confetti
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Dec 31, 2019
- Messages
- 132
I hope you are having a FABULOUS stay!![]()
We are! It's a wonderful resort, we love it!
I hope you are having a FABULOUS stay!![]()
Thanks for sharing! There's quite a bit to unpack with what she said compared to our experience.Alrighty, I heard back from Kayla (the pre-arrival coordinator) today.
I'm very glad to hear this! As I mentioned above, the desk was not aware if she was still the Prearrival coordinator and really couldn't give information.I am still very much the Pre-Arrival Coordinator though!
I sent an email to her on January 27th. My kids didn't check in until February 1. That was 5 days before check in. Not that I don't appreciate that she's busy, but in 5 days there wasn't one opportunity to respond? My gut feeling.... and going by what she said here:For this particular person, their email came in on my days off and I unfortunately wasn’t able to see it until after they arrived.
gives me the feeling that because my request was only a location preference (actually a room preference; one bedroom premium over a regular one bedroom and in Lakes section, if available) that maybe she felt that it was taken care of and therefore no need to reply. Speculating here and hoping I'm not right about it.All location preferences are just noted in the reservation by Guest Services Team.
Honestly, even if she didn't see my email until after check in (and going by the assumption that it was my situation that you shared with her and what she's directly responding to) it still would've been professional and courteous to respond at some point. Ignoring a guest, whether an owner or not, is not hospitable nor makes me want to "reach out" with any future requests. Especially knowing that she did in fact receive my email in the first place. The whole thing leaves a very bad taste in my mouth, especially if she feels free to share information on my personal experience, even small, with other guests.I do try to get back to everyone who contacts me though, so I don’t want to discourage anyone from reaching out in the future.
We also aren’t able to guarantee any location preference outside of units that are under fixed ownership. We can only block people into the room type they have booked (sleep 6, sleep 8, small 1 bedroom, standard 1 bedroom, or the premium one bedroom).
There's some confusion in how these rooms are listed in the various companies and it's not always super clear. Especially for skyauction, which we used once. The listing for that was "one bedroom, full kitchen". For Interval, they list by bedroom and you have to be careful to look for the occupancy. And for the one bedroom unit I just booked, it lists "one bedroom, one bathroom, accommodating 4 privately, 4 maximum" Definitely not these three choices :There seems to be confusion when people are booking and a specific room type isn’t available to book through Marriott, RCI, or II. If it’s not available to book, it’s not available in our inventory to change the room type.
small 1 bedroom, standard 1 bedroom, or the premium one bedroom
Thanks for sharing! There's quite a bit to unpack with what she said compared to our experience.
I'm very glad to hear this! As I mentioned above, the desk was not aware if she was still the Prearrival coordinator and really couldn't give information.
I sent an email to her on January 27th. My kids didn't check in until February 1. That was 5 days before check in. Not that I don't appreciate that she's busy, but in 5 days there wasn't one opportunity to respond? My gut feeling.... and going by what she said here:
gives me the feeling that because my request was only a location preference (actually a room preference; one bedroom premium over a regular one bedroom and in Lakes section, if available) that maybe she felt that it was taken care of and therefore no need to reply. Speculating here and hoping I'm not right about it.
Honestly, even if she didn't see my email until after check in (and going by the assumption that it was my situation that you shared with her and what she's directly responding to) it still would've been professional and courteous to respond at some point. Ignoring a guest, whether an owner or not, is not hospitable nor makes me want to "reach out" with any future requests. Especially knowing that she did in fact receive my email in the first place. The whole thing leaves a very bad taste in my mouth, especially if she feels free to share information on my personal experience, even small, with other guests.
When we worked with Jennifer Bravo when she was in the position she personally came to our unit to meet us. That's going above and beyond in my mind, and was very appreciated. Not even getting belated reply email from Kayla is very different than our experience with Jennifer was.
