Would you stay club level if you didn't plan to eat breakfast at the club lounge?

[mum2four]

Hi! Looking for opinions from those who have stayed club level at WDW. We (DH and I - no kids allowed!) will be staying at WL in January to celebrate our 20th anniversary . We've never stayed CL before, but I'm thinking about booking CL for this trip just to add a little extra something to the celebration.

Here's the thing, though - DH is a BIG breakfast eater; it's his favorite meal of the day. The continental breakfast offered in the club lounge would NOT do it for him. He needs his breakfast meats and potatoes, so we'll most likely be doing TS breakfasts each morning. I would also plan to make the ADR's myself, as I'm a bit of a control freak. I do feel like we'd be missing out on one of the bigger perks of CL by skipping the breakfast.

I don't want to ask, "Is it worth it?", because those types of posts drive me nuts. But, for those of you who have stayed CL in the past, do you think you would still book CL even if you weren't going to use the breakfast offerings? If yes, I'd love to hear your reasons why! Thanks!

 

[CowboyPrincess]

Hi! Looking for opinions from those who have stayed club level at WDW. We (DH and I - no kids allowed!) will be staying at WL in January to celebrate our 20th anniversary . We've never stayed CL before, but I'm thinking about booking CL for this trip just to add a little extra something to the celebration.

Here's the thing, though - DH is a BIG breakfast eater; it's his favorite meal of the day. The continental breakfast offered in the club lounge would NOT do it for him. He needs his breakfast meats and potatoes, so we'll most likely be doing TS breakfasts each morning. I would also plan to make the ADR's myself, as I'm a bit of a control freak. I do feel like we'd be missing out on one of the bigger perks of CL by skipping the breakfast.

I don't want to ask, "Is it worth it?", because those types of posts drive me nuts. But, for those of you who have stayed CL in the past, do you think you would still book CL even if you weren't going to use the breakfast offerings? If yes, I'd love to hear your reasons why! Thanks!

I would still book CL. We do use the breakfast food mostly because it is easier with children. But you still get the other food offerings during the day and the alcohol in the evening. Our CL rooms have been in great locations. Having the lounge to relax is lovely. Turn down service is a treat.

Chances are you would miss a food offering everyday no matter what so why not have it be the breakfast.

 

[Dis703]

Personally, no I wouldn't book it and not do breakfast. That was a big perk to us to not have to worry about breakfast elsewhere and with 6 people it made it more financially worthwhile. We enjoyed the lounge other times of the day but I couldn't see us spending that kind of money and not doing breakfast there.

 

[Kim1964]

Breakfast is one of the biggest CL perks for us. In fact, the CL breakfast is why I didn't book any breakfast ADRs for our trip next month. I didn't see any reason to pay for breakfast twice.

That said, I think whether you should book or not depends on how the rest of your day goes and whether you drink alcohol. I don't drink, so if I was going to skip CL breakfast AND be away from the hotel past the end of the evening appetizers, it definitely wouldn't be worth it for me (I am like the OP and make my own ADRs so that service doesn't matter to me). But if you are around during part of the day to enjoy the food offerings and/or enjoy the evening cordials, beer, and wine, it might still be worth it.

 

[jaykorf001]

Just know that the alcohol offerings in the evenings are very limited IMO. Other than having two beers total, we did not take advantage of the alcohol. At AKL CL there were two wines -- one white and one red, I had no interest in either and I'm a wine drinker; some American lagers (bud light type) and an African beer; and cordials only. I had stayed club level at other hotel chains and expected more of a full bar. It is my understanding the alcohol offerings at AKL and WL are similar. I just didn't want this to be too much of a surprise for you.

 

[pepe of ohio]

Wouldn't work for us.... We quit CL years ago...

I want a full breakfast. Not some token mouse meal that CL serves.... Eggs, bacon, home fries, toast juice and coffee with the option for pancakes ....

When CL went to higher costs and less food options we stopped....meager breakfast offerings, fish crackers and cookies and gummy bears for lunch and some hot appetizers for dinner with a few beers and white and red wine offerings.... A lot of money for that and you have tone there to get any..

We just stay regular room, bring our own booze and drinks and when we're at the resort, we're at the pool or lounge.... No more CL. For us...

 

[mickeynut1]

But, for those of you who have stayed CL in the past, do you think you would still book CL even if you weren't going to use the breakfast offerings? If yes, I'd love to hear your reasons why! Thanks!

Yes, I would still book CL . When we stay CL, it's more for having the lounge for extra space and someplace else to go and relax than it is for the food offerings. We do enjoy the food offerings and think they are a nice perk, but that's not our main reason for staying CL. I'm not a big breakfast eater and could handle the club offerings just fine, but my DH and both DSs need more than a continental breakfast. They could maybe handle the club offerings once or twice during a trip, but not much more than that as they need a more substantial meal with eggs, bacon, waffles, etc. to start the day .

