RECOMMENDATIONS FOR DVC ARCHITECTS AND DESIGNERS

[akk]

I think all DVC members know that the first thing to go when trying to book at DVC are the studios. That is because the 1 bedrooms are almost twice as many points and sleep the same number of people as the studio. I think that would change if you do two things. 1. Put a queen bed and sofa bed in the bedroom instead of a king bed ( which they have done in the newer resort studios) and 2. Put a separate door in the bedroom to the hallway. This would do two things One allow you to sleep four in the bedroom and secondly not wake up those sleeping on the sofa or Murphy bed in the living room if the people who are staying in the bedroom need to go out. Make it like a one bedroom lock-out unit. This would make the one bedrooms more popular and avoid seeing all the studios scooped up at the 11 month mark. It’s too late for the current resorts but would be a good idea for any new ones.
Any other ideas?

 

[Chuck S]

But the advantages of a one bedroom over a studio are the full kitchen, living area and in room laundry. I often book a one bedroom even for solo trips. I want that king bed. thank you. If you want what would basically be 2 studios, then you should book 2 studios or a two bedroom.

 

[Marionnette]

I think all DVC members know that the first thing to go when trying to book at DVC are the studios. That is because the 1 bedrooms are almost twice as many points and sleep the same number of people as the studio. I think that would change if you do two things. 1. Put a queen bed and sofa bed in the bedroom instead of a king bed ( which they have done in the newer resort studios) and 2. Put a separate door in the bedroom to the hallway. This would do two things One allow you to sleep four in the bedroom and secondly not wake up those sleeping on the sofa or Murphy bed in the living room if the people who are staying in the bedroom need to go out. Make it like a one bedroom lock-out unit. This would make the one bedrooms more popular and avoid seeing all the studios scooped up at the 11 month mark. It’s too late for the current resorts but would be a good idea for any new ones.
Any other ideas?

They replaced studio king beds with queens and sofa beds? That's news to me.

Yeah. No to replacing king beds in 1BRs with a queen and a sofa. That's really not something that I want in what is supposed to be a bedroom. I don't want a separate door leading out of the bedroom, which means reducing the size of the bathroom in order to facilitate an egress. And one of the main reasons that we book a 1BR as a couple is because I can hear the noise from the hallway coming thru the door when staying in a studio or hotel room.

But let's assume they went with your "lock off" idea. The "bedroom" side of this lock off is basically a studio with no kitchenette. And how do you sell people on a room with a full kitchen but no real beds, which is what the other side would become when the semi-studio got booked. Not to mention that you will have effectively changed a room that would normally sleep 4 or 5 into a room that sleeps 6 or 7. And along those lines, a 2BR "ultra lock off" would then accommodate up to 10 people.

The real answer is for DVC to stop building ultra-pricey bungalows and cabins and then selling small contracts at the resort which effectively mean that those owners fight for studios because they don't have enough points for a larger villa.

And maybe DVC can let go of their misguided belief that 1BRs are in greater demand than studios (hence the original 2020 points chart) and create a truly balanced chart that makes 1BRs more attractive to owners who want the space but don't see any value in the 2X price tag.

 

[Minniesgal]

No thanks I’d be devastated to lose the king master and I certainly don’t want to share it with my kids

 

[CarolMN]

Absolutely NOT voting to put a sleep sofa & a queen bed in the Master bedroom! I love the king bed. If you want to sleep more in a unit, spring for the two bedroom. And FWIW, I strongly prefer the dedicated 1 bedroom villas over the lock off 1 bedrooms, so also boo to the idea of making another door to the hallway from the Master.

 

[Pens Fan]

Not to pile on (but I guess I am anyway) but a huge no to replacing the king bed with a queen and sofa bed. We usually book 1 BR's when it's just my husband and I as we love the kitchen and living area. We want that king bed! When our adult son comes along we book a 2 BR.

What can I say, we love our space!

 

[Chuck S]

 

[delmar411]

I also wouldn't like taking away the king bed. BUT I would like the dedicated 2bedrooms to have twin beds in the 2nd bedroom. These are designed for families and families have multiple children who don't want to sleep together. I would love to see 4 twins in the 2nd bedrooms.

And the bathrooms to be more functional. There is an insane amount of wasted space. And frankly places with a shower like at Hilton Head are ridiculous. I almost knocked myself unconscious trying to shave my legs as I'm tall, the shower head wouldn't move and without my glasses I didn't realize that I moved too close to the built in shampoo holder and crashed my head into that thing very hard.

