Concierge/Club Level Information - Part III (October 2010)

[coopersmom]

Need help. I called today and got Club level prices for last week Jan/Feb. and 12th floor atrium club at CR are available still. I'm booked in Bay lake view now. W/AAA discount, it's still about $131.00 more per night! Question is- do you think I will use Club level enough to get my money's worth? The mixed reviews are scaring me.

Reasons for booking CL:
1. 4 and 3 old and 3 yr old naps so thought it would be nice to have the lounge to get snacks for 4 yr old, hang out in middle day for a short while, etc as we will be coming back mid-day everyday.
2. like to do rope drop everyday and it seems like CL would save us alot of time in the morning instead of CS or TS breakfast.
3. Adults would drink beer/wine in afternoon/evenings
4. It may be cold so watching Wishes in lounge (early in Jan at 8 pm) would be ideal and then put kids straight down to bed. We probably wouldn't keep kids at a park that late at night. Is View Very good from 12th?

Cons:
1. Price, Price and Price!
2. not sure if 4 yr old will like cold breakfast- he's a waffle/pancakes sort of kid so wondering if we will have to stop and get him something different which defeats purpose of CL breakfast!
3. I will make ADR's and do ALL planning myself
4. Husband is wine/beer snob (in wine business) so he may not like the offerings but I saw some good beers in the pics!!


Would LOVE your thoughts on whether Club Level would be worth it for our family of 4 at CR in late January!!

If you haven't already, I would suggest this thread for info about club level's worthiness: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2741091

Also, if you are even slightly picky about what wine you drink (i.e. you order anything in terms more than just "red" and "white" and prefer your wine from a bottle rather than a box) you will be pretty disappointed in the offerings. I suggest Wine Barn in Orlando. They have an amazing selection, offer great advice and deliver. I'm a total wine snob and we got a couple bottles from them to enjoy in the evenings while watching fireworks and just got glasses (when they were available ... a whole other rant, but Disney is the only hotel I have stayed in that couldn't readily provide glasses for a guest to drink from) from the club lounge. I think they could also have offered a corkscrew, but we went ahead and packed our own, just in case.

 

[WDWKOOK]

Need help. I called today and got Club level prices for last week Jan/Feb. and 12th floor atrium club at CR are available still. I'm booked in Bay lake view now. W/AAA discount, it's still about $131.00 more per night! Question is- do you think I will use Club level enough to get my money's worth? The mixed reviews are scaring me.

Reasons for booking CL:
1. 4 and 3 old and 3 yr old naps so thought it would be nice to have the lounge to get snacks for 4 yr old, hang out in middle day for a short while, etc as we will be coming back mid-day everyday.
2. like to do rope drop everyday and it seems like CL would save us alot of time in the morning instead of CS or TS breakfast.
3. Adults would drink beer/wine in afternoon/evenings
4. It may be cold so watching Wishes in lounge (early in Jan at 8 pm) would be ideal and then put kids straight down to bed. We probably wouldn't keep kids at a park that late at night. Is View Very good from 12th?

Cons:
1. Price, Price and Price!
2. not sure if 4 yr old will like cold breakfast- he's a waffle/pancakes sort of kid so wondering if we will have to stop and get him something different which defeats purpose of CL breakfast!
3. I will make ADR's and do ALL planning myself
4. Husband is wine/beer snob (in wine business) so he may not like the offerings but I saw some good beers in the pics!!


Would LOVE your thoughts on whether Club Level would be worth it for our family of 4 at CR in late January!!

So it's $131 more per night for a BLV non-CL room Vs. a BLV CL room? That's about $32 per person per day - just another way to look at it.

I've stayed CL at the CR last August and the lounge view is amazing both day and night. It's also nice to be on a restricted floor and getting turn-down service every night is a nice treat.

My family like a nice, hot breakfast, too so I make a few breakfast ADRs when we stay CL. The CLs do have a nice selection of beers, wine is more on the basic level. The appetizers were quite tasty in the evening and I like the lounge's décor.

