Is GF Really Going Down Hill?

[packy]

We have a great opportunity to stay at the GF with a great discount rate but I have read on the boards that it may not be worth it. Does anyone have any real recent experience with the GF? Room condition, staff, etc. Thanks.

 

[>>^..^<<]

Hi Packy..

Recently there have been some issues with concierge service at the GF - but as far as I have heard everything else has been great, rooms, pools, restaurants & staff all fine.

I would not worry - book your great rate and have a wonderful holiday.

>>^..^<<

 

[phyllis1966]

Hi -

We were just there in October and it was fantastic! I don't have one single complaint about it. We loved it so much that we're going back in November with my parents and in-laws. Our DD (4) can't wait to show her grandparents all her favorite things about "her" hotel and WDW! It's beautiful and gracious without being too formal or stuffy (IMHO) and there are lots of great things for kids to do there. Enjoy your planning and don't worry - you'll have a wonderful stay at the GF!

 

[*123JOANNA123*]

To me the GF is like heaven on earth- it really is so beautiful, you will love it. I would definitely jump at the chance to stay there with a good rate- the only downside to the GF I can think of is the price

 

[ducklite]

We really enjoyed our stay in a non-concierge room. Housekeeping was wonderful, we had a direct castle view, the room was in good condition. The GF restaurants are generally top-notch. I would go back and stay non-concierge again if there was an incredible deal to be had, but for a lot less money there are other resorts I enjoy more.

Anne

 

[s&k'smom]

We were there the last week of October 2002 and thought it was fantastic. The room was kept just beautiful by housekeeping and the only request we made was a first flor room no particular view and they gave us a great corner room overlooking the monorail and the edge of Bay Lake. The only complaint I had was that the pool area could have been a little neater, trash was left on the table for lengthy periods (why people can't pick up their own trash I don't know). We would definately stay there again and I say go, go, go you'll love it.

 

[hookedup]

I have read negative things about every resort here. I have also read tons of positive including the GF. It's a wonderful hotel and if you want to stay there do it!

 

[Tonyspad]

There were NOT any issues at the GF concierge during my visit in May. The concierge desk was very helpful and the food offerings were terrific. From what I have read about people complaints concerning the concierge service is that the staff does not fall all over you and the food offerings "are not as pleantiful as they would have expected and for what they are paying they expected a lot more". This statement is probably true, but if you needed help with anything or wanted a gourmet type snack it was great. I will NEVER stay in a different WDW hotel and will always stay in the RPC. The room was immaculate and we could not have asked for more.

 

[ducklite]

Tony--I'm glad you had a good experience. Many of us who have stayed concierge at many other WDW resorts have had terrible expereinces there.

I don't ask concierge staff to fall all over me. I do expect them to not be rude, to not completely ignore me, and to at least offer a tidbit of service. I'm not high maintainence. I didn't even get the level of service that I would have gotten from the lobby staff in a non-concierge room. I know this for a fact because I've stayed at the GF both ways.

When we checked in with the GF concierge, our room wasn't ready. They told us it would be "shortly". This was at about 2:30. We had no problem waiting for a little bit, we had arrived prior to the official check-in time. We didn't get into our room until after 5:00pm. The couple times we asked they were so rude to us, telling us one time "We said it would be SHORTLY!"

We were told by the concierge that if we wanted to check our bags so we could go explore, we'd have to drag them back to the mail building! No offer to call bell services for us. They didn't offer to make any PS. They didn't offer a resort packet. They practically THREW a Kleenex at DH when he requested one--we didn't have a room to get one from.

They were clearing out a large, wealthy party that had been there for a month the day we arrived, and they were too concerned with them to care about any other guests.

When they did finally have a room for us, they put us into a handicapped room that didn't have a bath tub, and you coudln't shut the door--you had to wait for it to shut automatically. I wasn't given any choice, and they had been so surly that I didn't dare speak up, I figured if I did they'd get us into a new room around midnight.

There were other issues, by 10 the next morning we had enough and moved to the BW.

Oh, and the fun didn't end--the GF lost our luggage, the GM at the BW had to intervene to get it "found". But that's another thread.

Anne

 

[palmtreegirl]

I say go for it! I wouldn't pass a discount at the GF by, it's beautiful and we've always wanted to stay there, maybe next trip.

 

[*123JOANNA123*]

Originally posted by ducklite

When we checked in with the GF concierge, our room wasn't ready. They told us it would be "shortly". This was at about 2:30. We had no problem waiting for a little bit, we had arrived prior to the official check-in time. We didn't get into our room until after 5:00pm. The couple times we asked they were so rude to us, telling us one time "We said it would be SHORTLY!"

We were told by the concierge that if we wanted to check our bags so we could go explore, we'd have to drag them back to the mail building! No offer to call bell services for us. They didn't offer to make any PS. They didn't offer a resort packet. They practically THREW a Kleenex at DH when he requested one--we didn't have a room to get one from.

They were clearing out a large, wealthy party that had been there for a month the day we arrived, and they were too concerned with them to care about any other guests.

Anne

Anne- that is just horrible- I'm so sorry you had such a bad experience- I wouldn't like that type of treatment at a motel 6 let alone a deluxe resort like the GF.

Did you write a letter of complaint? Did you get any form of apology from the GF once you said you were moving? UGH, I'm really hoping we don't have a similar experience in August.

 

[Tonyspad]

Ducklite my post was not directed at you however I have read your post concerning your troubles at the GF.
The GF hotel is a glorious place which has given me and my family everything we could have ever imagined. I too have stayed at other concierge hotels(CR and YC) and both were terrific, but my preference is completely for the GF.

