Never, ever - OKW room issues

[eandt]

The OP on the last page said the smell didn't happen till day 2 so it did indeed happen overnight. So how were they supposed to "not offer" the room in that condition?

defend Disney for decaying dead animal odors in their crown jewel resorts if you must but I refuse to do so … $10’s of 1000’s to purchase and $1000’s per year in dues say this should not ever happen … indefensible

 

[Chuck S]

defend Disney for decaying dead animal odors in their crown jewel resorts if you must but I refuse to do so … $10’s of 1000’s to purchase and $1000’s per year in dues say this should not ever happen … indefensible

How would they have prevented it. or even known about it if the odor wasn't there until day 2? A previous guest could have left a patio door open, and a mouse could've gotten in...crawled into the pump access area, and between the tub and back wall...there'd have been no way to tell it was there until it started to smell. And that doesn't just happen with jetted tubs...ALL tubs have an area between the tub and wall that an animal can get into through the plumbing access panels.

As far as the appliances, it is not reasonable to expect a timeshare engineer to check each appliance, USB port,, or electrical outlet between guests. They rely on guests to report the problems.

Knowing the animal removal would require pulling the tub, offering the relocation was the best option for all involved. Nothing is perfect, things happen. All resorts have rooms go do=wn unexpectedly. Pipes burst or leak, appliances die, water heaters die, animals squeeze into places they shouldn't be, A/Cs die or leak. The OP got a lemon of a room, often the best option is to just relocate...it isn't an unusual thing. It can happen when you travel, whether it is a Four Seasons or Disney or Motel 6.

 

[Sandisw]

defend Disney for decaying dead animal odors in their crown jewel resorts if you must but I refuse to do so … $10’s of 1000’s to purchase and $1000’s per year in dues say this should not ever happen … indefensible

If the OP walked in the first day and the smell wasn’t there…which appears to be the case or they would not have unpacked and unloaded all the groceries…then how is it even reasonable to have expected the resort to know prior?

There is being reasonable and then there is not. Sounds to me that when the resort was alerted to how bad it was, the guest was given the option to move to a new room.

 

[Chuck S]

Before the closure I booked a Cascade Cabin for the weekend to celebrate my Aunt's retirement. I wasn't there. They had unpacked, went and got groceries, picked up the cake had ice cream in the freezer and 7 of them were playing boards games at the table when CM knocked on the door 2.5 hours after checking in. Apologized and said that cabin was scheduled for Maintenace the next morning and they had to move.

Multiple CM showed up with carts to move everything, set everything up in the new cabin bathroom items, clothes in closet everything. Apologized profusely to them for the miscommunication and allowing them to be given that cabin in the first place. Asked if they were going to the parks they would get them "fast passes" they weren't they explained it was an in house celebration stay they weren't going to any parks. (honestly who rents a cabin and ever leaves they are so beautiful)

Manager shows up at the door an hour after they moved, and explained dinner was on him at the Whispering Canyon Cafe and my dashboard showed one night of the points returned.

My family was floored, they said they had never been so amazed by the customer service over a simple mishap as room assignment issue.

That's what I expect for all of us, a level of appreciation for our membership that is unmatched by any other company out there. Whether it's a cabin stay or OKW visit.

The OP was given the option to move...she refused. I'm sure maintenance or the desk manager would have given a meal at Olivia's or other compensation after the move. We got dinner years ago at OKW when it was new, and the tub above us had a drain that wasn't properly sealed and water ran into our bathroom through the ceiling exhaust fan. We also got fresh towels free as this was back when they charged for them. They had the issue fixed in about 20 minutes, and they mopped our bathroom floor.

 

[eandt]

How would they have prevented it. or even known about it if the odor wasn't there until day 2? A previous guest could have left a patio door open, and a mouse could've gotten in...crawled into the pump access area, and between the tub and back wall...there'd have been no way to tell it was there until it started to smell. And that doesn't just happen with jetted tubs...ALL tubs have an area between the tub and wall that an animal can get into through the plumbing access panels.

