LBV Best Western & Pressure to tour Vistana

[figment27]

We are considering staying at the Best Western LBV in January. I read on another site that they put a lot of pressure on you to tour their timeshare resort Vistana during your stay. This person reported getting early morning phone calls telling her the bus to Vistana was leaving, and this would be her last chance of the day to take the tour. She also reported hotel employess constantly pressuring them to take the tour. Enough of a hassle that she states she would not return there.
For anyone who has stayed there, did you experience this also?
Thanks,
Figment

 

[jctwizzer]

Have stayed at the Best Western, and there was no mention of anything relating to Vistana....the comment is puzzling because Vistana is a Sheraton property...and, as far as I know, not related to Best Western

 

[figment27]

I found this comment on Deb Willis' site. It was posted as a comment directly after the BW LBV FAQ's. I am wondering if it was posted in the wrong area on Deb's site, but this person specifically mentions "Best Western" in her comment relating to Vistana.
At any rate, thanks for the post. I now know that I won't have to worry about any timeshare pitch if we stay at BW LBV.
Did you enjoy your stay at the BW?
I have read some negative comments regarding the transportation, what was your experience?
Was this a good distance from DTD? More than a mile?
I have also read this is the furthest away from DTD, and was wondering if Courtyard by Marriot is closer.
Thanks for any information you can proivde.
Figment

 

[A Mickeyfan]

I was there this past Jan for 5 nights & not once was I ever approached for a timeshare presentation.

 

[Florida Princess]

We stayed at the BW in December and was approached after checking in as to "if we were interested in any Disney info"?
Replying that I was a Florida resident, frequent Disney visitor AND DVC owner--he kind of just lost interest. I asked him if he was drumming up timeshare business and he said YES!!!! Didn't inquire any further and was never approached again.

Florida Princess

DVC---OKW since 1992

 

[figment27]

Ok, so now I am confused. The comment on Deb's site definately mentions Best Wesern LBV and Vistana.
Two replies state the were not approached, and one reply states they were approached regarding "Disney Info" and timeshares.
So, again, the question remains open- Is BW-LBV trying to sell timeshares or not?
I think I will contact them to ask some genreal questions, and, also, inquire about this at the same time.
Figment

 

[A Mickeyfan]

There was a desk with a sign for Disney Info, I may have never been approached since I was just with my kids. My husband was home for that trip. Most timeshare presentations require both to be present if married???

 

[jctwizzer]

Figment....I suspect the Timeshare comment was the result of one of the many lobby counters you see in Orlando featuring discount everythings....mostly they are come ons for timeshare presentations--if you bother to ask them about the discounts they promote. We've probably ignored 100+ of these in our trips to Orlando....They will usually make some kind of opening remark; and, if we answer at all, its"no thanks" and keep going. We thought the room at Best Western was more than adequate, particularly at the good rate we were able to get...We'd stay there again. Since we usually rent a car, we have never used the the hotel plaza Disney transportation. My wife and granddaughter used it a few years ago and thought it was fine. You just need to realize that it serves several hotels.

 

[tracycd]

Hi there,

We just returned form the BWLBV 4 weeks ago.

Absolutely no one said anything about timeshares and no
one even offered us discount tickets. They did have a desk in the lobby offering discount tickets but we did not inquire about them.

I think you'll really enjoy your stay at this hotel. Very nice and in
a good location to everything. It was clean and offers great
amenities.

Hope you enjoy your stay I know we did!!!!
Tracycd

 

[B3LM]

When we stayed at Comfort Inn LBV in March/April, they had an information desk in the lobby. We were told to go there for our "welcome" packet, so we did. The man did ask us to tour the Vistana resort, trying to sell us on the breakfast they offered. He tried to get us to make a reservation, but we politely told him that we weren't at all interested and he dropped it.

By the way, you might want to check out mousesavers because BW-LBV is the one hotel that is on Mary's "not recommended" list.

Beth

 

[figment27]

Thanks to all for the feedback.
Beth-
I did check mousesavers.com, and read the review Mary gave to BW LBV. I also did a searck on this site, and the consensus was that this was a very nice property. Many commented on what they thought was an inaccurate assessment of BW. I am a little cautious regarding Mary's reviews now. She really talks up HRP. HRP is a nice property. Mary also must have some sort of agreement with them. It seems they are the only hotel on her site who accepts the mousesaver discount. Don't get me wrong, I really think Mousesavers.com has great information, but after reading many other opinions abuot BW, I am considering staying there despite Mary's review.
Figment

 

[Florida Princess]

We reserved LBV BW with DreamRes in December 2001 at a great rate of $39.00 per night. Had no probelms with this DD Hotel---the rooms were spacious, clean and the Hotel Staff was professional and pleasing. Used their bus transportation --but it is a shared bus with other DD hotels --so can be quite crowded at certain times. Was happy with the location and great rate!

The lobby was scheduled for a face lift during the first quarter of 2002----

Rode by last weekend and it looked very crowded as the parking lot was packed with cars!!!!!

Hopefully, another low special rate will lure us back there again.

Florida Princess

DVC----OKW since 1992

 

[FoodLover]

figment27,

I'm not going to try and convince you that I'm correct about BW LBV... these things are always a matter of personal opinion and different tastes. I really can't help but express my own personal opinion on MouseSavers. I personally don't care for the BW LBV. Your mileage may vary, as they say!

