Is the club level worth it

[duktes]

Hi

We are still undecided on accomodation. Might settle for the Poly. Just want to know if the club level is worth it.

 

[Mamu]

Many will tell you it's not worth the extra money.

I myself love CL. The Poly CL has a beautiful lounge with a windowed wall overlooking the MK. The Poly is a beautiful resort, CL makes it seem just a little more special. Is it worth the extra money, only you can decide that. I'm a very early riser while the rest of my family sleeps in. It's nice to grab a book and sit in the lounge until life starts to stir in my room.

If your the type of person who spends all your time in the parks, and does not take advantage of what CL offers, I'd say it's not worth it.

 

[ancestry]

That is a hard question to answer. Is Club Level a good financial value for what you get? Most people would tell you absolutely not. However, if you are able to afford it, CL can be a nice amenity and can offer some additional conveniences.

We love CL but if you are worried about getting a "good deal" or it being "worth" it then it probably isn't for you. For us it is so convenient to have breakfast available right next to (or close to) our room. My hubby loves having access to unlimited beer in the afternoons/evenings. The kids love being able to grab a soda at any time. I normally drink about 60-100 ounces of water a day and although I couldn't take a full bottle of Perrier from club level I usually drink 2-3 32oz bottles (by the cup) each day.

 

[happymommy]

Yes, it depends. For us, the one year we stayed club level at the AKL it was. We had been to WDW several times already, so were planning on spending a lot of time at the resort. It was also at a busy time (VERY BUSY!!!), so we'd go to a park for a couple of hours, then back to the resort to swim and relax.

If you're going for the first time, and you plan on spending a lot of time at the theme parks, it may not be worth it. We did enjoy the evening wine and appetizers, but if we were at the parks, that would be a waste. I also enjoyed getting up before everyone else and having coffee in the lounge, while they all slept in. But, I can also make coffee and sit on the balcony and do the same thing in a regular room.

For us, that trip we also had lots of dining reservations planned, as well as an illuminations cruise on Breathless on New Years Eve, so the concierge staff got all that booked for us.

You have to think about the plans you have for the vacation, then factor in if it's the type of room you want. For our family, a villa at the Boardwalk or Beach Club is the most ideal - but our budget sometimes dictates the Swan or Dolphin (we like that area best). We did enjoy the Boardwalk resort as well - the room was nice, and that year we got the "free" dining plus room discount, so it was a great time.

If I were going to to club level, and money were no object, I'd probably look at the Grand Floridian main building. But, I still love the Beach Club and Boardwalk area - just their club level doesn't look as nice (we love Ritz Carlton club levels, so that's our comparison). The food was amazing at AKL, but I saw in another post that resort has no appeal to you. It's also a bus ride to get anywhere from there.

 

[clanmcculloch]

As others said, it really depends on you.

At Poly, one of the things I like about CL is the building location. People pay extra to choose their location all the time. I really like the location of the Hawaii building which is where the CL rooms are location (unless you're talking suites which I doubt you are since you're asking if it's "worth it").

We also spend a lot of time at our resort so we enjoyed being able to run the lounge for snacks or drinks when we're there (IMO more convenient than going to the GCH to fill a mug) and we are often around the resort in the evening to partake of the offerings. We found that big evening meals really weren't what we wanted in the summer heat so grabbing a small plate of hot food each plus some cheeses and fruit/veggies to share was plenty. It also means a much shorter amount of time eating than if we were in a restaurant which freed us up to go back to the pool or even just lounge in our room with a DVD (they have a decent selection to borrow from) or a board game in the lounge (they have some fun games to borrow). We like the resort experience in addition to the parks.

So much of what makes CL "worth it" for people aren't the perks that would otherwise cost money such as food and drink but rather the non-monetary valued things. Only you can decide if those are worthwhile for you.

 

[tinkbyday]

We stayed CL for the first time last Dec and absolutely found it to be worth the cost. Of course, we had a discount on the room that actually made it less expensive that the WV room we had earlier in the year lol!

Still, though, I really enjoyed walking down to get coffee and breakfast every morning. We also came back to the room throughout the day and enjoyed grabbing drinks and snacks when we did.

We only made it back once for the evening snacks.

I'm not sure I will ever stay at WDW without doing the CL again - I enjoyed it that much! I would like to try it at BWI next time as I heard their CL is outstanding!

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

Nobody's going to tell you it's a good value for the money. It simply isn't. But boy, is it fun. Especially when it's a free upgrade.

 

[guarn3md]

We stayed CL at WL over 4th of July this year and we loved it. We will probably only stay CL at WL for now one - if we can afford it. I booked the CL as a surprise for my son and husband. I liked having the lounge near our room and the ability to grab breakfast every morning before heading out to the parks. This past trip was our 5th and I feel like we aren't as commando as we have been in the past and we spend some down time at the resort. We love WL and staying CL only added to the magic. I loved relaxing in the lounge in the afternoon - they had very cold lemonade and iced tea. Plus it was quiet and relaxing sitting in the lounge near the windows that look out at the pool and lake and recharging after a hot morning in a park. We are going back to WDW in April 2011 and Nov 2011 and I have booked CL at WL. We have stayed at AKL and Coronado in the past. I loved those hotels too. When we stayed at Coronado we got a free upgrade to a Jr. Suite...so when I compare the prices of a Jr. Suite at Coronado and CL at WL I can justify spending the little bit extra for the amentities!
Good luck with your decision!
Debbie

 

[guitarob]

We are still undecided on accomodation. Might settle for the Poly. Just want to know if the club level is worth it.

