Just back from the "not-so-Grand" Floridian.

[Mackey Mouse]

Just a thought here... I have stayed at the Grand 3 times.. not recently though....my husband and I have found when we get the standard "no, we can't do that," we immediately ask for the manager and then guess what.. he can do it.. For some reason they are not allowed to do any of those intricate things that might need an override... I do not get it, makes no sense to me.. Wouldn't you want your guests to have a good experience checking in and checking out...never mind a pleasant stay... I am still in shock over no coffeemaker in the room, but I do understand it... They would prefer you use room service, brings in more revenue and/or go to the Gasparilla take out.. Your poor Mom..

 

[Alice Sr.]

I think you should print out this post and send it to the GM.

 

[jlillberto]

Thanks so much for your review of the GF (and all the other comments). We are going to WDW with our two granddaughters this Friday and are staying at the Poly Concierge. It's the very first time for all of us. I almost changed to GF after seeing it on the Travel Channel and am now relieved I didn't!

You guys are the best!

Judy

 

[Gillian]

Well, that settles it! We can't stay at the GF! DH is VERY fussy about his coffee & brings his own everywhere. If we can't get a coffee maker on request, forget it! Do you think they would drive me to Walmart so I could buy one??

And if we do stay there, I'll learn the phrase, "May I please speak to a manager?" !!

I'm so sorry to hear about your experiences! It actually sounds like the guy "earning his ears" was the only one who cared that you weren't happy!

 

[DisOrBust]

My point is when I am on vacation I don't want to "speak to a manager" everytime you have a reasonable request. I don't think its unreasonable for the Grand to meet those expectations. IMHO people stay there because the "think" its the best that WDW has to offer. Their customer service is lacking and is evident from the "trainers" on down. When that trainer said to me"we don't split reservations because its causes to many problems" basicaly admitted that they can do it they choose not too. That is rotten guest service and I suffered the concequence of sitting at the front desk again for over a hour. THis did not ruin my vacation but I sure won't be rushing back to the GRand anytime soon.

As far as the coffemaker goes...my parents are the Grands type of clientelle . and Mom chooses to make her own over what the Grand has to offer. If it was a presspot from Boma that is another story .. My gut feeling is that its away for them to get you to order room service. I am sure that they had a coffemaker "somewhere" I just didn't want to raise hell to get one.

I wanted to stay there once and once was enough.

 

[ducklite]

Originally posted by Sammie
The majority of guests staying in the Flagship resort don't want a coffee maker in their room as they do order room service or use the snack area at Gaspirilla's.


I do not say this to offend anyone, but sometimes moderate and value resorts offer what most want because that is what their clientele demands.

If the majority of guests staying at the deluxe resorts wanted a coffee maker in the room, Disney would listen.

I completely disagree. When I'm not staying at a DCV resort, I always stay concierge. And I'd STILL like to have a coffee maker in the room. I am not one to wander down to the concirege lounge in my robe for my first am tea like some will. And I like to have it while showering and dressing. So having the coffee maker in the room to make hot water for tea would be a wonderful thing for me.

I don't want to order tea from room service, as the water arrives lukewarm, and I bring my own teabags from home anyhow!

I've stayed at the GF twice. The first time in concierge which was HORRID! The second time in a lagoon view castle room, which was nice, but not worth the money. For the same $$ I could have been in a castle view room concierge at the Poly.

Anne

 

[smjj]

Boy, this last trip we were staying at the Poly and went to the GF to view the Xmas decorations. We commented the place look nice and decided to saey there the next trip. We have stayed at the Poly twice and had nothibng but a perfect stay and nice and friendly Cms..smjj

 

[PamNC]

Doesn't sound like a Grand stay to me. I do like the way the CM's say "have a grand day." Anyway, now I digress.

We stayed at the Grand last year for one night. Let me explain. We usually stay at YC or BC. We decided to try the Grand. It was beautiful...loved it. We didn't experience any problems at all and the room was spotless. We were also in Sago Cay with a Marina view. Could hear noises from the MK. BUT, the next a.m. when we awoke, we went down to the pool and MAN did it pale in comparison to Stormalong Bay. Okay...then we walked over to the Poly for breakfast at the Kona Cafe. Delicious. But, we were longing for the Epcot Resort Area and Stormalong Bay so we switched our ressies to the BC. Yep, we left the flagship resort of Disney for the Beach Club. I guess YC/BC is our flagship.

