I Love SSR; I wish DVC did too.

[GBBTomorrow]

My family had an absolutely wonderful trip this June and loved staying at SSR for its gorgeous surroundings, peaceful atmosphere, and wonderful walk to Downtown Disney/Disney Springs with its shopping and food options and our own personal transportation hub.

I am, however, sad to report that the condition of our two-bedroom villa in Congress Park left a lot to be desired. It was tired, worn out, and even dirty.

Here's a partial list:

• When we arrived, a damp towel and a damp pillow case were left on the counter.
• Every time you took a towel out of the towel ring in the master bath, the ring would fall to the floor.
• The pull-out sofa was uncooperative: it took two people to wrestle it out each night and to put it back in the morning. In the past, it was pretty much effortless. Mechanism wearing out??
• The TV cabinet in the living room had a drawer that would not open.
• The dresser in the second bedroom had handles hanging by one screw.
• There were chipped wine glasses and dirty serving bowls in the cabinet.
• The top of the microwave was so thick with grease and dirt that I had to wash my hands and forearms after reaching to the top cabinet to get out a pot.
• The plastic part of the dishwasher handle was broken off. You had to pinch the metal lever between your fingers and force it to close.
• The interior of the dishwasher was in bad shape, and the drawers fell off the track every time they were pulled out.
• The king mattress was flat, not supportive, and not comfortable.
• The carpet and tiles all looked worn out.
• The room could not be cooled below 75 degrees (not a result of the motion sensor...this was all the time). (I know...first world problems.)
• The kitchen was missing quite a few items.
• The kitchen knives were too dull to cut food.
• Light bulbs were out in the elevator for the entire length of our stay (8 nights).
• They don't keep luggage carts by the elevators anymore, or if they do, we could never find them.

I really love SSR, but we were very disappointed in the condition of our villa. None of the things alone was really worth the hassle of contacting the front desk at the time, as they were all small details and didn't really have a major impact on our trip, but they were enough to leave us with a bad feeling about the resort's upkeep and about where our dues are supposed to be going.

I sent a letter to SSR's manager and to DVC detailing my concerns. I did receive a very friendly phone call from DVC to reassure me that my concerns have been passed along, which was nice, and I hope it's true.

 

[joannjoe]

My family had an absolutely wonderful trip this June and loved staying at SSR for its gorgeous surroundings, peaceful atmosphere, and wonderful walk to Downtown Disney/Disney Springs with its shopping and food options and our own personal transportation hub.

I am, however, sad to report that the condition of our two-bedroom villa in Congress Park left a lot to be desired. It was tired, worn out, and even dirty.

Here's a partial list:

• When we arrived, a damp towel and a damp pillow case were left on the counter.
• Every time you took a towel out of the towel ring in the master bath, the ring would fall to the floor.
• The pull-out sofa was uncooperative: it took two people to wrestle it out each night and to put it back in the morning. In the past, it was pretty much effortless. Mechanism wearing out??
• The TV cabinet in the living room had a drawer that would not open.
• The dresser in the second bedroom had handles hanging by one screw.
• There were chipped wine glasses and dirty serving bowls in the cabinet.
• The top of the microwave was so thick with grease and dirt that I had to wash my hands and forearms after reaching to the top cabinet to get out a pot.
• The plastic part of the dishwasher handle was broken off. You had to pinch the metal lever between your fingers and force it to close.
• The interior of the dishwasher was in bad shape, and the drawers fell off the track every time they were pulled out.
• The king mattress was flat, not supportive, and not comfortable.
• The carpet and tiles all looked worn out.
• The room could not be cooled below 75 degrees (not a result of the motion sensor...this was all the time). (I know...first world problems.)
• The kitchen was missing quite a few items.
• The kitchen knives were too dull to cut food.
• Light bulbs were out in the elevator for the entire length of our stay (8 nights).
• They don't keep luggage carts by the elevators anymore, or if they do, we could never find them.

I really love SSR, but we were very disappointed in the condition of our villa. None of the things alone was really worth the hassle of contacting the front desk at the time, as they were all small details and didn't really have a major impact on our trip, but they were enough to leave us with a bad feeling about the resort's upkeep and about where our dues are supposed to be going.

I sent a letter to SSR's manager and to DVC detailing my concerns. I did receive a very friendly phone call from DVC to reassure me that my concerns have been passed along, which was nice, and I hope it's true.

Ya that's BS we pay a lot in annual fee's to have that much wrong.

 

[GBBTomorrow]

I forgot to mention that the clothes dryer took 4-5 cycles to dry a single load of clothes, and that the lint filter was all bent out of shape so that the lint flew around the dryer and stuck in clumps on the clothing.

 

[disneynutz]

Sadly your issues are not exclusive to SSR, we have had similar issues at almost every resort, the more times you stay at a resort, the greater the chances that you will have issues.

