Rollaway beds or air mattresses being provided to guests at SSR?

[Judique]

I don't know how I can make this any clearer: I did go in with an open mind. The piece I was originally supposed to write was a short thing on SSR, looking at its rooms, amenities, etc. It was only when the trip went so badly -- again, the worst hotel stay in my entire life -- that I began to wonder if this was evident of something larger within Disney. And having known about Roy Disney's concerns -- and then having read "Disney War" -- I began to question if what I experienced was connected to a larger corporate problem within Disney.

Perhaps my trip was just one bad example. But there do seem to be some other bad examples out there... And there are the good ones, too. I tried to balance it out as best as possible.

Okay...I was reading along and going along and not really agreeing/disagreeing one way or another until you wrote 'again, the worst hotel stay in my entire life.'

Come on, guy - get real. That cost you any kind of credibility you may have created in my mind. In two decades of travel (as you stated) this was your worst stay? What a privileged life you've led!

You had four people and sleeping accommodations for four people. You wanted a rollaway for whatever reason. You didn't get a rollaway and this ruined your whole stay?? You were in a one bedroom villa, according to your article. I think 'you' were most of the problem here. Lack of research. I am totally offended that you got any kind of a refund.

 

[charlespbg]

Yes, it was the worst stay -- and, no, I've not led a "privileged" life.

The rollaway bed -- promised three times -- was just one issue. But the fact the promised substitution -- an air mattress -- didn't arrive when it was supposed to (by around 9 p.m.) was very irksome. (I had to make a couple of more calls.) In any case, I don't think if you're paying $300-plus a night and are told you're going to get a rollaway bed that you should have to fight for it.

Being woken by a manager at 1 a.m. was another issue.

Having to ask three times for a computer internet cable, which many hotels just place in the room, was another.

Having to deal with construction noise was another. (Not a huge issue for me, but again, I can't believe I was not informed so much construction would be going on.)

There were plenty of smaller things -- no person manning the front desk when I checked in (at the height of check-in time -- 4 p.m.); again, that's unheard of for almost any hotel in any price category. The computers went down in the restaurant one morning, so purchasing a couple of items for breakfast took 20 minutes. And as I believe I mentioned earlier, I had a completely botched breakfast at another resort.

But what really amazed me was how management seemed disinterested and incapable of responding properly throughout my stay.

In any case, nothing pales in comparison to being overcharged $750 -- and then having to fight with managers for an hour to get the bill corrected. I'm sorry, that just doesn't happen at Motel 6...

 

[idratherbeinwdw]

Okay...I was reading along and going along and not really agreeing/disagreeing one way or another until you wrote 'again, the worst hotel stay in my entire life.'

Come on, guy - get real. That cost you any kind of credibility you may have created in my mind. In two decades of travel (as you stated) this was your worst stay? What a privileged life you've led!

You had four people and sleeping accommodations for four people. You wanted a rollaway for whatever reason. You didn't get a rollaway and this ruined your whole stay?? You were in a one bedroom villa, according to your article. I think 'you' were most of the problem here. Lack of research. I am totally offended that you got any kind of a refund.

Hear, Hear! What was the refund for? I find it impossible to believe you didn't mention your status as a reporter, because nothing that happened seemed that awful to me. I am not saying Disney doesn't screw up, but what happened to you seems relatively minor, and certainly not worthy of a full refund.

I also find it hard to believe you were told by 3 separate people that rollaways were available. Getting one inexperienced CM is possible, but getting 3 seems way off the charts as far as odds go. I don't work at WDW and I know they don't allow rollaways in the villas, so it seems very unlikely you are giving us the whole truth.

Deb from allears.net is quoted in your original article, and she makes some excellent points. What used to be "bonus" perks (ie towel animals) have now become the expectation since folks read about those things online and have the attitude of "why them why not me?". Many of the complaints folks have are because someone else got something extra and they didn't--which is not the same as having a real problem.

The original article also mentioned the woman at the allstars crying because she didn't get connecting rooms. When you call to make a reservation they always tell you a request is just that--a request and cannot be guaranteed. Evidently she had a child with special needs--did she get a doctor's letter attesting to that? If she did then she should have been able to get the request and WDW was wrong IMO. If not, then she would be treated like the rest of us. You said they DID find her acceptable rooms in "a remote part of the resort" in a building filled with "noisy teenagers". What would you have them do, kick someone out of a room to accomodate her? The resort is not that large, so even a "remote" building is not that bad. Someone reading the article would think she was miles away, when in actuality that is far from the truth. And as far as a building full of noisy teenagers-I strongly doubt there were only teenagers in that building. The allstars are known for large school groups, so whatever building she was in may have had a large number of teens, but surely not the entire building. I wonder if she got the connecting rooms right away if any of the other issues would have even been brought up had they existed.

