Flame suit on...I won't be going back to WL

[Northern Lights]

To those who may be rethinking your reservation, don't do it! In fact, before joining DVC, we had multiple CR-Tower stays and almost did not go the first time due to the volume of complaints about it. We got back from a studio at VWL 3 weeks ago and it was great - I am convinced, however, that those who are apt to complain would have found things wrong with the room.

For example:

It was kind of a pain to get the sofa bed back into the sofa. It was functional - which was most important to us - but clearly had some issues.

There were lizards constantly on our patio and one actually made it inside the room. Of course, DD5 loved them.

The room was definitely not brightly lit - I would not use the word the dark. We actually liked this for afternoon naps for the baby.

The mirror did fog when the bathroom door was opened. I guess it just wasn't a pain for me to take a cloth and wipe the fog off the mirror - we didn't think twice about it.

The AC must have been on a motion detector b/c the hallway was definitely cooler than the room when we came back from the parks. The AC did work fine once we were in the room and there was a ceiling fan to help get you immediately cooler if you needed it. Again, this was a non-issue for us.

We were on the first floor and our view was the path to the quiet pool. Yes, we definitely missed our Tower room in this respect, but then again we were not paying Tower room prices. The positive side, however, was we were very close to the laundry facilities - although I guess some could take this as a negative since it increases traffic in your hallway.

We probably had just about the longest walk to the marina, but then again none of the villas are close. When using a stroller, the path almost dead ends into the pool bar and you have to move a barstool out of the way to continue on the path. Again, it took about 5 seconds to move the barstool so we didn't care, although we did question the design of the path. Again, no big deal.

On the positive side, we were very close to the bus stop so we rarely rode the boat to and from MK, which we found slower than the bus anyway. We obviously missed the CR in this respect as well, but again, note the price delta.

We fly so we never saw the parking lot - and I mean we literally never saw it. I could see that being a pain - perhaps - if we used a car. To us, it was just part of the magic to rarely if ever see an automobile. Of course, our MK view at CR also shared a tremendous view of the parking lot, but that did not detract from the magic of seeing the castle every time you went to bed at night or got up in the morning.

There may have been some normal wear and tear, such as small scratches, dents, or tears in wallpaper, but nothing to cause condemnation proceedings. The room was in good, clean condition, material repair and perfectly functional - as we have always found our rooms at WDW. In other words, we had clean linens, fresh towels and toiletries, clean bathrooms and counter areas, and perfectly functional beds, AC, fan, TV, refrigerator, microwave, and plumbing.

The restaurants and other on-site amenities completely met our expectations of a deluxe resort, and we actually liked the counter service area - Roaring Forks - much better than CR's food and fun center. We thought the pool was great, but we only swam in the middle of the afternoon and were there in May. I could see it becoming crowded in the peak summer months.

Sooooooo, go for it and experience it for yourself. We are going to our "home" at BCV for the first time in less than 90 days and I admit I still read the criticisms, but I'm betting we leave perfectly happy with our resort choice and wishing we could stay longer.

 

[Ziggie]

As I stated before (when the original poster stated he/she hesitated to complain because someone may be fired), if people who have been trained and counseled on how they should be performing their jobs aren't doing it, then yes, they should be fired and get someone in there who will do it correctly.

Maybe management is aware of the state of some of the rooms. Maybe they're next on the list to be rehabbed once CR is done. Who knows? And, why fault the management? They have a budget they have to work on. Isn't the ultimate blame placed on whatever part of Disney issues the budgets? Maybe they aren't giving the WL the money they need to rehab; esp since the CR is starting theirs and they're still trying to finish the other half of PC. If you don't communicate you won't find any thing out or get any thing accomplished.

This is just my opinion, but the nature of your posts (bold + blue) and the way you try and make your point give me the impression that your personality might be somewhat aggressive. Not everyone is like that. I think you're being unfair to the OP.

Once again, jmo.

 

[bicker]

But most of us have better things to do while on vacation.

There is no question about that; I rarely find anything at WDW warrants being disappointed about it. There is nothing that mandates that everyone expect everything to be "just perfect". People weigh getting things exactly how they want them versus expending the energy necessary to do so. They just shouldn't expect clairvoiyance.

 

[bicker]

THEY SHOULD GET IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME... I say the hotel owes it to the guest to proactively have presentable rooms.

Those two statements are not synonymous.

I have no doubt that the hotels are proactively working this issue... I see them doing it every visit, at least at the BoardWalk (Inn and Villas). Expecting proactivity is reasonable. Expecting perfection is not.

 

[BostonRob]

What does a hotel have besides rooms?!?! Restaurants? Pools? Shops/Stores? Arcades? Places to rent items for your enjoyment (i.e. bikes, boats, etc)? Beaches? Entertainment venues? Some have meeting space. Some have spas. Some have places to drop your kids off to be babysat. All have employees and other guests to be taken care of.

