Concierge - comparisons

Bakerswife

Earning My Ears
Joined
Mar 8, 2005
Messages
64
I am dying to try concierge out. Can someone give me the run down/comparison of the ones that are out there for all of the hotels that have them? I have heard great things about one of the ones at CR. What is the one at Poly like? GF? How does WL compare?

BW
 
Been on here for a while and the general feeling is that Polynesian, and AKL are the best with the GF being next only because they have had some issues on occasion. GF also has full concierge in the main building and light concierge in their Sugarloaf building.

Polynesian has it's own concierge building (Hawaii) with a view of the castle and fireworks from it's lounge.

AKL offers the Sunrise Safari and Sunset Safari.

I think these things probably set them apart from the others along with their wonderful selection of snacks and drinks.

ETA-BWI is actually my personal fav!! and their IPO is the BEST!
 
I'm guessing it depends on what flavor you like. I wasn't thrilled with WL. I would love to try the Poly next and there are quite a few Poly fans. ;) My best experience has been with AKL with a close runner up of Epcot areas resorts - BWI followed by BC. AKL is leading because the lounge is more spacious and the ability to go on safari! The IPO's for AKL & Epcot resorts are the best hands down IMO. That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy CR this past summer. The ladies on the 14th floor took incredible care of our family while we were visiting despite the oopsies we had. You just can't beat the view we had @ CR either.

Is this your first visit to WDW? Are you looking to stay in MK or Epcot area? We need details, details! :rotfl:
 
Hi :)

We've stayed at the Polynesian concierge twice, and the Wilderness Lodge concierge once. We liked them both, but they also are very, very different, with a big difference in rates! (prices).

The Wilderness Lodge's concierge is located on the 7th (top) floor of the resort. From up there you get a wonderful view of that gorgeous lobby. To my DH and myself, the lobby is the best feature of the resort, with proximity to the Magic Kingdom (icluding boat transportation), second.

There is a "new" concierge room on the 7th floor where they place all of the food offerings, plates, drinks, silverware, etc, but the seating is still out along the 7th floor itself. (Previous to this new room being built, the food was placed on tables in the hallway). There are small and large tables with chairs and there are very comfortable leather sofa/chair/coffee table seating groups so you can sit with your food and drink, and look out over the lobby. (There are also some seating groups that face the 2 large flat panel plasma tv sets).
We *really* enjoyed sitting and looking down at the lobby each morning while having our breakfast. Some people see the lack of an actual "lounge" (Separate room with couches, tables, chairs, tv, etc) as a negative, but since we love the lobby so much, we enjoyed every moment we were there :)

The Polynesian concierge is in a building by itself, the Hawaii building, and only people who are staying there have access to it through their room cards.

One entire end of the building (the end closest to the volcano pool) is the concierge desk area (on the first floor) and the lounge (2nd and 3rd floors). The walls that face out to the lagoon and Magic Kingdom are floor-to-ceiling glass, so you can watch the fireworks and see the castle from the lounge.

The back of the lounge on the 2nd floor is where the floor offerings are set up. This entire building was recently redecorated and it really looks beautiful. There's also a small glass-door fridge that holds cans of soda and boxes of chocolate milk, skim milk, and whole milk that guests can help themselves to. There's a small children's sitting area, including a flat panel plasma tv.

Up on the third floor, there is another flat panel plasma tv and couches, and tables and chairs, and board games that you play. This part of the lounge overlooks the second floor of the lounge, and it also looks straight out to the castle.

I have a lot of pictures of both of these concierge lounges on my web site. Click the link below, then scroll down just a little to see my most recent pictures from the Polynesian concierge, we just got back 2 weeks ago. Right beneath that are the links to the Wilderness Lodge and the Polynesian which are from this past summer.

Enjoy! :sunny:

P.S. Oh, to answer ypur question "How do they compare?" I'd have to be honest and say that if your finances permit, stay at the Polynesian concierge in a lagoon view room (garden views would be nice too) as your first choice, and the Wilderness Lodge concierge as second choice (much less $$$).
We DID love the Wilderness Lodge, but our opinion is that the Polynesian concierge lagoon view rooms cannot be beat :sunny:
 

Have tried all but CR 12th floor and GF RPC (doing that in January).

AKL and PR are the best, although so far we've started off well with RPC. I wouldn't do GF Lodge ever again.

I don't like the WL setup, even with the rehab it's still an afterthought. I do'nt like having the desks right by the elevators so you ahve to stand to take care of business and get bumped by people getting off the elevator.

AKL has excellent service and lots of perks, and at the PR you can't beat the view.

We also very much enjoyed the BWI, more of a B&B feel.

The YC we had some issues, BC was OK.

ANne
 
You've received some great information here in regards to what's offered at each resort, but it's not an apples to apples situation when you're trying to compare. Each one is very different in terms of theme, overall feel, location, many things that are more intangible. We all definitely have our favorites, but I think it's more for personal reasons than anything else. I'd honestly suggest that you choose based on what resort appeals to you the most. Even a great concierge level won't make up for a resort that doesn't fit your families style or needs.
 
Tammi - I could not have said it better myself. :flower: Many of us have our favorites. :paw: ALK lover here. The bottom line is what theme do you think you would enjoy the most.

Has anyone heard about the food choices in the lounges being changed at all the resorts to be the SAME. From what I have heard they want all concieges to be uniform. Anyone have any information on that?
 
