Resort Thread Disney's Club Level (CL) Thread

[Eastern]

One option available at a very attractive AP discount is a BWI cottage room (“Outer Bldg - Garden Room - Club Level Access”). Over the years I’ve read the pros/cons about the BWI cottage rooms but have never really studied them in detail. BWI CL is on my bucket list but don’t really want to blow a weekend with a room location that has more negatives than positives.

Anyone care to share experiences, pros, cons, thoughts on the cottage rooms? Appreciate the help!

Another option available is a Standard Room-Club Level, but at the rack rate ($125 per night higher than the cottage room with an AP discount).

I haven't stayed in the cottage rooms but I was in a room across from the cottages. I thought it was a pain going back and forth from the parks because we had to walk up a big set of stairs and then back down each time to get to the boardwalk area (someone tell me if I was doing it wrong). So that is a negative. The positive is the price: $125/per night cheaper would make me choose the cottage. Use the stairs to walk off all the calories. As mentioned, there is easy access to the quiet pool.

The boardwalk view from the deluxe CL room is nice, but again, I don't think worth $125/night, so I don't think the std room would be worth it, either.

 

[KerryCM]

Question/opinions requested from the group.

I’m working on planning an adults only four night trip in Feb. It’s over the Princess Half weekend so room and discount availability property-wide is not in my favor (my fault for waiting late to book). Would prefer Epcot area 1) to try something new and 2) walkability to Epcot.

One option available at a very attractive AP discount is a BWI cottage room (“Outer Bldg - Garden Room - Club Level Access”). Over the years I’ve read the pros/cons about the BWI cottage rooms but have never really studied them in detail. BWI CL is on my bucket list but don’t really want to blow a weekend with a room location that has more negatives than positives.

Anyone care to share experiences, pros, cons, thoughts on the cottage rooms? Appreciate the help!

Another option available is a Standard Room-Club Level, but at the rack rate ($125 per night higher than the cottage room with an AP discount).

I love the BWI, but just just could never bring myself to stay in a cottage. I don’t like the first floor rooms their either. When staying club level there I would much rather be in a standard room than the cottages.

 

[Eastern]

I love the BWI, but just just could never bring myself to stay in a cottage. I don’t like the first floor rooms their either. When staying club level there I would much rather be in a standard room than the cottages.

I know but for $125 per night cheaper? I think it's worth the extra 5 minutes walk to get to the lounge. And it makes you healthier!

 

[focusondisney]

We stayed in a cottage room at BW several years ago. While they are cute, they really aren't "practical". As the 2 posters above note, it is very inconvenient to get to & from these rooms. There is no direct access to the Boardwalk from them, you have to go thru internal hallways to get there. To get to the lounge, you have to go outside, then inside, up an elevator, down a hallway, scan your band into the secure area & go down another hall. Yea, not easy to just pop in for a beverage or to check out what is being offered. We found we did not use the lounge as much as we do at other resorts because it is so inconvenient.

There is no view to speak of from them. The outside gardens are pretty, but except for coming & going, we didn't spend any time admiring them. It was nice to have a living room area to relax & watch tv & the extra 1/2 bath came was certainly helpful in the morning when we were getting ready to leave. One thing that surprised me was the stairs. We live in a 2 story home, I am up & down the stairs at least 20 times a day at home. So I am used to climbing stairs. But after a day in the park, I was not too happpy to be climbing stairs to get to bed. I was really surprised how sore my legs were when I went up to bed at night.

I still think they are cute & a nice treat. And I can certainly see booking them if it will save you money. But just know they are not really convenient to club level services & the parks.

 

[focusondisney]

I know but for $125 per night cheaper? I think it's worth the extra 5 minutes walk to get to the lounge. And it makes you healthier!

The only thing is, if it is so inconvenient to get to the lounge from there, you might be better off skipping club level altogether & just book a regular room. We found we did not use the lounge in the afternoons or evenings as we do at other resorts because it was so inconvenient. Having stayed in 1 before, I think they are cute if you are looking for a different, unique room. But for a typical "going to the parks" vacation, I would probably book a regular room over 1 of these cottages.

 

[Eastern]

The only thing is, if it is so inconvenient to get to the lounge from there, you might be better off skipping club level altogether & just book a regular room. We found we did not use the lounge in the afternoons or evenings as we do at other resorts because it was so inconvenient. Having stayed in 1 before, I think they are cute if you are looking for a different, unique room. But for a typical "going to the parks" vacation, I would probably book a regular room over 1 of these cottages.

