Just back from Boardwalk Inn Concierge (6/27 - 6/30)

[CaipiraBob]

We're back from a 3 night visit to the Boardwalk Inn Concierge. We thought it was excellent!

My wife and I planned a short weekend getaway and decided to check out Disney (without the kids) for this trip. We wanted to try some of the other Concierge services after our stay with the Polynesian. The Boardwalk Inn proved to be an excellent choice for adults and the concierge service on top of it made for a wonderful experience.

We had been in contact with the concierge only two weeks prior to our arrival as I made the reservations on short notice. Amy and Stephanie at the planning desk went out of their way to ensure all my advanced planning was taken care of according to my requests. They were/are a delight to deal with and very personable over the phone.

We checked in on Friday and promptly had our luggage carted off and car valet parked. At the front desk, the CM, Shad, was able to handle all of our needs for tickets and other arrangements we didn't handle via the concierge planning desk. We were assigned our room immediately and our luggage arrived moments later.

The rooms have a "cheerful" feeling to their design, which follows a 1900's theme as does the rest of the boardwalk. The carpets, wallpaper and art work all help to create the feeling of a 1900's resort environment. Our room had a balcony over the boardwalk where we could view all of the activity, yet we did not have a problem with noise from the other guests enjoying the activities at night. The activity died down at around 11:00PM as the "attractions" were closed by then, so if you are bothered by noise, it's done around then.

The concierge lounge was beautiful, and provided a balcony from where you could view the Epcot fireworks each night. We enjoyed the continental breakfast offerings every morning. During the day they offered light snacks and in the evening, hors doeurves such as "Chicken Wellington", "Bacon Wrapped Meatballs" or "Lobster Turnovers". Later there was a variety of sweets with cordials. Altogether, excellent quality, but with exception of the early morning offerings, the food is not something to base a meal on! Suffice to say, however, that it will "finish you off", though.

If you are planning on feeding a family of 5 on just the concierge offerings for a week, do everyone a favor an go somewhere else. There isn’t enough food to do it and there’s nothing more pathetic than someone carting off every single morsel when there’s people waiting. We all know what you’re doing. Oh, and regarding a touchy subject, we found that all the parents and children in the concierge section were well behaved and properly supervised by their parents. I found the people visiting in the lounge be openly friendly and/or quietly unintrusive. Basically we had a bunch of class acts there over the weekend, parents and children included.

We enjoyed the company of lounge hosts/hostesses a great deal. They were always smiling, laughing and eager to help. We had a wonderful time catching up with Margaret and Mercedes when they were around, and everyone else was simply wonderful as well.

While we were at the park, we came to depend on the planning desk for last minute changes. Stephanie and Amy were our "heroines" and wrangled us through a number of last minute dining arrangement changes, scoring unlikely but perfect PS's at just about everywhere we wanted when we needed it. Cheers to you, Stephanie and Amy!

One of those dining arrangements was at Bistro De Paris (don't hate us! I heard it's the best Epcot restaurant.) Well, the advice I got from the "Disboards" bore itself out to be true. This was simply the best dining experience I have ever had at Epcot!

The manager, Margaritte, was absolutely and sincerely sweet and charming as you could hope for! Our waiter, Julian, was the best waiter we have ever had in Orlando, not just Disney, Orlando. This guy was so polished and smooth, half the dining experience was enjoying his proficiency and skill. Look, if you've ever seen me, you know I dine out often, and this guy is one of the best I've seen out there. Enough said. (Margaritte, if you read this, I want you to know what a struggle I had to prevent the spell-checker from changing your name to "Margarita". You had to be good for me to put up that kind of fight - LOL!)

So while I will never, ever go to the country of France again, suffice to say I recommend the rest of you go to Epcot and enjoy it there! Ask for Julian and say "Hello" to Margaritte while you're there.

Now on to the parks:

We hit the MK for E-night late Friday evening. POC, HM and COP (Open!) were walk-ons. Other rides had varying lengths of wait. Typically 30-45 for the high demand rides. We also did MGM and Epcot over the weekend. The lines were longer than we cared for, but we usually go during the "off" season when even Fantasy Land rides can be a walk-on. We weren't really there for the rides this time, though. I brought my wife there so she could...*gasp*...(don't hate me!) ...SHOP! So that's what we did. I looked for Disney hats to use for Golf and she shopped for everything else. I settled on matching "GRUMPY" hats for myself and my boss. Meanwhile my wife decided on some small gifts and opted for us to stop by a bunch of major outlets on the way back home on Route 192 (but that's for another post...)

