Anyone actually stay at GF, and NEVER going back?

[marivaid]

I've just read the whole thread, although we've never been to GF.

Someone said that they moved from GF to BWI because the CMs were snotty and the concierges unhelpful. I thought that was funny, because those are precisely the reasons why I didn't like BWI.
But if you ask my mom, who spent the 3 nights there with me, she'll tell you that BWI was great, the CMs (except for 1 concierge) nice and helpful, and that she loved the feel of the resort.
Makes me wonder if we were even in the same place!

 

[Disney Planner Mama]

We stayed there for the first time in August (standard garden view room). We knew how hot it would be and wanted a nice resort to relax in in the afternoons. We managed to get an AP rate that brought the price down to only slightly obscene so we went for it.

We absolutely loved it. We didn't think it was at all snooty, the grounds were beautiful, housekeeping was always done early and done well, the staff was very attentive, my daughters don't want to stay anywhere else now!

It is ridiculously priced though, and we couldn't afford it without some sort of discount. We did like it enough to look for the discount when we make plans for our next WDW vacation.

 

[grannyminnie]

Channing, are you SURE you didn't start this post??!? (to drive people away so you can book RPC)

 

[Cmbar]

We stayed there for the first time in August (standard garden view room). We knew how hot it would be and wanted a nice resort to relax in in the afternoons. We managed to get an AP rate that brought the price down to only slightly obscene so we went for it.

We absolutely loved it. We didn't think it was at all snooty, the grounds were beautiful, housekeeping was always done early and done well, the staff was very attentive, my daughters don't want to stay anywhere else now!

It is ridiculously priced though, and we couldn't afford it without some sort of discount. We did like it enough to look for the discount when we make plans for our next WDW vacation.

Disney Planner Mama....

Did you do a review of your stay? I would love to hear how you liked it. We are paying 255.00 pre tax for our stay next month . Is this a good price for GV? It sounds like it, but honestly over at the GF FAQ thread everyone there stays concierge, which I have no interest in ever staying at, so I am concerned that the GV guest aren't treated well!

 

[Alicnwondrln]

I have had several stays at the GF all concierge and one was poor. BUt I gave it another shot and it was great! The staff the Sugar loaf building with Robert was great. I also had the pleasure of meeting Vonnie at the main building RPC and she was very nice. I think the resort is beautiful and the room are great. My last stay was july 2007 so I havent seen the new rooms.

 

[Cmbar]

Channing.... You are making me so nervous because you told me that you were doing GV in November and that we would love it even if we weren't Concierge!!! Now I see you trying hard to get into Concierge and I am concerned we are gonna hate our stay. The resort is booked the whole time we are there (week before Thanksgiving) and I was hoping this resort didn't fill up to capacity! UGH! Why did I look at this post

Self talk.... OK Deep breath...It will be fine... Your husband's not going to kill you for spending more money on a yucky resort... Your going to Disney!... Your going to see Mickey.... Breathe, breathe......

 

[princessesrule4]

Channing.... You are making me so nervous because you told me that you were doing GV in November and that we would love it even if we weren't Concierge!!! Now I see you trying hard to get into Concierge and I am concerned we are gonna hate our stay. The resort is booked the whole time we are there (week before Thanksgiving) and I was hoping this resort didn't fill up to capacity! UGH! Why did I look at this post

Self talk.... OK Deep breath...It will be fine... Your husband's not going to kill you for spending more money on a yucky resort... Your going to Disney!... Your going to see Mickey.... Breathe, breathe......

As a frequent GF guest and yes, RPC guest, it's hardly"yucky"

I must say Cmbar, with all due respect, you seem to be second guessing yourself an awful lot on a lot of different threads. Is there another resort that is tried and true for you? Mabye you should switch to that and alleviate your fears of trying the GF. It seems like you've already kind of psyched yourself out and you need a lot of reassurance. But really, only you know your family and can decide whether paying $255.00 is worth it or not.We can tell you it's a great rate till we're blue in the face, but you are the only one that can decide that.
What's expensive to one person, might be a great rate to another and vice versa!

Hope you have a great trip whatever you decide!

 

[gardenia]

We stayed the week before Christmas one year, and while the resort was lovely, the service was the pits. I tried several times to call the front desk from my room and NO ONE EVER ANSWERED. So I went to lobby concierge, and found the line 10 people deep. I was never able to contact anyone who could help me! I've had better service at La Quinta, for heavens sakes.

 

[Lives4Disney]

Channing.... You are making me so nervous because you told me that you were doing GV in November and that we would love it even if we weren't Concierge!!! Now I see you trying hard to get into Concierge and I am concerned we are gonna hate our stay. The resort is booked the whole time we are there (week before Thanksgiving) and I was hoping this resort didn't fill up to capacity! UGH! Why did I look at this post

Self talk.... OK Deep breath...It will be fine... Your husband's not going to kill you for spending more money on a yucky resort... Your going to Disney!... Your going to see Mickey.... Breathe, breathe......

