A run of yucky rooms...how to avoid a repeat this Saturday?

[Hisgirl]

For the past few trips, we have had a slew of less than optimal rooms.

(yes, yes...totally get what a whiny first world issue this is. We are BLESSED to be able to stay at these fabulous resorts! Which are expensive. Which leads to why I was disappointed)

AKL: we were in a top floor and it sounded like there was some kind of loud machinery directly over our ceiling and we were also right by the elevator. The sounds kept us awake all. night. long.

AKL: I think it was room 2210. Tucked in a corner by the lobby, view of storage buildings and a tight corner of dirt. zero animals came by. CM was like "We have a great room for you!" No..no you don't. It was the worst view we have ever had at AKL.

Grand floridian: Sago Cay in far end room. View of monorail and workmen, ground floor and right next to elevator. Lobby sounds and people waiting on elevator talking loudly kept us awake till 1am

Grand Floridian: Learned we need to ask for quiet room. Placed at far corner end room in Big Pine Key...directly over the party patio for convention parties. I could have jumped off the patio into the Party City convention directly below...which kept us awake with all the loud music, yelling PARTY! PARTY!. We actually had to laugh at this one.
*"Excuse me...we have trouble sleeping. Could we get a really quiet room?*
*"Why yes, ma'am, we have just the room! Right over the convention party patio!"

So, here we are....about to head to GF again after a stressful year of caregiving for my elderly parents. We want it to be all that and a bag of chips.
We've been so disappointed in our last few rooms I almost feel like a have a mark by my name...give her the yucky room.
But I have been nothing but kind to every CM, not fussed about anything, tipped bellmen, smiled and thanked everyone.

How, pray tell, can I get a nice room without feeling like a complainer if it is sucky like these were?

(and yes, there are bad views in all the deluxe resorts....views of stairwells, views of rooftops...does everyone walk into these rooms, stand there and say, um, no thank you...and call the front desk?)

 

[bryanb]

Oh wow. Thanks for sharing this experience. I know it’s a first world issue but for $300-$500 a night in these hotels I would not be pleased either with these experiences. I am hoping to pull the trigger on a monorail area deluxe hotel sometime this year. I’ll have saved for a while and it will be the most expensive hotel room I’ve ever paid for (and that includes hotels in New York and London), so I am also interested in the answer to your question. Otherwise I might not take the splurge. I’m glad you brought up your experiences.

 

[FCDub]

You should ask to be moved if you end up in a bad room.

 

[AngiTN]

(and yes, there are bad views in all the deluxe resorts....views of stairwells, views of rooftops...does everyone walk into these rooms, stand there and say, um, no thank you...and call the front desk?)

I'll answer the last question first.
No, no we don't. If we book a standard room, and we get a standard room, we don't complain about the view from the standard room. If we wanted a better view, we'd book a better category.

I've only had 1 room that I complained about in all our many, many rooms on property. And that was because they downgraded us from the mini CL at CSR to Standard, parking lot view. So a very significant downgrade (and didn't want to confess they did it, which is a whole other story). So yeah, I complained, a lot, about that.
Every other time, we are fine with the room we get. Are they all best room in that category, nope. They aren't. We can be happy in any of them though. Noise is never an issue. We are beyond beat at Disney. Sleep is never hard to come by

 

[Dave006]

Sorry to hear about your run of bad luck in room assignments. First a general disclaimer is needed, all requests are just that and are not Guaranteed. If you are making your own reservations make sure that you have your reservation agent note your requests well before you arrive at the resort front desk. Rooms are assigned 3-5 days before your arrival date.

If you are using a travel agent, double check with your agent to insure that they have shared your requests with Disney and that your requests are noted on your reservation.

2 additional keys: When you check-in ask the Cast member if your assigned room "meets" your requests. If not ask for another room that might be closer to your requests. Finally as mentioned by @FCDub, go back to the front desk and ask for a room that might better meet your requests for a quiet room / upper floor / etc...

