We went to BWI in June, 2012- we had to change rooms THREE times! Because of mildew smells. I have a very sensitive nose and get headaches immediately with anything like that as I am allergic. They were less then helpful, did not offer bell services to help us, no one ever checked in with us etc..., it was very upsetting and disappointing as we were so looking forward to our first visit to a deluxe resort. I asked to speak to a manager and they did give us some dining credits and apologized, but it just left a bad taste in our mouth. In April we are staying at BC and are so nervous. We just want to be able to get to the room and be on vacation. We know things happen, but after the last time we are so gun shy to spend the money on another deluxe resort, but the kids want to go to that pool and we love the area. So, any tips? this time we are using an agent to book too- suggestions, ideas? thanks!
Our January 2011 trip was very disappointing in so many ways because of the resort service for some reason. I was a bit shocked by the whole thing - it began when we checked in and they got the room requests wrong and it slid downhill the whole week we were there. Issues in the cafeteria (including employee bad mouthing their boss to us), conflicting info from the concierge desk, etc. The room mess up was extremely disappointing after I made more than several calls before we got there to make sure they were right because we were with family that we don't get to see often. The CM checking us in didn't even say a word when I said something to her and just sniffled the whole time and ignored me. The whole trip seemed like a disaster (from the resort perspective). We had to keep switching our Keys to the World cards with my sister and her husband because they made no attempt to straighten anything out. We heard something at the end of that trip on the local news that some staff was striking but had to do it off property so that may be the reason why. I did a review when I returned and never heard a thing - a little acknowledgement would have been nice. We decided to give it another try and I have to say that our February 2012 was our BEST trip EVER! We are very much looking forward to our next trip in February 2013. I would give it a try. I know it can be discouraging, but we couldn't have been happier on our last visit and now consider 2011 a fluke.
Sorry you had this issue. Since you are using a TA for this trip, you could ask her to contact the resort and ask for an extra good clean as you have environmental allergies. I've read posts that this is done for people with allergies. Unfortunately it is Florida, and there is a problem with dampness there at many hotels. We stayed at BC and many other wdw hotels and haven't had a problem with it. My other suggestion is if you are using a TA, to use a Disney Specialized TA. They are very knowledgable with the ins and outs of wdw booking. And if you have a problem there, you can have your TA straighten things out. A good WDW TA will go to bat for you.
I wish I would have known more about the smoking rules. We just left riverside 2 days ago. Our neighbors were very rude. They apparently like to sleep in. Every night around midnight the adults and children would be out in front of my room (Alligator Bayou) smoking, talking with the kids running back and forth in front of my door. Worse than the noise, In the morning the cigarette butts would be crushed against the poll and littered in the landscape in front of their door and mine. Really thoughtless. I didn't know peope couldn't smoke on balconies, I have stayed at contemporary and GF and there is always warfting second hand smoke coming my way if I try to sit outside. Next time I go to disney, if this happens, I am calling to complain. I am an ex-smoker and when I was a smoker I always followed the rules, even if it was inconvienent. Also, when I was a smoker, I had more respect for my neighbors and nature and would not ruin disney with my litter. (not to mention the noise)
try not to repeat the bad experience..i know that sounds strange..but sometimes there are things i could have done to make it better..if something isnt right about where you are staying say something something not right about the food say something ....if people are rude where you are staying again say something to a CM or front desk..disney usually makes it right. make it a point to take things in stride and most of all have a good attitude and have fun, and I usually never have a bad experience when IM at the world.
Negative experiences in WDW resorts have been very rare for us (knock on wood!) I'd put them into three categories: 1) Small. CM not as friendly as expected or confused about reservation, for example. In that case, I don't hold it against the resort generally and just move on. 2) Medium. Mistake in ticketing or room assignment. As others have said, if it's big enough to bother me, I'll mention it to the front desk. Once when I did this with a ticketing issue, the CM who made the mistake actually sought me out the next day to apologize! 3) Large. Some have been mentioned here. With a significant problem or error we ask for the resort to fix the problem immediately. If necessary, we ask for a supervisor. We're very careful not to ask for more than we think is fair to fix the problem, but in our experience, Disney goes above and beyond to do that. The one and only time we had a significant issue, the resulting room upgrade was FAR more than we requested or what would have been equitable under the circumstances. So for us, our response upon return to WDW depends on the magnitude of the problem and Disney's response.
