We're back-VWL report

[floridafam]

I never thought that it might not be spilled milk. Maybe it was something else. It did come off when I wiped it with a baby wipe. Yes, I still travel with baby wipes. They have a million uses.

I don't want to discourage anyone from trying VWL. These problems did not ruin our vacation and the manager did give every effort in trying to get the problems corrected.

There just seems to be a big difference between housekeeping at the deluxe hotels and the DVC resorts. I'm not sure why but I wish I knew.

 

[floridafam]

I never thought that it might not be spilled milk. Maybe it was something else. It did come off when I wiped it with a baby wipe. Yes, I still travel with baby wipes. They have a million uses.

I don't want to discourage anyone from trying VWL. These problems did not ruin our vacation and the manager did give every effort in trying to get the problems corrected.

There just seems to be a big difference between housekeeping at the deluxe hotels and the DVC resorts. I'm not sure why but I wish I knew.

I can't say enough good things about the housekeeping at VB. Nice CM's, always a great job on the room, towel animals every day, etc. Our room at VB was spotless.

 

[Lizardbeth61]

I'm glad it didn't ruing your trip, but with such high expectations about Disney, stories like these are so frustrating.

I really struggled with our decision to become DVC members. My fears were that because we'd "bought" or paid ahead, we'd be treated less well because they already had our money. This board convinced me that that isn't the case and I then was excited about our purchase. I ignored my feelings of, "Gee this is a bargain. So what if I sacrifice some of the extra perks." But, sorry, cleanliness is a biggie for me . . . something I'm not willing to sacrifice.

So anyway, when we hear reports like this I can't decide if I'm happy to be a DVC member or wish we could go back to trying all the great hotels and having maid service etc.

We've only been "home" once so far and we're going to VWL in Jan. I hope we have a positive experience. And I'm going to count on a great experience. I hope your next is better too. But I'm with the person who said you should contact Disney about the Marathon money. That was terrible.

 

[Nick@ VB+OKW]

Originally posted by floridafam
There was a demon child staying there our entire stay and I didn't enjoy having to wipe his boogers off my desserts....

.................

 

[Granny]

floridafam....thanks for the report. Frankly, I'm always glad to see the "warts and all" reports about our "homes".

For those who are stressing when they see reports like this about VWL (or any other DVC resort)....all I can say is that poll after poll and report after report indicates that the vast majority of people find their rooms in good condition when they check in. It's exactly because a terrible situation like this is so rare that it causes those on these boards to raise an eyebrow in surprise or disgust.

We've been fortunate with our VWL and BWV stays thus far as we haven't had to call housekeeping for any unclean room problems.

If we run into a horror story like this one on our next trip, we'll just contact mousekeeping or if it's really gross, go to the front desk and ask for a clean room instead.

I applaud floridafam for taking what could have been a nightmare vacation and instead still manage to have a great vacation time.

 

[floridafam]

I love DVC and love VB.

I can't put my finger on it but it just seems like DVC members are treated differently than regular hotel guests. I don't understand why this is. It should be just the opposite.

We never really get this feeling at VB.

My kids kept saying they wish we were still at YC or WL Concierge even though the villa was huge.

 

[Granny]

Originally posted by floridafam
I can't put my finger on it but it just seems like DVC members are treated differently than regular hotel guests. I don't understand why this is. It should be just the opposite.

We never really get this feeling at VB.

I can't say that we've felt we've been treated differently when staying at VWL or WL. We've stayed at both, and if anything we get some nice reactions from some of the CM's when they see DVC Member on the bottom of our room card.

We even got a "Welcome Home" from the CM at the register at Roaring Fork one time after she saw our card. That was quite an unexpected and nice surprise!

Again...thanks for sharing your observations and opinions. They are all worthwhile and appreciated!

 

[MiaSRN62]

I applaud floridafam for taking what could have been a nightmare vacation and instead still manage to have a great vacation time.

I second that and also her husband too in regards to his missing the race and how he handled it overall.

"you're done already", "wow, you're already picking up your bike, great job". So, he had to have his moment of glory

Looks like they were trying to look at the glass as half-full instead of half-empty. I think they made the best of the situation they were handed. I also think it was nice that you got a full-housekeeping mid-week instead of just T&T. That was the least they could do for you.

 

[disneyberry]

yikes, floridafam!
i'm so sorry to hear about the condition of your room.
i'm glad that you did tell the manager, and that they did make an effort to correct the problems.
i just hope that housekeeping gets their act together, and we don't see any reports like this in the future.

 

[lenshanem]

floridafam, have you contacted MS since you got back? Thsi soudns liek soemthing that needs to be in writing.

 

[floridafam]

I trust that they will correct the housekeeping situation.

It just seems so simple. The room is either clean or it isn't. How can they not see a bathroom covered with hair? They shouldn't be paid if they can't do their jobs.

I never really thought about contacting anyone at DVC.

It just didn't seem like there was anyone in charge at VWL. The manager I spoke with said she manages the Lodge and the Villas are seperate. I think that is what seems strange about having problems on a DVC stay-there really isn't anyone to talk to immediately that has anything to do with the situation.

 

[nanajoyx2]

Don't get me wrong, I feel bad that your husband missed his race, but why did this happen? Did he oversleep? We checked out on Sat. the 25th and we were the Flag Family that morning. The alarm clock in the master bedroom had the correct time when we awoke. Otherwise we probably would have missed our meeting with Stan in the lobby. Did you arrange for a wake up call? I usually do this when I am at a hotel because I don't like to chance relying on an alarm clock that I am not familiar with.

