Housekeeping?

[Maistre Gracey]

I have not yet used my points for a stay at DVC. My question is: Do you find that extra housekeeping is needed? Is it just a "luxury", or perhaps even a nuisance? We have our first DVC trip planned for Sept '02 (VB & WLV), and we are just wondering what we should schedule. THANX in advance.

 

[eva]

We've never paid for extra housekeeping and have never missed it. As a matter of fact, I like the idea that I can return to the room and not worry about having someone there cleaning my room when I want to relax. We've found daily maid service to be a real hassle at other resorts. We stayed at CBR one year for 10 days and it seemed that every time that we wanted to change into our bathingsuits for a swim housekeeping was in our room and we had to wait outside. I don't find it a problem to make our bed when I get up and throw a couple dishes in the dishwasher before we head out the door. The room seems to stay pretty clean with little effort at all.

 

[Disneyolic]

How about trash? Do they have some kind of area to place trash if you do it yourself?

Can you order housekeeping on an as needed basis?

 

[DebbieB]

I was concerned about this too before my first DVC trip 2 years ago. We found this not to be a problem, we agree that it's great not to have to worry about when they are coming. We get a 1 bedroom, so we can throw the towels in the washer. At OKW, there are trash closets at the bottom of the steps on ground level in each of the buildings. At BWV, there is a trash room where they have bins, I'm sure it's the same at VWL (never stayed there). They keep extra bags at the bottom of the trash cans in the room, so you change the bags. We keep the bags from grocery shopping and use them for the trash.

You can order housekeeping on an "as needed" basis, the charge is per day. If you are staying 7 nights or less, a "trash & towel" is included on day 4, they pickup the trash and replace the towels & soaps. If you are staying 8 nights or more, you will get a full cleaning on day 4 and a T & T on day 8. Your check-in day is day 1.

 

[pat-rick]

When in a Studio how do you handle the towel situation ?

No washer and dryer .

 

[CarolAnnC]

The folks utilizing the studios have laundry room facilities that they can use for clothing, towels etc. I used to do this at OKW, relax at the pool, while doing some laundry close by.

 

[CarolMN]

If you don't want to wash towels, you can always order another set or two from housekeeping. Believe the charge is $6 for a set of four bath, four hand, four washclothes and 1 bath mat.

 

[dougmatt]

I must be willing to live in a mess . We hang our towels up after using them and they easily last until the towel service..... You could always take a couple from the pool to your room.... But I didn't say that

 

[CarolMN]

Originally posted by dougmatt
...... We hang our towels up after using them and they easily last until the towel service.....

We do the same thing! I don't see why it is so hard to hang up a towel and use it again the next day, especially since towels don't get washed every day at home, either. (At least they don't at our house, LOL)! JMHO. YMMV.

 

[wdwnut]

hi: we've never missed housekeeping, although a couple of the teens we've taken couldn't believe they had to make their own beds on vacation. as far as trash goes, we haven't had a problem. there are additional bags at the bottom of the trash baskets in your unit if you happen to fill up a bag before trash and towel day.

 

[DVC-Don]

I'd just as soon cancel the "trash & towel" day. We clean the place up ourselfs while there.

 

[margaritabnl]

Does anyone know what the cost per day for housekeeping is at the BWV Studios? Seems to me that when staying in a Studio w/out the washer and dryer you should get FREE towels on a daily basis. It's a deluxe resort after all!

The size of the room isn't large enough to hang the towels to dry on a daily basis. I have a family of four. That would be 8 towels a day to dry: 4 bath/shower and 4 pool towels as we bring our own.

What if you take a second shower before dinner?! You wouldn't have a new set of towels to use.

We have always stayed in a moderate and would put our wet towels in the tub every morning for housekeeping and use the shower rod and inside shower line to dry the beach towels overnight.

I am having images of a tent city with towels spread out all over the place for 4 days and of using damp towels. I don't imagine the resort would like to see towels drying from the balcony either. None of this makes sense to me.

We want the studio simply for the fridge, microwave, and bit of extra room. I think daily towels should not incur an extra cost. This is a vacation and I don't want to deal with thinking about damp towels for a week. Now I'm starting to think it isn't worth renting the points for the Studio and should just save the money and go back to the cheaper moderates with better guest services.

