So, I wrote a letter to the GM of the Y&B Club yesterday about our stay. This is what I sent:
Kim Marinaccio,
Hello. My name is XXXXXXX XXXXXX and my family recently stayed at your resort, the Beach Club, from July 7-14. We were in Deluxe Room-Club Level #1557. I wanted to provide some feedback about some issues we encountered, as well as discuss some of the highlights of our stay.
We transferred to the Beach Club from the Contemporary, where we had stayed on the Tower Club Level for the previous 4 nights. The Beach Club is our family's favorite resort, and we were glad to be "home" when we checked in on Saturday, July 7. Our initial encounter with a Club Level Staff member was with Hope, who met us in the lobby and escorted us upstairs. Hope was wonderfully friendly and welcoming, and she continued to engage with us throughout our stay, while we were in the lounge enjoying the evening offerings. Hope is an incredible employee, and she deserves special recognition. The Club Level was the highlight of our stay. We fully enjoyed the expansive food offerings at breakfast, snack time, and evening services. The dessert service was the only thing that was underwhelming. While the deserts were great, the selection was exactly the same every single night. Some more variety would have been welcomed. But, that's a minor complaint. We loved everything else about the lounge, including all the staff who worked very hard to keep the food stocked, dishes cleared, and were always willing to help with anything we needed. The lounge was a clean and comfortable respite. In particular, we were thrilled to see that the lounge was accessible 24/7. Previously, the lounge would close between food service times, so having it open all the time was a definite plus. One thing that would improve the lounge would be a self service beer refrigerator like the Contemporary has. It is a minor inconvenience to have to ask for every beer and wait on the staff member to disappear and come back with it.
We were assigned room #1557, which was a fantastic room. We loved the location close to the quiet pool and the room was large and comfortable. Unfortunately, our housekeeping services were well below basic hotel industry standards throughout our stay. Some examples are as follows: dirty coffee mugs were not replaced numerous times (we would have to wash them ourselves in the sink); we were often missing towels, including bath mats, hand towels, and washcloths; coffee pods were not replenished for the Nespresso machine; coffee accessories, including sugar and half and half were not replenished; room was never vacuumed in 7 days; turn down service was inconsistent, happening only 5 out of 7 nights; the toiletries were never restocked, even after leaving a note specifically asking for more (I ended up finding the housekeeper in the hallway and asking for more shampoo and shower gel and she opened her drawer and let me take what I needed....I should not have had to do that); dirty plates and glasses from the Club Lounge were not always removed from our room. In addition, there were often bags of dirty towels and garbage sitting out in the hallways, left by housekeepers, for hours at a time. We would see them when leaving our room in the afternoon and they would still be there when we came back late at night. It was unsightly and took away from the ambiance of the resort.
Our room was a Club Level room, which is supposed to include an expanded toiletry selection, robes, and slippers. At the Contemporary Tower Club, we received additional toiletries, including sunscreen, dental and shaving kits, shower caps, foot scrub, after sun gel, and mouthwash. We did not receive any of those extras here, and were only given soap, shower get, shampoo, conditioner, and body lotion. Our housekeeper didn't even have the additional items on her cart. Again, this isn't a "make or break" thing, but for the additional money that the Club Level rooms cost, these extras should be provided in ALL Club Level rooms, not just the ones on the 5th floor.
These housekeeping issues were annoying and not reflective of the standard that Disney should be striving to meet for rooms at this price point. Disney prides itself on having standards that exceed those of the hotel industry as a whole. The housekeeping at this resort, at least in our recent experience, is a major issue that needs to be addressed. What would have otherwise been an absolutely fantastic stay was marred by the shortcomings of the housekeeping staff. Additional training and better communication about how rooms should be cleaned and restocked should be a top priority here.
I know I could have discussed these issues with a manager while we were there, but frankly, I wanted to enjoy my vacation with my family, and do not feel that guests should be obligated to take time out of their vacation to bring up issues that should not even exist at this level of resort. It is not the guest's responsibility to make sure housekeeping is up to par, and I did not want to spend any time speaking to someone who would have simply given me a canned response and perhaps a few extra Fastpasses, which does not address the root of the problem. Instead, I wanted to write to you because you left a letter in our room indicating that you are open to feedback and I know that you have the power to address problems in a real, concrete way. I very much hope that you find this feedback valuable and that you take steps to address these issues so that your resort continues to shine among Disney Deluxe Resorts. It is our favorite (I've stayed at them all), but these kinds of issues really do make me think twice about returning, and that makes me sad. Please keep the Beach Club amazing, so that my family and others can continue to enjoy our stays here.
Sincerely,
XXXXXXX XXXXXX
I received a response within the hour, from Kim. This is what she wrote:
Dear Mrs. XXXXXX,
Greetings from Disney’s Yacht & Beach Resorts.
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback.
I am sorry to hear that your Resort vacation experience has not exceeded your expectations.
A member of my team will be reaching out to you shortly.
We hope to welcome you back in the future.
Yours Sincerely,
Kim Marinaccio
General Manager
I will let you all know what the outcome of this is, if I ever am contacted by "a member of my team." At least my email was acknowledged and seems like it was actually read.
I really don't expect or want anything to come out of this other than the housekeeping to improve. That is why I didn't complain while there. I am not looking for any "freebies." I feel like our stay was a good value for the price paid (which was heavily discounted, FWIW). I just couldn't let it go without writing an email, our service was so poor, and it is the principle of the matter more than anything.