SSR Lovers and Owners Part 2

[delmar411]

Which SSR sections have the new furnishings? We were there during Thanksgiving and stayed in Grandstand 8000 building and our room was not the new furnishings...
We are going Feb., 2013, and would love to see the new updates.

We stayed in the paddock in 2 different buildings over Christmas. The building to the right of the pool was not refurbished but the building to the left was.

The new carpet and coverings are VERY nice. Except the comforter, the old comforter was usable, this new one is not. We just asked for extra blankets to compensate for not being able to use the comforter.

 

[amyy]

Is the health club at SSR closing for refurbishment and if so what are the dates? I would like to workout a couple of times during our upcoming trip. thanks

 

[famgel]

Just returned from a week stay at our home resort (DVC member) and after 6 days I had to have a chat with the hotel manager, Rodney. My issues were as follows; snack bar at Grandstand was not opened consistently, 4th day maid service was minimal and lacking complete trash pickup and replenishments, bus service mainly coming from the parks to home was horrendous, last and not least the one day, Fri we had planned quiet day by our pool it was closed. I called from phone in the area, answer I got was dials were being worked on (i sat for 2 hrs not seeing one maintenance person). After this i went to lobby to speak to Hotel Mgr. he apologized and gave us a $100 credit on our charges. I didnt expect this but it helped a little. It's been 3 yrs since our last visit to SSR and we will probably not go back to it anytime soon. Definitely felt Disney has cut back on employees and obviously the servicing of its guests has suffered. I also feel the beds should be updated they are extremely firm and did not get a restful sleep at all. I have read reviews on other resorts and I'm seeing the same complaints. I am just wondering if Disney has cut back on their employees and that's why the resorts are suffering. Let me know what you think!

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Just returned from a week stay at our home resort (DVC member) and after 6 days I had to have a chat with the hotel manager, Rodney. My issues were as follows; snack bar at Grandstand was not opened consistently, 4th day maid service was minimal and lacking complete trash pickup and replenishments, bus service mainly coming from the parks to home was horrendous, last and not least the one day, Fri we had planned quiet day by our pool it was closed. I called from phone in the area, answer I got was dials were being worked on (i sat for 2 hrs not seeing one maintenance person). After this i went to lobby to speak to Hotel Mgr. he apologized and gave us a $100 credit on our charges. I didnt expect this but it helped a little. It's been 3 yrs since our last visit to SSR and we will probably not go back to it anytime soon. Definitely felt Disney has cut back on employees and obviously the servicing of its guests has suffered. I also feel the beds should be updated they are extremely firm and did not get a restful sleep at all. I have read reviews on other resorts and I'm seeing the same complaints. I am just wondering if Disney has cut back on their employees and that's why the resorts are suffering. Let me know what you think!

We got were very confused about the snack bar at the Grandstand. Everyday there was a board out in display promising it being open serving soft serve ice cream. We were there 2 weeks and often sat by the pool and only saw it open once. We were quite annoyed by that! It was bad enough it being closed let alone this tempting sign out every morning! I couldnt understand why they did that!

 

[magicmonette]

Just returned from a week stay at our home resort (DVC member) and after 6 days I had to have a chat with the hotel manager, Rodney. My issues were as follows; snack bar at Grandstand was not opened consistently, 4th day maid service was minimal and lacking complete trash pickup and replenishments, bus service mainly coming from the parks to home was horrendous, last and not least the one day, Fri we had planned quiet day by our pool it was closed. I called from phone in the area, answer I got was dials were being worked on (i sat for 2 hrs not seeing one maintenance person). After this i went to lobby to speak to Hotel Mgr. he apologized and gave us a $100 credit on our charges. I didnt expect this but it helped a little. It's been 3 yrs since our last visit to SSR and we will probably not go back to it anytime soon. Definitely felt Disney has cut back on employees and obviously the servicing of its guests has suffered. I also feel the beds should be updated they are extremely firm and did not get a restful sleep at all. I have read reviews on other resorts and I'm seeing the same complaints. I am just wondering if Disney has cut back on their employees and that's why the resorts are suffering. Let me know what you think!

Our last trip was September, 2012 at ASM. We are going next week for a split stay at AKV and SSR. After 30 years at thee parks, we found service still declining. 9/11 was the turning point. It has been one austerity program after another. Landscaping was first thing we noticed...more evergreen bushes and less annuals and flowers. This time we were APPALLED at the lawn mowers blocking Buena Vista in middle of the day!!! Then you notice the cheaper paper goods;TP and napkins. THE FINAL BLOW was being on monorail with several off duty CMs and they were ENGAGING us in a gripe fest out all the cutbacks and how difficult it is for them to do their jobs with less hours and less and lacking products!!! This made us very very sad. Gone are the days of the Look Book and the 6 important gets guidelines.