 

[fitnessmouse]

They should have kept all studios sleep 4. Maybe with a fold down bunk and sleeper sofa like DCL style so there are 2 single beds and queen. And have the 1beds sleep 5.

 

[CarolynFH]

We want our king bed too! I think the studios should sleep 4, say with a queen bed and 2 sleeper chairs or a sleeper chair and a Murphy single (with a non-sleeper couch) and the 1 BR sleep 5 with a Murphy queen and a Murphy single in the living room (as SSR now has). Sleeping 5, in addition to the full kitchen and in-villa laundry, not to mention the extra living space, might make the 1 BR more attractive to some who base the "value" on how many people can sleep there rather than the square footage and the added functionality. A studio is just a hotel room; 1 BR and larger are actual timeshare, home away from home villas, and we bought DVC because our family had outgrown a hotel room.

 

[Heather07438]

For 1br I like the murphy bed over a pullout in the living room. I don’t like the idea of cramming the main bedroom with sleeping spaces or sacrificing the king bed. And 1br’s should never have 1 bathroom accessible only thru the bedroom. That’s just silly lol.

 

[Chuck S]

For 1br I like the murphy bed over a pullout in the living room. I don’t like the idea of cramming the main bedroom with sleeping spaces or sacrificing the king bed. And 1br’s should never have 1 bathroom accessible only thru the bedroom. That’s just silly lol.

Yes, that bathroom design only lasted through the first phase of OKW construction. Any bldg #30 or higher will have two bathroom entrances.

I do like the couch/Murphy bed thing, but with the windows at OKW they won’t fit.

 

[Marionnette]

I also wouldn't like taking away the king bed. BUT I would like the dedicated 2bedrooms to have twin beds in the 2nd bedroom. These are designed for families and families have multiple children who don't want to sleep together. I would love to see 4 twins in the 2nd bedrooms.

And the bathrooms to be more functional. There is an insane amount of wasted space. And frankly places with a shower like at Hilton Head are ridiculous. I almost knocked myself unconscious trying to shave my legs as I'm tall, the shower head wouldn't move and without my glasses I didn't realize that I moved too close to the built in shampoo holder and crashed my head into that thing very hard.

Not every family is composed of adults + young children. Lots of families are all adults or adults + teens who don't want to sleep in twin beds. I would prefer that they leave those dedicated 2BRs alone or else create a separate booking category for a 2BR kids villa in new resorts only.

 

[Marionnette]

But as long as we're making a wishlist for what we would like to see, I vote for deeper balconies with an actual table and chairs like at OKW. Some of those DVC balconies are ridiculously small.

 

[Chuck S]

Not every family is composed of adults + young children. Lots of families are all adults or adults + teens who don't want to sleep in twin beds. I would prefer that they leave those dedicated 2BRs alone or else create a separate booking category for a 2BR kids villa in new resorts only.

Remember, the more booking categories there are, the harder it will be to book a trip without having to change rooms.

 

[Marionnette]

Remember, the more booking categories there are, the harder it will be to book a trip without having to change rooms.

True. That's why I qualified it with "in New resorts only". I'm still stewing over how they added the little under-the-TV bed in BWV and gave us that craptastic table and chairs setup, removed all of those dresser drawers and gave us a useless chest of drawers. Leave the existing resorts alone and make the changes at new ones!

 

[delmar411]

Not every family is composed of adults + young children. Lots of families are all adults or adults + teens who don't want to sleep in twin beds. I would prefer that they leave those dedicated 2BRs alone or else create a separate booking category for a 2BR kids villa in new resorts only.

I'd be down for that. I'd bet a lot of families would like a 2bedroom 'family' villa.

 

[Chuck S]

True. That's why I qualified it with "in New resorts only". I'm still stewing over how they added the little under-the-TV bed in BWV and gave us that craptastic table and chairs setup, removed all of those dresser drawers and gave us a useless chest of drawers. Leave the existing resorts alone and make the changes at new ones!

Another problem with doing anything like that would also be exchanges. Do you really think RCI or II would be on board with non-standard accommodations in their exchange system? Probably not.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Keep the King in the master. No extra door.

How on earth would you fit four twins in the second bedroom, or did I misunderstand that??

 

[Travel60]

Another vote for keeping master bedroom in 1 BR as it is.
Also agree that studios should only sleep 4 and by using Murphy beds or fold out chair. I hate the sofa beds they seem to have in most resorts....cushions slide right off seat every 20 minutes.

I've never stayed at the Wilderness Lodge DVC but the hotel side used to have bunk beds for the kids. Mine loved it! A bunk or a trundle in second bedroom would add sleeping space.