SSR #1 DVC on trip advisor!

[3DisneyKids]

OMG, I just received the most hideous response to this thread in my e-mail so I came back in to see what has been going on. I am happy to see that they mods must have deleted that one very quickly. It truly was awful, a personal attack, and vulgar to boot. I am sorry that things have gotten so out of control here.

Back on topic...

SSR is ranked top on Trip Adviser. It is a great resort...many find it to be just that. If it is not your cup of tea, then don't stay there. Why all the fuss? DVC is growing...AKV will be popular (unless the "new" part will be too far from the "old" part), and my guess--and everyone else's-- is that the Contemporary is coming along relatively soon. So, there are more than enough choices for everyone.

Right now SSR is hot. Great. In another 2 months something else might be at the top of the list. That is how reviews and ratings go.

 

[tomandrobin]

OMG, I just received the most hideous response to this thread in my e-mail so I came back in to see what has been going on. I am happy to see that they mods must have deleted that one very quickly. It truly was awful, a personal attack, and vulgar to boot. I am sorry that things have gotten so out of control here.

Back on topic...

SSR is ranked top on Trip Adviser. It is a great resort...many find it to be just that. If it is not your cup of tea, then don't stay there. Why all the fuss? DVC is growing...AKV will be popular (unless the "new" part will be too far from the "old" part), and my guess--and everyone else's-- is that the Contemporary is coming along relatively soon. So, there are more than enough choices for everyone.

Right now SSR is hot. Great. In another 2 months something else might be at the top of the list. That is how reviews and ratings go.

Sad the loathing some have for the resort and for the people who love it. I just don't get it. I don't like some of the resorts, but I don't go around professing my disdain of those resorts or thier amenities, architecture, theming, halls, service, etc.


Its ok that not everyone likes Saratoga, but the way that some hate the resort and go out of thier way to descredit, bash, put it down is almost borderline disorder.

 

[Par8hed]

I didn't read this thread because if the Pop Century is rated better than the Grand Floridian I nedn't go any further. That poll is clearly worthless.

 

[tomandrobin]

I didn't read this thread because if the Pop Century is rated better than the Grand Floridian I nedn't go any further. That poll is clearly worthless.

True, the rankings are irrelevent, but the reviews do matter to a point. The opinions are just that, opinions...all based on value, quality and expectations. I think some of the better resorts at Disney suffer because of thier cost to stay. For the money to stay at GF, Poly, Contemporary guest expect a much higher level of everything, and can easily be more disappointed. Guests stayin at a "value" resort are not expecting much, but still get Disney service. Compare that with staying at a Holiday Inn and you can see how the experience can result in more positive responses for the "value" resorts.

We read the trip advisor reviews with a grain of salt. In fact, we usually skip over the good reviews and only read the bad to see what guest are complaining about. It amazes us when we see a bad review and the source of the bad review was either expectations higher then they should have been or something silly that was thier own doing that set a bad mood during the trip.

 

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

Compare that with staying at a Holiday Inn and you can see how the experience can result in more positive responses for the "value" resorts.

Funny you should mention that. What comes in at number 20?

Like I've said in a few posts on this thread, I don't bash any DVC resort. To me they're pretty interchangeable. They all have pluses and minuses. I went out of my way to point out that when I toured the SSR rooms I liked the decor there better than any other DVC room up till that point. I now think I like AKV better, but we haven't really seen the finished product. They seem to be changing the models from what I've read. (Out with the leather couch for example?)

I just take lists like this with a grain of salt. I've mentioned that I've seen lists of cruise ships ranked by consumers and identical ships will still be rated high, but one will have a whole star higher than the other for layout. I can understand food quality...they do have a different head chef, and a different staff. But their layout is identical.

One of the things I like about the unofficial guide (still buy it even though I can find my way around the four parks blindfolded...it's a disease) is the restaurant reviews. I like where they tell you what a food critic thinks of the place, and what the reader reviews were.

 

[tjkraz]

I didn't read this thread because if the Pop Century is rated better than the Grand Floridian I nedn't go any further. That poll is clearly worthless.

Then why bother to post if you have nothing to add to the discussion?

I say again, the ratings in question are not meant to be an objective comparison of each property. These aren't AAA Diamond rankings. These are actual reviews from actual guests who have stayed at each property.

The true value is not in whether a resort is ranked 1 or 100...the value is in the comments which are part of the review. I had to look at only two pages of reviews for the Grand Floridian to find more than a half-dozen negative comments about how poor the service was and how bad the value was for the price paid.

