Resort Thread Disney's Club Level (CL) Thread

[Katy&NoahMom]

We stayed in Garden Suite 1201 (which I had requested since it's closest to the stairs). PP gave you a good description of the layout (downstairs seating area with a sectional, wet bar with a little fridge, desk, TV, and 1/2 bath; upstairs king bed and large bathroom). The pictures on Disney's website really don't do the room justice. There's pretty art work throughout, nice furniture, and the bathroom finishes are lovely.

As another PP mentioned, there is a "secret staircase" in the alcove next to Room 1201 where the ice machine is (I'll post a pic of 1201 below- you can see part of the alcove on the left hand side). It's not the nicest staircase, but it gave us quick access to the lounge on the 4th floor. We were also close to the quiet pool.

DH and I are picky when it comes to hotels for our kid-free weekends away, but the Garden Suite really delivered. We've been thinking about changing our vacation plans for this year so that we can stay at BWI in a Garden Suite again!

The only annoyance was getting from the Garden Suite to the front of the hotel. It's not a direct route, but given how beautiful and quiet the Garden Suite area is, it was a fine tradeoff.

View attachment 265492

Thanks so much, I am really excited!

 

[trishadono]

We stayed in Garden Suite 1201 (which I had requested since it's closest to the stairs). PP gave you a good description of the layout (downstairs seating area with a sectional, wet bar with a little fridge, desk, TV, and 1/2 bath; upstairs king bed and large bathroom). The pictures on Disney's website really don't do the room justice. There's pretty art work throughout, nice furniture, and the bathroom finishes are lovely.

As another PP mentioned, there is a "secret staircase" in the alcove next to Room 1201 where the ice machine is (I'll post a pic of 1201 below- you can see part of the alcove on the left hand side). It's not the nicest staircase, but it gave us quick access to the lounge on the 4th floor. We were also close to the quiet pool.

DH and I are picky when it comes to hotels for our kid-free weekends away, but the Garden Suite really delivered. We've been thinking about changing our vacation plans for this year so that we can stay at BWI in a Garden Suite again!

The only annoyance was getting from the Garden Suite to the front of the hotel. It's not a direct route, but given how beautiful and quiet the Garden Suite area is, it was a fine tradeoff.

View attachment 265492

I'm staying bwi cl in November. Would I use that secret staircase or get to/from quiet pool up to lounge and our room?

 

[NicoleLarson]

I'm staying bwi cl in November. Would I use that secret staircase or get to/from quiet pool up to lounge and our room?

You can, that's how we found it (we were coming up from the quiet pool and I was like, hey I think I read about a secret staircase over here somewhere) but our room was on that end. If you had a room outside the innkeeper doors or close to the innkeeper door then I don't think it would save you anytime. If your room was near the lounge, it would probably about the same distance.

 

[trishadono]

You can, that's how we found it (we were coming up from the quiet pool and I was like, hey I think I read about a secret staircase over here somewhere) but our room was on that end. If you had a room outside the innkeeper doors or close to the innkeeper door then I don't think it would save you anytime. If your room was near the lounge, it would probably about the same distance.

Thanks!

 

[GoGoBeans]

Thanks! This is our last day at the AKL, we had a very lovely stay indeed! We're going to miss the helpful CM here at the lounge, the chefs, and of course the mimosas!

Glad you've had such a wonderful time. Sounds like it has been amazing.

 

[kpm76]

I have a dilemma. We're booked for WL CL next month, but BWI CL just opened up with an AP discount. My heart is at the BW, but we will be there (non CL) for 8 nights in Feb. I love the convenience of walking to 2 parks from the BW, but we have not been back to the WL CL since our honeymoon 13 yrs ago, plus I love what I'm reading about WL CL. Decisions, decisions.....

 

[VAfamily1998]

I have a dilemma. We're booked for WL CL next month, but BWI CL just opened up with an AP discount. My heart is at the BW, but we will be there (non CL) for 8 nights in Feb. I love the convenience of walking to 2 parks from the BW, but we have not been back to the WL CL since our honeymoon 13 yrs ago, plus I love what I'm reading about WL CL. Decisions, decisions.....

Well, I stayed BWI CL back in January, and WL CL earlier this month. In your position, I would choose WL for this trip; #1 because you haven't been 13 years and they've made some amazing changes, and #2 because you will be at BWI in a few months.

