Grand Floridian CL?

[travelgirl77]

We are making our summer plans and I just received a quote for the Grand Floridian CL outer building, standard room. We have never stayed here before. We have only stayed at Contemporary and BC CL. What is it like? We have kids, age 11 & 7, and a non-Disney loving husband who will want to take advantage of the gym, pool time, and adult beverages in the afternoon. Thanks for any advice or comparisons to the other two.

 

[focusondisney]

There is a whole thread for club level. Lots of folks there who have stayed at different resorts & can answer your questions.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/disneys-club-level-cl-information-and-questions.3414590/unread

 

[Sue M]

GF has 2 club level. The one in Sugar Loaf, outer building, and another upstairs in the main building, The Royal Palm Club. If you can upgrade to the RPC it’s worth it.

 

[leannak]

What makes the Royal Palm Club better than the one in Sugar Loaf? (Rooms in the main building are more expensive, correct?)

 

[Minnie1222]

What makes the Royal Palm Club better than the one in Sugar Loaf? (Rooms in the main building are more expensive, correct?)

RPC has a nicer ambience and a less boisterous crowd, but in my opinion it does not worth the additional $200-ish/night for the Standard room. The quiet pool is also just a few steps from SL if that is a place you like to visit frequently. If rooms in both areas cost the same, then of course I would want to stay at RPC.

 

[Sue M]

What makes the Royal Palm Club better than the one in Sugar Loaf? (Rooms in the main building are more expensive, correct?)

RPC has a beautiful spacious lounge that overlooks the GF lobby. Perfect for relaxing in. The CL in Sugar Loaf is crammed into the lobby area of that building. Imo not nearly as enjoyable.

 

[03GirlsMom]

We've only stayed RPC at the GF so far but are considering a stay in SL next fall. While I adore RPC, I think I would prefer to stay there on adults only or solo trips as opposed to when we travel with the kids. I've found that I can't fully appreciate the beauty and peacefulness of the lounge when I'm with all of the kids as I can when I have the time to truly sit and soak it all in by myself or with my husband.

The location of the lounge in the SL building makes the set up a little more chaotic but the snacks throughout the day are still a perk for the kids. You also can't beat the proximity to the courtyard pool.

Either CL at the GF is great. You can't really go wrong with either. Enjoy your stay!

 

[neurosx1983]

We've only stayed RPC at the GF so far but are considering a stay in SL next fall. While I adore RPC, I think I would prefer to stay there on adults only or solo trips as opposed to when we travel with the kids. I've found that I can't fully appreciate the beauty and peacefulness of the lounge when I'm with all of the kids as I can when I have the time to truly sit and soak it all in by myself or with my husband.

The location of the lounge in the SL building makes the set up a little more chaotic but the snacks throughout the day are still a perk for the kids. You also can't beat the proximity to the courtyard pool.

Either CL at the GF is great. You can't really go wrong with either. Enjoy your stay!

We've really enjoyed RPC at GF - Haven't stayed at any other CL at WDW so I can't really compare, but its so nice to walk into GF and take the elevator up a couple floors to the lounge where they have very good food/drinks and the room is really close. Our room btw, deluxe king, had a straight on view to the castle so that was pretty incredible too.

As others have mentioned, its something special to sit in the lounge and listen to the band/piano playing all day. Yes its expensive but I think well worth it.

GF seems to be getting a bad rep (ask Pete!) these days but we've always had an extraordinary time there. Not sure if that would change if we stayed in a standard room (outside of the main building) though. I'm sure this won't be a popular opinion, but having stayed at Poly a couple of times, I think GF is far and away a nicer experience. I understand the aesthetic is wildly different between the two, but I'm talking overall quality of the resort and room. Just my 2 cents.

 

[fancymouse]

I’ve stayed at several club levels on property and GF (outerbuilding) definitely had the most food options. Breakfast was particularly impressive. The lounge was larger than other CLs and was always pretty busy, so it doesn’t really feel really exclusive, but served it’s purpose for eating. We often took food back to the room. As far as the rooms go, they were fine. Most don’t have a great view or anything, but the building is close to the boat launch and bus stops. The monorail was a little far.
Contemporary is my least favorite deluxe resort but was my favorite CL. I felt it struck a nice balance. It was less crowded and while it had less food, what was offered was really good. It also has the great firework views which are hard to beat! Our most recent CL stay was Boardwalk and I wouldn’t pay extra for CL there. It had the worst food options and the lounge was always too busy to even sit down