Surprised by Contemporary Hotel rooms

[tigger1968]

I've seen more and more room reviews for CR and BLT mentioning dirty rooms or glaring maintenance issues. I love the CR and have been lucky enough to stay there a few times, including MK view, which was just amazing. However, I now find the pricing for the resort to be insane, and even with the now obligatory 30% discount they run with, I haven't stayed there in several years.

I understand the reluctance to not complain directly, and just gut it out and complain later, but for the amount of money these rooms command now, I have an expectation for the room to be in good shape, and clean. I would have been back at the front desk 5 minutes after checking in, and politely and firmly let them know the room was unacceptable. I have had issues at Pop Century, ASM and AKL in the past, including a room someone had smoked in. In every case the CMs were very courteous, and went above and beyond to rectify things.

I hate that you had a less than magical experience there. Hopefully you will get some response from WDW beyond a canned response.

 

[BigRedDad]

I have NO ISSUE complaining at WDW. The reason is you are already paying a premium for their resorts. I shoul dnot have to stay in something that is below the rate I paid. If it is below the quality of my home, I make a call to have my room changed or the issue resolved.

The cost of a room at WDW for a week is more than my mortgage payment. There is no reason what so ever that the accommodations should be less than the quality of my home. This is not a $29 a night road side roach motel. Yes, it is FL and there are bugs. There are also exterminators that have equipment to keep bugs from getting in. Trust me, my exterminator sprays the outside of my home and I have no bugs in my house.

The less people raise complaints about issues like this, the more WDW is willing to accept it to continue. By not complaining, you allow the activity to continue. Don't be rude about it. Simply inform them of the situation, ask them for a resolution, and determine if the resolution is satisfactory. We had a roach infested room at POR when we got to the room at 11PM. I called down to the Front Desk, informed them. They said an exterminator will be there at 2AM. I asked for a new room because we would not accept staying in the room, having to wait 3 hours for an exterminator, and then dealing with the chemical smell. They moved us to another room, met us at the new room with the new keys, and were completely apologetic.

 

[Lance]

I think @Lance means he stayed in the Contemporary Tower, with a Bay Lake View...

LoL, exactly, thank you.

 

[copcarguyp71]

Deluxe prices should equal deluxe accommodations.....no exceptions, no excuses and certainly no compromises.

 

[epcotisbest]

Deluxe prices should equal deluxe accommodations.....no exceptions, no excuses and certainly no compromises.

Until you compare Disney deluxe prices to other places in Orlando like Ritz Carlton, JW Marriott, Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress, and many others. When you factor in rates and factor out location, then it becomes no comparison. Disney charges and gets their prices only because they are Disney and the resorts are where they are. I pay it because I like the resorts and the location, but also enjoy staying at other much nicer places in Orlando as well. The bubble people don't really know or care about other nicer options at much better prices.

 

[horizons82]

Until you compare Disney deluxe prices to other places in Orlando like Ritz Carlton, JW Marriott, Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress, and many others. When you factor in rates and factor out location, then it becomes no comparison. Disney charges and gets their prices only because they are Disney and the resorts are where they are. I pay it because I like the resorts and the location, but also enjoy staying at other much nicer places in Orlando as well. The bubble people don't really know or care about other nicer options at much better prices.

Like I said in my full review, I realize there is a certain extra cost associated with staying on-site. I figured I'd be paying 5 star prices for perhaps a 4 star room, but I was really surprised to receive what I felt was a 2 or 3 star room at 5 star prices.

I agree you can't compare one for the other because one is paying extra for on-property privileges, but even that benefit was far overshadowed by the low room quality. This is IMHO of course as I realize there are some who do (and who continue to do so) pay the cost to stay on-site.

 

[epcotisbest]

Like I said in my full review, I realize there is a certain extra cost associated with staying on-site. I figured I'd be paying 5 star prices for perhaps a 4 star room, but I was really surprised to receive what I felt was a 2 or 3 star room at 5 star prices.

I agree you can't compare one for the other because one is paying extra for on-property privileges, but even that benefit was far overshadowed by the low room quality. This is IMHO of course as I realize there are some who do (and who continue to do so) pay the cost to stay on-site.

Yes, and if they charge 5-star prices we should expect and get 5-star rooms regardless of location.

 

[BigRedDad]

Like I said in my full review, I realize there is a certain extra cost associated with staying on-site.

There is not a certain extra cost, it is a massive extra cost.

