New stupid nickel and diming thing they are doing at Ocean Walk

[Floridaman76]

Checked into Ocean Walk last night, of course the ice maker is off (expected, but dumb policy). Turned it on, and it's a relatively slow ice maker, so we have very little ice in the morning.

Ok, no problem, I call down and ask for a bag of ice. We run out of ice, I call down and ask for another bag of ice, and the person tells me "we can only give you one bag of ice per day".

Mystified, I ask why...

The person tells me that there is a "new policy" that they can only provide one bag of ice per day, per room. Because... wait for it... "we now SELL ice at the bistro".

Un-Freaking real, this is ridiculous and if I can find the resort GM, i'm going to complain. I've never been limited on ice before at any resort, and consideirng how slow these ice makers are, it makes this new "policy" even more absurd. Our maintenance fees literally go to paying for this stuff.

 

[rickandcindy23]

Do you make shakes or smoothies with the ice? Why so much ice?

 

[Floridaman76]

Do you make shakes or smoothies with the ice? Why so much ice?

Drinks and cooling down the beer.

 

[Zeke_62]

I as well am a high ice user. 2L diet coke and crystal light lemonade. I like my drinks in a cup with ice, not from a can. If the whole family is traveling with me, 1 bag to start a trip is not enough, but we usually make it work. And, mostly caused by me!

 

[jp10558]

I like ice water so I use a lot of ice too sometimes, but I haven't ever ran out of a bag of ice in one night. I do wish they had faster icemakers, those work out great for me after having them running for 2-3 days, but that ramp up can be painful. I am surprised there isn't a hotel style ice bucket you could use to just go get ice somewhere - it never would have a occurred me to call down for ice TBH.

 

[Jan M.]

I like ice water so I use a lot of ice too sometimes, but I haven't ever ran out of a bag of ice in one night. I do wish they had faster icemakers, those work out great for me after having them running for 2-3 days, but that ramp up can be painful. I am surprised there isn't a hotel style ice bucket you could use to just go get ice somewhere - it never would have a occurred me to call down for ice TBH.

Ice buckets used to be standard kitchen equipment in the units. They used to sit out in plain sight on the counter. In more recent years they'd often be in the cupboards over the stove or refrigerator. Those cupboards aren't an easy reach for me so I don't always look in them unless I'm searching for the colander.

Somewhere we stayed had bags specifically for ice hanging by the ice machine. It seems strange that a resort the size of Ocean Walk doesn't have an ice machine for owners to be able to get ice.

 

[Roger830]

Drinks and cooling down the beer.

I'm surprised that no ice in the freezer is new to you. We've been seeing that for years at Sea Gardens. I suspect that they don't want to take a chance with a crazy making ice with contaminated water.

To cool beer quickly, I put it in the freezer. Don't forget to take it out in about a 1/2 hour.

 

[Floridaman76]

I'm surprised that no ice in the freezer is new to you. We've been seeing that for years at Sea Gardens. I suspect that they don't want to take a chance with a crazy making ice with contaminated water.

To cool beer quickly, I put it in the freezer. Don't forget to take it out in about a 1/2 hour.

The ice machines not being turned on does not surprise me. I understand it's the standard procedure when cleaning to turn them off.

That's not what my post is about, it's about this specific resort placing a ridiculous limit (1 bag per day) on "free bagged ice", which is a standard free amenity at resorts.

And guest services saying that they put the policy in place so they can "sell ice". Basically. That's what this is about.

 

[Floridaman76]

I like ice water so I use a lot of ice too sometimes, but I haven't ever ran out of a bag of ice in one night. I do wish they had faster icemakers, those work out great for me after having them running for 2-3 days, but that ramp up can be painful. I am surprised there isn't a hotel style ice bucket you could use to just go get ice somewhere - it never would have a occurred me to call down for ice TBH.

Very few of the resorts have ice machines that are accessible by guests. They usually have big industrial ones (i'm assuming bigger than the ones you see at hotels) that they keep in the housekeeping area that they "bag up" to give out to guests on demand.

 

[Floridaman76]

I as well am a high ice user. 2L diet coke and crystal light lemonade. I like my drinks in a cup with ice, not from a can. If the whole family is traveling with me, 1 bag to start a trip is not enough, but we usually make it work. And, mostly caused by me!

I had guests this trip too, and we were going through ice faster than we normally do. The super slow ice maker was NOT keeping up, and this was after we got a bag in the morning.

 

[paxsarah]

"free bagged ice", which is a standard free amenity at resorts.

Today in my 16th year of ownership I first learned of this.

 

[Zeke_62]

As a "high ice user", I guess I've asked. Some resorts offer bags, some don't. When we are able to get them from the concierge, we each go down separately as they don't ask for a room number, thus getting around the "1" bag limit.

 

[Floridaman76]

Today in my 16th year of ownership I first learned of this.

Yeah, it's a thing... I didn't know about it for a while either. It was one of those things where I called at one of the resorts to see if they had an ice maker I could bring my cooler to to get some, and they said "we will bring you bagged ice". Was kind of an eye opener for me, but yeah, this is a thing at every resort and i've never been told there is any sort of limit. Let alone "one bag per day".

This specfic resort, Ocean Walk in Daytona, I got to a couple of times per year (so far 3 times this year) and this is a new change. Hopefully at this specific resort.

 

[Roger830]

Yeah, it's a thing... I didn't know about it for a while either. It was one of those things where I called at one of the resorts to see if they had an ice maker I could bring my cooler to to get some, and they said "we will bring you bagged ice". Was kind of an eye opener for me, but yeah, this is a thing at every resort and i've never been told there is any sort of limit. Let alone "one bag per day".