My friend and I did revisit the BW LBV during our recent visit (mid-May). The lobby looks as if it will be much improved when they finish the remodeling. However, it is currently torn up and very much under construction. You'll have to determine for yourself whether this will bother you. I feel there are lots of other hotels with more to offer and that are not under construction, in the same price range. Just my .02... take it for what it's worth.

Regarding timeshare sales -- my friend and I were walking around looking at the lobby construction at the BW LBV, we were aggressively approached by a timeshare salesman who was working at a desk marked "Disney Information." Quite honestly, he was obnoxious and didn't want to take "no" for an answer. I have no idea which timeshare he was selling because I wouldn't let him get that far. Most if not all WDW-area hotels have a timeshare desk in their lobbies, but I've never been approached by anyone that way before. I suspect it's just this particular guy -- whether you are approached may depend on whether he's "on duty" when you walk by. You can always just keep saying "no," or ignore him and keep on walking!

About my hotel reviews -- I visit the hotels independently (usually more than once) and make my observations. Once I have decided on certain hotels that I personally like and feel confident recommending, THEN I approach the management about offering special rates to my readers. I've turned down many hotels that have approached me about offering MouseSavers rates, because the hotels did not meet my criteria: 1) must be a good value for money; 2) must be distinctive in some way (no cookie-cutter chain hotels); and 3) must be a place I would stay myself. There are currently several hotels offering MouseSavers rates, not just Royal Plaza.

Hope this was helpful!

Mary
MouseSavers.com

 

[vhoffman]

A question for Mary Waring,

When did you last visit the BW LBV? Has the renovations been completed yet? I had the impression from your website that the last you visited this hotel was sometime in 2001? Is that correct? Thanks!

 

[Moonster]

Did you book at the hotels through a timeshare deal. A lot of Orlando hotels do business with timeshare companies. You can book at different hotels and get a very low rate if you agree to go on a timeshare tours. Orlando hotels have deals with many comapnies like Vistana, Orange Lake etc. They get rooms from these companies in bulk to fill up ,all be it at a cheaper rate and in return for the low rate the customer has to take a tour.
You can book the Best WesternLBV at www. HotelmartUSA.com
for a great tax inclusive rate with no tour involved. We have booked the Grosvenor to come back in July through them.
We did book the Clarion on Idrive last year and as part of the deal we had to go on a timeshare tour of Vistana. The price we paid was really low. The timeshare presenataion was hard sell but as long as you stick to your guns and say your not intested you can be out of there in 90 minutes.

 

[lexis53]

I just want to mention that it seems a little unfair to give out inaccurate information. I have looked at Mousesavers several times while figuring out this trip.

There are several hotels that have a special mousesavers rate. To say that she is in business with HRP is unfair. I am not flaming but I think that this should be mentioned as I would hate to see new people take this comment as the truth and not visit a useful site. Also, I take reviews for what they are worth. Mary offers reviews based on what she feels are safe bets. She is very careful to recommend ticket brokers, etc. that are members of BBB, etc. I appreciate the fact that people are not given recommendations for possibly problematic businesses.

MTCW

 

[vhoffman]

Actually, I booked the Best Western LBV through Dreamsunlimitedtravel.com. I had a reservation made through the hotel at a rate of $90 per night with AAA discount. I just happened to stumble across the Dreams unlimited and they were offering the $49 rate for a limited time, so I grabbed it. They are now offering the same hotel for $79 night. There's no timeshare deal involved. I did not have to put up any deposit, and I have until 7 days of the reservation to cancel or my credit card will be charged one night plus tax--that's cheaper than buying trip cancellation insurance!

I've never dealt with this travel agency before, but they seem to be reputable. They're members of the BBB, Mary Waring said they have a good reputation, and BW has our reservation in their system. Personally, I wouldn't put up with a timeshare presentation regardless of how cheap the room was--its just not worth it! We fell for that once in Mexico and it just about ruined our trip! The presentation itself took up almost a whole day, and then they kept calling us at our hotel (I don't know how they got the number), waking us up to tell us that they were holding the offer for us but couldn't do so much longer, etc. , etc. Then they called us and said they were going to report us to the Mexican police because we had backed out of our contract--which we had never signed! The hotel was no help when we complained to them--A Westin property. Of course, they probably get a kickback from all that. Just take my advice--stay away from timeshare deals! Find another way to get a bargain.

 

[lexis53]

Reporting you to Mexican police How stupid did they think you were?! That is just amazing! I went on a budget trip to Cancun and we went on a timeshare presentation. To go, they promised me $100 at the spa, and two tickets to two separate tours. All told, we were talking about $250 worth of stuff since we said we would only do it for these two expensive tours and some equipment rentals. They saw a financial advisor with a name firm and thought we were ready to buy. Well after the allotted time, I said we were leaving. I mean to the minute He kept saying that he left all money decisions to me and I told them no. They weren't going to give us everything that they promised but I had the lady who set it up write it all down. We spent 45 minutes at breakfast and 60 minutes at the presentation and got all that. It was worth it for us at that time since we were trying to fit in this extra trip. I wouldn't do it at WDW with kids.