Honest Review of POFQ- Just Back 9/29

[Alice28]

My family and I stayed at POFQ 9/23-29. We had two connecting rooms- it was me and my kids in one room (adult, 7 year old, 4 year old, 6 month old) and my parents in the other room. We arrived around 8:30 on the 23rd and were tired. Check in was quick, but our travel agent put dad as the only person in his room, so the check in CM wouldn't give my mom her own key! And she, myself and the kids were all linked for the dining, and dad by himself. Didn't turn out to be a big deal, but a little weird. He did let her add a charge card just to her key and dad's key; I didn't want to link my charge card to my key, so no big deal.

Our room- my travel agent said she requested TWICE that we be on the ground floor, as close to the main building as possible, as my dad needs to have knee surgery soon. Nope, we were on the 3rd floor of building one, in rooms 1347-48- literally the furthest rooms from the elevator. Too tired to argue, we took it. The plus side was the it was a VERY quiet location- I don't think anyone was really around us, and being on the top floor, we didn't hear feet stompling or toilet flushing above us.

The room itself- well, I am going to be honest. Too small. We have been fortunate enough to stay at the CR twice and the WL once (the CR being our last two trips). The 100 sq foot difference was noticed! We also missed having a closet that had doors (there is just an open rack in POFQ). The biggest gripe, which we knew beforehand but didn't give too much thought to- the double beds versus queen size. Too small. There was no caffeinated coffee left- just decaf. Had to call the maid for that. The maid service was ok- I don't think she vacuumed very thoroughly and on my third day I found a used bandaid near my bed. I knew it wasn't mine as we had "Wiggles" bandaids with us and this had dinosaurs. YUCK. I had to wonder, "Where the he** did that come from?" I tipped the maid twice- after she left a towel animal (a duckie) and after she cleaned up a glass I accidentally broke. One other time I left a tip, and she didn't take it! (so I attempted to tip every other day basically, a few dollars each time). Other than that I didn't tip because I didn't think she did that great of a job. I hung up our towels for her or put them in the tub if we wanted fresh ones, and straightened up a lot every day before we left...but I digress.

The grounds- very pretty.Lots of lizards out that the kids had fun spotting. The pool was nice and big- the kids loved the water slide and little fountains. Being on the river was nice and it was fun to take the boat to DtD.

Transportation- Busses were very quick. Some stopped all throughout Riverside and some did not and went straight to the destination. Weird. However, I missed having the option of the monorail like we had at CR. I also missed being able to walk to the MK. Having a stroller made the busses kind of a pain in the butt, but that was obviously our choice for bringing a baby to WDW.

Food court- nice selection of food. NOISY AS HECK. My son didn't like those big giant face masks looking down on us. The dessert line took awhile sometimes- I think a lot of people were on the dining plan so it would back up the dessert line. We always just got a cookie or a krispy treat, but they offered handmade ice cream sandwiches, ice cream sundaes, cheesecake, etc.

Shops- one okay shop. Had the basics, but not GREAT.

Laundry area- all washers and dryers were working; as was the case at the CR, the dryers do not completely dry your load if you have a large load to dry. $2 per cycle.

Would I stay here again? Nope. Too small for me (room size). I have decided the extra money for the deluxe resorts and the transportation benefits (either being RIGHT by a main themepark or having the monorail/boats) is worth it. We will most likely stay at the WL next time (as long as the youngest can fit in a crib) or take advantage of Shades of Green, as DH is in the military reserves. However, I think for a smaller family, or a couple, the POFQ is a nice choice. I think I'm just spoiled by only having stayed at the deluxe resorts.

Oh, and our last day the maid came knocking on my parent's door- they were going to leave a tip the last day, instead of throughout the stay like I had. She basically was asking for her tip, which I thought was incredibly forward and my parents were a bit shocked. We have never had that happen before. My mom gave her some money, but was irritated by that forwardness.

 

[Sammie]

I have friends that work in the resorts and they would be appalled by the maid asking for a tip.

Are you saying, she knocked on the door and said, "I am here to get my tip"????

 

[Alice28]

This is what she did:

Knock- knock (my connecting room door was open so I heard it all)

She greeted my parents and said she was their maid. She asked if they had a pleasant trip and if we have a long way to travel (Small talk). She asked if they enjoyed their stay; my mom is still not sure what she's getting at, I can tell...the maid says, "Well, today is your last day...you're checking out..." My mom is still just standing there, smiling and nodding and I go, "Mom, she wants a tip!" And my mom says, "Oh! You are waiting for your tip?!?" And the maid nods and says, "Yes, yes." So my mom thrusts a $10 in her hand and says Thank you, and shuts the door. Then she was aghast and said, "Wait a minute, are we in Jamaica, or Florida?" (When they went to Jamaica they were appalled at how people got in your face for a tip I guess).

So while she did not outright say, "I am here for my tip," It was clear she was not going to leave until she got some money.

 

[Sammie]

I would not have metioned anything about a tip, I would have thanked her and closed the door.

Of course if she was foreign, there is always the slight possibility once you said the word tip, she was just responding.

Still she had nerve to even knock on the door unless she was checking to see if the room had been vacated.

