Help! Hotelmartusa & reservation

[CindyCan]

Okay, my fear about using an internet company is coming back to haunt me! We leave on Sunday, & I called Cypress Pointe to confirm that they have our reservation from hotelmartusa.com and they do....BUT it's for a STUDIO! My confirmation & reservation info from hmusa CLEARLY says 2 BR, and even 2 adults & 3 children...but of course Cypress Pointe can't/won't do anything for us. We have to go back to hmusa. So, I call their phone # & have to leave a message. I also emailed them. What do I do now? I feel really stuck (panicked, actually). CP has our payment, I made him check that. Any advice? I tried to confirm with CP a couple of weeks ago, but they said the reservation wouldn't be in system until 1-2 weeks before (our check in is Jan 2).
Any advice, or experience with hmusa would be helpful. I booked through them in the first place because of the reports I had read here.
Thanks in advance!

**UPDATE** hmusa has called me, but the reservation was made through ANOTHER party, so it can't be cleared up until Friday. They assure me it will, so I will post again on Friday.

 

[browntrout]

I'd be curios to see how it worked out and how you liked the room? I'm on the verge of booking through hotelmart for the same property for April.

 

[CindyCan]

We're home! I didn't post an update before we left, because it wasn't cleared up before we left. Here's basically what happened:
(Warning: this is long, but I want you to know exactly what I went through on my VACATION, while I was RELAXING!)

-I phoned CP on Christmas Eve: reservation is for a STUDIO.
-I phoned hmusa same day, left a message.
-hmusa phoned me back same day, assured me it would be fixed by Fri (one week prior to our check in).
-I phoned CP on Fri. Still a STUDIO.
-I phoned hmusa same day. They check, say it is all fixed.
-I phoned CP again. Not fixed.
-I phoned hmusa again. They say it will be fixed that night.
-I phoned CP on Sat. Still not fixed.
-I phoned hmusa same day. Say it will be fixed on Mon. We are leaving on Sun, & so I leave my cell #.
-hmusa left a message on Mon morning that they have phoned CP & confirm that it is fixed.
-I get the message Mon night, but can't get my phone card (it costs me $1.40 US/min on my cell phone, so I won't use that) to work.
-Tues night (we are now in Cocoa Beach for 3 nights) I phone CP. Sure, the STUDIO is now a 2 BDRM. BUT (you knew that was coming, right?) the reservation now has us checking in on SATURDAY, not FRIDAY! Okay, this is getting ridiculous!
-I phone hmusa on Tues night. Staff is very sympathetic, but due to the time (after 6pm) they can't get anything changed until Wed.
-I phone hmusa on Wed am & they say it is fixed (where have I heard this before?).
-I phone CP. You guessed it! Not fixed.
-I phone hmusa. Staff member says it is fixed. I tell them I am concerned, with tomorrow being a holiday (NY's Day), that it won't be fixed. I am told, "Ma'am it is fixed.". I explain that I've heard this before. I ask "What do I do if we go to check in on Fri & it's not fixed?" I am told "Ma'am, that will not happen. It is fixed." I try to explain that this has been going on for a week & it took more than 1 day last time. He doesn't want to hear it, and cuts me off with "Ma'am, it is fixed. The reason that you're getting the run around from the CP front desk is because they don't get the reservation until the day of". I say, "Well, that's not true, because they had our reservation last week. So, we're hanging in the wind until Fri, & we don't know what to do if it isn't fixed?" He replies, "Ma'am, you are not hanging in the wind. I have told you that it is fixed. If you would like to speak to a manager, call back after 6 pm." I say "Sure, after it's too late to do anything?". He says, "Thank you, ma'am" and, yes, you guessed it, hangs up.
-I decide that there's nothing a manager can do for me after 6pm on NYE, so I wait until Fri. We drive to CP directly from Cocoa Beach, and arrive at 10am (yes, I know check in is 4:00, but I wanted to speak to the front desk face-to-face).
-I ask to confirm our reservation, and yes, you've got it. It's not fixed.
-I go to the pay phone & call hmusa. I have to leave a message.
-We go to do some shopping, and after 1/2 hr I call hmusa again. I get a person this time. I get the lady that helped me on Fri & Mon last week (the one that was able to get the first correction done). She is very sympathetic, and works immediately on getting it changed. Tells me to call her back in 20 min. I do. She says it's fixed. Where have I heard that before?
-I call CP (we're now in Kissimmee, & I'm using my expensive cell phone to call CP...hmusa is a 1-888 #). Guess what: it's not fixed.
-I call hmusa back, & she is genuinely upset that it's not fixed. With further info that I got from the front desk, she's able to pursue it a little further. She tells me that now an hmusa manager is going to speak directly with a CP manager, and that she will call me when it's fixed.
-I call her back in 1 hr (she couldn't get through to my cell phone for some reason), and she says it's fixed. Where have I heard that before?
-We are now back near CP, so we go to check at the front desk. Guess what? It's actually FIXED! Our reservation is finally correct, & shows that it's completely paid for! It's only 1:00, but we ask if we can check in. If we don't mind a 3rd floor (no elevator), we can check in now. The desk staff tells me that if I had of made requests, I might have gotten a better location (we wanted 1st floor, closer to the pool). I laugh. I DID make requests, but because our reservation got cancelled & rebooked twice, they got left behind. Even if they had of carried along, the newest reservation was made that day, so they wouldn't have carried any weight.

