Please post your concierge review here

[ead79]

It's often difficult to find comparisons of the different concierge services and people's reviews all in one place, so I thought we could start a thread with reviews of the concierge(s) we have stayed at to help others choose. Please include what resort, when you stayed there (older stays are ok to include), and what room view (lagoon, garden, etc. if this applies) you had. It's also good if we have multiple reviews of the same resort.

Polynesian lagoon view concierge, Dec. 2001

We had room 1512 at the Polynesian in the Hawaii concierge building. The castle was directly outside our window, and you could see the Contemporary on the right and the GF on the left. If you walked out onto the patio, you could also see the wedding pavilion. The Hawaii building is very close to the new pool, marina, and Great Ceremonial House. When we checked in, our bellman escorted us to the Hawaii building where the concierge staff buzzed us in and told us to come pay them a visit once we got settled in our room. We did just that, and they gave us park maps, a sheet with confirmations of our priority seatings, and told us about the food offerings of the lounge upstairs on the 2nd floor of the building. Of course we went up there next to see all the goodies. It was the middle of the day, so there were snack foods available. The cookies are outstanding. Also, there were soft drinks, bottled water, gummy worms and M & M's for the kids, guava juice, and lemonade out for the taking. We had to change several of our priority seatings, and the concierge staff was extremely helpful with this. That night when we returned to our room, there was a chocolate bar with a picture of the Poly on it waiting for us. How neat! We definitely utilized the concierge lounge, as the food was just delicious. We really enjoyed the fried shrimp rolls, pasta, and pineapple with caramel dipping sauce (pineapple from 'Ohana I think) they had one night. The dessert offerings were also outstanding. They had tons to choose from, and they were all delicious. The breakfast spread was also yummy--cereals, bagels, muffins, donuts, etc. The loung staff and chefs were also incredibly friendly--at one point during our stay the chef was teaching the kids to make "animals" out of fruits. Also, there were trays and paper plates so you could take food with you back to your room and leave the tray to be picked up outside the door, which was very convenient. I would definitely stay at the Poly concierge again. The staff, lounge, and room view were all outstanding.

 

[LadyTrampScamp&Angel]

Thanks for posting this ead79. I haven't stayed in a conceirge room yet but am considering it for next trip.

I can't wait to read all the reviews!

 

[WDWCrazzyCunninghams]

Thanks EAD79!! We will be staying at the Poly Concierge on June 18, 19, and 20th...checking out on the 21st. I can't wait! Your review makes the wait even harder! We're just a tad excited, can you tell?

 

[luvdzny]

We stayed at the Poly concierge in the Hawaii building - lagoon veiw room 2512. We were very disappointed. We had lots of problems, the staff was not at all friendly, never received an itineray or any info at check-in, they e-mailed our PS times and 2 were wrong, the room was VERY musty smelling, the food was gone before the posted serving time was over on a number of occasions. we had to wait over 2 hours for our room - after being told at check-in that our room would be ready in 10 minutes, and the staff was not helpful at all. When I needed info on Osborne Family Lights preview at MGM the concierge staff gave me the phone # of MGM and told me I should call myself! I have written 2 e-mails & 1 letter detailing my complaints, and have not received any response. Needless to say my family will NOT be staying at the Polynesian ever again. We will stick with our favorites, POFQ & AKL. I don't mean to be so negative, but it is the truth. We were very excited about trying Poly concierge, but it was a huge let down.

 

[judi]

We stayed at the Yacht Club on the concierge floor in Dec. 2001. We enjoyed our stay and the service was fine. The food was yummy and it was nice to have water to take to the parks. I don't remember the room number but we overlooked the pool and lake. It was a perfect view. They had a bag of wonderful grapefruit candy in our room when we arrived. They weren't very helpful when I had to go to the emergency room for an asthma attack, had to go to the front desk in the lobby to get directions. We will be trying out the Polynesian's concierge in July and again in December.

 

[Swan]

We stayed at the Polynesian concierge Dec 6-13, 2001. It was a Garden view room on the 3rd floor. I ca not remember the room number, but I was the closest one to the lounge and elevator. The staff was nice and made lots of PS's for us. I did not find the staff at the desk over friendly, but ok. Now the staff in the lounge were wonderful. Scott was very nice and was a pleasure to meet. The best thing that happened was that I left all my jewelry in the safe(I am a big dummy), and it was turned in. As soon as they found out who it belonged to the returned it with overnight shipping. I long to return there soon.