 

[ducklite]

Originally posted by *123JOANNA123*
Anne- that is just horrible- I'm so sorry you had such a bad experience- I wouldn't like that type of treatment at a motel 6 let alone a deluxe resort like the GF.

Did you write a letter of complaint? Did you get any form of apology from the GF once you said you were moving? UGH, I'm really hoping we don't have a similar experience in August.

When we told them we were very unhappy and moving they didn't care. They were still cleaning up teh remnants of that other party, and I think too busy with that to really want to deal with anything else.

I did write a letter of complaint when I got home (obviously complaining further at the GF during the stay wouldn't have gotten us anywhere, they didn't care that we were leaving!) and they did make me an attractive offer to come back. I did, but not to a concierge room, I didn't want to subject us to that again!

The return stay was very nice, everything we expected it to be, nothing more, nothing less. If it wasn't for the guaranteed direct on castle view on the return trip, I probably wouldn't have bothered.

Anne

 

[TeenaS]

The GF is the best as far as I'm concerned. We've tried most of the others and keep coming back to the GF. You'll find complaints about all the resorts - - nothing is 100% perfect all the time. We've had nothing but wonderful times at the GF and it will continue to be our first choice. Go and have a wonderful time!!

 

[Jo-Jo21]

Hello, I am JUST back from 13 nights at Disney, 6 off-site followed by 7 at the Grand Floridian (6/28-7/5). We booked a garden view room with the AP rate (approx $300 per night, tax included) and were given a pool view room in the Boca Chica building. The room was very nice, Alice décor, but was quite a distance from the main building, which is where the monorail and Gasparilla’s Grill (their 24 hour place) are. A simple “mug run” took my husband almost 30 minutes (round trip) . Also, the pool view was very pretty, but the main pool is open 24 hours and we found the noise from people enjoying a swim to be disturbing at around 2 and 3 am. This combined with the noise from the surrounding rooms (there appeared to be very thin walls) took a lot away form the experience – mainly sleep. Aside from the occasional black snake sightings, both pools were very nice. My DS (5 yo) did all of the kid activities at the GF and enjoyed them all – Pirate Cruise the most, followed by the Tea Party and then the Adventures in Cooking. My biggest disappointment was the Mouseketeer Club. I had a PS for my son there so we went to check it out the day before. I had previously had wonderful experiences at The Neverland Club and Simba’s Cub House so I expected something “grand” at the GF. It was the size of a large walk-in closet with all of the same amenities, i.e. computers, TV, etc. crammed in and it looked dingy – not inviting at all. The CMs seemed nice enough but I did not feel comfortable leaving my DS there. We decided to use the Neverland Club again for our night out. Overall, I think it was nice to do once but will probably not do it again. I spent a lot less on a savanna room at AKL and enjoyed it a great deal more. Just my 2 cents.

 

[HM]

My family stayed there for the first time in early June. We found the place to be very nice. We had a room in Sago Cay which was nice and close to the main building, so that we could walk under the covered porches most of the way to the lobby. The room (Wind and the Willows theme) was in excellent shape and kept that way by a very efficient housekeeper. We found all of the staff that we dealt with to be helpful and friendly. The grounds were meticulously kept as well. We liked that it had the Grill for quick food (which was very close to our building) and the marina for boat rentals was great.

Our ONLY complaints were the thin walls (could hear toilets flushing elsewhere in the building) and the transportation (but only because it is so far to everything except MK from the GF....the rides were too long and shared with two other resorts, making it even longer).

-HM

 

[BCV23]

We've only stayed twice at the GF. Both times were week plus stays in Sugar Loaf. We had lovely visits both times. Some CMs there are better than others and I prefer the food options at the Polynesian concierge but we had a great time. Lovely rooms, great restaurants, and fun transportation to and from the MK.

 

[Cris]

I really enjoy the Grand and though I am a dvc member I like to treat myself to a couple day stay there before my dvc vacation begins. Ducklite did you deal with Doug in concierge. He is the only person that I think of when I think of rude.

 

[ducklite]

Cris--No, the worst of them was a very pregnant female. She was the one who yelled at DH for asking for a tissue. There was also another female who just sneered at us when she bothered to look up from her computer.

Anne

 

[Darian]

This is an interesting thread. DW and I have always wanted to stay at the GF but have yet to get around to it. We've had concerns about their concierge as well, but would still like to try the RPC - its the one in the main building right? The other concierge lounge, I believe its Sugar Loaf, (someone please correct me if this is wrong) and if rumor is true they don't serve any alcohol. Maybe you can purchase wine and such there but who knows? Whats concierge without a cordial?

As hookedup pointed out, we've all heard bad things from time to time about every resort, concierge or no. While some of those complaints may seem trivial, like "the foods too nice for me. So I didn't like it." Say what?!?!?! Others, such as those expressed by ducklite certainly are not. Lock me outa my room, loose my luggage, give me attitude, yell at me... no thats just unacceptable.

Just because I haven't PERSONALLY experienced the bad experience someone else has posted about does NOT mean it never happened, or could never happen to me. Its like being friends with a thief, who's stealing doesn't bother you because he hasn't stolen from you yet. Don't worry. Your turn is coming. And if you haven't had any of these problems at WDW, you are blessed. But it doesn't mean you never will.

Thats what makes the DIS so wonderful! I can learn about the horrors that some guests have experienced, things that potentially could happen to me. And if they DO happen (God forbid) then because of what I've read here, I'll be able to respond with more than open-jawed bewildered inaction. Maybe I'll be able to do something about it before my vacation melts away into a wretched pool of steaming doggie doo.

Darian

PS I got so ticked off with a concierge over at the Disneyland Hotel I nearly punched him in the face. Nobody calls my DW names.