Thanks for sticking it out to this point! I apologize for the length! Here are my final thoughts:
-The CP front desk staff were friendly, helpful where they could be, and were unable to help with changes. We HAD to go back to hmusa. I understand that, & find no fault with the resort.
-Most of the hmusa staff I spoke to were helpful & concerned. I only ran into 1 bad apple.
-However, at no time did hmusa offer to compensate us in any way for the trouble we went through (not to mention the long distance calls). They did apologize.
-CP itself is very nice. We were in phase 1, which some people have mentioned is worn. We have experience with rental condos (have 1 in the family that is owned outright), & we didn't find our unit to be in bad shape in the least. We loved our unit.
-The price ($79/night during busy time, $76 low time, taxes included) just cannot be beat. That's the main reason I didn't raise a fuss asking for compensation.
-We did the time share tour ($75 Disney gift certificates for 2 hours of our time) & found it to be not pushy. It reaffirmed to us that the price we got through hmusa was REALLY good.

Here's the big question: Would we do it again? The answer is (surprisingly, I think) yes. I would just phone 1-2 weeks ahead to CP again & if there is a problem, be much more insistent to hmusa (explaining my previous problem) that it be taken care of. I also realize now that due to the booking systems, it takes at least 2 business days for the info to filter through to the CP front desk.

If I could find the same price on hotelkingdom, though, I might try them instead. This time, they were significantly higher.

There's my story. We had a fabulous vacation & this was the only hitch we encountered. For that, I'm thankful. It always could have been worse!

 

[flowerfairy]

Wow! You poor thing. It's really a good thing that you called to begin with. We have never called to check on a reservation before but after hearing this I believe I may start.

I'm glad to hear that you liked CP (especially after all of the turmoil you went through to get it). We have never stayed off-site but we're planning a baseball--Disney trip this July and have heard good things about this resort.

Just a few questions that I have are:
How long did it take you get to the parks from the room?
Were the resort amenities (pool, play areas, etc.) nice?
Is there anything (restr., stores) close by?
Do you have any suggestions at requests that we should make?

I guess the best places to book are through hotelkingdom and hotelmartusa. I think I will try hotelkingdom first though.

Thanks for any info that you can give.

Tina

 

[browntrout]

Thanks for all the detailed info. Now I'm sort of torn. Guess I'll probably book through hotelmart and just follow up early as you reccomend. Hotelkingdom is sold out for our dates.

 

[CindyCan]

flowerfairy: Once we got into our room, I pretty much forgot the turmoil, & just enjoyed our week there. That's probably partly why I'd do it again...because it DID work out. As for your questions:

How long did it take you get to the parks from the room?
We were literally 1 minute from a "Walt Disney World Resort" entrance. Once we turned into the WDWResort, we were passing resorts that are known as "Downtown Disney Resorts", such as the Grosvenor. The Grosvenor is walking distance to Downtown Disney. If you know WDW, you'll know how far DTD is from all the parks. We are AS fans, and Disney transportation fans, so we were worried we wouldn't like it. It took some adjusting with parking vs. buses but in the end, it suited us fine.

Were the resort amenities (pool, play areas, etc.) nice?
We only walked by the phase 2 pools, which looked nice enough. We used the volcano pool twice, & our kids loved it. They have 3 short tube slides that the kids really liked (mine are 9, 8 & 6). On the day the weather turned cold, though, they found the water not as warm as they would like, so you may not get to swim if you don't have warm weather.

Is there anything (restr., stores) close by?
There's a VERY expensive convenience store right on property. There's a Winn Dixie 1 stoplight away (we went there 3 times), and a Walgreen's that we never tried right at the light where you turn into CP. For fast food restaurants, there's McD's, Taco Bell, BK to name a few. I'm pretty sure there was a Denny's, too. These are all in the 1 minute between the WDWResort sign & the turn for CP.

Do you have any suggestions at requests that we should make?
If you are looking at phase 1 (& I wouldn't hesitate to stay in phase 1 again), I would suggest you request 1st floor, and if you care about the pool (if you'll only swim once, it won't matter), request close to the volcano pool.

If you have any further questions, feel free to ask. That's how I picked CP in the first place: from all the great DIS'ers that answered my questions!

Good luck!

