Useful Concierge Information

[MattNash]

I've read about concierge service rates, comparisons, locations, and the fact that it has something to do with food and extra services, but what exactly IS Concierge service? If I ask for it, what should I expect? This entire thread assumes a familiarity with the concept that I just don't have.

So, please What's Concierge service?

 

[paladin]

This will give you an overview of concierge. http://www.allearsnet.com/acc/concierge.htm#general

 

[TammiMcMan]

MattNash, the meaning of concierge depends greatly on which hotel you are staying in. It typically does mean a higher, private floor that's accessable only by a specially coded room key. It can also mean better toiletries in the room, better views and larger rooms. At hotels that charge separately for parking and fitness club use, those fees are usually included in a concierge level room. A concierge staff member is someone assigned to assist a guest during their stay. "Assist" takes on many different meanings again, depending on where you are staying. For example, if you were to stay on the concierge level of the Four Seasons in New York, that staff member would have no problem getting you tickets to a sold out Broadway Show, or last minute dinner reservations to Tavern on the Green (probably wouldn't hurt to slip him a $50). At Disney, it's a bit different. You're assigned a staff member who will assist you with all your pre-planning needs. They'll make your ADR's and take care of anything else you need. If you want your fridge pre-stocked with Diet Cherry Coke, they'll do that (and charge your credit card on file). The difference is, if you ask them the day before you arrive, for a breakfast reservation at the castle, or tickets to a Cirque du Soleil show, if those events happen to be sold out, there is nothing they can do for you (and they will not accept "tips" for the promise of a better room or table).

If you want to check out this link, http://allearsnet.com/acc/concierge.htm , it will give you a pretty good definition. Hope that helps.

 

[winniedapooh]

I am so excited. I had posted on the resort boards last week about my oldest DS graduation trip with DH, myself, and his friend who has only ever been to the back woods of Maine where his family has a cabin. DS really wanted to stay at the CR tower but it was booked, so I booked GF and kept trying back....I call tonight just for the heck of it and they had 10th and 14th floor open in October! Patience pays off, we have the 14th floor Tower Club booked and his smile brought tears to my eyes...now mind you I have no idea, zip nadda not a clue, what concierge is! We have 5 kids and have stayed DVC or offsite. When DH & I come alone we stay at either WL or CR so this is going to be a huge treat? I hope! So excited just had to share with my DIS friends. I hope that these rooms are done by Oct. Thanks for letting me get my excitement out!

 

[penlanspice]

Winnie

Do you know if the 14th floor is going to be renovated by then? We are due to arrive 1st Oct and I'm hoping it will be finished.
What date do you arrive?

Sam

 

[disneytraveler]

Hi again everyone!

I have booked the Platinum plan for the coming september and staying at the
Akl . My reservations for dinning start Monday . Would the Ipo
staff contact me then. I think i may have to re send my email of last october which was to soon. But dont want to seem to rushed about it.


Wow i just looked at my mailbox at outside and found my answer. Packet from
the Akl itinery staff!

 

[mousy_in_canada]

we are thinking of the poly concierge, would the evening food be enough for dinner or is it not enough?
Thanks for such a great thread, lots of useful info here.

 

[jillhou]

Who is in charge of the concierge program? I mean - I have a few problems from my stay at the Poly - first time I have had any problems at the Poly concierge in 4 stays - but I want to report them and see if they cannot rectify the situations......if not - we will have to try some other place to stay or not do concierge anymore......

Thanks if you can help!

 

[Angel16]

I am sure you have gotten your answer and problem taken care of, but I though I would bump this thread. Sure seems slow.

Anyone out there?

 

[TammiMcMan]

Jillhou, unfortunately I don't know the answer, but my suggestion would be to drop Tikiman a PM. That's a resort that he seems to be very familiar with.

Angel

 

[tinkerbeth]

Hiya,

Can anyone tell me what the ap discount is on akl concierge? I'm thinking of upgrading for the upcoming trip since I will have a 7 week old baby and might like to spend some time in the lounge while ds and dh go out and about.

Thanks! Our dates are Aug 18-28. One of the nights will be my bday so I was thinking I might get a special night without having to go far and get all dressed up.

Beth

 

[jjohnson]

Hiya,

Can anyone tell me what the ap discount is on akl concierge? I'm thinking of upgrading for the upcoming trip since I will have a 7 week old baby and might like to spend some time in the lounge while ds and dh go out and about.

Thanks! Our dates are Aug 18-28. One of the nights will be my bday so I was thinking I might get a special night without having to go far and get all dressed up.

Beth

The AP rates are not out for your dates yet. Last year it was $75 off rack rate.

 

[Kteacher]

I love the CR concierge staff! We had a great stay there last summer. I'm going again with just my DD14 next October, and heard back from them within just a few hours of my email request with my ADRs. The email I received also informed me that there is now full club concierge for the Atrium level guests

 

[VAgal76]

Beth - Congrats on your soon to be new addition to your family! Yes, the lounge will be nice to have so you don't have to be "in" the room all the time. The CM's are quite chatty so you won't have to worry about not having any adult conversation.

