Which Concierge Resort

[gilld]

I want to book a short stay at one of the Monorail Resorts on Concierge level, at the end of our stay at BCV next September/October - we are treating our friends, who will be travelling with us, for their 30th wedding anniversary. We have stayed at the RPC rooms at GF and absolutely loved it there, in particular their pool..

Are the Concierge services, and offerings, as good at the Contemporary and the Poly? I am not a huge fan of the Poly, but on this occasion, the Concierge is more important than the resort itself. Cost is not a factor as we will be using DVC points that we have going spare.

Where would you choose and why?

Thanks in advance.

 

[wilma-bride]

Gill, I'm afraid I haven't had the pleasure of staying concierge so can't answer your question. However, I wanted to check if you knew that there is a $95 fee being introduced (I think in 2008) for booking WDW hotels with DVC points. It's not been a popular change, that's a fact, but wanted to make sure you knew in case that affected your plans.

 

[CustardTart]

We loved the Poly concierge when we stayed there last summer. The daily concierge offerings were excellent and the view of Wishes from the lounge was wonderful. Concierge staff were very helpful - I was unwell and had to rearrange several bookings including V&A! The refurb'd rooms are fab too... Oh how I wish I was there right now...

 

[TinkTatoo]

We've been lucky enough to stay Concierge at both resorts and the Contemporary wins hands down. The lounge is much better laid out and feels less crowded. Also there was much more choice at breakfast and snacks during the day. The poly only had a couple of choices at breakfast and unless you happened to be there when the snacks were put out they were usually always gone. You also can't beat the view of wishes from the lounge.

Here's a few photo's

I also found the Contemporary rooms much nicer than the Poly ones

 

[gilld]

Am I right in thinking the Concierge rooms at the Contemporary are in the tower? I wouldn't consider a wing room.

I'm still inclined to go back to the GF which is my favourite resort, but also tempted to try a somewhere new, which is why the Contemporary appeals.

Joh, I didn't know about the $95 booking fee, but that is a small price to pay to save a fortune on the rooms

Thanks for the comments.

 

[TinkTatoo]

Am I right in thinking the Concierge rooms at the Contemporary are in the tower?......

They are and the Atrium Club is on the 12th floor and only accessible to concierge guests by using your room key in the elevator . You can't guarantee an MK room but you can request one at the time of booking and I'm sure if you mentioned your friends 30th anniversary they should be able to get one. Even if you get a Bay view it's still lovely and there are two large balconies off the lounge to watch Wishes from

 

[gilld]

Thanks very much for your help.

 

[aaronandterri]

remember the building work at the contempoary though x

 

[Frances999]

TinkTatoo, when did you stay in Polynesian Concierge? The rooms have recently been extensively refurbished and are now very impressive.

I shouldn't offer my opinion since we have never stayed at the Contemporary (the block-of-inner-city-council-flats look puts us off! ) but we enjoy the concierge services at the Polynesian immensely. The cast members are exceptional and go well and truly above and beyond. The lounge has awesome views of the electrical water pageant and wishes (and they dim the light and pipe the music in). In addition, the lagoon view rooms of the Hawaii longhouse all offer MK views. The location of the Hawaii longhouse is also perfect - you're right next to the lobby (great ceremonial house), the pool, and also the boat to the MK, which is shared exclusively with the GF. There are also the gorgeous white sand beaches and hammocks out the front.

I've got a trip report and lots of photographs in my signature, but we haven't stayed since the room upgrades, so the rooms are now completely different!

 

[TinkTatoo]

TinkTatoo, when did you stay in Polynesian Concierge? The rooms have recently been extensively refurbished and are now very impressive.

I shouldn't offer my opinion since we have never stayed at the Contemporary (the block-of-inner-city-council-flats look puts us off! ) but we enjoy the concierge services at the Polynesian immensely. The cast members are exceptional and go well and truly above and beyond. The lounge has awesome views of the electrical water pageant and wishes (and they dim the light and pipe the music in). In addition, the lagoon view rooms of the Hawaii longhouse all offer MK views. The location of the Hawaii longhouse is also perfect - you're right next to the lobby (great ceremonial house), the pool, and also the boat to the MK, which is shared exclusively with the GF. There are also the gorgeous white sand beaches and hammocks out the front. .......

We stayed at the Poly concierge this summer and the Contemporary concierge last Christmas.

I loved the Poly resort theme and the grounds were fantastic especially when compared to the "inner-city-council-flats look" of the CR. But I grew up in an inner city council flat so that's why I probably feel at home there

While the Poly rooms were nice they felt much darker and less spacious than the CR ones and the CR bathroom layout was much better. It has a separate toilet, unlike the Poly one which is in the same room but sort of round a corner

Although externally the CR has a council estate feel, you don't really notice it when you're there. It has a sandy beach with hammocks and loungers overlooking the lagoon, a volleyball net plus an adult pool which tends to be quieter than the main one. I found the Poly pool way too busy whereas the CR main pool felt much larger and was rarely as crowded as the one at the Poly. I thought the Hawaii longhouse was in a great spot but you still had to walk to the main building in all weathers where as everything is just downstairs at the CR and there is a real buzz about the place.

In the concierge stakes I felt that the CR had the edge. The Poly had much better pre planning and we had a fantastic CM who went the extra mile. In both lounges there were one or two staff members who really stood out so I couldn't choose one over the other there, but for space and service the CR lounge would win. It felt more open and a lot less crowded than the Poly one. The layout of the food area at the Poly meant it always felt busy when the offerings were out and there always seemed to be a line where as the open layout at the CR meant it didn't feel like feeding time at the zoo. Food wise there was a much better selection at the CR although they don't have Chef Dick.

I'm sorry if this turned into a mini trip report but as a lot of people discount the CR just because of the look of the place I just wanted to share our experiences of both resorts