Concierge question

[michmouse]

I have never stayed concierge, how do you justify the extra $110 or more per night? From what I have read that is a lot of $ to pay for continental style breakfast, light evening snacks and deserts, and having someone else make your PS arrangements. Is there something I am missing?

 

[ReneeDisney]

Hello. Concierge is all a matter of personal choice. I like having the extra magic added in my vacation and working with a planner before we arrive, for PS, room requests, E-ride tickets, etc. The Concierge staff make you feel extremely welcome. For us it makes our trip more special.....

I don't consider it paying "extra" money, as so much as that is the cost for concierge. Also, we don't rely on the lounge and its food offerings for meals (except Breakfast on occasion), but we do love the snacks and drinks. Don't get me wrong, we enjoy the liounge, but don't use them in place of meals, as we wouldn't miss eating at the WDW restaraunts either!
Therefore, it really is all a matter of choice. Whatever you choose, make sure it is economical for your family and that you enjoy your trip, no matter what level you choose to stay!

 

[karemore]

No, you aren't missing anything.

Some people just like to splurge and feel pampered a bit.

We stayed at the GF for our honeymoon and enjoyed the concierge lounge and the attention from the staff, but we'll probably never do it again.

I made a point of looking at some of the rooms in the other buildings and they looked exactly like our room in the main building.

The food, drinks, wine, and especially the desserts were outstanding in the concierge lounge, but not worth the extra money.

We asked the conceirge staff to make a PS for us at Park Fare before we left home and they were unable to get it for us....so they can't always get what you want any more then you can on your own.

And our room was still occupied by the previous guest when we were escorted up, so glitches, BIG glitches still occur when you stay cl.

For us, it would never be worth the extra money.

Next trip we'll spend the money on meals at restaurants we want to try...and we'll make the PSs from home.

Karen

 

[TammiMcMan]

There are many different reasons why people choose to stay in concierge. For some, not having to be on hold at 6:55am for those hard to get CRT ps's, is justification enough. There are those vacationers that use the concierge pre-planners for much more than just ps's. They can help to set up magical private dining experiences with family and/or friends. Just check out any of the trip reports made by Janet2k to see what I mean.

For us, we truly enjoy spending a lot of time at the resort, therefore we get plenty of use out of the concierge lounge. We are not big breakfast eaters, so a bowl of cereal, some fruit and bagels is perfect for us to start the day. AKL offers a special sunrise or sunset safari to their concierge guests and many will tell you that's it's very worthwhile to them. I believe most of the concierge resorts also offer a private check in service, where you are met by a greeter and escorted either to the lounge, or even straight to your room. Not a big deal for everyone, but a nice feature. I enjoy personal service and I like it when I'm greeted by name. It's just a level of service that some people are willing to pay extra for. As far as justifying the cost though, it's all a matter of personal opinion.

HTH,

Tammi

 

[splashfamily]

I just finished speaking with the Concierge desk at the Poly. I spoke with Daisy who was very helpful and accomadating She was able to book us, all our PS at our favorite restuarts. In addtion, she got us an excellent time slot for the Fanstamic package w/dining at the Brown Derby. Daisy was helpful in arranging a special surpirse for our son's b-day too. I am glad we are spending the extra dollars, it's already worth it and we haven't even had any snacks yet!

 

[TwingleMum]

Concierge makes sense to us right now. I have very small children so we spend more time at the resorts than the parks. Its nice to have the food offerings to snack on while they nap or go to bed early. My DH would go and get us dessert and cordials everynight and we would sit out on the balcony while the kids slept. Would it make sense when the kids are older and we're more in commando mode, possibly not. But then again , we can afford it and if we decide to why not? Don't get me wrong we're not deluxe only snobs. Next trip DH wants to spend 2 nights at ASMO toy Story. Our goal is to stay at every resort. So its a decision only you can make. I certainly wouldn't go into debt to do concierge , there are too many less expensive resorts that are wonderful but if you can its a nice experience.