 

[Pinkie60]

I've seen more and more room reviews for CR and BLT mentioning dirty rooms or glaring maintenance issues. I love the CR and have been lucky enough to stay there a few times, including MK view, which was just amazing. However, I now find the pricing for the resort to be insane, and even with the now obligatory 30% discount they run with, I haven't stayed there in several years.

I understand the reluctance to not complain directly, and just gut it out and complain later, but for the amount of money these rooms command now, I have an expectation for the room to be in good shape, and clean. I would have been back at the front desk 5 minutes after checking in, and politely and firmly let them know the room was unacceptable. I have had issues at Pop Century, ASM and AKL in the past, including a room someone had smoked in. In every case the CMs were very courteous, and went above and beyond to rectify things.

I hate that you had a less than magical experience there. Hopefully you will get some response from WDW beyond a canned response.

Wow if someone had smoked in my expensive room I would have gone ballistic. That's awful!

 

[Pluto15]

I am a local who has been going to WDW for a very long time. I have always been fascinated by the look of the Contemporary and I love how the monorail goes right through the hotel (I'm a monorail fan!). Ever since going to WDW as a kid I have wanted to stay over at the Contemporary, but it wasn't until my 40th birthday this year that I finally decided to save up and splurge for a few nights at the hotel.

This was the first time I've ever stayed "on property", but most of the things I've read and heard about WDW hotels is how clean they are and how nice the rooms look. And while the public areas at the CR were incredibly nice, I was shocked to see some of the problems in the room...especially for a "deluxe resort" and one at this high of a price level.

The marble bath was quite luxurious, but not much else was. Closet doors wouldn't close properly due to trouble with the hinges, lamp shades looked cheap and were dented or crooked, the plastic electrical outlet covers were loose and dangling from the wall, the Wi-Fi in the room only worked about half of the time, the bed was really hard and the springs in it were noisy, the mini-fridge worked intermittently, and there were other cosmetic issues as well. Furniture was also badly chipped or scuffed up, but that is the one thing I can kind of understand since this is a room that is going to see a lot of kids and children in it.

But the absolute WORST issue was that there was an area on one wall where there were multiple strips of paint (each about 3-5 inches in length) that had peeled completely off from the wall. This was in a prominent area and it could be seen anytime you were in the main room area and it was pretty much in your face every time you passed under it--it was just above the walkway arch, so we're not talking about something a little kid was able to do. I can't emphasize enough about what an eyesore this was and how cheap it made the room feel (especially on top of the other issues).

Additionally, housekeeping totally skipped us one day even though we were out of the room all day and we made absolutely sure not to have the 'privacy' tag on the door.

My wife and I are not picky or fussy and just one or two of these issues would not have bothered us much, but everything combined--especially with the peeled-away paint--really made me regret the amount of money we spent to stay here after saving for so long to do it.

Some people would say we should have complained during our trip, but my wife and I are not the kind of people who like to complain 'on the spot', because it takes us even more out of vacation mode than we already are when problems come up. The whole idea of being on vacation is to get away from problems, not having to deal with them. However, I did send comments to WDW since our return.

I so wanted to love my stay here and I did enjoy just being a room away from the monorail and I loved walking out and seeing the monorails come and go and I enjoyed looking down at the main concourse. However, that did not justify the price of the room, even taking the convenience of being so close to the parks and the cool factor of the monorail into account.

Should anyone be interested in my full review, it can be read here:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUser...ey_s_Contemporary_Resort-Orlando_Florida.html

Heard numerous similar reports. Would never stay at the contemporary as feel it's grossly overpriced and no where near as nice as other deluxe resorts

 

[BrerWayne]

Thanks for posting. I just went in Feb. and my family stayed at POR. The Contemporary has always captured my imagination also. I thought it was so cool seeing the Monorail enter and exit. I actually stayed there once about 15 years ago and loved it. This last trip I kept longing to stay there because of how much easier catching the Monorail would be with two small children. In my mind, God willing, my next trip will be for my 50th birthday. I was thinking of splurging for my 50th and getting a room at the CR. Your report has kinda cooled down my sentiment some. I think that I would have had to complain. I have enough problems at my own house. When I go on vacation, and especially when I'm paying $500/night for a room I expect everything to be as close to perfect as possible. And, frankly, I am disappointed at the resort for not being on top of such issues. Getting skipped by housekeeping is totally unacceptable.

 

[freediverdude]

I agree that the price of the location is already factored in to the price of the room, so you're already supposed to be paying for a deluxe room PLUS a deluxe location. That's why the prices are so astronomical. So if the room is shabby, then yes a complaint should be made.