Concierge Level. Perks???

[MickeyMaz]

I am looking for information about what it means to be at the Concierge level. I understand that you get food and drinks...is that complimentry? What other services are included?

Thanks for any info,

Maz

 

[Pakey]

Yes food and drinks are complimentary. In the morning, there is usually some sort of pastries and cereals/milk to eat and juices, coffee, tea to drink. In the late morning, there will be snacks and sodas. You could make a lunch out of it but it's really more of a snack. There are things like veggies and dips, pb&j sandwiches for the kiddies, usually one type a hot appetizer type dish. In the evening, there will be appetizers and some wine. Late evening there will be cordials and some little dessert type items. Some items will change daily but a lot of it will be the same each day.

There is a concierge lounge at each hotel where this is set up. Concierge guests have a special roomkey that grants them access to it. There will be tables and chairs to eat there and there will be a kids' area with a TV and little chairs/tables. There is a lot of debate by guests as to whether it's appropriate to fill up a backpack with free sodas/waters on the way out to the park, or loading a tray and going back to your room with a ton of food, but there are no strict rules and guests can do this if they want. We always eat in the lounge area and do not leave with "extra" stuff but that is just us.

Additionally, there will be concierge staff that are there dedicated to concierge guests (rather than having to use the one concierge in the main lobby). They are there to assist you with providing information, making reservations, etc.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

This past August when I was purchasing a 1 day pass and the Cast Member on the Atrium Club floor of the Contemporary who was helping me surprised me by getting me an after 4:00 PM convention ticket which was half the price of a regular 1 day pass. Now I was not there for a convention in fact I had no idea they had those kinds of tickets, so it's not like I asked for them. However this Cast Member told me once she found the correct code for them she was able to get them, without telling me about them at 1st and risk not getting the code. So it's soart of like getting my hopes up because I would have thought great I am paying half price, only to have her say it can not be done. So then I need to pay the full price. Anyway while that may not happen to every guest who stays on a Club Level floor or building at WDW, I thought that was a very nice thing this Cast Member did and it would not have happened anywhere else.

As for taking stuff back to your room and etc, the only thing my parents and I bring back our drinks to keep in the fridge. So we see no harm in that since all the other guests do it and the Cast Members never say a thing about it.

 

[IWISHFORDISNEY]

Not fighting the crowds at breakfast with a toddler was a huge plus, the lounge offerings and latte machine were wonderful. The little things the cast memebers did, like give little gifts to our son (his favorite was a little plastic safari jeep with a lion), and above all access to the sunrise safari at the AKL. OMG worth every single penny. Now we are hooked.

 

[TammiMcMan]

Well, technically the snacks and drinks aren't complimentary, when you factor in how much more you're paying per night over a standard room . Plus, you have to be in the lounge during the limited hours that the food service occurs. It's really supposed to be about receiving a higher level of service. For example, help with booking ADR's, helping with special celebrations, buying gifts, purchasing tickets, booking fireworks cruises, spa appointments, arranging transportation, etc. When you arrive on site, you have a private check in, on site staff to help you with any last minute plans, or replace a camera battery, or laptop cable you might have forgotten at home. At the AKL, you have exclusive access to booking the sunrise safari. There's also an Expedition safari that's offered to other club level guests.

All that being said, I really think that the service is not what it used to be. You see more and more reports of pre-planning staff not responding promptly to e-mails and you can very rarely even get someone on the phone. If you have experience staying on the concierge level at a non-Disney resort, you'll see that Disney has a very different definition of the service. I've really enjoyed it in the past, but I'd have a hard time paying extra for it now.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Tammi,
I agree with you that the drinks and etc are not complimentary since guests do pay extra for those rooms, so they are paying for the extra perks of staying Club Level at WDW. However when that comment gets made I think what they mean is how they are put out by the Cast Members which are there for the guests to take and it can be as many as they want.

 

[TammiMcMan]

However when that comment gets made I think what they mean is how they are put out by the Cast Members which are there for the guests to take and it can be as many as they want.

I'm sorry Jason, I didn't interpret it the same way at all. It appeared they understood that food/drinks were included and the question was what were the other services included.

 

[dannyh23]

This past August when I was purchasing a 1 day pass and the Cast Member on the Atrium Club floor of the Contemporary who was helping me surprised me by getting me an after 4:00 PM convention ticket which was half the price of a regular 1 day pass. Now I was not there for a convention in fact I had no idea they had those kinds of tickets, so it's not like I asked for them. However this Cast Member told me once she found the correct code for them she was able to get them, without telling me about them at 1st and risk not getting the code. So it's soart of like getting my hopes up because I would have thought great I am paying half price, only to have her say it can not be done. So then I need to pay the full price. Anyway while that may not happen to every guest who stays on a Club Level floor or building at WDW, I thought that was a very nice thing this Cast Member did and it would not have happened anywhere else.