Dave

 

[BrianL]

I'll answer the last question first.
No, no we don't. If we book a standard room, and we get a standard room, we don't complain about the view from the standard room. If we wanted a better view, we'd book a better category.

I've only had 1 room that I complained about in all our many, many rooms on property. And that was because they downgraded us from the mini CL at CSR to Standard, parking lot view. So a very significant downgrade (and didn't want to confess they did it, which is a whole other story). So yeah, I complained, a lot, about that.
Every other time, we are fine with the room we get. Are they all best room in that category, nope. They aren't. We can be happy in any of them though. Noise is never an issue. We are beyond beat at Disney. Sleep is never hard to come by

I agree with you about the views from standard rooms. That's why they are standard, and thus less expensive. The noise issue is another matter. If they requested a quiet room, and presumably this room was presented as a quiet one (knowing that they don't have to honor such requests - though really, shouldn't all rooms be quiet?), and it was not, I think that warrants a complaint.

 

[Hisgirl]

I'll answer the last question first.
No, no we don't. If we book a standard room, and we get a standard room, we don't complain about the view from the standard room. If we wanted a better view, we'd book a better category.

I've only had 1 room that I complained about in all our many, many rooms on property. And that was because they downgraded us from the mini CL at CSR to Standard, parking lot view. So a very significant downgrade (and didn't want to confess they did it, which is a whole other story). So yeah, I complained, a lot, about that.
Every other time, we are fine with the room we get. Are they all best room in that category, nope. They aren't. We can be happy in any of them though. Noise is never an issue. We are beyond beat at Disney. Sleep is never hard to come by

You are a better sleeper than myself, LOL! Once I hit menopause, if I hear loud noises nearby, I can't sleep. Wish I could! I didn't know there were 'categories' of rooms at GF. We choose garden view. Do you know if there are?
One time...we stayed in Big Pine Key and had a beautiful view of the pool and could even see the fireworks!

 

[AngiTN]

You are a better sleeper than myself, LOL! Once I hit menopause, if I hear loud noises nearby, I can't sleep. Wish I could! I didn't know there were 'categories' of rooms at GF. We choose garden view. Do you know if there are?
One time...we stayed in Big Pine Key and had a beautiful view of the pool and could even see the fireworks!

They are right there on MDE.
And if you read the description underneath every category online tells you what type of views are offered in that category.

As to sleep, at home is a different story, not unusual to wake up many times a night but Disney, we are so tired it's never a problem. Have you considered ear plugs? Maybe that would fix it for you. There is nothing they can do to promise you won't hear anything from any room. There is no telling what neighbor you have, or who is outside the hall. An always quiet room is often well outside of the realm of possibility at Disney.

 

[tobikaye]

...and call the front desk?)

Do not call the front desk as you get the call center. Go to the front desk to explain your issues with your room and see what they can do for you.

My cousin got our room number when she got off the plane in January. It was the one section of the resort we did not want as we had stayed there on a prior visit. She stopped by the front desk and explained the issues we had with that section of the resort on a past visit and asked if there was a room available in a different section. They moved us to a room that was in a different section and worked out much better for us, still in the booked category.

As the others indicated, room views are listed when booking and they do detail examples. You can even find examples of what rooms may be in the category you booked by checking on that resort's thread on these boards or on the touring plan room finder guide. (Note that I have found a few discrepancies on the touring plans site, but overall it helps for section selection.) I also wear a sleep mask and ear plugs when I travel as I am a light sleeper. I can usually still hear if someone in the room calls out to me, but it helps mask the smaller noises.

 

[Hisgirl]

We're fine with normal hotel noises. Just that darn elevator. It's taken me my whole life to finally ask not to be placed next to an elevator, exit door or ice machine.

 

[FSU Girl]

For the past few trips, we have had a slew of less than optimal rooms.

(yes, yes...totally get what a whiny first world issue this is. We are BLESSED to be able to stay at these fabulous resorts! Which are expensive. Which leads to why I was disappointed)

AKL: we were in a top floor and it sounded like there was some kind of loud machinery directly over our ceiling and we were also right by the elevator. The sounds kept us awake all. night. long.

