Reviews of Old Key West Resort (Disney Vacation Club)
Reviewed by slapps Review Date: 01/07/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
We started our stay at Kidani Village for 5 days and then transferred to Old Key West on December 31st with our great friends from Upstate New York. This was our 2nd stay at this resort and we just love everything about it. The rooms are huge, we stayed in a two bedroom villa and it was wonderful. All of our needs were met and check-in was a breeze. The pool is a very nice perk of this resort. The bedrooms were huge and the beds wonderful.
The only problem we had was I paid part of our room tab on a Disney gift card we purchased for food and other items we charged on our room. I went to the front desk and spoke with a guest service member. I explained to her what I wanted to do, several times. I told her several times I wanted the $500.00 gift card applied to my room charges and did not want my credit/debit card charged. This was 8am. About 8:30pm I was looking at my checking account on-line and noticed a $500.00 charge on my account I thought it was a hold and it was from Disney. I then walked back to the front desk and asked why there was a hold on my card. The person I spoke with was Jerry. Jerry said you paid $500.00 at 8am this morning. To make a long story short the person in the am never charged my gift card, Even though I saw her swipe the card,I had in the mean time thrown my Disney Card in the outside garbage. I went and sifted through the garbage and found the card and had everything redone. I then had the charges reversed on my card and applied the Disney gift card. The thing that angered me was I asked at least 3 times when I did the transaction to make sure she understood. On the bright side Jerry was wonderful and the manager on duty that evening was great.
Even though I had a bad experience with cards it all worked out and I learned to never throw my gift cards out. Overall wonderful vacation and we love Old Key West.
Pros:
EverythingCons:
Bad experience with front deskReviewed by mommom Review Date: 01/15/2013
Rating: (8) Recommended
Had 2 villas, 1 bedroom and 2 bedroom. 2 bedroom the pull out sofa was broke. The 1 bedroom, where I did the cooking for 12 was missing a lot of items from the kitchen. Was put in a handicapped villa and was told the only difference was the shower. This room was completely different. Was not happy with room. But this is still our home away from home.
Pros:
resort is beautifulCons:
missing items in kitchenReviewed by Ranger275 Review Date: 04/17/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
We are a DVC members and our home resorts are Bay Lake Towers and Saratoga Springs. We chose Old Key West for the overall resort feel, to try another resort and for the larger rooms. We stayed March 31st through April 6th 2013. We had 7 people in our group, 5 kids ranging from 16 to 6.
We really enjoyed this resort. We stayed in a 2 bedroom villa and it was quite large and very nice. Our view was of a golf green and a pond, it was very relaxing. We cooked most of our meals in the room and it had most of what we needed. We also have learned not to bring a lot of clothes and to do laundry in the room. We were able to park right outside our room which was on the ground floor. Our room was ready when we got there which was around noon
We were near the main buildings and main pool. When we didn't go to the parks we used the main pool a lot and it was a lot of fun. I was amazed by the amount of life guards and activity directors they had at the pool. It was very safe and they had activities going all day. The kids used the basketball courts, tennis courts, sand volleyball court and shuffle board area. They also really enjoyed the pool slide. We didn't eat at any of the resort restaurants but the kids did get refillable mugs which they enjoyed.
Overall we really liked Old Key West and it has become one of our favorites. Very relaxing and we will definitely be back. The service at the store was great, they went above and beyond to make sure some coffee mugs we bought would make it home safe.
Pros:
Room, pool and groundsCons:
noneReviewed by Evanston Review Date: 04/26/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
Our family stayed at OKW from 8th April to 22nd April. We are a family of four and we stayed in a 1 bedroom villa. We have stayed at OKW twice before and have stayed in a studio both those times. We were all astounded by the size of the villa and the facilities it offered. We had more than enough space for us all. The decor was bright and clean and the mousekeepers kept it clean and tidy for us everyday. It was a pleasure to come home everyday to a beautiful, clean and tidy villa. The laundry room was great, I used it every other day and the tumble drier was a lifesaver when we got drenched on our last day in Magic Kingdom. The staff in OKW are extremely friendly and nothing is ever too much trouble if you have a question or require anything. The only negative I would say that we experienced on this trip was that we were woken up each morning around 5.30 with noisy grass cutters cutting the grass outside our balcony and shining the headlights from the vehicle into our bedroom. Wearing earplugs each night to block out the noise did not make much difference to the level of noise coming from these machines. Having said that, OKW will still be my first choice for future trips.