 

[ead79]

bumping for more reviews

 

[DisneyaHolic23]

So far I have only stayed Poly Concierge for our honeymoon in 1999. We loved it, and I am spoiled for concierge in the future. In fact, when we visit for 18 Days in July, 6 of those days will be concierge (3 at Beach Club, and 3 at AKL). I will add reviews when I return - I can tell you all that I am SOOOO impressed by the castmembers in the concierge lounges at both resorts, since I have been emailing them for over a month now, and have almost all my priority seatings for all 18 days made by them already. I especially am impressed with Alana at the AKL. They are both going to be trying for CRT coming up soon, so we will see if they have any better luck than me! I wrote now so that I would get an automatic email whenever someone else posts a review. I LOVE this thread!!

I can tell you that I stayed concierge at the Grand Californian in California Adventure, and was disappointed after the Poly. It was much more crowded and there wasn't room to sit often. The rooms were more expensive than the Poly, but I just didn't get the same feel from the castmembers.

 

[preshi]

Stayed at Poly Concierge January 26 -30 Had a 2nd floor room Garden view. The room smelled bad. There was mold in the bathroom. Sure the shower curtain looked new but that's not a great feature. The view was nice. I loved the small walk to the TTC and the boat to MK. The Concierge Lounge was nice and had a great view. The waitstaff was very friendly. I can't say as much for the concierge check in people. We asked for them to do something about the smell twice with no reply finally we asked to be moved to another hotel. Had a choice of grand Floridian or AKL. So we chose AKL We also fell asleep more than once on the hammocks outside. That was nice too. Just don't walk in the water!!!


AKl concierge Jan 31-Feb2

Very friendly people. The Concierge loounge was kind of small and I didn't like having to ask for bottled water or soda. No toothbrushes in the rooms . Had room 1512 right next to VP suite. Gorgeous view. The furniture in the room was gorgeous! The whole room was just beautiful. I loved being in that room in fact we took a day off just to sit on the balcony and relax. Room service food was great too

 

[Tess]

We just returned from a terrific 11 day stay at WDW. We spent one day at POR (or DxL as it will forever be known to me), 8 days at Polynesian Concierge and two days at Beach Club concierge.

There is a split vote in our family as to which concierge/hotel is best--our 13 y/o male thinks the food in the BC concierge is better than Polynesian while our now 11 y/o votes Polynesian and Chef Dick tops! As much as I wanted to love BC, I'm afraid my DH and I are still much more fond of Polynesian Concierge! Both kids do agree, they prefer the Polynesian location to BC (neither are big EPCOT fans and our daughter can be relentless when it comes to getting out of that park--very aggravating for DH and I who LOVE IT!). As far as the concierge staff goes, we found both helpful, courteous, and friendly. Polynesian staff members remembered us from previous visits, so I guess they get an extra credit point or two.

Both adults think the BC concierge lounge service is better in that its hours of service and food variety is better. Food quality, however, is not an issue since both provide what we consider tasty treats. We also like the BC location, although it's not a convenient place to be when it comes to pool access, etc. We much prefer the location of the Hawaii building with its wonderful access to the entire resort, especially the pools. Also, the separate building for concierge and inaccessibility for security purposes make it desirable. At BC, we found that it wasn't difficult to gain access to the sprawling concierge 5th floor and hence, security was more of an issue.

We have now stayed at CB, DxL, GF, BI, Polynesian, and BC. It looks as if Polynesian will still rank #1 in our vacation plans. That doesn't mean we won't be trying out other locales. . .Polynesian will be our primary destination though!

BTW, we spoke with a bartender at Polynesian's Barefoot Bar who was "on loan" for the evening from AKL. He indicated that AKL was definitely not as busy as WDW would like it to be--and, frankly, from it's location, I wouldn't want to stay out there! Way too far from the action for our tastes. It does, however, look impressive from the drive into AK.

Another tidbit, I wanted to share--we lunched at Teppanyaki with an engineer from Sony Corporation. He was onsite making a survey and feasibility study for Sony to erect another resort around the perimeter of Fort Wilderness. The idea would be to "hide" Fort Wilderness and the camping facilities from those driving along the roadway. I found that interesting news--yet another resort!

Well, I've got kids heading off to another week's vacation with Grandma (or is it now my vacation-- ), but I'd be happy to answer your questions. Fire away!

Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention this--we didn't ask for BC concierge until after we were nearing our stay at Polynesian. I had booked a standard room figuring we were just looking for a place to sleep and relax since we would be done park hopping on Sunday and Monday. Well, the staff at Polynesian called and secured a spot in concierge for us at my request, adding that I knew there would be an additional charge--heck, yeah--it was a good bit more than the standard I had paid for, but that was okay with me. Well, we checked into BC and lucky us--a comp upgrade to concierge! I'm not sure whom to thank for that one, but you can bet nice letters will be headed in both directions.