AKL: I think it was room 2210. Tucked in a corner by the lobby, view of storage buildings and a tight corner of dirt. zero animals came by. CM was like "We have a great room for you!" No..no you don't. It was the worst view we have ever had at AKL.

Grand floridian: Sago Cay in far end room. View of monorail and workmen, ground floor and right next to elevator. Lobby sounds and people waiting on elevator talking loudly kept us awake till 1am

Grand Floridian: Learned we need to ask for quiet room. Placed at far corner end room in Big Pine Key...directly over the party patio for convention parties. I could have jumped off the patio into the Party City convention directly below...which kept us awake with all the loud music, yelling PARTY! PARTY!. We actually had to laugh at this one.
*"Excuse me...we have trouble sleeping. Could we get a really quiet room?*
*"Why yes, ma'am, we have just the room! Right over the convention party patio!"

So, here we are....about to head to GF again after a stressful year of caregiving for my elderly parents. We want it to be all that and a bag of chips.
We've been so disappointed in our last few rooms I almost feel like a have a mark by my name...give her the yucky room.
But I have been nothing but kind to every CM, not fussed about anything, tipped bellmen, smiled and thanked everyone.

How, pray tell, can I get a nice room without feeling like a complainer if it is sucky like these were?

(and yes, there are bad views in all the deluxe resorts....views of stairwells, views of rooftops...does everyone walk into these rooms, stand there and say, um, no thank you...and call the front desk?)

If you walk into a room and don't like it tell the front desk. I did that when my only request was a king bed and they didn't give it to us. So we ended up switching rooms halfway through our stay and got upgraded to a one-bedroom villa for a couple nights.

Not at Disney, but when I was in Vegas we got in late almost midnight. I had mentioned this when I booked and I had paid for an upgraded view of the strip and had a king bed selected. The guy at the front desk tried to act like we were being upgraded to a bigger nicer room as a treat for my Fiance's birthday. We walked what felt like a mile to get to the room and it was two queens (the reason the room was slightly bigger was to fit two beds) and the view was a courtyard pool. Was not happy at all and immediately called the front desk. They refunded some of our money and moved us the next day to the room type I had actually paid for.

 

[Hoodie]

I've only stayed at GF once and it was one of the noisiest hotel rooms I've ever had. We never met our neighbors but knew they were from Australia and could tell you their daily plans because I could hear every single thing they said through the walls. They seemed nice and were having a great time. The bright side was they had two little girls so they went to bed rather early. Again - never actually saw them.

 

[Nebraska_Disney]

On my last 5 trips to Disney, I have faxed in specific room requests, down to the room number, and I am 5 for 5 in getting the exact room I picked and mentioned in the fax I sent. Just throwing that out there as an option

Edited to add: I have faxed in requests on my own accord meaning I did not have to pay to use any services by touring plans etc. I have been doing the fax requests well before they started offering this "service"

 

[Maxie86]

Op you have had some bad luck, there are very few bad rooms at the Grand.. There are no STD rooms at the GF...they have garden view, theme park view and lagoon view. GV rooms face the marina or courtyard. Request a room facing the courtyard in Conch Key, close enough to everything and far enough away from the convention party area and pool. I love the marina side but it may get noisy if there is an event by Gaspies. I say may because I have never noticed any noise in the room from that area, but I'm not sensitive to noise YMMV. You do not have to accept a room that doesn't meet your expectations...go to the front desk and politely ask for another room. You may have to wait until the next day but they will make every effort to move you to a room that meets your expectations. Maybe we have been lucky but we have never received a room that we didn't like.