Angel16 said:
Has anyone heard about the food choices in the lounges being changed at all the resorts to be the SAME. From what I have heard they want all concieges to be uniform. Anyone have any information on that?
I hope not. Part of the charm is that the food served goes along with the theme of the resort and I thought it actually came from that particular resorts restaurants. That would be too bad if they all became cookie cutter molds of each other.
 
LvsTnk said:
GF also has full concierge in the main building and light concierge in their Sugarloaf building.


I thought that Sugarloaf Concierge was full service now?
 
ducklite said:
Have tried all but CR 12th floor and GF RPC (doing that in January).

AKL and PR are the best, although so far we've started off well with RPC. I wouldn't do GF Lodge ever again.

I don't like the WL setup, even with the rehab it's still an afterthought. I do'nt like having the desks right by the elevators so you ahve to stand to take care of business and get bumped by people getting off the elevator.

AKL has excellent service and lots of perks, and at the PR you can't beat the view.

We also very much enjoyed the BWI, more of a B&B feel.

The YC we had some issues, BC was OK.

ANne

Anne - thinking of doing Poly GVC in July. Last year we had a lagoon room GF. Would you recommend Poly GVC over Poly lagoon room? Unfortunately we're doing too many trips this year to be able to do Poly LVC.

Or would you put AKL Concierge above the Poly? You are the expert!
 
DisneyMomx7 said:
Anne - thinking of doing Poly GVC in July. Last year we had a lagoon room GF. Would you recommend Poly GVC over Poly lagoon room? Unfortunately we're doing too many trips this year to be able to do Poly LVC.

Or would you put AKL Concierge above the Poly? You are the expert!

If you plan on spending most of your time at the MK, then the Polynesian might be a better choice. I really like both equally for different reasons.

Anne
 
While I haven't stayed concierge yet (our trip is coming in December at BWI), I can say that the IPO has been just fantastic - very quick, pleasant, helpful and just great. They handle YC/BC and BWI. We chose BWI because we love the Epcot resorts; we've never stayed at BWI, but have stayed several times at BWV and just love the location. So I think others are correct when they say that you want to take the resort itself into consideration when making you decision - if it isn't a location/style that you like, it may not matter if the concierge is great.
 
Sorry guys didn't know they changed Sugarloaf to full concierge. Like Tammi said that resort really doesn't appeal to me ;) That and the additional changes to the Contemporary are a good thing.

But I will say that when spending the extra money on the concierge level unless it doesn't matter to you that I would be pretty dissapointed in what some of the resorts offered. If some are going to spend that kind of money I am sure they would want the whole package and some just stop short of that.

That's why I said the BWI was my personal favorite because I definately think some of the other resorts offer more.
 
pedro2112 said:
I thought that Sugarloaf Concierge was full service now?

It is. We love it because there is NO tv! :goodvibes
 
VAgal76 said:
I'm guessing it depends on what flavor you like. I wasn't thrilled with WL. I would love to try the Poly next and there are quite a few Poly fans. ;) My best experience has been with AKL with a close runner up of Epcot areas resorts - BWI followed by BC. AKL is leading because the lounge is more spacious and the ability to go on safari! The IPO's for AKL & Epcot resorts are the best hands down IMO. That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy CR this past summer. The ladies on the 14th floor took incredible care of our family while we were visiting despite the oopsies we had. You just can't beat the view we had @ CR either.

Is this your first visit to WDW? Are you looking to stay in MK or Epcot area? We need details, details! :rotfl:

Actually we just got back from a 9 night stay - 2 days Pop and 7 days WLV! LOVED IT! Can't wait to go back. Need to convince hubby of concierge!
 
We have stayed at the Poly GVC and BWI concierge and really enjoyed both. I agree with Tammi that you should pick the resort that fits your family best. When we travelled with our four kids (ages 14, 10, 7, and 2)they LOVED the Polynesian. They liked being on the monorail and watching the fireworks before bed, so much so that they insisted on it over GF for our December trip. Now when we travelled alone, we stayed at the BWI and found it to be very elegant and romantic, but not as small child friendly. It was definitely more adult. We would go back in a heart beat, we loved it there, maybe more than the Polynesian, the staff is INCREDIBLE. The planning staff, I felt, was superior at the BWI.
 
Bakerswife said:
Actually we just got back from a 9 night stay - 2 days Pop and 7 days WLV! LOVED IT! Can't wait to go back. Need to convince hubby of concierge!

Staying in a villa and staying on the other side of the resort in a room, concierge or not, are two very different experiences. The Villas feel more spacious, even in a studio, than the regular rooms.

While the WL is a lovely resort, their concierge is just not up to snuff. My biggest issue--having to stand at a counter to talk to the concierge staff outside the elevators with people coming and going, I felt more comfortable dealing with the front desk where you at least had a foot or two of personal space!

Anne
 
Not sure if this change has been made yet, but when we were at WL concierge in July, the CMs told us that the desks will be moved out of the hallway near the elevators, to a new space. I didn't ask specifically where, but I got the impression it'd be a new room, similar to how they created the new room for the food offerings.
 
We have stayed at Poly GVC two times and absolutely loved it. I'm not sure it's worth the extra $ for LVC. We enjoy sitting on the beach with our toes in the sand to watch the fireworks. DS loves the pool at Poly and the monorail.

In July we are going to try AKL Concierge and DS is not at all happy about it. He's mad that the monorail won't be so easy to take. He is a big animal lover and I'm sure that once he sees the animals from our room and goes on the Sunrise Safari he will be fine with the change.

Wherever you decide to stay you should have a wonderful time!
 


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