What resorts would you not return to and why?

[hightown]

Tried CBR for first time for a last minute trip in Feb. After the first night was thinking seriously about trying to move somewhere but decided for 3 more nights would tough it out.

Hated the bus going to so many stops; bus was always crowded. Hated going so far to get food; the pool was much less than expected from the photos; didn't like the front desk being so far away. The room itself was fine.

After trying out CBR won't go back there and with feeling about it that way, will cross CSR and values off the potential stay list. Probably would not go back to Riverside either. We liked it when we stayed there but guess I'm spoiled. POFQ is the only moderate would go back to.

Haven't found a deluxe that I would cross off the list.

Sharon

 

[mkymouse4ever]

We definately have a good and bad list, but never say never. If they were the only available during my trip, to stay onsite, I might have to eat my words.

1. Boardwalk Villa's (non-member) we stayed there right after it opened. And they were really pushing the hard sell, dvc. We got a phone call daily, or a letter under the door daily, to come on down and have a talk. Even when we said no thanks, they called the next day again, waking you up. The valet's were very rude, and the front desk needed a lot of work. Could of been just open jitteres but they were slow and not "disney". I don't particularly like the resturant / food set up either to the BW area. We felt like it was more open to day guest / than the "resort" itself guest. Maybe that's cause it just opened and everyone came to try them out? The circus pool area was having issues at the time too. They had problems with keeping it clean of trash from the day /nite before. No one around picking up or sweeping up cigerette butts etc... The fountains were not always on just sometimes? It was hit or miss. Now it is highly possible that this has all been corrected after so many years / but we haven't been back, cause it left a very poor impression about the bw and in fact a poor inpression about dvc to me in general, probably why we never joined yet.


2. SWAN: Recenter trip had terrible suite, room unclean, (trust me you don't want these kind of details) . And just prior to smoking ban in florida = the lounge going to wdw boats was like running the gauntlet to smoke, to us asthmatic's . Was not impressed with front desk assistance, with room troubles at all.

Mky

 

[Liz]

I haven't stayed at a Disney resort that I wouldn't return to. I have my favorites but haven't had a negative experience anywhere. There aren't any we haven't visited that I wouldn't be willing to visit either.

Edited to add: I made my post before reading this entire thread. Now I probably wouldn't want to stay at CBR!

 

[DISUNC]

I would never return to CBR! I stayed there in July 2001, hopefully some changes have been made

Checkin 1hr. 30 mins!
Room was dirty. 3 out of 5 days came back to room early evening & MK never showed up!
Seemed like 5 mile trek to main pool & stores!
Smaller pool closest to room had tiles missing, cut my foot open....which made walking around much harder.
Didnt like the trek across parking lot to get bus to parks!
Spent more time waiting for buses than for any ride.
Avg wait & drive time from CBR to Anypark on bus...over 1 hr.!

...oh yeah ...the many many FROGS hopping all over freaked my then 7 yr old nephew BIG time.

I was a bit naive...but very suprised that since it was a "beach" resort we couldnt go swimming in the water off the sand!!!!!

 

[DISUNC]

I would never return to CBR! I stayed there in July 2001, hopefully some changes have been made

Checkin 1hr. 30 mins!
Room was dirty. 3 out of 5 days came back to room early evening & MK never showed up!
Seemed like 5 mile trek to main pool & stores!
Smaller pool closest to room had tiles missing, cut my foot open....which made walking around much harder.
Didnt like the trek across parking lot to get bus to parks!
Spent more time waiting for buses than for any ride.
Avg wait & drive time from CBR to Anypark on bus...over 1 hr.!

...oh yeah ...the many many FROGS hopping all over freaked my then 7 yr old nephew BIG time.

I was a bit naive...but very suprised that since it was a "beach" resort we couldnt go swimming in the water off the sand!!!!!