 

[inthemood]

Concierge makes sense to us right now. I have very small children so we spend more time at the resorts than the parks. Its nice to have the food offerings to snack on while they nap or go to bed early. My DH would go and get us dessert and cordials everynight and we would sit out on the balcony while the kids slept

This is exactly what I was going to post!!

 

[WendyinNC]

Originally posted by inthemood
This is exactly what I was going to post!!

Me too.

I love waking up in the morning and going down the hall for coffee and breakfast while everyone else is still asleep.

The little ones are always hungry and always thirsty; but, never eat or drink very much. The evening snacks were enough to fill them up. I also think they ate better - fruit, cheese, and veggie and dip rather than hot dogs and french fries.

Here is what I received at the Poly last summer - two jog strollers for our entire stay to take into the parks and use at the resort, water, soda's, milk, breakfast, light dinner and my evening glass of wine. Not to mention all the help from the staff.

 

[ducklite]

If you think of concierge as a meal plan, then no, it doesn't make sense. You are paying for a higher level of service, some special amenities and perks, and a higher degree of privacy.

If you have no problem paying for things that can't be qualified with a price tag, then you'll enjoy it. But if you want to see an actual financial ROI, it's not going to be there for you.

Anne

 

[michmouse]

I guess what I am looking for is what are the extra perks, higher levels of privacy, and special services?

 

[ducklite]

Most of the resorts offer private check-in in the concierge lounge. No waiting in line at the front desk.

A private lounge to relax in. The lounges at the BWI, Polyneisian, AKL are the most relaxing IMHO.

Robes in your room, nightly turn down service, often the best tables at restaurants, hard to get dining help.

Perks which vary resort to resort, at the Gf they have a few slots each day for Cinderellas Royal Table CB, at the Polynesian they have strollers to borrow, at the AKL the Sunrise and Sunset safari's, the list goes on.

Anne

 

[lovesdumbo]

I've stay Poly LVC twice and am looking forward to 3rd trip in Oct. The convenience of having the lounge is worth the price. So nice to just go down the hall to grab the milk or juice box or snack for the kids and with 3 toddlers I probably did save close to that $100/day on breakfast and milk. There is a free fridge in the room also.

I do love the private check in. Bell services brings you right to your room if ready and then when your ready you go check in. It is so nice to grab a snack from the lounge and breath for a few moments after the long trip.

I also do like that you need a concierge key to get in the building-seems a bit safer to me.

Concierge arranged a great birthday cake for my DS for a party at CP in Jan. and were able to get CRT on both trips-one on very short notice.

Also I had shipped a package to the hotel (diapers, wipes, extra clothes) and it was in our room waiting for us. The packages I had sent back to the hotel from purchases in the parks were also delivered right to our room. When we left I needed to send a box home and concierge took care of that too.

 

[wdwfan]

I was just emailed by my intinerary planner about the gifts I wanted purchased for my children ahead of time, and she just let me know that she has the gifts. She took care of all my ps. All I did was email her my selections with days and times and she took care of it in a very timely manner. I also wanted tickets to Cirque, which I purchased only 3 months ahead of the date we were going and she got them for us. I also needed to switch days after the purchase and she arranged the switch (for Cirque). She booked my Illuminations Cruise for me. She has just been wonderful! I would definetly miss not staying concierge.

 

[mirlow]

We enjoy our stays at the Polynesian and AKL. I love the lounge to both resorts. It's very relaxing and you have a place to go if your room isn't ready or if you are checking out later on in the day.
One of the main reasons I stay in concierge while at the Polynesian is because I'm guaranteed the Hawaii longhouse. I think this longhouse is in the perfect location for our family.
We need a deluxe room at the AKL so it makes sense for us to go on and do concierge.
These and all of the other responses below just add up to making our vacation a more relaxing family get away

BTW will be at the Polynesian LVC in 2 days