 

[budbeerlady]

I cannot belive she knocked asking for a tip. Tipping isnt something that is a requirement or it would be included in the room price, some people dont get that! I wouldnt have given her the money like that, I would have tipped her, but as I left the room it would be in an envelope. (And likely less would be left if she had knocked on the door like that ) I waitressed for years through college, tips are appreciated but some people are not tippers, so you figure at the end of the night the very generous people make up for the not so generous people. That is the nature of those type of jobs and I would be appalled if that happened to me. I tip at the end instead of a few dollars a day. (I know this isnt right but what if they think you dont tip enough after the 1st day and your service goes downhill. I always tip at the end, just me)

 

[jann1033]

had it been me, she'd still be standing there ! i always tip housekeeping but not in that case or when they leave the little envelopes.... thanks for the reviews.

 

[wendypooh]

Well, I for one am glad for your report. Sometimes, I refrain from stating my "true" opinion to aviod being flamed. We stayed at POFQ last year, and while the resort is nice, we won't stay at a Mod. again. It isn't worth it in our opinion. The difference from the value to a mod. just isn't enough to warrant the price. We are staying at AKL on our upcoming trip, and we can hardly wait. If budget is a concern in the future, we'll just stay at a value resort.

I also found the food court to be "OK", but the choices seemed rather similar to the values. I think I was just expecting "more" for a moderate, and I didn't seem to see or feel it. My DS did enjoy the slide, and if the values had slides, I don't really see a difference, but that's just me.

As for the maid service........ we had pretty much the same experience, our maid really only replaced the towels, as I like to tidy up as well. I do not think she vaccumed the entire stay!!!

Also, if I had been your parent's, I would have made a complaint to the front desk, any maid who "ask" for a tip is ridiculous. We do tip, and very nicely, but that would have really ticked me off!!!! What nerve!!! Not to mention it is NOT required to leave a tip.

Anyway, I'm ready to be spoiled with a deluxe!!!! But, I agree with you, I was not impressed with the POFQ.

OK, I've got my flame suit on.............. but, stand in front of me anyway!!! LOL

 

[Drizzo67]

I'm not gonna flame ya......Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Believe me I would much rather stay at a Deluxe, who wouldn't. It is just not happening financially this trip. But out of all the moderates we do like POFQ the best. Maybe its the size of the resort we like, maybe the close proximity to DTD. No sure.

As for mousekeeping knocking on the door for a tip - that is an abomination. That takes gall....I have never heard of this happening before. This was certainly not the same service we received. That incident should have been reported.

We had a similar issue with the vacuuming but placed one call to the front desk and everyday after we could practically eat off the floor. DS has asthma and we requested daily vacuuming to keep the dust down. Don't ever feel that you can't lodge a complaint when it is warranted.

Don't rule out all moderates just because POFQ was not for you. There are three other moderates which may be the right one for you. We enjoyed CBR but we love POFQ. Try another one next time. Don't rule them all out yet.

 

[ioneblair]

interesting perceptions on how shocking it is to hint for a tip (I note that the maid included asking if they had a pleasant trip, and if they enjoyed their stay in her hint).....I don't know if she was from this country or not but here's a thought: people still tend to carry some of (and not completely shed themselves of) their cultural etiquettes around with them and I guess some of those etiquettes that would not have anyone from that origin even batting an eyelash would leave others shocked.....as perhaps american etiquettes may be shocking in other parts of the world.....

(I waitressed plenty enough, been stiffed too)

I would have cheerfully tipped her (unless the service was unacceptable).....it takes a lot overall to make me feel put off, shocked or insulted

anyway, the older I get the more I appreciate reminders, (even if they don't exactly conform to the generally socially accepted ways) once I did forget to tip the skycaps and felt badly about that....(but neither do I linger about my forgets )

must every "faux pas" be reported?

I went on one cruise so far, seems like tipping is more than hinted at on such a trip.....

 

[Alice28]

It wasn't a big enough deal to report her behavior. My parents were going to tip anyway...

As far as trying another moderate, I just don't think so. It wasn't that I thought it was "ugly" or beneath me; the room wasn't big enough! And I think the room sizes at CBR and CSR are the same. We are now a family of 5 (when DH gets home from Iraq), so we can't stay in a moderate anymore anyway. Dh and I are both tall and larger framed- had he and I slept in a double bed together for 6 nights would not have worked.

 

[mjkaferle5]

It is kind of amazing how this thread has progressed from the beginning to this point. If you read how the confrontation went, the maid never asked for a tip. Yet at least three other posters wrote, "I can't believe she asked for a tip" or something to that effect. She DIDN'T ASK for a tip. When asked if that was what see was waiting for she said 'yes'. But she never asked. So I don't think she was there for a tip until the opportunity arose. But I do agree that it is kind of weird that she came to the door and knocked. If she wasn't there to perform maid service then she was kind of infringing on your privacy.

 

[dixiedizfan]

Interesting about the tip ... When we stayed at POR we had two Spanish-speaking maids who worked together. I left them a tip every day and they never took it, even though I had a note indicating it was for them!

 

[jann1033]

same thing happened to us at pop...i even called the desk since i had put the tip on top of the entertainment center and thought maybe we had a shorter housekeeper who didn't see it...they never came back to get it and never took it even when i left a note ..I tried!

 

[aubriee]

We were at POP Sept 17th-24th. I made mousekeeping envelopes before we left and stuffed them with a few dollars and a small souvineer from Texas (magnets, pkgs of Texas Bluebonnet seeds, or a deck of playing cards with Texas Longhorn on them). Every morning I tidied up, rolled all the towels together, placed them on the edge of the vanity, and then placed the mousekeeping envelope on top of the towels. Everyday, but one, the envelope was gone. On that day the towels were gone, but the envelope had been placed on the little shelf above the sink. I thought it was odd.