I think you should look at CL as an added convenience for you with two small children. They can have milk and snacks and watch cartoons in the lounge while mom and dad take a breather and enjoy the breathtaking view. You can even take food and beverages back to your room and store soda and beer in your fridge for later when they're napping and you're sitting on your balcony

 

[aheaviside]

Thanks for those replies. Good info to think about it although that link has very mixed reviews again!

Yes, the club level bay lake view room is $131 dollars more than our bay lake view tower room we have booked.

I like it when you think 32/day pp because my husband and I would spend that on 3 beers/pp a night ($18), bottled water (6), breakfast (10-15), and coffee (5) easily each day and that doesn't include the snacks, hot apps, cokes, and desserts that we would take advantage of. Don't think either kid would use 32/day but that's ok.

I'm leaning towards it for sure....anyone else have CR Club reviews/thoughts!!

 

[pixarmom]

Thanks for those replies. Good info to think about it although that link has very mixed reviews again!

Yes, the club level bay lake view room is $131 dollars more than our bay lake view tower room we have booked.

I like it when you think 32/day pp because my husband and I would spend that on 3 beers/pp a night ($18), bottled water (6), breakfast (10-15), and coffee (5) easily each day and that doesn't include the snacks, hot apps, cokes, and desserts that we would take advantage of. Don't think either kid would use 32/day but that's ok.

I'm leaning towards it for sure....anyone else have CR Club reviews/thoughts!!

I'll just add a few additional thoughts regarding CL (although we don't have experience with CR.) We make all our own ADRs and don't ask lots of the CMs at IPO or at the resort. So we do use CL primarily for the lounge, but we have also seen CMs do some very nice things. One of our boys lost his shield from the Knights Package at BBB and the CL CM offered to replace it. By the time we returned from dinner, there was a replacement shield for our oldest son, lined up against the wall with his brothers' swords and shields. And based on advice from the BC/YC thread, I'm working with IPO (instead of Disney Florist) for a much more reasonably priced in-room pirate celebration for our boys in August.

There are also a few benefits for the kids that don't have a dollar amount attached. For example, our three boys like to keep going in the parks non-stop. But everyone likes the club lounge, so now the kids are up for a late afternoon break in the lounge - it's nice to see the kids happy about a break and the downtime is important for all of us. So for a little one who needs to return to the resort for a younger sibling to nap, that could be a draw!

Also, the snacks our kids eat in the lounge are relatively healthy - cheese, crackers, apples, milk, chicken and other hot appetizers with protein. No wait, no pre-packaged foods, limited requests for ice cream or popcorn, etc. in the parks. I also like not having to think about when and where to get them a snack, whether they are buying too much and wasting it, etc. In the lounge, they take a little and if they are still hungry, they can take a little more. But they don't waste and they don't overbuy snacks (as I mentioned in the other thread, my husband is otherwise very guilty of that!)

We do eat breakfast in the lounge most mornings because we all enjoy it, but on our last week-long trip we had breakfast ADRs at Ohana and Tusker House. We have a variety of breakfast preferences in our family (from hot breakfasts to continental breakfasts to mostly just coffee for me.) But the club lounge (with a couple ADRs) works for all of us.

Finally, we enjoy quality beer and good wine, but it's just not that big a deal to us for a quick glass before dinner. We'll order a better wine with dinner if that's important on a given night.

Our current threshold for booking CL is a difference of $100/night or less between CL and non-CL. So $131 is high. But there have been so many great room-only discounts over the past few years - I wonder if an even better rate will come along. We often book and then call back to adjust the price when Disney announces a new special offer.

Hope this helps - happy planning!

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Need help. I called today and got Club level prices for last week Jan/Feb. and 12th floor atrium club at CR are available still. I'm booked in Bay lake view now. W/AAA discount, it's still about $131.00 more per night! Question is- do you think I will use Club level enough to get my money's worth? The mixed reviews are scaring me.

