Report on 10 day stay at Beach Club Villas

[ParrotBill]

First I will say - my wife and I considered the Beach Club our favorite resort until we decided to go into DVC and learned to love the Boardwalk instead... so we made our first stay at BCV last week.

We should have been pushier about asking what room we were assigned and if our request (woods view) had been possible. We got stuck at the far end of the wing near the parking lot, 3 doors from the end on the third floor, overlooking the swampy lake thing.

The distance is brutal. At least if you end up at the far end of Beach Club rooms you are close to the EPCOT walk. It was a quarter mile walk to Stormalong Bay. We got the refillable mugs but did not want to walk the distance to refill them very often... arriving back after a hot day... annoying.

The rooms are a little smaller than the boardwalk... seems they get smaller each resort ... the construction of the place just seemed lower quality than the other DVC resorts. Much higher levels of noise from plumbing all around us, people in halls - not just our hall but walking the hall onthe 4th floor above us too. Could hear neighbors once in a while. Could hear way too much noise from people walking the sidewalk below us (many people because that's the way to walk to the bus and parking lot) and also a lot of noise from the pool... (side rant: why do people think it's ok for kids to be noisy at a pool after 10pm?)

Our freezer could not freeze bottles of water or make ice cream more than slush... so we wasted some food and could not take cold bottles of water with us as much as we wanted to. We reported it but nothing happened.

The view would not have been so bad except that the noise level was annoying. But with a couple hundred rooms facing the woods, and we arrived at 3pm, you would think...

Housekeeping surprised us with only a trash and towel on our 8th day rather than a full cleaning... and no sheet change. And they left our trash bagged outside our room that day. (side rant: I take my trash and recyclables and pool towels away myself like you are supposed to... saw others leave their trash out and heaps of towels in the hall to get them taken away by housekeeping. )

So it was our least fulfilling DVC stay so far. Oh well. We did not let it interfere with our vacation. We had a shorter walk to the bus stop at least, and Cape May did not disapoint.

 

[ParrotBill]

I forgot to mention - more evidence of cheap construction - the pool in villas area is only 5 years old but is falling apart. Tiles cracking and breaking off, shifts in the base causing big cracks and I would say they will have to rebuild it much earlier than it should need to be.

 

[canwegosoon]

Parrotbill...sorry you had a bad stay at BCV(I did too my last trip), but at least you own at BWV . Sounds like there are a lot of maintenance issues...hopefully they will get on those. I know when I was there in March- I was disgusted at the condition of the carpets(and then I just lost it with bellservices).
I am sorry that after putting in requests you still didn't get what you want-
Well at least you are armed with information and experience for next time-I would never give up on a resort after one experience...but good luck in the future with your reservations..

 

[ttepsich]

ParrotBill
Sorry your stay was less than satisfactory. Were you in a studio? Whatever the room, what was the number? We are going to BCV in November and want to be prepared (?) I know you can't make specific room requests, but I like to gather as much info as I possibly can.
thanks,
Tina

 

[jade1]

Bummer-going next week and will check some of this out also.

Seems like some of your comparisons are to the BWV only-is that what you where after? Such as the walk to SAB (certainly not as far as SSR/OKW) as well as the mug refills-although some of the BWV rooms have to be at least as far away also.

Hopefully reporting the freezer will help the next guest-easy fix.

Crossing our fingers.

 

[rocketriter]

I agree with you about the poor condition of the rugs. We did notice that the gray areas appear in front of ice maker and cast member doors, so they're not caused by dirty guests. The rugs are just old and the light colors didn't wear very well. As a DVC owner, I'm willing to pay my share of dues to have them replaced.

 

[ParrotBill]

We were in a one bedroom, 374. We have stayed often at BWV all over, before they had mugs... twice at the far end there even... and at OKW many times, where mugs are senseless! Also been to WLV once.

Like BWV, if you get a room at the far end you are at least closer to the bus stop.

Getting to the main pool was much further than any other DVC resort.. factoring in that you must take a bus at OKW that's still a shorter walk!