Look at reviews for the likes of BCV and BWV and you'll see the same common themes over and over again--dirty rooms, lack of maintenance, faded carpets, remotes and hairdryers that don't work, and so on.

IMO, reading the reviews is a very eye opening experience for a group of people whose typical response to substandard accommodations or service is often "oh, you're a DVC member--it will be better next time."

We shouldn't have to settle for "next time."

 

[UConnJack]

OMG, I just received the most hideous response to this thread in my e-mail so I came back in to see what has been going on. I am happy to see that they mods must have deleted that one very quickly. It truly was awful, a personal attack, and vulgar to boot. I am sorry that things have gotten so out of control here.

I just went back through my emails and saw the post you (I assume) are referring to. That was just plain disgusting. Even In the most spirited of debates, I can see no reason for personal attacks, especially one so vulgar and insensitive.

I didn't read this thread because if the Pop Century is rated better than the Grand Floridian I nedn't go any further. That poll is clearly worthless.

I agree. Other reasons I don't take much stock in it:

- Most of the DVC resorts were so close in these "rankings" (23-45 out of 284), that the difference doesn't really say much about the potential difference in quality.

- Most of the people reviewing them likely don't have much experience with the other WDW resorts to really make these rankings comparable to one another.

- It has been my experience that these website ranking are often largely "value" based, and lets face it, if someone is looking for a bargain, WDW accommodations aren't it.

What these ranking do say, is that WDW accommodations are generally good, but not the best quality or value to be had in Orlando (not that this is a shocker to any of us).

 

[UConnJack]

Also, the rankings actually don't surprise me. Even with SSR the highest DVC, since I agree it is a very nice resort, and does have the benefit of being the newest and freshest. But again, these aren't DVC members generally making these reviews, they are people looking at the overall quality and value of the particular resort, and many DVC members (and assumed Disney fanatics) have a completely different list of criteria when evaluating the resorts.

 

[Par8hed]

Then why bother to post if you have nothing to add to the discussion?

Now that really wasn't necessary was it?

 

[magicmommy]

I didn't read this thread because if the Pop Century is rated better than the Grand Floridian I nedn't go any further. That poll is clearly worthless.

Since I have not stayed at either resort I cannot say it is worthless. I guess you have stayed at both.

 

[maraki527]

You know all this bickering that goes on in these discussion forums about which resort is better than the next doesn't seem very magical does it?

 

[beachblanket]

I went to Trip Advisor and Saratoga Springs is ranked #23 in Orlando. The highest ranking of the DVC resorts in Disney!

It might interest those here to see the Orlando properties that Trip Advisor contributors rated at the absolute top of the heap. So here they are, the rankings from #1 to #22:

1. Homewood Suites Orlando Universal
2. Floridays Resort
3. Wyndham Bonnet Creek Resort
4. Homewood Suites International Drive
5. Hilton Grands Vacation Club International Drive
6. Hampton Inn Orlando Convention Center
7. Hyatt MCO
8. Residence Inn Sea World
9. Crowne Plaza Orlando Universal
10. The Villas Of Grand Cypress
11. Horizons by Marriott Vacation Club
12. Marriott's Cypress Harbor
13. Ritz Carlton Orlando
14. Sheraton Vistana Villages
15. JW Marriott Orlando Grande Lakes
16. WorldQuest Resort
17. Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress
18. Holiday Inn Expres Lake Buena Vista
19. Fairfield Inn and Suites International Drive
20. Disney's Wilderness Lodge
21. Disney's Port Orleans Resort
22. La Quinta Inn Orlando Conference Center

I guess this all means that the property discerning travelers value most in Orlando is a 2.5 star motel chain with an average rack rate of $135.

Or put another way, does anyone really take these "rankings" seriously?

 

[tjkraz]

Or put another way, does anyone really take these "rankings" seriously?

You seemed pretty high on the quality of the reviews at Trip Advisor as of a few days ago:

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=17818473&postcount=354

 

[tomandrobin]

Or put another way, does anyone really take these "rankings" seriously?

Apparently you did last week! But that is a mute point.

Its harder for a great resort to receive great reviews when expectations are so high of them. Grand Floridian in reality, is no where near the 50ish ranking it got. The problem is not with the Grand Floridian, but more with the resort meeting or exceeding the expectations of its guests. You spend alot of money to stay at that resort, you expect top quality, cleanliness, service, etc. You stay at a value resort with a food court, your expectations aren't high we you stay. But you still get that Disney service, which is probably helps with the value resorts higher rankings.

