Club Level GF questions

[LaceC]

We currently have a CL outer building standard room booked at GF for Sept 2019. We love GF and have stayed here several times, but not Club Level. I'm second guessing myself about not booking the main building. What are your opinions of the two options? What are your experiences, good or bad, with CL at GF? Any opinions, advice, or just general info would be greatly appreciated! I'm trying to sort through the large CL forum, but it's a lot! Lol

 

[mickeynut1]

We currently have a CL outer building standard room booked at GF for Sept 2019. We love GF and have stayed here several times, but not Club Level. I'm second guessing myself about not booking the main building. What are your opinions of the two options? What are your experiences, good or bad, with CL at GF? Any opinions, advice, or just general info would be greatly appreciated! I'm trying to sort through the large CL forum, but it's a lot! Lol

I've stayed both RPC (main building CL) and SL (outer building CL) and while I'm glad I tried SL, I wasn't impressed. It is convenient to the courtyard pool if you will be spending a lot of time pool side, but other than that, I didn't care for it. While the food is the same as what's offered in RPC, the lounges are worlds apart. The SL lounge had a cafeteria-like feel to me and since the lounge is located in the center/lobby of the SL building, there are no windows/views. RPC, on the other hand, is large and spacious with lots of seating and gorgeous views of the grounds. If RPC is doable, I'd switch. Good luck .

 

[GADisneyDad14]

GF SL is not among my favorite CL options... but it is among my favorite CL prices and the location relative to the Courtyard pool, Gaspy’s, boat transportation, and really everything at the resort can’t be beat. I talk out of both sides of my mouth as while I don’t love it, I just stayed there again in Sept because the rate was the best option among the MK resorts. I love the quick walk to/from the pools from SL.

GF RPC is a better overall CL experience, if that’s what you’re going for (with often a corresponding major difference in price). There’s just something ‘grand’ about being in the main building, and the lounge is a fantastic space overlooking the middle atrium. Think nightly music from the orchestra floating up as you enjoy a beverage of your choice. SL’s lounge is more interior/no views/no frills - it’s all function over form, whereas RPC has both.

As far as rooms, RPC rooms are up high and a view in nearly any direction is going to be good. SL has a variety of room views - ranging from direct plants to nice marina or courtyard pool views. I personally enjoy the higher up RPC room views better.

I share similar feelings with @mickeynut1, she said it well, in my opinion.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Stayed CL main building for one night NYE 2017 and a week this past Christmas at SL CL.

Although our stay in 2017 was limited got a pretty good idea of the advantages and disadvantages of the 2 locales. Want to store a large bottle of wine and it won't fit in your room's fridge? Walk to the main building's bell service as the SL doesn't have a full kitchen.

Have a perishable package delivered to the GF? Walk to the main building to pick it up quickly or wait for Bell Services to deliver it at an additional 10.00-15.00 charge. Actually the charge is the same whether you stay at the main building or not but but it's certainly easier to pick it up when staying at the main building during rainy weather.

Great views with no upcharge for the MK fireworks from the balconies of some rooms at the Sugar Loaf since the terrace juts out further than other rooms. We stayed in room 6311, which is also a wheelchair accessible room. About that accessible room - the automatic door opening was a mixed blessing. Great when bringing lounge offerings back to the room to consume once you pushed the heavy door up to the point the electronic system set in. Took forever to close so don't start changing your clothing when opened as all the world waiting for the elevator will see into your room for a minute ot two, LOL.
Rooms overlooking the interior courtyard of the lounge will be loud.

Don't recall what the nightly price difference is between the two different CL rooms but if it's more than fifty dollars I wouldn't pay for the main building.

I will say that the perishable goods delivered to the hotel were from Petrossian and Passmore Ranch and included four jars of 15-30 gms of caviar for a personalized tasting.
Was truly peeved that after being stored properly at the main building it turned out that our room's refrigerator was unplugged and we lost everything. Steeling myself for a "Battle Royal", I explained the loss to the lounge's concierge (always on duty as long as the lounge was open) and we recieved full credit for the cost. Was pleasantly surprised that Jordy was sympathetic and gave me no argument even though I'd come prepared with almost all the receipts and proof of delivery I thought was needed.
Nice touch to have the equivalent of a night's stay removed from the bill even though I weally weally wanted to eat the goodies and the bottle of Champagne I purchased especially for the caviar returned home w/ us. Sighhhh for first world issues gone wrong.

Next trip we are returning to BWI's CL since it's our current fav and cost less too.

 

[HairyChest]

I stayed first time club level in the main building last july. It was a split stay with a standard room in the big pine key building ( which is where I always stay). Honestly, I missed being in big pine key when we were in the main building!! The club level was nice but not worth it. The breakfast was the best part with the little egg tomato and spinach thing they had with bagels and pastries but we really missed walking through the back past the gardens and pool to our room when we stayed in the main building. it was convenient having the room right in the main building but the walk outside isn't long and the scenery is beautiful so if I book club level again it will be to try the polys.

 

[trishadono]

I book Sl and RPC depending on when I go, who with and $ at that time.

Summer months I love SL with pool just steps away!

With my mom RPC was great with its own smoking balcony right on the 3rd floor for her.

With my guys I did RPC because they tend to not like the parks and stay at the resort so when they were in the room I listened to the band etc.

Sometimes I do SL because it will be cheaper than CR and POly by $100's!!! I think, hmm why not???