As for the meals, here's where we went:

Boardwalk - Big River Grille - We ordered the Mahi Sandwich and Hamburger. Both were pretty good and the beer was great!

Japan - Teppanyaki Dining Rooms - Lots of fun, but it was mostly the other company and several servings of Sake I'm thinking about. My wife and I both had "Bonsai" Steak and Lobster along with the Sake and beer. The cook actually lost hold of a utensil he was spinning and it landed in front of (not on!) my wife, but we moved over to the side after that. The cooking experience was still fun, but we were a bit cautious (uh...yeah...) after that.

Fulton's Crab house - We had appetizers and Lobster Bisque here. All good, all delicious, great service! This was our second time back here, particularly for the Bisque which is excellent.

Bistro De Paris - Again, the service was outstanding! My wife had the lobster and I had the Lamb. Wonderful presentation, excellent overall experience. We decided to split the “Grand Marnier Soufflé” for desert – Perfect! We returned to the concierge lounge later and raided the deserts there. We had 3 chocolate strawberries, 2 cookies and some tarts. If calories were sin we’d be burning, friends…

So anyway, we had some great meals, lots of fun and wonderful service on part of the concierge. This trip proved to us that even during peak months we could have a good time at Disney. We're not done yet either, as we'll be heading back in the fall to try out the Beach Club and then the Polynesian again later this year. Gotta love being local.

Thanks to all the posters who contributed their experience and helped to make ours perfect!

 

[JESW]

Glad to hear that you enjoyed the Boardwalk Inn. We were just there at the concierge level 6/19 - 23. I agree that the staff is very friendly and helpful. The resort itself is beautiful.

It was tough tho going to that concierge after being at The Animal Kingdom Lodge for 4 nights beforehand. I KNOW that the food offered at the lounge is not meant to be for a complete meal, but the quantity and variety of foods offered are not consistent at all lounges. The AKL was so much better in its food offerings and quantity. I found at the BWI I didn't want to take things because there were so few of them out - especially the desserts at night. At the AKL the staff was right there replenishing the food as it was taken. It was also nice to have not one, but three self-dispensing drink containers throughout the day. At the BWI they had just a couple of different sodas and water in a drink tray.

It is NOT a knock at the resort - just one of the diferences we found. We hope to get back there next April, but this time we will be prepared for the offerings, or lack thereof in the lounge.

Jill

 

[CaipiraBob]

Hi,

Actually the comments on the offerings were directed at the crowd described in some of the posts I read earlier. One woman was desribed as "knowing how to work the system" and another was overheard saying "We'll just throw away what we don't want" after piling food high onto a tray.

I don't know about the quantities offered at AKL, I'll have to try them next year. I never actually saw what they served at the Polynesian for the hors doeuvres, we always ate early for the kid's sake so we weren't around.

I was just angry after reading about some of the posted abuses and rudeness of the guests in some lounges.

I thought twice about the comments but then decided it's easier to post them for all to read. Since everyone I ran into at BWI was as nice as I could hope for, maybe those incidents with the over-the-line people are isolated and rare.

 

[Cris]

thank you for the very detailed report, thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Now I gotta try the Bistro.

 

[msteddom]

Excellent review Bob. Thanks for taking the time to get so detailed. It really makes a huge difference. Now I have to add the BWI to the list of hotels I want to stay at!

 

[JESW]

Bob -

Ah yes, the whole concierge things alway brings up some interesting posts about what people believe they should get because they are paying more! (Yes, you should get some extra things but not at the risk of taking from others)

Our kids are 4 & 8 and we did not let them spend much time in the BWI lounge. There wasn't much room and it semed that every time we stopped by there were people having mini-meetings. We went in and went out. At times they can behave, but DH & I didn't want to chance it.

If you like attention to detail then you MUST try the AKL concierge level. The lounge is above the lobby. We found it very comfortable and child-friendly and we hung out there a bit. I don't want to hi-jack your thread, but check out the AKL!!

