The Rivers' Rats
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Nov 9, 2008
- Messages
- 166
I don't know what I should expect from the WDW resorts, as I have only been there once prior to my most recent visit, however I have never had an issue at any of the three Disney hotels at the Disneyland Resort. Whether at the Disneyland Hotel or the Grand Californian, I experienced service and accomodations which met (and often surpassed) all of my expectations.
Prior to joining DVC, my stays at these hotels were more of a luxury than the norm. Those of you who have been to Disneyland know that there are hundreds of hotels within a short distance from the resort (in fact there are a dozen moderate to low cost hotels that have a shorter walk to the parks than Disneyland Hotel and Paradise Pier have) and due to cost, I have had many more visits to these hotels than to Disney's. With those hotels, I expected to find serivice and accomodations which were sub-Disney standards, however, I knew this was the case in order to save money.
After countless stays at these hotels, I soon wanted more than just a place to sleep between park visits, so we booked a few trips to Disneyland Hotel and the Grand Californian (the villas were just being proposed at this time). Staying with Disney was almost as though I never left the parks and the experience was (as corny as this sounds) somewhat more magical. The hotels were immaculent and staff were friendly, attentive, and seemed genuinely interested doing whatever they could to assist us in making our stay as memorable and special as possible.
This is why I joined DVC. I loved our time at Disney and wanted to enhance that by staying at the Villas at the Grand Californian. How much did I love it? I (following advice of my guide at the time) bought an initial Kidani contract (160 pts.) just so that I could guarantee that I would be able to buy into VGC on the first day of sales (120 pts). After staying at the VGC twice, I knew that I made the right choice. The rooms were beyond compare and being able to look out our window and see the folks enjoying their day at DCA is priceless. The few problems that we did experience (primarily staff being unaware of how DVC works during the opening week) were immediately resolved and were merely minor hiccups rather than actual problems during our trip.
How did my trip to WDW compare? Not so well, in my opinion...
Kidani (5/31 - 6/4)
After flying cross country all day with three kids, my wife could not wait to relax in our jacuzzi tub. When I filled the tub and pressed the button, I found that our jacuzzi tub did not work, so I called the front desk. She explained how the tub should operate (which I knew, since they are the same as VGC's) and then said she would notify engineering in the morning. The next morning I called engineering to check whether or not we'd need to remain in the room for them and they were completely unaware of the problem with the tub. I explained it to them and they said someone would fix it and that we did not need to be present when they arrive. We returned that afternoon and found a tag in our key slot saying that maintanence was in the room (something to that effect), yet when we entered we found the tub filled with water (the jacuzzi still not working) and no maintanence staff. This was noon and after hitting the pool, we returned at 5 pm to find the same tag, same filled tub, and still no maintanence staff. I called back to maintanence and asked about the repairs. The man on the other end of the line said that he'd make sure that they return and repair the tub by the end of the evening. We hit the parks and returned to the room after midnight to find the tag, water in the tub, and no repairs made. I called down to engineering again and asked about the tub. They had no idea what was going on with the tub and said that they could send someone to the room, however, they would not be able to resolve the problem. I asked for clarification and when it was clear that someone would respond, look at the tub and then leave without repairing it, I respectfully declined his offer to send some one up at that hour of the night. The next morning I made another call to maintanence and headed to the parks. We returned that afternoon and still no repairs were made. Finally I called my guide in California and explained the isssue to him and told him that I was dissapointed in the service being provided. He called maintanence personally and when we returned that night the tub was fixed.
I know that to most of you reading this, it will be easy to say that it is just a tub and that the rest of the room was fine, but isn't the tub (and all other components of the rooms) listed as part of your room when making reservations and buying your contract and not a perk? I know that my guide was sure quick to point out the tubs in the mock-up at VGC and we discussed how this is a step up from the shower tub combos at the "hotels across the street". Is it wrong to expect the issue to be resolved quickly? I had a five night stay, yet the tub was not operating for three of them. Is this a major inconvenience that made my WDW trip suffer extensively? No. Is the tub something that I factored into my purchase of DVC and something that I should be able to enjoy (and wanted to enjoy) while there? Yes.
What upset me most about this, however, was the lack of response by the staff at Kidani. I never received a call updating me on the repairs, nor did anyone call to appologize after I had to wait three days for the repairs to be made. Did I get ignored because I was staying on points rather than cash? I don't really know, and it really doesn't matter...
