Why we won't use the Radisson anymore

[Gina]

LOL-- Shirley, you and I think alike... when in doubt, go to the source. I also emailed Mr. Panackia, and had sent him the link to this thread. I love that Radisson, and was dismayed to hear people's comments on it. He had this to say:

Hello and thank you for the information on the Dis Board - I have to tell you that I did recieve many emails and calls from people who visit the other Boards - and I agree with most of them that we fell asleep at the wheel - we had been planning to do some major renovations later this year - but we have move that schedule up - and also - yes we do have some things that need to be replaced - but they DO NOT HAVE TO BE DIRTY - we have hired additional staff to bring our hotel up to par - I did write a letter to the people from the other boards and I have attached it for you to read - if you can not open this please let me know and i will copy and paste into the body of an email - again thanks for taking time to let me know about this - also if you have any questions - and would like to talk please feel to call me - (my cell is 321-258-7568)
Again Thanks

JOE PANACKIA
GENERAL MANAGER
RADISSON RESORT AT THE PORT
PH 321.784.0000 X6130
FX 321.868.0064
rada1a@aol.com

The letter he attached that he had sent to complaining cruisers from another board was attached, and was the one Shirley posted. I think Mr. Panackia is very sincere, and I am once again looking forward to my next stay there.

So if you're reading this, Mr. Panackia, thank you for addressing everyone's concerns!

-gina-

 

[laurenk]

Thnaks for taking care of this situation! We have 4 rooms booked in October, and I was seriously considering switching hotels. I think I will stay put now, and wait to see what others have to report.

 

[RellingTwin]

Thanks Shirley (never figured out how to do the large letters!)

We have stayed at the Radisson 2X. My only complaint was the mosquitoes at the pool in the evening made the palce unuseable! I think I could have used a transfustion after an hour

I wrote a letter to the Radisson about this. It seems all the pretty ponds are also breeding sites for the state bird of Florida (mosquitoes!) The next time we stayed I came prepared with "Deep Woods OFF" but did not need it! I'm not sure what they did but we did not get a single bite!
As for the rooms both stays the room was spotless (King Suite 1st floor) and in very good condition. The staff was very nice although I found out later they did not deliver a bottle of Champagne that Shirley dropped off for our DIS meet.
With the cost of parking the car at the port now 70.00, I figured we might as well get the suite (119.00) and leave the car there.
So a "cheap hotel" plus parking (50.00 + 70.00=120.00)It makes for a very good deal.

Thanks to the manager for responding to the complaints. Once again we see the POWER of these boards!!

 

[BethA]

Had thought about changing for this Fri, but will stay. THANK YOU SHIRLEY-- you always come through for your friends here. Beth

 

[b&bdiscruisers]

I have found the complaints on this thread so surprising! May 16 of this year my husband and I stayed at the Radisson before our May 17 cruise in room 617 which is a king suite & we were absolutely delighted with it. It was VERY clean & the bathroom & shower were spotless! The walls, carpet, bedspread, everything were clean, no stains. We're used to staying at the Disney resorts & our room was just as good & clean as Disney & believe me I am picky about the cleaniness of hotel rooms! My daughter & her husband stayed there the same time as we did only on the other side of the hotel, same kind of room & had no complaints, so this is why I'm so surprised at this thread. We have ressies to go back in Sept. for the weekend & do the Cape Canaveral tour, etc. I have not changed my mind in going and I will write a comment when I get back on these boards about what I see & experience!

 

[WebmasterAlex]

It really is great they are doing all of that and Shirley.. YOUR ROCK!!!
What I really hope is that Mr. Panackia and his staff take a little bit of time each day to visit some of the rooms personally. Hopefully they never again run into a situation where they have to read about their hotel on a message board (except for satisfied customers!)

 

[WebmasterPete]

The moment I met Shirley, I KNEW she was first class. She just continues to prove it over and over and over again. Way to go!!!!

Pete

 

[trishy]

Thanks, Shirley. As the OP, I'll write to Mr. Panackia regarding my direct concerns. It seems like he genuinely cares about customer satisfaction. I'll also let him know how pleased I was that Ron Jon's gave us a 15% discount because we were staying at the Radisson (very nice touch). I'm glad to hear the place is getting some maintenance attention.

I wrote on the DIS about this because so many people stay at the Radisson before or after the cruise and I wanted to share my personal experience with others - good or bad. Thanks for contributing to the thread.

For those who have read my room #'s, please do not make specific requests for NOT getting those rooms. It is apparent that Mr. Panackia is making an effort to refurbish the rooms; therefore, your experience in those rooms may (hopefully, will) be different than mine. Thank you.