 

[Eastern]

I have a dilemma. We're booked for WL CL next month, but BWI CL just opened up with an AP discount. My heart is at the BW, but we will be there (non CL) for 8 nights in Feb. I love the convenience of walking to 2 parks from the BW, but we have not been back to the WL CL since our honeymoon 13 yrs ago, plus I love what I'm reading about WL CL. Decisions, decisions.....

Keep the WL CL reservation and maybe BWI will announce CL discounts for February. We booked standard view BWI rooms twice in the past year and both times we were called with an offer to upgrade to CL for $75/night. I have heard of others being offered the same thing recently so maybe you will get lucky.

 

[Ralphmiller007]

I have a dilemma. We're booked for WL CL next month, but BWI CL just opened up with an AP discount. My heart is at the BW, but we will be there (non CL) for 8 nights in Feb. I love the convenience of walking to 2 parks from the BW, but we have not been back to the WL CL since our honeymoon 13 yrs ago, plus I love what I'm reading about WL CL. Decisions, decisions.....

I can sympathize, while we've stayed in most of the MK resorts, we have only ever stayed club level at AKL and we love it! We are resort people, and love the overall feel of AKL so much. I have been stalking AP discounts for later this month, and right now just have a standard view booked. I just saw a BWI CL open and I am so torn about switching. My husband hates clowns, and I have visions of him NOT relaxing at the big pool! Is there a nice quiet pool at BWI? I've heard so many good things about BWI CL...decisions, decisions! I think the new WL offerings look awesome, I would definitely check that out this go round and possibly upgrade your Feb trip. Happy planning!

 

[thaggie1]

While I'm currently tweaking our GF SL CL late Nov/early Dec 2017 trip, I'm looking towards a great Bounceback offer for the same time in 2018 *fingers crossed* !!!
For 2018, I'm considering:
1. GF SL CL (again)
2. Poly CL (My concern here is noise- we like quiet)
3. WL CL DELUXE ROOM (This room and CL look AMAZING!!!) One of my concerns with the WL, though, is the transportation. I've heard it takes much longer to get around from there than it does with the MK monorail resorts. I want to get to the parks before rope drop, so timely transportation is important to us.
Any input on WL transportation?
Or which of these three options any of you CL veterans would choose?
THANK YOU!!! These boards are addictive!

I have only stayed GF RPC in Dec not SL. Just had a SL stay earlier this month. For December the Grand would be my pick.

 

[mickeynut1]

In your position, I would choose WL for this trip; #1 because you haven't been 13 years and they've made some amazing changes, and #2 because you will be at BWI in a few months.

I agree!

 

[kpm76]

Thanks everyone for your input! I really appreciate it. We decided to keep WL CL. DH is very excited to stay there again and it holds happy honeymoon memories for us. I do love the location of BWI and the CMs on the CL are outstanding so I love visiting them. It will be fun to be at the Lodge though and see all of the great changes. Can't wait!

 

[NicoleLarson]

I can sympathize, while we've stayed in most of the MK resorts, we have only ever stayed club level at AKL and we love it! We are resort people, and love the overall feel of AKL so much. I have been stalking AP discounts for later this month, and right now just have a standard view booked. I just saw a BWI CL open and I am so torn about switching. My husband hates clowns, and I have visions of him NOT relaxing at the big pool! Is there a nice quiet pool at BWI? I've heard so many good things about BWI CL...decisions, decisions! I think the new WL offerings look awesome, I would definitely check that out this go round and possibly upgrade your Feb trip. Happy planning!

The quite pool is very nice but it's just a pool. There's also a hot tub. You could choose a chair at the main pool that doesn't face the clown. The slide is actually one of my favorites and since you can't see the clown when going down, I don't really think about it. I'm still not sure what on earth they were thinking when they made it a scary clown, the worst part is that it's eyes glow at night...WHY?!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Is this the stuff people were asking about at various CLs not too long ago? This is at CR Atrium Club, BTW.

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

UPDATE: So an update on my issue at the Poly CL with Chef Gene. I emailed the general manager of the Poly and the head chef along with a copy to wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com. I emailed them last Friday and on Tuesday I received an email from Guest Experiences saying they wanted to talk with me about the incident and then on Wednesday I received 2 phone calls. One from a Guest Experiences cast member and then also from a rooms manager at the Poly. They were both very interested to hear what happened and both very understanding. The Poly rooms manager had worked in club level lounges previously and knew that it is not the Chef's job to police what and how much we eat. Also was very upset that they ran out of breakfast food and did not replace it at 9:40am. I was told they should be replacing food up to 10:30am. I was very happy with the responses that I got and hope that it does get to the powers that need to hear it so that others do not have this issue anymore. I also told both of the ladies that they should use the BWI CL CMs and managers to train the rest of the CLs CMs and that Chef Redgie also should be giving training to how to act as a Chef. The Poly room manager was going to relay my positive feedback to the BWI as well. I encourage people to email feedback because that is the only way Disney will know when there are issues and can try to correct them.