Jill

 

[ZPT1022]

CaipiraBob,
Thank you so much for your wonderful review of the BWI concierge services. I have been second guessing our choice since a lot of the postings I have found about it were less than fabulous. Just one thing that still bothers me, I am hoping maybe you can put this fear to rest. Am I wrong to get the impression that children are not welcome in the concierge lounge? Our daughter will be two when we are there this fall, and for the most part she behaves well. It is our policy to remove her from situations when she gets out of control with whininess or whatever, but she is still a kid. She doesn't always talk quietly, she giggles a lot, she is a happy baby. Do you think we'll have a hard time? I know this is a very controversial subject and I appreciate your input, I believe you mentioned you're a parent as well so your thoughts would be appreciated.

Becky

 

[CaipiraBob]

Hi ZPT1022,

I think BWI does make children very welcome in the lounge. Some of the nicer things I've run into when arriving there including a man putting together a puzzle with his young daughter while they were enjoying a movie together on the big TV screen. As there was an ample supply of 5" chocolate chip cookies available just about all day (now you know why I was there...) I suspect the child was having a pretty good time!

In the evenings, I ran across several families sitting there with children waiting for the fireworks. It was a really nice scene, too. On family had a small son who kept asking questions about Mickey and Minnie and how they ran things. The family took turns explaining how Mickey controlled the fiscal aspects of the company in response to the son's innocent questions. Really cute! Afterwards, when the fireworks started, everyone gathered on the porch and had a great view of the fireworks. There was rooms for everyone there. This also worked out particularly well because there was rain for most of the evening and we had a sheltered view.

The only reason I consider the BWI more of an adult resort is because of the layout. The rooms can be pretty far from ground access, and there's not much room for the children to roam and explore until you get outside, which can be a trip. Then you have either the pools or the boardwalk, which is geared more towards adults. That was my impression.

I think you'll love it - Enjoy!

 

[ducklite]

Glad you enjoyed your stay there! We have also stayed there, and really enjoyed it. The CM's there are extremely gracious--it's almost like a B&B type atmosphere.

The food offereings are definitely less quantity than at some of the other concierge lounges. We found it to be much more "adult" oriented than some of the others as well.

Children are welcomed, and when we were there there were a few, but they were extremely quiet and well behaved.

I do prefer the AKL and Polynesian...the AKL because it makes my jaw drop and the Polynesian because I love the way they have the water and soda set out.

But the BWI is definitely a close runner up

Anne

 

[DeborahB]

Bob- Thank you so much for your very detailed and positive report of the BWI Concierge! It'll be just my husband and I when we stay there next spring. It seems most of the reports I've read have said basically the same thing: lack of available cold sodas and water, lack of quantity of food in late afternoon and evening, and repetition of foods served day after day. Some have also said the concierge service was indifferent. But I'm glad to see your experience was a step above.
I love the Boardwalk- the Inn and Villas are so beautiful and a wonderful place for an adult only trip. We may end up splitting our stay with AKL concierge, I'm not sure yet, I just know I'd like to try all resort concierges eventually!
I'm hoping to get a BW view, too. Do you recall what your room number was?
Also, what wines and cordials were out? And desserts too?
Thanks again!

Debbie

 

[ZPT1022]

Bob,
Thanks for setting my mind at ease!! I was feeling nervous that it may have been one of those places where regardless of the childrens behavior people don't like seeing kids there. I am glad this is not the case! DD will be sure to love those chocolate chip cookies, DH as well (okay me too!) Thanks again, it is always nice to read a positive review of something

 

[welovedis]

Thanks for the interesting report Bob! We are looking forward to our first concierge stays at WDW resorts in January and will be splitting our stay between AKL & BWI. I appreciate your comments on the staff and the food offerings. We are planning on using the lounge for a quick snack here and there and hope we don't run into any of those people who think it is there for a meal!

Glad you had a nice stay!

 

[CaipiraBob]

DeborahB

Hi,

We didn't run into an issue with a lack of drinks or water for the park. They always seemed to have enough, but we never really hit the place during peak hours except for the fireworks. You can always ask and they'll get you whatever you need.

welovedis

Hi,

I guess I was a little harsh on my comments about the offerings. I was being responsive to some of the posts where people ran into truly rude and abusive guests. I didn't encounter any of that here. They always replenished the items and the night we raided the deserts they asked me what I liked in particular and they had double the amount on the trays.

There weren't really many other people around, but I did a fair amount of damage to one desert tray that evening. Later I came back for some decaf tea and they had replenished the items again. I averted my eyes at that point...

At any rate, the goods are there to enjoy so please do so!!!

Please don't feel shy Just because I overreacted to someone else's experience. Try the chocolate covered strawberry (or three...or four...)