 

[we3luvdisney]

I agree, Shirley is TOPS! I had an issue (not a Radisson issue) and she assisted me.

As far as the Radisson is concerned, we stayed there prior to our cruise and we were VERY disappointed with the room and service we received. The room was trashed! As far as the service goes, we went to the restaurant (buffet night) one evening and did not want the buffet. We informed them that we were not too hungry and just wanted to see the menu. My God, I felt like we were making a sin because we didn't do the buffet. The waiter was upset at us and did not give us the time of day. Which was fine with us, because our tip reflected that.

We WILL never stay at the Radisson again!

 

[donnaMD]

I made a typo in my last thread.
Shirley; you are the greatest and I will try to give you some business when we cruise Aug 30th.
I think as a result of all of us writing the Radisson service and maintenance will be more consistent and that is fine by me since our relatives live closeby and we visit a minimum of once a year and many times for at least several days. We have stayed there primarily for its location and the pool my daughter loves. I honestly felt the problems we had were due to limited staff--not enough staff members to take care of any real problems, such as if a party group trashed a room and therefore they have to clean it well since the hotel would be full. As I mentioned the food is also hit or miss, but there are alternatives right next door and the luncheon service has been consistently good and priced very reasonably. The drinks are good and very reasonable as well.
I can tell you this, if the service becomes consistently good and it is well maintained, then this is a great value!
Also why do they let so many locals that are not staying there use the pool, especially on Sunday. I think that is bad and the manager should change that. I have stayed there at least six times and one time for a week, so I know the property well and have stayed there for the past 4 years.
The best rooms are the "rain forest rooms"; they cost a little more, have filtered water and an air cleaner. They seem newer and fresher too and are right outside the pool. They are not suite rooms so will not accommodate families with more than 1 or 2 kids and they cost about $10 more than the regular doubles. On the 29th we opted to stay in a 2 king suite since we will be there in the afternoon the day before we leave. We like putting our daughter to bed in the bedroom and watching tv in the living room and love having the refrigerator. They are quite nice when well kept--especially having the separate shower and jacuzzi and the nicest tolietries. I wish I could buy the same ones at home! Love the shampoo, conditioner and soap!
I think many of you will continue to enjoy it.
Thanks again to Shirley and the Manager for being so responsive.

 

[Buckaroo's Dad]

Hey Shirley.

I HAVE NEVER OR EVER WILL ACCEPT ANYTHING because I do a good deed. So to ease the emails i get saying "what do i get for it' my answer is remembering the GOLDEN RULE

In my opinion you SHOULD receive some material compensation for the time and effort you expend on behalf of all the Disers and their families and friends you so graciously assist. Therefore I am bestowing upon you and Norm an open-ended invitation to stay at Buckaroo's Dad's home if/when you ever decide to visit New York. Everything here is exceptionally clean (aside from my mind), so you need not concern yourselves with providing your own linens and such.

Thank you, my dear Shirley, for being the person you are...

 

[tezb]

Funny this thread came up...we just got back from our 7/19 Western cruise and I was saying to my husband that next cruise we do a cruise, I want to stay at a different hotel because I thought the Radisson is now a dump! Stayed there 2 yrs ago w/out problems but this time noticed the room was worn, dirty, no waste baskets around, shower door was broken and water leaked out onto floor everytime it was used. I was glad it was only for one night!!

 

[snelsonbrown]

You know that no matter how you are feeling when you get up in the morning or during the day when the kids have fried your body and brains ( and if you say "that has never happened to me", I am coming back as your children- that is what I use to tell my kids when they pushed every button God put on my body and I thought banging my head against a concrete wall was a great relief)
Anyhow I did find Mr. Panackia very very sincere and I sincerely feel he will do everything within his power to make it all right - you know there is so much construction happening now around Cape Canaveral - the dust, the dirt, the heat - name it - it is going on around here and I know for a fact that people really do try to make a difference in how they conduct their businesses especially if it is locally owned - the owners do have a hand on business - anyhow I say give Mr. Panackia a chance to make it right - As long as I have been going "home" to Key West, I use to stay at one particular motel since I had children, dogs, sister, and all the children's friends with me, I did not feel it was fair of me to inflict this stress on my parents and the rest of the family - anyhow fisherman's lodge became Econolodge and then when I heard it was becoming a Radisson, I was numb - I thought here goes the good service and I don't care if your room isn't clean - attitude - I was very distressed over the change over BUT I gave it a chance and even tho I was a little disappointed, I waited - well let me tell you - the rooms, service etc is excellent - now like everything and anything - life wasn't guaranteed to be perfect even tho we would like it to be - people aren't perfect tho we would like to me - everybody makes mistakes and many of us just overlook something that has to be taken care of, but everyone deserves the change to make it right - regardless of what it is -
You will smile more -honest
Anyhow it is morning and I got the biggest kick from this thread and most of all - I am so proud of each of you and hummmmmmmmmm maybe someday I will make New York and accept your offer BD's ---but then I would be so bundled up you wouldn't know who was standing at your door - Anyhow take care everybody and have a very blessed day.
With love to all from Cape Canaveral
Shirley