As far as the appliances, it is not reasonable to expect a timeshare engineer to check each appliance, USB port,, or electrical outlet between guests. They rely on guests to report the problems.

Knowing the animal removal would require pulling the tub, offering the relocation was the best option for all involved. Nothing is perfect, things happen. All resorts have rooms go do=wn unexpectedly. Pipes burst or leak, appliances die, water heaters die, animals squeeze into places they shouldn't be, A/Cs die or leak. The OP got a lemon of a room, often the best option is to just relocate...it isn't an unusual thing. It can happen when you travel, whether it is a Four Seasons or Disney or Motel 6.

 

[eandt]

Agree with you the issues with these ‘deluxe’ accommodations are not unusual and for what we all paid upfront and every year thereafter issues most definitely should be unusual which means Disney needs to pick their game up on the upkeep and maintenance … we’ll have to agree to disagree here because I will never excuse a dead animal carcass and its accompanying odor in my hotel room as something that “happens” whether it be Disney or the local King’s inn. Disney should have been horrified that this guest had to be exposed to a villa in such disrepair and offered way more than a move to another room to compensate. We love Disney but there has been a very definitive drop off in quality over the years especially lately and the covid excuse is way past its prime.

 

[Chuck S]

Agree with you the issues with these ‘deluxe’ accommodations are not unusual and for what we all paid upfront and every year thereafter issues most definitely should be unusual which means Disney needs to pick their game up on the upkeep and maintenance … we’ll have to agree to disagree here because I will never excuse a dead animal carcass and its accompanying odor in my hotel room as something that “happens” whether it be Disney or the local King’s inn. Disney should have been horrified that this guest had to be exposed to a villa in such disrepair and offered way more than a move to another room to compensate. We love Disney but there has been a very definitive drop off in quality over the years especially lately and the covid excuse is way past its prime.

You took that out of context. It is NOT unusual for these things to happen at ANY reosrt, especially a high volume resort...But I have had to change rooms at Hiltons, Four Seasons, and InterContinentals. It is part of the adventure of travel, especially when previous guests don't report room issues.

 

[DaviVascaino]

There is a reason why refurbishment and maintenance needs to happen to any house/building and hotels. That is to replace broken stuff or really worn down stuff before they break down.

OKW is OLD. If you don't do regular maintenance (like you do with a car for example), you won't detect early issues before it becomes a major issue and you will have more things breaking down frequently. that is a fact.

with OLDER hotels, you have to have a more frequent maintenance schedule to prevent those issues if you are not doing major refurbishment. Simple as that. Yes, every hotel has problems, but if your hotel is OLD, YOU HAVE to perform more frequent room checks to detect problems earlier. simple as that.

The amount of problems the OP found in the room are not acceptable IMHO for a deluxe Disney property. It only happened because the hotel has been neglected for a while.

 

[Chuck S]

There is a reason why refurbishment and maintenance needs to happen to any house/building and hotels. That is to replace broken stuff or really worn down stuff before they break down.

OKW is OLD. If you don't do regular maintenance (like you do with a car for example), you won't detect early issues before it becomes a major issue and you will have more things breaking down frequently. that is a fact.

with OLDER hotels, you have to have a more frequent maintenance schedule to prevent those issues if you are not doing major refurbishment. Simple as that. Yes, every hotel has problems, but if your hotel is OLD, YOU HAVE to perform more frequent room checks to detect problems earlier. simple as that.

The amount of problems the OP found in the room are not acceptable IMHO for a deluxe Disney property. It only happened because the hotel has been neglected for a while.

It can also happen in newly refurbished rooms if the guests abuse them, like the grandmother and grandhild that were jumping on the couches in an OKW one bedroom that I saw years ago. Peoples respect for property is nearly non-existant these days.

