concierge worth it if you do not drink?

[Candice30]

i am planning a trip with my mother and keep flipping between staying in a standard room in a deluxe or splurging on concierge. my mom and i had breakfast at GF a few years back and fell in love with the resort. I have always wanted to stay there but am not sure the price on concierge will be worth it. i am also thinking of AKL as i love that resort and can always stay there. also thought the sunrise safari would be fun.

my question is: keeping this in mind, is the price of concierge worth the actual offerings in either AKL or GF (main bldg) lounges? my mother and i do not drink and alot of the reviews i read on these boards seem to include the savings they think they have from the alcohol provided in the lounge. since my mother and i will only be using the lounge for food, coffee, and soda, is the price worth it once the cost of alcohol is removed?

 

[PolyHereWeCome]

I don't drink alcohol either. On top of that, I don't drink coffee -- which is another big rave that people have about concierge.

However, I am confident that the experience that our two young children, my husband, and I will have will be super.

By the way, as you can see from my footer, we'll be at the Poly.

 

[webray]

Alcohol doesn't really play a big factor...we look more at the offerings and how we are treated.

AKL concierge is wonderful, outstanding, spectacular.

GF concierge..those castmembers could care less if you are there or not..and really do not understand their jobs. We did it once..won't ever do it again.
The food offerings are nothing special either..they don't even know enough to chill the bottled water..lol, they give you ice to put it in..jeesh.

 

[kirbsam]

For us, it is the convenience that makes it worth it. Getting up in the morning, and strolling down to the lounge for breakfast while others are getting ready. When you stay 5 to a room, getting ready in the morning if you all are going to be somewhere at the same time is a mess. So it is so convenient for me the early riser to get ready and instead of sitting around the room waiting for everybody else, I can go to the lounge read the paper and eat breakfast while the rest of my party straggles in. The convenience of coming back from the parks anytime, and stopping by the lounge for a snack, appetizer, water, soda, etc. is very nice. I don't need to feel pampered or anything like that. I work hard and have much stress in my job, anything that makes my life easier and less stressful for me is a good thing. I can't put a price on it.

 

[CaipiraBob]

ABSOLUTELY!

The concierge level provides personalized itinerary planning, the convenience of a lounge with multiple "snack" services and generally better service.

Nothing to do with drinks. In all the times we've stayed concierge at Disney, I think we've had maybe two or three nights where we stopped and poured a glass of wine or maybe amaretto before we head out in the evening to "play".

I dunno, the mental image of 4 or 5 "rummies" lining up in the lounge screaming for the evening cordials...lol!

 

[PrincessTrisha]

Also, with the AKL concierge, they have special safari's you can book (for an additional price) which may make a concierge stay (at least for a night or two) worth it.

 

[stinkerbelle]

Also, with the AKL concierge, they have special safari's you can book (for an additional price) which may make a concierge stay (at least for a night or two) worth it.

ditto! The sunrise and sunset safari are only available to AKL concierge guests. (I believe this is the only concierge that actually offers something above and beyond like this.)

We love the ability to have breakfast in the lounge (we're not "big breakfast" people - so fruit/muffins/cereals/bagels are good for us) and to go grab a coffee whenever we want. Yes, i do enjoy the wines they have, but more often then not, we miss that 'time' being out in the parks or out to dinner.

Can you tell we LOVE AKL concierge?...and if you love coffee, you'll LOVE the cappuccino machine up in the lounge!

My MIL was dead set on wanting to go to the GF...but we just couldn't get the room at a decent price...after 2 days at AKL concierge, she fell in love with the place.

 

[kpm76]

We stayed Poly an WL Concierge and loved them both! The level of service we received was great....i.e. calling before our trip to see if they could make any PSs for us or if there is anything else they can do....and once we were there, we relied on the staff a few times to make PSs for us that were last minute decisions. We're not big drinkers so free alcohol never played a factor in our decison. What we did love, however, was being able to get up in the morning and have a nice breakfast before heading out for the day. We also really enjoyed the snacks provided throughout the day. We're AP holders so we were able to get good rates for our stay last Fall...rack rate can be steep. Overall, CL is a nice experience and I'd definitely do it again...good luck with your decision.

 

[Cinderella37]

For us, the food and drink that's provided is more of a bonus. We stay concierge for the service. We've only ever stayed at the GF concierge and Poly concierge and the currently, the BWI concierge, but I've heard wonderful things about the AKL. I completely agree with Webray - don't waste your money with GF concierge. It will be a most unpleasant experience.

 

[Deb & Bill]

We've done AKL concierge so that we could get the Sunrise Safari. We did GF Concierge (Sugar Loaf) as a treat. Sugar Loaf is right near the leisure pool, so it was nice to be able to run into the building, get some lemonade and some cookies and then run back out to the pool. I liked the food treats and the lemonade more than any coffee or alcoholic beverages (we don't drink in our family).

 

[nrsldy]

I loved AKL concierge!!!!! The Sunrise Safari was great!
Would do it in a heart beat again. The IPO staff was great.

 

[minniesota]

I have stayed at GF many times and stayed RPC this past October and December. I have always had a fabulous stay whether it was concierge or not. It is a beautiful resort and I have always found the staff to be very professional and accommodating. While the planning office CMs didn't come across as "warm and fuzzy", they did accomplish every request we made before our trip. As far as value goes, our October trip included 8 of us so the price of breakfasts alone were covered in the concierge cost. We also enjoyed several evenings in the lounge for appetizers and/or a light meal if we'd had a bigger lunch. We did enjoy the wine and cordials but they seemed like icing on the cake. When it was just DH and me in December, staying in the main building concierge was kind of a splurge. Our room was huge and very luxurious so we felt like we were paying for the real estate, not so much the offerings - though we did enjoy them. Since it's just you and your mom, I think you have to look at concierge as more of an experience rather than if the offerings will make up for the cost. I know my mom was absolutely wowed by RPC in October - only she never wanted to leave the resort! I think she would have loved staying in a regular garden view or lagoon view room too. She just loved the GF!

 

[Tink561]

We just had our first concierge stay a couple of weeks ago and that was at the Poly. We loved it and it was well worth the money for our family. I had a glass of wine a couple of nights, but that's it. The service was great and we enjoyed having breakfast as well as desserts at night.

I definitely think you should go for concierge!

 

[ducklite]

my question is: keeping this in mind, is the price of concierge worth the actual offerings in either AKL or GF (main bldg) lounges?

If this is your bottom line, then NO you will not recoup the cost of snacks and continental breakfast with the additional cost for CL.

You are not paying for a food plan, you are paying for extended service and privacy.

That said, the Sunrise safari is wonderful--although as an FYI that also has an additional cost of about $50 per adult. It is not free to concierge guests.

Anne

 

[Dana49]

I'm probably in the minority regarding concierge. We stayed in Yacht Club concierge in April. With our 18-year old son, it was definitely worth the extra money. For my wife and I, we decided against it in November. It is very nice having food, alcohol, and soft beverages anytime you want them. The level of service is fantastic. However, we couldn't eat or drink enough to justify the extra cost. If I were asked, I would say that you should do some math and see if it's worth the extra cost for you. If so, enjoy because it's probably the best service you will ever receive.