In the whole walking-at-Disney scheme of things, it's a drop in the bucket to get from the room to the lounge. We usually leave from the lounge right after breakfast and stop for at least an hour in the evening, so it would work for me (usually skip the afternoons). It wouldn't be as convenient if you like to pop in for a cup of coffee or go back and forth to your room bringing glasses of wine or a handful of goldfish crackers.

Obviously more people think it's too inconvenient as seen by the discounted price. You have to think about how you want to use the lounge.

 

[Happy_2_B]

EDT

 

[CogsworthTN]

I recommend to definitely enjoy the club level lounge at BWI. We consider each club level CM part of our family because they have made my DH and myself part of their family. The food is great. The past two visits a chef has been there every evening to prepare appetizers. We have stayed club level at the BWI three times and have two trips booked for 2018. To us it’s the perfect “adult” Disney vacation resort. Staying in the cottages is on my bucket list. If I could get it cheaper than a standard club level room I would book!

 

[RachelTori]

I will be staying in a cottage room next month! I love BWI's Club Level and when we booked this trip, there was no availability for standard or deluxe cl rooms; the cottage was our only option. The walk won't bother me -- AKL-CL got me used to that!

 

[Disneytam]

I haven't stayed in the cottage rooms but I was in a room across from the cottages. I thought it was a pain going back and forth from the parks because we had to walk up a big set of stairs and then back down each time to get to the boardwalk area (someone tell me if I was doing it wrong). So that is a negative. The positive is the price: $125/per night cheaper would make me choose the cottage. Use the stairs to walk off all the calories. As mentioned, there is easy access to the quiet pool.

The boardwalk view from the deluxe CL room is nice, but again, I don't think worth $125/night, so I don't think the std room would be worth it, either.

I don't know if you could call it doing it wrong but there is an interior staircase in the corner of the cottages that will take you right up to the fourth floor were you will have a very short walk to the lounge. It's a quick way to get up to the lounge if you don't mind the stairs.

 

[focusondisney]

In the whole walking-at-Disney scheme of things, it's a drop in the bucket to get from the room to the lounge. We usually leave from the lounge right after breakfast and stop for at least an hour in the evening, so it would work for me (usually skip the afternoons). It wouldn't be as convenient if you like to pop in for a cup of coffee or go back and forth to your room bringing glasses of wine or a handful of goldfish crackers.

Obviously more people think it's too inconvenient as seen by the discounted price. You have to think about how you want to use the lounge.

Yea, that's what I was trying to say. It all depends on how you use the lounge. I like to pop in to see what they have out for apps & bring a small plate back to the room. We might be in the room by 8 but then get a cup of tea at about 9:30 & again, bring it to the room. Not easy to do that from the cottages. I found we didn't go to the lounge as often as we do at other resorts.

Just pointing out some possible drawbacks.

 

[PackYourPixieDust]

Wanted to post a quick review of sorts. We just returned from a week at the Yacht Club, Regatta Club. We LOVED it! I would say I'm pretty picky and overall we really enjoyed our week. (I Haven't had much chance to review this page recently, so some of this might be repetitive.) There was pretty disruptive hallway construction going on during the afternoons which interfered with afternoon nap twice, but they did compensate adequately. It appears that no one, including the managers knew it was going to be going on...

The club level staff was attentive and all around wonderful. I'm celiac (gluten free) but my family isn't, so I can say with out without allergies, we were all able to enjoy the lounge. For those traveling with gluten issues- they have a separate toaster they would bring out for me in the morning along with a GF bagel, cream cheese and butter. I'd toast up my bagel and they'd send it away to hide again. It didn't take long either. They were always willing to give wine in the afternoon or assist with anything else we might need. One night we split a sandwich from the marketplace store and had appetizers and it was nice for all of us. Afternoon snack gluten free was a bit of a challenge, as I could only have lays chips from the back, or the veggies and dip. But that never was an issue. (There's so much food at Disney.) We loved it. And we loved how easily we could get to the boardwalk for ample hills or to eat at Trattoria al Forno.

One thing, all but one morning, we shared a bus with the Beach Club. This annoyed me for the people at the BC that were ALWAYS STANDING! One morning, there were 2 available seats when we arrived at the BC. Some people stood up, and we always placed my son on our laps, so that those with little kids had a place to sit. I even had to hold one person's young son, because it was a long bus ride for his mommy to hold him while standing. For the money they pay, they should be able to have a seat on a bus when arriving early for that bus.

Overall We were happy with our stay. We enjoyed swimming at the quiet pool one afternoon- although it is always frustrating that other people don't seem to care that it is the "quiet pool." sigh... If anyone has specific questions, I'll try and log on daily to see if anyone has commented with something for me to answer directly. I love this page and want to be helpful if I can too!

Next stays are AKL CL in early-ish January, and then late January at the Poly CL for 6 nights!! (Then our AP's will be up and I will be suffering from serious withdraws!)

