Just Returned from HHI -- Didn't feel the magic!

[SimplyMagical]

Just returned last night from HHI. We spent four nights in a two bedroom. This was our first stay at HHI and I have to say we were a little disappointed!!!! We did not feel there was the same quality of service as we have experienced at VWL or BCV. When we finally got to bed our first night at 11:30 pm we noticed that the sheets on the master bed were dirty - they actually had stuff sticking to them (GROSS!!). It was 11:30 p.m. so we took the sheets from the pull out and tried to cover the king size bed. The next morning I awoke to hearing both my dd's saying gross -- when I asked what was the matter they said their sheets were dirty -- they were. On our way out in the morning we stopped by the desk and were told they would be changed -- arrived back at the room later nothing had been done -- so we made a second call!! It rained from the day we arrived until we left on Saturday. When the rain finally let up for a few hours we decided to head to the beach house. After swimming in the ocean my family decided to use the pool. There was a basketball hoop and volleyball net set up in one end of the pool and that area was already crowded so we decided to use the other side. There were two boys approximately 9 and 11 throwing a hard football from one end of the pool to the other. People with small child were constantly ducking from being hit with the football. After a few times of the ball nearing hitting my family members in the head I decided to ask the boy nicely to move down a little so my family was not hit with the ball (being hit in temple with a hard ball can kill you)!! He just looked at me with a smile and continued to throw the ball (I know if this were my child and an adult asked them to move they would have first apologized and then moved to accomodate the request!!!!). The ball continued to come closer and closer to my family as the boys continued to smile. My husband then told the boy if that ball hits me one more time you are not getting it back. Well he continued to throw the ball -- it hit my husband -- and he took it and throw it out of the pool area into the trees. Let me just remind you that the whole time these two boys are taking over the pool the staff member is supposedly overseeing the pool area. Another young boy, who was with the two boys throwing the ball, came out of the pool cut and screaming -- no parent to be found -- the parent of all three of these children had to be called at the resort to come get their child because he was hurt. The rules at the pool state you must be accompanied by an adult if you are under 13. We then watched as the staff member and several members of the restaurant crew spent an hour looking for the ball - now leaving the pool area completely unattended!!!! Was my family asking too much to be able to swim at one small end of the pool without have a hard football spiraled at our heads!!!!!! To top it off, the staff continued to give my family dirty looks with one staff member seeing my daughter in the game room and making a face at her and saying oh -- it's you -- she is only ten and was very upset by this!!. If the staff member had not been attending to the injured boy -- I would have spoken with her and requested she speak with the boys before it got down to my husband taking care of the ball. I was so upset by all of this that I did speak with the staff member after she returned from her one hour spent retrieving the ball. After I explained the situation, she stated that the ball was not property of HHI and that the children were at the pool unattended with their parent back at the resort. She said she was sorry but she did not see the ball being thrown -- this was not true -- she actually had to tap the boy throwing the ball on his shoulder to tell him that his brother had to go back to the room because he was injured. (If the staff member knew these two other boys were also under 13, why was the parent who came to retrieve the injured boy not asked to take their two other children under 13!!!) The week only continued to get worse for us. You could not even walk through the walkways of the resort because of all the rain and the mud. The walkways were never attempted to be cleaned/swept. Therefore you were covered in mud just trying to get to your room. When the rain did stop for a few hours, we visited the pool -- the dirty towel bins were overflowing with no clean towels to be found -- had to go and notify them that there weren't any. The pool area chairs were never straightened and were often covered by dirty towels left behind. I noticed a considerable difference in the way this resort was run and maintained, as well as the friendliness of the staff when comparing it with WDW resorts. We made a simple request to replace a light bulb in the laundry area -- so I could see inside the washer and dryer -- and they never seemed to be able to replace it. I guess we expected the same quality of service at HHI as we receive at the resorts in WDW - unfortunately, it wasn't so. I know there are a lot of DVC members who love HHI, but I have to say -- I don't think my family will be utilizing valuable points at this resort in the future!!!!

 

[doubletrouble_vb]

whoosh!

This is pretty terrible. About the ball though...I had something similar happen in the lazy river at Blizzard Beach and finally spoke to the lifeguard who then did something about it. They even called ahead to the next station to keep an eye out. However these kids passed several lifeguards who did nothing...until I complained.

The dirty beds is disgusting...having had that experience some years back (not at a Disney resort) I always check all the beds I (or we) plan to use before it gets too late to get the staff to do something about it.

PLEASE send your story to Disney...the last thing in the world they want is to not have the opportunity to address this kind of problem. And may I suggest sending it via snail mail not e-mail. Or do both.