I honestly am NOT one of those "Disney can do no wrong" people. I know they mess up, as do all businesses. But your worst hotel stay ever? Where do you usually stay, the Waldorf Astoria? If you are saying your stay at SSR was worse than a motel 6 I don't believe it for a second. You didn't say there were rodents, floods, the bed collapsed, or any truly awful things. If you are wealthy enough and lucky enough to stay at 5 star resorts all the time, then maybe this was "slumming" for you. Count your blessings if that's the case.

Like Judique, I really resent you getting all your money back when you were moved to a 2BR at no extra charge. I am sure in spite of the glitches that in the end you were satisfied, so why did you deserve to pay nothing??? Honestly I don't think you deserved a penny back. I am willing to bet when you say "no one was manning the desk" that your wait for someone to show up was no more than a couple of minutes. Yes it must have been annoying to be called at 1AM and to have to ask for the cable three times, and to have been overcharged--but a full refund? Come on!

 

[disneyholic family]

Yes, it was the worst stay -- and, no, I've not led a "privileged" life.

The rollaway bed -- promised three times -- was just one issue. But the fact the promised substitution -- an air mattress -- didn't arrive when it was supposed to (by around 9 p.m.) was very irksome. (I had to make a couple of more calls.) In any case, I don't think if you're paying $300-plus a night and are told you're going to get a rollaway bed that you should have to fight for it.

Being woken by a manager at 1 a.m. was another issue.

Having to ask three times for a computer internet cable, which many hotels just place in the room, was another.

Having to deal with construction noise was another. (Not a huge issue for me, but again, I can't believe I was not informed so much construction would be going on.)

There were plenty of smaller things -- no person manning the front desk when I checked in (at the height of check-in time -- 4 p.m.); again, that's unheard of for almost any hotel in any price category. The computers went down in the restaurant one morning, so purchasing a couple of items for breakfast took 20 minutes. And as I believe I mentioned earlier, I had a completely botched breakfast at another resort.

But what really amazed me was how management seemed disinterested and incapable of responding properly throughout my stay.

In any case, nothing pales in comparison to being overcharged $750 -- and then having to fight with managers for an hour to get the bill corrected. I'm sorry, that just doesn't happen at Motel 6...

this is indicative of an overall management problem....it's good you wrote the article......perhaps disney was unaware of this problem at SSR....they'll get on it...
a few years back there was a problem at the GF....it was the year they took all the experienced GF CMs and sent them to work at the brand new AKL....so the service at the AKL that year was stupendous, while that at the GF was worse than bad.....but it's my understanding that many guests brought the low quality service to the attention of senior disney managment (not GF management, but higher than that)....the following year, service was not only back to the original GF standard, but even better than before....
so in the long run, bringing problems like these to the attention of disney management is a good thing...

 

[lllovell]

I agree that the things that happened shouldn't have happened. I also think what you are saying is the same as what comes off from the "uninformed" traveler. You said you were a long time visitor to the parks, yet you seemed not to have much info about SSR. We are VERY well informed here on the DIS which makes us "non-main stream" for sure, but your article and subsequent posts sound a bit like the traveler that goes in the heat of July, making no advance plans, getting to the parks at 11 or later and then says "what a waste of money".

Mistakes do happen and I sure NONE of us want them happening to us (especially if there are multiple issues in one trip). I don't know if I am glad they refunded your money, because, like you, I would have rather seen them taking care of the issues right then and there (and because ultimately - you just cost all of us money being that SSR is a DVC resort...we pay those bills when someone else doesn't).

Your slant was "things are bad" at Disney. You had a bad trip. You came here asking for "opinions" and MOST were "we love it!" and none were quoted for sure. You quoted only negative things. That was your piece. I again say you wanted people to support your "bad trip experience" and you got it.

DVC members "own" that part of Disney which is DVC and we are quite protective of it. If you have really read here, you will see huge battles about resorts BETWEEN members. You don't have to defend your article to us, but expecting people to support you about it HERE on the DVC home of the DIS isn't going to happen either.

