OKW room reports

[mmeads4]

I just read some pretty bad room reports for OKW. I was seriously considering renting, however after reading about mold, bugs, filth, and worn out look- I expect that in a $40/night motel, not a Disney Resort. Anyone stayed in a studio recently that can give me some positives- if you had a bad experience let me know- so I can change plans before I fork out $$$.

 

[lsutigger2]

Although it wasn't a studio, we stayed in a one bedroom in bldg 55 at the beginning of February and it was in fine shape. No mold, bugs, filth, or worn out look. I think they are rehabbing some of the bldgs. I'm sure someone will chime in shortly. When were there the bldgs across from the HH were not in use. rehabbing ??

 

[ccw]

We have stayed at OKW lots of times and the cleanliness problems were not major ones...I have seen worse in a high-end hotel (and, to be honest, sometimes better in a moderate hotel!) The last time (NOV 2005) we stayed at OKW, we were in a Grand Villa and I spent about 20 minutes before my guests arrived cleaning the glass on the doors to the porch, doing a little dusting of the window sills, sweeping up a few crumbs on the edge of the rug,and calling housekeeping to replace a light bulb in a bedroom lamp. No big deal, really, but I did happen upon the housekeeping manager the last day of our stay and, when he inquired about how satisfied we were, I did talk to him frankly about the little things I thought needed improvement. We are going back in a couple of weeks...if the condition of our villa is no worse than what we had in Nov., I'll be happy. Good luck to you.

 

[gppnj]

I stayed in a studio at OKW in February. There wasn't a single thing wrong with the room. I was very happy with my room and with OKW in general.

I've also read those posts about problems with OKW rooms. These concern me. However, there are two things to remember: 1) Unfortunately, there isn't a single resort that doesn't have stories about problem rooms; this isn't just an OKW problem. 2) For every person who stays there and has a problem, there are hundreds (maybe even thousands) who have trouble-free stays. The bad stays stand out more because they're the ones we hear about.

 

[castleri]

The bad stays stand out more because they're the ones we hear about.

How true!

 

[jarestel]

You can find less than flattering room reports from any of the resorts. The good news is that "bad" rooms are not the norm. Housekeeping/maintenance does have some problems with consistency, but most of the housekeepers do a fine job.

Is it possible you will get a room with issues? Yes it is, but the chances are far greater that you will receive a room that is perfectly satisfactory. And this holds true at all of the resorts, not just one or two.

Have a great trip!

 

[MiaSRN62]

My last 4 stays at OKW dating back to 2002 have been perfect. This goes for studios to 2 bedroom villas. I'm sure there are isolated cases of poor housekeeping, but I've read reports about that in all the resorts.

 

[Pootle]

I'm at OKW at the moment and after many, many near-perfect stays, this time housekeeping did fall a little short of my expectations - but, no big deal!

When we checked into a 2 brm villa in building 38, it was easy to spot bits of debris on the carpet and a plastic tie (the sort that is on a milk/juice container) then in the master bedroom the door to the balcony was open and the curtain was resting on the back of the chair instead of hanging down. It looked like it had been cleaned in a hurry and not checked.

If this is the worst I ever get I'll consider myself lucky.

 

[OKWJan]

We have been members at OKW for 8 years, and I can honestly say we have never had a dirty room. Once in a while a few very minor things (light bulbs, etc.), but never anything that was a problem. Occasionally a little thing might have been missed by housekeeping, but that was never a big concern for us either.

OKW has always been great for us.

 

[JerJan]

Well I don't know about any of the other rooms at OKW but I do know that the studio that we had last weekend 2/24/2006 through 2/28/2006, #2525 was in pretty BAD shape. The outside light wasn't working (maintenance fixed it on our last night), white paint on the carpet between the fridge and closet (they tried to clean it but they were unsuccessful), gum on the closet floor (they tried to clean this too, unsuccessful), dust so think on the blow dryer that it probably hadn't been cleaned in at least the last 2 years (they never did get that clean), the curtains were in BAD condition (one was even SMALLER than the other and were not hanging properly), the light over the little table dimmed and brightened by itself (no kidding) and the cold water faucet on the bathroom sink was bent and just would spin around and around (if you didn't stop in just the rgiht spot the water would keep running). ALL of these issues were brought to the attention of the front desk as well as the DVC main office and "small attempts" were made at correcting them, we were not at all satisfied with this room and we were not offered a different room. We did however receive a "certificate" stating that we had been named "HOUSEKEEPING FAMILY OF THE WEEK!!" I couldn't believe it and along with this lovely certificate....3 helium filled balloons one of which was a "JACK-O-LANTERN" (at the end of February)....I mean really .......Oh yeah, they did vaccuum too!I will say however that the resort overall is very nice and laid back but unless they pay some SERIOUS attention to the rooms you will never see us use our points there again!

 

[MiaSRN62]

will say however that the resort overall is very nice and laid back but unless they pay some SERIOUS attention to the rooms you will never see us use our points there again!

Sorry for your experience JerJan. But I think this is pretty much the exception, not the rule at OKW (as far as cleanliness/maintenance issues). Honestly, I've read reports very similar to yours in regards to problems at ALL the DVC resorts (with SSR being the exception). I've read some negative reports at that resort as well, but not in regards to housekeeping or maintenance.
But on these boards, I've read TR's about negative experiences at OKW, BCV, BWV and VWL. Cases of dirty rooms, broken cabinets, food remnants under bed, in cabinets, mold, bed bugs etc. I don't think ANY resort is without it's problems.
Hoping your next trip will be a better one

 

[Alexander]

We have had three villas in three buildings (27, 52, and 44) in completely different locations at OKW in the past 2 years. There was absolutely not a thing that made us unhappy with how our villa looked or functioned. Believe me I am very picky when it comes to unclean hotel rooms, and given the negative reports that have been showing up here lately, I was looking HARD for something to be out of place at OKW last week.

