Disney`s Old Key West Resort

[gmarine]

Marty has always been kind enough to "blog" her vacation experiences on TUG for the benefit of anyone who may be interested in details of the resort or area she's visiting. Along with any negatives, she also details the positives. She has made quite a few nice comments in the course of this OKW thread, but it seems no one sees anything but the critical viewpoints. If she expects a unit to be adequately clean at check-in, that's okay by me. I rarely visit a resort where I feel the housekeeping is up to par. Good folks like Marty keep them on their toes. The next person who stays in the unit Marty now inhabits will certainly benefit from her diligence. In any event, everyone has their priorities. If a clean A/C filter, an absence of ant mounds, less than an inch of dirt under the sofa, and washed dishes are someone's quality criteria, then why not let them voice it without undue criticism?

Cindy

Everyone has the right to their opinion. However, anyone reading this thread who has never been to this resort may get the wrong information based on someone who by all account appears to be looking for something to complain about. This is why others dispute her petty complaints.

If you doubt that then read through the posts. She complains about antique looking furniture among other petty things. The theme of the resort is Key West at the turn of the century. Blinds being too heavy, needing an extra door etc, etc. She is looking for the date the appliances were manufactured These are petty complaints.

The ant mound comment interesting. Apparently the ants at Old Key West suddenly learned how to crush concrete and make a hill on the balcony out of it. Or maybe they brought the dirt to make a mound from the first floor.

You can find things wrong in any resort you go to. Hunting for things that are wrong and then complaining about them isnt the right way to inform others about your stay.

 

[Vodo]

Why can't we just leave it to the individual reader as to whether they personally deem Marty's criteria as "petty"? Most folks can make that call without having others (sometimes unkindly) point out that they consider it petty. Or, at a minimum, we should try to be kind with our dissenting posts. Marty is and always has been a good citizen of the "TUG Nation." I just don't like to see anyone unnecessarily criticized - especially if I know he or she is "good folk."

Cindy

 

[Carl D]

Everyone has the right to their opinion. However, anyone reading this thread who has never been to this resort may get the wrong information based on someone who by all account appears to be looking for something to complain about. This is why others dispute her petty complaints.

Exactly correct.

 

[Carl D]

Why can't we just leave it to the individual reader as to whether they personally deem Marty's criteria as "petty"? Most folks can make that call without having others (sometimes unkindly) point out that they consider it petty. Or, at a minimum, we should try to be kind with our dissenting posts. Marty is and always has been a good citizen of the "TUG Nation." I just don't like to see anyone unnecessarily criticized - especially if I know he or she is "good folk."

In Marty's original post, she said it took her five hours to get ckecked in, and described it as a "nightmare".
Come to find out, some of that "nightmare" was spent searching dishwashers, and looking at the internal components of the furnace.

It was/is Marty's right to be very critical when she makes her opening comments, but if she chooses to be so spirited in her comments she must expect the same in the responses.

 

[Vodo]

I guess where I differ is that Marty was critical of a resort, not a person. Some of the responsive posts are personally belittling of Marty. In my mind, there's a big difference between criticizing a business entity and insulting a living, feeling human being. I suppose I'm just yearning for a kinder, gentler BBS.

In any event, I'll bow out now and let this thread get back on topic.

Thanks!
Cindy

 

[gjw007]

I do agree that you can find something wrong with every resort, a point that I have been trying to make over and over. You really have to look at the overall reviews of the resorts. There are going to be some bad reviews but if the majority rate it highly, then it probably is going to be a nice resort. I stayed at the Villas at Wilderness Lodge in December and there were a few issues with the unit, but really, nothing serious. I was more surprised by the lack of response and followup by Disney. For example, a simple thing, I couldn't find the cookwear and I talked to both the front desk and DVC representative and neither knew where it was stored either. Both said that they would get back to me; neither did. I ask housekeeping in the morning and the items were on the very bottom tray in the stove. For me, a very unusual position. Some things, such as the fact that the wall cabinets were so narrow that you could not close them when the full-size plates were in the cabinet didn't warrent a complaint (was this really going to change and DVC get full-size cabinets during my stay - I think not!) nor the fact that some of the veneer on the furniture had been stripped off (I treated this as normal wear-and-tear). I did get maintanence's attention when I reported that the bathroom sink appeared to be falling away from the wall (in reality it was the cauking that was falling off but there was a huge gap between the wall and the sink).

