekeeping comments above - You can get daily maid service if you want it. The fee for a studio is $25 per day, and they go up from there. You don't have to get it every day, you can just call them whenever you think you need it.

 

[smjj]

We have stayed at OKW and have never had anything but compliments on how clean and fresh the rooms are. No complaints here...smjj

 

[Viki]

I pay a lot of money for the privilege of being a DVC member and because of that my expectations of the "homes" we stay in are high. When we have a problem - like with the air conditioner setting once - we call right away and we have always been accomadated.

 

[Lasrnw]

We rented from another DVC member in June and stayed in a 1br at OKW. The villa was outstanding! I am extremely particular about anywhere I stay and have found some four star, very high end hotels I could do without. It was spotless, well stocked and beautifully done. First thing we did when we came home - BUY POINTS! and cannot wait to return.

 

[Laurajean1014]

the condition of the DVC resorts to be less than desirable - save the newest SS. Are these ratings indicative of wht you all are seeing? Thanks.

Is this rating on WDWinfo.com?

The cleanliness you see at the parks are the same you will see at DVC and non-DVC resorts.