Elara Kitchen

[Blues]

OK, so every timeshare I've been in has requested that, when leaving, you put your dirty dishes in the dishwasher and start it. Right?

So, for our recent stay in a 1BR Grand Plus at Elara, I attempted to do so. First, the dishwasher had a broken gasket. Could barely get out the rack. Once I did so and loaded it, I could find no dishwasher soap - or any regular dish soap, for that matter. I called to the front desk, and they replied that we could request the above any time during our stay. But I'm checking out to leave now, I said. They replied, oh just leave the dishes in the sink, the housekeeper will take care of it.

Huh? Is this a new trend? Are they trying to save the cost of unused dishwasher pods? It seems like not a good tradeoff, considering the extra load on the housekeepers. As well, it seems like an incredibly cheap move.

Anybody else run into something like this?

 

[TolmiePeak]

OK, so every timeshare I've been in has requested that, when leaving, you put your dirty dishes in the dishwasher and start it. Right?

So, for our recent stay in a 1BR Grand Plus at Elara, I attempted to do so. First, the dishwasher had a broken gasket. Could barely get out the rack. Once I did so and loaded it, I could find no dishwasher soap - or any regular dish soap, for that matter. I called to the front desk, and they replied that we could request the above any time during our stay. But I'm checking out to leave now, I said. They replied, oh just leave the dishes in the sink, the housekeeper will take care of it.

Huh? Is this a new trend? Are they trying to save the cost of unused dishwasher pods? It seems like not a good tradeoff, considering the extra load on the housekeepers. As well, it seems like an incredibly cheap move.

Anybody else run into something like this?

Yeah we stayed at Boulevard and they had one pod in the room. I just asked the housekeeper when I saw her on the floor. She gladly have me a few extra. We ran the dishwasher everyday.

 

[Blues]

Yeah we stayed at Boulevard and they had one pod in the room. I just asked the housekeeper when I saw her on the floor. She gladly have me a few extra. We ran the dishwasher everyday.

Yes, but at least they provided one. It seems that Elara provides NO dishwasher or dish soap at all unless you request it. Very strange, IMNSHO.

 

[letsgobobby]

Lagoon last November they said they no longer provided dishwasher pods, or scouring/scrubbing pads. Now they're both on my packing list.

But when we saw housekeeping in the hallway, we just asked for a bunch of both - some said they no longer had them, others had piles and gave them to us. So I"m not sure what's really going on.

 

[PigsDad]

I haven’t seen the requirement to load dirty dishes at checkout for years.

Kurt

 

[GT75]

I haven’t either at HGVC but just saw that requirement (along with take out the trash) at Embarc Panorama. We always do load up the dirty dishes into the dishwasher and start it prior to leaving.

 

[ljmiii]

OK, so every timeshare I've been in has requested that, when leaving, you put your dirty dishes in the dishwasher and start it. Right?

We’ve owned since 2008 and I’ve never had any timeshare we’ve stayed in, HGVC, MVC, Vistana, or DVC request that we run the dishwasher.

That said, we always do as a common courtesy. Usually they replenish the dishwasher pods at the mid week tidy but if we run short we ask the housekeeping staff for a few more.

 

[dayooper]

We have never had a cleaning requirement when leaving a resort. We load and run the dishwasher, clean out the fridge and do a basic cleaning before we leave. Its just a common courtesy for us.

 

[Sandy VDH]

As a courtesy I usually start the dishwasher. It has the longest cycle of anything they clean in the unit themselves, since towels and bed linens are done in the building laundry and not the unit laundry.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

I haven’t either at HGVC but just saw that requirement (along with take out the trash) at Embarc Panorama. We always do load up the dirty dishes into the dishwasher and start it prior to leaving.

oops. I guess we needed to read the manual. We started the dishwasher but did not know we had to take out the trash. We never take the trash out at checkout because we usually are rushed. I never see any assessments. But we always leave a nice tip for the housekeepers both midweek and at the end.

Last time we were at Elara the housekeeper was so happy to have a mid-week tip that she stopped by our door and offered extra soaps, pods etc. (the things she can control). Sometimes they leave extra supplies during the mid-week clean as a thank you gesture.

BTW...Embarc provided a full mid-week clean (e.g. change linens midweek, take out trash) instead of a tidy. Classy.

MVC in the USA has stopped even mid-week tidies and charges for towel changes if 7 days or less (ugh). I am not convinced this is wise because it makes for dirtier units at the end and more time to clean - especially if there was a family in the unit. This will result in delays for check-in. They claim they will save on housekeeping but I am not convinced. Our Vistana/MVC MF are much higher than HGVC.

