If you had a bad stay at a resort, have you gone back and given it another chance?

[Alicnwondrln]

I went to WDW 4 times last year and I have been 29 times in all. I had a poor experience at the Poly last year and the staff was awful.
We are considering going back in March and this resort is available.
I just dont know if I really want stay there again.

Have you stayed at a resort before had it be awful and then given it another chance? If so was the second visit better?

I know your vacation is what you make it but for what the charge I would not be happy to spend all that money and have the service be poor.

Thanks guys

 

[simonkodousek]

There have been many hotels that I have returned to even if I didn't like it the first time. The Polynesian is an example; we stayed there for 6 nights last July and had a great time. However, there were a few incidents that I didn't care for:

~Checked in at 11:00 AM, didn't get our reserved MK View room until 5:30 PM
~Check in staff really had no clue what they were doing and put us in a garden view room first until we told them that we had reserved a MK View
~Seating hostess at Kona was rude and pushy
~Our second breakfast at Kona was REALLY slow and the restaurant wasn't even crowded
~Some of the grounds staff drove by on golf carts with these scowls that were kind of scary

And, I know that this one isn't about the staff or service, but the pathways were too dark at night. I didn't really care for that.

Overall our stay at the Polynesian was good, and now that we have weighed the pros and cons with other WDW resorts, we have decided that this is the resort for our family not only because of the amenities, but because of the transportation which is a HUGE factor because we usually go to 2 or 3 parks per day and don't want to have long wait times for buses, monorails, boats, etc.

 

[stemikger]

It really depends on what your problems were.

If it was that the place just didn't appeal to you, then I don't think you should return. However, if it was the staff, or the maid service, I find that changes from year to year.

I have stayed on site 8 times and some years were better then others. However, some places just don't do it for some people, so I would definitely consider what it was that you didn't like about it before you spend deluxe money for a place you are not crazy about.

Good Luck.

 

[Alicnwondrln]

Thanks. I loved the resort itself but staff left alot to desired on more than occassion. I do the transportation there which is why I was considering it. We would only be going for 4 or 5 days for this trip. I dont get the late check ins there it seems to happen alot.

 

[Alicnwondrln]

late checkin, poor maid service, given incorrect info on more than one occassion. Messed up our room service on one occassion. It was alot of little stuff that just kept adding up.

 

[monorailsilver]

We are giving it another chance this August so hopefully it is better then last time in 2005.

Our room was noisy due to construction but we did get a new room the next day.

The lifeguard was an idiot. And should listen to a guest vs her brain.

The roaches in my room were not a visitor I wanted to see.

So hopefully this trip is better as the Poly is our preferred hotel.

 

[maxiesmom]

Just a note: Check in at the deluxe resorts is at 3pm. Check out is 11am. So not getting your room at 11am isn't really a valid complaint. Not getting it until 530pm is. Also keep in mind that so many people making requests slows down the whole process of assigning rooms. Someone may have wanted a specific room with a Magic Kingdom View, and that threw off the whole room assignments. Or people stay late and they are unable to get your room cleaned. It is frustrating to not get in to your room right away, but I wouldn't let it sour me on a resort. It happens at all of them!

 

[Alicnwondrln]

Just a note: Check in at the deluxe resorts is at 3pm. Check out is 11am. So not getting your room at 11am isn't really a valid complaint. Not getting it until 530pm is. Also keep in mind that so many people making requets slows down the whole process of assigning rooms. Someone may have wanted a specific room with a Magic Kingdom View, and that threw off the whole room assignments. Or people stay late and they are unable to get your room cleaned. It is frustrating to not get in to your room right away, but I wouldn't let it sour me on a resort. It happens at all of them!

absolutely. We checked after 1pm I think but our room wasnt ready til 6pm.
It wasnt the way I wanted to start that for sure but it was what it was. If that was the only issue I would probably wouldnt have cared.

 

[CarolA]

I had a bad stay at the GF. I will not bother to waste my money giving them another chance.

I have had four stays at CSR. ALL of them had issues. I would stay there again if the price was right.

The difference. The price and the expectation. Disney wants to charge deluxe prices then I expect deluxe service. At a deluxe hotel there's no excuse for poor service. At a moderate maybe.

I use the same rule in my other travels. My expectations at the Ritz are a lot higher then the Marriott Courtyard!

I am not willing to waste money again on the chance they "might" have figured it out. And truthfully Disney doesn't do "deluxe" service at thier "deluxe" hotels. They figure you are willing to pay for location so they don't have to measure up.

