Now that we are back home I wanted to share some impressions on our experiences with the Club Level at the Grand from 09/06 to 09/11
What I have not shared here is that my husband has been ill since November of last year. A man who never goes to the doctor suddenly was in the doctor's office over and over again including the ER until we made it to a specialist and he's finally on the mend but not back to normal. We NEEDED a relaxing vacation and chose the Grand with this in mind.
(sorry this is long)
When we arrived at the resort, our bags were put on a cart and left out on the curb which means neither of us were comfortable leaving our laptop bags with our suitcases. As the Flagship Hotel of WDW, this was chaotic and messy and uncomfortable that our bags were put on a cart and abandoned right next to the driveway as the bellman walked away. I used to travel 200+ days a year (for more than 5 years) for work and have never experienced my bags being abandoned curbside.
Our check in did not go smoothly. We were picked up by Minnie Van at the airport and from the moment we landed at 12.30, I received an email from Disney that MY ROOM WAS NOT READY every 30-45 minutes. I understand getting one email and push notification when we were picked up - and even a follow up once we arrived at the resort. But we didn't get a room
until 5 PM so in addition to becoming frustrated that our room wasn't available close to arrival (a wish) / at "check in" (3 PM), it just annoyed me and stressed me out .
(Maybe I'm the only one that thinks 8 emails + push notifications to tell once again that my room is NOT ready is unnecessary?)
Our interactions with most of the staff prior to getting into our room weren't great, either. When we arrived in the lobby, the greeter scanned my magic band and started calling for someone to escort us to the lounge since our room wasn't ready. She couldn't rouse anyone on the radio to escort us, sighed like we were putting her out, and said she guessed she would have to take us. I also asked about "authorizing" our back up magic bands she began to lecture me on why I absolutely did not need more than one magic band and my worries about the battery dying were silly because I could still "get in my room" even if the battery in my Magic Band died.
I checked with the folks at the concierge desk twice (once around 2 and once around 3) and was told
- You just need to wait - check in is at 3. You'll get a notification
- I have no way to check the status of your room with housekeeping (false - they can check as Sydney from Ft. Worth later proved)
- Your room request is the reason you don't have your room yet (we have TPV room and my request was "3rd or 4th floor" (again, a false statement as we were told by Sydney that ALL TPV rooms are on the 3rd and 4th floor)
When she saw us walking around with our laptop bags around 3 (we were moving from the lounge on 4 - down to the couches on 3 as we kept waiting), Sydney from Ft. Worth immediately jumped into action: she called housekeeping and asked about the status. Checked back with us multiple times and continued to follow up with housekeeping about the delay. She walked us down to our room when it was finally available.
She was the ONLY positive interaction we had from arrival until dinnertime. I get that it was a Saturday, but it didn't set the tone for a "relaxing" stay.
On Sunday morning, I popped down to the lounge around 6.25 to have a glass of water and (hopefully) a latte. Every single college program young lady down in the lounge that morning was unfriendly and unpleasant. I didn't expect coffee to be ready until 6.30 but I didn't need to be snapped at as I got a glass of water and looked at the Nespresso machine (I said nothing - I was just looking)
Once the actual STAFF members arrived, all the ladies were more pleasant when being observed. Then, on Monday morning, NONE of the college kids showed up and ONE staff member was doing all the set up. Soon after that, some of the college folks finally showed up and from that morning on, a Manager was up in the lounge walking around. There was also several new College Program Cast Members in the lounge working after that and they all seemed happier to be there! It was especially nice to see a strong young man to help some of the (older) staff members with set up.
(Side note: if I'm a college kid and end up getting "food service" as my job, I think I'd be much happier at the Grand Floridian than somewhere like Casey's! So, why the attitude?)
After the initial challenges of the first day, everything else went smoothly.
- Food was always good and I saw the chef (often) swapping out eggs and other items that had been sitting for awhile.
- I miss the scones that used to be out at mid-day as well as the deviled eggs that used to rotate out with the boiled eggs.
- The Nespresso machine was not ready a single morning prior to 6.30 though I know one night it was still working as late as 9 PM as I made a latte for my husband.
- Overall, there was enough variety that we only ate in the parks a couple of times and ended up cancelling our dinner plans at Bourbon Steak and just eating in the lounge.
- Our fireworks cruise was a bit of a bust - we went out and around but had to return due to lightening. Our friends ordered a "happy anniversary" cake for the cruise and it was there on the boat with balloons. However, Disney refunded me before I got home.
- We actually had a full resort day and didn't go into the parks one day. We rested, went to the pool, etc. It was nice and I didn't miss the parks like I thought I would. Granted, I gave up my annual pass.
- I vastly dislike being called "FRIEND" all the time. While I understand they are trying to be "inclusive" and will no longer use "Ma'am" or "Sir", being called FRIEND over and over again grates on this old lady's nerves.
- I missed Happily Ever After every night. The Halloween fireworks just don't *hit* the way HEA does and one of the pluses of a TPV room is the fireworks. If/When we return I am more likely to do a TPV room outside of "party season"
I have a girls trip scheduled for December but will be staying at the Boardwalk (non-club level). AND I did receive a "bounce back" offer. I would stay at the Grand in Club Level again if it were available. And I might be willing to try CL at the Contemporary or GDT.
YC is just not the same since covid. The food offerings used to be 2nd only to the GF. Now there is only one night that I like the food offerings. No complaints about the CMs though.
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