Are Value Resorts Really This Bad, Or Was This Bad Luck?

[maxiesmom]

reading this I can only hope this was just a fluke. we have had great times at all star resorts in the past, but that was also when they were first opening and my kids were young. we had a "crummy" experience at POP a couple trips back that really make me worry about our upcoming trip booked at POP(kids' choice plus we are doing 2 rooms at pop or it would have been 1 at CBR). I know we will bring the power strip and dvd player, but I am thinking our own soaps as well(just cant remember if you get the same at moderates as you do at values) hate to complain/ask a question for fear that others take it the wrong way.

The values have a shampoo/conditioner combo that smells like oranges. It is H2O brand, but I don't like it. I bring my own from home.

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

This thread and some of the generalizations made that seem to always be repeated here on these forums makes me feel like you're darned if you do and darned if you don't for wherever you choose to stay whether that is at a value resort, moderate, deluxe, or offsite.

 

[MomiTo2SwtGuys]

We have always stayed in a value and adore them. Now that our youngest has turned 3 we are going to have to move on up this year unless we stay in a suite in a value. I'm sorry your time there wasn't as pleasant as you hoped. Maybe a deluxe is more your style.

 

[dclpluto]

You want value and that is what you got.

 

[ellie05]

From our experience there tends to be more issues at the values vs other hotels, but it makes sense since the staff is less (staff per guest ratio). Our first value experience was a nightmare at ASMo there is an old thread with photos. We will not go back to ASMo, in our Disney bucket list is to try every hotel at WDW so we have tried all the values now. We have spend a total of 13 nights at values and had much more issues that we had at moderates or deluxe and we have spend much more time at moderates and deluxe.

 

[kwdw]

Question. I thought the grout at the AS and Pop was colored grout in the first place, not stained from usage or cleaning practices. Anyone know for sure?

 

[Bobsmom]

We stayed at Music a year ago and I was nervous about what I was getting us into, as my hotel preference is usually more in the vicinity of Westin/Hilton. Our budget over Spring Break, though, didn't allow for it.

It was just fine. The room was clean and well-maintained, and bigger than I expected. The towels were thin and the beds had horrible polyster spreads on them but we all passed out from exhaustion at the end of each night so it really didn't matter anyway. And I do recall there being extra pillows and a blanket on the shelf in the "closet" area. I left a note for housekeeping after our first night requesting extra towels (in English and Spanish) and we had more than we needed every day of our stay.

That said, when we arrived back to our home state and spent the night at the airport Hilton (home is a 3 hour drive from the airport and we were exhausted), I was reminded of my preference.

So I think a big part of it depends on 1. what you're used to, 2. your expectations, and 3. how much time you're spending in the room. If you normally stay in a motel 6, a disney value resort will feel like an upgrade. If you're used to the Hilton, it will be a few steps down. But you would be well served to not expect a value to feel like the Hilton, either. Accept it for what it is. And finally, if you are planning on spending extensive time in the room then maybe a moderate or a nice off-site would be better for your needs.

 

[cciejourney]

Out of or 4 trips last year we stayed at WL, CB, and then POP twice. My room was so beat up at WL there was duct tape holding part if the ceiling fan together. CB had the nicest room due to the fact it just got a refurb, but our walk to the food court was a hike. We knew that going in though, and had no complaints. POP gave us the best experience over all during both trips there. We will back back at POP for Spring Break next month with one of the factors being the food court can handle the crazy amount of people at the hotel. We don't spend all day in the park since the little guys like to take breaks to swim. With that being said we have no problem staying at a value for even more than just to sleep, and shower.

 

[baileyfamily]

We've stayed in the All Star Movies and one of the pirate rooms in the Caribbean Beach, and I actually preferred the ASM room. Maybe it was just the pirate rooms at CB, but it was horrible. It was dark and dingy, the refrigerator was really old, and there was a weird curtain thing separating the bathroom area from the rest of the room. I was pretty upset that we'd paid a premium to stay in that room. Generally, though, we never end up spending much time at the resort, so the room doesn't matter that much to us.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

TV? If I have time for TV at WDW then I need to get up go see YeHaa Bob!

 

[maxiesmom]

We've stayed in the All Star Movies and one of the pirate rooms in the Caribbean Beach, and I actually preferred the ASM room. Maybe it was just the pirate rooms at CB, but it was horrible. It was dark and dingy, the refrigerator was really old, and there was a weird curtain thing separating the bathroom area from the rest of the room. I was pretty upset that we'd paid a premium to stay in that room. Generally, though, we never end up spending much time at the resort, so the room doesn't matter that much to us.

