Disney vs. Universal Hotels — What property would you choose?

January 31, 2012

I’m currently in Orlando on business, and decided to come a day early to enjoy the mid-70 degree weather with my family.  The total length of our stay is five days and four nights.  Our kids’ ages are five and nine.

The conference I’m attending is at the Loews Royal Pacific at Universal Orlando.  I was about ready to make reservations there when I talked to a friend of mine.  His recommendation was to take the family to Disney’s Wilderness Lodge.  He said it was one of the best places he had ever stayed.  And so, I took his advice.

Upon arriving at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge we were greeted by a friendly staff wearing park-ranger type outfits.  The lobby was a massive open area lined with totem poles, Indian artifacts and enormous vertical beams, which resembled large trees.  The lobby was impressive, and was modeled after the Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone National Park.  The hotel was built in 1994.

Upon checking in, we went up to our room to wait for our bags.  Our first impression when we walked into the room was… disappointment.  I was disappointed with the size, cleanliness, décor, and most of all the value for the money — the rooms were clearly dated.  I’m not a hotel snob, but I do understand customer value... it’s my business. 

After waiting more than thirty minutes without receiving our bags, I decided to take a stroll down to the lobby and speak to a manager.  A gentleman named Randy came out to greet me with a woman who appeared to be in-training.  I introduced myself, reached out to shake his hand, and proceeded to tell him that I was disappointed with the room.  Randy listened to me and ask me what I would like to do.  I asked him if I could upgrade to a larger room (I was willing to pay for the upgrade).  He asked me to take a seat while he looked at some options.  Ten minutes later Randy came out from the back room.  He said he didn’t have a larger room, but he could upgrade us to the club level on the seventh floor — at no charge.  I took him up on it.

Randy said he would walk me to the room where I could meet up with the rest of my family and he would take us to our new room before giving us a brief tour of the club level.  And so we did.  The room was the exact same size, but it appeared everything from the carpet to the bathroom hardware was updated.  The club level offered light food and drinks throughout the day.  It was a very nice bonus. The fact that the manager took time out to upgrade us, and give us a tour made-up for the dingy room we first checked into.  

And so, my wife and I decided to make the best of our four nights there.  The kids enjoyed the pool, and other amenities such as a Disney movie on the beach, and we all enjoyed the benefit of the club level.  The only problem was it was tough sleeping at night on a not-so-comfortable bed with a not-so-new comforter.  Randy did everything he could within his playbook to keep us happy as customers, but in the end it wasn’t enough.  The upgraded room was nicer, but it still wasn’t vacation style. For $350 per night, I just didn’t feel too good. 

Something was eating away at me to switch hotels for the last night.  If only for the sake of having a first-hand comparison it would be worth it to me.  I called the Loews Royal Pacific at Universal and asked if they had any rooms available.  They said they did and would extend the conference rate of $224 per night.  I accepted and made a reservation.

Within one hour, we packed our bags, loaded the car and made our way 15.6 miles from Disney to Universal (and into our new room).  The comparison of the rooms was like night and day.  The room at Loews was bright, spacious and clean.  The bathroom was updated and impeccable.  The grounds were breathtaking. 

I understand Disney has many properties, and Disney’s Wilderness Lodge is only one of them.  There may be other Disney properties that are beautiful.  Unfortunately, this was the first Disney property I ever stayed in and it will likely be the last.  In the hospitality business, there is too much competition.  When I travel on business I typically choose Marriott because they are consistent.  When it’s time to vacation again in Orlando the choice will be easy… a Loews Hotel at Universal, and ironically Disney made the choice for me.

UPDATE: A week later, I filled out a survey from Walt Disney World Resort, and was contacted shortly thereafter by Guest Services.  The woman I spoke with in Guest Services thanked me for my feedback, and offered a refund for one night, which I kindly declined.  Then, she offered to send me four Fast Passes, good at any Walt Disney Theme Park in the future.  I accepted the passes as we will likely go back to a Disney  Theme Park.  That was a nice gesture on Disney's part.  

Roger L Brooks is a loyalty strategist, trusted authority, and author of The Power of Loyalty: 10 Essential Steps to Build a Successful Customer Loyalty Strategy. He helps businesses identify, motivate and reward more profitable behavior. E-mail Roger author@thepowerofloyalty.com.

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