SSR big disappointment

[uncgsweetz16]

Hi everyone! DH and I just got back from a 4 night stay at SSR. We bought into DVC in 2001 and added additonal points last year on our honeymoon and bought into SSR. We were so excited to stay there because of how close it is to DTD but we were so disappointed. When we checked in the lady who was helping us handed us the phone to say Mickey and Minnie had a message for us and it was them wishing is a happy anniversary which both DH and I thought was adorable. 2 weeks ago I had called to request a view overlooking DTD. I know these rooms are hard to come by but since it was our anniversary I figured we would give it a try. When we got there I told the woman our request and she said they did have a room available which we were very excited about. The grounds are very nice and the rooms are very nice as well (although much smaller then OKW). When we got to our room our amazing view consisted of the bus stop across the street. We called to let them know there was a mistake...the lady at the front desk was rude (not the same one who had helped us) and said there would be a room available the next day but that there would be a $25 dollar change of room charge if we did in fact move. I didn't understand why we would be charged if it was an error made by their resort. She never apologized but just resaid what she had just stated. DH and I were very upset but we both realized all we would be doing there is sleeping and that was it since when we do disney we are gone ALL DAY LONG. We had also requested a King bed and had a double.

We made spa appointments as well on the last day of our trip. We had both requested woman but for some reason I got a man. Not a big deal but I felt there had been quite a few mistakes already at that point. We never complained but I was curious if others felt we should or if we were just being immature. If so where do I send compliants too? Has anyone even been contacted after sending a letter or email? Please let me know, thanks!

P.S Next time we plan to try Board Walk but never again SSR!

 

[CarolMN]

Sorry you were disappointed. Hope you get your request next time.

FWIW, all the studios at SSR have 1 queen bed and a sleep sofa/couch. All the 1 bedroom units have a king bed in the bedroom and a queen sleep sofa / couch in the living room. If you didn't reserve a 1 bedroom, there is no way to get a king bed. Upgrades (for those staying on points) are very, very rare. They generally happen only if there is an unforseen maintenance problem and the resort is at or near capacity

Congratulations on your marriage.

Best wishes-

 

[AFMom]

I don't think the view you got was bad - but it's a shame the one receptionist was able to get you excited about a great view and then leave you disappointed. It's possible she got your room view confused with another room number. Then - of course then next receptionist wouldn't have a clue - and there's no way she'd move you for only a view problem - they'd never get anyone checked in. I'm sure if you'd had the same person answer the phone (or had gone to the front to find her - ug) she would have been more understanding. No one there should be rude, though.
As far as the spa thing - I'm sure they try to accomodate - but it probably just depends on who is working what shifts. If they have too many people request women (which I'm sure they do) and men are working (which they can't discriminate when hiring) then you'll possibly end up with a man.
It does sound like the resort and room itself were nice - and the person checking you in tried to go the extra mile (the phone call sounds adorable) - but I do agree that no one working there should be rude. Even if they get a lot of "room view problem" calls - they need to deal with them all nicely for the $$$$ the resorts cost - or make all the views great!

 

[Safari Queen]

First, congratulations. Second, it's unfortunate that you didn't get everything you requested and there's absolutely no excuse for rudeness, but I'm not sure why you're crossing SSR off your list. Those problems could occur at any resort (and there are no king beds in studios, as was pointed out). You didn't seem dissatisfied with the accommodations. Never say never...those you are flexible are less stressed and live longer!

 

[JodyTG]

I'm also sorry that you were disappointed, but remember that requests are just that...requests. As a member, I understand the change fee of $25 (they will have to clean the room again) and think that it is very reasonable.

Except for requesting non-smoking and a bath tub (for our toddler), I just leave my room location up to the luck of the draw. I've never been disappointed, I guess because I've never had my hopes up for something FABULOUS. Besides, I'm at Disney and what could be better than that!

I hope you enjoyed your anniversary anyway and many, many more to come.

 

[dianeschlicht]

If you were hoping for a king bed, you should have reserved a 1 bedroom, since only 1,2, and 3 bedroom villas in any of the DVC resorts has king beds. All studios will have either 2 queen beds (OKW) or a queen and a sleep sofa. There are no studios with double beds that I know of. Except for the rudness by the CM (totally unacceptable), everything else was normal for any DVC resort. Views are not guaranteed, and there is always a room change charge if you change rooms.