Pros:
Beautiful friendly resortCons:
Early morning grass cuttingReviewed by jm26 Review Date: 06/06/2013
Rating: (8) Not Recommended
My family of 3 stayed in an Old Key West resort studio from May 28 to June 4, 2013. I requested a room near transportation and was given a room close to the Turtle Pond bus stop. I used the online check in and the room was ready upon our arrival. The size of the room was adequate and met all of our needs.The nearby pool was nice, it had a snack bar, arcade, shuffleboard, hot tub and playground and wasn't crowded most of the time. Overall we were satisfied with the room and service but I don't think I would recommend this resort for the following reasons. The room seemed old and run down, the carpet was worn and the appliances (coffee pot, toaster) were functional but broken and dirty. The bathroom was dark and had paint peeling. We were on the ground floor and the glass door to the patio was so dirty that you couldn't see out, basically the room was showing it's age and needed freshened up. We could basically hear everything that was going on in the room next to us. Every morning our neighbor whistled the Star Wars theme song while his children screamed at the top of their lungs. I complained to guest services but they didn't do anything about it as far as I could tell. After a few days I determined that they probably weren't being exceptionally loud but that the walls were just that thin, we also had a door that could be used to connect the rooms and I think that was the main source of the noise, but we spent most of our time at the parks or pool so it wasn't that big of a problem.
I have a mixed opinion about the bus service at this resort. The typical order the bus picks up if going to the parks is Peninsula Road, South Point, Turtle Pond, Miller Road and then the Hospitality House. It might go in a different order occasionally depending your destination,in my experience at other Disney resorts the Downtown Disney bus usually goes to the Hospitality House first but I didn't go downtown this visit so I'm not sure about this particular resort. Our stop was Turtle Pond, which for some reason was almost always the most crowded. I only had to stand a few times, once going to the Magic Kingdom for morning magic hours and maybe once or twice when returning home after park closing, but any of those times I could have sat but gave up my seat. I have read several reviews that state that the bus service to this resort is inadequate, obviously these people have never stayed at a value resort where the buses are packed full and at peak hours you might have to wait for several buses to come and go before you get on, compared to that the service here was remarkable. The buses do seem slow however, we had to wait about 30 minutes a few times, and the way the resort is laid out means they have to turn around a few times but overall the bus service was fine.
I am rating this resort an 8. I rented DVC points which saved me a lot of money, if I would have paid the WDW website price for this room I would have been furious and rated it much lower, probably 4. If you are thinking about staying here or any DVC resort I would advise renting points, either directly from a DVC owner or an online points broker.
Pros:
bus service, pool, friendly staffCons:
loud, oldReviewed by dgagnon519 Review Date: 07/03/2013
Rating: (6) Not Recommended
We stayed here from 6/26-6/28. We love OKW, but were let down this time. Our check in did not go to smoothly. Our room was dirty. The counter service which we have never tried previously was awful and the service was as well. Based on this visit I would not recommend it. I give it a 6 though because we have loved it on other trips.
Pros:
closeness to dtd, beautifulCons:
counter service, cleanlinessReviewed by kimmaxr Review Date: 07/06/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
We stayed at OKW for the first time from 6/12-6/22/13. We are a family of four (2 boys, ages 17 & 19) and picked this resort because of the size of the rooms and the pull out sofa and chair in the living room of the one bedroom villa.
The day we arrived, DVC was working on a system upgrade and all of the reservation systems were down upon our arrival. However, the staff could not be more accommodating and helpful. We were not able to get our room keys for the entire stay but were given one time entrance cards to get in until the system came up again.
I had requested a room on Millers Road, high floor with dual bathroom entrance doors. We were assigned room 6532, building 65, 3rd floor, just outside the elevator. Building 65 is just outside of the rooms located in the Hospitality House area and is very close to the main area of the resort. The one bedroom is much larger here than at the other DVC resorts we have stayed and with the points being lower than the others, it was a win/win for us!
We arrived to a spotless room, nice and cool, and the balcony overlooked the 7th hole and pond on the golf course. I was concerned that there would be road noise since the building backs to the road (on the other side of the course) but that was not the case at all. The room was quiet, other than some noise from the connecting studio room, and the toilet flushes that are extraordinarily loud.
