Beach Club mixed feelings

[WillowRain]

We just returned from a week stay, 2 bedroom villa. Touring Plans had faxed in a request for room 554, but they claimed to not have it and we got stuck in 151. The last room at the end of the weird hallway. It sucked. The walk was not that long, but at the end of the day the hallway seemed endless. We had a stink bug die in the hall, which STAYED THERE ALL WEEK. It was almost like a running joke. There were plenty of cast passing by it to our room, heck, it even got run over by a cart and smashed into pieces, but his little corpse was not vacuumed up until the day we left.

The Market was always crowded, drink lines sometimes took 20 mins! Valet never answered the phone to have the car brought up front. Epcot entrance was nice. Pool was closed almost every day due to lightening. Luckily the 2 days I planned to have major pool time, it was open all day. We even got in a night swim. That pool is pretty cool, but it's not a reason to stay there again. In fact I liked the Dunes pool a lot better, quiet, never anyone there.

Room itself was just okay. BLT is much larger, better kitchen, and that 3rd bath is such a great thing to have. The backside where our room was, felt more like the Jungle Club villas, which was a really cool atmosphere. The laid back-ness of it was good for a change, but I missed seeing the monorail go by out my window! We saw so many little lizards, and even some bunnies! And the booms from Illuminations, wow. They are so loud it woke my son on a night or 2. It really is a lovely resort, but it solidified that we love BLT, we are glad we own there, and most likely will never stay anywhere else.

 

[bobbiwoz]

We’ve had the long walks in BCV, BWV, and Kidani, especially, so I understand. Now you know, BCV is not one of your preferred resorts.

I do like SAB a lot, and also like the convenience of Dunes pool.

Housekeeping missed the mark for sure.

 

[Deb & Bill]

We just returned from a week stay, 2 bedroom villa. Touring Plans had faxed in a request for room 554, but they claimed to not have it and we got stuck in 151. The last room at the end of the weird hallway. It sucked. The walk was not that long, but at the end of the day the hallway seemed endless. We had a stink bug die in the hall, which STAYED THERE ALL WEEK. It was almost like a running joke. There were plenty of cast passing by it to our room, heck, it even got run over by a cart and smashed into pieces, but his little corpse was not vacuumed up until the day we left.

The Market was always crowded, drink lines sometimes took 20 mins! Valet never answered the phone to have the car brought up front. Epcot entrance was nice. Pool was closed almost every day due to lightening. Luckily the 2 days I planned to have major pool time, it was open all day. We even got in a night swim. That pool is pretty cool, but it's not a reason to stay there again. In fact I liked the Dunes pool a lot better, quiet, never anyone there.

Room itself was just okay. BLT is much larger, better kitchen, and that 3rd bath is such a great thing to have. The backside where our room was, felt more like the Jungle Club villas, which was a really cool atmosphere. The laid back-ness of it was good for a change, but I missed seeing the monorail go by out my window! We saw so many little lizards, and even some bunnies! And the booms from Illuminations, wow. They are so loud it woke my son on a night or 2. It really is a lovely resort, but it solidified that we love BLT, we are glad we own there, and most likely will never stay anywhere else.

DVC has asked members not to bother faxing in requests because they just toss them out. You are better off emailing, calling or chatting with MS to add your request to your reservation.

 

[Bing Showei]

Housekeeping missed the mark for sure.

Actually. They nailed it.

it even got run over by a cart and smashed into pieces

 

[WillowRain]

Yes I should have called. TP faxed in my last one for BLT and I got the room I asked for, so I thought I would be good. Will make sure for next trip that I call, because I want the same room we had in Jan.

 

[VinnieT]

BCV has special place in my heart. I do love the place but not been there in few years. That pool is amazing, hands down. With the rooms there usually is some door that could take up out of another entrance instead backtracking to the lobby area.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Regarding housekeeping-I just checked in and had 2 spoons and only one packet of coffee mate and one pack of sugar. I just took more at the Marketplace-I got dirty looks there, but all considering, I really don't care. But I did have real coffee cups (2) as well as 2 cardboard ones.

 

[disneynutz]

Your best chance of getting your room request is to have it added to the reservation by MS, that is the accepted process. We email all requests to MS via the member website and they send you back a confirmation. Some room assigners accept faxes, some don't. Requesting a specific room doesn't give the room assigner much to work with. At BCV "pool view" would have been a better view request.

Bill

 

[SSRFred]

We had a good stay there over Labor Day weekend but housekeeping was definitely off. There was a dish on the floor right outside our door when we checked in. I figured someone left it there from room service, but no one ever picked it up. After 3 days of seeing it every time we left or entered our room, I took it into our room and added it to other items in our dishwasher. It was just so strange...

 

[cruisin5]

Requesting a specific room is risky. What's the chance someone is checking out of that room the day you are checking in? Perhaps next time you can request a specific room and then another request such as upper floor. Also, upon checking in, if you don't like your room you can see if there is anything else currently available or available later that day.

The third bathroom at BLT is very handy, and nothing says "DISNEY" more than seeing the monorail from your room!

Sadly, what you experienced with mousekeeping and valet is happening more and more I'm afraid.

I have upcoming stays in a 2bedroom at BLT and BCV, it will be interesting to compare.

 

[WillowRain]

Requesting a specific room is risky. What's the chance someone is checking out of that room the day you are checking in? Perhaps next time you can request a specific room and then another request such as upper floor. Also, upon checking in, if you don't like your room you can see if there is anything else currently available or available later that day.

The third bathroom at BLT is very handy, and nothing says "DISNEY" more than seeing the monorail from your room!

Sadly, what you experienced with mousekeeping and valet is happening more and more I'm afraid.

