What's going on with all the bad OKW reviews???

[eeyoresmom]

All of the recent reviews of OKW on Deb's site have been very negative regarding the maintenence and cleanliness of the villas. It took me forever to choose a resort for our April vacation. I finally chose OKW and now I'm having serious second thoughts. When people say they love that it is casual and "laid back" what does that really mean?????

 

[DVCconvert]

I was there 2 weeks ago...I did not experience any problems.
Remember that due to human nature, most folks who jump on the internet to post a 'review' only do so if they feel something was wrong/bad. the 'reviews' represent a tiny fraction of actual rooms occupied, and a tiny fraction of owners. "Laid back and relaxed" IMHO generally equals a realist view of OKW. the units are not 6" from each other, the spread out nature of the resort, the architecture, landscaping all lend in creating a feel for the old world 'old key west'...thus the feel of being laid back and relaxing

HTH

PS/ edited just to say I don't even own at OKW and we love it!

 

[jemiaule]

Not sure on the reviews but can give you would good review second hand.

One of my employees just returned a week ago from a weeks stay at OKW I sent her on. She has previously stayed at SSR and a regular suite at Beach Club. I asked her how it was and she said fantastic. Her family loved the room, she thought the decor and the size of the villa was great and was pleased as punch.

She is definitely someone who would let me know if anything was amiss, broken, etc. She has also considering buying DVC herself so if she saw anything wrong, not clean, etc, I know she would have said something. No bad reports and in fact she said the stay at OKW was what convinced her and her hubby to buy DVC.

So don't worry too much if you can and instead look forward to yoru vacation.

 

[ont/ohana]

Hi we stayed at OKW in March for 3 days in a studio. We found everything to be nice and clean. We had a beautiful towel arrangement and our children LOVED the quiet pool's playground by Turtle Pond Rd. The only thing I could say that was not great but not anyone's fault was that we got the last studio in the whole resort-so we were a little further away from the main bldg but...it turned out that our friends were only a couple of bldgings away from us and we were quite close to the quiet pool.
We really liked the communtiy feeling at OKW and hope you do too!!

 

[ont/ohana]

By the way- if your kids like to swim- they have a great pool and communtiy center too!- They have tons of programs for the kids. I did not find the main pool laid back- Our kids were up and down the slide so many times and in and out of the sand castle area too!

 

[CarolMN]

If you looked, you would not find even one WDW resort that didn't have bad reviews. It seems to go in streaks - guess it is OKW's turn again.

Don't let any of the reviews influence you - so many more bad reviews are published than good ones. If all the good ones were published, you'd never even be able to find the bad ones.

I'm sure your trip will turn out to be just fine.

 

[La2kw]

We've stayed at our home resort of OKW many times. We have never had a problem with any of the many rooms we have stayed at.

 

[3DisneyKids]

Our first DVC stay was at OKW as renters. I, too, went to Deb's site and read the reviews there and was really nervous and skeptical. This was 2+ years ago and there were some negative reviews back then as well. We went anyway and had a fine time...no cleanliness issues at all.

This is JUST MY OPINION (so no flames please...I really do think that OKW is a lovely resort), but I think that the reason OKW gets more than its share of negative reviews because the theming isn't so "in your face." Take, for example, POR. This is a beautiful resort, certainly. And they go totally 100% into the theme. Same holds true for POP or any of the All Stars. But OKW just doesn't have that type of theming and I think that people who are expecting a "Disney-themed" resort might feel disappointed for that reason.

Now me? I'd take OKW over POR or POP any day!

 

[WEDway2002]

Just "chiming in" ...

We've been OKW members since 1994 and have stayed there close to 25 times and have never had a problem. Uh oh ... ... I've probably just jinxed our upcoming trip!

Anyway ... we have stayed elsewhere but our "home away from home" remains our all-time favorite.

Dave

 

[Uncleromulus]

We've gone to OKW on a regular basis since 1992 and never a maintenance or a cleanliness problem.

 

[rbuzzotta]

OKW still is and will always be my #1 resort. Sure there may be minor problems here and there but the staff is more than accomodating. As with any resort/hotel/timeshare etc. there will be some housekeeping issues, worn carpet etc. over time. I have even experienced some. IMO, minor issues when compared to the beauty of the resort.

My younger DD's love the main pool due to the wonderful staff at Hank's......Maryann, Ted, Manny, Eddie and more. They look forward to seeing their friendly faces every year!! My oldest DD loves OKW because she say's it has the cutest boys there!!! I am on vacation and find that OKW offers the most for R & R and it is a hop, skip and jump to the action!! The best of both worlds!!

Go into OKW with a positive attitude. I believe you will be happily surprised!!!

Have fun!!