The Millers Road bus stop is the last when returning to the resort prior to the Hospitality House, and we determined that it was faster to get off at the first stop and walk, rather than spend 15 mins. Riding all around the resort.
We loved the main pool, although there is not much shade and the few tables are usually he first to get taken in the morning. I found I just couldn't handle being in the direct sun in the afternoon, but that was my issue. They had games in the afternoon which the kids seemed to enjoy.
My older boys spent time in the Community Hall playing pool and video games. I went in to check it out and found that area desperately needs an upgrade as it felt damp and had a mildew smell to it. The workout area is small but has everything most folks would need to get a good workout in.
We enjoyed lunch and dinner in Olivia's and found the staff to be warm and friendly and the food was excellent.
We had no issues with the transportation and took the pat a few times to Downtown Disney. I did not find the wait to be long and really never waited more than 15 mins. Which I believe to be normal.
I am disappointed in the new DVC member discount policy which requires you to show your DVC membership card with your name on it. It is great for me since I am the owner, but my husband and children were not able to use it. We have never experienced this before in all of our stays so I am not sure if it is new policy or if OKW was just enforcing the rule. I need to call Member Services.
Overall,I really loved this resort and felt like I was on vacation rather than being at Disney in the heart of the World.
Pros:
Friendly staff, clean rooms, good serviceCons:
DVC member discount issuesReviewed by fluffy30 Review Date: 09/08/2013
Rating: (7) Recommended
Stayed in a 2 bdrm villa Aug 23 to 29. The villa was spacious, clean and well equipped. Staff were friendly and helpful. We stayed ground floor in building 64 (has elevator) which was close to main pool and hospitality house. Our children (4,4,11,15,16) enjoyed the pool, slide and poolside activities while the adults relaxed on the many loungers with drink refill station close by. We mostly drove to the parks but did use bus transportation to and from Magic Kingdom which was fine going as we got on at Hospitality House then straight to the park but returning at night took forever as the bus makes five stops throughout the resort with ours being the last one. We ate at Olivia's which was good but not at the quick service which is just a walk up window. Over-all a good place to stay but not recommended without a car.
Pros:
large villas, great poolCons:
huge resort, transportationReviewed by traceyn Review Date: 09/08/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
I booked a 21 night stay here in a one bedroom villa, I asked for the ground floor and near the hospitality area, both I got.
Check in was a breeze, no waiting, very friendly member of staff. Our villa was lovely, and we were very happy with with what we got. The buses to the park came every 15 minutes apart from once when I waited 45 minutes to go to M.K., the bus driver did say how sorry she was to everyone so I think there may of been a problem. we were no more than 15 minutes away from any park which was better than S.S last year which seemed to take a good 30 mins to get anywhere. we got on the bus at the hospitality house which is the last stop, we found it better to get off the bus at the first stop and walk back to our room 1511 otherwise it took about 10 mins to get to our stop through the resort. Our child loved the pool and had great fun in the community hall, every day they had some kind of activity on for children, she made some lovely things which she will treasure.
We did have one problem, we arrived and got washing powder, no more was left so after day 2, Ii went to ask for some, they said they would sort it, came back after a day out and no powder again. I went back to reception and asked why, a very nice man who seemed to be in charge told me to buy some in the shop and give him the bill, mousekeeping seemed to have me as a DVC member who do not get it and I was a hotel guest we do. It was all sorted out and I could do my washing every day.
I would go back here, so relaxing.
Pros:
large roomsCons:
large resortReviewed by tmbcole Review Date: 10/14/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
We were at Old Key West from September 29th through October 3rd and we loved the location. Check-in was quick and simple the cast member who assisted us was very helpful and had us checked-in within a few minutes (less than 5 min).
The resort was beautiful. We were only a 10 minute bus ride to any park. We were located on Miller Road, as I requested, and our bus stop was the next to the last stop and then we were off to the parks. It was awesome.
We had a deluxe studio and that was the biggest studio we've ever stayed in. Pros and cons . . . the location. We loved the location for the bus transportation. We hated the location because of the noise from the highway, golf course (early in the morning), and the water sprinklers for the golf course. I need to do more research next time so I can request a different location.
We ate at Oliva's one morning and it was excellent. The quick service location (I forget the name) was just as good. The price of food was excellent and priced within my budget.
I look forward to staying here again. I highly recommend this resort.