CR Fan, This is NOT a normal ticket option, even for those paying for 'club level'. Unless you are staying for a convention, you are NOT entitiled to purchase that ticket. The CM was being nice and did you a favor, spreading the story over and over in a public forum doesn't help. BTW, I sent you a PM.

OP, here is a good detailed description with menus, etc.: http://www.allearsnet.com/acc/concierge.htm

 

[MickeyMaz]

OP, here is a good detailed description with menus, etc.: http://www.allearsnet.com/acc/concierge.htm

Thanks for the link. The downside to it was that the first 3 out of 4 reviews were negative to the GF Concierge experience.

 

[TammiMcMan]

Thanks for the link. The downside to it was that the first 3 out of 4 reviews were negative to the GF Concierge experience.

Which concierge level are you staying on at the GF?

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

CR Fan, This is NOT a normal ticket option, even for those paying for 'club level'. Unless you are staying for a convention, you are NOT entitiled to purchase that ticket. The CM was being nice and did you a favor, spreading the story over and over in a public forum doesn't help. BTW, I sent you a PM.

OP, here is a good detailed description with menus, etc.: http://www.allearsnet.com/acc/concierge.htm

Like I said before I realize that is not a normal ticket option, even for those who stay on Club Level floors. I admited before I was not staying there for a convention and you are right that this Cast Member was being nice by getting me this deal. As for me not being entitled to purchase that ticket I was willing to pay the full price for a 1 day pass, but if you were in my situation and the CM did you this favour, would you say no thanks I want to pay more? Since the CM had no problem with it, I don't think she did anything wrong, or I was wrong for accepting it. I only mentioned this story because it was a nice thing they did and I would bet that would never have happened if I was purchasing the ticket in the lobby Concierge desk. I do realize that this might not ever happen again for myself or other Club Level guests and I would never think of asking for this special ticket because I never got to WDW for a convention.

BTW I never got any PM from you.

 

[pixiechick]

Like I said before I realize that is not a normal ticket option, even for those who stay on Club Level floors. I admited before I was not staying there for a convention and you are right that this Cast Member was being nice by getting me this deal.

I think Danny's point was that the CM could be reprimanded now that the story is out here. Disney does monitor this board and many of us remember a CM who was fired because of something posted here.

OP: Tammi makes a good point about the times of offerings in the lounge. One concierge trip we made was during off season. If we wanted to attend a park in the evening, we missed most of the evening concierge hours because the parks closed at approx. the same time.

If your family is large enough to benefit from the food and drink/liquor service, then go for it. If you're looking to be treated specially, it gets "iffy". The only places I think get close to that are AKL and BWI. The others haven't impressed me. If we do concierge again, it will only be BWI. Just because we like the CMS there.

 

[klmall]

We've only splurged for concierge once before, enjoyed it and are doing so again next month. Whenever this kind of question comes up I think it's hard to answer. You might define perks a little differently than I would but basically for us, it is having a quieter floor in the resort, snacks and sodas, expresso etc. set out several times a day which we can enjoy in a lounge area or in our room, CMs available for questions and checking tickets, ADRs etc. without standing in resort concierge lines. In some resorts you'll have better room views and/or a larger room. With 3 adults staying together we like having a lounge to grab a light breakfast (we never do breakfast ADRs), wait in while someone showers and gets ready etc. We do spend some time at our resort so having all these little extras really attract us to concierge especially since we are going at holiday season this time. Yes, I know that we could supply own own snacks, change our own ADRs and save some money but not having to do it for ourselves is so nice (especially when you can get Concierge at AP rates).

You can also do a search for Concierge threads. There is lots of info on the DIS.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I think Danny's point was that the CM could be reprimanded now that the story is out here. Disney does monitor this board and many of us remember a CM who was fired because of something posted here.

I think since I never said the name of the Cast Member it's going to be hard to figure out who it was. Besides if it was wrong for the CM to do this why would they risk doing me the favour? If they thought it was ok then why would WDW care?

 

[TammiMcMan]

Besides if it was wrong for the CM to do this why would they risk doing me the favour?

Probably because they never thought it would be posted on a major Disney fan message board.

If they thought it was ok then why would WDW care?