Disney seems to accept these issues hoping that most guests won't complain. DVC is a little different animal, they know that we will be back so why spend time providing an excellent experience. I used to think that the housekeepers were over worked until I found out that the get to leave work early with pay for finishing their section. We have also walked in on them sitting on the couch twice watching TV in our room.

Bill

 

[tb1972]

I agree with your observations. DH & I stayed at SSR a year and a half ago. We found the resort grounds to be beautiful and access to Disney Springs very convenient. However, the room had both minor housekeeping issues and bigger problems such as door lock not working. The minor issues we didn't ask to resolve, but the door had to be repaired. After notifying a CM, it took almost two hours for maintenance to come. Part of our vacation wasted waiting on room repair.

 

[DenLo]

I still would have reported the items while you are at the resort, to insure they would be fixed before arrival of the next guest.

Also there should never be a luggage cart near the elevators. All luggage carts belong to Bell Services or sometimes housekeeping will have something similar to a luggage cart for carting of baskets. But neither are for guests use. If you need help with your luggage you call Bell Services and they come out and help carry in your belongings.

 

[GBBTomorrow]

I still would have reported the items while you are at the resort, to insure they would be fixed before arrival of the next guest.

Also there should never be a luggage cart near the elevators. All luggage carts belong to Bell Services or sometimes housekeeping will have something similar to a luggage cart for carting of baskets. But neither are for guests use. If you need help with your luggage you call Bell Services and they come out and help carry in your belongings.

I didn't know that about the luggage carts. That's interesting. We've been staying in Congress Park regularly since the resort opened and this is the first time there has ever not been a luggage cart in the little inset area of the stairwell next to the elevators. I guess it must have been anomalies all the other times. Live and learn! I'm not going to pay to have somebody unload my luggage when I have three strong teenagers with me, though, or call for help and wait for bell services every time I return from Publix.

For reporting it, none of this stuff is really anything that was going to be fixed overnight, with the exception of the cleaning issues. It was wear-and-tear stuff, needing a major overhaul, not just a quick visit from a maintenance person.

 

[com_op_2000]

For reporting it, none of this stuff is really anything that was going to be fixed overnight, with the exception of the cleaning issues. It was wear-and-tear stuff, needing a major overhaul, not just a quick visit from a maintenance person.

You should of reported these issues to the front desk, I know that they "really" didn't bother you but for the next member so they did not have to deal with them. Please, report all your issues through the e-mail on the member website to MS.

 

[GBBTomorrow]

You should of reported these issues to the front desk, I know that they "really" didn't bother you but for the next member so they did not have to deal with them. Please, report all your issues through the e-mail on the member website to MS.

As I said in the previous message, nothing here was really fixable for the next guest. There's no way they were going to come in and overhaul the entire unit in a couple of hours before the next person checked in. I sent in a detailed letter the very next day. I believe that was an adequate response and did not require any time stolen from my vacation to do it.

 

[MSUmom]

We had issues this past May with many of the same problems. Especially the dryer not working correctly. Next time I will make sure I let them know.

 

[spiceycat]

the cleaning issues is because Congress Park (my opinion) is the most requested - so the maids who clean it have a higher demand on their time. when you have 30 minutes to clean the room - you clean the easy things that you can or others can quickly find.

you room needed a through cleaning and that is not going to happen until you ask for it before you check in - also you probably won't get Congress Park. I am allergic to dust mites and have been offered the cleaning but so far have say not needed.

 

[southerngirl528]

Wow, GBBTomorrow, I've been a member over 20 years and with that list I would have been ticked. Knives in TS kitchens? Always pitiful. When we go to Hawaii for long stays in our TS there, I actually pack a good knife in a roll of aluminum foil. Your thermostat just needed an engineering CM to override the darned thing. Believe me, that is one of the very first things I do when I check in. I truly need it cool at night to even be able to sleep, so that is of great import for me.

The rest of your issues are just way too numerous to be overlooked. Ridiculous really. I am very glad you wrote that letter outlining everything. And I am very glad that you got a callback. Personally I call while I am in-house to get them to fix issues in most cases, but at least you let them know.

Thermostat issues folks? If all of us that want/need it cool and do NOT want it to get warm while we sleep because of a motion sensor, if we would call and politely insist that it be overridden, perhaps they would rethink the dreadful gizmos if enough of us have them do temporary fixes on them. Or at least I HOPE they would do something if enough of us howl about those things!

 

[DizBub]

I am truly surprised at the condition of your rooms. SSR just got a complete soft goods refurbishment a couple of years ago so your mattress, sofa bed and carpet should not have been worn out by now. We had a studio in Congress Park last Dec and it was pristine, like we were the 1st people to ever stay in it. I guess we got lucky.