 

[DaviVascaino]

It can also happen in newly refurbished rooms if the guests abuse them, like the grandmother and grandhild that were jumping on the couches in an OKW one bedroom that I saw years ago.

yes, of course. however, outlet that does not work might be a sign of major wiring problems. that means the wiring is OLD as F#$, and has been neglected.

If I am paying a lot for a hotel room, I expect that my dryer is not 20-30 years old. Hotels should replace appliances, TVs every few years if they are charging premium price to prevent this. you can't just charge a lot, and let the appliances run to the ground and replace only when they die. Come on. If I am staying at motel 6, that is one thing, but not at a Deluxe property.

 

[Chuck S]

It is not a sign of anything more than a bad outlet, not a major wiring problem. And honestly, in my experience as a landlord, newer outlets failure rate is much higher than the older outlets.
Especially if using the inexpensive contractor grade outlets. And the more gadgets additions to the outlet, like USB ports, hallway lighting/nightlights and so forth increase the failure rate even more.

And newer appliances, especially refrigerators, also fail earlier more often than they did 20+ years ago.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

yes, of course. however, outlet that does not work is a sign of major wiring problems.

Not necessarily.

Outlets take a lot of abuse in hotels as well as airports. Most of what I experienced in hotels and airports was usually related to loose outlet because I use a brick most often but still. People just aren't gentle with property that isn't theirs and they may only be using for a very short time.

It can be an issue with the prong opening too as in the connection inside it got bent (seen that before) presumably from unplugging and plugging something in too rough.

 

[DaviVascaino]

Not necessarily.

Outlets take a lot of abuse in hotels as well as airports. Most of what I experienced in hotels and airports was usually related to loose outlet because I use a brick most often but still. People just aren't gentle with property that isn't theirs and they may only be using for a very short time.

It can be an issue with the prong opening too as in the connection inside it got bent (seen that before) presumably from unplugging and plugging something in too rough.

I understand, but he said that 4 outlets had issue. What is the likelihood of all 4 had gone bad because of the outlet itself vs wiring/connection issues?

I am no electrician, but it just seems too much. I never stayed at OKw, but I have stayed at BWV and the appliances are super old. It is unacceptable IMHO that those places don't routinely replace things every few years, but again, it is a matter of perspective.

 

[2010dvcfan]

The OP was given the option to move...she refused. I'm sure maintenance or the desk manager would have given a meal at Olivia's or other compensation after the move. We got dinner years ago at OKW when it was new, and the tub above us had a drain that wasn't properly sealed and water ran into our bathroom through the ceiling exhaust fan. We also got fresh towels free as this was back when they charged for them. They had the issue fixed in about 20 minutes, and they mopped our bathroom floor.

I respect your opinion on this, but I think the key denominator for your situation and my family at the Cabins is "years ago" both of the stories we tell about excellent "guest recovery" is "years ago" the OP situation is "here and now". Unless they left out any other guest recovery actions taken by management for their undisputable terrible experience with their membership then I think there's no denying the quality of our beloved DVC is deteriorating. The option to change rooms for this member was simply not enough guest recovery in my opinion. Even if they opted to not change rooms they should have been offered a meal or fast passes or been pleasantly surprised on the dashboard with a credit of some of their points like I was. OP reports nothing of that magnitude occurred.

I love this product I'm in deep 1260 points, I fly into Orlando 5-8 times a year staying 7-14 days sometimes, or just a few nights before boarding the bus to Port Canaveral, I enjoy Disney. I can't honestly say that I feel as appreciated and welcomed as I did in the past. I have seen a decline in quality of the rooms and lack of attention to members from previous years. This creates a declining value of this product in my opinion. The OP story just verifies that I'm afraid.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I understand, but he said that 4 outlets had issue. What is the likelihood of all 4 had gone bad because of the outlet itself vs wiring/connection issues?