 

[Desperado]

PLEASE send your story to Disney...the last thing in the world they want is to not have the opportunity to address this kind of problem. And may I suggest sending it via snail mail not e-mail. Or do both.

Yes, please send this to our DVC customer service representative. You may want ot send it certified mail requiring a signature and ask for a response. The lifegaurds did not maintain a safe pool environment. My hats off to your husband for throwing the ball in the woods, well done, certainly deserved. While It may have been more appropriate to throw the two youths in the trees, your husband did a great job of resolving the situation. The guards were not doing thier job and should be reprimanded. The only lesson I might learn from your experience is that in hindsight, is that in the future, I should probably approach the lifeguards and ask them to intervene in the situation and ask for thier names so that I could refer to them immediately when asking for the lifeguards boss on the spot, and then that supervisor's boss if the situation where not resolved and the pool area not made safe.

Please share the resonse to your letter with us. What you describe is unacceptable.

 

[sueg]

We were also at HH for this rainy week. I think bad weather on vacation makes everything else feel worse. When you've been stuck in your unit for hrs. at a time, you want the brief periods of "good weather" to be the best. We were on the ground level and had a family over us who allowed their 2 kids to run & jump, seemingly non-stop. We tried to reason that bad weather had them trapped, too. But the noise continued late into the night, I guess their kids needed good outdoor activities to burn off their excess energy & go to sleep. DS (9) asked why the parents of these kids didn't stop them from making noise, like we do when we are on an upper level. I tried to make eye contact with them as we both left our units at the same time (during a brief period of good weather) & they looked away. Think they knew?
This was our third trip to HH & the first time we had such extraordinarily bad weather. I think that HH (like a beach rental)really relies on good weather to have a good time. I thought the staff tried, but I can't speak about the "Simply Magical" experience because we never made it to the beach house & limited ourselves to the resort pool. I feel that irresponsible resort guests can contribute to problems for other guests on vacation & only some of those problems can be controlled by staff.
The paths were flooded, but the rain was so steady & heavy that I think there was little that the staff could do. We were transported by golf cart to our car, early Saturday morning, when we checked out.
DH & I start to plan our next trip as soon as we return from a trip. This year, I said that I need to think about our next Aug. vacation, before I book HH again. The weather was not DVC's fault, but it still affects my decision-making on what is the best vacation for my family.

 

[TwirlerGirl]

Please contact the Member Satisfaction Manager, Jackie Lueders, by calling 800-800-9800, or
sending an email to members@disneyvactionclub.com (subject: ATTN
JACKIE LUEDERS),
or write to: Disney Vacation Club, Attn: Jackie Lueders, 200 Celebration Place, Celebration, FL 34747.

You will be doing the majority of the members a favor by reporting this unacceptable
situation.

I am sorry you had such a horrible incident at the beach house. I have seen this type of behavior before (other activities not at HH) when children are unsupevised and beleive they are above the rules. I hope you talked to the resort manager, if not, write him a letter or call. People hesitate to take a stand when children other people misbehave because of lawsuites. The parents must be held responsible at this point before these children become teenagers and are totally out of control. I hope you got the staffs names or noted the time inorder to identify the staff on duty. I would also inform the manager that you have contacted Jackie Lueders in this matter since his staff was unable to recify this situation at the time it occur. The sheets are a health code issue. I would guess tha the landuary had a problem that caused the residue. I would stress that to the manager and to Ms. Lueders. You could take this futher if you are not satified with the County Health Department. I would only do that as a last resort.

Now that said, we have been to HH 3 times in the past and have never seen or heard of this type on incident. We have always loved our stays and were looking into add on points. We will be there on Sept. 5 - 7 and again Sept. 13 - 15. I have learn to travel with important phone #'s likes Ms. Lueders. We pay $$$$'s to stay and deserve better service than you received. Write your letters or call. Please let us know the results.

Sandy B.


The problems with the villas

 

[DVC1996]

When bad weather hits at HH, it can be nasty! Our last visit to the DVC resort at HHI was in 1997. We went the first week in June after a whirlwind trip to OKW, Vero, and then HH on the way home. We had beautiful weather in Florida but in HH the weather was rainy and very cold. This was the summer that I recall unusually cool weather even at home. Anyway...we went to a Member social at the club house and our daughter slipped on the steps after the event and twisted her knee. A CM called an ambulance and we spent the rest of the evening at the medical clinic. Also.....the cold damp weather coupled with the stress of the accident brought on an attack of my psoriatic arthritis. My feet swelled so bad that I could only wear my Birkenstock sandals the rest of the summer!
I can laugh now at our bad misfortune but it wasn't funny at the time. Btw....I haven't been able to get dh to go back to HH since that time.

