Grand Floridian Honeymoon Turret Room #4330
Grand Floridian Honeymoon Turret Room Pictures
We checked in to our room in the morning around 11:00 and were pleasantly surprised to find that our room was ready. We were actually moving from a different honeymoon room at the Grand Floridian, so we could go directly to the concierge desks to check in. My DH handled checking in while I got some of my stuff together to move rooms, but he said it went very smoothly. Our room was so pretty! The turret honeymoon rooms are really unique, and I love the layout of the room. The room has a sitting area with a couch, chair, coffee table, entertainment center, and table with two chairs. On another wall of the room there is a desk and chair. The opposite wall from the desk has a wet bar area with a stocked minibar. The bed is king-sized and has a very pretty floral bedspread. The room is decorated in pastel blues, yellows, greens, and pinks that all come together very nicely. The vanity area has a marble countertop and two sinks, as well as a makeup mirror and a speaker so you can hear the TV from the vanity area. The toilet and shower are in a room of their own. French doors lead from the vanity area to the HUGE walk-in closet. I have never seen a closet that large in a resort room! There are also several drawers and a large safe in the closest. Our turret room was located towards the front side of the Grand Floridian. Our views were of the Grand Floridian itself, the monorail, and the Polynesian Resort and Wedding Pavilion. It was a very pleasant view. Since the turret rooms have windows on several sides of the hexagonal room, there are no balconies.
The concierge lounge is located on the 4th floor of the main building, and its very spacious. There is a beverage service area, a childrens food area, and the regular food service area on one end of the lounge area. There is a television with a sitting area surrounding it, and there are many sitting areas scattered across part of the 4th floor. There are also chairs and tables around the main lobby area, which are great places to sit during the evening and listen to the orchestra perform. The only food service times we were there for were midday snacks, evening appetizers, and evening desserts and cordials. The food offerings are relatively upscale and might not be ideal for picky eaters. Also, there are not as many choices as I have seen at some of the other concierge lounges. Midday snacks consisted of cookies and beverages. Bottled water and soft drinks are available, but you must ask the concierge lounge attendant to get them for you, as they are not out on the beverage area. Evening appetizers consisted of a vegetable tray, a fruit tray, crackers and cheese, and one hot appetizer. We are very picky eaters, so we found the evening appetizers that we cared for to be a little bit sparse. On the other hand, the evening desserts were outstanding! There was a large variety of miniature desserts, and they were delicious. They had pumpkin pie squares, éclairs, chocolate mousse squares, and chocolate covered strawberries. Unfortunately, they did not put out enough chocolate covered strawberries, and some guests were a bit selfish. They only put out about 10 at a time, and I saw one guest take 6 for herself alone. Oh well, I tried one, so I was happy.
The concierge staff sits at desks on the third floor. They were wonderfully friendly and helpful during our visit. They often greeted us by name, and they were always ready to assist us. I had heard some negative reports about GF main building concierge, but we certainly did not experience that at all. They seemed happy to have us staying with them.
As far as the Grand Floridian resort in general goes, we love the convenience and amenities of this resort. The monorail is terrific, providing quick access to the Magic Kingdom and to Epcot. We got refillable mugs at Gasparilla Grill and Games, and found them to be worth their weight in gold. Since the refill location is convenient, we definitely got our moneys worth from the mugs. Plus, they make nice souvenirs. The lobby is gorgeous, especially at Christmas time. It was decorated exquisitely, and it looked gorgeous. The only thing we werent prepared for were the crowds at the GF in the evening. At the holidays, this resort really draws a crowd. In the evenings there were tons of people touring the lobby and seeing the huge gingerbread house and the gigantic tree. We were very glad to have a place to sit and listen to the orchestra in the concierge lounge, because we definitely could not have found a spot in the lobby sitting areas.
My overall impression of the Grand Floridian is very favorable. I felt truly pampered to be staying here, and we had a wonderful visit. Our room was exactly what we had hoped for, and the concierge staff was extremely friendly. I would stay there again without hesitation.
BoardWalk Inn Garden Suite #1204
BoardWalk Inn Garden Suite Pictures
We like to split our stays while traveling to Disney World, so we moved from the Grand Floridian to the BoardWalk Inn about midway through our trip. We arrived early (around 11:30 am), and our room was already ready for us. A very sweet front desk cast member named Xia checked us in and gave us directions to our room. You could get to the room very quickly from the lobby, which was extremely convenient for catching the busses to the parks. We got checked in, received our nifty gold key cards (I had heard on the DIS that you sometimes get gold cards if you stay concierge, but I had never gotten a gold one before), and headed to our room. The exterior to the garden suite was so cute! There is a white picket fence and a gate with an archway leading into a little courtyard with rose bushes and other plants surrounding a pathway into the suite. When we opened the door to the suite we were blown away! What an incredible room! I had seen pictures online, but pictures really dont do it justice. Its perfect for honeymooners, or anyone else on a romantic getaway. The garden suites are two stories. When you enter the suite, there is a sleeper sofa and a coffee table directly ahead. On one side of the sofa there is an entertainment center and a table with two chairs. On the other side of the sofa there is a small side table and a chair. A doorway leads to a small closet, a wet bar area with a small refrigerator, and a half bath. A staircase with hardwood floors leads to the second story loft. In the loft there is a beautiful king sized poster bed, a large entertainment armoire, a closet, and an entry to the vanity area. The vanity area has a marble countertop and two sinks, as well as a small television. Next to the vanity there is a HUGE Jacuzzi tub. It was heavenly for relaxing! A door separates the toilet and the large marble shower with glass doors. We truly loved this room!
The only downside to the garden suites is that they are located so far away from the concierge lounge. The lounge is located on the 4th floor of the resort, and you must walk outside to get there. The lounge itself is very opulently decorated with huge sofas and chairs to relax in. There is also a desk area for the concierge staff to assist you inside the lounge. There are two beverage service areas and one main food service area. During our trip we tried the midday snacks, evening appetizers, and evening desserts and cordials. I am also happy to report that soft drinks were out for the taking. Can you tell Im a Diet Coke addict? The midday snacks were plentiful and consisted of goldfish crackers, pretzels, popcorn, M&Ms, cookies, etc. Evening appetizers consisted of cheese, vegetable, and fruit trays, as well as hot appetizers. I found the mushroom stuffed phyllo pastries to be delicious! The evening desserts were a tiny bit disappointing. What they had was quite tasty, but there was not a lot of variety compared to our earlier experience with desserts at the Grand Floridian concierge.
The concierge staff in the lounge was very friendly, and they even started conversations with us. They were also happy to help us and were always polite. Also, their pre-planning team was extremely helpful and was even able to get us an Illuminations cruise.
The BoardWalk Inn itself is a wonderful resort with a very relaxing feel to it. I love the theming and décor, and the BoardWalk is a wonderful place to spend an evening shopping and strolling. Of course, the proximity to Epcot is fabulous. We also took advantage of the walkway to Disney-MGM Studios a few times, which was also convenient. The bus service we encountered was very efficient as well. The only thing that I find to be a bit lacking at the BoardWalk Inn (and all the Epcot area resorts for that matter) is the lack of a quick service restaurant where mugs can be refilled. They have a bakery and some very nice restaurants on the BoardWalk, but there were several times we would have liked a quick meal like chicken fingers. The resort looks very cute dressed up for Christmas, and they have an absolutely incredible chocolate seaside amusement park display. Its huge and very detailed. Also, we saw a juggler and a flute choir performing in the lobby on two separate evenings. We cant wait to return to the BoardWalk Inn and to stay in a garden suite when the budget allows.
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