Portofino Bay experience from 1st time visitor and room cleanliness standards

[georgina]

Oh man, all these reports of unclean rooms are making me a bit nervous. I once stayed in a disgusting hotel that still managed to charge $400 a night because of its location, it was worse than the worst $99 Motel I ever stayed in. I hope that they get their staffing issues sorted soon.

It seems hit or miss. My room there Sunday night was in very good condition - clean, nothing falling apart. I believe generally you hear more reports from people who have had issues than the ones who didn't have any...

 

[tony67]

It seems hit or miss. My room there Sunday night was in very good condition - clean, nothing falling apart. I believe generally you hear more reports from people who have had issues than the ones who didn't have any...

Yeah - overall my stay was positive and I would be fine going back to PB

 

[386chad]

It seems hit or miss. My room there Sunday night was in very good condition - clean, nothing falling apart. I believe generally you hear more reports from people who have had issues than the ones who didn't have any...

This is true for sure. In our 20 years of going to WDW, I complained to the front desk once, and that was over them leaving our A/C out for almost all day.

If everything is going good or as expected, there's no need to get on the forums to seek advice. So I agree the forums will have a negative bias.

Another thing I didn't mention was that the toilet needs a new flapper valve. It's one of those deals where it gradually leaks and then refills itself every 30 minutes or so. The problem with that is the plumbing is super loud, so it'll wake you up during the night. Luckily, we figured out the 1st night to close both heavy doors leading into the toilet, it completely blocks off the sound.

This resort feels neglected to me, but maybe it was a one-off, or bad luck. It does not appear to hold itself to the same standards as Disney.

I did speak to an on duty manager, and he was very professional; I was impressed. He owned up to the issues, didn't blame COVID, like I half expected based on how other companies have been deflecting blame lately. He also offered a few mitigative things, but I declined, saying I simply want the hotel to do better, so the family will want to come back again.

We've been here 8 days, head back home tomorrow. Let me know if you all have any other questions.

 

[Ladyfish77]

We stayed at Cabana Bay recently. We were supposed to get "light housekeeping" every other day. We were there 7 nights and had the service only once. After that (on the 3rd day after check in) we had to request towels and my son did the trash runs since we don't think it's ok to leave bags of trash in the hall. Not sure if it's a shortage of employees for housekeeping or if they've become too relaxed with the "light" housekeeping. If they are not social distancing in the parks or the resorts or citywalk, why aren't they back to full housekeeping?

 

[386chad]

We stayed at Cabana Bay recently. We were supposed to get "light housekeeping" every other day. We were there 7 nights and had the service only once. After that (on the 3rd day after check in) we had to request towels and my son did the trash runs since we don't think it's ok to leave bags of trash in the hall. Not sure if it's a shortage of employees for housekeeping or if they've become too relaxed with the "light" housekeeping. If they are not social distancing in the parks or the resorts or citywalk, why aren't they back to full housekeeping?

Agree 100%. It seems to me, to use a Jurassic park quote, they are 'testing the fences.'

What will guests put up with while paying the theme park 'proximity premium?' Perhaps the executives are seeing COVID and the resulting hyperinflation as an opportunity to recalibrate pricing and perceived value.

Keep current pricing or increase it while decreasing service, maintenance, attention to detail. I think any executive looking at it this way is making a big mistake and will ultimately erode customer loyalty. You know how it is with these guys though, how high can we get the stock to close at the end of the quarter is all they care about. With the pent up demand for travel and fun, theme parks are going to rake it in right now regardless of how poor their service or attention to detail is.

The other funny thing to me is it feels like the industry as a whole is trying to make up for pandemic losses. It's a fairly ridiculous and irrational logic path to me.

 

[cfoxga]

Keep current pricing or increase it while decreasing service, maintenance, attention to detail. I think any executive looking at it this way is making a big mistake and will ultimately erode customer loyalty. You know how it is with these guys though, how high can we get the stock to close at the end of the quarter is all they care about.

It is their job to think about expenses like this. In the end, "customer loyalty" is measured in dollars. As long as the numbers are good, expect costs to go up and service to go down. Disney has taken a lot of heat lately over this lately, and my guess is Universal will probably head in the same direction.

 

[tony67]

The other funny thing to me is it feels like the industry as a whole is trying to make up for pandemic losses. It's a fairly ridiculous and irrational logic path to me.