 

[Desperado]

You will be doing the majority of the members a favor by reporting this unacceptable

TwirlerGirl,
Thank you for the great coaching and resource. Your on the mark 100%, IMHO.

 

[Cora]

Since HH is one of my homes PLEASE contact DVC about this. We have been 3 times and have never had an issue. I think all that you went through was horrible...plus I have no tolerance for parents who practice 'selective parenting'!

I can understand how the weather can cloud your perspective (having just spent Labor Day weekend on the Cape and having no beach weather at alll!). However, what you went through was beyond a little bad weather miserables.

Please let us know what DVC says. In advance, thanks for taking the time.
Cora

 

[cgcw]

I too am sorry you had a less than magical vacation and HH was not up to the expectations it should have been. I'm interested in hearing the outcome of the letter you write to Disney as it's one of our homes also.

The pool issue would have had me really upset also. I had a child who was left unattended in very deep water by his swim teacher several years back and it's an experience I would never want to repeat. Fortunately he's fine but we keep a very close watch over our kids when they are anywhere near water and expect the CM assigned to the pool to have the same watchful eye. We always say there just may not be a second chance when it comes to water play.

And, Desperado, I agree....DH should have thrown the kids over the wall and kept the ball!!

 

[nezy]

UGH! I'm sorry your trip was anything but magical.

The dirty sheets are inexcusable and totally unacceptable.
We have been to HH several times and have loved it. I am hoping this lapse in responsible service and hospitality will be immediately addressed by the mangemnt at HH.
I look forward to hearing about future trips of other members before I will go back. I feel my points are very valueable and would not want to be so very disappointed.

As far as the unattended children-I am not surprised. This is something that drives me crazy. I was recently at a non-Disney resort in on Hotel Plaza Blvd. and there were 3 children under 13 who were unsupervised at a pool without a lifeguard. These 3 non-swimmers decided to pull a lounge chair over to the poolside and use it as a diving board-into 2.5 ft. of water. After several of us advised the children not to do this a parent finally called down from a balcony to reprimand them. I was furious-but not surprised.

 

[SimplyMagical]

Thank you all very much for the comments and information. We have prepared a lengthly complaint which we will e-mail to Ms. Leuders. My husband called and tried to speak with Ms. Leuders today, but was told complaints must be put in writing or sent via e-mail. Hopefully we will hear back. I will keep you updated.

 

[Pumbaa_]

The dirty sheets really gave me the heeby-jeebies! Gross!I will definately be checking the sheets before I get in them from now on!

That is the kind of trip that you do not associate with Disney or DVC. Sorry they were not up to snuff on this trip

 

[KayGuidance]

Thanks for the report and I am really sorry that you had such a horrible time. I have learned from you that I will keep all necessary phone numbers with me from now on in case I need them. In addition, I will also check the sheets. UGH.

Hope your next vacation is magically better.

 

[Desperado]

I wonder if Jackie Lueders realizes the large audience service issue lapses like these get when posted in this forum. It would seem like a good idea for her to monitor this forum to keep in touch with member concerns as additional input to what she receives in e-mail. I understanding her not posting in an unofficial forum such as this, but it would seem worthwhile to monitor. Do you thihk there would be any value to sharing the link with her in your e-mail?

And, Desperado, I agree....DH should have thrown the kids over the wall and kept the ball!!

Perhaps that is a bit hasty, finding the parents and venting on the father for his lapse would probably be directing the blame better. Maybe a system is needed where members are fined so many points for such blatent infractions, say forfeiting 25 points for endangering the safety of others?

However, security and safety are responsibilities of the pool CMs. They failed to meet thier responsitilities given your description of the situation.

 

[JudithM]

Desperado, I know for a fact that DVC CMs do read this bulletin board.

In addition I just emailed this page to a DVC CM.

 

[mmmcq]

My family of 5 just returned late last night from 5 days at the Yacht Club and 5 days at Vero. Our home resort is BWV, but we had points in "holding" that we had to use by October and decided to try the Yacht Club. We had a fabulous 5 nights and 6 days there. The weather was hot and we had some rain, but the location was fantastic and the service (hotel and restaurant staff) was superb. The crowds weren't bad at all and we hopped around from park to park and tried new restaurants and old favorites. We loved the new princess breakfast, managed lunch at the castle, loved Teppanaki in Japan and had a fabulous dinner at the California Grille. We should have never left WDW.

We knew we were going to have problems at Vero, because in 6 months time since I had made the reservation,Member Services was never able to clear one night of our 5 nights off the waitlist for a one bedroom. Despite numerous assurances that things change constantly and that something could be done, they had me making TWO room changes in the last two nights of our stay - WITH a 2 year old child.