Boardwalk (6/4 - 6/10)
I walked into the bathroom and immediately saw something was out of place. There was a section of drywall exposed next to the shower with three spots of adhesive/caulking that looked like something was torn off. Between the two lower portions of caulking were several black patches that looked like mold. I looked around the bathroom and found that a plastic board (which matched up to the spot of drywall) was stuffed behind the toilet. This looked like a previous guest had caused the damage an hid it and that it went unnoticced by staff, so I called engineering. I told them of the damage (mainly so they wouldn't blame me) and then told them about the concerns that I had about the possiblity that the black stuff I saw was mold. I was thanked for the call, and then never heard anything more about it. Was it mold? I couldn't tell you, since no one came to check it... Once again, my main concern with this was the lack of response by engineering or the front desk (well, that and the fact that mold is not the healthiest thing to expose my family to).
As I said before, my experience with DVC is limited since we joined in 2008, even though we almost joined in 1999 when they were selling BWV during our Honeymoon, but couldn't justify the cost that early in our marriage (something I regret now). Since 1999, we have watched from the sidelines and took several tours and read/watched countless promotional material soliciting new members. From everything that we have heard and seen, DVC has made it a point to sell the fact that they are know for (and we should expect) exceptional service and quality. When I compare what is being promised in promotional material (and reinforced while in WDW while watching the continuous adds on tv, at welcome home wednesdays, and while touring BLT) to what I experienced during my stay, I have to say that I feel that they missed the mark. I don't feel that I received exceptional service this time around. I felt as though my issue was so low on the priority list that it was either being backshelved or flat out ignored and that I ranked so low on their priority list that I did not warrant contact from the front desk or engineering. Heck when I think back to any problems that I had at the cheaper priced hotels across the street from Disneyland, even their standard level of service would have included some sort of appology through a phone call...
All this being said, I am not angry or upset enough to sell my DVC. I still enjoyed my stay and felt that Kidani and Boardwalk were nice resorts which offered nice atmosphere and were roomy enough for all of us (unlike a regular hotel room). If anything, I was just left feeling a little dissapointed...
Prior to joining DVC, my stays at these hotels were more of a luxury than the norm. Those of you who have been to Disneyland know that there are hundreds of hotels within a short distance from the resort (in fact there are a dozen moderate to low cost hotels that have a shorter walk to the parks than Disneyland Hotel and Paradise Pier have) and due to cost, I have had many more visits to these hotels than to Disney's. With those hotels, I expected to find serivice and accomodations which were sub-Disney standards, however, I knew this was the case in order to save money.
After countless stays at these hotels, I soon wanted more than just a place to sleep between park visits, so we booked a few trips to Disneyland Hotel and the Grand Californian (the villas were just being proposed at this time). Staying with Disney was almost as though I never left the parks and the experience was (as corny as this sounds) somewhat more magical. The hotels were immaculent and staff were friendly, attentive, and seemed genuinely interested doing whatever they could to assist us in making our stay as memorable and special as possible.
This is why I joined DVC. I loved our time at Disney and wanted to enhance that by staying at the Villas at the Grand Californian. How much did I love it? I (following advice of my guide at the time) bought an initial Kidani contract (160 pts.) just so that I could guarantee that I would be able to buy into VGC on the first day of sales (120 pts). After staying at the VGC twice, I knew that I made the right choice. The rooms were beyond compare and being able to look out our window and see the folks enjoying their day at DCA is priceless. The few problems that we did experience (primarily staff being unaware of how DVC works during the opening week) were immediately resolved and were merely minor hiccups rather than actual problems during our trip.
How did my trip to WDW compare? Not so well, in my opinion...
