Concierge..What are the benefits?

[Hnymoon@Dixie]

I have never stayed Concierge & was wondering what the advantages are? Better room views? Snacks? Is it worth the money? What do you get....we may want to try it next trip.
Thanks in advance for your help.

[gepetto]

Polynesian had free continental breakfast, soda and bottled water out all the time, hot appetizers and wine in the evenings and cordials/desserts 8-10.

AKL has similar service but I think their appetizers from Boma are better than the ones at Polynesian. Their lounge is very small and dosen't have the wonderful view the Polynesian does.

The Polynesian rooms are the same size as non-concierge rooms. The AKL concierge rooms are a little larger than non-concierge.


Yes, I think for the convenience it is definitely worth the money.

[ducklite]

In some WDW resorts the room views can be better in the concierge rooms, but not always. In other resorts the rooms might be slightly larger (Beach Club comes to mind).

As far as what you get...

The lounge has basically a continental breakfat each morning. There are various snacks such as nuts, cookies, candies during the day, as well as coffee/tea/iced tea and usually some sort of juice. Some concierge lounges also offer soda and bottled water.

In the evening most offer a variety of wines and cordials, as well as appetizers and desserts. This is generally NOT enough for dinner, it's appetizers and desserts.

You get special check in in the concierge lounge as well as advance priority seating and recreation/spa reservations taken care of for you. Most concierge guests report getting great tables in the various restaurants. Sometimes they are able to secure Cindy's breakfast for you.

Is it worth it? That depends on you, your vacation habits, and more. In our case, we think so. We tend to spend quite a bit of time relaxing around our resort, and almost always return to the resort in the late afternoon to freshen up and change before dinner. So it makes sense. We have breakfast in the lounge, read the paper and then start our day. We return in the afternoon, stop in the lounge again for tea, then after we change we stop in again for appetizers and wine before dinner. Sometimes we'll also stop after dinner and have dessert and a cordial. When traveling with our teenage son it also gives him someplace to go and watch tv and just get away from mom and dad for awhile taht's less hustle and bustle than the lobby would be.

If you are the type to get up at the crack of dawn for the first CB seating at a park, and not get back to your room until after the last park closes, no it's probably not for you.

Anne

[gepetto]

Ducklite's right about the time you spend in the parks. We usually get there at park opening and stay until 2-ish and go back to relax at the resort. If you go to the parks early you can usually get through with minimal lines.

[cottontail]

Hello:

We loved the concierge stay for the food offerings. Now i think it depends on how many are in your party whether financially it is better, we had four. It also may just make things easier.

Because of the heat we used the concierge for two meals breakfast and dinner. As I said we ate lunch elsewhere, but ate light at dinner time.

At the dinner hour they had penne, chicken wings, chicken lo mein, tacos and sushi (there were turkey/swiss sandwiches on sushi night as well on the kids table, which adults are able to eat from) these were all on different nights as well as those they would have a huge bowl of cut up mixed fruits, a vege platter, a pickled peppers and olive platter, cheese/crackers, and a huge bowl of strawberries on the kids table with some sort of sandwich uncrustables peanut butter/jelly, tuna and turkey/swiss, a big bowl of pudding one night. I did not gain a pound on this trip. lol

There were also oranges, apples, pears and bananas and fresh baked cookies, sugar, oatmeal/raisin, and peanut butter and drinks, try the guava juice and a huge bin with different pop, bottled water coffee/tea. Wine in the evening.

We took the difference in price between room only at the poly and concierge gv and for us it was about 55.00 more a night for the concierge service. Then I subtracted another l0.00 for the fridge in our room as I would have had to pay for it if I were in room only cause it is included in concierge rooms, so then it made concierge 45.00 more than room only and I divided it between 4 people and it worked out to 12.50 more a day for each person.

At that rate it sure was worth it for us, the staff was wonderful in the concierge lounge as well as the view of magic kingdom. We really enjoyed our stay there. I think it depends upon how much more a night it is over room only if you are thinking of your pocketbook.

Have fun,

Deb.

[betterlatethannever]

here is a link to a good description and some reviews

concierge (http://www.wdwig.com/concierge.htm)

Ed

[dahess]

My family of 14 is hopefully staying at BC Conciegre!!!!!!

[whtyger97]

What do they consider cordials?

[hmerritt]

Is that $10 per day or for your whole visit? Is it the same for Annual pass holders?

Heather

[cottontail]

Hi: They are liquors like Baileys. There are different varieties there, I do not drink them but hubby does.