 

[JimMIA]

Yes, it was the worst stay -- and, no, I've not led a "privileged" life.

The rollaway bed -- promised three times -- was just one issue. But the fact the promised substitution -- an air mattress -- didn't arrive when it was supposed to (by around 9 p.m.) was very irksome. (I had to make a couple of more calls.) In any case, I don't think if you're paying $300-plus a night and are told you're going to get a rollaway bed that you should have to fight for it.

Being woken by a manager at 1 a.m. was another issue.

Having to ask three times for a computer internet cable, which many hotels just place in the room, was another.

Having to deal with construction noise was another. (Not a huge issue for me, but again, I can't believe I was not informed so much construction would be going on.)

There were plenty of smaller things

I don't mean to pile on here, but I would like to get this straight in my own mind...the items above were the BIG things???

The reason I ask is a very wise mentor of mine once told me, "You can tell the size of a man by the size of the things that make him mad."

 

[charlespbg]

Depends what you mean by BIG things. Did a ceiling fan fall on my head? No. Did a manager curse at me? No.

But lots of hassles add up. And I would say the billing mistake was a BIG thing.

As for questions about the refund, no, I never identified myself as a journalist. I just made the case to manager after manager about problems -- and finally spoke with a senior-level manager upon my return. She offered the full refund.

For what it's worth, most hospitality experts I spoke with said that a full refund would be the least a guest is owed after my kind of stay. If anything, they suggested a full refund AND an offer to return for a free night or two would probably be the correct response. The goal is to not just make up for what was wrong, but to convince the customer that you can get it right in the future.

But, no, I don't expect everyone on these boards to agree with me... Just trying to give a bit more information to round things out.

 

[lllovell]

and my favorite thing in the article....

The picture through the chain link fence (which 99% have green covering so as to keep the construction dust, noise, etc to a minimum) that has the caption underneath it....

"Though still under construction, Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa, in Orlando, is taking guests. "

When everyone goes to SSR in the next several months, if your room is in an uncompleted building, please pick up your paint brush and tool belt at check in to help with the progress. NO ONE IS ALLOWED IN THOSE AREAS NOR ARE THEY FOR OCCUPANCY unlike what the above quote and picture implies to me.

 

[JimMIA]

And I would say the billing mistake was a BIG thing.

In an effort to be "Fair and Balanced" , I'll agree that a $750 error on the bill is a big mistake.

However, mistakes do happen. I don't know how much you know about accounting, but accounting mistakes pretty much have to be in one direction or the other. It's that whole debit/credit thing...don't ask.

There was a 50-50 chance the error would be to your detriment, so if you fixate on that, you're really missing the point.

This issue to me - and it is not at all clear in your article or posts - is how was that mistake resolved?

Was it resolved quickly, politely, and without much fuss? Did they say you were nuts, and refuse to make any adjustment? Did they try hard to fix the problem, but have difficulties with their clunky accounting system?

You haven't told us the scenario - just OHMYGOD! A $750 error...and it's in THEIR favor!!!!!

If the CM's refused to admit a mistake had been made, or gave you a hard time about a measly $750 adjustment, I'd say you have a real complaint.

If they tried hard, but couldn't make the accounting system fix the mistake, then both you and the CM's have a complaint against Disney.

If it was just a stupid mistake which was immediately corrected without much aggravation, I really can't see getting all worked up over it.

P.S. You're not going to believe this, but I was traveling last week and actually had to walk all the way to the front desk of a very fine hotel to get an ethernet cable -- and then, they charged me $10 to use it!

 

[JerJan]

When I was at SSR my "HOME RESORT" in January 2005 I had requested a NON-SMOKING room for medical reasons both of my DD's ages 13 and 5 have asthma. Guess what???? I got a non-smoking room that had been smoked in! When I complained about it you know what I got?????? NOTHING, just an I'm sorry, well send in mousekeeping to spray. If your therory was to hold true I should have been upgraded from my 2 bedroom to a Grand Villa and refunded all of my points........It didn't happen, wonder why?

 

[charlespbg]

Hate to keep dragging this out, but to answer your question:

No, it was not resolved quickly... I think I mentioned it before. It took about an hour to resolve. The first person at desk (who was "earning her ears") simply denied the problem. The manager who then came pretty much made me do the math to convince him there was a mistake. And then, it took a third person (a higher-level manager) to review everything... The burden seemed to be on me to fully document the mistake.

