Live from the RPH

[SB in KY]

Just wanted to make a quick post to say how pleased we have been with our stay. Had concierge level room for 3 nights (checking out in the AM) We arrived Wed Am about 8:30 AM to check in so my teen daughters and friend could have room keys before heading to the parks for FOTL access. No line at check in. I was not going to the parks, so they took off and I headed up to the lounge, plugged in my laptop and finished some work I needed to do. Left about 11:30AM for some area shopping. When I came back to the lounge about 1PM the concierge told me my room was ready as I entered the lounge...we are in room 3747....view of the luau pavilion and garden and just a couple of doors down from the lounge.

The lounge staff and concierge have been outstanding, good housekeeping and no problems anyplace. The food offerings in the lounge have been exceptional....I have WAY overeaten these days....I did not go to the parks so have had a lot of time to enjoy the lounge while reading and working.

IMHO this has been a far superior experiemce to our concierge room stay at the HRH 2 years ago (much smaller lounge, very crowded, fewer food offerings, etc).

The s loved the FOTL access and liked coming back mid day for rest and drinks.

All in all a delightful stay. I almost backed out prior to arriving because of the cost, but I am glad now I kept the reservation...it has been worth the increased cost for the concierge service.

 

[RyGuy]

I agree that the HRH club lounge doesn't even compare to the one at RPR.

 

[cdpa4d]

Just a question about Concierge at RPR. Do you think staying concierge is worth $250 per night. Right now I have a garden view room booked for $180 per night AAA rate. Is $70 more per night worth it for concierge?

 

[tclowe]

Thanks for posting while at RPR. Glad you are having a good experience with Club. So what kinds of foods have you tasted from the club lounge? We can't wait til our turn in December.

 

[Loudbmw]

We have done Concierge at RPR twice. If you are a family of 4, the $70 price difference may be well worth it for you. The savings on breakfast alone with tips will save half of the $70. Then the evening coctails and snacks...

More than $70, I might pass.

Lou

 

[MamaKate]

I currently have club level booked for September & I was also trying to decide if I should save some money and stay in a regular room.

Could you give a little more details of the offerings in the Club Lounge.

Thanks,

 

[SB in KY]

Sorry to be so long responding (I am taking this vacation thing very seriously!!)

For us the $70/day was worth having concierge. There was myself and 3 teen daughters...so we had breakfast for all 4 of us daily, we went out for dinner one evening, but the other 2 days we had had a late lunch and were not really hungry, so the lounge evening offerings were all we wanted. And (although I am slightly embarrassed to admit this)....I think the 3 teens drank almost $70/day worth of diet cokes from the lounge!! Because I wasn't doing the parks and had a big work project to finish up I spent a lot of time in the lounge and it was so nice not to holed up in the hotel room the whole time....it was big and open and airy in the lounge with complimentary computer with printer (I did my project on my lap top but a couple of times I needed to print out some things and it was very handy to be able to quickly print stuff out). The staff could not have been nicer or more helpful.

To the best of my recollection here is a run down of food offerings:

Breakfast (6:30 or 7AM until 10AM)...very nice selection of mini muffins, croissants (regular and filled) and danish, assorted breads and bagels by the toaster, butter, cream cheese and a flavored cream cheese that changed daily (the mango was to die for). Also 8 to 10 kinds of cereal and milks, trays of sliced summer fruits (melons, pineapple, etc). Hot pan baked and iced cinnamon rolls, juices and a basket of whole fruit (apples, oranges, bannanas, etc) and a tray of various coffee cakes.

Mid-day they put out mini bags of chips, a bowl of nuts and very good cookies.

From about 3PM to 5PM (times are approximate here) in addition to the mid-day offerings they put out lovely tea cookies (the macaroons were killers!!)

About 5 or 5:30 until 7PM they had fruit trays, an excellent cheese selection, crackers, great veggies with a couple of kinds of dips, tortilla chips with salsa, guacamole and dip, and each evening they had a hot dish and a cold salad...both were always excellent (shrimp spring rolls, marinated asparagus and a pesto pasta salad one evening. steamed dumplings and a sundreied tomatoe and chicken salad one evening...didn't look at the offerings the other night).

Then (and my personal favorite)...from 8 - 9:30PM or so there was a very lovely desert buffet. Always had 1 kind of cheesecake, assorted cookies, a cream pie (different each night...there was a macademia pie, that was incredible!!)...then at least 2 or 3 other desserts very unusual and delicious.

Wine and beer were served during the afternoon and evening hours I believe. Individual bottles of coke products, bottled water and Pellegrino were always available as were coffee, decaf and tea as well as milk. They had an excellent tea assortment .

The staff kept the room immacculate and all food and drink items well stocked.

The lounge itself has at least a dozen tables, maybe more as well as 3 or 4 good sized conversation areas with couches, overstuffed chairs, etc. I never saw the lounge full and there was never the "pigs to the feeding trough" experience that we have had at the HRH Concierge lounge (huge lines, people pigging out and hauling massive quantities of food off to their rooms, etc)...all in all a delightful environment.