Some people just like to complain loudly when something isn't absolutely perfect. They feel like they have spent way too much money to not be treated like royalty. You will find more negative comments than postiive ones because misery likes company.

You can also take the negative posts with a grain of salt...Run a search on other posts disboard members have made and see if their negativity runs outside of one particular stay (ie: have the complained before about a villa at another resort, have they even moved resorts because they didn't like a room, are they making mountains out of mole hills) or if their complaints may be truly legit. You can usually tell based on a person's history of posts.

 

[byoung]

Stayed in a studio 1435 in Dec, and a studio 1431 in Feb/ March both rooms where in excellent shape. They where painting the outside of building 14 Last week.

 

[JerJan]

We have had three villas in three buildings (27, 52, and 44) in completely different locations at OKW in the past 2 years. There was absolutely not a thing that made us unhappy with how our villa looked or functioned. Believe me I am very picky when it comes to unclean hotel rooms, and given the negative reports that have been showing up here lately, I was looking HARD for something to be out of place at OKW last week.

Some people just like to complain loudly when something isn't absolutely perfect. They feel like they have spent way too much money to not be treated like royalty. You will find more negative comments than postiive ones because misery likes company.

You can also take the negative posts with a grain of salt...Run a search on other posts disboard members have made and see if their negativity runs outside of one particular stay (ie: have the complained before about a villa at another resort, have they even moved resorts because they didn't like a room, are they making mountains out of mole hills) or if their complaints may be truly legit. You can usually tell based on a person's history of posts.

I don't think that "I SHOULD BE TREATED LIKE ROYALTY"...I suppose that some people have a lower standard of living than others and find that gum on the floor, paint on the floor, etc.........as acceptable things to live with. Boy wouldn't I love to see the inside of the home of a person with such low standards!

And yes, if your referring to the "SHREDDED FLAG" post at OKW that was mine it happened to be the same trip.

MMeads4 wrote:

I just read some pretty bad room reports for OKW. I was seriously considering renting, however after reading about mold, bugs, filth, and worn out look- I expect that in a $40/night motel, not a Disney Resort. Anyone stayed in a studio recently that can give me some positives- if you had a bad experience let me know- so I can change plans before I fork out $$.

FYI....my response about the bad room was in response to the original posters question?

 

[mmeads4]

I appreciate all the comments. I don't expect anything to be perfect, but I do expect the obvious to be taken care of before your guest arrives. My mom always said when referring to cleaning, "Before you exit a room, look back and it should be in better shape than when you entered it".
Rules to live by!

 

[chatchdvc]

We stayed at OKW just last month, 2/19-2/24/06, and there was absolutely nothing wrong with our two bedroom. It was not "new-looking" but it was clean and everything in it worked as it should.
That was our second stay at OKW, we were there last April.
I had reserved a two bedroom for myself, DM, DS, DD, and a DCousin, and a studio for my brother and his fam, no complaints then either.
In fact, DD and I are going to BCV in June, and we're a little worried about the smaller room size there. (Although SAB should more than make up for that!)
Chris

 

[magicmama]

I've had no problems with my stays at OKW. Nothing to complain about. And I've stayed at BCV. Great rooms there, too.
Welcome to the magic! Enjoy your stay!

 

[chatchdvc]

Thank you very much!

 

[Tigger7570]

We've been going to OKW for a very long time and fortunately have had very few problems. JerJen I'm sorry to hear you had such a bad experience, but I am glad that you brought all of these things to their attention. I would also suggest that you send them a letter, pretty much stating what you did in your post because DVC in my experience has always been excellent about responding. In the past, whenever I felt the need to write, they have always responded promptly and courteously (I have had a few occasions to write, but they did not involve housekeeping problems). I for one, will not accept OKW being allowed not to maintain high standards and I hope everyone who comes across these kinds of housekeeping problems will voice them loudly so that they will be corrected. Again, although our problems have always been minor over the years, I have not ignored them, but in fact called and had them corrected. I love our home away from home and I want it to continue to maintain those high standards.

 

[dianeschlicht]

We are at OKW right now in one of the oldest buildings (#14), and while we did haved to call down because our phones didn't work when we first got here, the room was in pretty good shape, and even appeared to have been freshly painted inside. I don't say this because there was any remnants of paint, but because it smelled a bit like fresh paint inside, and looke very clean. I did have one small housekeeping issue, and even after I called about it, the housekeeper didn't seem to understand what was needed, because when we returned, the whole bathroom had the soaps replaced, when in fact all I wanted was for them to reclean the shower. The reason was because they had left the former resident's old dirty soap in the shower soap dish. I figured I wasn't going to get this point accross unless I was there, so instead of waiting around for housekeeping, I just recleaned the shower myself. I do have to admit that the kitchen and bath floors were not as clean as they should have been. I suspect they give them a run with the vacuumn, but don't really wash them. I washed the kitchen floor myself, because I spilled some juice, and when I saw what came up from the spot I cleaned, I decided to wash the whole thing. The bathtub was in great shape though, and even running the dishwasher soap in it, got nothing but clear water coming from the jets. I haven't even used it yet, so maybe it will just be cleaner for the next occupants!

I report this stuff, not because I thought the room was poorly prepared, but to show how it can be handled if you find something not up to YOUR specifications. In no way do I think our room was any less clean than the PORS rooms we were in earlier in the trip. In fact, I found the floors there to be MUCH worse than at OKW.