This was at
Grande Ocean in Spring.
If it's this kind of sectional sleeper sofa shown below (3 sections with an ottoman), with a long solid panel,
don't get one.
The design is inherently flawed in that the lower panel will easily splay out as shown, just from sitting normally on the cushions over time.
The screws holding the top of the panel are very insufficient, and the wood (?) panel itself is not as substantial as it should be.
You can see from sitting on the sofa's cushion, you begin to slump down really low,
enough that the solid board panel comes apart at the top and you sink.
We called the maintenance crew---two guys came--- they spent 2 hours trying to repair it....
Couldn't
replace the sofa because they said cranes had to lift them up to the back entrance, hoist it over the short wall, then they had to
somehow turn them sideways (with great effort due to extreme weight) to get them thru the entrance door.
Plus they said over half of the sofas at the resort were doing this.
It's an awkward position to sit in, and we insisted that they somehow screw the panel back into place so it would be functional....
they tried, had a hard time even seeing and getting to the metal plate behind the panel, but one hour after they left it came loose again,
so we just left it alone.
The sofa itself seems fine otherwise---comfortable (as sofa beds go) ----that is, until the panel comes apart.
The panel should be sturdier wood, and much thicker, so longer screws could be utilized (they're pitifully short now,
and can't be longer because the board isn't thick enough---they would come out the front),
and the metal assembly behind it should be designed better too, because it has to hold the two together.
There should also be more screws anchoring the metal plates to the board. As is, it's ridiculously deficient.
BELOW, the lower panel has completely come loose at the top, making it splay out, and there's really no fix.
They've tried, and most of the sofas there are still doing this. You'll therefore sink down when you take a seat, as in pic #1.
ADDENDUM: 3:30pm 7/9/2020
I emailed the General Manager an hour ago and basically we then discussed the "new" sofas going in this next September
during Grande Ocean's renovation project. He assured me that the new sofas would be more substantial in the area where
the previous ones were deficient. He was aware of the problem.
>>>>>>>>>> Therefore, for those who would like a similar but NEWLY DESIGNED fold-out sofa bed,
I would then mention that it might be wise to email the GO General Manager himself
and see what type of NEW sofa he will be installing, and get that one! He told me he actually met with the VP of the manufacturing company
on site and discussed the previous problem, and then took a look at the new sofa's beefed-up front panel.
Sounds like a good way to get a solid and durable sofa for the long haul.
massimo.santangelo@vacationclub.com