The lounge isn't as nice as sl but the food is the same. I tend to take it up to the room and enjoy my balcony more at SL . I also think its easier to get to transport with the exception of the mono.

 

[NYCgrrl]

I book Sl and RPC depending on when I go, who with and $ at that time.

Summer months I love SL with pool just steps away!

With my mom RPC was great with its own smoking balcony right on the 3rd floor for her.

With my guys I did RPC because they tend to not like the parks and stay at the resort so when they were in the room I listened to the band etc.

Sometimes I do SL because it will be cheaper than CR and POly by $100's!!! I think, hmm why not???

The lounge isn't as nice as sl but the food is the same. I tend to take it up to the room and enjoy my balcony more at SL . I also think its easier to get to transport with the exception of the mono.

Leaving the bus from the front and then entering the resort from the back is great for entering SL for sure. As for the boat if I heard the boat's horn from the room there was generally enough time to make it to the dock and board before it left.

 

[emmabelle]

I love GF SL, we did it in 2014 and 2018. I have done BWI, YC, BC, Poly and WL, but I think GF had the most offerings in my opinion.

We are doing BWI CL in February but that's because of the 35% off for AP holders. I usually go with the best bargain.




I posted some pics from this past September at GF SL on this thread. Some of the food was a little fancy for me, but I still loved it.


https://disboards.com/threads/disne...-and-questions.3414590/page-930#post-59730189

 

[lala5176]

We have stayed both SL and RPC and we are staying in RPC for 10 nights this summer again. While we enjoy SL because of its location and proximity to the pool, Gasparilla Grill and marina, there is just something about RPC that can’t be beat. The elegance of the lobby and the music floating up to the lounge... I just love it. If you can comfortably make the change to the main building I always say go for it!!!

 

[Babsy]

WE have stayed in both RPC and SL. We love certain aspects of both.

SL:
Love the proximity to the pool, boat dock and Gasparilla's. It feels more convenient to stay here than the main building to us. I know, surprising, right? Rooms that we have had have views that ranged from a close up of a tree to nice marina or pool views. Not exciting, but fine for a park intensive trip. The food offerings are the same as those at RPC and the overall cost is much less. The 'lounge' is obviously fitted into the small lobby of the 'best' outer building, so it is small, cramped and has no view. It works as a place to grab breakfast on your way to the parks or as a place to sample an hors d'oeuvres in the evening. NOT a place to linger. Nice access to CM's right there on your way in and out.

RPC:
WOW! Staying here does feel special, but the price tag is commensurate with the experience. The lounge overlooks the lovely GF atrium and you hear the piano or band music often while enjoying the food and beverage offerings. Most rooms have nice views, although we have had a couple that were less than stellar, IMO. The TPV rooms are really nice though! The lounge is a nice place to relax and enjoy tea in the afternoons, to take your time over a leisurely breakfast or to have a drink and hors d'oeuvres before heading out to a nice dinner. Very much more a place to stop and smell the roses. You will want to take your time when staying here. This is a good choice if you plan a fair bit of resort relaxation.

Love both, but they are different experiences.

 

[toodycat]

I’ve stayed CL at SL a bunch of times, and RPC once. I think it really depends on how you want to use the hotel. I don’t use the CL lounge for much, except maybe a snack before dinner.( The food is essentially the same in both lounges, and frankly, I think CL offerings have been steadily declining since our first GF CL stay 17 years ago.) There was no significant difference in rooms, so to me the SL vs. RPC question is mostly about atmosphere and location. If I had used the RPC to listen to the band or watched the fireworks from our room, perhaps it would have seemed more special than it did. But, the only advantage to our particular WDW trip style was the quick walk to the monorail and shops. Otherwise, I prefer the Sugarloaf location withits proximity to the pool and dock. I don’t mind walking from Sugarloaf to the main building if need be because the GF landscaping is so beautiful. We have gotten amazing service from all the CMs at the GF no matter what building we’ve stayed in. I would stay in any building at the GF and be happy.

 

[meggiebeth]

I stayed CL in Sugar Loaf a few months ago and was very pleased. If it came to it yes I would probably prefer to stay in the main building, as the location and ambience of the lounge really appeals to me, and I feel that you’d get more out of the lobby staying there. That said, it was hundreds of dollars more than SL for us and so we chose to stay in the cheaper of the two. We definitely weren’t disappointed though. Our room had a great view of the pool, and we loved the food offerings and the convenience of the lounge. (Every time we entered/ exited our room we passed by the lounge and grabbed a few refreshments. They have drinks out all day and different food offerings at fixed times.) It was great having access to complimentary drinks whenever we wanted. We never got to try the evening hors d’œuvres, which I’m still disappointed about, but the desserts were excellent and the afternoon tea was lovely, with scones and delicious banana bread. From what I was told, the food offerings are the same at both CLs, so you wouldn’t be missing out there either way.

 

[Lovinallthingsdisney]

On our first stay at GF, we had booked SL and were given a spectacular upgrade to RPC. This was in late November and I can say NOTHING beats RPC at Christmas time! We stayed at SL the following year (May) and just thought it was meh. The room was very nice (overlooked the boat dock) and thankfully was down one of the halls and not in the atrium. It gets pretty noisy in that area. I found the lounge to be very crowded and it was difficult to find a table, especially during breakfast time.
Perhaps if we had NOT stayed RPC first, I would have liked SL more. The price point keeps me from staying RPC regularly, but with that said, I secured a great rate there for our February trip. We will see if we enjoy it as much this time.