OH!!! I am excited to go either way. My kids and I are justhaving thoughts of missing the CMs that I really really like that work in the main building. It is so nice to get off the elevator to such a friendly and familiar, "They're back!! HI!!" and the lounge ladies are so sweet and even the housekeepers are the same each stay. Just feels so comfortable there for us. But the GF is a gorgeous & bright and sunny resort and service is great so we are THERE.


A lot of these posts have people saying they didn't like the "theme" or it was not themed. I disagree with that. The Victorian theme is apparent everywhere. Also, regarding the snooty and stuffy comments.....wrong. Maybe some people did run across a bad apple, but to generalize and say the resort feels snooty or the CMs are snotty is not fair. That is coming from personal baggage IMO. Never ever did I come across anything like that. Everybody - from CMs in the elevators to just in passing - would greet us with a smile and a hello or even make more conversation and talk to my kids, too. We feel very welcome there. I just have to go by my own experiences at the Grand, and they've all been over the top wonderful. No worries.


Lives4Disney

 

[phyllis1966]

...A lot of these posts have people saying they didn't like the "theme" or it was not themed. I disagree with that. The Victorian theme is apparent everywhere. Also, regarding the snooty and stuffy comments.....wrong. Maybe some people did run across a bad apple, but to generalize and say the resort feels snooty or the CMs are snotty is not fair. That is coming from personal baggage IMO. Never ever did I come across anything like that. Everybody - from CMs in the elevators to just in passing - would greet us with a smile and a hello or even make more conversation and talk to my kids, too. We feel very welcome there. I just have to go by my own experiences at the Grand, and they've all been over the top wonderful. No worries.

My feelings exactly! We've never stayed concierge, usually GV, and we've always had a wonderful time - that's why we keep going back. We feel very relaxed when we're there - even DD, who is 8 now, feels like this is her home-away-from-home. She feels free to run, talk loudly, sing and especially dance around the lobby when the orchestra is playing (and even when there's no music at all!).

 

[Cmbar]

As a frequent GF guest and yes, RPC guest, it's hardly"yucky"

I must say Cmbar, with all due respect, you seem to be second guessing yourself an awful lot on a lot of different threads. Is there another resort that is tried and true for you? Mabye you should switch to that and alleviate your fears of trying the GF. It seems like you've already kind of psyched yourself out and you need a lot of reassurance. But really, only you know your family and can decide whether paying $255.00 is worth it or not.We can tell you it's a great rate till we're blue in the face, but you are the only one that can decide that.
What's expensive to one person, might be a great rate to another and vice versa!

Hope you have a great trip whatever you decide!

Too late to change, and yes I need to stay off of threads like this. The problem is very few people who go GV are saying they had a great experience. The GF people who chime in are usually the Concierge people, so I keep looking for the few who are GV who still like the resort since it seems the experience is very different. Especially since the RPC guest keep telling us that it is a great resort yet they keep saying they will only go RPC or SL. And Channing was one that has been very nice to tell me that GV is great and she had booked it for November for a great rate, but now its just not good enough. But in reality, I have never tried Concierge, so I wouldn't know what I was missing! Channing would! She is never anything but helpful so no disrepect was intended to her. I do need a lot of reassurance, I kinda thought that was what the DIS boards was for. After all there are lots of posts like this and most on this five page thread have been negative. So I apologize for getting a little nervous- and yes, we think close to 300.00 a night is a lot for a hotel room so for me, I am really nervous when we see a post like this one.

Sorry!

So no disrespect taken. I will be in the category of "have to try it to see" and I will now leave the GF posts! I better stick to Theme Park and Restaurants where I can stress about those choices!

 

[princessesrule4]

Too late to change, and yes I need to stay off of threads like this. The problem is very few people who go GV are saying they had a great experience. The GF people who chime in are usually the Concierge people, so I keep looking for the few who are GV who still like the resort since it seems the experience is very different. Especially since the RPC guest keep telling us that it is a great resort yet they keep saying they will only go RPC or SL. And Channing was one that has been very nice to tell me that GV is great and she had booked it for November for a great rate, but now its just not good enough. But in reality, I have never tried Concierge, so I wouldn't know what I was missing! Channing would! She is never anything but helpful so no disrepect was intended to her. I do need a lot of reassurance, I kinda thought that was what the DIS boards was for. After all there are lots of posts like this and most on this five page thread have been negative. So I apologize for getting a little nervous- and yes, we think close to 300.00 a night is a lot for a hotel room so for me, I am really nervous when we see a post like this one.

Sorry!

So no disrespect taken. I will be in the category of "have to try it to see" and I will now leave the GF posts! I better stick to Theme Park and Restaurants where I can stress about those choices!

