micmacmissy
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2004
- Messages
- 669
We just got back yesterday from our first trip to Disney--we stayed at the GF, if the SugarLoaf building, 2 bdrm suite.
Our first experience was with the concierge staff--I had called the day before to confirm, and they said our suite would be ready upon arrival (3pm), which I specifically requested so our kids could nap when we got there. We were greeted and escorted to check-in, told that our room would be ready in 15 min, housekeeping was already in there, and they would send someone up to escort us to our room. We waited in the lounge for an hour before I went down to double check--the concierge I had talked to was now off duty, and her replacement (boy, wish I got her name) was snarky and obnoxious. She gave me the whole schpiel about how rooms are not guaranteed until 5pm, etc etc, and I asked her to please call housekeeping and check the status. So she picked up the phone, said, "Can you put a rush on suite xyz, thank you" and hung up. Then she said to me, "Well, the problem was that the previous guests totally trashed the suite, they were so disrespectful, so it is taking housekeeping a long time to clean it, etc etc". Well, to begin with, that was a lot of information she got in the 2 seconds she was on the phone, and if that was the case, why did the previous CM tell us they were finishing up and it would be ready in 15 minutes? Also, if a previous guest HAD trashed the suite, should she really be dishing to another guest about it? So unprofessional. I would have rather had a sincere apology instead of a lame excuse.
After two hours, we were finally in the suite--housekeeping was just leaving when we arrived, just finishing up...but the concierge staff, aside from Aurelia, was unimpressive considering the $8,500 price tag for 5 nights. So our biggest complaint was that the concierge staff was not overly helpful--they were polite, but didn't go out of their way and "wow" us. One exception was Aurelia--she finally made some phone calls and got the General Manager over to talk to us who apologized profusely. But the other concierge staff members we encountered didn't seem to take particular pride or pleasure in their jobs, seemed to be just getting by. All the other staff (waiters, housekeeping) we encountered were MUCH more pleasant and helpful.
Once we were in, though, all was well. The suite itself was nice and the grounds of the GF were beautiful. The beds were unbelievably comfortable--best I've ever slept on, including my own! The hotel was very well kept and we were happy not to be in the main building (the main building was unbelievably busy, loud, and crowded!) On the second day, the General Manger left each child an autographed photo of their favorite character with an apology to us--a nice touch.
The food offerings were good, and housekeeping was outstanding. I requested a crib and roll away bed for my kids, they were in the room within minutes--they also brought me a refridgerator and a gallon of milk for my daughter's bottles. Housekeeping staff were friendly and eager to go out of their way to help us, and we loved the evening turndown service.
We ate at Narcoosee's (fabulous food, even better service) and at the Garden Cafe. The service at the Garden Cafe was so bad we actually were laughing about it. We had a brand new waiter--it took him 20 minutes to get drinks, after a half hour still no order taken, then incorrect orders delivered, then food but no utensils or condiments, by the time correct orders were delievered, other two of us were already finished. The manager came over and apologized and comped us the meal ($120) for free...then gave us his card and asked us to come back each night of our stay for a free meal, that's how bad it was. We were in good spirits about it--we didn't have the kids with us, so it wasn't that stressful--but we didn't chance going back, even for a free meal...that is how bad the service was. Hopefully our experience there was just a fluke.
We loved the proximity of the GF, and the resort itself was beautiful--hard to imagine staying anywhere else on our next visit!
Our first experience was with the concierge staff--I had called the day before to confirm, and they said our suite would be ready upon arrival (3pm), which I specifically requested so our kids could nap when we got there. We were greeted and escorted to check-in, told that our room would be ready in 15 min, housekeeping was already in there, and they would send someone up to escort us to our room. We waited in the lounge for an hour before I went down to double check--the concierge I had talked to was now off duty, and her replacement (boy, wish I got her name) was snarky and obnoxious. She gave me the whole schpiel about how rooms are not guaranteed until 5pm, etc etc, and I asked her to please call housekeeping and check the status. So she picked up the phone, said, "Can you put a rush on suite xyz, thank you" and hung up. Then she said to me, "Well, the problem was that the previous guests totally trashed the suite, they were so disrespectful, so it is taking housekeeping a long time to clean it, etc etc". Well, to begin with, that was a lot of information she got in the 2 seconds she was on the phone, and if that was the case, why did the previous CM tell us they were finishing up and it would be ready in 15 minutes? Also, if a previous guest HAD trashed the suite, should she really be dishing to another guest about it? So unprofessional. I would have rather had a sincere apology instead of a lame excuse.
After two hours, we were finally in the suite--housekeeping was just leaving when we arrived, just finishing up...but the concierge staff, aside from Aurelia, was unimpressive considering the $8,500 price tag for 5 nights. So our biggest complaint was that the concierge staff was not overly helpful--they were polite, but didn't go out of their way and "wow" us. One exception was Aurelia--she finally made some phone calls and got the General Manager over to talk to us who apologized profusely. But the other concierge staff members we encountered didn't seem to take particular pride or pleasure in their jobs, seemed to be just getting by. All the other staff (waiters, housekeeping) we encountered were MUCH more pleasant and helpful.
Once we were in, though, all was well. The suite itself was nice and the grounds of the GF were beautiful. The beds were unbelievably comfortable--best I've ever slept on, including my own! The hotel was very well kept and we were happy not to be in the main building (the main building was unbelievably busy, loud, and crowded!) On the second day, the General Manger left each child an autographed photo of their favorite character with an apology to us--a nice touch.
The food offerings were good, and housekeeping was outstanding. I requested a crib and roll away bed for my kids, they were in the room within minutes--they also brought me a refridgerator and a gallon of milk for my daughter's bottles. Housekeeping staff were friendly and eager to go out of their way to help us, and we loved the evening turndown service.
We ate at Narcoosee's (fabulous food, even better service) and at the Garden Cafe. The service at the Garden Cafe was so bad we actually were laughing about it. We had a brand new waiter--it took him 20 minutes to get drinks, after a half hour still no order taken, then incorrect orders delivered, then food but no utensils or condiments, by the time correct orders were delievered, other two of us were already finished. The manager came over and apologized and comped us the meal ($120) for free...then gave us his card and asked us to come back each night of our stay for a free meal, that's how bad it was. We were in good spirits about it--we didn't have the kids with us, so it wasn't that stressful--but we didn't chance going back, even for a free meal...that is how bad the service was. Hopefully our experience there was just a fluke.
We loved the proximity of the GF, and the resort itself was beautiful--hard to imagine staying anywhere else on our next visit!
