PPH "Is concierge worth it? My conclusion

[nottellin']

We are at the PPH hotel right now. I was one of the posters who wondered is it 'worth it?'

We are on day 3 and we only spent $50 extra per night for the service. IMO for our family it is not 'worth it'.

We like to wake up early and head into the parks, this morning it was a bit of a rush since the lounge isn't opened until 6:30 and our MM was at 7 am. We did make it though.

We also come back to the hotel and nap, so although we have been using the lounge, it isn't a service I would pay extra for again. I kept asking myself if the items I was eating were items I would have ordered anyway, and in our case the answer was no. I would rather pop into the park and grab what I feel like eating at that moment instead of waiting to see what the lounge will put out.

The lounge is very nice and the staff is very friendly but I don't think it is a service I would use again. I hope this thread can help some people decide as I know I had a really tough time deciding on if the concierge was ''worth it' for our family. BTW we are a family of four if that helps anyone.

Sorry this is short but I am n my way out the door to Disneyland as we have 3 more days left

 

[DangerMouse]

Thanks for your review!

I would love to see some photos of the "refreshed" PPH rooms, if you have time to take some pics.

Enjoy the rest of your vacation.

 

[bumbershoot]

Do they still let you take bottles of water out of the lounge? That was a HUGE benefit when we stayed concierge at DLH in '09; it was our most hydrated trip b/c of that, and therefore one of our best.

I, too, would love to see pictures of the rooms!

 

[TigerlilyAJ]

Thank you for posting your experiences. Please say more. How old are your kids? Did you like the options offered for snacks? breakfast? hot appetizers? Have you been back for the beer/wine mixer, or are you busy in the parks at that point and don't want to hoof it back to the hotel?
My kids are young (2, 4, and 7 at the time of travel) so I was hoping there would be some ease and time savng of just heading to the lounge and having food already waiting for us to grab. But I have been concerned about the hours, especially how PPH's lounge closes at 8pm while DLH closes at 10pm. The MM issue you mentioned has popped up in my mind, too, although it might be less of an issue in the off-season when MMs are at 8am instead of 7am?
My big problem is that I really want a good view, and once you've paid for an upgrade to a park view, the concierge part is a relatively minor cost, as you discovered, to be sure that we could have fresh fruit and veggies and all the drinks we want without worrying about running out of things like milk, juice, or caffeinated drinks for the adults OR worrying about having some left over at the end of our trip.
But the concerns you have voiced are certainly mine as well.

AJ

 

[brianjonesmusic]

I will be staying there for 5 nights starting next week with a premium view concierge level room and I will post a review as well. We are a party of 5 with 2 adults 11,8,4 year olds. I will also try and post some pics of the lounge and room.

 

[rentayenta]

for the review.

 

[TigerlilyAJ]

I will be staying there for 5 nights starting next week with a premium view concierge level room and I will post a review as well. We are a party of 5 with 2 adults 11,8,4 year olds. I will also try and post some pics of the lounge and room.

Can't wait for another review. Thanks in advance for helping us consider our options, just like the OP has helped so much.

AJ

 

[llump41]

We're doing three nights this week and will try to take some pics as well. I debated long and hard if the upgrade was worth it. Since it is only to be the two of us, I'm thinking that it we probably aren't going to benefit totally.

 

[llump41]

Well worth it simply because my wife loved it. Happy wife= Happy husband. Since it was only the 2 of use the cost/benefit was probably theirs. But this is what we got.
No line check in. Walked right up to the lounge and got checked right in. We were early so the room wasn't ready yet. Grabbed some fruit, water, soda and chips and headed to the park.
Room ready so we came back and and unloaded the car and headed up. Nice room-14th floor park view. head back to the lounge and basically at dinner. If you can make a meal out of appetizers then your going to be ok.
3 days = 3 breakfasts. I'd put the $ at about $15/person if you ordered room service. $3 bucks if you brought food in from the grocery store and ate in.

As this was an anniversary with a 0 on the end, I'm glad I did it. I probably wouldn't do it every time.

 

[QueenDoOver]

I have stayed concierge at DLH and PPH both. Our last trip was at DLH and we did one day/night at HOJO before moving over. The one day at the park before we moved to the concierge room cost me a fortune, and I was just with my 8 year old son. I swear every time I turned around he was thirsty or hungry or wanted a snack. I spent about $50 on just a bunch of junk.
Fast forward to our last 3 days in the park, after we checked into concierge room. We started the day out with breakfast of choice and plenty of coffee for Mom. (we were not first in line at bag check but still had plenty of time to get to gates) We always had waters in hand and drank plenty. I always had peanut butter sandwiches for picky son and saved from buying him crummy expensive food that he would only pick at anyhow. I also had chips, and granola bars and fruit to keep us happy in lines etc too. The last 3 days I spent about $10 to $20 on food each day, and ate better too. Plus, I really find it convenient.

