What club level lounge did you recently use and love?

[epcotobsessed]

We have tried Poly, BC, YC, Boardwalk, and AK club levels and were underwhelmed by all of them. To be fair, we loved AK club level when we first started staying there around 2011/2012, but then felt the food offerings and quality took a noticeable dive around 2014/2015 and we have not been back. I have posted about my dissatisfaction with club level in various posts and have gotten several responses that we should give them another try. So, I think we will do just that in our June trip and see availability for all options - if you have a recommendation, please post it. Thank you!

 

[pangyal]

Actually, the AKL club lounge has made some incredible improvements since you have last been there. They now serve even lunch items (soups) every day and the offerings are varied and plentiful, not to mention the incredible staff. Clearly, that’s my vote .

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Just curious when your other CL visits were? Things ebb and flow over time so it would help (me at least) to better refine my input.

 

[epcotobsessed]

Same time frame - we tried AKL several times, Poly once, Boardwalk once, YC once, BC 2-3 times between 2011-2015. I do understand that club level guest rooms are in a preferential area, usually, and that is something to consider, but the food offerings to us seemed mediocre at best, and we are pretty non-picky eaters. We also found the Poly/YC/BC lounges really cramped and difficult to find seating - I think at least BC/YC have been refurbished since then? Thanks.

 

[gillep]

2014-2016ish was a pretty terrible time for the AKL CL in particular, not sure about the other lounges. We have stayed there every year for a week for about 10 years and there was a noticeable decrease in pretty much everything those years. The past couple years in particular at AKL CL have been my favorite by far, I think the offerings and layout of the lounge have improved considerably. I have stayed at AKL, Poly, and WL CL in the past two years and AKL is by far my favorite for food quality/type, variety, and layout.

 

[AngiTN]

If you don't like those you won't like any
Honestly

 

[Welsh_Dragon]

AKL CL was outstanding in July and December. It made HRH CL seem so dreadful that I swore never to stay there again..... but then the AP rates came out for the day I wanted.

 

[epcotobsessed]

If you don't like those you won't like any
Honestly

That's certainly a possibility. I'd still like to try, sounds like going back to AKL is our best bet.

 

[pangyal]

I think that you would be very pleasantly surprised with the direction that AKL took after a few bumpy spots around the time you were last there .

We stay there at least six times a year and always see small improvements that they have made from trip to trip, which is usually a gap of only two months or so.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I think our first Poly CL trip was in 2014, and we’ve been back multiple times since. The CL offerings today are nothing like they were in 2014. It’s still our favorite resort/CL combo for all sorts of reasons, but it’s not the best fit for everyone. Other favorites include YC CL and AKL CL. WL CL is also a real treat, I happened to be looking through my photos from April earlier today and it made me remember how much we enjoyed the CL there.

BWI CL isn’t a personal favorite but consistently gets rave reviews on the CL thread. Most notably, they have a chef in the lounge nightly preparing hot evening apps.

Stayed at the new GDT CL in November and there are parts of the experience there that are fantastic.

Although I sort of had the same thought as @AngiTN, reading into your comments I think Disney CL may just not offer a product you’re looking for. I do think there was a material low point across all of the CLs 2015-2016ish and things across the board are notably improved these days. Of course, things like crowded lounges at peak times can still happen anywhere.

Good luck deciding. Always so many pros and cons with each.

 

[epcotobsessed]

That's great to hear, thanks. The atmosphere of the lounge has always been wonderful so I'm happy to hear they've improved the food.

 

[epcotobsessed]

I do think there was a material low point across all of the CLs 2015-2016ish and things across the board are notably improved these days.

That is really interesting, I wonder what happened. That is exactly when we stopped booking club level rooms. It's certainly possible that we are just not club level people, but the food offerings were so poor in our experience in those years that we couldn't justify the extra $150-200/night. I'm happy to hear things have improved across the board.

 

[Devil13]

Coronado Springs GDT. The staff, the food and the room itself were all excellent.

 

[AngiTN]

That's certainly a possibility. I'd still like to try, sounds like going back to AKL is our best bet.