Also, when discussing the room situations--the concierge staff at both resorts called them "Room Assigners". They called specific people to check for availability AND when we asked for a late check-out at BC (which we recevied).

 

[ead79]

 

[betterlatethannever]

1989 - Poly old setup does not apply anymore Concierge in the Great Ceremonial house

1995 - Poly, 2nd floor lagoon view, about 5 doors from the lounge. Room was spaceous for the five of us. Lounge is largest at WDW. Large amount of tables.four toasters, no waiting. Large spread for breakfast. Late afternoon (5-7) snacks were great. Bottled drinks out all day long. Special to water the MK fireworks with piped in music and the Electric water pagent (no music, either fireworks or water pagent, couldn't do both ) CMs very pleasant and helpful. Chef was amazing with his skill at making designs out of cookies, bananas and everything else.

2000 - Poly (seeing a trend ) 2nd floor lagoon view, about 7 doors from the lounge. Same as before except Could now listen to both the MK fireworks and water pagent from the lounge

2000 - Swan - Parking lot view. Standard size room. (left kids at home ) Lounge had limited breakfast selection. Not much snacks during the day. Bottled water out all day long. Nothing special about either the room or the Lounge.

2001 - YC -(left kids at home seeing a trend) Junior suite 3rd floor lagoon view. Nice room. Strange layout - couldn't see the TV from the bed. Lounge was very nice. Breakfast had large selection.One toaster, long wait. good snacks all day long. Late afternoon goodies were special. Had to ask for bottled drinks. Only downside, lounge only had coffee tables. CMs very helpful and pleasant.

2002 - BW - garden suite near quiet pool.-(left kids at home 20th aniversary) VEEEEEERRRRRY nice accommodations. Lounge was very nice,IMO second largest in WDW. Very nice assortment for breakfast (only one toaster). Very good snacks throughout the day. Late afternoon goodies.
Had to ask for bottled drinks. Can see illuminations from balcony.
Had a great Super Bowl party. CMs exceptionally helpful and pleasant.

2002 - AKL 6th floor, view of the area called Sunset. room is very dark(as has been mentioned before by others). Dark colors plus 53 watt bulbs in the fixtures made it hard to read in the room especially with my old bad eyes LOL. Large room, view of all the animals in the morning was fantastic. Lounge is large, lots of seating, good breakfast selection (however no bread for toast or english muffins . Not much in the way of early afternoon snacks. Late afternoon goodies were superb - a lot of variety of food from Boma's. CMs exceptionally helpful and pleasant.
Need to stay there at least once so that you can go on the sunrise safari. (The sunrise safari is only open to AKL concierge guests). This behind the scene tour includes a special safari ride and they both are a must. It is early in the morning before the park opens. On this early safari ride, I saw more animials than all the 5 regular safari rides put together. I think the tour guide helped make the difference also. She works at the Lodge taking care of the animals and she was able to explain the differences in the routines of the animals between the AK and the AKL.


2002 - BC November - wine and food festival

2002 - Contemporary - December - MVMCP

Ranking the concierges so far: Poly, BW, AKL, YC, Swan

One of these days GF

Ed

 

[madcoco]

Our concierge rankings
1.AKL Friendly staff.Relaxing.Different foods SAfrican wines.2 stays 3rd coming up in a month.

2.GF Concierge staff went out of their way to help us with some special plans.love to relax in the lounge. 2 stays

3.Polynesian Great selection of foods.Staff went out of their way for our 15th anniversary last Oct. We were really amazed how they decorated the room left champagne,choc. covered stawberries,neat choco bar with a scene of the resort on it. etc.
Fixed a problem with CRT ressies.Gave us complimentary transportation back and forth to AP at WL 2x.
4stays One time we had a problem with a large wet smelly stain on our3rd floor lagoon view upon checkin.Took what seemed like forever for someone to try to take care of problem.They never got the smell out and we had to switch rooms The lounge has been extremely crazy on some days especially at Breakfast with some people not supervising their children.

4.Swan/Dolphin Will leave it at this: Started out wonderfully but each stay went progressively down hill, until never again
5stays1st in 92.Last July 00'

Have not stayed in concierge at YC/BC,BW or Contemporary.