Kidani (5/31 - 6/4)
After flying cross country all day with three kids, my wife could not wait to relax in our jacuzzi tub. When I filled the tub and pressed the button, I found that our jacuzzi tub did not work, so I called the front desk. She explained how the tub should operate (which I knew, since they are the same as VGC's) and then said she would notify engineering in the morning. The next morning I called engineering to check whether or not we'd need to remain in the room for them and they were completely unaware of the problem with the tub. I explained it to them and they said someone would fix it and that we did not need to be present when they arrive. We returned that afternoon and found a tag in our key slot saying that maintanence was in the room (something to that effect), yet when we entered we found the tub filled with water (the jacuzzi still not working) and no maintanence staff. This was noon and after hitting the pool, we returned at 5 pm to find the same tag, same filled tub, and still no maintanence staff. I called back to maintanence and asked about the repairs. The man on the other end of the line said that he'd make sure that they return and repair the tub by the end of the evening. We hit the parks and returned to the room after midnight to find the tag, water in the tub, and no repairs made. I called down to engineering again and asked about the tub. They had no idea what was going on with the tub and said that they could send someone to the room, however, they would not be able to resolve the problem. I asked for clarification and when it was clear that someone would respond, look at the tub and then leave without repairing it, I respectfully declined his offer to send some one up at that hour of the night. The next morning I made another call to maintanence and headed to the parks. We returned that afternoon and still no repairs were made. Finally I called my guide in California and explained the isssue to him and told him that I was dissapointed in the service being provided. He called maintanence personally and when we returned that night the tub was fixed.
I know that to most of you reading this, it will be easy to say that it is just a tub and that the rest of the room was fine, but isn't the tub (and all other components of the rooms) listed as part of your room when making reservations and buying your contract and not a perk? I know that my guide was sure quick to point out the tubs in the mock-up at VGC and we discussed how this is a step up from the shower tub combos at the "hotels across the street". Is it wrong to expect the issue to be resolved quickly? I had a five night stay, yet the tub was not operating for three of them. Is this a major inconvenience that made my WDW trip suffer extensively? No. Is the tub something that I factored into my purchase of DVC and something that I should be able to enjoy (and wanted to enjoy) while there? Yes.
What upset me most about this, however, was the lack of response by the staff at Kidani. I never received a call updating me on the repairs, nor did anyone call to appologize after I had to wait three days for the repairs to be made. Did I get ignored because I was staying on points rather than cash? I don't really know, and it really doesn't matter...
Boardwalk (6/4 - 6/10)
I walked into the bathroom and immediately saw something was out of place. There was a section of drywall exposed next to the shower with three spots of adhesive/caulking that looked like something was torn off. Between the two lower portions of caulking were several black patches that looked like mold. I looked around the bathroom and found that a plastic board (which matched up to the spot of drywall) was stuffed behind the toilet. This looked like a previous guest had caused the damage an hid it and that it went unnoticced by staff, so I called engineering. I told them of the damage (mainly so they wouldn't blame me) and then told them about the concerns that I had about the possiblity that the black stuff I saw was mold. I was thanked for the call, and then never heard anything more about it. Was it mold? I couldn't tell you, since no one came to check it... Once again, my main concern with this was the lack of response by engineering or the front desk (well, that and the fact that mold is not the healthiest thing to expose my family to).
As I said before, my experience with DVC is limited since we joined in 2008, even though we almost joined in 1999 when they were selling BWV during our Honeymoon, but couldn't justify the cost that early in our marriage (something I regret now). Since 1999, we have watched from the sidelines and took several tours and read/watched countless promotional material soliciting new members. From everything that we have heard and seen, DVC has made it a point to sell the fact that they are know for (and we should expect) exceptional service and quality. When I compare what is being promised in promotional material (and reinforced while in WDW while watching the continuous adds on tv, at welcome home wednesdays, and while touring BLT) to what I experienced during my stay, I have to say that I feel that they missed the mark. I don't feel that I received exceptional service this time around. I felt as though my issue was so low on the priority list that it was either being backshelved or flat out ignored and that I ranked so low on their priority list that I did not warrant contact from the front desk or engineering. Heck when I think back to any problems that I had at the cheaper priced hotels across the street from Disneyland, even their standard level of service would have included some sort of appology through a phone call...
All this being said, I am not angry or upset enough to sell my DVC. I still enjoyed my stay and felt that Kidani and Boardwalk were nice resorts which offered nice atmosphere and were roomy enough for all of us (unlike a regular hotel room). If anything, I was just left feeling a little dissapointed...
The content (if any) doesn't matter. 
that could step up when a guest feels they are being treated unfairly & assist in a resolution or smooth any 'ruffled feathers', good PR move imo if nothing else?
No mgrs available my entire stay & it took nearly 24 hrs before the fumigation was accomplished & we could use the room
. I didn't ask for any 'compensation' only wanted to make sure somebody knew what was going on & ensure the same lousy customer service wasn't repeated for another guest. 
I guess some guest expectations are way to high. 
Bill