If you haven't noticed, the DIS is now in the habit of editing out CM names. That's basically to protect them from getting into trouble. As previously mentioned, a CM was let go due to something posted on these boards. You've openly discussed the dates of your trips to the Atrium lounge and your identity and location is pretty apparent, so in reality, it wouldn't be all that difficult for Disney to launch an investigation. As a student of this industry, I'm sure it's something you want to be aware of. I think at this point, the best thing is to not discuss it again and hope there is no fallout for this particular CM. Hopefully I've made this as clear as possible.

 

[VAgal76]

OP - ITA with Tammy that you're paying for the extra level of service. I use the lounge for breakfast and to relax in (when that is possible - it gets pretty busy these days making it hard to find it relaxing). I hate to be redundant, but again I agree w/Tammy about whether or not it's worth it. For me it is worth it but only at certain resorts and under certain circumstances. I would only book concierge GF RPC, AKL and BWI personally. I've found I was treated the best at these resorts. Not that all the others are dogs or don't do a good job. Some CMs shine at the other resorts too. I just had my best experiences at these three resorts.

CR - What does bringing up the type of ticket the CM sold you had to do with this? It isn't a typical perk and it only confuses people or give them a sense of entitlement. Seriously, please think before you post. It would be one thing to share how concierge decorated a room for an occasion or sent flowers to give them praise for the extra PD, but posting about getting some like a ticket for nothing or a deep discount "because you're staying concierge" isn't a cool move. It just doesn't happen that way most of the time. People already complain about so many other things let's not throw something else in the mix to have them ponder and whine about.

 

[lookingforward]

I have stayed concierge at most of the resorts over the years. The service can be amazing and it can be just okay. I love the light breakfast option the most, it is such a seemless way to start our day. I think what CR Resort Fan 4 Life was trying to convey was that sometimes the castmembers that work concierge will go out of their way to make things special. I have had concierge cast members get us last minute hard to get dining ressies, and they have made my family members feel extra special for birthdays, etc.

Personally, I love AKL the best. GF RPC was nice but not great. We return to the POLY on the 40% discount code this December, its been five years since we stayed there in concierge.

I don't think disney is going to find out the cast member who gave the discounted ticket and punish them. They would have to figure out the posters real name, find out the dates of his stay and then narrow down the cast member who offended. Realistic? I'd be shocked.

 

[TammiMcMan]

I don't think disney is going to find out the cast member who gave the discounted ticket and punish them. They would have to figure out the posters real name, find out the dates of his stay and then narrow down the cast member who offended. Realistic? I'd be shocked.

I'm sorry to disagree, but it's really not that difficult or unrealistic, especially since so much posting is done on the internet. I just spent about 3 minutes looking and I know that posters name, location, plus a few other things. If the DIS search is working, within 5 minutes, you could probably come up with the dates of his families visits. I have no idea how serious an error it was for that particular CM to sell a convention ticket, but at the very least, it could mean a verbal warning to all the current employees on that floor. As I mentioned, it's part of the reason why the DIS edits out the names of CM's. It has happened before, so people should be very careful with what details they post. I'm sure his intent was not to be harmful, but in this case, it was TMI.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I think at this point, the best thing is to not discuss it again and hope there is no fallout for this particular CM. Hopefully I've made this as clear as possible.

Yes you have.

CR - What does bringing up the type of ticket the CM sold you had to do with this? It isn't a typical perk and it only confuses people or give them a sense of entitlement. Seriously, please think before you post. It would be one thing to share how concierge decorated a room for an occasion or sent flowers to give them praise for the extra PD, but posting about getting some like a ticket for nothing or a deep discount "because you're staying concierge" isn't a cool move. It just doesn't happen that way most of the time. People already complain about so many other things let's not throw something else in the mix to have them ponder and whine about.

I only mentioned it because it was a nice surprise when it happened, because it happened on a Club Level floor. If I had know it was not right to talk about this, I never would have mentioned it. I also said it was 99.9%chance it would never happen again to myself or other guests staying on Club Level floors and that this was not an everyday thing which happens.

 

[ElizabethB]

Unlike those who stay concierge or club level for the service, sorry -- we stay for the food. It helps to have snacks and drinks available for hungry teenagers, we like having easy access to breakfast, we bring food back to the rooms which is encouraged in GF RPC by the CM's and the fact that there are trays available, we enjoy a drink and desserts in the evening, etc. The service is nice, but, IMO, the value is in the food and drink offerings, not the service. The CM's we've met club level have been great, but I end up making most of my own ADR's anyway because I won't trust anyone else to get me things like V&A Chef's Table and highly in demand Food & Wine dinners.