 

[jctwizzer]

[QUOTE= I felt there had been quite a few mistakes already at that point.QUOTE.

Based on my reading of your post, none of the mistakes were made by Disney.....but then, maybe I missed something

 

[gjw007]

I don't know. If I was told that I was going to receive the request of a view overlooking DTD and then the room is looking at a bus stop , I would say that is Disney's mistake. One of the problems of emails and writing is that many times what is conveyed is not complete.

 

[kathleena]

People make mistakes - if the first person was new, then they may have just mistaken the side of the building the room was on. Doesn't excuse rudeness, but hey it's just a view so get over it and move on.

Studios don't have king beds, as has been stated.

I believe the spa is not run by Disney.

Doesn't sound like anything you said is major. In my opinion, the time to complain about the rude CM would have been right then, not in a letter days or weeks after the trip.

 

[jarestel]

I suspect the DTD views are going to become one of the next problematic DVC issues as more and more people want them but aren't going to be able to get them. Just as with the BW view rooms at BWV, the DTD views are certainly light years ahead of the other view options at SSR. If views are important to someone, DTD is what they will request. Of course everyone who wasn't born yesterday knows that "views are only requests and not guarantees" so there's no need for me to state the obvious. But I'm pretty sure this won't be the last post we see from members expressing disappointment over DTD views at SSR.

 

[DrTomorrow]

I suspect the DTD views are going to become one of the next problematic DVC issues as more and more people want them but aren't going to be able to get them. [...] But I'm pretty sure this won't be the last post we see from members expressing disappointment over DTD views at SSR.

ITA. And remember, a CP building DOES NOT MEAN a DTD view; I think this is what may have happened to the OP. Our first trip home (Founders Day, Member Homecoming, only one SSR building open) we had a studio that overlooked the swampy outlet of the lake; if we hung off the balcony by our fingertips, we could sorta kinda see the Cirque parking lot. Of course, it didn't bother us, but if someone was expecting a fireworks view....

I'm pretty sure that I'm going to ask for the Paddocks this December, just so I'll have stayed in all three sections - and that bridge was tempting me from our Springs balcony last May....

 

[mark&sue]

This is very interesting as I think the DTD views will become more sought after and perhaps it should be for more points? In may I only booked a week in advance and got a lovely DTD view room but we have discussed about our next trip and feel that we would be happy to pay $25 (per person??) to move so long as we had bath tubs. I have three families in all with us staying for 14 nights and we are from UK and we UK women like to lie down in the bath after a hard day in the parks and pamper ourselves!!!!

Do people request closest rooms to DTD? which would be popular. We are happy to walk to crossroads too.

If we do not get a DTD view we will not mind. We also would like the rooms close together so fingers crossed.

P.S. Really excited about the sit down restaurant.

P.P.S I only have just over week until we go to Disneyland Paris



Susan

 

[btrim]

I guess if the OP doesn't want to go back to SSR, that just means more room for those of us that really enjoy the resort. The rude CM isn't excused. That shouldn't happen, but everyone does have a bad day and I am sure that some CM's get tired of everyone thinking that their requests should be met before anyone else's. I personally feel that it doesn't really matter what the view is because how much time to you spend out on the balcony or even in the room. My DH and I have taken some pretty relaxing vacations at Disney (no commando style park activity). However, if we wanted to relax and read, etc. we have gone out of the room and found a nice spot around the pool or someplace else to just sit and enjoy the people or read. The size of the bed, must have been a mistake because Disney doesn't have double beds in the 1BR or Studios. I think even the two bedroom at SSR has two queen beds in the second bedroom.

When all is said and done, we each have our own likes and dislikes, so if you don't want to stay at SSR, don't! However, I don't think the things that you have posted, warrant a bad review of the resort for the people who haven't stayed there yet and should be allowed to make up their own minds about the pluses and minuses of SSR. I personally don't like OKW studios because I would rather have the couch instead of two beds, but I won't let that keep me from staying there if that is my only choice. I guess I am one of those Disney Lovers that just enjoys being on property and can find something good about most any place I stay.

Sorry you didn't have a good stay. Hope the next resort meets more of your standards.

