Hi! 2 things: 1. Regarding BC concierge, I wouldn't recommend it, unless you like loud, crowded, EXTREMELY child-oriented hotels. The room that we were given was very small, and, since it had two queen beds, I can only assume that they would have no qualms about putting a family of 4 in this room. Without a daybed or even the 2 chairs & a table, we felt quite cramped! My review is at:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1330811&referrerid=&highlight=
2. Here is a copy of the letter I sent, regarding IPO.
Cheers!
Heather W
My husband and I were married at Disney's Wedding
Pavilion, had our wedding reception at the private
room at Victoria & Albert's restaurant, and spent our
honeymoon at the Grand Floridian. Every year, we
return to the Grand Floridian for our anniversary, and
we always stay Royal Palm Club. This year, however,
we encountered some problems with the Itinerary
Planning Office, and I wanted to pass our experiences
as guests along to you.
Every year, as part of our anniversary tradition, we
book the Chef's Table at Victoria & Albert's
restaurant for our anniversary date of August 5. On
February 1, I called the Itinerary Planning Office, to
solicit their help in securing this reservation for
us. After waiting on hold for over 10 minutes, I left
a voicemail message with my name, number, and request.
To follow up, I also sent an e-mail to the IPO on
February 2, again giving my name, number, and
reservation request.
Because this restaurant requires a credit card number
to book, I became concerned when, the day before we
could begin calling for our reservation, no one had
contacted me. I tried calling IPO several times
throughout the day, and each time, the call went
immediately to voicemail. Since neither my previous
call or e-mail had been replied to, I did not want to
leave yet another voicemail message. I continued
calling and finally, that afternoon, got through to
someone.
I told her that I had left a voicemail and sent an
e-mail with a request, and she asked me, "Did you
include your phone number in the e-mail?" I explained
that I had, but that no one had contacted me yet. I
then told her what we wanted to book, and asked
whether she would need anything else from us, like a
credit card, to secure this reservation. She said no,
IPO did not need anything else, and if they did, they
would respond to my e-mail. She was a bit curt, not
warm or friendly, and I did not feel reassured that my
request, so important to me, would be treated as
equally important by IPO.
In this, I was justified. On February 6, 180 days
out, my husband and I both began calling for the
Chef's Table reservation at 7:00 am that morning.
Upon hearing that it was already booked, we hoped that
IPO had gotten the reservation for us. However, when
I wrote to IPO to inquire whether they had booked the
Chef's Table for us, I got a reply that no, they had
not made the reservation, and that if we wanted a
reservation at Victoria & Albert's, we would need to
give them a credit card number.
This was very frustrating to me, because it left me
with the strong impression that IPO had not even
attempted to book this reservation for us, despite
several tries on my part to solicit their help, since
they only then realized that they would need a credit
card to do a Victoria & Albert's booking.
My question is this: why offer a service (and charge
more for concierge level rooms) if you are not willing
to actually provide the service? If, as a guest of
the Grand Floridian, I am repeatedly sent to
voicemail, my e-mails are not returned, and my calls
are returned too late to be of any use to me (I had a
message TODAY, February 9, from IPO), then what is the
service that you are providing to concierge level
guests? It is far more convenient for me to call
WDW-Dine, where my calls are answered in a timely
fashion. The purpose of IPO, from what I've
experienced in the past, is to take down requests for
high-demand dining experiences and to then assist
guests in booking these experiences.
If the IPO staff had answered the phone, returned
calls, or made reservations calls on my behalf, I
would have no cause for complaint, even if they were
unable to secure my reservation. But the fact of the
matter is that they did not respond to time-sensitive
requests, even though I gave them five full days from
the time of my first message to the day the
reservation should have been made.
I strongly believe that the Grand Floridian should not
offer guests a service which only ends in frustration
and bitter feelings, when we realize that our vacation
is not as important to the Itinerary Planning Office
as it is to us. I do not expect miracles or
outstanding feats from the IPO, but, as a guest
choosing to spend my vacation at the Grand Floridian,
I would expect to be treated in an efficient,
courteous fashion. I think that IPO should return
calls in a timely fashion or, better yet, answer the
phone instead of sending it directly to voicemail. I
think that IPO should understand that we choose to
return to the Grand Floridian each year for our
anniversary because of the magical experience that
we're provided as guests. This sloppy treatment
leaves me with a very dim view of the magic being
provided by the Grand Floridian concierge.
Thank you for listening to my heartfelt concerns.
Regards,
Heather W
With my luck I would get that view, so I am staying clear of that building.
What do you see?? Are both sides of Sago considered garden views?
because I think the rooms at the Polynesian that face the parking lot are so much better than the grass/swamp view in Sago Cay because there is always so much beautiful landscaping between the rooms and the parking lot at the Polynesian.