Reasons for booking CL:
1. 4 and 3 old and 3 yr old naps so thought it would be nice to have the lounge to get snacks for 4 yr old, hang out in middle day for a short while, etc as we will be coming back mid-day everyday.
2. like to do rope drop everyday and it seems like CL would save us alot of time in the morning instead of CS or TS breakfast.
3. Adults would drink beer/wine in afternoon/evenings
4. It may be cold so watching Wishes in lounge (early in Jan at 8 pm) would be ideal and then put kids straight down to bed. We probably wouldn't keep kids at a park that late at night. Is View Very good from 12th?

Cons:
1. Price, Price and Price!
2. not sure if 4 yr old will like cold breakfast- he's a waffle/pancakes sort of kid so wondering if we will have to stop and get him something different which defeats purpose of CL breakfast!
3. I will make ADR's and do ALL planning myself
4. Husband is wine/beer snob (in wine business) so he may not like the offerings but I saw some good beers in the pics!!


Would LOVE your thoughts on whether Club Level would be worth it for our family of 4 at CR in late January!!

If you haven't seen it already here is a link to a menu that lists the food offerings from 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM in the Atrium Club lounge.
http://contemporaryresort.net/concierge_menu.html

 

[spreadingpixiedust]

Did you book your CR CL room with any discounts or offers? If not, you have time to wait for some to become available. That may make a huge difference for you since price seems to be the main concern.

Check other threads for discussions on known discounts. Also check with mousesavers.com and allears.com for info. You may have to keep checking but it could be just what you need. Others here may have more and better advice too.

Good Luck!

 

[aheaviside]

I booked our BL tower view w/a AAA discount of 15% but that's all that's available right now. I think you are right that I would enjoy club level alot b-ut I'm having trouble justifying the price. I'll keep a look out for discounts on this board and those sites. If I got 40% room discount, I would definitely book it. Im going at 1 of the slowest times of the yr (I think!!) so maybe just maybe we'll get a discount from Disney.

 

[Gipperland]

I booked our BL tower view w/a AAA discount of 15% but that's all that's available right now. I think you are right that I would enjoy club level alot b-ut I'm having trouble justifying the price. I'll keep a look out for discounts on this board and those sites. If I got 40% room discount, I would definitely book it. Im going at 1 of the slowest times of the yr (I think!!) so maybe just maybe we'll get a discount from Disney.

There is a discount offer available for Aug 14th and later. Depending on where you stay is what the discount is. Call Disney and talk to one of their reps. If you get a good one they are full of great info. We are going the beginning of Aug to the WL. We have 1 CL room and 1 reg room. We got 25% off. That is the best I could come up with.

Good luck.

 

[jlw29]

Odd question-- can you upgrade to CL benefits but have a room on a different floor? Simplified version of the situation - of four rooms, one wants club level services and lounge access but want all four rooms near each other which would have to be on a lower floor.

Thanks!

 

[dalmatian7]

We were assigned a HA room on the 7th floor in Sept of last year

We had one bc they are the rooms with king beds, we were on the side facing the Villas just off the lounge. Convenient and quiet. We actually requested that area on our second trip and had the room next door.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Odd question-- can you upgrade to CL benefits but have a room on a different floor? Simplified version of the situation - of four rooms, one wants club level services and lounge access but want all four rooms near each other which would have to be on a lower floor.

Thanks!

I don't think you can do that because the Cast Members in the lounge have a sheet of paper which lists all the Club Level rooms and if they are currently being occupied. This way they know what guests are supposed to be in the lounge and etc, so the lounge doesn't get any busier. Basically if the person wants to upgrade to Club Level it's best they accept one of the specifc Club Level rooms on it's specifc floor or building.

 

[BLTtinkerbell]

Odd question-- can you upgrade to CL benefits but have a room on a different floor? Simplified version of the situation - of four rooms, one wants club level services and lounge access but want all four rooms near each other which would have to be on a lower floor.

Thanks!

I think you could do this at BC if you booked a deluxe CL room.