I am no electrician, but it just seems too much. I never stayed at OKw, but I have stayed at BWV and the appliances are super old. It is unacceptable IMHO that those places don't routinely replace things every few years, but again, it is a matter of perspective.

The likelihood? High actually, maybe even more so because these rooms might be used for more people than your average hotel room. An average hotel room maybe the outlets closest to the bed might go out more frequently but in a room that might have more frequently a larger number of guests stands to reason more outlets on a given basis may be used.

Not saying your thought is wrong just to make that clear just that it can also be due to other things too. Could even be a combo of things. It's frustrating when an outlet doesn't work (USB or brick), personally I have terrible luck at airports, our brand new airport as of Feb 2023 already had high abuse on it, but I've had issues with hotels rooms unfortunately too.

You know I don't disagree about replacements of appliances but I would imagine that because these are DVC rooms there's line items in the budget for it paid for out of the dues?? That may be my ignorance on knowing everything about DVC but just thinking about it. I know with our HOA at our house they are pretty on top of replacing things on the common grounds but it also can be incredibly expensive and comes out of the operating budget. Close to 10 years ago replacing the plastic slide for the playset in the common area was quoted by 3 different places as $10K and that gave the HOA pause on replacing it at that moment to try and wait it out a bit. Maybe that could be part of it on these issues with DVC.

 

[Anthony1971]

I will say Disney is a bit lax lately....
We have had a share of room issues in the pat 21 years mostly minor but from missing light bulbs when the new CFL's were expensive to batteries in the door lock (not working) being replaced to TVs that did not work and stuff in between all handled well.
Lately (no room issues thankfully) GF last year people on the balcony at least 4 days I saw smoking marijuana not Vape.... A CM saw it and you can just not miss the smell and did nothing. When I was checking out on the early side I told a CM at the front who just looked at me like I had 5 heads.... I said so you know the room is empty and can be cleaned. In the past it was very much appreciated.
Many in between things....
Yes Disney does have an issue with some not all that is very unfair as well CM enforcing rules and knowing the basics of hospitality.

On the bright side every one of the USB charging ports worked and why do I need to charge everything from a phone to a power bank to water bottles that use a light to purify so yes I used them all with family.

 

[eandt]

I will say Disney is a bit lax lately....
We have had a share of room issues in the pat 21 years mostly minor but from missing light bulbs when the new CFL's were expensive to batteries in the door lock (not working) being replaced to TVs that did not work and stuff in between all handled well.
Lately (no room issues thankfully) GF last year people on the balcony at least 4 days I saw smoking marijuana not Vape.... A CM saw it and you can just not miss the smell and did nothing. When I was checking out on the early side I told a CM at the front who just looked at me like I had 5 heads.... I said so you know the room is empty and can be cleaned. In the past it was very much appreciated.
Many in between things....
Yes Disney does have an issue with some not all that is very unfair as well CM enforcing rules and knowing the basics of hospitality.

On the bright side every one of the USB charging ports worked and why do I need to charge everything from a phone to a power bank to water bottles that use a light to purify so yes I used them all with family.

When rules aren’t enforced with real ramifications, whether it be dogs or smoking weed, there are no rules … but always you must keep the mantra alive ‘They only sold you a room’

 

[Tigger's ally]

defend Disney for decaying dead animal odors in their crown jewel resorts if you must but I refuse to do so … $10’s of 1000’s to purchase and $1000’s per year in dues say this should not ever happen … indefensible

You do realize I didn't defend anything, merely pointed out where you were wrong. Nope, your fingers are in your ears like a little four year old that doesn't want to actually hear what anyone else is saying. Congrats.

 

[eandt]

You do realize I didn't defend anything, merely pointed out where you were wrong. Nope, your fingers are in your ears like a little four year old that doesn't want to actually hear what anyone else is saying. Congrats.

Aren’t you a peach buh byeeeeee

 

[Sandisw]

I think it’s time to move on.