Just back-Bad experience at POR (long)

[teresa955]

Let me start by saying we have stayed at POR several times and have always enjoyed it. This trip has us questioning whether we will go back there.
The real problems we had were with housekeeping. The first minor thing that had happened to us was that my husband had a really bad cold and did not leave the room for two days so we requested no maid service, only fresh towels---The day he did feel up to getting out we left a note asking that the sheets be changed. We came back to find a fresh set of sheets hanging over the back of one of the chairs. Kind of like, change them your self. But still we weren't upset. Maybe she misunderstood. Then on our last night there, after having been in the parks all day, I came back to the room to pack up our stuff. I had left one of our suitcases that still had clean cloths in it open on the bench. I went over to pack up some things and the maid had put all the dirty, wet towels, bath mat, and wash cloths in our suitcase!!! I could not believe it. It also made me wonder what they had done that I did not know about. I called housekeeping who said she would let me talk to a manager. Then she said the manager was out but he would call me back shortly. After waiting an hour and a half. I went to the front desk where they told me to write a letter to guest communications when I got home!! I went back to the room and told my husband who thought this was unacceptable. He called housekeeping again and they said the manager was still out but he called less than two minutes later. My husband explained to him what happened and the manager offered to help us with laundry. By this point I had already packed it up to do when I got home (it was really getting late). He did offer us 2 free nights on our next stay but we are not sure we want to return so how does this help us? We had booked the bounce back but we are not sure we are going to keep it.

My husband's parents and his sister and her family were also staying here. In his sister's room there was a cookie on the floor that stayed there for 2 days. When she called housekeeping they assured her they would be sure her room was vacuumed the next day and that they would send someone to inspect it. Apparently neither happened and when she got in from the parks she called and they sent someone at 10:00pm to clean her room. My in-laws drink coffee and their coffee pot was never cleaned and their cups were never replaced even after they complained. We really thought maybe they were too picky until we had our problems.

[TheRustyScupper]

1) Oops.
2) Sorry for the terrible housekeeping.
3) The next time you are displeased with housekeeping
. . . ask for the Housekeeping Mgr.
. . . if no reply, ask for Guest Services Mgr
. . . if no reply, ask for General Mgr
4) When asking for managers, go to the Front Desk.
5) DO NOT LEAVE UNTIL ONE OF THEM APPEARS.

NOTE: If CM's try to pawn you off, tell the CM that unless you get a Housekeeping Mgr or Guest Services Mgr, you are going straight to the General Manager. THIS gets attention.

[pink]

Why on Earth would they put dirty towels and such in your suitcase, that is beyond wierd. I always notice whenever something like this occurs the manager is noticeably "out" and never seems to come back. :mickey:

[Daisy'sMom]

Sounds like the experience my friends had last year at the Poly. Lack of respect and concern was the hump that broke the camel's back and they will never go back.:mad:

[hubbyofadisneyholic]

Obviously a horrible very un-Disney experience and it had best not happen to us when we are at POR next month. :mad:

But, that being said, once you did get to a manager he did offer to make it right. Nothing could undo the maid's disgusting actions, but since I'm sure the union would have frowned on him having her flogged in your presence, what more could he do other than apologize and offer what seems to me to be very fair compensation?:confused:

Certainly it shouldn't have happened in the first place, but once it did I think you have to judge the response. I am sure the person responsible was dealt with behind the scenes.

[teambricker04]

That's too bad! Yes, I never stop until someone gives me an answer I am happy with... I agree that going home and writing a letter was not acceptable.

Sometimes, when traveling, I feel that people in the travel industry (TSA, Airline associates, hotel staff, etc.) don't remember the full picture. Especially if they aren't paid well and would rather be going on vacation themselves. No excuse, however.