 

[DNSDisney]

We stayed last June for 4 nights at the poly. The staff was wonderful. Even went so far as to go get PBand J and bring it back for my daughter who won't eat a sandwich with mayo on it. (hoping this will change soon) They made several PS's for us and notified each rest. of my husbands special diet needs (High Chol. and blood pressure) . The food was great , there was tons of it in the lounge. Cold sodas always out as well as bottled water.
I personally didn't think the desserts were that great but the others in my family loved them.
You could not of asked for harder working CM's than the Poly has. They try and do everything they can to make your stay magical!
The room was wonderful (3rd floor). The view of Cindy's castle was unbelieveable! We sat out on the balcony at night with a shot of Baley's and it was sooooo relaxing. This was our first stay at concierge at Disney. It will not be our last, we are going again in June this yr.
WARNING: once you go concierge it is really difficult to go back to anything else.

 

[WilmaBud]

My 1st Concierge stay was a complimentary upgrade at the Contemporary in 1995. It was awesome. The CM's couldn't be nicer. The view from the lounge was of the castle. We went in there each evening to watch the fireworks. The food was great, especially the afternoon snacks and the evening desserts. That was a magical vacation.

My 2nd and 3rd concierge stays were during the same vacation (which we took with my sister and her family) in 1999. First we were at YC. That was truly outstanding. The snacks were terrific, especially the cookies in the afternoon, and the desserts and cordials in the evening. There were lots of beverages to choose from, and if they didn't have something, they'd go get it for you. The CM's were extremely friendly and helpful. They really took a personal interest in us, making several PS's (incl. some hard-to-get ones).

Unfortunately, we chose to go to the Poly the 2nd half of our stay. It was a totally negative experience. The room stunk of mildew. The CM's had an attitude problem, particularly at check-in and at the concierge desk. The snacks and beverages were very limited, and if they didn't have something we wanted - tough luck. For example, my brother-in-law asked for beer because he's not a wine-drinker (they don't offer beer), and they told him to go buy some himself. For all the extra money we paid for concierge, I think they could've gotten some beer for him! We wanted PS's, and they didn't get us anything we requested, and they weren't apologetic at all. Pretty much "tough luck" again. My BIL said the shower was horrible in his room. I didn't have that problem, but he's 6'1'' and I'm 5'0'', so maybe that's the difference (he said it hit him in the middle of the back, instead of the head). To sum it all up, both families were disappointed in the Poly. Maybe at another time, we'd have a better experience, but ours was so bad that it has, unfortunately, left us never wanting to return to the Poly. I'm not trying to be negative (I usually get flamed for saying anything negative about the Poly); we truly had a terrible experience at the Poly, and I'm just being honest about it.

 

[The_Disney_God]

Contemporary in Janurary 1999. It was amazing. A great view of the Magic Kingdom.

Ever morning and afternoon they had snacks. Great to get some and bring them back to your room. Or just sit there and relax. A great place

Swan in like 2000. Wasn't bad, but horrible view. Good food though

 

[ead79]

bump

 

[surfgirl]

bump

 

[Gail T AGAIN]

YC last August and it was a nice first experience. the food was plentyful and the staff was more then accomodating. We like it alot but this yr we are trying the ploy and the BWI. someday I want to be able to say I have stayed at each hotel, concierge no less.

 

[Pooh667]

Hi,

We stayed at Poly Concierge May 14th to the 21st 2001. We loved it. The staff at check in and lobby were friendly and helpful. We stayed in a 1st floor and it was nice. The staff in the lounge was also friendly and helpful. We got all the little extras, welcome gift, goodbye gift etc. It was really nice, magical.

We stayed at Poly Concierge May 1st to May 9th 2002. We were not very happy this time. In general the lobby staff were not very friendly or helpful. We had some problems with the biggest being a problem with our bill. We had booked 2 rooms, one for us , one for my MIL. When we checked in they made a mistake and charged me for the 2 rooms then was also charging my MIL rack rate for her room. We didn't catch this till a couple of days later ( because I never saw my MIL's check in receipt) until we had a problem with something and needed to see my MIL's bill. When I first questioned it they dismissed it , then when I got my Disney confirmation they tried to tell me that it was the rate for one room and that CRO had made a mistake then they tried to blame it on my travel agent, then me. Then they started passing the buck as to who could fix it. They were charging us almost $9000 for 2 rooms for 8 nights. It is a long story but it was their error, they made the mistake at check in. It wasted alot of our time. I give a big thumbs up to Regina of DU because I was getting so upset and frustated with the situation and my hubby reminded me about Regina and after contacting her the problem was fixed. We also had some other minor complaints.

I guess I got so spoiled last year with the wonderful service and extras that I expected them again.

Susan