Our room - #4511 - was spotless when we checked in on Oct. 17. There were 10 of us in that 2 bedroom - 6 adults,and 4 children(4, 3, 16 mos. and 6 mos.) We tried to keep it neat, but with all those kids, it was very difficult. Another poster checked in right after we checked out and he has said the room was spotless. So not all of the housekeeping staff at VWL are negligent. We had Ramona and she was wonderful.

Again, I am sorry about your experience, but we have never had a bad room at VWL. I'm sure this was the exception to the rule.

 

[MiaSRN62]

Another poster checked in right after we checked out and he has said the room was spotless. So not all of the housekeeping staff at VWL are negligent. We had Ramona and she was wonderful.

It seems not only floridafam, but also Maistre Gracey had some cleanliness issues with their villas during a similar timeframe. So, while I'm sure it's not the norm here, it does seem like they are lacking in this department ? Maintenance could be better, after all, this is a faily new resort. I don't think anyone here thinks it's every room or every housekeeper, but it has been consistant enough to address it with management. I don't think the types of problems they experienced can be dismissed and hope management gets letters describing the specific shortcomings. If two of the DIS board members had problems in this particular timeframe, I'd bet there was some others too. I always feel sending off a quick note is helpful in preventing things like this from happening in the future. Glad you had a clean room, but I know if I had checked-in to rooms like Floridafam and MG, if would have iritated me a bit. As DVC Members, I feel we should expect more ?
As far as your alarm clock being the correct time nanajoyX2, I wonder what was up with that ? Maybe power was restored gradually or only certain rooms lost power ?

 

[disneyberry]

Originally posted by MiaSRN62
As far as your alarm clock being the correct time nanajoyX2, I wonder what was up with that ? Maybe power was restored gradually or only certain rooms lost power ?

ooh, i just thought of a possible explanation... maybe only some of the rooms have alarm clocks that have those little backup batteries.
you know, the ones that make sure the clock still works even if there is a power outage.
either that, or all rooms have them, but not all the batteries are replaced right away when they run out.

 

[nanajoyx2]

I agree, if my room wasn't clean I would complain immediately. I just wanted Floridafam not to be hesitant to return to VWL in the future because of this experience. I read these boards daily and every time I check in I am thinking of the bad experiences others have had, hoping the same won't be true for me. I've only had 2 disappointments - being assigned a smoking room when I requested non-smoking. But in both these instances my reservation was made only 2 or 3 months in advance and I arrived between 4:30 and 5:00 pm.

disneyberry - about the batteries in the alarm clock - that is exactly what I was thinking. I didn't even realize that we had a power failure until after we returned to our room after raising the flags. My husband and I were the only ones in our party to do this since the rest of our family was exhausted. My daughter and son-in-law were the ones who realized this had happened because they woke up during the night and the ceiling fan wasn't working. She went to the bathroom and the lights didn't work. When she told us this, I immediately looked at the clock in the master bedroom to check the time and it was correct. I didn't check for batteries but assumed they were there.

I am not doubting or downplaying the housekeeping problems of others and I am sorry if I have offended anyone. I just hope my good fortune continues when I check in in February. Thanks for listening to me rant.

 

[Guads6]

Why does it seem that DVC is overlooked in the cleaning of rooms and maintence of properties? I know it doesn't always happen, but if it happens to me I'm going to be "PO'D". I payed alot of money to become a member and I'm paying almost 100.00 a month in maintence. And no, "just the magic of being there and the beautiful weather will not be enough". I expect a clean room and a maintained property or I will be complaining. We are owners aren't we? If a big executive from the company was coming wouldn't they make sure the room was clean and the property in pristine condition? Well as owners we should get the same treatment! I know they already have us hooked but I still will spend as much money as ever. This purchase just frees up more spending money for me, and I bet alot of you spend alot through shopping and dinning like me. But hey, what do I know I'm a new member.

 

[floridafam]

Guads6,

Bravo!

 

[littlestar]

We've always had good experiences at VWL. Sorry to hear about your experience. There's one little maid that works over at the VWL that is the sweetest person in the world (I wish I could remember her name), but she really did a good job cleaning and had the sweetest smile and cheerful greeting. I'm sure Disney has good and bad, but it's a bummer when you run into the bad first hand.

When we stayed at Boardwalk last month, I bought some 409 cleaner and wiped off all the light switches and walls around trash cans (you know how drips happen when people toss items in the trash). I hate dirty light switch plates and ours were a little smudged, but otherwise our 1 bedroom was in great shape.

 

[lenshanem]

I have to also agree with Guads6. This was not a cheap timeshare to buy into and are dues are not exactly low by any means! Our high dues in itself shoudl guarantee a clean room when we arrive. Isn't that part of what the dues are suppossed to be going towrds?
If it continues, maybe we all shoudl write the new manager of DVC.

 

[LIFERBABE]

The Good (attitude) The Bad (missing the triathalon) and The Ugly (your room).

We do pay too much for membership and dues to have to worry about quality standards of the DVC's. I don't think this is isolated to just one DVC Resort, but it does appear the Resorts that share staff are not managing as well as the stand alone's.

If my experience is any indication, we stayed at the Beach Club (Hotel) over Labor Day and although our room was satisfactory, there was a stain in the carpet and light bulbs were out. (what's up with the cheap bulbs?) It took MK til 10 p.m. to change a soiled bed and a turn down request was not granted.

We moved over to CR and they had a scheduled power outage that they went out of their way to inform their guests about. We received a memo under the door and phone messages daily leading up the outage. THey did an excellent job and MK was great, thorough and done by 11 am each day.