[sndral]

I heard a couple of people complaining about housekeeping @ the spa @ POFQ 9/4-12. When my son checked in 9/4 @ 10:30 pm he was given a room that had not been cleaned (unmade beds, empty water bottles, etc.) they gave him another, water view, room. I noticed a few little things undone in my room (the grossest being the wad of dental floss lying on the brochures on the shelf under the TV when I checked in.) I'm thinking there may be a management, attitude, oversight problem which disney needs to address. I'm very laid back and did not complain, but perhaps I should have, unless disney knows re: the problem, how can they address it? I'm curious, who should you write to so that it comes to the attention of someone who can correct things?

[teresa955]

The address that the girl at the front desk gave me was as follows:

Walt Disney World
Guest Communications
Executive Offices
PO BOX 10040
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830-0040

or the email address is

[email protected]

[tinkerbell04]

I am so sorry for your very poor experience! I too wouldn't have wanted to leave without speaking to a manager. It seems that once you leave the problems aren't as important anymore. Good luck!

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

I am so sorry, that it totally unacceptable!!

[mouseketeer mom]

Wow. That's just horrible. I hate to know these kinds of things could even happen at WDW.

[tinksmom02]

While we didn't have anything nearly as bad happen to us, I did notice that mousekeeping was way off last week.

Upon checking in we realized there were no washcloths with the towels. Not really a huge deal, we just used the hand towels, but still...We noticed a lot of inconsistency with the towels throughout the week. Actually, on our last day, she only left us 4 bath towels.

She seemed reluctant to replenish our shampoos, and this trip we actually needed and used them.

Like I said, not horrible service, but not exactly what I was expecting from WDW.

[PetefromRI]

We've been blessed this year with the opportunity to visit WDW four times over the last twelve months and I have to say that we've noticed housekeeping getting worse everytime we go.It isn't anything really gross(forgetting towels,not changing out or cleaning coffee mugs and not cleaning our bathroom)but it is their job and we all pay a premium for staying on Disney property.They all seem to act like they can't understand English but I don't know how much of that I believe either.I vary rarely leave a tip anymore because they just don't seem to care.We always make a point of calling housekeeping and complaining but I'm just not going to spend my vacation hunting down managers.I will be sending off a letter shortly about my complaints over the last year.I'm just tired of paying a high price and not recieving the old Disney style service.I'd hate to stay off grounds and I probably wouldn't but I have in the past and I have to say that you get alot more bang for your buck outside the gates.I just hope that Disney starts to pay attention to their resorts and housekeeping staff.

[Janmac]

We were just at the Poly 12 - 15 Sept. and had very lackluster housekeeping. We even asked them not to bother one day as they were merely going through the motions anyway.

Throughout the rest of the resort the CMs were great. We were greeted everywhere with a smile and Aloha! The difference is very noticeable.

We did not take the time to speak to a manager while on property but since we've been home I have sent an e-mail to the guest.communications address specifically noting how great everyone except housekeeping was.

So far I've only rcvd the auto response assuring me someone would contact me but I am looking forward to hearing from a person. :D

Jan

[TheDuckRocks]

In his sister's room there was a cookie on the floor that stayed there for 2 days.

Why in heavens name would anyone leave a cookie on the floor for 2 days? Just grab a kleenex and pick the darned thing up immediately and throw it in the trash? After doing that I'd would then have called housekeeping and told them what had happened and firmly requested someone come and vacuum the room again.

[QueenDisneyBound]

We stayed at the Caribbean Beach resort, and also had some trouble with housekeeping...they certainly just did the basics, that's for sure. No vacuuming, no thorough cleanings, and no big deal, but no towel animals...even my husband was disappointed in this.

The big problem we had was the following - my younger son has problems wetting himself at night, and we came prepared with bed pads, and blankets to make sure that the bed stayed dry. After the first night, he had an accident, and although we saved the mattress with our protection, I called housekeeping to see if they could help out too...the lady was kind enough to say, "no problem, we will put a plastic mattress cover on the bed" and went on to ask which bed we would like it on, etc...