 

[WolfpackFan]

We're staying at OKW for six nights in June, but I'm not real concerned about any negative reviews I read. It's a very large resort and you can't expect every room to be perfect every time. We've had problems at other DVC resorts we've stayed at, but none serious enough to ruin our vacation. I remember one time at HHI we had a bad shower leak that caused the carpet to get wet. We reported it and it was fixed. I think you have to look at DVC accomodations differently than from a hotel room. It really is your second home and because of it's size and features there are more things that can go wrong. Kind of like your house. Right now I could work full-time for a year and spend a small fortune to get our house in great condition. But there are some problems I'm willing to just overlook and live with (like quirky plumbing, carpet needs replacing, etc.). The thing is as DVC owners whenever we check in and if we see problems, report them and see that they get fixed; if nothing else for those folks who will be checking in after us. But don't get all down and negative about the resort itself just because there are a few problems. I'm really looking forward to OKW in June.

 

[starbox]

With the exception of CSR - I've never stayed in any Disney property without some sort of minor "issue".

PORFQ - dirty mini-fridge, rings under soap dish and etc. on bathroom vanity (No big deal, we wiped them down)

POP - Front desk put us in a fully occupied, extremely dirty room, then acted put out when we complained and asked for a room without people in it. Rat outside building.

OKW - wet carpet (did not ntice until the second night when I got out of bed on the side by the window), dirty kitchen counter. (No big deal again)

SSR - new room had malfunctioning electronic lock (reported and fixed in less than 15 minutes).

VWL - Very clean - small lights on the bed were loose. bathroom was very clean but smelled mildewy/musty. I did fill out a survey and mentioned that they may need to check the air vent system for mildew/mold.

VB - Something was wrong with the washing machine and a load of my clothes ended up with bleach damage in spite of the fact that I don't use anything resembling bleach. I blame a previous user of the washing machines for that one.

Swan - Ick. Technically not a Disney property, but by far the dirtiest, most damaged place I've stayed. Peeling wallpaper, bathroom looked like it had been wiped with a wet washcloth.

I think most issues people have are minor and I fully expect to continue to run into little things here and there. We notify management in a manner that is appropriate to the issue encountered. We've had issues with room charges/keys/dining plan about 1/3 of the time, but they have always been resolved very quickly by Concierge. I've never seen anything at a Disney-run property that made me think there was any systematic neglect or resort-wide problem.

 

[rigsby25]

One of my employees just returned a week ago from a weeks stay at OKW I sent her on.

Can I work for you?

 

[La2kw]

This is JUST MY OPINION (so no flames please...I really do think that OKW is a lovely resort), but I think that the reason OKW gets more than its share of negative reviews because the theming isn't so "in your face." Take, for example, POR. This is a beautiful resort, certainly. And they go totally 100% into the theme. Same holds true for POP or any of the All Stars. But OKW just doesn't have that type of theming and I think that people who are expecting a "Disney-themed" resort might feel disappointed for that reason.

Now me? I'd take OKW over POR or POP any day!

No flames, but how is OKW not themed? The place is very reminiscent of the real Key West. The architecture and landscaping are highly themed, IMO. It certainly has no less themeing than POR.

I don't consider Pop Century really themed that well. What is the theme? Cheesy architecture? Tacky buildings? That's not much of a theme, IMO.

 

[nbodyhome]

Old Key West theming to me is like most of the other deluxe/moderate/Home Away from Home resorts on property - designed to feel like "not" being at Disney. I love the theming of OKW.

I also like the theming at Pop, though I do feel more like I'm at Disney there.

 

[Starr W.]

No flames, but how is OKW not themed? The place is very reminiscent of the real Key West. The architecture and landscaping are highly themed, IMO. It certainly has no less themeing than POR.

I don't consider Pop Century really themed that well. What is the theme? Cheesy architecture? Tacky buildings? That's not much of a theme, IMO.

Let's face most people are not students of architecture, so they have no clue that OKW reflects the "real" one.

I have read alot of online reviews of the DVC resorts and other timeshares. The majority of bad reviews come from people who have never stayed in that type of lodging before or arrived with a burr up their behind and pick on everything. I remember an SSR review on Expedia which the person bashed the place because the bus driver didn't wait for her to walk from three buildings away.

 

[kda]

We spent 5 nights in a 1 BR in early March and had a great room in building 45. Everything was in very good condition and I didn't need to call for anything (whenever I have called, there's been a very quick and friendly response). This was our 6th stay in OKW and we will be going back. Our home is VWL and we love them both equally.
Not every room has been in such good shape, but we've never been disappointed or had major issues.

 

[KathyRN137]

We spent a week in a 2BR villa this past November. Everything was in tip-top shape! Clean, quiet, peaceful....ahh!

OP-- Enjoy your trip!

Kathy

 

[dhluvsDisney]

We have stayed in almost every resort at WDW and the kids were very skeptical to stay at OKW during our trip last October. We ended up splitting the trip 5 at OKW 2bdrm and 4 atBCV 1 bdrm. When it was time to leave OKW, guess what? No one wanted to. It had instantaneously become our fav resort and they really aren't even asking the stay at BCV or BWV anymore. We, too, were skeptics, but..............I just don't want to let the secret out.........um yeah........if people hear it's great, then it'll be harder to get into! Hmmmm... maybe the negative posting is a conspiracy to keep people away from OKW because they want it to themselves!!!!!!!!!!