 

[JimMIA]

When I was at SSR my "HOME RESORT" in January 2005 I had requested a NON-SMOKING room for medical reasons both of my DD's ages 13 and 5 have asthma. Guess what???? I got a non-smoking room that had been smoked in! When I complained about it you know what I got?????? NOTHING, just an I'm sorry, well send in mousekeeping to spray. If your therory was to hold true I should have been upgraded from my 2 bedroom to a Grand Villa and refunded all of my points........It didn't happen, wonder why?

Now, see...THAT's a REAL problem!

Certainly the CM's checking you in had no way of knowing that a guest had smoked in a non-smoking room. But once they knew, they should have moved you somewhere. Spraying perfume doesn't do a thing for a kid with asthma.

You should call the same guy Charles called and raise a fuss. They DO owe you a refund, or some kind of significant consideration.

***
One interesting, but completely useless, observation from my trip out West last week. I stayed in two hotels with interesting smoking policies.

One of them had a $150 additional charge if you smoked in a non-smoking room, and the other had a $200 extra charge! I thought it was just a "paper policy," but when I asked, both front desk crews told me they did indeed enforce that policy. They'd had guests contest credit card bills afterward, but they'd stuck to their guns and collected the fees. At the $150-charge hotel, they told me they'd originally charged $100, but people just paid the $100, so they had to raise it to $150.

 

[Chuck S]

The manager who then came pretty much made me do the math to convince him there was a mistake.

Do the math? Are you saying that there was an error in addition on the bill...or that it was an individual line item/room charge (which should have been easily identified by just looking at it)? I had a problem once where OKWs computer system went down in the middle of a charge. We were at EPCOT purchasing APs, so we just put them on another card. When the room bill came, the charge had also gone through as a room charge when the system came back online. We showed the front desk the credit card receipt for the exact same amount at the same day and time and it was taken care of right away.

I guess what I'd like to know, was it a computer glitch type charge that wouldn't have been easily caught, or a very obvious double charge of something posting twice, or a charge that appeared on the bill that you never made like a card reader read the account number incorrectly?

 

[Judique]

In an effort to be "Fair and Balanced" , I'll agree that a $750 error on the bill is a big mistake.

However, mistakes do happen. I don't know how much you know about accounting, but accounting mistakes pretty much have to be in one direction or the other. It's that whole debit/credit thing...don't ask.

There was a 50-50 chance the error would be to your detriment, so if you fixate on that, you're really missing the point.

This issue to me - and it is not at all clear in your article or posts - is how was that mistake resolved?

Was it resolved quickly, politely, and without much fuss? Did they say you were nuts, and refuse to make any adjustment? Did they try hard to fix the problem, but have difficulties with their clunky accounting system?

You haven't told us the scenario - just OHMYGOD! A $750 error...and it's in THEIR favor!!!!!

If the CM's refused to admit a mistake had been made, or gave you a hard time about a measly $750 adjustment, I'd say you have a real complaint.

If they tried hard, but couldn't make the accounting system fix the mistake, then both you and the CM's have a complaint against Disney.

If it was just a stupid mistake which was immediately corrected without much aggravation, I really can't see getting all worked up over it.

P.S. You're not going to believe this, but I was traveling last week and actually had to walk all the way to the front desk of a very fine hotel to get an ethernet cable -- and then, they charged me $10 to use it!

I had to crawl under the desk of my $300 a night hotel in the city of Boston 2 nights ago to find my ethernet cable! And, I also got charged $10 plus tax for using it.

Has anyone here EVER heard of a member getting an air mattress? For that matter, I can't remember rollaways being available in any Disney Resort, not just vacation club resorts.

My other regret: once I was in Marrakech sitting in a bar of a nice hotel and the casablanca style fan DID fall off and hit me in the head! Too bad I was too young and inexperienced at the time to realize I could have gotten a couple of free stays! Just kidding - I wasn't injured - just surprised as the fan blade glanced off me. Woke me up from daydreaming that Bogey had just walked through the door................

 

[JimMIA]

Hate to keep dragging this out, but to answer your question:

No, it was not resolved quickly... I think I mentioned it before. It took about an hour to resolve. The first person at desk (who was "earning her ears") simply denied the problem. The manager who then came pretty much made me do the math to convince him there was a mistake. And then, it took a third person (a higher-level manager) to review everything... The burden seemed to be on me to fully document the mistake.

