AAA "downgrades" BWV from 4 star to 3 star!!

Mary Ellen said:
The criteria are also modified from time to time. A number of years ago a VERY nice resort in my home state asked to be dropped from the ratings. AAA added a requirement that all 5 diamond properties (which they had been for many, many years) have a deadbolt on the door of each room. This resort is only accessible by train or helicopter and saw no reason to put deadbolts on the cabin doors. They felt it would undermine the remote, get away from it all, feel they had.

BTW, to AAA they are diamonds NOT stars. That is a different company.

Several years ago AAA actually required not just deadbolts, but a certain length of deadbolt as a requirement for hotels to be rated. This caused a flurry of activity as a great number of hotels had originally been built with shorter deadbolts.

The length of the deadbolt is one item considered, and is required for a property to be rated, as in your example.

(And yes, thanks for pointing out about the diamonds! Mobile uses stars, and has different criteria, so a property can be 3 diamonds and 4 stars)
 
bavaria said:
AAA ratings are based on a very specifc set of criteria regarding ammenities and service. If a hotel has 24 hour room service and drops that down to 20 hours/day, it can drop from a 4 star to a 3 star. Same with valet service.

Much as we'd like to think that AAA ratings consider the cleanliness and upkeep, so long as the rooms inspected meet a minimum guideline they qualify. Each area has its own inspector; sometimes when a new inspector takes over an area, ratinngs within that area can change at a number of hotels.

Has BWV recently reduced any service? do they have 24 hour/day room service, for instance?

Bolding mine. See, this just proves to me that their system is totally unreliable and is just off the map.

The room itself might need condemned, but woohoo...as long as I can still get room service or valet park my car, it's all good.
 
diznyfanatic said:
The room itself might need condemned, but woohoo...as long as I can still get room service or valet park my car, it's all good.

A room could have decor which is 20 years out of date, but so long as it meets a minimum standard of cleanliness, it qualifies. Now, the inspector can comment on the decor, but that's something different.

So, yes, you could get a clean, really out of date room. ;) That in fact has happened to me - I went to a wedding in the middle of nowhere, and slept in a 3 diamond room which looked like it was decorated from a 1950's horror flick. I also had bright orange bedsheets and rainbow striped pillow cases. But it was a 3 diamond property..... :rolleyes:
 
bavaria - I totally see what you are saying and while I wouldn't request an outdated room and I might be disappointed if I got one, it wouldn't otherwise effect our stay. So, although I still don't really agree with it receiving a 3 diamond rating, I can sort of understand that the decor isn't the biggest weighing factor.

In our case at the Grosvenor, it was not only a matter of totally outdated, worn rooms, it was filthy. There was mold everywhere, carpets were soiled and dirty, and I won't even tell you about the bed linens. Let's just say, they obviously didn't get changed and let's just leave it at that.

If you check out the Grosvenor reviews at tripadvisor, there are dozens and dozens of reports just like it, yet they are still rated 3 diamonds.

But hey, they DO offer onsite dining!!! :rolleyes:
 


While a hotel (or any other) rating can be viewed as an indicator of quality (or some other factor being measured) it's still only a measure, just an indicator. The best rating is the one we each give to the hotels we stay in from time to time.

To date, after many stays at various WDW properties, including DVC, I can say with absolute honesty the rooms are almost always in top notch shape. Any complaint's I've had have been routine maintenance things, such as light bulbs being burned out, and WDW staff fixed the problems prompty.

I don't think anyone needs to get their knickers in a knot over the latest AAA ratings.
 
As a BWV owner, I want to know why this diamond change occurred and will contact DVC to voice my concern and find out why. I would highly urge others to do the same. Maybe whatever the resort was docked for in marks needs to be fixed?????
 
I have the current AAA FL book and was puzzled over this last month!
The only 4 star resorts left on Disney property are the Yacht and Beach Club resorts and the Grand Floridian. One aminity I noticed mentioned in the list for these resorts was the mini bar. It is not listed for any other Disney resort so I have to wonder if it makes a difference.

Also, we ate at the Poly, CR and stayed at the BCV for our last trip and the restrooms off the lobby were all visited and only the Beach Club restroom still puts out real towels (wash cloths) in the restroom for guests to dry thier hands with. I wonder if that has an impact??
I really would have thought that the Poly at least would be a 4 star and if you consider restaurants heavily, the CR should be included also. Especially after the renovations are complete.

Also, no DVC resort has 4 stars, the BCV is rated seperately from the BC and has 3 stars.

I wish I had an old Fl AAA book, but I don't so I cannot compare the resorts such as Poly and CR to last yr.
 


I am not surprised at the rating drop. BWV is probably the least favorite of all the resorts.
 
Last Christmas I drove down to Florida, and stayed in a 3 diamond motel in Georgia--the bottoms of the metal doors were rotted away, the doors didn't lock, but it was supposed to be a 3 diamond. We had a similar experience coming home with a motel in Kentucky, clean, but decorated in orange and brown stripes. Neither one even compared to BW, so they obviously don't have similar standards. I don't think I will ever get over the sight of those rotted metal doors! :scared1:
 
I am the OP, and here is the BWV review from AAA:

Amenties: voice mail, safes, irons,hair dryers.
Dining:Shared food and beverage with BW Resort.
Pools: waiding
Leisure activities:Saunas,recreation program, shared leisure facilities with Disney
Boardwalk Resort, jogging, playground
Guest services: gifts shops, complimentary laundry, area transportation in WDW.
Business services: conference facilities, business center.