 

[mickeynut1]

Thanks everyone for your input! I really appreciate it. We decided to keep WL CL. DH is very excited to stay there again and it holds happy honeymoon memories for us. I do love the location of BWI and the CMs on the CL are outstanding so I love visiting them. It will be fun to be at the Lodge though and see all of the great changes. Can't wait!

Have a great trip!

UPDATE: So an update on my issue at the Poly CL with Chef Gene. I emailed the general manager of the Poly and the head chef along with a copy to wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com. I emailed them last Friday and on Tuesday I received an email from Guest Experiences saying they wanted to talk with me about the incident and then on Wednesday I received 2 phone calls. One from a Guest Experiences cast member and then also from a rooms manager at the Poly. They were both very interested to hear what happened and both very understanding. The Poly rooms manager had worked in club level lounges previously and knew that it is not the Chef's job to police what and how much we eat. Also was very upset that they ran out of breakfast food and did not replace it at 9:40am. I was told they should be replacing food up to 10:30am. I was very happy with the responses that I got and hope that it does get to the powers that need to hear it so that others do not have this issue anymore. I also told both of the ladies that they should use the BWI CL CMs and managers to train the rest of the CLs CMs and that Chef Redgie also should be giving training to how to act as a Chef. The Poly room manager was going to relay my positive feedback to the BWI as well. I encourage people to email feedback because that is the only way Disney will know when there are issues and can try to correct them.

Glad you got a response from not only one person, but two . I agree that the only way Disney will know about issues is if people speak up. Thanks for the update!

 

[AngiTN]

UPDATE: So an update on my issue at the Poly CL with Chef Gene. I emailed the general manager of the Poly and the head chef along with a copy to wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com. I emailed them last Friday and on Tuesday I received an email from Guest Experiences saying they wanted to talk with me about the incident and then on Wednesday I received 2 phone calls. One from a Guest Experiences cast member and then also from a rooms manager at the Poly. They were both very interested to hear what happened and both very understanding. The Poly rooms manager had worked in club level lounges previously and knew that it is not the Chef's job to police what and how much we eat. Also was very upset that they ran out of breakfast food and did not replace it at 9:40am. I was told they should be replacing food up to 10:30am. I was very happy with the responses that I got and hope that it does get to the powers that need to hear it so that others do not have this issue anymore. I also told both of the ladies that they should use the BWI CL CMs and managers to train the rest of the CLs CMs and that Chef Redgie also should be giving training to how to act as a Chef. The Poly room manager was going to relay my positive feedback to the BWI as well. I encourage people to email feedback because that is the only way Disney will know when there are issues and can try to correct them.

Doesn't it feel great when they make you feel like they truly want to know what you have to say? I have no idea if they do act on the comments but to at least make the guest feel like it, it feels good.

And you are spot on right about Redgie. He was FABULOUS! He encouraged guests to eat as much of what he was preparing as you wanted. Wanted 5 of them? No problem. He'll bring all 5 right to your table. We left Tuesday evening and I'd done my math wrong and thought we'd have to depart at 4:30 and we told him Monday we would miss him. He asked if we'd be around if he got there to prepare food at 4:30, instead of 5:00. I assured him that wasn't necessary, that's we'd be back to see him at Flying Fish at least. Turns out we didn't have to get a car till after 5:30. So we got to have a couple last dishes. He even gave us all the scoop on what to order on our night at Flying Fish. We were eating early that night and we enjoyed the lounge so much we ate at the restaurant and saved room to run up to the lounge to have our appetizers up there after dinner. He loves what he does and it shows. He could talk about food all night and would really convince folks to at least try things even if they weren't sure about them. I'm not a mussel fan but I tried his and sure enough, they weren't awful, which says a lot from me. I wasn't eating more than 1 but I ate more than 1 of plenty of the rest.
Everything they did at BWI lounge was perfection. They did keep the food out till the end of every service. We arrived on our first day at about 10:15 and everything was stocked. We were encouraged to get whatever we needed, which we did. The did note that they toss out anything left (though I secretly hope the staff gets to enjoy whatever they want first). We took it back to the room so they could clean up the lounge and set up for the next service. There was always plenty of wine out and it was so nice they did serve yourself instead of the served version that so many are doing. We were so spoiled by everyone and it's going to be hard to return to a regular room on our next stay. But if I want to continue several trips a year I have to give up CL stays each trip.