Anyway, your experience at the Grand shouldn't have happened. Geeez. We've reserved two rooms before on our AP with no problem whatsoever.

Hey - try YC/BC...you'll become a believer.

PamNC

 

[Ilove8Trax]

I've never actually desired to stay at GF because of it's whole atmosphere of it being the "snobbyish" kind of ritzy resort. My family was thinking about giving it a try sometime maybe, but now i don't really want to because of some of the bad service. No coffee makers??? Sheesh. I'm very happy with staying at the BC and if GF isn't any better, than oh well. Loved AKL. Want to try Poly.

 

[s&k'smom]

Oh I'm so sorry you guys didn't enjoy the GF. We stayed there last Oct and loved it. Really only one annoyance but otherwise I have to say it was great. They were very good about my room request and the room was spotless. But it's funny I had read a ton of posts before we left and really looked at the bathroom when we checked in just to be sure. And I really do think expectations are very high for GF but with the prices, it being the flagship resort and it's definately marketed that way, it is really to be expected. I know my expectations were way high for GF. I definately would stay again.

 

[HM]

I am finding this thread very interesting as my family will be staying at the GF in early June. None of this has turned me off yet.....I've read enough on these boards and others to know that there are bad experiences at every resort. Thanks for both the good and the bad reports everyone. -HM

 

[mm4me]

You guys are making me nervous. We were at the GF in April 2001 and our service was outstanding. We were on the Grand Plan and also stayed at the Lodge Concierge. Everyone was so helpful and accomadating. We are returning in 15 days and will again be staying concierge but at the RPC this time. Please tell me that we won't regret it. I know there are good days and bad days but with the kind of money you spend they should be all good days at the GF.

 

[Straughn]

These experiences are not new. We stayed at the GF last February and encountered very similar problems with the Front Desk. Check-in took almost 45 minutes from the time we walked in until we got our room key. Note-there was one couple ahead of us waiting to check-in. There were 4 cast members behind the desk (3 in costume and 1 in a suit-manager, I presume). Three of the cast members, including the one in the suit, were helping one person for a good 1/2 hour. This left one other cast member and she was tied up with a family checking in, buying park tickets, etc-took about 20 minutes from the time we got in line. As soon as she finished with them, she disappeared into the back never to be seen again. This leaves the couple ahead of us, my husband and me, and by now about 5-6 other families in line waiting to check-in. My husband, not being the shy, retiring type, walked over to the "suit" and asked if there was any one available who could assist the long line of folks. He was basically told that it was change over time and the oncoming staff had not arrived yet. Well, those going off certainly had left! According to him, the "suit" couldn't have cared less about how long the line was.

Every time we needed to get info from the Front Desk there was a line and only 2-3 people behind the desk. Frequently, we observed multiple cast members working with one party and then either one or no other cast members behind the desk. Frankly, after hearing the some of the answers that the cast members were giving the guests, I could have done a better job.

The room was fine, the service and cleanliness of the rooms were fine. But the service, knowledge, and attitude at the Front Desk was so un-Disney, that I begain to wonder if some other company was managing the place!

If this is suppose to be the flagship hotel, you would think that they would put the most experienced and knowledgable staff there and that they would have enough staff available, especially during the peak check-in/check-out periods. We walked thru on Sunday morning and the line of folks waiting to check-out was probably 10-12 families long and only 2-3 people behind the desk. If Disney is trying to reduce staff, this would not be the hotel to do it in.

 

[Yzma and Kronk]

I think a lot of Disney's problems at hotels comes down to Management style.....empower your employee's to make decisions.
I once had a boss who said,
"Do not be afraid to make any decision when dealing with the customer. Use your own common sense. If the decision is a wrong one - we can discuss it later and learn what should be done the next time. However, it is unacceptable to not make a decision or attempt to solve the situation" (he was a great boss)
It would have been really easy for the GF CM to check-in DisOrBust, smile nicely then check out the AP question behind the scenes later....and therefore not lose a future GF/Disney customer!
It drives me nuts when you have a simple question/problem and the check-in agent (Disney or wherever) disappears for minutes (hours??) at a time to go find out the answer.
Agree with Mackey Mouse...unfortuantely these days you sometimes need to ask to speak to a Manager.
Just IMHO...