Sure seems like it - and any time you question anything the answer is COVID and its to protect you by limiting exposure of cleaning folks to your room etc...

 

[CaptainAmerica]

We stayed at Cabana Bay recently. We were supposed to get "light housekeeping" every other day. We were there 7 nights and had the service only once. After that (on the 3rd day after check in) we had to request towels and my son did the trash runs since we don't think it's ok to leave bags of trash in the hall. Not sure if it's a shortage of employees for housekeeping or if they've become too relaxed with the "light" housekeeping. If they are not social distancing in the parks or the resorts or citywalk, why aren't they back to full housekeeping?

Staffing. There are not enough housekeepers (or people willing to become housekeepers) in Central Florida right now. (Legal) immigration from Haiti and Central America is a gigantic labor pipeline for the hospitality industry, and it's completely shut down right now.

Agree 100%. It seems to me, to use a Jurassic park quote, they are 'testing the fences.'

What will guests put up with while paying the theme park 'proximity premium?' Perhaps the executives are seeing COVID and the resulting hyperinflation as an opportunity to recalibrate pricing and perceived value.

Keep current pricing or increase it while decreasing service, maintenance, attention to detail. I think any executive looking at it this way is making a big mistake and will ultimately erode customer loyalty. You know how it is with these guys though, how high can we get the stock to close at the end of the quarter is all they care about. With the pent up demand for travel and fun, theme parks are going to rake it in right now regardless of how poor their service or attention to detail is.

The other funny thing to me is it feels like the industry as a whole is trying to make up for pandemic losses. It's a fairly ridiculous and irrational logic path to me.

No, this is not correct. There may be some areas where companies are using COVID as an excuse to cut costs, but Housekeeping is not one of them. They're increasing wages and offering incentives across the board, desperate to hire housekeeping staff, and they just can't get the bodies.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Sure seems like it - and any time you question anything the answer is COVID and its to protect you by limiting exposure of cleaning folks to your room etc...

Absolutely, that part is definitely a lie.

It's true that it's "because of COVID," but it's not true that it's for "health and safety" reasons.

 

[Lewisc]

I stayed at PBH last month . Room had no issues. Light housekeeping every day. Sounds like its too much hit and miss

 

[Pooh's World]

Agree 100%. It seems to me, to use a Jurassic park quote, they are 'testing the fences.'

What will guests put up with while paying the theme park 'proximity premium?' Perhaps the executives are seeing COVID and the resulting hyperinflation as an opportunity to recalibrate pricing and perceived value.

Keep current pricing or increase it while decreasing service, maintenance, attention to detail. I think any executive looking at it this way is making a big mistake and will ultimately erode customer loyalty. You know how it is with these guys though, how high can we get the stock to close at the end of the quarter is all they care about. With the pent up demand for travel and fun, theme parks are going to rake it in right now regardless of how poor their service or attention to detail is.

The other funny thing to me is it feels like the industry as a whole is trying to make up for pandemic losses. It's a fairly ridiculous and irrational logic path to me.

It's all true. Inflation is running out of control and the supply chain is wrecked thanks to all the shutting down of the economy. I went to Wendy's the other day and the chicken biscuit, the chicken part was half the size that it was a couple months ago.

 

[Pooh's World]

Sure seems like it - and any time you question anything the answer is COVID and its to protect you by limiting exposure of cleaning folks to your room etc...

Well it's like (back in the Pre Covid days) the we are not going to change towels every day to "help the environment". No that's not why you are doing it, you are doing it to save money.

 

[tony67]

Well it's like (back in the Pre Covid days) the we are not going to change towels every day to "help the environment". No that's not why you are doing it, you are doing it to save money.

Yeah - but with that at least they gave you a discount - at least Marriott did - now you have no choice

 

[tony67]

She said, "I like to be honest with everyone, you've booked a bay view room, but where they've got you it's just going to be trees. You'll be much better off in one of our deluxe room where you'll have a patio." and "

so just to comment on this again -"Bay View room overlooks the hotel’s scenic Portofino Bay and picturesque harbor piazza. " and "Every morning you can look out your window and watch the sun glittering off the sparkling water and the fleet of colorful fishing boats. " so there in zero chance I can see of this being mostly trees - there are not many trees at all in that area - and the handful of them are quite small - so I think she gave you really bad info if you booked a bay view

 

[mom2rtk]

We're on our first trip to UOR, currently half way through our stay.