There's some confusion in how these rooms are listed in the various companies and it's not always super clear. Especially for skyauction, which we used once. The listing for that was "one bedroom, full kitchen". For Interval, they list by bedroom and you have to be careful to look for the occupancy. And for the one bedroom unit I just booked, it lists "one bedroom, one bathroom, accommodating 4 privately, 4 maximum" Definitely not these three choices :
I'm not trying to offend you owners and you know I've been vocal on my positive experiences at the Sheraton on Dis for a while now. I'm just sharing my experience with this particular situation with Kayla. It does weigh negatively that she acknowledged my email to a stranger, but not have any courtesy to actually contact me directly. Especially since I wrote in my email that I was looking forward to booking for May. This is giving me doubts.
Unless I am mistaken and Gina you didn't tell her of my personal experience that I posted on here, in which case just ignore what I wrote!
I suggest you re-read my posts on the entire DIS to see that they are non-identifying. I am careful of that. I corresponded with her one time prior to an October trip and one time before this latest trip. I highly doubt she:I can only assume that your posts here on the Dis were detailed enough that she was able to match them to your correspondence with her in advance of your family's reservation. But that's just a guess.
The issue is my post and online identity being connected to my real identity by someone who has access to my personal information (as a consumer and guest of the resort) through your correspondence with her. After your comment of you and her being friends, how am I to know WHAT she shared with you? She obviously felt it important to share with you the reason why she never responded to my email, but never spoke to me directly. That's also not ok.The only information Kayla could be privy to is what you have posted publicly here.
I will email Kayla this week to see if I can get a better idea of whether or not she anticipates changes to her position in the short term. We chatted several times by email for our most recent trip (we just returned last night from another AWESOME week) and she was very helpful and super responsive. We will be back again in April so I'm sure she will let me know if we should email her with our pre-arrival requests or follow some other protocol. (We have become quite good friends over the last few months! She even has other staff members say hello to us for her when we have opportunity to chat with various other people on her team lol).
The Diamond Lane sign WAS still up when we checked in in the 24th, but no one was using the line.
@mckennarose, I don't know if Gina gave any specific information about you or not, but IMO it would not be very hard at all to figure it out if Gina simply said that a post on here mentioned a guest had not received an answer. Pretty easy to figure out which post that was and what the travel dates were then go back through an email backlog to see what happened. As someone who has worked extensively in areas of customer satisfaction that kind of post-incident analysis is something I would do as a matter of course so that I could improve performance in the future. If I was in Kayla's place, I probably would have done the same.
Like most of the resorts in Orlando, it depends on season. Prime weeks (holiday and vacations) the villas are pretty full, although they don't seem that way. Lots of units sit idle because owners don't use them, but the resort management (Marriott) cannot rent them out. Surprising how many owners don't use or exchange their weeks, just letting them go to waste.I am so interested in staying at at this type of hotel and was told this thread would guide me
(That is how I found this thread earlier)
The hotel looks fantastic!
I can see why it is so popular
My question is, is it difficult to get a last minute booking here?
First off, you may NOT be in that specific unit unless you are renting from a deeded owner (and I don't think that Springs was sold as deeded fixed week ownerships). Villas reserved via most channels are not generally fixed until just before check in day, and most channels (II or RCI) don't show you the relation because it causes confusion when parties arrive and aren't in the units they thought they would be in.Hello! We are assigned a room in the Springs section (room 813 I think). Does anyone know how long the walk is from Springs to some of the other areas of the resort - mainly the super pool/activity center and the marketplace. Thanks!
First off, you may NOT be in that specific unit unless you are renting from a deeded owner (and I don't think that Springs was sold as deeded fixed week ownerships). Villas reserved via most channels are not generally fixed until just before check in day, and most channels (II or RCI) don't show you the relation because it causes confusion when parties arrive and aren't in the units they thought they would be in.
