Terapin
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 20, 2007
- Messages
- 1,975
We just came back from 6 nights in a 2 bdrm and a 1 bdrm. We brought down our family and 8 others for a grand total of 13 of us over the 2 units.
The units were both clean, functional, had tons of storage, and a pleasure to stay in. Our guests were open-jawed about the space and amenities. The rooms were very large and open with tons of light. The bathrooms off the bedrooms were spacious. The only damage at all was:
1 stain on the arm of the couch.
2 areas of water damage near the edge of the shower that appeared to have been repainted.
That's it. All the furnishings were in good order, and clean.
We had pool views (very pretty) and a lake view (stunning view of the marina).
While busses picked up other resorts after us, we were the first drop-off on the way home. Unfortunately, on the ME bus we were last drop-off and the first to be picked-up, adding about 30-45 minutes to the experience each way.
The Electric Water Pageant was loud - other than that no sound penetrated the unit at all. We couldn't hear toilets flushing or noise in the hallways.
Overall, it felt comfortable, spacious and well-appointed. Loved the location!!!!
On the other hand, we were expecting to be wowed by the Beach Club Villas and had intended to buy points there after our stay. I can't comment on Stormalong Bay as we didn't swim and I know that is a major draw for the resort, but the room was awful.
Walking down the hallway the carpet was dirty and dingy. Our room (1 bdrm) carpet was also dirty, with red stains on the carpet (spaghetti sauce?!) and a large brown smudge of ?food on the wall- both obvious. The room looked tired. It reminded me of a Florida economy apartment. I missed the extra bathroom of BLT and the sleeper chair.
As we are new to DVC we didn't know that the room only sleeps 4 comfortably. When we booked the room through member services we asked if it slept 5 and was told yes. I didn't know that the room allowance was 5 yet there wasn't actually beds for 5 people. It wasn't explained to me and we had three very tired children so sorting out who didn't get a bed was stressful. I will take some of the blame for that for not knowing, but it would have been great if MS had told me the configuration of the room, especially since we are new and explained why we were staying only one night (as we were unfamiliar with the rooms at BCV and wanted to buy points there). We aren't well-versed enough to have known that the amenities are very different among 1 bdrm units. We assumed, wrongly, that they were standardized. It wasn't a huge deal, and if the room was otherwise great, it could be ok.
When the couch was pulled out it was tight in the room. They layout was less thought-out. The kids, unprompted, said they didn't want to stay there the minute we were in the room. That is unusual for our kids as they are easy going and have traveled a fair amount, including to economy motels without complaint. It really was that dingy and unappealing to us.
When we called down to the desk to give feedback about the room we were told we were SOL as there was no DVC person available after 9pm and that the front desk was unable to help us as "DVC booked the room". They offered us a $15/night air mattress.
We put our heads down for the night, and left as soon as possible in the morning.
I was soooo disappointed as we knew how great Stormalong Bay is and wanted points there, but the room was so unappealing that my DH and I agreed that we would not want to stay in the room, even with SAB in the equation.
(Just fwiw, it isn't a style thing: we don't care for modern furnishings, and tend towards more family-style items for our house. BLT won us over with spaciousness, light, cleanliness and function.)
Anyway, that is our experience: we were expecting to be let down by BLT and wowed by BCV. Funny how it was the inverse!
Hope this is helpful.
The units were both clean, functional, had tons of storage, and a pleasure to stay in. Our guests were open-jawed about the space and amenities. The rooms were very large and open with tons of light. The bathrooms off the bedrooms were spacious. The only damage at all was:
1 stain on the arm of the couch.
2 areas of water damage near the edge of the shower that appeared to have been repainted.
That's it. All the furnishings were in good order, and clean.
We had pool views (very pretty) and a lake view (stunning view of the marina).
While busses picked up other resorts after us, we were the first drop-off on the way home. Unfortunately, on the ME bus we were last drop-off and the first to be picked-up, adding about 30-45 minutes to the experience each way.
The Electric Water Pageant was loud - other than that no sound penetrated the unit at all. We couldn't hear toilets flushing or noise in the hallways.
Overall, it felt comfortable, spacious and well-appointed. Loved the location!!!!
On the other hand, we were expecting to be wowed by the Beach Club Villas and had intended to buy points there after our stay. I can't comment on Stormalong Bay as we didn't swim and I know that is a major draw for the resort, but the room was awful.
Walking down the hallway the carpet was dirty and dingy. Our room (1 bdrm) carpet was also dirty, with red stains on the carpet (spaghetti sauce?!) and a large brown smudge of ?food on the wall- both obvious. The room looked tired. It reminded me of a Florida economy apartment. I missed the extra bathroom of BLT and the sleeper chair.
As we are new to DVC we didn't know that the room only sleeps 4 comfortably. When we booked the room through member services we asked if it slept 5 and was told yes. I didn't know that the room allowance was 5 yet there wasn't actually beds for 5 people. It wasn't explained to me and we had three very tired children so sorting out who didn't get a bed was stressful. I will take some of the blame for that for not knowing, but it would have been great if MS had told me the configuration of the room, especially since we are new and explained why we were staying only one night (as we were unfamiliar with the rooms at BCV and wanted to buy points there). We aren't well-versed enough to have known that the amenities are very different among 1 bdrm units. We assumed, wrongly, that they were standardized. It wasn't a huge deal, and if the room was otherwise great, it could be ok.
When the couch was pulled out it was tight in the room. They layout was less thought-out. The kids, unprompted, said they didn't want to stay there the minute we were in the room. That is unusual for our kids as they are easy going and have traveled a fair amount, including to economy motels without complaint. It really was that dingy and unappealing to us.
When we called down to the desk to give feedback about the room we were told we were SOL as there was no DVC person available after 9pm and that the front desk was unable to help us as "DVC booked the room". They offered us a $15/night air mattress.
We put our heads down for the night, and left as soon as possible in the morning.
I was soooo disappointed as we knew how great Stormalong Bay is and wanted points there, but the room was so unappealing that my DH and I agreed that we would not want to stay in the room, even with SAB in the equation.
(Just fwiw, it isn't a style thing: we don't care for modern furnishings, and tend towards more family-style items for our house. BLT won us over with spaciousness, light, cleanliness and function.)
Anyway, that is our experience: we were expecting to be let down by BLT and wowed by BCV. Funny how it was the inverse!
Hope this is helpful.
Bill
) That said, I am sad to hear of the conditions at BCV you witnessed. I agree with others, that 5+ should only stay in the 1BR units that have the 2 bathrooms and the sleeper chair..... just my opinion. (Kidani and BLT?)