 

[delmar411]

Just returned from a week stay at our home resort (DVC member) and after 6 days I had to have a chat with the hotel manager, Rodney. My issues were as follows; snack bar at Grandstand was not opened consistently, 4th day maid service was minimal and lacking complete trash pickup and replenishments, bus service mainly coming from the parks to home was horrendous, last and not least the one day, Fri we had planned quiet day by our pool it was closed. I called from phone in the area, answer I got was dials were being worked on (i sat for 2 hrs not seeing one maintenance person). After this i went to lobby to speak to Hotel Mgr. he apologized and gave us a $100 credit on our charges. I didnt expect this but it helped a little. It's been 3 yrs since our last visit to SSR and we will probably not go back to it anytime soon. Definitely felt Disney has cut back on employees and obviously the servicing of its guests has suffered. I also feel the beds should be updated they are extremely firm and did not get a restful sleep at all. I have read reviews on other resorts and I'm seeing the same complaints. I am just wondering if Disney has cut back on their employees and that's why the resorts are suffering. Let me know what you think!

The Grandstand pool bar is only open if the pool is going to be busy or they feel the resort level of occupancy is worth opening it. Plus the pools were being worked on in late Dec into Jan, right by Christmas they closed the main pool to do some work on it. They gotta get it done sometime and when it's likely to be chilly/cold is a good time to do it.

You should of called housekeeping and addressed that with housekeeping. I find it hard to believe you needed to complain to a manager because they didn't do a fabulous job with T&T (instead of with housekeeping) and complain over the buses which no resort manager has any control over. That's the transportation department.

I think he was very generous over issues that are not his fault.

Do I think housekeeping really needs to step it up? Heck yeah! They are really sloppy about doing the job right. But I know that and I can deal with it or make them get back up to the room and do it right. Or I can call them all evening long as I find missing things in the room. Either way works for me. They'll get the picture.

oh, I LOVE the firm beds. Makes my back very happy. Firmness of beds is not a problem, it's a personal preference.

I think they do a pretty awesome job of customer service at SSR and really go above and beyond to correct mistakes. Obviously JMO but we stay there all the time so we've seen them at their worst and best and in all seasons.

 

[TheDalys]

We stayed in the paddock in 2 different buildings over Christmas. The building to the right of the pool was not refurbished but the building to the left was.

The new carpet and coverings are VERY nice. Except the comforter, the old comforter was usable, this new one is not. We just asked for extra blankets to compensate for not being able to use the comforter.

We are at Paddock now,, the last two buildings are getting done now. New carpet, matresses and toilets from what i see being loaded into the hallways. Looks real nice.

 

[AirGoofy]

Just returned from a week stay at our home resort (DVC member) and after 6 days I had to have a chat with the hotel manager, Rodney. My issues were as follows; snack bar at Grandstand was not opened consistently, 4th day maid service was minimal and lacking complete trash pickup and replenishments, bus service mainly coming from the parks to home was horrendous, last and not least the one day, Fri we had planned quiet day by our pool it was closed. I called from phone in the area, answer I got was dials were being worked on (i sat for 2 hrs not seeing one maintenance person). After this i went to lobby to speak to Hotel Mgr. he apologized and gave us a $100 credit on our charges. I didnt expect this but it helped a little. It's been 3 yrs since our last visit to SSR and we will probably not go back to it anytime soon. Definitely felt Disney has cut back on employees and obviously the servicing of its guests has suffered. I also feel the beds should be updated they are extremely firm and did not get a restful sleep at all. I have read reviews on other resorts and I'm seeing the same complaints. I am just wondering if Disney has cut back on their employees and that's why the resorts are suffering. Let me know what you think!

Last trip, we did not receive enough new towels for each person in our room. We called housekeeping and they replaced them.

 

[famgel]

#1 I called hotel before checking in online to make sure that the Grandstand pool and snack bar would be open for the duration of our trip, I was told yes. We have been going to Disney in Jan since we bought DVC 7 yrs ago. I do understand its a perfect time to due maintenance but that week was in the low 80's and crowded during the day. Maintenance could have been done very early in the am or in the pm when there were less guests.

#2 I left out that we found 2 maintenance men at our room in afternoon on the 4th day for t & t (basket of towels and stuff left at my door that am). They were done in 15 mins but we assumed they interrupted the maid and we expected her to come back. We were even patient and waited a day or two, that was our mistake.
#3 I disagree with you on the transportation not being the hotel's responsibility. That is the main perk of staying inside Disney. I've stayed in other WDW properties where they actually drove me to my dinner ressie if needed because of the bus issues. Was I suggpose to call the resort to pick me up at the park every night! Very annoying when you see moderate resort buses coming consistently and passing you by.

The hotel mgr's job is to address guests problems so that they will come back, google it. In my mind that includes all aspects of the hotel stay. We spent a lot of money on this DVC timeshare and this time we were very disappointed and feel the resort is not being serviced or maintained properly. Just my opinion. We plan on adding on but it will not be at that resort, not sure where because reviews all over WDW are not great like they used to be.