Settle for the Poly? Gimme a second while I pick up the pieces of my brain that just fell out...

Nobody's going to tell you it's a good value for the money. It simply isn't. But boy, is it fun.

I agree completely.

It's not worth the money, but we love, love, love it. Did I mention how much we love it? The Poly's lounge has one of the best views on property as well, and HUGE windows to help you enjoy it.

In addition to what others have said, we absolutely love having the lounge available to us after checkout on the last day too. We always leave on the latest flight possible, so it's great to have a place to grab a snack, change after swimming, and just chill out and soak up as much of the magic and atmosphere as possible before taking the dreaded car ride back to the airport.

 

[jetskigrl]

For our family, it was definitely worth it. My DD (12) still primarily eats from the kid's menu so paying as an adult for the dining plan for her would have been a waste. So we opted to pay OOP for meals and book a CL room instead. We had breakfast in the lounge 7 of our 10 mornings (I had to try Tonga Toast on our sleep-in day and the other two were character breakfasts, LOL). For the most part, our only big meal of the day was lunch (usually in one of the parks) and then we had appetizers in the lounge in the evenings. Due to the heat, none of us felt like eating more than 1 big meal a day. Many nights I offered to get the kids something from Capt Cooks, but they said they wanted the PB&J in the lounge.

Combine that with the money we saved on "adult" beverages we probably came out about even. DH and I feel in love with the "adult punch" in the Poly lounge and had at least 2 glasses each every night. The same number of drinks from the pool bar would have run us close to $50 a day (although at that price, we probably wouldn't have had 2 drinks a night each, LOL).

That being said, part of the reason CL worked for us was that we were at the hotel at the right times. We had breakfast in the lounge and then hit the parks for RD. Then we were back after lunch for swimming or a nap. So we were ready for appetizers before we headed back out in the evenings. Even when we did longer days in the park (until 3 or 4), we were still back in time to take advantage of the offerings. If you aren't going to be around when they are serving the food, you won't get the benefits there.

We did splurge and do a TPV which had no financial value, but was just purely for the fun of it. I also really appreciated the CL CMs and enjoyed being able to conduct any business or ask questions right there in our building. Again, no financial gain there, but certainly appreciated.

 

[tony67]

I have done club at AK, POLY, CR and YC.
I have also done club level at many other hotels around the World.

I do not think it is a value at the Disney resorts.
It is a convenience at the most.

Poly and Ak were not bad at all, but not worth the money.
It was great for the convenience and I would consider doing them again for that reason.
The view from the POLY at night was great as well as the location of the building.

The CR was Ok, but I had a lot of issues that I will not go over yet again.
I did not enjoy the stay at all and would not go back to the hotel let alone club level.

The YC was a total rip-off compared to Poly and AK IMO.
The offering were sparse and many of the rooms have a nice view of the bus.
We hated it so much we checked out after the first night and moved to the Dolphin.

I also stayed at the club level at the RPR in universal several times and it was excellent.
Again though it is only worth it for the convenience, it is not a bargain.


One other thing: You have to make it back to the room to enjoy the afternoon offerings, not always as easy as you think especially if you have a diner booked.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

We have stayed Club Level at the Contemporary, Boardwalk and Polynesian and we think it's worth it, however only you can decide if you think it's worth it or not.

 

[Mrs. Darcy]

I don't think it's worth it as far as money value but it feels good to be "staying club level". lol
If you have extra money that you won't miss, then go for club. If not, save the money. The food offerings are pittances compares to going to a real restaurant in the hotel, but again it feels good to have the special lounge and "free" food exclusively for club guests.
We stayed club level for our last trip and that was because we wanted to go all the way with my first trip to WDW, and club level was fun. This time we're not staying club since we have a lot of ADRs and won't be spending tons and tons of time at the hotel. My DH said he's rather drink a beer that he has to pay for at Jellyrolls than a "free" beer in the quiet lounge. lol

If you have the $$$, I say go for it just for the experience if not for value.

 

[brergnat]

When you notice that the price of a "view" room is often the same as, or more expensive that, a "standard CL room", it is worth it.

Would I pay extra for a "view". Probably not.

Would I pay that same amount for CL? Every time.

Staying CL is the way to go, if you can easily afford it.

 

[DisneyMim]

We enjoy staying club level. As for it's being "worth" it??? Well we have determined that if we are doing the dining plan it's not worth it for our family. We simply cannot eat that much food! One night on our last club level trip we hardly ate our dinner. The waiter even asked us if everything was ok. It's different for very family. I think only you can decide for yourself.

Enjoy The Magic!!

 

[honeydiane1953]

When you notice that the price of a "view" room is often the same as, or more expensive that, a "standard CL room", it is worth it.

Would I pay extra for a "view". Probably not.

Would I pay that same amount for CL? Every time.

Staying CL is the way to go, if you can easily afford it.

The operative word is EASILY. Enough said.