KTeacher - I LOVED the 14th floor at CR last summer. I can't wait until the refurb is done up there as it's going to be gorgeous. Have there been glowing reports for the Atrium Club lately? I haven't checked it out lately as I don't know when I'll get back to CR. I have the Poly & GF to do and that will complete the Deluxe circuit. Our all time favorite so far is AKL though because it was just a bit more relaxed there. I must admit that I've not had bad concierge service. It's just some are more friendlier than others. I know I wasn't thrilled with the WL, but service had something to do with it. Not awful, but not terrific either. Does that make any sense at all? IPO - AKL & YC/BC/BWI win hands down for responsiveness and "atmosphere/tone."

Does anyone a favorite concierge CM at their home resort? It'd be nice to hear about them.

Joey - AKL - You can tell he's shy, but he will take great care of you. He took care of returning our Happiest Celebration pin to DTD when we discovered it wasn't working. He came to the room to pick it up and had it delivered to us by that evening. :thumbsup: He remembered the town I was from.
Lorenzo - BWI - Because he's the fountain of youth.
Steve - BWI - His smile and cheerful attitude.
Theresa - BC - She's got to be someone's favorite grandma. She called FGM for us when we needed a sitter on short notice (they came within 30 minutes!). She was at YC our stay in Feb and we got an opportunity to chat with her more.

 

[Angel16]

Help! How is The Beach Club concierge? How is The Beach Club as far as CL rooms and views. We have never stayed at any of the Epcot Resorts. We are limited on our choices due to dates. We really love AKL CL, we are going to try Poly CL for the first part of our stay.

Could you all help me with your thoughts and experiences at The Beach Club? This will be a special trip for my DH and myself and I don't want to be disappointed.

Thank you in advance.

 

[TammiMcMan]

Hi Angel. We stayed in YC concierge, which I understand is very similar to the BC. I will say that the pre-planning staff is probably the best that I've ever worked with. They were so warm, friendly and extremely helpful. Unfortunately, I wasn't overly-impressed with the resort itself. Nothing serious, just lots of little things. You definitely have to book at least a garden view room. A standard will have you overlooking the parking lot. At the BC, I know some of their concierge level rooms are a bit smaller, due to the dormer roof and that makes for smaller or no balconies. Both the YC and BC lounges are very small, with limited seating. I love hanging out in the lounge and relaxing, but that was hard to do at the YC. I felt bad for taking up one of the few tables they had.

KerryCM had suggested the BWI and I'm sorry that I didn't follow her advice. If we stay in the Epcot area again, I'm definitely going to book the BWI. If it's just you and Tim, I think you'll really enjoy it. The best part is that you get the same pre-planning staff.

 

[YCFAN]

Theresa - BC - She's got to be someone's favorite grandma. She called FGM for us when we needed a sitter on short notice (they came within 30 minutes!). She was at YC our stay in Feb and we got an opportunity to chat with her more.

I just love Theresa too although I've only known her at YC. She's so sweet and always has that helpful attitude.

Amy is my favorite in IPO. She's just amazing. The whole staff gives you the warm and fuzzies.

Juanita has been very helpful at AKL but I still haven't gotten that warm feeling yet that I usually get from the YC pre-planning staff.

 

[VAgal76]

I just love Theresa too although I've only known her at YC. She's so sweet and always has that helpful attitude.

Amy is my favorite in IPO. She's just amazing. The whole staff gives you the warm and fuzzies.

Juanita has been very helpful at AKL but I still haven't gotten that warm feeling yet that I usually get from the YC pre-planning staff.

ITA! AKL IPO is responsive and I've gotten to know some of them. They are nice, but planning with the folks at YC/BC/BWI is more lively. I haven't met anyone in that IPO that I haven't liked.

Juanita used to be in the lounge. She is such a sweetheart. She talked to us each time we came in and even apologized for the bus driver giving us the wrong info when returning from a waterpark. It was a big mix up and 45 minutes was wasted, but silly things happen. She took personal responsibility. I really liked that because she certainly didn't have to and we weren't go crazy over it.

 

[disneytraveler]

Juanita and Don from the Akl IPO staff have been working on my plans. I must say that her suggestions have been better than mine ! I have talked
with Don on the phone and he is great. They are both very good.

 

[Rowlf]

Hi, everyone! I have CR Atrium Club booked for five nights at the end of September - am I going to be happy with this or should I suck it up and pay the $800 extra to do GF RPC? We've done Poly LVC and AKL CL; Poly was a bit too, um, hectic with people treating the lounge too much like the Old Country Buffet for my taste. We loved AKL concierge - the lounge was great, the people were great. When my husband had a random guy try to pick a fight with him (long strange story), the CL staff had security there within minutes after DH mentioning it in passing.

So, we'd go back to AKL in a second, but with a little guy, a monorail resort would work better this trip. DH told me to book GF, but I've always wanted to stay at the CR and the 12th floor should be done by then. (Plus that $800!)