 

[eroilersgal]

Is the health club at SSR closing for refurbishment and if so what are the dates? I would like to workout a couple of times during our upcoming trip. thanks

We will be at SSR for two nights next weekend! I am taking the boys to a YES class early Sat mornng and DH would love to get in a workout.

 

[Pikezh638]

Had my first stay "home" in the tree houses 2 weeks ago. It was very nice.

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

Is the health club at SSR closing for refurbishment and if so what are the dates? I would like to workout a couple of times during our upcoming trip. thanks

We will be at SSR for two nights next weekend! I am taking the boys to a YES class early Sat mornng and DH would love to get in a workout.

Several online sites are reporting that the spa closed yesterday, as scheduled. The refurbishment is supposed to last until sometime this summer.

It's interesting to note that the official announcement of the closure indicates it will reopen as a "re-imagined, Disney owned and operated spa." DVC members used to get free access to the Spa while staying at SSR. When this perk was removed, it was speculated that it was because the spa was being run by a private non-Disney entity. Resort guests were then required to purchase either a day pass or a length-of-stay pass to use the Spa facilities. (Gym equipment access was still free, but not the locker rooms and sauna.)

So, what are your thoughts? A perk, once gone, is gone forever? Or is there a possibility that DVC members could be granted access to these facilities again without the purchase of a pass?

 

[magicmonette]

We will be at SSR for two nights next weekend! I am taking the boys to a YES class early Sat mornng and DH would love to get in a workout.

We will be there the 25th. Just one day in our "home"...couldn't pass up $8 per point deal at AKV standard room, so split stay with our first day in home resort the 25th. When you say "spa" closed, does this include treadmills and workout equipment?

 

[AirGoofy]

DVC members used to get free access to the Spa while staying at SSR. When this perk was removed, it was speculated that it was because the spa was being run by a private non-Disney entity. Resort guests were then required to purchase either a day pass or a length-of-stay pass to use the Spa facilities. (Gym equipment access was still free, but not the locker rooms and sauna.)

So, what are your thoughts? A perk, once gone, is gone forever? Or is there a possibility that DVC members could be granted access to these facilities again without the purchase of a pass?

The perk is gone forever. Didn't SSR finally reach sell out status? They have no incentive to offer it now. If they really wanted to get creative, they could create a new booking category, kinda like concierge at AKV, that the amount of points would include all spa access. I don't think either will happen.

 

[Bellecruiser]

We stayed in the Paddocks over NYE. Our room was pristine...new carpet, curtains, paint, etc. I loved the upgraded pool. Every time I get to SSR I feel my tension drift away because it is so peaceful.

We had a delicious dinner at the Turf Club one night. The other nights we tried different restaurants all over Disney: Jiko, Raglan Road, Rose and Crown. It was fun.

 

[disbound09]

Wow this is quite a thread on SSR. We just signed contract on 320 at SSR waiting for ROFR but based on price not worried at all. Can't wait to come and relax at SSR. We stayed at Springs on our first visit and loved it. The next trip we will be owners. A little worried about the bus being too crowded. What is the bus route thru SSR and approximate timeline. As in if we go grandstand is it 30 min to get out of SSR vs last stop and having to stand. Thanks for info.

 

[delmar411]

Wow this is quite a thread on SSR. We just signed contract on 320 at SSR waiting for ROFR but based on price not worried at all. Can't wait to come and relax at SSR. We stayed at Springs on our first visit and loved it. The next trip we will be owners. A little worried about the bus being too crowded. What is the bus route thru SSR and approximate timeline. As in if we go grandstand is it 30 min to get out of SSR vs last stop and having to stand. Thanks for info.

It's nowhere near 30mins to get out of the resort. If you hustle from the grandstand stop to the springs stop you can just make the bus. So it's a pretty short amount of time between the first and last stop. Obviously if there are scooters loading then it might take a bit longer but that's really a roll of the dice.

 

[disbound09]

Spent the morning reading this thread..........Wow lots of helpful info. Found SSR FAQ and the bus route that was great. Looks like Congress Park with a view of DDT hits the spot for many. We may try to request that. We are doing a 2 bedroom any specifics for Congress Park to request or avoid. Anyone have approximate timeline from CP to MK,AK,HS, EP using bus.

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

Spent the morning reading this thread..........Wow lots of helpful info. Found SSR FAQ and the bus route that was great. Looks like Congress Park with a view of DDT hits the spot for many. We may try to request that. We are doing a 2 bedroom any specifics for Congress Park to request or avoid. Anyone have approximate timeline from CP to MK,AK,HS, EP using bus.

If you want a view of Downtown Disney at Congress Park, be sure to make that part of your request. Not every room in CP has that view. So don't just ask for CP, ask for CP + DTD view.

 

[krmlaw]

Cannot wait ! Booked our first SSR one bedroom. Thinking of requesting paddock as we have 4 year old. So glad I found this thread! We've stayed at WLV, AKV and beach club before. Can't wait to try SSR