No need to be sorry! I know you are pretty nervous but I think you will love it, as I've said before!( I actually pm'ed you with a response to one of your GF questions)

We have not stayed GV but stayed LV a few times ( when it was just "lagoon view" and GV categories) and absolutely loved it! That is how we got hooked on the GF! We said we would stay RPC once and we got hooked on that, too!

Also, for what its worth, I have had absolutely disgusting, uncleaned rooms at CR and BC, so I think every resort could have a 5 page long thread of people who have had bad experiences! We have never had anything but very minor problems at the GF in 10 stays!They were remedied quickly and politely. As I said, 4 of those were lagoon views!
Also, I bet if an "I love the GF thread" was started, there would be pages and pages of great reviews!

Hope this helps and I truly hope you have a wondeful trip!!

 

[BrianD]

Too late to change, and yes I need to stay off of threads like this. The problem is very few people who go GV are saying they had a great experience. The GF people who chime in are usually the Concierge people, so I keep looking for the few who are GV who still like the resort since it seems the experience is very different. Especially since the RPC guest keep telling us that it is a great resort yet they keep saying they will only go RPC or SL. And Channing was one that has been very nice to tell me that GV is great and she had booked it for November for a great rate, but now its just not good enough. But in reality, I have never tried Concierge, so I wouldn't know what I was missing! Channing would! She is never anything but helpful so no disrepect was intended to her. I do need a lot of reassurance, I kinda thought that was what the DIS boards was for. After all there are lots of posts like this and most on this five page thread have been negative. So I apologize for getting a little nervous- and yes, we think close to 300.00 a night is a lot for a hotel room so for me, I am really nervous when we see a post like this one.

Sorry!

So no disrespect taken. I will be in the category of "have to try it to see" and I will now leave the GF posts! I better stick to Theme Park and Restaurants where I can stress about those choices!

OK, I was going to stay off of this thread because the point of it was looking for negative experiences, but Cmbar, if you do happen to venture back over for one last peek at this thread, remember as I just said, the point of this thread was to get folks who have stayed at the GF and DON'T LIKE IT to post. This is why most of the posts are negative. We could certainly start another thread like this for the Poly, in fact, I could probably search and find quite a few of them that already exist. The same applies for pretty much all resorts on property.

As for the lack of GV people that liked their stay at the GF...yes, the GF FAQ has mostly concierge people, but there are those of us who love the GF and have never stayed concierge. We have stayed there three times, twice Garden View and once Lagoon View, and we loved every single experience there. We are returning this December and staying Garden View once again. We love the service there, and if we never get to stay concierge there, we will never feel like we missed out on something.

Channing loves the GF, and so when we see posts that are 100% contrary to our experiences there, and in fact some passionately negative posts that seem to get worse and worse each time they share their one experience there, so it is natural for some to want to offer a counter point.

So carry on with the GF bashing. This post has every right to be on these boards, but please remember the point of view that these posters are coming from. The same applies to all FAQ threads.

 

[Lives4Disney]

Cmbar - Ya, BrianD is right....it's a GF bashing post. Everybody and anybody that ever stayed there and was not happy is going to jump this bandwagon to tell everybody else how horrid their time at the GF was. I have seen a few posters that have bashed it elsewhere are happy to chime in here. I was trying to stay away from posting a contradictory post, because honestly, the secret that the GF is so great is out & it is getting harder and harder to book a room there and fewer and fewer discounts available, too. So, just let this run it's course and maybe we can open up a few rooms/get a few discounts and you will appreciate that for your next GF stay - because I bet you'll want to return! Chances are your stay will be great!!!! (mine, too!)

Oh...ps...wanted to address the "it's not good enough" comment. I have said it before and this is truely how I feel....I would only stay RPC or GV at the GF. I tried SL concierge and there was no wow to it for us. Not worth it for US. Now RPC on the other hand and the CMs up there are so great that is the only reason I am having second thoughts. It is like home away from home. Very stressfree and comfortable. My girls have a favorite CM up there and they consider the place HER hotel. The RPC Cms have made us feel like guests in their home & that is so special to us. GV will be great too because it is our favorite Disney hotel. I don't think it's worth it to pay for the upgraded views. Besides the terrific CMs, it's the RESORT we love. I'd camp out in a cabana. I don't care. Just get me to the Grand! I don't mean to knock Garden view at all and I am sorry if that is how it came across. I will be there in one month and one week!!!

HAPPY thoughts!!!

Lives4Disney

 

[DISshopkeeper]

Mizner's was upstairs and not right in the main lobby. And it was, like the rest of the GF, sort of boring and stuffy in there, IMO. The GF thread has all positive reviews because the primary people who post there are GF lovers who frequent the hotel and many of them are GFconcierge stayers. And my poor service issues were during a traditionally slower period- last week of August, not at a peak time like holidays or mid-summer.

