Maistre Gracey
DIS Legend
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2002
- Messages
- 11,562
We stayed in a dedicated 2br at The Villas at Wilderness Lodge from 9/12 9/19.
We are returning in January for six nights in a 1br, and three nights Poly Concierge, but now I sort of wish all nine nights were at VWL.
The Resort:
It was simply breathtaking .more beautiful than the Lodge itself,. Just visiting the quiet pool area and looking up at the Villas is honestly an E-Ticket attraction in itself. At the Member Update that I attended, the guide that ran the meeting said that VWL is now the most demanded resort for return visits on the property (it was unclear if he was taking about just DVCs, or all resorts). Please visit The Villas in person, as pictures do not even come close to represent the beauty and grandeur of this resort.
The Room & View:
We had a dedicated 2br, room #5552. It was a hike from the 5th floor elevators to this room, but we are all in good physical shape, so it was not a big deal.
The room was on the side with the busses, but they were in the distance, and we really didnt notice them unless we tried. The room did have a partial dumpster view. From the main balcony, if you looked to the left you could see the dumpster and work area, but only a small part of the actual dumpster. The studio portion balcony was more in line with the actual dumpster. About 2/3 3/4 of the view was of grasslands, woods, and when looking to the right, a beautiful view of both The Villas and The Main Lodge. I was pleased with the view .dumpster and all.
The master bedroom had an awesome vaulted ceiling that really added to the lodge feel. In the living room area, there was also a little vaulting. Does that make sense?
This was also an open balcony room.
While we love the interior dark woods and robust colors of VWL, I can understand how some would prefer the light & airy colors offered at other DVCs
Condition & Cleanliness of Room:
This was the weak point.
The room furniture had several noticeable chips and scrapes. I think it could be touched up very easily and inexpensively. The arms on the dining chairs scrape the underside of the table when pushed in. This causes bad scrapes on the chair arms. Chips were noticed on all furniture, including kitchen cabinets. I would like to get my hands on the people who abuse a place like that.
I also wondered a little bit about the door handles. Some were silver, and some were a dark matte finish. It didnt bother me, as both looked very nice. It just did not look uniform.
Housekeeping (called Lodgekeeping at VWL), was weak at best. The floors were dirty (wife swept a pile of dirt to show housekeeping), half eaten candy bars found on un vacuumed carpets (wife steeped in it while showing head housekeeper dirty carpets), crumbs in the chair cushions, food stuck on the front area of the breakfast bar, ¼ inch of crumbs in the toaster (still left after two full cleanings), Stains on towels, no replenishment of toilet paper, or Tide after full cleaning, did not take out our garbage (again, on full cleaning), and to top it off, on check out day I was shaking the bed comforter to check for anything I may have left, and I noticed a urine stain on the back side of the bedspread.
Staff & Courtesy:
Superb. They took the time to address the Lodgekeeping issues, and were great at taking care of things. They really displayed a terrific Disney attitude.
Amenities:
All top notch. Pool, hot tub, Sturdy Branches exercise room were all superb.
Transportation:
We had a car, so I can not comment on the bus system. The boats were a slight inconvenience going five feet from WL dock, to then to FW before coming back to WL.
Summary:
If Lodgekeeping was taken out of the equation, this would be paradise times ten. I honestly believe that Lodgekeeping is generally top notch, and I just got an off day (or days).
If you have not seen and walked around VWL, I suggest you do so on your next trip you will not be sorry!
WE LOVED IT AND CANT WAIT TO GO BACK TO VWL!!!
I will be happy to answer any questions...
EDIT: PS- Front desk gave one weak "Welcome Home" upon check-in, but every security guard gave a hearty one every time we drove through the gate. Maybe the guards should train the resort staff...
We are returning in January for six nights in a 1br, and three nights Poly Concierge, but now I sort of wish all nine nights were at VWL.
The Resort:
It was simply breathtaking .more beautiful than the Lodge itself,. Just visiting the quiet pool area and looking up at the Villas is honestly an E-Ticket attraction in itself. At the Member Update that I attended, the guide that ran the meeting said that VWL is now the most demanded resort for return visits on the property (it was unclear if he was taking about just DVCs, or all resorts). Please visit The Villas in person, as pictures do not even come close to represent the beauty and grandeur of this resort.
The Room & View:
We had a dedicated 2br, room #5552. It was a hike from the 5th floor elevators to this room, but we are all in good physical shape, so it was not a big deal.
The room was on the side with the busses, but they were in the distance, and we really didnt notice them unless we tried. The room did have a partial dumpster view. From the main balcony, if you looked to the left you could see the dumpster and work area, but only a small part of the actual dumpster. The studio portion balcony was more in line with the actual dumpster. About 2/3 3/4 of the view was of grasslands, woods, and when looking to the right, a beautiful view of both The Villas and The Main Lodge. I was pleased with the view .dumpster and all.
The master bedroom had an awesome vaulted ceiling that really added to the lodge feel. In the living room area, there was also a little vaulting. Does that make sense?
This was also an open balcony room.
While we love the interior dark woods and robust colors of VWL, I can understand how some would prefer the light & airy colors offered at other DVCs
Condition & Cleanliness of Room:
This was the weak point.
The room furniture had several noticeable chips and scrapes. I think it could be touched up very easily and inexpensively. The arms on the dining chairs scrape the underside of the table when pushed in. This causes bad scrapes on the chair arms. Chips were noticed on all furniture, including kitchen cabinets. I would like to get my hands on the people who abuse a place like that.
I also wondered a little bit about the door handles. Some were silver, and some were a dark matte finish. It didnt bother me, as both looked very nice. It just did not look uniform.
Housekeeping (called Lodgekeeping at VWL), was weak at best. The floors were dirty (wife swept a pile of dirt to show housekeeping), half eaten candy bars found on un vacuumed carpets (wife steeped in it while showing head housekeeper dirty carpets), crumbs in the chair cushions, food stuck on the front area of the breakfast bar, ¼ inch of crumbs in the toaster (still left after two full cleanings), Stains on towels, no replenishment of toilet paper, or Tide after full cleaning, did not take out our garbage (again, on full cleaning), and to top it off, on check out day I was shaking the bed comforter to check for anything I may have left, and I noticed a urine stain on the back side of the bedspread.
Staff & Courtesy:
Superb. They took the time to address the Lodgekeeping issues, and were great at taking care of things. They really displayed a terrific Disney attitude.
Amenities:
All top notch. Pool, hot tub, Sturdy Branches exercise room were all superb.
Transportation:
We had a car, so I can not comment on the bus system. The boats were a slight inconvenience going five feet from WL dock, to then to FW before coming back to WL.
Summary:
If Lodgekeeping was taken out of the equation, this would be paradise times ten. I honestly believe that Lodgekeeping is generally top notch, and I just got an off day (or days).
If you have not seen and walked around VWL, I suggest you do so on your next trip you will not be sorry!
WE LOVED IT AND CANT WAIT TO GO BACK TO VWL!!!
I will be happy to answer any questions...
EDIT: PS- Front desk gave one weak "Welcome Home" upon check-in, but every security guard gave a hearty one every time we drove through the gate. Maybe the guards should train the resort staff...
) and we were ready to purchase BCV when DBF expressed a disappointment that we didn't buy when VWL was being sold. (we still would have bought anyway) HAPPILY our guide came back with the amount of points we wanted for VWL and offered them to us. It probably helped that we only wanted 150.