I worked 10 years in the hotel industry and things do happen unfortunately. A room that is marked clean turns out to have been marked clean inadvertently and so the guest shows up to a dirty room. It is embarrassing to the front desk staff and the hotel. I remember a guest getting very animated over the fact that our windows didn't slide up and down but rather were hinged on the top and bottom so that the window opened horizontal rather than vertical (we would have preferred the windows to slide up-and-down because the hinged units had to bear the weight of the window and would become misaligned over a period of time and thus wouldn't close completely - so there are some reasons for the complaints). Without the complaints, management cannot correct what they do not know about. Still some complaints, like not liking the wallpaper selection, there is little that you can do about.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Some things, such as the fact that the wall cabinets were so narrow that you could not close them when the full-size plates were in the cabinet didn't warrent a complaint (was this really going to change and DVC get full-size cabinets during my stay - I think not!) .

Actually, at OKW the cabinets are deeper and like a full sized kitchen. The other DVC resorts have small "convenience type kitchens". I really don't like the kitchens at VWL, BWV, BCV or SSR. They changed that floor plan after OKW was completed, because they found most folks weren't interested in cooking at WDW. That is why OKW is the only DVC resort that has a full size fridge, full size washer and dryer, and a full size kitchen.

 

[Miss Marty]

Old Key West

Building`s 45 - 46 on Peninsular Road and
Bldg # 55 has some of the best Water Views

 

[schatterjee]

I've never ready anything quite like this.

While from my perspective I feel some of the original comments were over the top (although, I too like a clean unit). I just love Marty's thick skin and the on-going trip information.

We're getting ready for a stay at OKW in Oct. (our first there) so I love to read the good, bad & ugly...

Thanks!

 

[jjking42]

thanks for the update Marty

did you ever see anyone in the pools at HGVC? We are going in two weeks and are wondering when the pools get warmed up.

 

[rickandcindy23]

I love Disney!

Oh brother...

The point of our renting Disney points was a taste of the Disney experience so that I could get Rick to buy. It didn't work, even though I would still love to own a Disney 100-point package. Rick does not have any designs on Disney because of the bus noise. Also, the cost in points (MF's) of a one-bedroom for a week-long stay is pretty expensive, especially when you add the purchase price into the calculations.

I liked being on Disney property. I am a Disney fanatic; Rick puts up with my craziness. We live in Cold Colorado (5 degrees for a high today, I think), so we go to Orlando at least twice a year, sometimes four trips in a year, always low season. We buy annual passes and thought the savings DVC members get would make sense for us.

We had a very clean studio, which is a nice "hotel room," so I know that it is unfair to compare a studio with a two-bedroom at Marriott's Grande Vista or HGVC at Seaworld. It is such an easy trade to get into these deluxe resorts that we always get a unit with a king bed and large whirlpool tub. Those are the amenities we look for in our trades. We own ten weeks of timeshare and have no problem getting great units, so we chose not to purchase DVC for now.

Now if the studios had king beds and whirlpool tubs, we would buy tomorrow. Of course, I knew what amenities the unit had before we rented, but after a stay at Summer Bay, the difference between the two units was significant.

Does a Saratoga Springs studio have a whirlpool tub? I think they have one queen bed, a sofa sleeper and regular tub, but if they had a whirlpool tub, I could talk Rick into buying again. I almost had him!

As for the bus noise, the resort is so large that a lot of people have to just deal with the noise. I could sleep through just about anything, so I was okay. Rick couldn't because of his profession. He kept thinking the pumper was leaving the firehouse without him--the engineer! He said it sounded just like the firetrucks pulling out of the firehouse.