I would pick your favorite of the ones you tried and give them a second chance

 

[GADisneyDad14]

That is really interesting, I wonder what happened. That is exactly when we stopped booking club level rooms. It's certainly possible that we are just not club level people, but the food offerings were so poor in our experience in those years that we couldn't justify the extra $150-200/night. I'm happy to hear things have improved across the board.

Who knows the real reasons, but at the time there was a lot of chatter about system wide cost cutting as a result of the 2016 opening of Shanghai Disneyland and the need to offset the major expenditures going on there at the time. #ThanksShanghai was a popular joke you’d see on Twitter. Again, who knows why they do anything, but that may have been a factor.

 

[amuse-bouche]

If you don't like those you won't like any
Honestly

I agree with this completely! I know that a lot of people book club level for the food offerings and some people even try to use it as their main source of food and beverage to "get their money's worth out of it", but if it's not your prefered way of eating (buffet style, repetitious, and within set hours) you're not going to be overjoyed with any of Disney's club lounges if you feel like you have to eat there to justify booking club level.

We prefer full service dining on vacation so we rarely eat anything in the lounge, but we do enjoy sitting there for a coffee or a glass of wine. The cast members are great and will do anything they can to help make your stay more enjoyable. They will search for dining and tour availability, even arrange a babysitter or book a car service. We like the available option of adding 3 extra fastpasses for our park days. I also think that housekeeping is substantially better in club level and club access rooms and suites. I think your enjoyment of club level really just depends on expectations. We go in knowing not to expect food that appeals to us.

To answer the original question about recent stays, in the past year or so we've stayed club level at BWI, WL, and CR (both atrium and tower). The service and our overall experience was very good at all of them. BWI loses a couple of points though because they cook right in the lounge and it can get pretty smoke filled during the appetizer hours. The entire floor smells like food, mainly seafood, at all times. If it weren't for that BWI might be my favorite.

 

[bethclayton]

We just returned from GF SL on Monday and we were soooo happy with it! We have stayed in the main building three other times and loved it, but main building was not available this time. I kept reading negative or mediocre reviews of SL and I was so concerned that we would hate it. I am very picky about ambience and service (and food, but I felt more confident that that would not be an issue since it is virtually the same as the main building). I was just so pleasantly surprised. The parks were at a level 10 during our trip but the SL lounge was never busy, there were always tables available. It was calm and pretty peaceful and very relaxing. Most of the staff were wonderful and attentive. The food was fabulous. I would be thrilled to stay there again. My dd20 actually liked it better than main building because she felt that it was much more relaxing. I would be happy to answer any specific questions if you have any!

 

[epcotobsessed]

We just returned from GF SL on Monday and we were soooo happy with it! We have stayed in the main building three other times and loved it, but main building was not available this time. I kept reading negative or mediocre reviews of SL and I was so concerned that we would hate it. I am very picky about ambience and service (and food, but I felt more confident that that would not be an issue since it is virtually the same as the main building). I was just so pleasantly surprised. The parks were at a level 10 during our trip but the SL lounge was never busy, there were always tables available. It was calm and pretty peaceful and very relaxing. Most of the staff were wonderful and attentive. The food was fabulous. I would be thrilled to stay there again. My dd20 actually liked it better than main building because she felt that it was much more relaxing. I would be happy to answer any specific questions if you have any!

We have never stayed at GF and this review is glowing - I will definitely look into SL. I'm happy you had such a great time!

 

[Babsy]

Our most recent CL stays were in 2019 and included GF SL and YC CL. We thoroughly enjoyed both. YC CL was a pleasant surprise as we had last stayed there in CL in the same time frame that you mentioned and it was terrible. We decided not to bother with YC CL again, which was sad as it had been YC CL that first won us over to CL in the first place. It was simply AWESOME many years ago!!!!

Fast forward to planning our Dec 2019 trip and we decided to give YC CL another chance as I had read many good things here on these forums. We are happy to say that it was so much improved that it is back on our 'go to' CL list!

And add us to the list of those who enjoy many aspects of GF SL CL. We do also like RPC, of course, but often choose SL as a great value and good location.

I recommend giving CL another try!

 

[Ashley Marie]

I've only stayed club level at a few resorts, but I liked the GF food best, and if you're planning pool time (I imagine you might be in June), the SL building location is great.