Oh well like you said we'll just be... which is it... smarter, or pushier... about not being given a room at the far end any more. After 14 years I guess I should be a little more demanding.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Day 8 is trash and towels. Full cleaning is day 4.

Did you report the problems with the refrigerator and freezer to maintenance? I know when we found a problem at BCV, they were there in minutes to fix it. Same at SSR.

Boy, if you think the distance at BCV is brutal, you need to stay in one of the end rooms at BWV. You need to drop bread crumbs when you leave in the AM to find your way back in the evening.

We always get a pool view at BCV and have never had problems with noise from people walking from the parking lot or to the main building. I guess you were just lucky.

Next time, if there is too much noise at the pool after 10PM, call security and ask them to check it out.

 

[Beca]

I am also sorry you had a bad trip. Personally, I have never had a "bad" location at BCV, but I guess it is how you vacation. We usually have a car, so if we get a room at the end of the hall, we always think, "Oh well, now we're really close to the car!" We also like being over the "swamp thing"...lots of turtles for my dd to feed every morning.

I also have to agree with Deb&Bill....BCV is SOO small, the hallways really are nothing compared to the halls at BWV! That seems like a really "odd" and, not factual statement.

And, there are not actually "a couple hundred rooms facing the woods". There are only 208 units in TOTAL at BCV. If half of them face the woods, that is about 100 units. How many of those units were your size, met your other requests, and were available on your check-in day is anyone's guess. My guess is there were not that many to choose from....there really aren't that many rooms at BCV (remember, it is about 60% of the size of the BWV).

As far as the refrigerator....I am really sorry (and surprised) to hear that. We also had a problem with our refrigerator in December (the full-size, 1bdrm one). It seems that when mousekeeping bleaches them out in-between each guest, they often leave them open too long and the motors burn out. The engineer we spoke to seemed really upset about this phenomenon, and was making a note of every refrigerator complaint she got. Our freezer was working okay, but our fridge was not cooling. I called and explained that we had just spent $300 on groceries at Walmart, and was concerned that many of them would be going bad. Engineering arrived in our unit within 15 minutes. She looked at our fridge and said, "We're just going to replace your fridge with a brand new one". I told her that we had a ADR (then PS) at the 1900 PF, and could not wait for the new fridge. She said, "No problem. We will move all your groceries for you. Go and enjoy your dinner." She was bringing up the new fridge as we were walking out of the room. When we came back, our new fridge was working great, and all of our groceries (even some we HADN'T had in the fridge (i.e. 24 little water bottles)) were neatly arranged in our fridge. It was not so great that our fridge wasn't working, but the replacement service could not have been better!

The carpet is indeed a problem. But, DVC members are not the only ones upset about this. The GM of the BC/YC is really upset as well. He said they went with "yellow, sand tones" to add to the beachiness of the resort, but neither he, nor anyone else involved in the decision making process knew how badly the carpets would wear. They are supposed to be replacing them soon.

But, I guess the good news is...you are lucky...you didn't buy at BCV, and love the BWV more!! That means more standard and BW views, and guaranteed rooms at your "home" resort. That's what makes DVC great....you don't have to stay at resorts that you are displeased with.



Beca

 

[jakenjess]

Day 8 is trash and towels. Full cleaning is day 4.

I thought it was the other way around. Am I confused about this?

 

[dianeschlicht]

I thought it was the other way around. Am I confused about this?

Yep, full cleaning is day 4 and trash and towel day 8.

 

[Boardwalk Tigger]

Oh come on the walk from the BC villas is not that long I agree with other poster that the walk in the Boardwalk villas can be much longer. Besides it is much shorter than going to a water park

 

[DisDaydreamer]

We own at BWV and have stayed at most all the DVC resorts. Last year was our first time at BCV. It turned out not to be our cup of tea. Indeed the walk for us (don't remember room #) was a bit surprising. There didn't seem to be any shortcuts or easy exits, just LONG hallways. The pool we thought was the best pool of all the resorts, REALLY cool. We did notice a little more wear in the hallways than you might expect. We concluded that BCV was more geared to young families and probably had many more little feet in the hallways than most other resorts. It was noisier for us not because of the plumbing or equipment, but just the higher level of activity and younger children. We still enjoyed ourselves greatly and were glad we experienced the resort. Our children are young adults now and it is not likely we will go back to BCV.