Deb.

[cottontail]

Hi: The fridge cost is either l0.00 or 12.00 a day if you want one. You do not have to pay anything extra for a fridge if you stay concierge, it is in the room beside the tv.

Deb.

[gepetto]

Not every resort's concierge offers a free fridge. AKL does not.

[KaterBell]

Concierge will book your priority seatings, change your ressies if need be, book tours, tee times, get you things for your room, etc... They replaced our feather pillows with foam ones as soon as we asked last week. :)

On our honeymoon at the GF, our iron broke about 15 minutes before the Luau at the Poly... Concierge brought me up a new one within 2 minutes. :)

And of course, Patty and Lauretta at the GF concierge in the mornings... the attention to detail and service is amazing. I have to write to Disney about them, in fact! :) AND they remember us year to year and welcome us with a big smile. Gotta love it!

[ducklite]

Originally posted by whtyger97
What do they consider cordials?

Uh, cordials. Sambuca, Grand Marnier, Frangelica, Kahluha, stuff like that.

Anne

[ducklite]

Originally posted by hmerritt
Is that $10 per day or for your whole visit? Is it the same for Annual pass holders?

Heather

$10 per day. No discount.

Anne

[ducklite]

Originally posted by gepetto
Not every resort's concierge offers a free fridge. AKL does not.

Nor do the BWI or the GF (at least they are not in the room--I do'nt know if you can get a free one by asking).

Anne

[BounceyOne]

Our children eat first thing in the morning ( I do mean first thing ) Having breakfast right there for them is the best. This lets them eat while we are getting ready for our day.

For us the breakfast is the #1 reasin to stay at that level, the rest is just icing on the cake.

[Hnymoon@Dixie]

Thanks Guys!! I'm going to have to get out my Magic Kingdom club card & call & get the rates!!!!
All of you were very helpful!!!

[Richyams]

I thought AKL concierge did offer a free fridge, are we sure they don't?

[gepetto]

Yes. We are sure. No fridge at AKL.

[betterlatethannever]

No fridge at the AKL conceirge at all. Were there in May. We asked for one (pay for) and didn't get it.

[hmerritt]

Just wandering what kind of, if any, tips are involved with picking concierge? That could really start getting up there?

Heather

[Richyams]

I am definitely going to have to get a fridge. I am way to used to OKW.

We had a bunch of 'found' DVC points due to an error on their part, its a long story, but they were my points that they lost, so I had a bunch I needed to use.

GF was very tempting, very tempting for sure. We visitied the AKL for a day during our last trip. It was magnificant, really stunning, really makes me long for an AKL DVC. I think the Sunrise Safari was the kicker. You need to be an AKL Concierge guest to participate in the Sunrise Safari.

I have also read and heard the the AKL Concierge offerings are some of the better ones found in the concierge lounges. I am also looking forward to a savanah view, I realize that there is a small chance of getting a pool view, I hope not.

The only bad part of our decision is our travel dates. We are going Thurs-Sun, lots of DVC weekend points, we are going at the end of October, the food and wine festival will be in full force. An Epcot area resort would have been more convinient, but the AKL was a really great resort and since this type of stay is very rare, we always stay at OKW, I just thought the AKL won.

[princess angel]

imho, yes, concierge is worth it!
you get all to have access to a nice lounge all day long! with breakfst and snacks through out the day.
you get robes in your room (great for a late night dip in the hottub!!! :))
you also have a wonderful concierge staff there to help you with your planning, whether it is pre-arrival planning, or while you are at the resort! they are great for getting you last minute PS! :)

have a great trip!!!

Laura :)

[DisneyMim]

Rich, I just wanted to add, as another old time OKW owner myself, we LOVED the AKL. Have stayed there 2X since it opened, just stayed this past April. Hope you like it as much as we do!!

ENJOY!!!

[ducklite]

Originally posted by hmerritt
Just wandering what kind of, if any, tips are involved with picking concierge? That could really start getting up there?

Heather

First of all, if it's more than you can afford, simply don't do it. If you tend to be frugal, or are working within a strict budget, or are the kind to always worry about if you got the best deal, don't. You don't want to spend the entire vacation planning around "getting the most out of the concierge lounge so you can justify paying for it". It will only cause stress.

Much depends on any deals you can get, or your budget, or how many in your party. Also take into consideration the way you normally vacation.