 

[mwmuntz]

It might interest those here to see the Orlando properties that Trip Advisor contributors rated at the absolute top of the heap. So here they are, the rankings from #1 to #22:

1. Homewood Suites Orlando Universal
2. Floridays Resort
3. Wyndham Bonnet Creek Resort
4. Homewood Suites International Drive
5. Hilton Grands Vacation Club International Drive
6. Hampton Inn Orlando Convention Center
7. Hyatt MCO
8. Residence Inn Sea World
9. Crowne Plaza Orlando Universal
10. The Villas Of Grand Cypress
11. Horizons by Marriott Vacation Club
12. Marriott's Cypress Harbor
13. Ritz Carlton Orlando
14. Sheraton Vistana Villages
15. JW Marriott Orlando Grande Lakes
16. WorldQuest Resort
17. Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress
18. Holiday Inn Expres Lake Buena Vista
19. Fairfield Inn and Suites International Drive
20. Disney's Wilderness Lodge
21. Disney's Port Orleans Resort
22. La Quinta Inn Orlando Conference Center

I guess this all means that the property discerning travelers value most in Orlando is a 2.5 star motel chain with an average rack rate of $135.

Or put another way, does anyone really take these "rankings" seriously?

Amazing.....

 

[beachblanket]

You seemed pretty high on the quality of the reviews at Trip Advisor as of a few days ago

Apples vs. oranges time: I was high on the qualitative content of the AKL reviews, because that is a different element than aggregate quantitatively based rankings.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

I'm very happy to see my beloved Wilderness Lodge only came in two notches below the Holiday Inn Express, and the Villas not too far down from there!

We are really hobb-nobbing with the upper-crust now...

AND I MIGHT ADD-- After finishing within striking distance of the elite Holiday Inn Express, I had better NEVER read another slam on WL/VWL..

MG

 

[fishermouse]

I think the point many are trying to make is that the trip advisor rankings have nothing to do with quality or amenities, don't get me wrong I love SSR. But trip advisor rates customer satisfaction, many people that can afford GF are a little harder to satisfy. folks going to POP might be on thier first ever trip to WDW. They are in heaven, does that mean SSr people expect less and are happier because of it, probably. Most SSR owners are newer to DVC and not as criticle of the little flaws that become evident the more you visit. Also the other DVC resorts are older and some are showing a little wear, heck CP at SSR is starting to show some wear. Are they in the same catagory as Poly or GF, no, not if your looking at Hotels, but most DVC members don't want the Hotel atmospher, if you do you bought into the wrong vacation plan. IMHO!!!

 

[Starr W.]

I'm very happy to see my beloved Wilderness Lodge only came in two notches below the Holiday Inn Express, and the Villas not too far down from there!

We are really hobb-nobbing with the upper-crust now...

AND I MIGHT ADD-- After finishing within striking distance of the elite Holiday Inn Express, I had better NEVER read another slam on WL/VWL..

MG

DH stumbled upon Trip Advisor, I have read some of the reviews of some of the II options that are available to DVC members, some people love it others think it's the biggest rat hole they ever stayed in. I read one about SSR on Expedia before our first trip and the woman ripped the place because the bus didn't wait for 10 minutes at the stop while she walked from 3 buildings away. . Come on look at some of the "train wreck" reviews that are posted about any DVC here, alot isn't about the room quality or resort quality. It's about more about people "planning the perfect trip" and the family acts up or something doesn't go as planned and the whole trip is ruined. I don't care how much money you paid it can't guarantee that everything is going to go according to your plans, kids get sick, you get a snarky waitress, spouse rather lay by the pool than hit another park, you get the room next to the 20 somethings partying all night.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

DH stumbled upon Trip Advisor, I have read some of the reviews of some of the II options that are available to DVC members, some people love it others think it's the biggest rat hole they ever stayed in. I read one about SSR on Expedia before our first trip and the woman ripped the place because the bus didn't wait for 10 minutes at the stop while she walked from 3 buildings away. . Come on look at some of the "train wreck" reviews that are posted about any DVC here, alot isn't about the room quality or resort quality. It's about more about people "planning the perfect trip" and the family acts up or something doesn't go as planned and the whole trip is ruined. I don't care how much money you paid it can't guarantee that everything is going to go according to your plans, kids get sick, you get a snarky waitress, spouse rather lay by the pool than hit another park, you get the room next to the 20 somethings partying all night.

Over the years I have learned three things-

• People are very jealous of those who stay at the Disney Resorts.
• People tend to ctiticize whatever's at the top of the heap.
• I'm convinced that people complain about Disney with the hope they will get some sort of freebie compensation in return.

Put those three things together, and it's a recipe for people taking pot shots at Disney Resorts and DVC.

MG