This specfic resort, Ocean Walk in Daytona, I got to a couple of times per year (so far 3 times this year) and this is a new change. Hopefully at this specific resort.

So apparently if a resort has 200 units they should be able to provide 400 bags of ice for free each day.
This isn't something that I want my MF to provide. I'm ok with charging $1 for a bag of ice and possibly buy 2 get 1 free.

 

[Floridaman76]

So apparently if a resort has 200 units they should be able to provide 400 bags of ice for free each day.
This isn't something that I want my MF to provide. I'm ok with charging $1 for a bag of ice and possibly buy 2 get 1 free.

Maybe they can start charging for air conditioning too, because you don't need it, or your wife won't let you run it becasue she's always cold.

And you should not be forced to pay your maintenance fees because "people want to feel comfortable"

Or, maybe the resorts should start charging for internet because you don't know how to use the computer?

Literally we got in at around 7pm on Friday, by morning the ice maker had made enough ice to about halfway fill up 2 of those blue cups. It never caught up.

 

[jp10558]

Very few of the resorts have ice machines that are accessible by guests. They usually have big industrial ones (i'm assuming bigger than the ones you see at hotels) that they keep in the housekeeping area that they "bag up" to give out to guests on demand.

This must be a specific Wyndham resort thing. Smugglers Notch (also Wyndham) for instance doesn't have ice makers in the freezers and provides an ice machine in each building on the bottom floor. MVC Grand Vista had both. Given just about every hotel I've ever been in has one, often per floor, the big ice machines can't cost that much, and strategically locating them seems like a better system than sending up housekeeping with bags of ice, paid or not.

I do kind of doubt they're getting enough calls for ice to stress a large ice maker like Hotels have. At least because most people don't know they *could* call for ice. Which I would guess would also put a damper on them selling that much. Even places without an ice machine in the freezer usually have ice trays, so for light users that probably suffices.

 

[CO skier]

Today in my 16th year of ownership I first learned of this.

this is a thing at every resort and i've never been told there is any sort of limit.

As with so many things, it is "resort dependent." In this case it varies a lot from resort to resort. And anyone who has been around Club Wyndham for any length of time knows "things change."

I think any reasonable person would consider "a bag" of complimentary ice per day (not per stay, like housekeeping) to be a reasonable amount.

 

[CO skier]

Very few of the resorts have ice machines that are accessible by guests.

This is not true. MANY resorts have ice machines, not bagged ice. Have the GM at Ocean Walk look into it for special guests like you.

This resort has ice machines and a water filter/cooler.

 

[chapjim]

 

[Floridaman76]

This is not true. MANY resorts have ice machines, not bagged ice. Have the GM at Ocean Walk look into it for special guests like you.

This resort has ice machines and a water filter/cooler.

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"Many" resorts do not have this sort of setup. In fact, I can think of very few. Midtown 45 does, I think La Belle Maison might. Bonnet Creek and Westwinds might too. But it's complete BS to say "many" have this setup. I've stayed at the majority of Wyndham resorts in the East, and this sort of setup is very much the exception, not the rule. Ice machines, like depicted are virtually nonexistent.

I know coloradman is a west coast dude, and most of the resorts he stays at are co-branded Worldmark resorts which might do stuff differently.

 

[Sandi Bo]

Something they could fill those empty cubbies on each floor (that maybe were for ice machines and pop machines and candy machines at one time)?

 

[Sandi Bo]

Funny, IMO, we all have our "things". I am pretty sure the only time we've ever had a bag of ice delivered to our room was when the ice machine was broken. And in that situation, it was the resort that took the initiative to do so. Wait til I tell my nieces and nephews.

And I was thinking.... the emptying of the ice and then you starting it up again is a covid thing? One of those wonderful new rules that covid brought us and never went away.

 

[Jan M.]

Something they could fill those empty cubbies on each floor (that maybe were for ice machines and pop machines and candy machines at one time)?

Now that you've mentioned it, I do remember when there were the ice and pop machines available. You'd take the ice bucket from your room down to the ice machine to fill it up. That was one of the first things DH did after we got in our unit. The ice bucket wasn't huge but it held enough ice to get you through until the ice maker in the refrigerator started filling the bin or you needed more than what was in the bin.

 

[Floridaman76]

Now that you've mentioned it, I do remember when there were the ice and pop machines available. You'd take the ice bucket from your room down to the ice machine to fill it up. That was one of the first things DH did after we got in our unit. The ice bucket wasn't huge but it held enough ice to get you through until the ice maker in the refrigerator started filling the bin or you needed more than what was in the bin.

And that would be acceptable, if they existed. But they don't, and here we are... this isn't about me or anyone else being lazy, this is about making a basic luxury item (ice) available.

Not making something that should be free, a profit center.

 

[HitchHiker71]

Today in my 16th year of ownership I first learned of this.

Same here. We turn on the ice-maker when we arrive - and by morning we typically have enough ice for our needs unless there's a problem with the ice-maker of course - which has also happened - but we don't use very much ice as a general rule. We use the refrigerator to cool non-alcoholic drinks overnight as soon as we arrive, and the freezer to cool down alcoholic drinks when needed - then move to the refrigerator. We also have a mobile cooler that we take with us sometimes if we're carrying perishable items that need to remain cool during transport- including drinks when needed. I had no idea you could even request ice LOL.