We got back that night and no plastic cover...I called housekeeping again, and the lady I spoke with said that they don't provide plastic covers. I told her of my conversation earlier in the day, and she rudely interrupted and said, "Maam, I said that we don't have them. Would you like plastic bags?"..I rudely said no, and took my chances with what we brought (which thank goodness worked)...plastics bags would have been way to slippery on a bed...

Very disappointing when you do pay a good price for your stay. The rest of the CMs were great, but housekeeping was no better than an average chain, if that.

[2lilboys]

We also had a not so great experience recently at POR so I understand how that can really be disappointing. We were so excited about our trip (it was our first visit with our 2yo twins) so we were really upset when our room was not cleaned for 2 days! When it was finally cleaned, it seems like all they did was give us clean towels and shampoo. The bathroom was not cleaned and floor was not vacuumed. We complained while we were there about housekeeping. When I returned home I wrote a long email to guest communications detailing the poor service. So far I have only received an automated response to my complaint, but I am hoping that someone calls me to discuss my issues further.

I also was approached by someone in the WDW Research team while we were entering MK one day and they sent me a survey with questions regarding my visit. I made sure to detail my issues with POR in my responses to the survey.

It is interesting that my sister and brother and their families also stayed at POR in another building, and had no problems with housekeeping. My parents also stayed in the same building as us, and my mother said that their room was cleaned much better than ours. So it definitely seems to be hit or miss.

I would not hesitate to complain again to guest communications....if you tell them again what the problem is, perhaps they can try to fix it. If they hear enough of the same complaints, I would think they will try to do something about it.

[MrsAndre]

Just curious - is mousekeeping still done by WDW castmembers? I could have sworn I read/heard that one of the union complaints within the last couple of years was that WDW wanted to outsource mousekeeping.

[hardingella]

One of the best things about staying in ANY hotel for me is not to have to worry about cleaning, making beds etc, so to hear all these complaints is indeed worrying. Surely if all of you who have had problems were to complain to the appropriate people, they would have to ask serious questions about housekeeping. As one person said "we are paying premium prices". In the current climate your $ is more hard earned than ever before.
Make a noise, and make sure they understand that you have had to work darn hard to afford your Disney vacation.

[crazeedizneefinatic]

Wow! That is disgusting. Does make you wonder what else they did. Not to offend anyone but the offer of 2 free days for lousy housekeeping? That's a double wow! That was very generous.

[ljv1975]

I'm so sorry to hear about the problems you had at POR. We are booked to stay here next September for DD's birthday trip. Lately I have read many poor reviews of this resort - mostly the housekeeping service. It makes me a little nervous. I know that all places have their problems and I'm sure that many people have had great experiences at POR, but it is disconcerting to read about these kinds of things happening when you expect so much more from Disney.

We have been going back on forth about changing our ressies to another resort. I'm still not sure.

[Ian]

Just curious - is mousekeeping still done by WDW castmembers? I could have sworn I read/heard that one of the union complaints within the last couple of years was that WDW wanted to outsource mousekeeping.I believe you are correct. I think mousekeeping is outsourced.

We've had some inconsistent service, although nothing as bad as some others have. This past stay at the Floridian, though, everything was pretty much top notch. No complaints at all.

Sorry to hear you had such a bad experience. I agree, though, that 2 nights free is a pretty generous compensation offer.

I wonder at what point will Disney decide that the benefits of this outsourcing deal no longer outweigh the negatives in terms of reputational damage and freebies they have to give away to compensate for their shortcomings?

[BriarRose]

I had a problem with AKL in 2002. We checked in (actually we were upgraded from a savannah room to a deluxe savannah room) and when I was setting out my toiletries, I noticed the box of soap on the counter looked strange. I picked it up, and it was wet. When I opened it, it was a USED box of soap. Someone had used the soap and put it back in the box. I also found a wadded up kleenex in the kleenex box and the shower curtain had mildew on it. I was so horrified, I called immediatley. I couldn't understand how the housekeeping could have not noticed these things if they were doing any sort of cleaning they could have missed these things. They were pretty booked that time since they had started renovations on CBR and had upgraded guests from there to AKL, so they didn't have a room to send us to. Being paranoid that I had complained about the housekeeping, I didn't want anyone in the room. We went and got towels for ourselves for the three nights we were there. Since I never demanded any compensation, none was offered. Needless to say, I didn't leave any tip when we left.