 

[nottellin']

Sorry it took me so long to come back and update. We got home from Disney and then dropped the kids off and DH and I went o Vegas.

Anyway,

My kids are 8 and 9. I personally did not like the appetizer selection but I am a vegetarian. The rest of my family is not, and the appetizers were hit and miss. They really liked some of the items(pork on a stick) but they did not care of other items.

Since we nap everyday, we made it to breakfast and the beer/wine appetizer selections. For us, it wasn't so much that it was inconvenient to go back to the hotel it was more that we wouldn't have paid for the items anyway.

We normally buy a case of water and bring bottles into the park, so it wasn't much of an advantage. As for breakfast we normally eat in the room, so that also wasn't an advantage for us.

I did think the staff was wonderful, my kids liked it but for our family it just wasn't 'worth it'. I know we only paid $50 more per night but I would rather do my own shopping and not feel like I have to use the service because I paid for it KWIM?

The view was great from PPH...I loved seeing WOC from our room. I'm glad we did it once so I can knock it off my bucket list but I don't think I would do it again.

PS...sorry Dangermouse, I didn;t take pictures of the room. I just read this now or I would have. They do look better than the old rooms though.

Thank you for posting your experiences. Please say more. How old are your kids? Did you like the options offered for snacks? breakfast? hot appetizers? Have you been back for the beer/wine mixer, or are you busy in the parks at that point and don't want to hoof it back to the hotel?
My kids are young (2, 4, and 7 at the time of travel) so I was hoping there would be some ease and time savng of just heading to the lounge and having food already waiting for us to grab. But I have been concerned about the hours, especially how PPH's lounge closes at 8pm while DLH closes at 10pm. The MM issue you mentioned has popped up in my mind, too, although it might be less of an issue in the off-season when MMs are at 8am instead of 7am?
My big problem is that I really want a good view, and once you've paid for an upgrade to a park view, the concierge part is a relatively minor cost, as you discovered, to be sure that we could have fresh fruit and veggies and all the drinks we want without worrying about running out of things like milk, juice, or caffeinated drinks for the adults OR worrying about having some left over at the end of our trip.
But the concerns you have voiced are certainly mine as well.

AJ

 

[llump41]

Maybe one day I'll figure out how to post a pic on here. But in the mean time.

www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2302209000461.138479.1406302301

 

[larina]

We are a family of 8 but only 6 of us traveled in May, but it was still 'worth it' The water alone makes it worth it, never mind the juice boxes and sodas we got daily!!! We are back and forth a couple of times a day at least, and it worked well for us. Of the three adults on that trip, one of us managed a beer or glass of wine each evening, which was really nice. The even 'fair' isn't always the greatest, but it is a light meal/snack and it is very convenient. We mainly stick to fruit in the mornings, but we did also have some cereal and always always got coffee! Additionally, you get two videos to check out a day (you actually get two at a time, but can switch as many times as you want a day - my daughter got VERY ill on our visit and this was a life saver!) and they always have some sort of sweet treat out. The other nice perk is that if you have a change in your schedule they will help take care of reservation changes for you (which was also great with a sick child). We get a suite and the cost is $125 per day (including all taxes and fees) and it is well worth it when you have a large group going (we couldn't all get a snack and water for that in the park).

 

[aristocat65]

Thanks for your review!

I would love to see some photos of the "refreshed" PPH rooms, if you have time to take some pics.

Enjoy the rest of your vacation.

Thanks llump41 for your pictures. Does anyone know if all PPH rooms have been "refreshed", or is it just Concierge rooms?

 

[Look_Its_Nikki]

Nottellin do you remember the beer and wine selection was?

 

[TigerlilyAJ]

Llump41, thanks for the photos! Are those "surfboard" blue-and-green rice-krispie treats on that plate?
Nottellin', thank you so much for replying. All info and experiences are appreciated. I only noticed today that you are in Canada. Bonjour, ma campagnarde.
QueenDoOver and Larina, thanks to you as well! I had DH read this thread and tell me which situations sounded most like our family, and he noted the kinds of benefits and convenience you two mentioned.

AJ

 

[nottellin']

Nottellin do you remember the beer and wine selection was?

Sorry, I don't. My DH had a beer or two every night but I don't remember what kind. I just asked for a sparkling white wine, but I did not ask for any specific brand.

 

[larina]

The beer and wine selection is not great to be honest, but it works. Bud and I think Bud or Coors light, don't totally remember. Wine, red or white.

 

[llump41]

@TigerlilyAJ- Yes they were and delicious too!