 

[beaker]

The cost of housekeeping in a studio is $25/day. The cost of a new set of towels are $6.
We usually hang up our towels before we leave for the parks and when we return they are dry. We do usually use the pool towels don't want to pack our own beach towels.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Originally posted by margaritabnl
Does anyone know what the cost per day for housekeeping is at the BWV Studios? Seems to me that when staying in a Studio w/out the washer and dryer you should get FREE towels on a daily basis. It's a deluxe resort after all!

For a studio, the price of a full cleaning is $25 per day requested. Or you can get Trash & Towel service for $10. Or you can get a towel package (fresh towels for four) for $6.

Actually the Boardwalk Villas Resort is a "home away from home" resort, not a deluxe resort.

At a timeshare resort, such as BWV, there's no such thing as "FREE." The owners pay for standard services (such as electricity, landscaping, and full cleaning before check-in) through annual fees and for optional services (such as extra housekeeping) through extra charges.

Originally posted by margaritabnl
The size of the room isn't large enough to hang the towels to dry on a daily basis. I have a family of four. That would be 8 towels a day to dry: 4 bath/shower and 4 pool towels as we bring our own.

There are towels at the pool. There is no reason to bring your own pool towels. There should be no problem hanging up four towels in a BWV studio bathroom.

Originally posted by margaritabnl
What if you take a second shower before dinner?! You wouldn't have a new set of towels to use.

You would use the towels that you hung up that morning. Or, I guess you could request a towel package for $6. Even at most regular hotels, you only get housekeeping and a fresh set of towels once per day.

Originally posted by margaritabnl
We have always stayed in a moderate and would put our wet towels in the tub every morning for housekeeping and use the shower rod and inside shower line to dry the beach towels overnight.

I am having images of a tent city with towels spread out all over the place for 4 days and of using damp towels. I don't imagine the resort would like to see towels drying from the balcony either. None of this makes sense to me.

I hope you won't put wet towels all over the furniture. I would recommend using the towel bars in the bathroom and, if you need it, the clothes line in the bath tub enclosure.

Originally posted by margaritabnl
We want the studio simply for the fridge, microwave, and bit of extra room. I think daily towels should not incur an extra cost. This is a vacation and I don't want to deal with thinking about damp towels for a week. Now I'm starting to think it isn't worth renting the points for the Studio and should just save the money and go back to the cheaper moderates with better guest services.

For you, that might be a better option. Or consider signing up for one of the optional services that I listed.

I hope this note doesn't come across as negative. As you can see from the other responses here, most of us don't find the standard DVC housekeeping and towel policy to be a problem. And those who want optional services can purchase them.

Enjoy your stay at BWV!

 

[jlambrig]

This will be a real switch for me with our first stay at BCV, I am so used to being such a slob in hotels

 

[Deb & Bill]

The best part of no housekeeping is coming home from a morning at the parks and not having to worry is the room has been cleaned or not. Just make up your bed like you do at home and then you can take a nap or watch TV at your luxury. Hang up your towels like you do at home and relax.

And you need more room, washer and dryer, etc., just get a one-bedroom or two bedroom home away from home.

 

[Gigashadow]

The cost of housekeeping in a studio is $25/day.

Anyone wanna pay me $25 for 20mins of cleaning while I'm "Home" ? Mabye I'll setup a website for it "DVC Member Will Clean for Money" LOL - I clean all day at home/vacation for free, Housekeeping loves me - Extra 15min break for them in my room!

8')

 

[DebbieB]

We want the studio simply for the fridge, microwave, and bit of extra room. I think daily towels should not incur an extra cost

Look at it this way - the cost is built into the room rate when you rent a regular room, it's not free. Those housekeepers don't work for free, the towels are not washed & dried for free. There is a cost associated with it and it increases your room rate.

If you were offered a $25 per night reduction in the room rate at a regular resort to give up the daily housekeeping, would you do it? I bet alot of people would. With DVC, each member has the option if they want to pay it or not. Personally, I would rather save the money.

You are renting points, if you add the $25 per day housekeeping, are you still saving money over a CRO rental?

 

[wheatenwalker]

What exactly does "trash and tidy" involve? Just emptying the trash or making beds, emptying the trash, bringing towels?

 

[Richyams]

I don't think they even call it "trash and tidy" anymore. It is just called "trash and towell". All they do is empty the trash and change the towels.