That being said, I knew that this had to be a freak situation and always knew that if the situation came up, there would be no way that would happen again if we chose to stay there again, which we are in a few weeks. Hopefully I'm not wrong.

[starflyer59]

I agree that what happned was unacceptable. But I would be all over the 2 free nights on my next stay.

I always leave Disney feeling like I just never got my moneys worth. I almost wish that this would happen to us if it meant I would get two free nights stay at a Disney resort.

Based on the resort prices that Disney charges that 2 free nights could save you hundreds of dollars on your next stay.

The cookie thing was kind of weird. If there was a cookie laying on the floor for two days then i would just pick it up and throw it in the trash.

[SurferStitch]

I'm sorry you had a bad experience there, but I'm not too surprised.

We had 2 bad experiences there in 2003 (our trips were 3 months apart), and have not and will not return.

Housekeeping was terrible. Our rooms were never clean. They smelled musty and dirty, had dirty floors, etc. I'm posted on here several times detailing all of the problems, so I won't do it again.

Service in general was rude and/or lazy. The couple of times we asked for help (once to mail a package home, another to check on a flight), it seemed like we were putting the CM's out. They'd roll their eyes, make snippy comments, whatever. We were shocked.

Unfortunately, the latter trip was booked before the other trip, so we were stuck staying there a second time (didn't really have time to move our ressie, plus we were going with another couple, and didn't want to have to change 2 room ressies).

Also, our complaints seemed to fall on deaf ears, so the housekeeping issues were not resolved while we were there.

[doodleboy]

I am soooo sorry to hear about your experience, and I have also noticed a difference in mousekeeping over the last couple of visits. They are definitely not as responsive to special requests or anything outside of the normal room cleaning. And even that doesn't seem to always be right. It seems if they are short a Kleenex box or hand towel on their cart, they just blow it off. The key for all of us is to complain to a manager about the issue. Don't let the CMs just blow you off. I have learned to get names of CM's as well, so that when I send my issues into [email protected] or
Walt Disney World
Guest Communication
PO Box 10040
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830-0040

I have my facts straight. I have gone as far as to send them photos in the past. I know it sounds crazy, but we have to let them know what is going on with their parks and resorts. If we settle for mediocrity, that is what we will get.

[2lilboys]

I recently sent an email to guest communications (at the address provided in the above post) regarding a bad experience at a resort and received a response phone call from a CM today. I definitely would urge anyone that is not pleased with their resort experience to let Disney know as they do seem to be addressing these concerns.

[diz_girl]

This past stay at the Floridian, though, everything was pretty much top notch. No complaints at all.

I wonder at what point will Disney decide that the benefits of this outsourcing deal no longer outweigh the negatives in terms of reputational damage and freebies they have to give away to compensate for their shortcomings?

My thoughts exactly.

Before I saw your post, I was thinking to myself that you would probably see a lot less of this type of thing happen at the GF. I was planning on staying there anyway during my next trip (after the one this December). But I don't want to reconcile myself to the fact that in order to get consistently good service that we have to pay close to $400 per night for a room.

[cal5755]

We stayed at All Star Movies last week and mousekeeping was terrible. One day they knocked over our bottle of pantene shampoo of the bathtub and never picked it up, the cover was broken and shampoo spilled onto the floor. Another day they knocked over our air freshener spray and broke the cap on that and we could no longer use it. There was a dead bug in the window sill that my husband had to pick up and throw away. My uncles pillow case had a footmark on it when he turned it over and we finally took the linens off the bed and put them on the floor with our towels on them to get clean sheets. Between transportation and mousekeeping, and 3 really rude cm's if this was my first trip I would not return. We also booked the bounce back but are not 100 percent about actually returning. We have to see how our November trip is with me mom and aunt apple first.
This is the first time ever we did not leave a tip for our mousekeepers...and we made special picture cards to hand out this year.