I have upcoming stays in a 2bedroom at BLT and BCV, it will be interesting to compare.

Definitely report back and let us know. BLT in Jan was perfect. Of course, I had waited all my life to stay "at" the Contemporary! And now I own there, thanks mom! I just booked us 2 extra nights for our June trip at CCV, Mom owns there and we decided we will give it a try. 2 Studios instead of 2 Bed. I really want to stay there in Dec 2021 as I hear it's got the best Christmas decor. And those cozy fireplace nooks!!!

What is so strange to me about the off valet is the fact that we saw more Ubers than anything, and the valet let was far from full. And there were plenty of empty rooms along the walk to Epcot, like, almost all of them on that bottom floor had the curtains open and you could tell were unoccupied. So maybe it was short staffed? Yet the staff room door down that hall seemed to always be open, and there were a lot of them in there. So who knows. I can't let a giant bug in my hallway ruin a trip, right? I think I took a photo of him, when I find it, I will post!

 

[Jerry5788]

Definitely report back and let us know. BLT in Jan was perfect. Of course, I had waited all my life to stay "at" the Contemporary! And now I own there, thanks mom! I just booked us 2 extra nights for our June trip at CCV, Mom owns there and we decided we will give it a try. 2 Studios instead of 2 Bed. I really want to stay there in Dec 2021 as I hear it's got the best Christmas decor. And those cozy fireplace nooks!!!

What is so strange to me about the off valet is the fact that we saw more Ubers than anything, and the valet let was far from full. And there were plenty of empty rooms along the walk to Epcot, like, almost all of them on that bottom floor had the curtains open and you could tell were unoccupied. So maybe it was short staffed? Yet the staff room door down that hall seemed to always be open, and there were a lot of them in there. So who knows. I can't let a giant bug in my hallway ruin a trip, right? I think I took a photo of him, when I find it, I will post!

Tom Bricker talked about that in his recent blog
https://www.disneytouristblog.com/off-season-low-crowds-disney-world/

 

[Hopefully]

Yes I should have called. TP faxed in my last one for BLT and I got the room I asked for, so I thought I would be good. Will make sure for next trip that I call, because I want the same room we had in Jan.

Highly unlikely that it would be available

 

[WillowRain]

Highly unlikely that it would be available

Hey, I thought so too, but I got it! The best room there as far as I am concerned.

 

[tjkraz]

We just returned from a week stay, 2 bedroom villa. Touring Plans had faxed in a request for room 554, but they claimed to not have it and we got stuck in 151. The last room at the end of the weird hallway. It sucked.

They "claimed" to not have it?? That wording gives the impression you are skeptical.

Please realize hotels are not cruise ships where everyone arrives on the same day. If they needed that room for a guest who arrived 1-2-3 or more days before you, they aren't going to hold it for you. And even if the room is vacated on your arrival day and multiple people are silly enough to request the same room, not all can have it.

Requesting a single room...or even a range of rooms...is a recipe for disaster. If they don't have the specific room(s) available, they'll throw you anywhere.

DVC resorts effectively run at 100% occupancy. Some members have been returning for 25+ years and are knowledgable enough to request many of the same rooms/areas/features. Best course of action is a couple general requests for features that are most important (high floor, facing the pool, near the elevator, etc.) The more specific you get, the more often you will come away disappointed.

 

[WillowRain]

They "claimed" to not have it?? That wording gives the impression you are skeptical.

Please realize hotels are not cruise ships where everyone arrives on the same day. If they needed that room for a guest who arrived 1-2-3 or more days before you, they aren't going to hold it for you. And even if the room is vacated on your arrival day and multiple people are silly enough to request the same room, not all can have it.

Requesting a single room...or even a range of rooms...is a recipe for disaster. If they don't have the specific room(s) available, they'll throw you anywhere.

DVC resorts effectively run at 100% occupancy. Some members have been returning for 25+ years and are knowledgable enough to request many of the same rooms/areas/features. Best course of action is a couple general requests for features that are most important (high floor, facing the pool, near the elevator, etc.) The more specific you get, the more often you will come away disappointed.

I said it in that manner simply because they could have received and said that they could not honor it. But it was sent in, they said they never got a request. So I just wonder what happened to it. If it had been received, don't they make notations? I am not upset about it, just did not care for the room we ended up in.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I said it in that manner simply because they could have received and said that they could not honor it. But it was sent in, they said they never got a request. So I just wonder what happened to it. If it had been received, don't they make notations? I am not upset about it, just did not care for the room we ended up in.

It was probably thrown away. DVC has asked members and guests not to bother faxing in requests because most of the time they just toss them out.

 

[WillowRain]

It was probably thrown away. DVC has asked members and guests not to bother faxing in requests because most of the time they just toss them out.

Noted. First time staying on our own points, last time we rented, and faxed it in via touring plans, and request was honored. It was truly magical.

 

[tjkraz]

Noted. First time staying on our own points, last time we rented, and faxed it in via touring plans, and request was honored. It was truly magical.

I can't speak to what happens to faxes but the logistics are always working against you on DVC reservations. Again, assume every resort is always at 99-100% occupancy. The only way you have ANY chance of getting a single room is if the prior occupant checked-out on your arrival day. If someone was placed in that room 1...2...3+ days before your arrival for an extended stay, it's simply not an option.

And even if the room was vacated on your arrival day, there's no guarantee you'll get it.

 

[Shellandscott]

looking at the map you should have requested 554, followed by 454,354,254,154 which all have the same V layout. As does, 534,434,334,234 &134. As others have mentioned you would not be guaranteed any room, but you would have had the V layout and you would have been close to the elevator. As far as the bug, did you report it to housekeeping? The general lack of vacuuming is sad, but if you reported it and they still did not clean it up I would be even more upset.