Okw rm 3014

[zendisney]

We are DVC members...
I have to say that we were looking forward to our first OKW stay.
Our room was very disappointing.
It was not up to DVC quality or standards.
The room was "available" for us when we got there but when we arrived mousekeeping was in our room trying to fix a slow drain in the kitchenette area. After about thirty minutes it was done. Do not get me wrong. I am very happy that the sink was being repaired. Bit the room wasn't ready as stated at check in. We would have been fine waiting... we were preared to wait.
Upon inspection of our room we realized there were missing essential items...in kitchen.
The coffee mugs were dirty.
The walls had several places that were in need of repair. The paint was flaking.
We assume that the rooms are being overhauled at some point because there was blue tape with numbers and symbols all over our building.
The carpet was clean but ripped in several places.
This may sound like a rant but I have to say we were surprised at the substandard conditions. I think it is sad that our room at POP CentUry was in much better shape and cleaner than our room at OKW.
It was a beautiful resort and I get the appeal of the resort however I was disgusted and surprised with the condition of our room.
Were my standards to high? I do not think so because the spirit of DVC is quality, comfort, and what I thought was a step above value resorts.

 

[Chuck S]

OKW is scheduled for a major rehab in Spring 2010. The exterior prep work seems to have already started, given you encountered the blue tape. Unfortunately, at all resorts, yo will occasionally get room nearing the end of its useful life cycle. This is true at DVC as well as the cash Disney Resorts. The Contemporary Garden wings were in pretty sad shape before South Wing was redone and North Wing was demolished for BLT.

 

[Debbie H]

It seems as if OKW is always ready for a rehab. It really is a shame that people don't take better care of it. I've heard people over the years say they don't care, they paid for it....sad. Also I think because of the point structure, more people stay at OKW. I wish they would bring back the rule that every other stay has to be at your home resort. Then maybe OKW people can get in when they want and the damage won't be as great.

 

[dianeschlicht]

It seems as if OKW is always ready for a rehab. It really is a shame that people don't take better care of it. I've heard people over the years say they don't care, they paid for it....sad. Also I think because of the point structure, more people stay at OKW. I wish they would bring back the rule that every other stay has to be at your home resort. Then maybe OKW people can get in when they want and the damage won't be as great.

I fail to follow your point there. What difference does it make if it's OKW owners or BWV owners? I certainly don't treat the resorts I don't own any differently than I treat those I do.

Maybe it's the over use of the studios that's the issue. We don't use them, and when we need a 2 bedroom, we always book a dedicated, and we have not had the issues many complain of here. We just spent a week in one of the oldest OKW buildings (14) in a 1 bedroom, and it was in immaculate condition.

 

[Sammie]

I agree with Diane I don't think home resort plays into the problem. I think more people are just destructive and not caring and I think more members are that way now that in the past.

I mean look at the current issue of Disney Files, you have a Disney photo of the new villas at Grand Cal. and they photo a child in his shoes standing on the bed.

So if Disney thinks that is acceptable behavior what can they expect of the guests.

 

[Tony-NJ]

I don't think your standards are too high. As for the room being ready - I would have just left my things and asked someone to call me when they were done. When they did leave - were the mugs cleaned / ran thru the dishwasher?

We had a one bedroom in building 35 a couple of weeks ago and it was in great shape. Did you speak with mgmt about the shape of the room?

 

[tjkraz]

A few comments:

Regarding the drain being unplugged, that task would be performed by resort maintenance which is a separate department from Housekeeping. Once Housekeeping designates the room as having been serviced, it is released to the front desk who can assign a guest. Maintenance works more independently and isn't involved in that chain of communications. Unless you wanted the issue resolved immediately, you could have asked the maintenance worker to return at a more convenient time. Just something to keep in mind in the future.

As for the missing items in the kitchen, that does happen from time-to-time. Call housekeeping and they will bring replacements promptly. This one is sort of a Catch-22. If housekeeping were required to do a full inventory of the unit during each cleaning it would impact all members. Room servicing times would increase and they may even have to add extra staff. On average we would all be getting into our villas later and dues may even increase if staff levels must be raised to account for the extra work.

Regarding the general room condition, as others stated OKW is due for a refurb very soon. That said, I do think that DVC rooms tend to be a bit more worn than those in the cash resorts. The reasons are numerous: lack of daily housekeeping, much higher occupancy level at DVC resorts, the fact that member dues pay for maintenance and refurbishments, and the sense of entitlement among some owners (mindset of "I paid $_____ to be a DVC member and I'll do whatever the heck I want to do!")

The maintenance problem is most lacking of a clear-cut solution. It's easy (convenient) to cast the blame on Disney for not better maintaining the rooms. But if they are investing money in the DVC rooms at a similar rate as cash resorts, then we may have only ourselves (or more accurately, our fellow members) to blame. And the only practical solution is to increase member dues to pay for more frequent renovations. I guarantee member opinions would be dramatically divided on that issue.

In nearly a decade of DVC trips we've only had one room that I was truly disappointed in. That was a recent stay at BWV in a non-renovated room, and we ended up moving for reasons not directly related to the room condition. I do think most rooms are well-maintained but not necessarily "like-new."

 

[dianeschlicht]

Tim, I agree with your general assessment. We usually find a thing or two in EVERY DVC room that isn't perfect, but I can certainly say we have never had one so run down we didn't think it was inhabitable.

 

[zendisney]

I am a person who believes in karma... I treat a space like it were my own and I don't have an entitlement issue. We invested in DVC because we enjoy the Disney brand; the parks, resorts, shopping, and entertainment.
I do not expect perfection in the DVC resorts/rooms. I have to say it was surprising to find the room at OKW in the condition we found it. I realize it is being refurbished soon. We were surprised and disappointed. Nuff' said.