 

[SnowWtch]

We've had minor issues with POP the first two times we stayed but overall we have gone there again and again. It's the best of the values locationwise for us for a quick stay.

 

[hsmamato2]

The difference. The price and the expectation. Disney wants to charge deluxe prices then I expect deluxe service. At a deluxe hotel there's no excuse for poor service. At a moderate maybe

I am not willing to waste money again on the chance they "might" have figured it out. And truthfully Disney doesn't do "deluxe" service at thier "deluxe" hotels. They figure you are willing to pay for location so they don't have to measure up.

Agree `100% !!! Now,we didn't like the allstars or pop all all that much last trip....but....if the rooms are really discounted,and it fits our plans to use the hotel again,we would,b/c it's not 'fancy' anyway!
I said elsewhere,i was horrified at the condition of the GF last month and all the construction,and no doubt full 'deluxe' prices happening still,there's just no way....
If it's a pricey hotel,we expect a great stay. I think Disney has so many choices, I'd try elsewhere if i didn't like it the first time.

 

[alyssa810]

I don't think we've ever had a "bad" stay anywhere, but rather just some unpleasantries. We've had lousy room locations -really far away from parling at CBR, right above the bus stop at AKL, and a small ant situation- card keys that didn't work at Pop when we were checking in after midnight, and encounters with cranky CMs, but we've gone back to all these resorts again with no issues.
The only resort that we said we wouldn't go back to is Newport Bay at DLP, if we ever go back there. The CMs were quite un-Disneylike and the hotel itself wasn't as nice as one would expect a deluxe resort should be.

 

[spiceycat]

the CBR - and yes gave it another chance and that was a mistake - though the whole time that either CSR or POFQ would have been a better choice.

our last trip (a few years ago) to the Polyn wasn't that great either. If they are going to use foreigners at the front desk - please make sure they understand ENGLISH!

 

[Chellymouse]

We haven't stayed deluxe for that reason. We've heard from many a friend/family that for the price, the deluxe resorts aren't worth it and the moderate resorts have the best rooms and service for the price. We stayed at CR two nights on a trip just to "try it out" and other than being on the monorail line (which we still had to wait for as the mass exodus leaves the park at closing time) it really wasn't worth it. We've been very happy at POR-FQ and are looking forward to our first welcome home. We found the service at POR-FQ to be superior to that of the CR.

 

[KatMark]

We had a terrible stay at the All-Star Sports and would never consider going back. We had an issue once with the Contemporary, but we did give it another try and all was fine.

 

[bigbabyblues]

We stayed a Pop last Feb and didn't care for it. We stayed there again in May because I had booked with a discount and couldn't get the discount at any other resort. The second time was MUCH better.

 

[poohgirl6]

Yep...had a horrific experience once with CR....too many probs to even begin to discuss and vowed to never stay there again. However, about 7 years later the other deluxes of choice were booked and we got a really good rate so we tried it again. This time we were pleasantly surprised and I wouldn't hesitate to stay there again.

 

[IWISHFORDISNEY]

Sure have. Our first visit to AKL was for 1 night prior to BWV and I smoked at the time. I had a room in what is referred to as the fecal flats. Terrbile waste of money for a savannah view and it was dusty.

Second time I got a great rate on a standard room at AKL. We got a free upgrade to a deluxe pool view. Right near the lobby. It was outstanding. Completely different stay. As were my third and 4th visits. LOL.

I guess each trip is different right. We are now in love with AKL and rank it right up there with BWI as tied for our favorite.

 

[ElizabethB]

No. To quote Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice:

"My good opinion once lost is lost forever."

 

[fla4fun]

Yes, but it probably helped that we had visited the same resort many times before and had great stays. If you stay at a hotel a dozen wonderful times, and then your 13th stay isn't so great, it's a lot different than if you are staying at a resort for the first time and it's a disaster.

Of course, one of the disadvantages to websites like this is that it tends to get people's expectations raised to a level where only perfection will be considered as a "good" vacation, especially if you are staying in a deluxe resort. No trip is ever going to be perfect. I remember one trip to CR we didn't get our room until 6:30pm. The hotel was booked and there was a maintenance issue that had to be addressed before the room could be released for occupancy. Did we like it? No. Did we wish it were different? Sure. Did the free fruit basket make it all better? Not really. Did we go back to CR? Sure - I was just there in December. Did we let it ruin our vacation? No way!