[MickeyMousse]

As I was reading this out loud to my DH, he quickly reminded me of the terrible stay his coworker had at Pop Century last summer. Forgetting the details, there were many about the poor housekeeping (stained sheets on the beds was one complaint). Angry at the way the resort handled their situations, upon arrival home she called her credit card and disputed the resort's entire charge. I think it took 2 weeks for someone from WDW to call her to discuss her experience. She was given a 3 night stay at a moderate resort as an apology.

[slpngbty56]

Hi there,
We were in WDW 9/5-14 and in the past we have always stayed at POR and the service and quality of the resort has been exceptional....That is until our last trip.
Like others have mentioned the rooms just don't seem to be cleaned very well. The floors are dirty as well as the bathroom and I noticed icky mildew on the inside of the shower curtain.:ack:
Now we live in Fl so when we travel I tend to carry my own linens like blankets, pillows, etc... My DH usually complains that I pack too much stuff. I have to tell you that this time I'm very glad I did.
The first night in the room I just took off the top blanket and slept on top of the sheets. The next morning when we were cleaning up before we left to go into the parks I read the notice they leave in the room regarding their policy on changing the sheets which happens to be every 3 days unless you request otherwise. I didn't think much of it at the time but later when we returned to the room after being in the parks all day I pulled back the sheets and found an old band aid wrapper and another piece of paper that were not mine.
I have to say I was totally shocked!! I assumed they changed the sheets before every new guest checks in not just every 3 days no matter who had been in the room before!! YUUCCKK!!! It gives me the heebie jeebies just thinking about it now... I did not mention it to anyone b/c I didn't want to rock the boat so to speak. If any thing were to go wrong DH may not want to go back anytime soon but YUUCKK!!
Other than that the rest of our trip was very enjoyable but that sort of stuff just creeps me out. I thought at the time it was just a fluke. I'm sorry to hear that others have had similar experiences. I did book the bounceback for next year but at the GF instead and that is another whole year away and much more expensive that POR. However, I didn't want to take the chance of a similar incident occurring again.

[BlueDorrie]

After reading all these posts, I'm getting a little worried now about my upcoming stay at POR. I really don't mind if they only change the sheets every three days provided that there are fresh sheets for the next guests staying in that room. What I do mind is unclean bathrooms, that really skeeves me out.

[starflyer59]

This did not happen at a Disney Resort but if you want to talk about something freaking you out then this story will.

About 15 years ago we stayed at a hotel out on Irlo Bronson Highway, about 2.5 miles from Disney.

i got ready to take a bath that first night and when I turned on the water, something did not seem right and the water was not coming out like it should.

So, doing a really stupid thing I stuck my finger up in the faucet to see if something was blocking the flow of water and pulled out a Drug Syringe and it still had the needle on the end.

It scared me to death. I just knew I was going to die of AIDS or something.

We never stayed in that hotel again. And I never stick my fingers in places they should not go.

It's a blessing that I did not get stuck by the needle.

[fresh]

We just stayed at POR 9/17-9/22 way in the very back by the West bus stop, parking lot view! It was our 3rd stay. Our room was kept very clean. Infact it was soooo clean they cleaned and sorted my pile of papers and receipts I had been keeping on the nightstand between the beds. I always emptied my pockets there with all the end of the day stuff and granted it was somewhat a pile but they stuffed the receipts/change in a cup and put the larger papers near the TV! But no towel animals or cute stuffed animal poses during our entire stay but my papers were put in order!!!!

[maxrebo77]

I encountered a prob at PO also. Stains, scuffs, normal wear and tear, no problem. However, there is something in front of the sink that needs to be cleaned up. I leave a message, they say OK. 2 days later I have to call back. I think it is just a toothpaste mess, however had anyone ever bothered to vacuum the room, it was dried up enough that should have taken care of it.When I mention to the mousekeeping manager that I had heard on a website about their poor job, she stands in front of me and demands to know what site. I don't wish to say, but she says if I tell her, I won't get into any trouble. As far as I know, I didn't do anything wrong.