What does management do? Go to meetings, do scheduling, take care of any issues BROUGHT TO THEIR ATTENTION, make time to speak with their employees, go over reports and budgeting, do evaluations, etc etc.

While it is ultimately management's responsibility to ensure things are being done properly, no, they don't have the time to be the ones cleaning the rooms and/or walking into all 1500 or 2000 of them to give the white glove treatment ever day or cook the food or sweep the halls and what not. That's what the underlings are for.

I realize a hotel has a whole bunch of stuff other than rooms. But the point I was trying to make is the the rooms are their only real product. Without those rooms to fill, they have no business. If a hotel's managers don't make it their business to deliver a top quality product (ie - clean, presentable rooms), they won't have to worry about pools, arcades, spas, meetings, scheduling, reports, or their 2000 employees. Because they will be out of business.

 

[bicker]

Agreed. However, then I believe a "price adjustment" is in order. If the hotel is starting to show serious wear and tear, then room rates should be lowered.

Room rates are more a reflection of demand than condition. Condition influences demand, but apparently condition is such that many people aren't having the same misgivings about the WL as the OP did.

 

[Ziggie]

Room rates are more a reflection of demand than condition. Condition influences demand, but apparently condition is such that many people aren't having the same misgivings about the WL as the OP did.

I realize they are a reflection of demand. However, that should not be the *only* reason. There is no reason for a hotel to charge a premium rate when the hotel is not in top shape. Why should "deluxe" rates be expected when the hotel is in a state of disrepair?

 

[bicker]

This is just my opinion, but the nature of your posts (bold + blue) and the way you try and make your point give me the impression that your personality might be somewhat aggressive. Not everyone is like that. I think you're being unfair to the OP. Once again, jmo.

I agree with what FirstNo is saying, but agree with you that the formatting is detrimental to the point being made. I typically ignore users that use color and bolding, and probably would have gotten around to ignoring FirstNo after another day or so, just solely on the basis of the distracting appearance of the messages. However, there are no rules about making one's messages annoying to view, so I don't think I would say that FirstNo needs to change the way this messages appear.

 

[bicker]

I realize they are a reflection of demand. However, that should not be the *only* reason. There is no reason for a hotel to charge a premium rate when the hotel is not in top shape.

Come now: Disney hotels have never been priced anywhere close to what they'd be priced if they were located in Leesburg or St. Cloud. Demand is the primary driver of the premium Disney charges. The quality they provide, which I believe is pretty consistently high, at least in comparison to the prevailing industry standard, has only a modest impact on the premium, IMHO.

This reminds me a news story I read a few years ago about an auction of a dusty old book, with a badly messed up binding, deteriorating pages, etc. However, the book was so old, unique and rare that it still fetched a large amount of money. YMMV.

 

[BostonRob]

Those two statements are not synonymous.

I have no doubt that the hotels are proactively working this issue... I see them doing it every visit, at least at the BoardWalk (Inn and Villas). Expecting proactivity is reasonable. Expecting perfection is not.

I understand what you're saying, and I agree with you. But here is the original poster's comments -
Our standard view room that we piad rack rate for was in a terrible loction--no view and right above the lobby. The room itself was very narrow and in NEED of repair. Chipped paint, wallpaper peeling, counters chipped beyond repair, chairs worn through to the wood.

Now, you are 100% correct about unreasonable expectations of perfection when it comes to room location. A hotel has lots of rooms, they can't all be in perfect locations for everybody. You've got to accept that you probably won't get a perfect view in a perfect location.

But the second part of that description is what I find disturbing. Chipped paint, wallpaper peeling, counters chipped beyond repair, chairs worn through to the wood. Any one of these things would be acceptable - people live in these rooms. But all those things combined - if that is an accurate review, it is a disgrace. It shouldn't be the responsibility of the guest to report that level of wear on a room - especially a room renting for $240 per night.

 

[bicker]

Well, no offense intended to the OP, but the whole "complaining about the location" thing sounded like buyers remorse, it makes me wonder how bad things really are, especially in light of all the positive comments about WL others have contributed.

Also, focusing on the room rate is misleading, without factoring in how much of the premium is due to demand (attributable, principally to location, I bet). There is no question that a $240 per night room in the middle of nowhere had better be a palacial mansion in perfect condition as compared to a WL room.

 

[FirstNo]

This is just my opinion, but the nature of your posts (bold + blue) and the way you try and make your point give me the impression that your personality might be somewhat aggressive. Not everyone is like that. I think you're being unfair to the OP.

Once again, jmo.

Well, I've always posted in blue (even on AOL) because I like the color. I post in bold because it makes it easier for me to read.

You're entitled to your opinion.