 

[DrCandi]

I would never return to:

AKL, My dd (8) and ds (5) refer to it as the "stinky hotel". Can you imagine, all that money and that's what they remember. We had a Savannah view. We saw alot of animals, but they were alot further away than I expected. We had zero interaction with cast members- couldn't find any. Jiko was OK. Boma was always way too crowded. The pool was nice, though.

CSR, It felt like a mile hike to eat, and then another mile to the main pool. Also, the lady above us would walk around in her high heels in the middle of the night- very disturbing.

 

[F1Julie]

I'd never stay at the GF. I have been to the resort several times for character meals, but I really dislike it. It is just too stuffy for me. It feels like an uptight, prissy living room to me. It doesn't seem fun or Disney-like at all. I'd rather stay at a Value resort than the GF.

 

[Stratocastermagic]

Yikes! What a thread! Having read all the posts, I'm thoroughly depressed .
Somebody say something to cheer me up!!!

 

[Nickunited]

I would never stay off-site again - thats for sure, but most of the Disney Resorts I have stayed in are very good. If I had to chose one that was my least favorite, then I would have to say CBR. I did not like the Bus system in that hotel and it was very crowded. Not to mention the room did not have a hair dryer which freaked my DGF out. Luckily she IS always prepared!!!!!!!

Grounds were very pretty though!

 

[hightown]

Well, the good news is after reading this (some of it anyway) is that WDW truly has something to offer to everyone, in every price bracket. If you don't like one resort--not to worry there are many more!

We've had 5 years of Disney and our 9th trip is in November and the ONLY resort I wouldn't return to is CBR. Have stayed at POR, POFQ, WL, BWI, YC, AKL, DOLphin. That's a pretty good record I would say and not liking CBR is my opinion only. Others love it.

It's all a matter of personal preference and perspective.

Sharon

 

[Deweysgirl]

Originally posted by Nickunited
I would never stay off-site again - thats for sure, but most of the Disney Resorts I have stayed in are very good.

Totally agree!

Stratocastermagic-All of the Disney resorts are pleasing in some way or another to just about anyone. I agree with Nickunited, I would rather be on-site in my not so fave resort than offsite at any other!

 

[Stratocastermagic]

Originally posted by Deweysgirl
Totally agree!

Stratocastermagic-All of the Disney resorts are pleasing in some way or another to just about anyone. I agree with Nickunited, I would rather be on-site in my not so fave resort than offsite at any other!

So, do you think we'll enjoy our stay at AKL (one week from today!)? We're hoping to!

 

[Darla and Alfalfa]

AKL- Did not have the "Disney" feel, remote and we hate the AK park. The concierge person made us feel like we were bothering her when the bell man took us straight up to check-in. She couldn't find us on her list and said she was too busy with some other task. (She was alone) The bell man was the one who insisted she find us on her list. Finally she "found" us in the computer, made our keys and told us to come back in one hour.

POR-Outside rooms, long lines for the bus-no roped off area to have people stand in an organized line. We had to wait for a second bus because so many people just push their way to the front to get on the bus. Had to hold my husband back from screaming at one family who started running down the sidewalk and pushed their way on. Room seemed to be in need of refurb- holes in the bedspread, crayon writing on the wall.

CR- Rooms too wild in the colors.

GF-Too stuffy

POLY-It is the only resort we stay in now. I have no desire to check out any others any more.

 

[Deb & Bill]

We've stayed at the Polynesian (very nice), OKW (my home away from home), POFQ (comfortable and very quiet), BWV (not my favorite, but still nice and close to the action - I'd still stay there again), BCV (my other home away from home - quiet and near all the fun), VWL (my third home away from home - again, quiet and very relaxing), GF (lots of fun and I love the quiet pool), CSR (my favorite moderate), Swan (convenient and comfy), Dolphin (even more comfy), AKL (my favorite deluxe), Wyndham DTD(I liked this offsite very much) and Doubletree Guest Suites DTD (older, in need of work, but better than not going at all).