I had booked 2 standard rooms, with the request they be connecting, several months ago.

Upon check-in, the agent saw the request for the connecting rooms and said the only way for to guarantee that would be for me to upgrade to the deluxe 'villa' category. The plan was for my wife and I to have some quiet time while our teenage girls would have their own room.

She said, "let me see if I can make some magic happen."

Well, she made some magic happen to the tune of around $1094 extra for our 8 nights here. I agreed since it was a bit of a hard sell on her part, and wanted to have the girls close by. I asked a few pointed questions that indicated I did not want to pay any more than I already had. She said, "I like to be honest with everyone, you've booked a bay view room, but where they've got you it's just going to be trees. You'll be much better off in one of our deluxe room where you'll have a patio."

So, upon getting into the rooms, my oldest found a pill on the floor next to one of the queen beds in their room. My wife found a used towel under the sinks in our room, and their was a hair ball in the separate toilet section in the corner.

Being our 1st stay, we didn't know what to expect and was wanting some feedback from you guys. I talked to a couple on the boat to CityWalk and asked how they liked PBH. They said everyone has been very nice, even though they had some issues with their room. The issue was their room was dirty upon check-in.

The goal was to stay at a resort equivalent to something like a DVC villa over at WDW. I'm not sure that this hotel is that.

What do you guys think about the check-in upgrade 'pitch'? Ever had any cleanliness issues at PBH?

Umm, that's not magic. That's a transaction.

Sounds to me like the CMs had some sort of incentive to get people to upgrade. What you describe sounds more like something you'd experience at a car lot. If I booked a bay view room and it was mostly trees, I'd be back down to ask them to remedy that. Without paying $1K extra.

 

[DizneyFamof4]

In the past year, we have been to both WDW and US and found that the rooms at both were not up to the normal cleanliness. I will say that the Surfside room that we just got back from was cleaner than the BWV studio we stayed at. Not to mention it's bigger and has 2 bedrooms with 3 beds and a WHOLE LOT cheaper.
No way would I have paid for the upgrade. I'm nice until it's time not to be nice and a pushy sale is that time.

 

[keishashadow]

She said, "let me see if I can make some magic happen."

define magic lol. Wonder if they are now on some sort of commission/point system if they manage to upsell a guest.

I listened to her pitch, then very nicely and politely declined. She tried a couple more times, but when I said the rate I was paying was as high as I wanted to go, she did accept my refusal graciously. But still...strange. Never experienced that before.

rather odd that the TM kept going once you “very nicely and politely declined”. Coming from a sales background, would think she should’ve pulled the plug on the hard sell then.

I did speak to an on duty manager, and he was very professional; I was impressed. He owned up to the issues, didn't blame COVID, like I half expected based on how other companies have been deflecting blame lately. He also offered a few mitigative things, but I declined, saying I simply want the hotel to do better, so the family will want to come back again.

The room with pill On floor was a safety issue. I’d like to think they did a deep clean of the room, without being asked, upon finding out the situation.

yes, kudos to not blaming a dirty room on the plague. Far too common of an excuse for everything now.

very surprised you weren’t extended some sort of token resort credit.

that said, PBH is one of our favorite onsite properties. Their attention to detail was alway on point for us. Sorry to read the stay didn’t live up to your expectations.

 

[tony67]

define magic lol. Wonder if they are now on some sort of commission/point system if they manage to upsell a guest.

Yeah this line sort of bugs me - usually when they say something like that they get you an free upgrade or a deal - not pick my pocket
And the trees comments for a bay view bug me as well

 

[keishashadow]

Yeah this line sort of bugs me - usually when they say something like that they get you an free upgrade or a deal - not pick my pocket
And the trees comments for a bay view bug me as well

Was just there in July. Booked a standard, was told we were ‘upgraded’ to pool view. Um, if you count seeing the outline of the fence up the hill to the quiet pool, maybe lol?

I’ve been trying to imagine exactly where said trees would be located, tall enough to block a room’s view, are located TBH.

 

[tony67]

I just checked my photos and unless you all the way to the right near the walking path - there are very few trees - but there are a couple that might block one room on the lower floor