[Tinkerfreak]

We have also noticed a decline in the mousekeeping since they started outsourcing it. Last year at the Poly I was doing my usual inspection of the bathroom when I found a dirty wash cloth hanging over the curtain rod:ack::ack:. The entire bathroom looked like it had not been cleaned. The floor was dirty and there was also food left in the refridgerator from the last guests. I called housekeeping and they acted like it was no big deal. I ended up cleaning the entire bathroom myself (ok I admit I always wipe everything down with my Lysol wipes anyway) but I should not have to do it. The dirty washcloth was just gross. We also had a problem at AKL with mold in the shower. It is just sad because the rooms used to be so clean and we never had to worry about bad housekeeping. That was one of the things we loved about Disney and when telling people how great Disney is that was one of the things we would tell them. I no longer feel I can sing the praises of Disney housekeeping.

[maxrebo77]

After my vacation from you know where. I did complain. I explained that I have been coming to Disney for 31 years. My job is to go to work 51 weeks of the year. Their job is to take my hard earned money and make that 52nd week magical.

[MNNHFLTX]

Last I had heard, Disney World was outsourcing some of their bell and valet staff, but not mousekeeping. Regardless, poor service is poor service, no matter who is doing it and you most certainly had a right to complain to a manager and feel like it mattered.

[Figaro0826]

We stayed at POR for our honeymoon, besides the fact we asked 3 times to be in the masion section, were still given a room in the bayou section.

But the worst part , was the lack of housekeeping they didnt change our sheets after 4 days, and call to call on the 5th day.

Coffee maker was dusty, so we didnt use it.
The swan towel that showed up the last day was fithly dirty like it had been throw in the dirt.
Was disappointed, would never stay there again.

[pianobabe]

I just got finished sending an email to the guest relations address a few minutes ago regarding our stay at OKW. We checked into our room and not only was there a 1/2 a loaf of bread on the counter, there was also food in the fridge. In the bathroom most of the linens were up, but there was a wash cloth draped over the sink and the soap was opened. The biggest kicker of them all was 2 USED bunion pads on the nightstand. During our stay, we ended up with 3 room keys. The first one for the dirty room. A second one for the next room, because we could only use it for 1 night. The third one for our final room. The managers apologized repeatedly. One of them did ask what he could do to make us "happy". At that point there really wasn't anything. I lost track of how many times I had to explain to the people working the front desk why we were checking out or why we needed new room keys. This was suppose to be a nice relaxing anniversary trip. I was finally able to "chill" after a couple of days, but we will never stay there again.

[mom2morgan]

We just stayed at POR 9/17-9/22 way in the very back by the West bus stop, parking lot view! It was our 3rd stay. Our room was kept very clean. Infact it was soooo clean they cleaned and sorted my pile of papers and receipts I had been keeping on the nightstand between the beds. I always emptied my pockets there with all the end of the day stuff and granted it was somewhat a pile but they stuffed the receipts/change in a cup and put the larger papers near the TV! But no towel animals or cute stuffed animal poses during our entire stay but my papers were put in order!!!!

Yes, I had something similar happen when I went in 2006. I basically had dumped my whole purse on the table, and there was quite an assortment - everything from photocopies of our passwports to gum wrappers ;-) When I came back, the garbage was gone, the "maybe" stuff like receipts was stacked neatly, and the passport copies/airline itinerayr had been placed INSIDE my suitcase (which was sitting there open - lid down but not zipped - they just slipped them in on top). I thought that was very considerate! But all the above posts have me a little wigged out about my stay coming up in December...I guess MY biggest worry would be dirty sheets left from the last guest...

