Which places under the Concierge Collection have you tried?

[rogerram]

we stayed at the Boston Harbour Hotel with the water view. It was great and we were close enough to walk to Fanuel Hall for shopping, restaraunts and a few drinks at the local bars. We also went to a show in the theater district which is maybe a little over mile from there.

 

[T.E. Yeary]

We had a 5 night stay in the Towers of Atlantis in the Bahamas. Everything was First Class. It even had a plasma TV in the rooms. The property is enormous, 11 acres. We had a tough time staying together. You turn a corner and you're lost from the rest of your party. Our cell phones didn't work down there. There were 18 restaurants on property. There were so many activities for little ones to old ones! Water is the theme everywhere. It is just spectacular with all the oceanic wildlife. They also have a fabulous yacht basin or harbour.

The wife and I enjoyed the casino. Didn't win, but upon checkout, they deducted over $500 from my bill because they kept track of our gambling from the time we arrived until check-out. Oh, my wife got 2 beautiful beach towels for her slot play. The most expensive towels I've ever bought! Ha!

It is pricey! We didn't go for the meal plan but don't think we could have saved by using it. We're pretty spur of the moment people so we ate when and where we wanted.

I'd recommend everyone try it once!!! It was truly an unforgettable experience!

Tom

 

[momsgoofy]

Wow! Thanks to everyone for adding their comments!

I did look at the American Club...very nice property, but I think you might be right...not the most thrilling place for a teenage boy unless he's into golf and fishing. Shutters looks promising...just may look into it more.

We'd love to trade out or use concierge for Hawaii...but unfortunately we have some very restrictive travel times...DH teaches college and DS is active in school band so we try to go where we can when we can. I've been curious about the Atlantis...everyone seems to like it but they keep saying the food is expensive..humph? Oh, well...we'll just keep looking.

Again, thanks to all!

 

[DisFlan]

Hogzilla and Disfan...you both metioned Big Cedar Lodge...what more can you share with me? I was just looking at their website and it looks really nice...seems like a great place to really relax and it's within a days drive for us. DH didn't think it would be such a great place for a teenage boy...DS is almost 14. I'd appreciate any more you both could share...might it be comparable to places in Gatlinburg?

Branson has Silver Dollar City and a lot of attractions to entice a 14 year old boy. Big Cedar is about 10 mi. south of Branson, so you'd need transportation. The resort itself is relaxing. It has swimming, boating, tennis, nearby golf, and several places to eat. You'd also be able to spend a day at Dogwood Canyon, a nature area owned by the same outfit - Bass Pro. (One caveat. If you aren't comfortable with stuffed animals, Big Cedar isn't the place for you. There are many all around the resort and in the cabins. I don't know if the timeshare areas have them or not.)

We mostly go right before Christmas. The place is a riot of color, lights and decorations with lots of activities - Santa, carriage and hay rides, singing. The restaurants are very good.

If you go around Christmas, make sure you visit Silver Dollar City. It has literally millions of lights along with many of the usual rides and attractions, as well as special holiday events. And lots of food. We live only about 45 minutes away, so we go just about every year. It was chilly this year, but we still had a ball.

DisFlan

 

[linco711]

Another thumbs up for Big Cedar Lodge. We've stayed there many times, but we've always stayed on cash. It's especially wonderful around Christmas. Gorgeous decorations. It's a beautiful resort.


DisFlan

Did you have snow? We're always looking for neat places to stay with snow at Christmas. What kind of activities were offered at that time? Thanks for info on this in advance...

 

[rsschneck]

We are checking in this Friday @ The Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa. We will be staying two nights and I will report back next week.

This will be our first Concierge Collection stay.

 

[Laurabearz]

The only place we stayed was at the Plaza Hotel in NYC. Lovely place.

 

[DisFlan]

Did you have snow? We're always looking for neat places to stay with snow at Christmas. What kind of activities were offered at that time? Thanks for info on this in advance...

We don't normally have a lot of snow here, so we don't have "snow activities". We occasionally have snow at Christmas, but don't count on it. None this last year - we were outside in shirt sleeves. It can just as easily be 60 or 70 degrees. (We haven't really had a "winter" for the last couple of years.) Three or four years ago, we had a couple of inches at Christmas. It was gone in a day or two.


DisFlan

 

[gppnj]

I'm kind if surprised to read that people have stayed at Shutters on points. just skimming through our member guide, Shutters is extremely expensive in terms of points, so it seems like a very poor value. However, I don't know much about the property, so I don't know how nice it is and how much it would be to stay there on cash.

By the way, the Disneyland Paris hotels also seemed like a very poor value, but when I found out they include park admission, they didn't seem so bad. Maybe there's something I don't know about Shutters that makes it a better deal than it seems at first glance.

 

[pbharris4]

So far, the only place we've tried was The Plaza in NYC. I was so looking forward to it, but I didn't think it was all it was cracked up to be. I had a stroller and a 4 month old at the time (along w/ my other DD 8 at the time). Not one doorman or person working near the doors would hold a door or help take the stroller down the stairs. No one suggested the wheelchair lift (which I didn't know they had until the day we left. The food was horrible and way over priced. The lobby and elevators are goregous and the rooms were spacious for NYC, but the bathroom had mold and mildew smell (strong) the bedspread had big red nail polish stain and the crib they gave us looked like it was from the early 1900's and I didn't think I'd need the pack n play so I didn't bring it. It was neat to stay there (especially since it's now closed) DD was thrilled to stay where Eloise took place and we did see the Sunday a.m. CBS football thing (DH liked that) and it was right there at Central Park, but next time we'll stay at Shelburne Murray or the other one on the list now.

 

[mapny90]

Shutters was expensive in terms of points, but I never would have stayed there OOP...and it was so beautiful that it was worth every point.

I miss The Plaza, too and I'm glad that I got to go there before they closed it. Shelburne Murray Hill is a good alternative - not as grand as The Plaza by any means, but comfortable and the staff is great. It's location is not as good either, but we made it to the Theatre District and down to Soho without any problems. When we do another week-end in NY this is where we'll stay. Also, it's an all suite hotel, with a full kitchen so it meets our needs. We didn't cook, but it was nice to have a refrigerator for cold drinks and leftovers. The couch turns into a double bed and then there is a full-size bedroom. The arrangement worked out very well for DH, DS (16) and me.

 

[linco711]

We've done Tanque Verde Guest Ranch several times. It takes a large amount of points, but is all inclusive. We loved the atmosphere and the weather. My husband had an accident there (actually many people had accidents that week) the last time, and it was a little scarey, and very exspensive! The hospital is pretty far away, and inconvenient....so needless to say, we probably won't be going back for awhile. But at one time it was one of our favorite places.

 

[Luvmyfam3]

We've also stayed at Tanque Verde Ranch! We loved it!! That was about 4-5 years ago and my kids still talk about it!!!