 

[Ziggie]

Come now: Disney hotels have never been priced anywhere close to what they'd be priced if they were located in Leesburg or St. Cloud. Demand is the primary driver of the premium Disney charges. The quality they provide, which I believe is pretty consistently high, at least in comparison to the prevailing industry standard, has only a modest impact on the premium, IMHO.

This reminds me a news story I read a few years ago about an auction of a dusty old book, with a badly messed up binding, deteriorating pages, etc. However, the book was so old, unique and rare that it still fetched a large amount of money. YMMV.

Does that mean if Disney were to charge $500/night for ASMu you'd pay it? What I mean by having Disney lower the price for the more deteriorated rooms is this: they have a range of prices for a specific location/room. Rack rate vs ? Perhaps they could charge the lower rate until renovations were made.

Of course, I know this will never happen. It's more of a concept idea than reality.

 

[ckmommy]

Well, no offense intended to the OP, but the whole "complaining about the location" thing sounded like buyers remorse, it makes me wonder how bad things really are, especially in light of all the positive comments about WL others have contributed.

Actually, I do take offense to this. The room location was awful. While you cannot change the way the resort is built, you can change the other things that I mentioned that were wrong with this room. If you have read the other responses on this thread, others have seen the same problems that I had in my room. I truely feel justified in my comments about the room. And also for saying that I will never stay there again. Not just for the room condition, but I did not like the themeing -- my opinion though!!

 

[bicker]

If you have read the other responses on this thread, others have seen the same problems that I had in my room.

And others have said they haven't seen such problems at the WL. My point was that your first comment was about the location, so clearly you were upset about that to some extent. You've since made it clear that you don't like the Northwest/National Park theme. You had expected something else, but clearly the room was supposed to be located where it was, and themed the way it was.

I truely feel justified in my comments about the room.

Of course you should feel justified! You were relaying your experience! My comments don't devalue you or your comments. Rather, they merely placed them in perspective with the positive comments that others have posted regarding WL.

 

[pershing]

Whew!

Interesting discussion! Especially since I was reading this thread yesterday AS I was booking WL w/free dining.

I had bounced back and forth for months on which resort, but always came back to WLD.

I just really want to try it.

I could only get Courtyard since we were originally booked over Halloween week and had to move our dates recently. Now I'm kinda glad with all the comments regarding Standard views that I'm putting out a little more for a better view.

I live on Cape Cod so I understand the demand versus quality issue. The hotel/restaurants just hold on for dear life with customers at all doors during the summer and then assess the damage during the fall. Hotels closer to the beaches could put Disney costs to shame yet they're not much to look at and usually with very little amenities. The beach is the amenity.

With everyone clamoring to get reservations at Wilderness year round, I imagine renovations would be hard to complete. In order to fix some of the things listed, I could see carpenters banging and power saws going. The people in the rooms nextdoor would not be too happy to hear those noises during their vacation while they were paying deluxe rates. So they'd have to close sections to renovate and the constant demand for rooms probably makes that hard.

I was also thinking about that restaurant power window washing and wondered what the best time of day would be to complete that without someone complaining.

I couldn't come up with a time. I imagine they face stuff like that all the time.

 

[Ziggie]

With everyone clamoring to get reservations at Wilderness year round, I imagine renovations would be hard to complete. In order to fix some of the things listed, I could see carpenters banging and power saws going. The people in the rooms nextdoor would not be too happy to hear those noises during their vacation while they were paying deluxe rates. So they'd have to close sections to renovate and the constant demand for rooms probably makes that hard.

This is not new for Disney POFQ comes to mind

Enjoy your stay at WL!

 

[BostonRob]

With everyone clamoring to get reservations at Wilderness year round, I imagine renovations would be hard to complete. In order to fix some of the things listed, I could see carpenters banging and power saws going. The people in the rooms nextdoor would not be too happy to hear those noises during their vacation while they were paying deluxe rates. So they'd have to close sections to renovate and the constant demand for rooms probably makes that hard.

I was also thinking about that restaurant power window washing and wondered what the best time of day would be to complete that without someone complaining.

I couldn't come up with a time. I imagine they face stuff like that all the time.

I'm sure I've made my feelings on these matters pretty clear, but I wanted to address this quote. You make very good points - all very sensible. But my attitude is that those are the Hotel's problems, not mine. I'm not interested in their logistical problems, I just want a nice clean room. And I certainly don't want to be awakened by powerwashing or powersaws. If they can't keep the place presentable without disturbing me, they risk losing my business.

This is where we get to the truth of bicker's statements. Chances are, even if they lose my business, they will continue to sell out all their rooms, regardless of condition, because people are buying the location. But there could come a point where they do stop losing business, if it gets bad enough. Once again, that is the hotel's problem to deal with, not mine.