 

[kaffinito]

Odd question-- can you upgrade to CL benefits but have a room on a different floor? Simplified version of the situation - of four rooms, one wants club level services and lounge access but want all four rooms near each other which would have to be on a lower floor.

Thanks!

Unfortunately if you book CL you will be in the CL block of rooms. You can't have a room in a different section in most resorts.

But you could, in some resorts, book CL, and have a CL room in the same section as non CL rooms. I know that AKL and BWI have some rooms like that, with CL rooms next to non CL rooms.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Unfortunately if you book CL you will be in the CL block of rooms. You can't have a room in a different section in most resorts.

But you could, in some resorts, book CL, and have a CL room in the same section as non CL rooms. I know that AKL and BWI have some rooms like that, with CL rooms next to non CL rooms.

Don't forget at the BWI that's only true for their Deluxe Rooms which have some located on their 3rd floor and as you know their lounge and other Deluxe Rooms are located on the 4th floor.

 

[spreadingpixiedust]

I just recently received a pin for 30'/. Disc on our cl rooms by using the "tricks" suggested on the dis boards. I am still hoping an even better disc comes along!
I have only stayed cl at Disneyland before but used it so much that it was a must for our nov trip to Disney world

 

[WDWKOOK]

Odd question-- can you upgrade to CL benefits but have a room on a different floor? Simplified version of the situation - of four rooms, one wants club level services and lounge access but want all four rooms near each other which would have to be on a lower floor.

Thanks!

At the WL, for example, the non-suite CL rooms are located on the 7th floor. Last Christmas, I booked a courtyard view - high floor request and at check-in we were upgraded to CL ACCESS, meaning, we were able to keep our regular balcony room on a non-CL floor, but we had full CL privileges. This actually turned out much better for us because all of the 7th floor CL rooms are dormer-type rooms which have standing-only balconies. We had a "normal" balcony, which I much preferred.

I would email the IPO and ask them if this is possible and explain that you want your rooms together, but only one in your party wants to have CL access.

BLTtinkerbell, Kaffinito and CRRF4L mentioned Deluxe rooms. If you are in a Deluxe room, which in the case of the BC is actually less expensive than a water view room on the CL floor, you would be on a non-CL floor. This is the case in a Deluxe room at WL, BWI, BC and YC. These rooms offer more square footage, usually in the form of a sitting area with an extra TV, sofa, coffee table and chair, but they are not suites and come with full CL privileges.

 

[aheaviside]

Do the club lounges get crowded...specifically the 12th floor Contemporary lounge? I think I read that 64 rooms share this lounge? Seems like that could be a lot of people. We are going during off season...late Jan/early Feb.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Do the club lounges get crowded...specifically the 12th floor Contemporary lounge? I think I read that 64 rooms share this lounge? Seems like that could be a lot of people. We are going during off season...late Jan/early Feb.

During my many stays up there we have never had problems getting tables and one reason is always going into the lounge before the food services begins.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

BLTtinkerbell, Kaffinito and CRRF4L mentioned Deluxe rooms. If you are in a Deluxe room, which in the case of the BC is actually less expensive than a water view room on the CL floor, you would be on a non-CL floor. This is the case in a Deluxe room at WL, BWI, BC and YC. These rooms offer more square footage, usually in the form of a sitting area with an extra TV, sofa, coffee table and chair, but they are not suites and come with full CL privileges.

I just wanted to say one more time that at the BWI besides having some of their Deluxe Club Level rooms on the 3rd floor they also have some on their 4th floor which is where the Innkeepers Club Level lounge is located. So anyone staying there with that specifc room category also has a chance to stay on their specifc floor with their Club Level rooms.

 

[ElizabethB]

A deluxe room at BC does not have an extra TV, a sofa or a chair. It does have more space, generally, than a regular room, but is furnished identically to a regular room. The bathroom is the same size and style as well. The BC deluxe room comes with Club Level service, but the rooms are not on the CL floor.