 

[CindyCan]

browntrout: I was very nervous about booking this way, and about not being in a Disney hotel! However, I heard MANY good things here on this board from people who used hmusa for CP. I heard more about hotelkingdom, but as I said, hk was way more expensive for my dates. I think I'm really in the minority for having it get mixed up. I spoke directly with 2 DIS'ers after their returns from CP after using hmusa, & both of them had absolutely no trouble. That's also why I would try it again. Just make sure you call ahead (and give yourself at least a week) to CP directly to make sure your reservation is correct.

Good luck & have a great trip!

 

[browntrout]

Thanks, really appreciate the info I'm going to book it today!

 

[flowerfairy]

Thanks CindyCan!

I'm really nervous about booking at any place other than Disney resorts, as this is about the only place we have stayed.

I like the location as well as the description of the rooms. Sounds rather large (especially when to compared to a week at an All-Star). But I love the All-Stars and I'm afraid I will miss all of that Disney magic.

The only other concern I have is some of the reviews I have read on other websites. On tripadvisor, there were many bad reviews mostly on Phase I. Other than your particular room, could you tell what condition the rest of the place was in? I am giving all of this information to the parents my son's baseball team and really need to know everything I can.

Thanks

Tina

 

[sln88]

Just curious, I thought Hotelkingdom would match lower prices that you find? And give you a $10 credit? Wouldn't they match the price on Hotelmartusa?

 

[pcottrell]

Sorry for your ordeal!! I am also familiar with this type of situation. Last Christmas we booked 2 3brs at Cypress Pointe thru hotelkingdom and had a problem. We called right before we left to confirm everything with CP and they only had us listed for 1 room and not 2 and had nothing available. We had to call hotelkingdom and have them contact CP to get it straight and do all this around the holidays with offices being close so that we could get it right before we left the day after Christmas!! We wound up getting 2 2brs with a lockout so it worked out fine, but we were worried nonetheless!! We also would use hoteklkingdom again and just make sure that we called ahead to confirm everything earlier to make sure it was a smooth trip. Live and learn I guess!! I'm glad you had a great trip!!


Paige

 

[CindyCan]

Tina: I was also worried about missing Disney magic, & when we went our 2nd day to Chef Mickey's, I did miss it. However, we have to get 2 rooms at AS's because there are 5 of us, & even with room only codes & Cdn deals, I couldn't come near what I paid at CP. On top of that, we had a full kitchen, huge tv, living room AND laundry.

As for condition of the rest...I've stayed in 3 star (AAA rated) that were in BAD shape: CP was NOT. You have to expect some wear & tear. However, other than the pull out couch looking out of date (not worn, just out-of-date style), the furniture was comfortable & in good shape. The carpet was in good shape, & the tiles were in good shape. We saw no bugs (which is my biggest fear offsite) & the bathrooms & kitchen were clean. Also....the grounds always had workers out in golf carts, & our particular building had fresh paint on the stairwell (they did the other stairwell in our building while we were there). Remember that they have ongoing timeshare presentations, so they have to have the units up to standards..why would you buy in if the unit you were staying in was run down? I didn't feel like we were on Disney property (it's just not the same as seeing CM's every day), but I felt comfortable & not at all creepy, if that makes sense.

sln88: I think you have to book with hotelkingdom first to get the rate-matching, & I had heard on here someone who had trouble getting hk to do that. With good reviews of hmusa here, there didn't seem to be any point in fighting with hk when I could get a good rate directly from hmusa.

Paige: Thanks for letting me know I'm not alone! And if it happened to you with hk, then I don't feel so bad. I think it has to do with how many different companies are involved in the booking. It seems like there are at least 4, and when you add holidays in there, it creates a huge time delay! I'm glad your situation worked out, too!

 

[Sunbeamblue2002]

Could you please tell me how easy it was for you to get something extra if you needed such as towls or paper products? I know that when I looked it up it said maid service was about $45 extra. Did you pay for maid service or if you needed something did they help by getting it for you? What all did you need to supply your self besides like laundry things? Thank you in advance.

 

[CindyCan]

CP provided us with some start-up items. We didn't pay for maid service. As for towels, we had more than enough for the 5 of us, & 1/2 way through our stay, I washed & dried them. Paper products supplied were paper towels (1 roll I never finished) & toilet paper (we bought 1 pkg of 4 rolls to finish out our time) & kleenex (more than enough supplied). They also supplied a very small box of tide (I had brought my own liquid & bounce sheets...no dryer sheets were supplied). Also, a small bottle of Palmolive that was more than enough, I think 2 packs of 1-use dishwasher detergent (we had to buy more) & extra garbage bags. Shampoo in 2 small 1-use bottles, & soap.
We never contacted CP for any extra items, & the items we did buy we either got at Winn Dixie or the VERY expensive convenience store on site ($5 for a box of dishwasher detergent!). They leave you a note in the room letting you know what they've given you to start, & that you can buy more at the store.
So, I brought my own: shampoo, conditioner, soap, toothpaste, laundry detergent, bounce sheets.
We ended up buying: extra toilet paper, extra dishwasher detergent.

Have a great trip!