On a similar vein, United now distributes sanitizing wipes as you board the aircraft to clean your tray and seat. I find this really smart because everyone cleans the plane and reduces germs. If the plane has several flights a day, then the interior is cleaned several times. Much better than their teams can do during a switchover.

 

[clifffaith]

oops. I guess we needed to read the manual. We started the dishwasher but did not know we had to take out the trash. We never take the trash out at the end.

We only take the trash out if it is EXTREMELY convenient. Not walking half way across the resort to do it.

 

[CanuckTravlr]

I have always run the dishwasher, and if I have time to do so, I even put the dishes away in the cupboards. I have never taken the trash out, just made sure any garbage is in the trash containers and closed the bags up. I also tip well (IMHO) at any mid-week clean and at the end.

 

[dayooper]

I have always run the dishwasher, and if I have time to do so, I even put the dishes away in the cupboards. I have never taken the trash out, just made sure any garbage is in the trash containers and closed the bags up. I also tip well (IMHO) at any mid-week clean and at the end.

We also tie up the trash and place the basket outside of the cabinet. Usually we run the dishwasher as we are leaving.

 

[jp10558]

We have never had a cleaning requirement when leaving a resort. We load and run the dishwasher, clean out the fridge and do a basic cleaning before we leave. Its just a common courtesy for us.

Huh,my first Colonies at Williamsburg stay had a whole sheet of what to do on leaving
1) take out trash
2) run dishwasher
3) dirty towels on the floor in a bathroom.

I got similar sheets at Regal Vistas Massanutten - including stripping the beds there. That is the only place that has asked that of me. Also at Smuggs.

Starting in mid 2024 - the printouts disappeared, and in HGVC specifically - taking out the trash is hard as the only thing to do is leave it outside the door IME.

Now I just think "you're supposed to take out trash and run dishwasher" but I'm not actually sure at places I haven't been before given the lack of a printed instruction sheet or even a QR code that I notice at least. Maybe you no longer are expected to do these things? IDK, seems strange to me.

 

[1Kflyerguy]

I always load and start the dishwasher before we leave. If the resort has trash or recycling stations i will clear out most of junk from the unit. If they don't then I try to be as neat as possible but just leave the bags or stacks of recycling in the unit.

 

[dioxide45]

I always load the dishwasher and put a pod in it in preparation to start it before leaving. I don't want to start too soon in case I dirty another plate or cup. More times than not I forget to actually start it. Somewhere down the road I will say to my wife that I forgot to start it. If a resort has trash chutes on each floor, I will usually take the trash to drop it. Most Marriott properties have a trash chute.

 

[VacationForever]

MVC in the USA has stopped even mid-week tidies and charges for towel changes if 7 days or less (ugh). I am not convinced this is wise because it makes for dirtier units at the end and more time to clean - especially if there was a family in the unit. This will result in delays for check-in. They claim they will save on housekeeping but I am not convinced. Our Vistana/MVC MF are much higher than HGVC.

Just to clarify, MVC in mainland USA has never had mid-week cleaning in the decades that we have owned. Clean towel requests are free for less than 7 days. They only charge if you ask them to come in to "change" towels. You text them and they will drop off a huge bag of clean towels for no charge.

 

[raghu4yz]

Isn't unit cleaning taken care by maintenance?
Not everyone wants to clean during holidays.

 

[clifffaith]

Isn't unit cleaning taken care by maintenance?
Not everyone wants to clean during holidays.

Starting the dishwasher and taking the trash out if convenient is my limit. Stripping beds is housekeeping work, and other than possibly at a golf resort in Scotland over 20 years ago (they had a long list of how to leave the cabin and I no longer remember) we’ve never been anywhere that asked us to do that. (And I wouldn’t unless there was a fine attached for not doing so).

 

[mountainboy]

Isn't unit cleaning taken care by maintenance?
Not everyone wants to clean during holidays.

*Housekeeping...
Usually but many of us try to clean up, a bit, after ourselves, as common courtesy.
WynDumb does have an expectation of folks to throw trash out, clean up unit, stack dishwasher etc at Worldmark; Stayed at WM Estes Park (before I got into TSs) & loved the place (as I love NPs & visit Rocky often for hiking etc) but felt it was bit much expecting guests/owners to clean up or else.... (They do have the whole Housekeeping/HK credit thingy & there own WynDumb ways of doing things). (But I digress...)
PS: Must say super impressed with HGVC's fast turn around in getting resort/point transfers (unlike WynDumb which is awful)...