 

[Buckaroo's Dad]

people aren't perfect tho we would like to me

A bit of a Freudian slip there, my dear Shirley, but definitely accurate - I can only hope to one day be as close to perfect (Gift-wise AND giving-wise) as you...

 

[snelsonbrown]

BD's - I read that slip and several more that I made and I was going to back and edit all the slips, but I just told myself - what the heck everybody will know what I meant to say - the ol' conch in me was talking - it is so funny - when I was growing up in Key West, all of the conchs would have their own language - when I left to face the "real" world, I was amazed how funny other people talked only to realize it was me that was being corrected -------I remember my mom, who was spanish, always wanting to go to "Silverlong John" which is really named Long John Silver which is a seafood restaurant here - I knew what she was saying and it meant sense to me, but then this is the way it was done back in my childhood - anyhow thanks for the understanding - your imput cracked me up and I thought "there is the spanish conch in me again showing up - Oh I meant to add Pete it was so great to hear from you buddy - I have dropped you a note every so often and just wanted to know how you and especially your mom was doing - drop me a note and let me know - again I want to add that Mr. Panackia from the Radisson does deserve the opportunity to make things right - I do intend to call him tomorrow and let him know I did post his letter -
anyhow time to get ready for a relaxing day.
(((((((((((((((((((HUGS)))))))))))))))))))))))))

 

[Tesabat]

Also why do they let so many locals that are not staying there use the pool, especially on Sunday.

My somewhat local sister tells me that a lot of hotels open their pools to locals on Sunday.

When we were at AKL last year, the bartender at the pool bar told my Sis and BIL - who live about 45 - 60 minutes away, that on Sunday, the pool is open to locals if they ever wanted to come back and visit for the day. My sis took great pleasure in rubbing that fact in...that even though I spent all this money to have a family vacation there for a few days, they could go for "free" if they wanted. Of course, I'm thinking about all the "pool hopping" threads, and thinking - huh? Something doesn't add up. And that's when she said - oh, opening the pools to locals on Sunday is common around here...but she didn't know DIS did it - thus her great pleasure. So...for what that's worth...

 

[Chattyaholic]

DH and I stayed one night at the Radisson in January before our cruise, we had one of the king suites with jacuzzi (room #410) for $99 and we thought it was great!! We saw no signs of any wear and tear, everything was clean and in great working condition. We didn't eat at the restaurant so can't comment on that, and we didn't have time to use the pool but we did walk around and take pictures, it is a beautiful pool area! I LOVED the fish pond!!
We are taking another cruise in January with my parents, and I plan to book two king suite rooms next week. I'm going to ask for the same room we had before, and another one close to it. I'm disappointed to hear Avis is moving though, WHY are they dong that?! We are flying in on Thursday, planning to rent a car at the airport for three days then we planned on turning it back in at Avis on Sunday before taking the shuttle over for our Wonder cruise.

 

[Hygiene99]

hey we have stayyed at the rad , twice and we have had 2 great stays room clean , and we had a couple of great meals at the restruant........ pool areas have been great .....
peter

 

[taswira]

Not specific to the Rad but in general - -

The next time any of you end up in a truly disgusting/dirty/grungy room, TAKE PICTURES! Nearly everyone has a camera on vacation. If it is bad enough for you to complain, you can then inform management that you "photographed the excessive mold," etc. That should be enough incentive for any hotel to clean up its act if they want to stay in business, since for all they know you might post it on your website!

 

[donnaMD]

I know I have posted a few times as "hit or miss" but my husband and I with our 6 year old are giving them a break and are staying there on AUGUST 29th the night before we sail on the 7 night Magic Western. I have a feeling that the manager has taken note of our complaints and compliments too and will make things improved so we should be thankful and give them our business. THE HOTEL IS BEAUTIFUL so lets give them a chance! I think these threads will improve this beautiful resort!