When we came off the waitlist while at WDW and I started calling the resort direct and got the real scoop. They were overbooked by 3-4 one bedrooms on Sunday, 9/1. But the front desk staff said they'd still try to make this work for us and we left for Vero from WDW on the 29th. When we arrived they planted us in the ADA unit and told us the only difference was that it didn't have a "ruffle" on King size bed????? The room turned out to have bugs in the bathroom and a roach of some sort ran across the kitchen table during one of my meals. The shower stall had no lip on the floor so water in the main bathroom was a problem and of course they only give you one floor mat. And there was no door on the adjacent bathroom as there is in the one bedrooms at BWV.

From the moment we arrived I started bugging the front desk about what we were going to do on the 1st and 2nd. I DID NOT want to move twice. The manager who was there until Friday afternoon said we'd be put in a really nice "inn" room facing the ocean and that we could have access to our old room until the changeover. Instead of moving back to the one bedroom we decided to stay in the "inn" room for the last two nights. BAD decision on our part. The "inn" room was tiny for 5 people with a crib and no place for luggage.

I had to spend 3 hours on Sunday packing to move between rooms all the while trying to keep three kids busy at the pool/beach with my husband. Despite assurances that our new room would be ready by baby's nap time it wasn't done until 3pm. They moved our luggage over.....but by the time she got in the crib we had to set up, it was 4pm.

The noise from the lobby and the lounge which filters up from the center of the the "inn", kept us up until at least midnight on Sunday, then we were woken up by 3-4 unruly toddlers in the next room at 7am on Monday. Then when I asked at the desck on Monday for housekeeping to come in with towels they left me a message while I was at the beach that I could pay for the service since I had only been "checked" in since 9/1. I almost had an argument with the manager who followed the same line of reasoning, that even though we had been checked into the facility since 8/29 and made an "involuntary" move, we did not qualify for the 4th day towel and trash service. I was LIVID.

Then later that day my 2 year old's nap was woken from her nap by the sound of "firecracker" like noises rising up like thunder from the lobby. The recreation staff had laid bubble wrap on the floor for the kids to pop...and pop they did. That just did it for me.
I was ready to pack and leave for ANY other hotel in Orlando.

We also had problems in the pool with flying objects from kids and adults and encountered many rude people in and around the pool during our stay. We are extremely disappointed that we wasted so many points at Vero this past week. I would have preferred to have stayed longer at WDW or put the points towards a cruise. We actually talked at the beginning of the week of buying add on points at BWV or BCV....but we've lost interest now.

Oh well. We'll find the magic again in a year or so when we return to WDW. We'll more carefully manage our "offsite" adventures in the future. I'll take the advice from the rest of this thread and send an email complaint later today.

 

[Desperado]

Desperado, I know for a fact that DVC CMs do read this Bulletin board.

JudithM, great info. I wonder if Jackie Lueders does. I'll bet the two delinquent HH pool CMs don't. Too bad, maybe they'd think twice.

 

[Desperado]

We also had problems in the pool with flying objects from kids and adults and encountered many rude people in and around the pool during our stay. We are extremely disappointed that we wasted so many points at Vero this past week. I would have preferred to have stayed longer at WDW or put the points towards a cruise. We actually talked at the beginning of the week of buying add on points at BWV or BCV....but we've lost interest now.

Sorry to hear about the rude pool people. We have had items stolen from us in the pool area. Perhaps our CMs watching the pools are slipping, maybe summer help heading back to school?

The Pool and Beach are the main attractions at Vero, it is important they are well managed.

 

[JudithM]

Originally posted by Desperado
I'll bet the two delinquent HH pool CMs don't. Too bad, maybe they'd think twice.

You made me think of another point to remember when writing, emailing, talking to DVC CMs about complaints (or even compliments ). The more information you can provide - who, what, when, where - & as specifically as possible helps pinpoint who the CM was. For example, "I was at the HH beach house on such & such date about such & such time ... The CM had long/short brown/blonde/red hair, glasses, whatever ..."

And speaking of Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort ... isn't Sonya the GM (also GM at Vero & OKW)? If so, I know from CMs who work with & for her & from my personal experience that she is a very good listener & very particular, detail oriented & would want to know about the issues guests/members are encountering.

 

[SlyHubby]

I've shared my dissatisfaction with HH and others have as well. Some, who will only allow "happy talk" will soon infestate this thread and probably even try to place blame on you for what happened.

In any case, I fully agree with you - never will I spend my points at HH again.

Once again, HH may be a DVC resort, but it is not Disney!