All of the value and some of the moderates have the dividing curtain. CSR and CBR both have doors now, which is an improvement. I like having at least the curtain, and add some black fabric I purchased to it, to help it block out more of the light. It helps when I am up before everyone else and don't want the light to wake them.

 

[krm222]

We actually loved that curtain at Pop: we put our daughters pack and play in the closet space and closed the curtain. She slept better in the darkness and we were able to watch TV/talk quietly without disturbing her.

 

[K Gragg]

I've never stayed at a value or a deluxe. We stick to the moderates as they seem to be the best "value". I have always heard that Pop is the bes value to stay at though...

 

[disneykelly]

Regarding an earlier comparison to Motel 6, I stayed at one in Albuquerque NM some years back and found an animal skeleton under the bed. (I had to shift the unmovable mattress holder out because my cat squeezed under the bed)

As for Disney properties and issues, as with any other hotel, the more occupancy, the more wear and tear it will suffer.
Since the All Stars and PoP are the cheapest, they get the most use, so it makes sense that they will be a bit more dinged up than most.

My june stay at AsMu last year, the room had some issues. The most glaring being the electric outlet closest to the door looked like someone tried to pry it off.

I still enjoyed my stay and my room. I was so over tired most of the trip, I ended up spending a lot more time in room than usual, and it was still comfortable and enjoyable.

Hope you give the values another chance. The money you save from the overpriced alternatives can go to other fun stuff during your stay!

 

[smiths02]

Regarding an earlier comparison to Motel 6, I stayed at one in Albuquerque NM some years back and found an animal skeleton under the bed. (I had to shift the unmovable mattress holder out because my cat squeezed under the bed)

As for Disney properties and issues, as with any other hotel, the more occupancy, the more wear and tear it will suffer.
Since the All Stars and PoP are the cheapest, they get the most use, so it makes sense that they will be a bit more dinged up than most.

My june stay at AsMu last year, the room had some issues. The most glaring being the electric outlet closest to the door looked like someone tried to pry it off.

I still enjoyed my stay and my room. I was so over tired most of the trip, I ended up spending a lot more time in room than usual, and it was still comfortable and enjoyable.

Hope you give the values another chance. The money you save from the overpriced alternatives can go to other fun stuff during your stay!

I've spent several nights in the Days Inn in Rome, GA and Charleston, SC. I also spent a night at Super 8 on our way back from Disney (car broke down).
The housekeeping, front desk, grounds, security, cleanliness have all been much better at Disney, any Disney resort I stayed at.

 

[Mazz519]

When we stayed at value resorts in the past we never had problems, as my family grew found that they were just to small for us

 

[10SandyToes]

We had a similarly unpleasant experience at the Art of Animation. The room had dirty sheets on the pull out bed, that actually had a smear of something (I don't want to know what), and we had to call to get new sheets. It took a long time for them to bring the clean sheets, and then someone just dropped them off, but didn't put them on for us, which I thought was weird. So we had to remake the bed and take off the gross sheets ourselves. As I'm writing this, I feel like I sound spoiled, but you do expect some service, even at a value resort! We had previously stayed at the Beach Club, and it was a much better experience, albeit a much, MUCH more expensive one.

 

[maxiesmom]

We had a similarly unpleasant experience at the Art of Animation. The room had dirty sheets on the pull out bed, that actually had a smear of something (I don't want to know what), and we had to call to get new sheets. It took a long time for them to bring the clean sheets, and then someone just dropped them off, but didn't put them on for us, which I thought was weird. So we had to remake the bed and take off the gross sheets ourselves. As I'm writing this, I feel like I sound spoiled, but you do expect some service, even at a value resort! We had previously stayed at the Beach Club, and it was a much better experience, albeit a much, MUCH more expensive one.

I would have expected them to change the sheets too. That is very weird.

 

[Shanti]

So far I've stayed at the Yacht and Beach Club, Port Orleans Riverside/Dixielandings, and a couple of Lake Buena Vista resorts. I came to All Star Music expecting a more affordable stay with a cartoony feel, and exterior hallways. Our room, well, despite how powerful the toilet flushes sounded, could not flush paper, unless it was thrown directly over the hole. Water pressure seemed impressive, as the shower definitely felt more pleasurable than back home. So I can only assume the toilet problem was by flawed design. The shower and faucet dripped water longer than it should, and you had to aggressively attack the dial, otherwise it would drip all night. The stained grout didn't really bother me, but the missing grout did. What cultures could be evolving beyond the tile was unknown to me. The blow dryer also did not work. I had to try a series of gfci resets and tests on both the outlet and the device to finally get it working. It would only blow on low because the switch was broken. The humidity had caused the painted textured bathroom wall to peel up, exposing what I can only assume was the original 90s wallpaper. But they somehow managed to get a large amount paint on the bathroom light.