[Phantasia]

Hearing these stories makes me glad that we're bringing our own room with us -- staying at FW. ;) :camp:

When we were last at Pop Century in 2005 we didn't have any issues with the Mousekeeping at all. I don't expect the housekeeping staff to be making my stay more "magical", I expect them to do their jobs at an "okay" level. They're not paid enough, honestly. As long as there are no glaring issues wrong with the room (i.e. smells heavily of smoke/pets, dirt, stains), I have no problem with it.

I never, ever plan to "hang out" in my room, it's just a place to sleep & shower between adventures elsewhere on the grounds.

[tink03]

We just got back from there 9/18-9/28 and our sheets were clean, towels were clean, so was bathroom. We had plenty of Mickey soaps and shampoos too. BUT I found it reallly gross when I went to unpack and found someone elses hair in the drawers.:sick: Also a hair pin (not mine) next to the T.V. which I left there and it stayed there the entire trip. Yeah I could have thrown it away but I wanted to see how clean they really are. I am happy to report though we had a spotless room other wise and a super clean bathroom she even gave us extra towells and cute towel animals!!
One day while we were sitting by the pool though a couple of maids were fighting . I thought that was a little uncalled for , but I didt complain. I propably should have though. This was my 2 nd and last time at POR I want to try something new!!:mickey:

Sept 08 POR
Sept 07 CBR
May 06 POR
June 04 CBR

[vicster]

We stayed at POFQ a couple of weeks ago and the housekeeping left much to be desired. Our housekeeper (who did not speak English) was at our door at 8:00 a.m. every morning. We're a couple with no kids with us and we do not leave at 8:00 in the morning. We tried to tell her to come back later but she didn't understand English except the word "clean". We stayed there a week and I can guarantee you the room was never vacuumed. Three days after we were there we ran our of the styrofoam coffee cups and she didn't leave anymore. I had to hunt someone down to get some. My husband said that next year we're back at WL. What's happening with Disney's standards???

[laurie816]

We stayed at AKL 9/16-9/23/08 and had a great time. The resort was awesome, the food was great, the pool was fun, the staff was very friendly and housekeeping was good. A great vacation!

[PAYROLL PRINCESS]

We just stayed at POFQ 9/20 to 9/28. The first night it was about midnight when we got to our room and I noticed that the toilet seat had "spots" on it. I didn't even mention it to my sis, I just grabbed a face cloth and the soap and washed it down. Other than that, our room was cleaned and when we asked for extra towels and blankets, we had them promptly. We had also been upgraded to a water view because of a smoky room my sis had last year at ASMu. We had turn down service every night and if we showered during the day, the towels were replaced again by the time we got back at night.
I did notice that you had to say hello to the Mousekeepers first when walking by them or they wouldn't have said anything. But they always said hello back when I greeted them.
I wouldn't hesitate to recommend POFQ to anyone.

[Orlando Resident]

1) Oops.
2) Sorry for the terrible housekeeping.
3) The next time you are displeased with housekeeping
. . . ask for the Housekeeping Mgr.
. . . if no reply, ask for Guest Services Mgr
. . . if no reply, ask for General Mgr
4) When asking for managers, go to the Front Desk.
5) DO NOT LEAVE UNTIL ONE OF THEM APPEARS.

NOTE: If CM's try to pawn you off, tell the CM that unless you get a Housekeeping Mgr or Guest Services Mgr, you are going straight to the General Manager. THIS gets attention.

The General Manager part doesnt work as since Disney resorts are so big the GM usually never deals with guest issues, thats what the front desk GUEST SERVICE managers are for. Also, 99% of the time the GM is not available and asking for a GM will only delay your problem getting solved. Just some advice.

[beavdisfan]

our family of 11 one year and 17 the next year completely enjoyed por and would go back in a minute.

if you never gave anything a second chance you would never leave home again.

staying at cbr next trip and have heard good and bad about it but going anyway.
the complete experience is far too much fun to let a little dust in a coffee pot spoil things.

[Orlando Resident]

Just curious - is mousekeeping still done by WDW castmembers? I could have sworn I read/heard that one of the union complaints within the last couple of years was that WDW wanted to outsource mousekeeping.