I have to say that the woman at the front desk scowled a little when we asked if we could move from that end unit by the three-way bus stop, especially when she asked if we were DVC members and we told her we rented points from a stranger on ebay. When Rick told her that he is a firefighter and couldn't sleep, she put a smile back on her face and found us a different unit.

Has anyone mentioned that Marti/Marty is a DVC member?

 

[Miss Marty]

Our Last Night

Friday - Feb 17

We had a rough start - but everything turned out OK
Thanks to a wonderful Cast Member name Miss Nancy

 

[jmatias]

Marty,

Glad things turned out okay

Sounds like you got some much needed pixie dust

That's the Disney Magic that we enjoy so much.

 

[Miss Marty]

Its 10 AM

All packed and ready to go

We had 4513 - Building 45 water view
First Floor - nice to walk out to our car

Have a wonderful weekend....

 

[dianeschlicht]

Have a great trip home. Glad you decided OKW wasn't the disaster you first thought it was.

 

[ciscogizmo1]

Thanks for your review!

 

[Carl D]

The point of our renting Disney points was a taste of the Disney experience so that I could get Rick to buy. It didn't work, even though I would still love to own a Disney 100-point package. Rick does not have any designs on Disney because of the bus noise. Also, the cost in points (MF's) of a one-bedroom for a week-long stay is pretty expensive, especially when you add the purchase price into the calculations.

I liked being on Disney property. I am a Disney fanatic; Rick puts up with my craziness. We live in Cold Colorado (5 degrees for a high today, I think), so we go to Orlando at least twice a year, sometimes four trips in a year, always low season. We buy annual passes and thought the savings DVC members get would make sense for us.

We had a very clean studio, which is a nice "hotel room," so I know that it is unfair to compare a studio with a two-bedroom at Marriott's Grande Vista or HGVC at Seaworld. It is such an easy trade to get into these deluxe resorts that we always get a unit with a king bed and large whirlpool tub. Those are the amenities we look for in our trades. We own ten weeks of timeshare and have no problem getting great units, so we chose not to purchase DVC for now.

Now if the studios had king beds and whirlpool tubs, we would buy tomorrow. Of course, I knew what amenities the unit had before we rented, but after a stay at Summer Bay, the difference between the two units was significant.

Does a Saratoga Springs studio have a whirlpool tub? I think they have one queen bed, a sofa sleeper and regular tub, but if they had a whirlpool tub, I could talk Rick into buying again. I almost had him!

As for the bus noise, the resort is so large that a lot of people have to just deal with the noise. I could sleep through just about anything, so I was okay. Rick couldn't because of his profession. He kept thinking the pumper was leaving the firehouse without him--the engineer! He said it sounded just like the firetrucks pulling out of the firehouse.

I have to say that the woman at the front desk scowled a little when we asked if we could move from that end unit by the three-way bus stop, especially when she asked if we were DVC members and we told her we rented points from a stranger on ebay. When Rick told her that he is a firefighter and couldn't sleep, she put a smile back on her face and found us a different unit.

Has anyone mentioned that Marti/Marty is a DVC member?

First, to explain my earlier post that you quoted- Everyone has a right to have favorites. Everyone has a right to dislike certain places. -- That's fine, but in my opinion to say that DVC is sub satandard (paraphrasing), is just incorrect.

Cindy, I do understand your position, and to a certain point, I agree. In my opinion an OKW studio is not going to WOW someone into forking over the big money (others may disagree). I toured DVC back when OKW was first built, and didn't opt to purchase. When The Villas at Wilderness Lodge were built and I saw the one and two bedroom villas, I was indeed very WOWed.

DVC doesn't have the biggest units, nor the biggest TV's, nor the fanciest counter tops, nor the fanciest surround sound system ect...
With that said, in many people's eyes DVC does have that intangible feeling you get when you stay on property.
We call it Magic.
For us, that's worth the extra money. For many, it's not, and that's okay too.

 

[Miss Marty]

Will`s Website

Disney

http://willcad.org/

 

[Miss Marty]

DVC


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