 

[crisi]

I don't find mugs to be worth the effort at most Disney resorts (DVC or not) - if you will be by the pool a lot where they usually refill them - maybe. Our room at AKL was so far from Mara that you needed to pack hydration to get there - an empty mug would have done you no good. We got luckier at WL, but my parents got unlucky there and the mug trek was approximately the equivalent of hiking across Lichtenstein.

With DVC its just too easy to have pop and coffee in the room. And now with the fridges in most resorts, not much need for it there either.

And distances - anyone else notice that the stroll into Epcot on a nice Spring day is a pleasant jaunt of a few hundred yards - and in July becomes a Death March of miles.....

 

[Beca]

We got luckier at WL, but my parents got unlucky there and the mug trek was approximately the equivalent of hiking across Lichtenstein.

We also stayed at VWL once...our room was at the very end (not that the place is so HUGE...but, it was just funny). Then my mom stayed there, they got the ONE studio without a balcony!!

I figure that if DVC "throws in" the dumpster view on our next visit....we will have seen it all!!!



Beca

 

[gppnj]

What bad luck!

Maybe if you don't get any of those, you can at least get one where a flock of birds has pooped all over the balcony.

We also stayed at VWL once...our room was at the very end (not that the place is so HUGE...but, it was just funny). Then my mom stayed there, they got the ONE studio without a balcony!!

I figure that if DVC "throws in" the dumpster view on our next visit....we will have seen it all!!!



Beca

 

[ParrotBill]

Day 8 is trash and towels. Full cleaning is day 4.

Did you report the problems with the refrigerator and freezer to maintenance? I know when we found a problem at BCV, they were there in minutes to fix it. Same at SSR.

Boy, if you think the distance at BCV is brutal, you need to stay in one of the end rooms at BWV. You need to drop bread crumbs when you leave in the AM to find your way back in the evening.

We always get a pool view at BCV and have never had problems with noise from people walking from the parking lot or to the main building. I guess you were just lucky.

Next time, if there is too much noise at the pool after 10PM, call security and ask them to check it out.

Well, I stand corrected on the 4 day/8 day thing. I could swear it was the other way round in prior stays.

I have stayed at the end of BWV, the distance from the lobby is comparable. But we did not have a 6 year old then...

I did report the freezer, could not see that they did anything, it did not get better. I think they came by, saw that the ice was frozen, and left. I told them it took 3 days to get that way, but...

The noise from people walking is mostly for people near the end as they all enter the building at the door near the pool. it might have been the same few families who tended to shout back and forth for all I know.

And as for noise at the pool after 10pm -- there's no getting away from that except to ask for rooms that do not face the pool, which is what I try to do. i think it's rude to allow your kids to shout anywhere after 10pm, but the WDW pools are all active until midnight. I remember when the out pools B&Y were called "quiet pools"... but that was quickly given up when Stormalong Bay started closing at 6pm.

 

[SoCalKDG]

The distance is brutal. At least if you end up at the far end of Beach Club rooms you are close to the EPCOT walk. It was a quarter mile walk to Stormalong Bay. We got the refillable mugs but did not want to walk the distance to refill them very often... arriving back after a hot day... annoying.

We stayed at the end of the hall at BWV's and it was a 3 minute walk and approx. 1/10 of a mile. The distance from SAB to the end of the Beach Club hallways is approx. the same distance while the store with the refillable mugs station is slightly less distance. Either way we are talking about 3-4 minutes of walking max.

Now you called maintanence regarding your freezer and they never showed up? Did you call management and complain? I sure would have.

I completely agree with you about the screaming kids, unfortunately we are still working on our 4 year old daughter regarding this.

 

[CarnotaurDad]

I had no idea there was a Studio at VWL that does not have a balcony. Why would they do that? Oh well.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I had no idea there was a Studio at VWL that does not have a balcony. Why would they do that? Oh well.

It's how the roof is peaked at that location if I remember correctly. They couldn't physically put the balcony on the building.