 

[halfpintpeggy]

Wanted to post a quick review of sorts. We just returned from a week at the Yacht Club, Regatta Club. We LOVED it! I would say I'm pretty picky and overall we really enjoyed our week. (I Haven't had much chance to review this page recently, so some of this might be repetitive.) There was pretty disruptive hallway construction going on during the afternoons which interfered with afternoon nap twice, but they did compensate adequately. It appears that no one, including the managers knew it was going to be going on...

The club level staff was attentive and all around wonderful. I'm celiac (gluten free) but my family isn't, so I can say with out without allergies, we were all able to enjoy the lounge. For those traveling with gluten issues- they have a separate toaster they would bring out for me in the morning along with a GF bagel, cream cheese and butter. I'd toast up my bagel and they'd send it away to hide again. It didn't take long either. They were always willing to give wine in the afternoon or assist with anything else we might need. One night we split a sandwich from the marketplace store and had appetizers and it was nice for all of us. Afternoon snack gluten free was a bit of a challenge, as I could only have lays chips from the back, or the veggies and dip. But that never was an issue. (There's so much food at Disney.) We loved it. And we loved how easily we could get to the boardwalk for ample hills or to eat at Trattoria al Forno.

One thing, all but one morning, we shared a bus with the Beach Club. This annoyed me for the people at the BC that were ALWAYS STANDING! One morning, there were 2 available seats when we arrived at the BC. Some people stood up, and we always placed my son on our laps, so that those with little kids had a place to sit. I even had to hold one person's young son, because it was a long bus ride for his mommy to hold him while standing. For the money they pay, they should be able to have a seat on a bus when arriving early for that bus.

Overall We were happy with our stay. We enjoyed swimming at the quiet pool one afternoon- although it is always frustrating that other people don't seem to care that it is the "quiet pool." sigh... If anyone has specific questions, I'll try and log on daily to see if anyone has commented with something for me to answer directly. I love this page and want to be helpful if I can too!

Next stays are AKL CL in early-ish January, and then late January at the Poly CL for 6 nights!! (Then our AP's will be up and I will be suffering from serious withdraws!)

It's disappointing to hear that they did not better accommodate you for the afternoon snack. What about evening appetizers & desserts?

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Appreciate all the comments on the BWI cottages above! Mixed reviews it seems! I’m thinking the cottages aren’t a great option for our style - we enjoy our lounge time and just “popping in” when convenient. We didn’t much like the WL Deluxe Rooms for this reason and it sounds like the cottage location is even a more elaborate journey, even with the stairs.

Think I need to go back to the drawing board on this trip!

 

[trishadono]

Appreciate all the comments on the BWI cottages above! Mixed reviews it seems! I’m thinking the cottages aren’t a great option for our style - we enjoy our lounge time and just “popping in” when convenient. We didn’t much like the WL Deluxe Rooms for this reason and it sounds like the cottage location is even a more elaborate journey, even with the stairs.

Think I need to go back to the drawing board on this trip!

What about the honeymoon room at POLY in Tonga? You have a lounge in Tonga, complimentary room service and access to Hawaii!

For those that don't know you have to call to book/not on web.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

What about the honeymoon room at POLY in Tonga? You have a lounge in Tonga, complimentary room service and access to Hawaii!

For those that don't know you have to call to book/not on web.

Ahh....Tonga... someday.....

But I've got to break my Poly habit and need to start trying the Epcot resorts. I've convinced myself that 2018 is the year to branch out!

 

[Eastern]

But I've got to break my Poly habit and need to start trying the Epcot resorts. I've convinced myself that 2018 is the year to branch out!

Did you get a quote for YC? It's been getting a lot of good reviews lately (as long as you don't mind the dogs on property).

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Did you get a quote for YC? It's been getting a lot of good reviews lately (as long as you don't mind the dogs on property).

Yeah, no availability over my dates unfortunately. It's over the Princess Half weekend so Epcot resort availability is a little thin.

Otherwise I'd love to try it!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Did you get a quote for YC? It's been getting a lot of good reviews lately (as long as you don't mind the dogs on property).

Although I do now see a YC CL Lagoon or Pool View room open for my dates. At rack rate. Ugh!

 

[mickeynut1]

Wanted to post a quick review of sorts. We just returned from a week at the Yacht Club, Regatta Club. We LOVED it! I would say I'm pretty picky and overall we really enjoyed our week.

Next stays are AKL CL in early-ish January, and then late January at the Poly CL for 6 nights!!

Thanks for your review. Glad you had a nice trip and enjoyed YC CL. Hope you have a great time at AKL CL and Poly CL in January .