We are DH, DS, and myself. We tend to eat "simple" for breakfast. DS is 16 and an eating machine. We tend to spend a good deal of time at the hotel relaxing. We go back to the hotel every day before dinner to freshen up and change. So we are there a lot when the lounge is open.

Given this, it works for us. We get up in the morning and have breakfast in the lounge. We're in the hotel in the afternoon for snacks or soft drinks or tea. We have wine and appetizers before we head to dinner. In our case, it makes sense.

Now, if you are looking for a place to sleep and shower and will be in the parks from opening to closing every day, it's not going to be worth your while.

Only you can make the choice of what's right for you given your situation.

Anne

[cottontail]

Hello: I agree totally with Anne, if you are gone all day it would not make sense to pay the extra money. Just get room only and have your meals/snacks somewhere else. We had four in our family.

Deb.

[ducklite]

Originally posted by hmerritt
Just wandering what kind of, if any, tips are involved with picking concierge? That could really start getting up there?

Heather

I just reread this post and am now wondering if she meant gratuities. You do not tip the concierge staff. however you get nightly turn down service, and it is cusomary to leave a couple dollars for the housekeeper, in addition to a housekeeping tip each morning.

Anne

[lynn46356]

Just got back from a four day stay at the Beach Club Concierge. It was wonderful and I do believe I am hooked. Our family, DH and DSs, 14, 13 and 4, and myself took advantage of the breakfast offerings each morning. Our boys aren't big breakfast fans so the krispy kremes were just right for them. DH and myself enjoyed the other offerings which included fruit, whole and cut up, cereal, variety of breads for toasting, pastries, juice, milk, coffee and tea. It was so nice to just walk down the hall and get what we wanted. Although the lounge wasn't near big enough. But there would be no problem in taking it back to your room. Lunch offerings included peanut butter & celery, pb&J sandwiches, popcorn, pretzels, salsa, nacho chips, raw veggies & dip, cookies, pop, water, lemonade, ice tea. Dinner included pb&j, fancy tortilla wraps, chicken nuggets of sort, mini corn dogs, veggies & dip, pop, etc. Desserts came out in the evening around 8:30 p.m. and it included a variety of cakes, cookies, fancy pastries, and your cordials. I think I gained 10 pounds in 4 days. They were always willing to fill our water jug which we took to the park each day. I just can't say enough. Even though it might be pricey at times. We were wanting to extend our stay by one night (room only) and I checked on the cost and it would have been $519. Needless to say, we didn't get to. We did get quite a few comments from those staying in the hotel when we would put our key into the slot so we could get to the 5th floor. Can't wait to go back and stay longer.

[ead79]

I very much enjoyed my Poly concierge stay this past December. We did utilize the lounge quite a few times. The desserts were amazing! We also drank the complimentary soft drinks, juice, and bottled waters. The staff was very friendly and rearranged several priority seatings for us. I hope to stay concierge again on my next trip. As far as technically getting the extra money it cost us out of the service, we probably did not. It was still worth it to us for the personalized service and great lounge offerings. Give it a try if it fits your budget and plans. :)

[Bobrow]

Lynn,
So glad to hear good things about the BC concierge. I'm going in August with husband and 3 sons 13,11,7. What times were the different offerings? Like what time was lunch,what time was dinner? How was your room and which one was it? Any other info would be appreciated.
Thanks

[lynn46356]

Luckily I kept the card that posted the times that the Concierge lounge was open. My memory is gone. :D The times are as follows: Sunrise Starters (a/k/a breakfast) 7:00 - 10:30; Seaside Snacks (a/k/a lunch) 11:30 - 4:30; Twilight Treasurers (a/k/a dinner or us farmers call it supper :D) 5:00 - 7:00; and Regatta Delights (a/k/a sweets and drinks) 8:00 - 10:00. Vilma and Jennifer were two of the women who worked at the concierge desks during our stay and they were WONDERFUL. A few of the other employees could have taken some pointers from them. Our room wasn't ready when we checked in at 8:00 a.m. When we went up to the 5th floor after checking in down stairs at the front desk, which might not have been what we should have done, oh well though, we introduced ourselves and that we were just looking around, etc. She asked us our name and looked us up on the computer. Within minutes she had found a different room for us that was READY. She took us to it, Room 5709, which met all of our needs. The view was wonderful. It had a full balcony and overlooked SB and part of the Boardwalk. I believe our original room overlooked more of Epcot. I just can't say enough. I want to go back tomorrow. I'm sure you will enjoy it. If you have any other questions, let me know. I'll try to answer them.