Room did not come with a DVD player. Ok, I suppose that's my own fault for assuming there was one, but it's 2016, how much would one of these cost Disney per room? I brought a power strip that everyone seemed to recommend doing. ...didn't ever need it. I would have brought my portable DVD had at least one of the threads I read mention doing so. And this leads to the other problems I had; from 6-10:15pm there were NO Disney cartoons, just dead air. So basically, coming back from the parks, there was no more Disney to enjoy as we wind down. Ended up watching Big Bang Theory and Family Guy instead. Thankfully my daughter had her iPad. Also thankful for the Disney Channels broadcast of Aladdin. But had I had a DVD player, I could've played one of the many Disney movies I brought.

The dead air was puzzling, as the channel worked in the morning and late evening. The tech guy they sent was able to confirm that others in our building had the same issue, and apparently the CMs in the lobby didn't even notice that during that time, their TV, which stays on that channel all day, was dead air. A quiet All Star lobby just seemed eerie to me. We later realized that during that time, they broadcast a program block that not only includes the new Mickey cartoons, but one involving Duffy. We notified them so they could pass along the info that it's the stupid Duffy bear that's ruining it (don't quite care for his attendance at the parks either.)

But since I'm on the subject of the TV, one night I came back and the TV wouldn't even turn on! I thought it was the remote, like maybe the battery was bad, but pressing the button directly on the TV didn't do anything either. The furniture was too heavy to move, so I couldn't unplug it from the wall, but luckily I was able to unplug it from the set itself. Once I plugged it back in, it worked. Since they sent out a tech to investigate channel 17s dead air, I told him of my problem with turning on the TV, and having to unplug it. He told me that it was common, and occasionally needs to be reset. I just thought, how many guests would know to do all this to get both the TV and the hair dryer to work? Had it not been for the channel, he would've been called out on two different days to turn on a simple TV or hair dryer. And those guests probably would've been pretty rude, as if it were his fault.

I was also forced to share a room with my husband of all people, which means that the room must be below subzero temperatures at all times. It bothered my husband to return to a room that had the AC off all day. But once turned on, it got pretty cold. There were storage space where I'd assume extra blankets and pillows would be, but nothing. I ended up sleeping my first night in a buttoned up jacket, pants, socks, and a throw blanket that my daughter did not want to leave in the car. The following day, I requested extra blankets and pillows (which my husband wanted). Just like with the tech, they were quick to respond and deliver, it's just that, I'd expect this from a Motel 6, but not Disney. Is this was their value resorts are like, or did I just end up with a crappy room?

I've traveled quite a bit, both to Disney and other places, and it's very common for hotels to not have a DVD player. I wish they were more common, but it's very hit or miss whether you'll get one in regular travel (including upper-end travel, where the trend is more towards on-demand tv), and Disney in particular does not provide them.

And to answer your general question, yes, the value resorts at Disney are basically cute motels. Once was enough for us.

 

[DisLaw]

I would have expected them to change the sheets too. That is very weird.

I agree. This reminded me of something that happened to us at the WL. Same thing, I pulled down the sheets and found a rather "unpleasant" looking stain on the sheets. I think the sheets had been washed but that gross stain I guess didn't come out (how any housekeeper could have missed that!)

My kids were half sleeping so I put them to bed in the other bed (clean white sheets!) and called the front desk. They apologized and said housekeeping would be up. I waited outside the room for awhile since the kids were sleeping but no housekeeper. I decided to go downstairs to the front desk.(mind you it's pretty late and I wanted to get to bed)

I go down and the front desk says that I just missed housekeeping they were at my room now. So I go back up and my DH (who had been out walking and didn't know about the sheets) says housekeeper knocked on the door and handed him a bag of sheets! Well now I'm on vacation and no way do I want to start making beds and clearing off dirty sheets!!

Back to the front desk I go...they made it sound like it would be hours before someone could come to make the bed so they offered to compensate me which at this point I was fine with. But I still ended up making the bed myself just because I wanted to get to sleep

I just thought it was weird too! I understand dropping off extra towels or blankets but I really didn't want to have to strip the bed and remake it after a very long day at the parks. I mean it's not the end of the world and I ended up saving some $$$ so it's fine. But I guess I wasn't alone in my experience.