Housekeeping has always been and still is done by Disney Cast Members, it is an essential part of the resort operation that I dont think Disney would ever even consider outsourcing.

The only service that is outsourced at the resorts is Valet Parking, they are required to wear Disney name-tags and Disney-approved costumes but are not real CMs, they are employed by an outside company.

[mdhiggin]

Dirty towels on top of your clean clothes in your suitcase? Nasty.
We stayed at Pop last week and had a "protein spill". Apparently, that is their term for vomit, in our case, or other bodily emissions. We called the front desk as soon as it happened, about 3 AM, when DD8 threw up on the bed and carpet beside the bed. They were there in about 10 minutes with their giant cart and rubber gloves. I had already cleaned the carpet a lot with washcloths and soap from the bathroom, so they just changed the bedding. They had someone come the next day and shampoo the carpet. It was still damp when we came back from the park. A couple of days we left so late, housekeeping was done for the day and couldn't clean our room, so on the third day, the bathroom smelled strongly of bleach. I guess they were making up for having to miss those two days. They tied our window sheer in a loose knot and placed our Minnie Mouse in it like she was on a swing for everyone to see. The kids loved it. Usually, other stuffed animals were placed neatly at the head of our made beds. Pretty good service I thought, but they can't always be good.

[floridamom]

The managers apologized repeatedly. One of them did ask what he could do to make us "happy". At that point there really wasn't anything.

In our experience, this is the manager's way of opening up a dialogue about some sort of "compensation" for your inconvenience. They usually won't flat-out offer you freebies or room credits, but if you respond with something like, "Well, we were really looking forward to trying Olivia's for dinner, but all this moving from room to room has been very frustrating," you will likely end up with a meal voucher or room credit that will more than cover the cost of your meal. My husband is actually a pro at these sorts of conversations and we have never been disappointed with the solution that was ultimately offered. The keys seem to be : (1) Speak to someone who has the authority to "make things right," even if it does involve going down to the front desk. (2) Be as calm, polite, and gracious as possible (this would be why my husband speaks to the manager instead of me), and (3) Be prepared to "name your price," but make sure it is a fair request based on the issue you experienced. (For us, we've had blood-stained sheets at POR, housekeeping coming into our room before check-out time while we were at breakfast and throwing away all remaining personal articles at ASMo, and getting assigned to a room at Pop whose beds were covered with trash, and then having to wait over an hour to be assigned to a new room).

Sometimes if the issue is more of an annoyance than a major problem, you have to know when to let it go so you can just enjoy your trip. A previous poster mentioned that they don't want to waste vacation time waiting to see a manager. There are so many wonderful expreriences to be had at WDW, and chances are that my kids never even noticed the things that have annoyed me--they just want to get to the parks! You may feel better sending a letter or email when you get home, just to get it off your chest. :mad:

Sorry about the bad experiences everyone has posted; overall I hope the good at WDW still outweighs the bad. :mickey:

[pianobabe]

In our experience, this is the manager's way of opening up a dialogue about some sort of "compensation" for your inconvenience....overall I hope the good at WDW still outweighs the bad. :mickey:

That is what I had figured he was doing. We weren't looking to get anything out of it. Of all the trips we have taken we know this isn't the norm. I just felt they should have handled it differently. I did send an email shortly after we got back about our complaint. I received a call earlier this week from a CM saying they had read my letter and it was being sent to the General Manager at OKW. She said that we had also been credited $100 for our trouble. While I am very thankful for the credit (we are putting it towards next years trip) I was more greatful that the email was addressed. What they do with the information, I don't know, but I felt better about it.
The good always out ways the bad at Disney.

[LudwigVonDrake]

Wow! That is gross that they would leave the used towels IN your suitcase! Always go to the front desk and don't leave until a Manager appears. Make a loud stink if you need to.

[chelly4568]

:mickey:that is so considerate you have to love disneyy..