 

[LiveToTravelNicely]

Depending on the time you arrive and the seasonal demand for rooms, the front desk should be more than happy to accommodate a move, even that day, if your initial room isn't to your liking. Worst case would be a move in a day or two. If you have your luggage with you, I'd recommend leaving it in the lobby with bell services while you go check out your room to see if it's acceptable (vs lugging the luggage all over the resort). If you are using Magical Express then it'll be even easier. I have had my fair share of room changes; at least 4 hotels now. (learned the difficult way--- the year we were at CSR they put us in a parking lot room when we booked a higher category. We didn't say anything, and then we were upset the whole trip. Not doing that again) I always ask nicely if there is anything they can do, and it has worked out every time. If not, I'd kindly ask to speak to a manager. One time in Las Vegas, our first room had no working AC (in the summer in Vegas!) so I asked to be moved. The second room was filled with cigarette smoke (it was a smoke free hotel). Upon my third trip to the front desk, we were kindly upgraded to their suite----I have a feeling because they were out of rooms perhaps, or they just felt bad for the 2 prior failed attempts.

 

[mom2rtk]

It sounds like you've had your share of bad rooms. Definitely ask for a different room if you aren't happy with what you get.

 

[DLgal]

I would never ask for a different room solely because of the view. You get what you pay for there. However, I WILL and HAVE asked for a different room for: noise issues, A/C issues, condition issues, getting a HA room with the weird bathroom, and getting a ground floor room in a Deluxe (I have security issues with the patio and sliding door).

 

[jsmla]

We were at Pop Century for the Princess Half (DD was running) last February. We checked in but when we got to our building it was obvious that it was located in the middle of a HUGE quincienera group. (The windows were decorated.) I traveled with our daughter's dance team for years and was not at all interested in staying in the midst of a large group of teen girls. At least a dozen rooms had been decorated for the occasion and ours was dead center in the middle of it all. I didn't even open our door, just turned around and walked straight back to the front desk to ask for any room but that one. The CM was very nice and reassigned us to a much quieter location.

 

[Wood Nymph]

We're fine with normal hotel noises. Just that darn elevator. It's taken me my whole life to finally ask not to be placed next to an elevator, exit door or ice machine.

Our last room at the Grand Floridian was next to the elevator. I didn't realize it until we were in bed the first night. The noise wasn't very loud but you could definitely hear the motor when the elevator was moving. The room was otherwise convenient and had a nice view for a standard view, so we didn't ask to be moved.

I think the best thing you can do is to ask about your room location when you arrive. Tell them that you want to make sure it is in a quiet location and they can check it for you. You are at the mrcy of the CM at the front desk, though, as far as seeing if you can get a different room, if needed. We had one CM at the GF search for a nicer room for us and another one who wouldn't even bother with our reservation problem. We had booked the room through a discount travel agent and I think that influenced the second CM to be less than helpful. I really don't like arriving on a Saturday because it seems like that is when we get the worst rooms.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

After over a decade of staying at WDW multiple times a year, I've found getting a quiet room is like hitting the lottery and it has become my one and only request and, unfortunately, I still don't always get it. We aren't "view" people, so, unless I've booked a "view" room (like, Savannah at AKL or TPV at CR), I don't care if I'm looking at a parking lot. I just want to sleep! The only thing you can do, if you don't like your room, is go down to the front desk, explain the situation, and ask for another room. As long as they have another room available in the category you booked, they will be happy to assist you. We stayed in a CCV, 1-bedroom in December and "quiet" "overlooking villa pool" were my only requests and we were given a room overlooking the main pool way at the end of the corridor. On our first night, I was so excited because I could see the top of the MK fireworks from our room! Then, I went to bed to discover I could also hear the Electric Water Pageant - three times! (from WL, CR and Ft. W). I put my clothes on, went down to the front desk and politely asked for another room. They switched us to a quieter room the next day though it meant packing everything up and holding it at bell services until we came back from MVMCP the following night which was not fun, but it was either that, or listen to EWP three times every night and I never want to hear EWP again, LOL! Anyway, with any room at WDW, I feel there is going to be a trade-off and it's complete luck of the draw. I will continue to request "quiet" room with every stay and continue to pack ear plugs as well.