I'm sorry, but that's a nothing complaint. You had a newbie who didn't get it; you had to explain it again to her manager. What's your complaint?

The second manager reviewing a $750 reversal is nothing more than a routine accounting control. I'd be much more concerned if there was NOT that kind of review on a $750 reversal by the front desk crew.

I'm sorry you had a bad vacation, but frankly, I can't help but think you're hyperventilating over nothing.

Other than the $750 mistake which was rectified in a reasonable manner, I don't see anything here I would even complain about. Maybe the reason you had to complain to "manager after manager" was that they didn't see any substance to your complaints, and therefore, weren't telling you what you wanted to hear.

Sure, many hotels can provide rollaways, although I don't think I've ever had one guaranteed...but guess what? Saratoga Springs is NOT a hotel; it's a timeshare.

 

[idratherbeinwdw]

Has anyone here EVER heard of a member getting an air mattress? For that matter, I can't remember rollaways being available in any Disney Resort, not just vacation club resorts.

No I have never heard of anyone getting at a DVC resort being given an air mattress, so if what the OP says is true they really were bending over backwards to be helpful. And the reason I questioned the OP being "promised" a rollaway was I never heard of one being available at any WDW resort. Certainly not available in the allstars, pop century, port orleans or the polynesian, all resorts I have stayed in and asked for a rollaway. Each time I was told they are fire hazards and not allowed.

Something does not add up here. Is it just me, or do other people here have experiences knowing the "real" story and seeing glaring errors in newspaper reports of the story?

 

[Judique]

No I have never heard of anyone getting at a DVC resort being given an air mattress, so if what the OP says is true they really were bending over backwards to be helpful. And the reason I questioned the OP being "promised" a rollaway was I never heard of one being available at any WDW resort. Certainly not available in the allstars, pop century, port orleans or the polynesian, all resorts I have stayed in and asked for a rollaway. Each time I was told they are fire hazards and not allowed.

Something does not add up here. Is it just me, or do other people here have experiences knowing the "real" story and seeing glaring errors in newspaper reports of the story?

No, it's not just you. The rollaway story is odd, and the $750 mistake has not been detailed. Most complaints we hear can somehow be identified with. I am starting to wonder if the visit ever took place.

 

[mamatojon]

The original article also mentioned the woman at the allstars crying because she didn't get connecting rooms. When you call to make a reservation they always tell you a request is just that--a request and cannot be guaranteed. Evidently she had a child with special needs--did she get a doctor's letter attesting to that? If she did then she should have been able to get the request and WDW was wrong IMO. If not, then she would be treated like the rest of us. You said they DID find her acceptable rooms in "a remote part of the resort" in a building filled with "noisy teenagers". What would you have them do, kick someone out of a room to accomodate her? The resort is not that large, so even a "remote" building is not that bad. Someone reading the article would think she was miles away, when in actuality that is far from the truth. And as far as a building full of noisy teenagers-I strongly doubt there were only teenagers in that building. The allstars are known for large school groups, so whatever building she was in may have had a large number of teens, but surely not the entire building. I wonder if she got the connecting rooms right away if any of the other issues would have even been brought up had they existed.

If in fact this is the same woman posting on these boards about her problems the situation was actually way more complex than what he wrote in his article. I wish I could remember which board it is on, maybe the community board? It is a long drawn out story which basically was made worse because of the way she was treated by the CMs and then after she got home.

Anyways, I'm not arguing with anything you said at all, just wanted to clarify that it wasn't as simple as it seemed. I really wish I could find that thread.

 

[lllovell]

If in fact this is the same woman posting on these boards about her problems the situation was actually way more complex than what he wrote in his article. I wish I could remember which board it is on, maybe the community board? It is a long drawn out story which basically was made worse because of the way she was treated by the CMs and then after she got home.

Anyways, I'm not arguing with anything you said at all, just wanted to clarify that it wasn't as simple as it seemed. I really wish I could find that thread.

If someone finds it - please post the thread. I would be very interesting in reading it (because breaking down crying in the hotel lobby at the very beginning of a trip sounds like there was something else going on - that was probably not Disney related).

Again, this points to MOST of the people that responded to his "board plea for help" were positive and yet he picked (with the exception of one) stories that were "horror" stories. He chose what he wanted to report - its what reporters do, but don't be so surprised when it raises a ruckus.

 

[cherylp3]

Here is the link to the ASMU person that had problems.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=785797