Not to mention the snooty bartenders. I've been to quite a few on property lounges and Mizner's is my LEAST favorite.

 

[Cmbar]

ok, One last post here!

To all of you that PM'd me that you love the GV at the Grand.... Thank you so much! I really didn't mean to need so much reassurance! I know that our trip will be magical because we are celebrating our marriage and our children in our favorite place! I hope the resort will be lovely, but at this point it will be what it will be!

To Brian D, Lives4Disney (Channing) and PrincessRule4, thanks for coming back with positive posts! Again I didn't mean to offend anyone about Concierge. If you love it you love it! Channing I can totally understand how you love "your Home" there. Sorry about the "not good enough" comment. It wasn't mean in a snooty way (hey I got to use the snooty guy too). I just meant that you seemed deseparate to get back to RPC! I hope you do finally get that room you want!

And your right, this is a post for the negative posts about GF and they have every right to post their experiences! I will however, stick to positive ones right before our trip!

 

[BrianD]

ok, One last post here!

To all of you that PM'd me that you love the GV at the Grand.... Thank you so much! I really didn't mean to need so much reassurance! I know that our trip will be magical because we are celebrating our marriage and our children in our favorite place! I hope the resort will be lovely, but at this point it will be what it will be!

To Brian D, Lives4Disney (Channing) and PrincessRule4, thanks for coming back with positive posts! Again I didn't mean to offend anyone about Concierge. If you love it you love it! Channing I can totally understand how you love "your Home" there. Sorry about the "not good enough" comment. It wasn't mean in a snooty way (hey I got to use the snooty guy too). I just meant that you seemed deseparate to get back to RPC! I hope you do finally get that room you want!

And your right, this is a post for the negative posts about GF and they have every right to post their experiences! I will however, stick to positive ones right before our trip!

Have a great vacation, Cmbar!

 

[ducklite]

Too late to change, and yes I need to stay off of threads like this. The problem is very few people who go GV are saying they had a great experience. The GF people who chime in are usually the Concierge people, so I keep looking for the few who are GV who still like the resort since it seems the experience is very different. Especially since the RPC guest keep telling us that it is a great resort yet they keep saying they will only go RPC or SL. And Channing was one that has been very nice to tell me that GV is great and she had booked it for November for a great rate, but now its just not good enough. But in reality, I have never tried Concierge, so I wouldn't know what I was missing! Channing would! She is never anything but helpful so no disrepect was intended to her. I do need a lot of reassurance, I kinda thought that was what the DIS boards was for. After all there are lots of posts like this and most on this five page thread have been negative. So I apologize for getting a little nervous- and yes, we think close to 300.00 a night is a lot for a hotel room so for me, I am really nervous when we see a post like this one.

Sorry!

So no disrespect taken. I will be in the category of "have to try it to see" and I will now leave the GF posts! I better stick to Theme Park and Restaurants where I can stress about those choices!

In all honesty, our best GF stay was in a non-club level lagoon view room. I'm sure GV would have been just as nice.

 

[ducklite]

One thing to mention. I keep reading the word "Snooty."

I think that often the more reserved atmosphere at the GF is mistaken for snooty. Yes, there will be bad apples here and there, but I've run into them at the BC, YC, AKL, AS, BW, CR, PR, and WL as well. Overall the atmosphere and CM's at the GF are pleasantly reserved, not snooty at all.

If you are expecting an ultra casual, laid back atmosphere, you'll be disappointed. It's not "down home friendly" like you'd find at the BC, the BW, the WL, and the PR. The GF is more genteel, the atmosphere more elegant. But that doesn't make it snooty.

The resort can't make you feel like you don't belong there. Only you can do that to yourself.

 

[popstar7867]

We stayed there two years ago..and will NOT be going back.

The service was practically non-existant and when it did exist it was very poor.

The grounds were lovely, however the common areas were dirty. The lobby...filthy...the bathrooms in the lobby...unbelievable..gross...the themed pool...filthy. We stayed at the pool by the main building mostly and even that was questionable. The CMs would not enforce the no eating in the pool area and there was floating food in the pool. Also there were young kids using the hot tub as their baby pool so you couldn't enjoy that.

I don't recall the bus service being that terrible.

Yes we went at a busy time, but those conditions would not be acceptable at our local Holiday Inn much less Disney's "flagship" resort.

Wow I'm really surprised about your review of the GF! We just returned there and stayed one night using our DVC points! We were in awe the entire time. We found the bathrooms to be impeccably clean and the lobby absolutely beautiful! The rooms (we were in a standard garden view) were very nicely decorated and themed. The service was unbelievable as well. We are hoping to do one night a year during one of our trips as that is all that we can afford, but it felt so special to feel like royalty for one night!