 

[Sue M]

When we book CL we enjoy the Breakfasts, and evening appie, wine, & desserts.
For us breakfast is more then enough. With bagels, oatmeal, fruit, pasteries, muffins, cold cereals, yogurt, toast, juices, and some CLs have hard boiled eggs.

Honestly, I don't know if I'd book CL if I wasn't planning on taking advantage of breakfast.
Will you be taking advantage of the evening offerings?
Aside from that, and turn down service, and CL staff that will help with planning, there is no advantage. Rooms are no different then other rooms.

 

[Simba's Girl]

If I wasn't concerned about the bottom line: yes.

as a family of 5 we love the extra space we gain from having access to the lounge.

 

[Pakey]

Two adults: no I would not. WDW CL offerings are meager. Breakfast is the best perk. Midday is essentially nothing and evening gets you 2 appetizers, domestic beer and cheap wine. Late Evening liquors are very limited.

I could take some excellent wine and a couple glasses and enjoy my balcony for less. Even with eating breakfast in the lounge, it's hard to break even for 2 adults. Other perks for WDW CL are so minimal that I couldn't justify the added room cost.

 

[Ofinn]

I think at RPC, WL, Poly, CR or AKL I would do it. The lounges at those resorts are really nice to hang out in. I would not do it at the Epcot resorts. The lounges at those resorts are nothing to write home about. I would only do CL at an Epcot resort if you are doing for the perks.

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

We don't really eat much breakfast, maybe a muffin, but the big perk for me is being able to have coffee and read the DIS boards in the morning while everyone is still sleeping. I'm always the first one up and I like the freedom of having the lounge as a hangout. There's a TV, or you can read the paper, its sort of like having a suite instead of just a room. DH and I have stayed CL without our kids, we've enjoyed the lounge for getting drinks throughout the day and having some appetizers at night before late dinner reservations. Does it save us money? Probably not, but we feel pampered and everything seems more convenient. There is definitely a level of service on CL that you don't experience in other parts of the resorts.

 

[princessallegra]

We are two adults and would do it. We have stayed WL CL once and it was a most magical trip! We actually did deluxe dining and still stayed cl that year. If we could afford it we would stay cl every time. The lounge is just a nice convenience. I had a glass of wine from the lounge every day. we also used the cappuccino machines. I too book my own adr's for the most part but used the ipo to get specific things like chef's table at V&A, the Richard Petty driving experience, a safari tour at ak i cant remember the name now...things like that. CL for us is a nice luxury we wish we could afford more often! We haven't stayed CL since that trip in '10. I say go for it for such a big anniversary celebration!

 

[jcjen519]

sure. we enjoy the club level experience. i feel like it kind of reduces the crowd interaction as much as possible. we enjoy having the lounge as a sort of escape in addition to our room. its nice to be able to get a drink and enjoy a view or just the lounge itself while our son is entertained with the tv, new friends, or enjoying a snack with us. we are not the type to keep food or alcohol in the room either.

 

[kpm76]

Could you enjoy the light breakfast in the lounge and make a ressie for a later breakfast, which might satisfy both breakfast and lunch? We like to do this because I find our kids eat healthier at breakfast and they enjoy the food more so than lunch.

 

[mum2four]

Thanks so much for all the feedback everyone, I really appreciate it! You've all given me a lot to think about. The practical side of me says to skip CL if we're not going to make full use of it, but there's another part of me that just wants to splurge for this special trip! Guess I'll need to sleep on it a little longer before booking. (Oh, what a dilemma to have....)

 

[Aristocath]

At what resort do you plan to stay? I think some CLs have better benefits than others, like the Hawaii building and huge lounge at the Poly. I wouldn't book CL based on alcohol if you are a wine drinker. I thought the wine they offered was horrible. I think the lounge was most useful for us for breakfast and snacks for the pool in the afternoon. We seldom made it to the evening offerings as we were usually headed back to the parks around 5.

 

[Mrsjvb]

okay not QUITE the same concept, but we stay in suites on our cruises, which come with a CL and a limited continental brekkies.

we stop by there either before or after 'real' breakfast in the main dining room( if I do not get my eggs benedict daily, I get very Grumpy. the Dwarf ain't got nuttin on me . ) He gets his fancy schmancy coffee, I get a second piece of cranberry spice bread. Everybody wins.

nothing says that the breakfast is the only reason to book or not book, if you think you would use the lounge at other times of the day, then book it. even if you stop by and grab a pastry to nosh on on your way to the TS meal...

 

[WisconsinDad]

Instead of splurging on CL, I would splurge with appetizers and drinks at the lounge each night. That way you can get what you want and not be limited to the selection in CL.

 

[kpm76]

Instead of splurging on CL, I would splurge with appetizers and drinks at the lounge each night. That way you can get what you want and not be limited to the selection in CL.

That's a nice idea, but depending on the kind of discount you can get, it may cost more to do that. Additionally, I have to say that I never thought I would use IPO with pre-planning because I am a super duper planner....BUT, they have have extremely helpful with a few questions I have had regarding booking specialty items. I'm realizing this time that the cost of CL is more than bagels and coffee in the morning.....