 

[Beca]

It seems to me that there might be two separate issues going on here:

1) Please do not be offended by this....I don't mean anything bad by this at all....but, as a DVC owner, you seem rather mis-informed. I am sure that CM's get all kinds of people asking for all kinds of requests, but I certainly know that I would think "This person has NO clue what they are talking about" if I were a CM and received a request for a king bed in a studio. As bad as this may sound, the CM might have "blown off" your request for a DTD view because you were asking for other things that simply don't exist. Also, I am not sure if your post was mis-leading, or if what you said was pretty much what the CM said, but when you said, "We would like a DTD view", and the CM replied, "We have a room available now", I actually didn't read "It's a DTD view" into that. I read your post as, "Well, we have A room available now if you want that." I have been checking-in a few times when a CM has said the same to me, my next question is, "Does it meet my requests." And, maybe you did ask that, but your post wasn't clear. I have even gone so far as to say, "If when I arrive to the room, I find that the room does NOT meet my requests, what is the number where I can reach you to get my room switched?" Then, I nicely ask, "How do you spell your name?" I ALWAYS do it in a nice way, and have been pleasantly surprised sometimes to have a message waiting for my by the CM when I reach the room, just checking to see if all is okay. But, I usually don't care at all about views...I just want N/S, n/HA.
This is definitely a "learning curve" for you to figure out what is/is not available at DVC, and the way their "system" works.

Also, I cannot IMAGINE the number of people who go to WDW celebrating some "special event". Seriously, if WDW tried to accomodate everyone who was having a special event...they would never get anything done. We go every December....it just so happens that both my mom and my dd have December birthdays....we could tell WDW this every year and ask for certain views, locations, etc based on that fact....but, I seriously doubt it would ever matter....they must hear that hundreds of times a day. For us, just being there is special!

But, the second....even bigger issue (IMO) is that no one at WDW took the time to correct you on your assumptions. I know the CM's get tired of correcting those who do not really understand the DVC system, but the CM REALLY should've told you when you requested it, "I'm sorry ma'am, but NO studios at ANY resort in the DVC system are equipped with kings." I think many CM's try to get you away from them with as little confrontation as possible, but what they fail to realize is, when you did not get a king bed in your room, it was just one more way that you felt "slighted" by the CM who "promised" so much and "delivered" so little.

FWIW, I also see DTD views as becoming very problematic for SSR, especially when you consider that some of the buildings that DVD decided to "add" to SSR are REALLY far from the hospitality house (and, pretty much anything else). I REALLY hope that, even if DVC doesn't change the point structure to charge more for those views, that they at least make them a separate reservation category and "guarantee" that view at the time of booking. That would've solved all your issues with SSR, and it would certainly be an advantage to owning a share in the largest DVC property (and hence, the one with the least "home advantage", since it will probably always have rooms as long as there are any rooms in the system).

I do think that your complaints really are not with SSR, but with the way DVC runs their entire "system". My best advice would be to spend a lot of time on these boards, and learn to use the "system" to your best advantage.

I hope you have a better trip next time,



Beca

 

[Caskbill]

Keep in mind that Studios are designed primarily as the 2nd bedroom of a 2-B/R villa. As such, it's the LR and 1-B/R portions that get the primary views, not the Studios. It's most likely that the 2-B/R villa is definitely a DD view, but the Studio portion of it is not, or only at an extreme angle. In other words, if the unit is used as a 2-B/R it has a DD view, but the view is from the LR area.

Since you only got the Studio portion, it would have the least DD view. If you think about it, that's the way it should be. If you were building a house somewhere scenic, you would orient the house so the best view is out the LR windows. You would not orient the house so the best view is out the 2nd B/R windows, and the LR view is nothing.

 

[mom22boys]

Keep in mind that Studios are designed primarily as the 2nd bedroom of a 2-B/R villa. As such, it's the LR and 1-B/R portions that get the primary views, not the Studios. It's most likely that the 2-B/R villa is definitely a DD view, but the Studio portion of it is not, or only at an extreme angle. In other words, if the unit is used as a 2-B/R it has a DD view, but the view is from the LR area.

Since you only got the Studio portion, it would have the least DD view. If you think about it, that's the way it should be. If you were building a house somewhere scenic, you would orient the house so the best view is out the LR windows. You would not orient the house so the best view is out the 2nd B/R windows, and the LR view is nothing.

So smart! I never thought about this! I am not a DVC owner, but I read these boards religiously b/c I am hoping to be someday, and I completely agree with all of the posters who said that a DTD view should be a preferred view reservation requiring more points. It just makes sense!