New to this...thinking of buying in...questions...

[CindyTx]

Hello all,

Please help...I am thinking of buying in... If you can please help me with a few questions...

OK...what about towels? Housekeeping?; Pack and Play available?; what if there is a problem with the room? Is there anyone to help with reservations like concierge?; Non-smoking or smoking designated rooms?

Which site has the most expensive fees; least expensive fees? is there a published schedule of fees?

I have never done a tour...just reading all this online.

Thank you so much in advance...

Cindy

 

[lovinthemouse]

First off the only regret I have is not buying sooner. That being said, as far as housekeeping goes. We get trash and towel service on day 4, day 1 being the day you check in. Housekeeping is done on day 8. If you would like extra housekeeping it costs daily. There is a points chart for each resort. I am not real sure which one is the most expensive, but the least expensive is Old Key West. We did the tour when we were down in July. We bought on the spot. We had no pressure just good information. If you go to WDW at least everyother year it is worth it. Good Luck to you!!!

 

[jimmytammy]

I will double what lovinthemouse said....wish we would have bought sooner!

The housekeeping part seems to come up a lot. I will add that once you get used to not having the housekeeping on a regular basis, i.e, everyday, then it is really a good thing. We have found since becoming members, we go to WDW more often, therefore, we enjoy not rushing out of the room to get to the parks. So we are able to stay in, not have, mouskeeping banging on the door trying to get done.

As for problem with room, the front desk is there like always, maint. will come if repairs are needed, housekeeping will come if anything is missing. Pretty much like a stay in the regular hotels at WDW. Im not sure about concierge since we have never used it before.

Smoking preference is available but like most hotels, and we have always gotten our request. But make sure to state that on ressie when calling and if that is most important, make sure to make it your 1st request.

Fees should be listed on one of these forums for this year. But I would think more in terms of where you would want your home resort to be. That should be your #1 priority in deciding.

Good luck in your decision!

 

[RAD]

To answer your question about having a concierge available, no there is no service like that in DVC. You do get an toll free number to member services for making room reservation and PS's for dinner or air or rental car reservations.

This thread http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1011045&highlight=annual has a summary of the annual dues per point for the DVC resorts.

 

[quiltingmom4]

I agree with what the above poster said too. I wish we had gotten in sooner. Call 1-800-500-3990. That is the DVC number. They will have you talk to a guide who can send you a DVD and book with all the info. A guide is one person that you will talk to through the process. They are very low pressure and will be patient as you ask a million questions. They want you to be comfortable with your decision. Good luck in making your decision. I wished we did it sooner than we did.
There are pack-n-plays in the rooms.

Colleen

 

[crisi]

We are 1 for 2 on smoking request and 0/2 on view request. And there have been plenty of posts over the years about maintenance problems that have not been immediately or satisfactorily rectified - we haven't had that experience - and there are similar posts over on the resort board - but the complaints are there for what they are worth (some of them certainly valid, on occation I read them and want to add a post full of rolleyes).

We DO like our DVC membership, but the thing to remember is that it is a timeshare, not a hotel. As such, it runs at very high occupancy rates and, in an effort to keep our fees low, I don't feel the rooms are maintained at the same standard as Disney hotels. I find the standard acceptable, but having been told by people on this board when I bought that this was "better" than a Deluxe room, had I been counting on that, I'd be disappointed. The high occupancy rates and the fact that your made a committment can make CMs a little less eager to cater to your whims than if you are a cash guest - we find DVC CMs to be great and competent and helpful, but not the servile you find in the Grand Floridan staff. (That's also a difference in resorts - DVC resorts are friendly and homelike).

I DO miss housekeeping - though not enough to pay for it!

Fees are subject to change over time. Historically, BWVs has had the highest fees since the day it opened, and OKW has had the lowest fees. But BW has had lower increases - OKW latest increase was heftier, so the difference seems to be shrinking - albeit slowly. The rest of the resorts float in the middle. VWL and BCV have BWV-like fees (being interior "hotel" like resorts), its anticipated that SSR will continue to have more OKW like fees (being unattached to a resort hotel and having exterior access to the rooms). The difference betweem the WDW resorts in fees is around a $1 from the highest fee resort to the lowest. (Vero Beach has some very high fees due to its oceanfront location).

 

[Deb & Bill]

First off the only regret I have is not buying sooner. That being said, as far as housekeeping goes. We get trash and towel service on day 4, day 1 being the day you check in. Housekeeping is done on day 8. ...

If you stay 7 nights or fewer, you get your trash removed and fresh towels on day 4. If you stay 8 nights or more, you get a full cleaning on day 4, trash & towels on day 8, full cleaning on day 12, etc. We don't have any problems with this limited housekeeping. We make our beds every day at home, so we do it here, too. When we have guests, we let them know that no one will be cleaning their room or replacing their towels daily as with a hotel. So if they don't want to make their bed, they close the door to their room.

 

[Disney Doll]

Hello all,

Please help...I am thinking of buying in... If you can please help me with a few questions...

OK...what about towels? Housekeeping?; Pack and Play available?; what if there is a problem with the room? Is there anyone to help with reservations like concierge?; Non-smoking or smoking designated rooms?

Which site has the most expensive fees; least expensive fees? is there a published schedule of fees?

I have never done a tour...just reading all this online.

Thank you so much in advance...

Cindy

Towel sets consist of a bath towel, a hand towel and a washcloth. Each unit has a set for its maximum occupancy...for a studio & a 1BR, there are 4 sets, for a 2BR there are 8 sets, for a grand villa there are 12 sets. If you want extra towels, I think you get 4 more sets for $6.00.

Housekeeping is trash and towel on day 4 (day 1 is your check-in day), where your trash is emptied and you get the appropriate # of sets of towels based on room size(see above). On day 8 you get a full cleaning. If you want housekeeping daily, you pay extra for it based on the size of the unit, and I do not know the specific $$ amounts, but I am sure it is available somewhere.

Pack & Plays are available in each room.

If there is a problem with the room, I call Maintenance or Housekeeping, depending on what the problem is.

Guest services help with reservations, just like in a regular hotel.

There are non-smoking rooms available as well as smoking rooms. It has been my experience that they are very good about honoring your request.

OKW has the least expensive per point maintenance fees and the point costs for the different sized units are also the least. BCV, BWV, & VWL are the most expensive for per point maintenance fees and also the have the highest point costs for the units.

Good luck with your decision. It is one of the best purchases we have ever made.