The actual dirt, etc you encountered should never happen. Ever. Supplies missing from your unit can be requested from housekeeping but still that is no excuse. We have had serious issues with the thermostats too, it's either too stuffy or freezing. Someone posted detailed instructions on how to override the thermostats and we can't wait to try it out on our next trip.

Glad you sent them a letter listing your problems and you received a decent reply but I hope someone actually becomes proactive about these issues. It does not seem to be getting any better....

 

[ABE4DISNEY]

I am very sorry to hear of the condition of your room. I too would be turned off SSR if I had that villa.

We have stayed there twice in the past year and our 1 bedroom villas were in the best condition of any villas we have ever stayed with DVC. (Over 15 stays now.) Perhaps it is the Congress Park area as suggested by others? We were in the Paddock area and found it also pristine and lovely.

We did have one room like that before, and it was a Boardwalk. The funny thing is that it was just a year after the refurb but the room seemed like it hadn't been touched in years! However, we have stayed at BWV, two or three times since that and those rooms were in great shape. Unfortunately, you just got one of those really bad rooms. Hopefully, you won't encounter that anytime soon again.

 

[vicki_c]

I haven't stayed at SSR (my home) since 2011 and our last studio there had many similar problems. The refrigerator was leaking all over the floor when we arrived soaking the carpet, pieces of the bed frame were breaking off every time we opened the sofa bed, and lots more. I took an entire list to the front desk before we checked out. Since then we've been staying at OKW and AKV and had many fewer issues of that type.

 

[Sir William]

I still would have reported the items while you are at the resort, to insure they would be fixed before arrival of the next guest.

I fully agree. We just spent two weeks at Aulani and while overall our villa was in excellent shape, there were a few minor maintenance and housekeeping issues. When we had a problem, we called Housekeeping (also for Maintenance problems as well).

We had a burned out light in the entryway. It wasn't a major issue for us, but it might have been for the next guests, so I notified Housekeeping. A repairman came and worked on it. The repair lasted about 3 minutes, so I called again. Next repairman didn't leave until he was sure the problem was fixed (a loose wire). While doing laundry we couldn't get the washer door open after the cycle finished. Again we called and a repairman came up. Turned out both the washer and drier have a timer on them that locks the door for several minutes (not sure why) after the cycle is finished. In our case, the timer was set for about 10 minutes so he adjusted it to the minimum setting.

The cleaning staff only have a short time to come in and clean before the next guests arrive, same as in any hotel, resort, or ship's stateroom. One maid I talked to said she had 30 rooms to clean every day between 11 and 4 (which is why she liked to get started on rooms that were vacated early). They don't have time to check on everything. We can help them by letting them or maintenance know of any problems, even if small because small problems can develop into larger ones if not addressed early. I would hope the guests before me would do the same.

 

[jdkdorn]

We were at SSR in January for 1 night, we own there, and it was the most disgusting stay of our 14 years owning. The floor was filthy we were missing 2 of the 4 lightbulbs in the room, the other 2 had thick dust on them, the chair in the master had brown stains all over it. I really hope they were chocolate. The beds were just plain awful. I was really sad and dissppointed and I did go to the front desk to talk to the manager and his response was that they were busy for marathon weekend and everything could not be perfect. I called and email member satisfaction when I returned and never heard a thing back. I really feel that SSR is there throw-away and they just ignore the issues becasue it is really too big to fix all that is wrong with the resort. We were really happy to move to Kidani the next day and stay in a very clean resort.

 

[MsTessP]

The two times we have stayed at SSR we found our rooms in good condition and clean.

However, I agree with others that all these issues should be addressed or at least mentioned at the front desk before you leave. Most of your items would not have been readily noticed by a very busy cleaning crew (although I would have had the cleaning issues handled immediately). When I had a couple of missing items and a chipped wine glass, I called housekeeping. Within 15 minutes, someone came with new replacements. We never needed the replaced spatula, but I figured perhaps the next family would.

I am going to suggest to DVC that there be some kind of report form in our check-in folder at all DVC reports for non- immediate maintenance issues. I believe that as members many of us would be willing to help keep the resorts in good condition, and filling out this form may help.

 

[DizBub]

I am going to suggest to DVC that there be some kind of report form in our check-in folder at all DVC reports for non- immediate maintenance issues. I believe that as members many of us would be willing to help keep the resorts in good condition, and filling out this form may help.

I think this is an excellent idea and would hope that they implement it. They can't fix what they don't know about.

Some people do not know that when they call the front desk about a problem they are actually contacting a call center in another town and most likely nothing will be done about it. If everyone filled out such a form and left it for housekeeping to turn in daily it could go a long way in helping to keep the villas in good repair.

 

[DenLo]

Why aren't people calling housekeeping or maintenance for problems versus the front desk? We often call when we find problems in a villa or even the hallway and someone always comes and fixes it.