 

[DisOrBust]

I did not start this whole thread to turn anyone off from the GF but to forwarn. Over the past 4yrs on the boards I have read countless threads re: the GF and choose to stay there anyways. Most of the negative threads I have read were directed at GF concierge services. My experiences did not ruin my vacation by any means but I knew what I was getting into from previous posts. If this had been my 1st WDW vacaton I don't know if I would be a repeat customer. What it did prove to me is that most of the complaints I have read were truely reitterated by the staff and room during our stay and its not just people complaining over "every little thing."
I also believe that the behavior is probably a direct result of the GF management. I have read many threads where guest have written to the Management of the GF and have never received a response to their concerns.

 

[Beachangel]

Thank goodness I booked my boss two concierge rooms at AKL. Thought she'd want to stay at the GF since they are bazillionaires and to my amazement she read the info I gave her and decided the children would AKL!

I can vouch for AKL both regular & concierge, but never stayed at GF. Great restaurants though!

I worked part time at The Museum company and our mission statement was: You can never be criticized for doing too much for a customer; only too little!

 

[CarolA]

I would like to say that I have stayed (on business!) at some VERY nice hotels (Ritz type places!). At the majority of these fancy places, as you pull into the parking lot, the valet staff rush over and grab your luggage (I sometimes have to steal it away from them) Yep, they do this for a tip in addition to the standards of the hotel. Did not happen at the Grand Floridian. I had to hunt for someone to give the car keys to.

Yes, they are held to a higher standard. However, based on the level of ratings people like AAA give them it is not an unfair standard and they don't apear to meet it far too often.

My letter to the manager was never responded to. However, I wrote one suggestion on a YC survey (put lowfat milk in mini bar) and got a call from the manager asking for more information!

I do love the look of the GF, I love the Tea, I like the character meal, I like having a drink in their fancy bar. I just feel the service is not 4 star quality from their basic hotel staff.

 

[Calcio]

CarolA, you're my kind of lady.

Like you, as we've gotten older and hopefully more comfortable financially, we've had the opportunity to stay at a few really first rate hotels. The GF aspires to that group, and heaven knows their room rates place them in that group as well.

If I'm treated in an indifferent manner at a Motel 6 on the highway, that's one thing. But when you're staying at the supposed flagship of the Disney Hotel family, you better feel catered to every second of your stay.

My experiences at the Boardwalk Inn are the opposite of the GF. Every visit has met my expectations. So the choice of hotel is pretty easy.

 

[lmt]

Our hearts have always belonged to the Poly…we love it there. We have stayed (or strayed, as my husband likes to say) at the BC, YC, WL and CB. While we enjoyed each resort for various reasons, my family agreed the Poly was the place for us. Until a few trips/years later…DH decided it was time to try the GF. In reality, it's not much more $$ than Poly/lagoon/concierge so we decided to split our stay last Dec. We were to stay the first 5 nights at the Poly and the last five nights at the GF. Long story short, we were back to the Poly before we had unpacked our bags. The staff at the GF was unaccommodating and rude. Like we were doing them a favor by staying there. I sooo think not. I have been visiting Disney for some time now and they don't need to sell nor impress me. I am already sold and impressed. Therefore, it doesn't take much to please me as I know what to expect. I wasn't shooting for the moon and was not expecting perfection from the GF. Just what I have experienced and come to expect (which is a friendly staff and a clean room). However, our room was filthy and no one gave a damn. There was no coffee maker (small complaint, yet I think valid when shelling out amost $400/night) and one would/could not be delivered. Huh? Like others have said…. any Motel 6 gives you a coffee maker. The gal at check in acted like I was an inconvenience. Any ways…after the awful check in and the gross room (beautiful…just dirty), we left and high tailed it back to the Poly where they welcomed us with open arms. Will never stay at the Grand again nor will I ever recommend it. I am much happier viewing the beauty of the Grand from afar, from my lagoon view at the Poly. (Just MHO, of course )

 

[DisOrBust]

Imt that is EXACTLY how I felt. I really wanted to "bolt"back to AKL but didn't have the heart to move my whole family again. In retrospect I wish I would have. Oh well live and learn