 

[Eastern]

I encourage people to email feedback because that is the only way Disney will know when there are issues and can try to correct them.

Sorry it had to get to that point but glad you made the effort to contact someone about your experience. Common sense (replacing empty food trays when you have legitimate customers during posted hours) and common courtesy should be the minimum standard at all Club Level lounges.

I can even understand waiting to replace a full tray at the very end of hours, but if a customer asks for it, it needs to be provided. I have also been told about various items during CL stays, 'sorry, we ran out'. And I'm not even talking about evening desserts which *always* run out if you are not there early. I'm talking about breakfast and cocktail time items.

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

Doesn't it feel great when they make you feel like they truly want to know what you have to say? I have no idea if they do act on the comments but to at least make the guest feel like it, it feels good.

And you are spot on right about Redgie. He was FABULOUS! He encouraged guests to eat as much of what he was preparing as you wanted. Wanted 5 of them? No problem. He'll bring all 5 right to your table. We left Tuesday evening and I'd done my math wrong and thought we'd have to depart at 4:30 and we told him Monday we would miss him. He asked if we'd be around if he got there to prepare food at 4:30, instead of 5:00. I assured him that wasn't necessary, that's we'd be back to see him at Flying Fish at least. Turns out we didn't have to get a car till after 5:30. So we got to have a couple last dishes. He even gave us all the scoop on what to order on our night at Flying Fish. We were eating early that night and we enjoyed the lounge so much we ate at the restaurant and saved room to run up to the lounge to have our appetizers up there after dinner. He loves what he does and it shows. He could talk about food all night and would really convince folks to at least try things even if they weren't sure about them. I'm not a mussel fan but I tried his and sure enough, they weren't awful, which says a lot from me. I wasn't eating more than 1 but I ate more than 1 of plenty of the rest.
Everything they did at BWI lounge was perfection. They did keep the food out till the end of every service. We arrived on our first day at about 10:15 and everything was stocked. We were encouraged to get whatever we needed, which we did. The did note that they toss out anything left (though I secretly hope the staff gets to enjoy whatever they want first). We took it back to the room so they could clean up the lounge and set up for the next service. There was always plenty of wine out and it was so nice they did serve yourself instead of the served version that so many are doing. We were so spoiled by everyone and it's going to be hard to return to a regular room on our next stay. But if I want to continue several trips a year I have to give up CL stays each trip.

I am so glad that you enjoyed the BWI CL - that is exactly what he did with my DH while we were there. I was teasing my DH that Redgie liked him better because my husband would get 4 pieces of beef and I would get one. That is funny about the mussels. I did enjoy them but I love mussels. The CMs there are so so nice. What a let down it was to go to the Poly CL and have issues with being told we ate too much. The difference was night and day.

They definitely seemed like they cared. I also got another follow up email from the Poly person after we spoke - again nice. I do hope that Chef Gene gets spoken with. Friends of ours are going to the Poly CL this weekend so we will see.

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

Sorry it had to get to that point but glad you made the effort to contact someone about your experience. Common sense (replacing empty food trays when you have legitimate customers during posted hours) and common courtesy should be the minimum standard at all Club Level lounges.

I can even understand waiting to replace a full tray at the very end of hours, but if a customer asks for it, it needs to be provided. I have also been told about various items during CL stays, 'sorry, we ran out'. And I'm not even talking about evening desserts which *always* run out if you are not there early. I'm talking about breakfast and cocktail time items.

Yes - common sense. Yes that is exactly what happened to us - it was the breakfast protein. We were told at check in that they added a protein to breakfast - so each day there will be a protein. When they ran out of chicken at 9:40am I asked for chicken or any other protein (salmon, chorizo, anything) and the CM, Ivette, went in to ask the Chef and she said the Chef said no. I don't understand why Ivette couldn't figure something out for us even if the chef said no. And I said that to the person that called from the Poly. Our DD's friend is allergic to dairy and oatmeal, which Ivette knew from previous days - so she could only have a bagel. I said to Ivette forget about the rest of us just please bring something for her to eat and again was told no an hour before breakfast ended. Completely different story at the Boardwalk.