As far as BWV being least favorite, WHAT THE HE.. PLANET DO YOU LIVE ON???
YOU ARE NUTS!!!!!!

BWV are VERY popular, you must stay OFF property or something...
TRY to get a room at BWV certain times of the year, dude....

DeerH
 
FWIR, BWV and BCV are the most often mentioned desired exchanges within DVC... clearly the most highly desireable. I do think deerh hit the nail on the head: They're rating BWI and BWV separately, and attributed dining all to the BWI, so as far as AAA is concerned, BWV has no dining. :rolleyes:
 
By Bicker:
FWIR, BWV and BCV are the most often mentioned desired exchanges within DVC... clearly the most highly desireable. I do think deerh hit the nail on the head: They're rating BWI and BWV separately, and attributed dining all to the BWI, so as far as AAA is concerned, BWV has no dining.

Ok, I agree, so then, why has BWV been a 4 star resort for 9 years? And also would like to apologize to "nuts" for my tone. I do believe that BWV is one of the most sought after resorts in WDW. Maybe "nuts" does not like it, and that is his opinion, but most would disagree....

DeerH
 
deerh said:
Ok, I agree, so then, why has BWV been a 4 star resort for 9 years?

Most likely a change in the local AAA inspector. AAA HQ is located near Orlando, so they may not have 'assigned' inspectors to this market, or may have a different system for inspections ie not the yearly inspection in the market done by the same inspector for a period of years.
 
bicker said:
FWIR, BWV and BCV are the most often mentioned desired exchanges within DVC... [...]
I've never stayed at FWIR, so I'll defer to your opinion.... :lmao:
 
bavaria said:
Most likely a change in the local AAA inspector. AAA HQ is located near Orlando, so they may not have 'assigned' inspectors to this market, or may have a different system for inspections ie not the yearly inspection in the market done by the same inspector for a period of years.

It may also be a change in requirements to be eligible for the 4th diamond. We have a Four Seasons hotel in Vancouver that has been a 5 diamond establishment for a long time. They are now at 4 diamonds. One of the reasons for the drop:

No spa - A spa was just recently added as a requirement to obtain the 5th diamond.

The drop at the BWV may have nothing to do with drop in quality, but that they lack a certain service(s) that is now required for the 4th diamond.

Possibilities - 24 hr room service (somone mentioned that this is only required at 5 diamond properties, but the criteria may have changed).
- No restraunts accessable from inside the hotel
- no mini-bars.

the diamiond ratings are very important within the hotel industry. Some tour groups, conventions, and business travellers will only use properties with a specific rating. For example, our local Hyatt lost a diamond because their rooms were dated. They are now doing a major room renovation so that they can recoup a lot of business they lost due to organizations refusing to deal with a 3 diamond property.

For Disney, I do not think the diamonds are as improtant for their resort hotels, except when attracting convention business. For the DVC resorts the diamonds are less important, other then as a marketing tool. But I do not think many people checked out AAA ratings before deciding to buy.
 
DrTomorrow said:
I've never stayed at FWIR, so I'll defer to your opinion.... :lmao:

Dear Dr. T:

YOU have never stayed at the Forth Worth International Resort?

From What I Recall, there was the Tomorrow Family wing.

Also, I believe that's where Disney employees go when they retire...

From Walt Disney World, I'm Retired!

Fondly,

-Tony
 
barbarabee said:
This links to the AAA rating information in more detai, just quickly reviewing it I can see how a reviewer might give a 3 diamond rating to BWV.

http://www.aaa.biz/approved/files/LDRG_Final_march2002_website_update_Feb2005.pdf

Thanks, very informative.

It appears that in order to be a 4 diamond establishment all rooms need to have a mini-bar. So, if we wanted the BWV to be a 4 diamond, then we will have to pay to have mini-bars installed in all rooms and pay people to stock them...

I think I'll be happy with a 3 diamond rating
 
They just removed the mini-bars from the rest of the deluxe resorts, didn't they? Seems like AAA standards are getting out-of-date.
 
From what I could see, it looks like the downgrade may be from a number of things that decide between a 3 diamond and a 4 - less obvious things than restaurants and pools. Things like wall mounted hairdryer vs free standing, 2 large soaps in bath, number and size of toiletries, oversized bath towels, presence of an oversized writing desk, minibar, pay-per-view and free movie channels, TV video games, housekeeping phone answered within 3 rings and answered by a well-spoken, responsive employee.

There's also a list for furnishings that requires a more upscale, "well-cared for" decor with a "high level of attention to detail" for the 4 diamond. We've had two coffee tables with large cigarette burns and very noticeable dings. Also worn fabric on couch and chairs, dents in the fridge, wall scuffs, etc. I'm pretty sure an inspector would take note, too. If an inspector slept on the king bed we last had at BWV, he/she would have had a hard time declaring that it had a "high comfort level". It was hard as a rock. The sheets aren't impressive, either. It was no Heavenly Bed.

The 3 or 4 diamond rating doesn't matter all that much to me, but there iS quite a list of these items that clearly leaves BWV in the 3 diamond category. I love BWV, but I'll admit that it's actually a 3 diamond. Personally, I wouldn't want to pay what it would cost to provide some of these things. But a better bed WOULD be nice.

DisFlan
 

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