That said, if you are in Springs 813 (Springs building number 1) it is a pretty good location. We have stayed in the next building over (Springs #2). You will be backing onto one of the nicest pond vegetation areas in the resort, it is very peaceful and zen back there. You are about a block away from the Marketplace (walking past the ends of Cascades 14 and 15) and another block to Zimmies and the Spas pool. Cascades pool is a little closer than Spas. There are good walking paths/sidewalks throughout the resort and it is an easy walk with a small drinks cooler and some towels.
Follow the link to the map on post #2 of this thread and you can work out where your unit is in relation to the rest of the amenities.
In my experience, the one bedrooms fill up first... easier to get two bedrooms. My vacation is in three weeks most of the resort is full.I am so interested in staying at at this type of hotel and was told this thread would guide me
(That is how I found this thread earlier)
The hotel looks fantastic!
I can see why it is so popular
My question is, is it difficult to get a last minute booking here?
We've used both Uber and Lyft to go to Magic Kingdom (actually the Contemporary resort) and the prices were between $8 and $13 one way. It's important to note that ride share prices fluctuate during the day, based on busy times and that prices are different based on which type of car you request. That's also not including tips, which I like to give cash at the end of the ride. (you can tip through the app, but my understanding is the drivers like cash better) I use whichever app is offering a promo at the time, usually between 5% and 10% off rides for a short amount of time. My most expensive Uber ride home from the Halloween party at MK was $13, not including tip, and only because we requested a "nicer" car.... and I had a promo coupon to use so I figured.... what the heck.... and we sprung for a nicer car.
The price for parking is $25 for the day. If you leave for an afternoon break, you might find parking a cheaper option than using ride share 4 times (two trips up, two trips back)
For us, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the convenience of NOT having to deal with the parking lot, ferry or monorail, and the crowds. Getting dropped at the Contemporary is easy, a quick walk over (with a small security area on the path) and not having to fight crowds at the end of the night. You don't want to get dropped at the TTC, unless you like riding the monorail or ferry. There is a whole Uber/Lyft thread on the transportation board if you have specific questions.
HTH!
Absolutely they do. Fountains are 3 story buildings, and the ground floor units are at grade, so yes, 1/3 of the units have no stairs.Does anyone know if there are any 2 bedroom units in Fountains I that dont have stairs?
Thanks in Advance
I'm not currently subscribed to this thread, but I got the alert that you quoted my post and I'm happy to answer your question and help.Did you have to pick up the Uber from the Welcome Center or just on the street next to an exit from the property?
We've used both Uber and Lyft from the Vistana and from my conversations with the Sheraton people I gather they recommend Uber over Lyft. For what reasons, I don't know, but I was told at check in that Uber has permission to pick up directly at villas and you need to be very specific on pick up locations when requesting a ride. Meaning noting which section and building number. We didn't do that and opted to be picked up at the welcome center for both Uber and Lyft the times we used them over our past two trips. Some drivers are not familiar with the Sheraton and we had a few who mentioned to us that it was their first time there.
That said, both Uber and Lyft use GPS location for pick up and will come to get you wherever you are. I'm not sure how they get past the gates.... however the times we've been dropped off on Disney property the driver simply tells the gate they are picking up or dropping off and they are let through. It could be the same at the Vistana. I've also seen people picked up directly outside the guard shack for the Fountains/Lakes section on Meadow Creek Drive.
Either way, it's super easy and convenient. Any questions that I can help you with, let me know! I highly recommend using ride share in Disney.
There is an Uber and Lyft thread on the Dis that I suggest you check out for basics on how it works, tipping, how /what to request, drop off locations, etc.
https://www.disboards.com/threads/everthing-you-wanted-to-know-about-uber-lyft-at-wdw.3443634/
That's very interesting, because every Interval reservation I've made never had a specific unit. My getaways were listed asThank you so much for the information! I was checking the maps and everything seems spread out so it’s good to hear things are a quick walk (we won’t have a car).
I thought we may have been assigned a unit because I randomly checked my II reservation yesterday (it’s a Getaway) and it says “Unit 0813 (2 bedrooms)” But it seems like your saying that’s probably not our room - we are not going until May.