I liked them all and would stay at all of them again, especially if it meant not going at all.

SSR is coming up in October. I bet it will be another favorite of mine.

 

[Susiev25]

I have stayed at many different WDW resorts and loved them all. However I would NEVER stay at YC EVER again. It is just my opinion but we had a horrible time with several CM and their rudness when we stayed there and I won't return. Don't get me wrong the resort is very pretty and has a great location and great pool area but I just can't personally stay there again. Now I would stay at the BC!!!!!!!!!!

 

[hulabird]

I would not go back to CR, I really do not like the decor, it just isn't me. The only thing that I liked was Chef Mickeys and being close to the castle. It is last on my list of favorites.

 

[Hawkeye314]

The Good: We've stayed off property several times and never minded the experience until we had the chance to stay on-property twice and now I doubt we would ever stay off-property again. Even the worst experience on-property has to be pretty good.

The Bad: We stayed once (all five of us, when my youngest was an infant) at the GF. The grounds and lobby were beautiful, the rooms were nicely apportioned but basically your standard Marriott rooms for (at that time) $300/night. Way too much for that size room.

The Good: Feel like I have to defend the Value resorts here. You get what you pay for there. We stayed at Sports last summer, got two rooms for the price of one at PORR (the only moderate that would allow five/room) and LOVED it! Yes, the rooms were small (but the kids were in their own room so that made it better), the walls and towels a bit thin but, hey, you're in Disney, you get the benefits of being on-property and you're only paying like $80/night. And, in the end, we spend about 10 hours a day in the room total between sleeping and naps, other than that we are out enjoying the Disney Lifestyle! Who cares what the room looks like when your eyes are closed and the lights are off (that was also my dating theory when I was younger but that's another story...)

 

[dbdisney]

My young children love the All Stars. I don't mind them either except for the fact that the buses take forever! Other than that, I like the food court, the pools are nice, and they are a good value.

I really liked Port Orleans (back before they split up the two). I liked the look of the buildings, the slide at the pool, and the boat to the Marketplace.

 

[ead79]

I would not return to a standard room at the Beach Club. I stayed there in May of 2003, and didn't have the best experience. Nothing went horribly wrong, but we did have some glitches. When we tried to go to sleep our first night this strange noise that kept going off and on all night kept us up. We weren't sure what it was. The next morning we went to the front desk to see if they would give us a new room. We didn't want any sort of upgrade or compensation, just a new room. The man we spoke to (and I assume he was a manager because he was wearing a suit instead of the BC uniform) treated us like we were just big complainers trying to get something for free. All we did was tell him that there was a recurring noise that was disruptive and that we would like to be moved to a new room if one was available. He said it was probably the service elevator and moved us with a bit of an attitude. We were moved to our new room by a very nice bellman. The new room smelled so strongly of smoke (even though Disney had clearly marked it non-smoking, I guess an inconsiderate guest didn't listen) that the bellman asked us right away if we wanted to move rooms again. We said we would just stay there anyway (which turned out to be a big mistake--the smoke smell didn't really fade and there was a screaming toddler who stayed up all night in that room). After we turned on the exhaust fan in the bathroom of our new room, we realized that the noise in our first room was the exhaust fan shorting out and turning off and on (so we told the front desk later, who thanked us). Over all, the problems weren't huge, it was really the way the front desk person treated us that bothered us. We really couldn't have phrased our request for a new room any nicer and we felt like we were treated rudely. Since we love the other Epcot area resorts, we simply prefer to stay at them instead. I will confess that I have heard good things about concierge level at the Beach Club, and I will possibly try that in the future.

 

[RayJay]

Poly (2) - Because it's Disney World
Yacht Club (1)- Because its Disney World
Beach Club (1)- Because its Disney World
Beach Club Villas (2)- Because its Disney World
Contemporary (3)- Because its Disney World
Boardwalk Villas (1)- Because its Disney World

RayJay