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Niwel
02-25-2003, 01:28 PM
I decided to spend the $$ and take my mom to the Grand Californian next Thursday night (she's never been to DCA). Even with my AP discount, it is still a nice chunk of change, though.
We are staying at the concierge level and I just wanted to know from those of have stayed there if it is worth it. (I saw lani's article on the concierge level pre-GCH.)

Also, has anyone used the spa and/or had a massage at GCH?

HBTiggerFan
02-25-2003, 06:10 PM
I am pretty sure I read either in a post or a trip report on MP that the concierge at the GCH was not worth the extra money. Something about the food and beverages not being available all day and the selection was poor.

kisroo
02-25-2003, 07:10 PM
My husband and I stayed concierge level at GCH in Oct. for our weeklong honeymoon. We loved it and plan on spending the moola to do it again as soon as we can afford it.

Here's what they offered when we were there:

Great selection at breakfast~but do plan on eating during the b-fast hours(7-10 when we were there). They started cleaning it up soon after 10:00am. Lots of fresh fruits, cereal, juices, milk, coffee, tea, breads/pastries, etc...

All day~chips/soft drinks/water bottles(saved us a lot of $$ being there so long)

Mid-day~the above and cookies.

4-7~Wine and cheese time. WONDERFUL little sandwiches, breads, cheeses, fresh fruit, veggies/dips, wine, soft drinks. We had this for dinner every night except 2 that we were there!

8-9~Bedtime milk and cookies (stories for the little ones on the floor with pillows and such-very cute!)

The staff was very helpful, the lounge was relaxing. We borrowed DVDs from the lounge library several nights and had the staff arrange many reservations for us during our stay.

Don't expect the rooms to be huge~they aren't, but for 2 people it was more than big enough. We had a King with a loveseat seating area and a little table with chairs. The bathroom is nicely set up with the vanity separate from the toilet/shower area by a pocket door. Ours had 2 sinks and a large counter area that was stocked daily with goodies. We also had a balcony with table and chairs that overlooked the courtyard and DD~wonderfully quiet and peaceful and cheaper than park view.

All-in-all, if you are willing to spend the $$ it is worth it to be pampered Disney-style.
Hope this helps! Now, I want to go back tomorrow!!!:( :)

YellowMan
02-25-2003, 07:14 PM
My husband and I stayed concierge level at GCH in Oct. for our weeklong honeymoon. We loved it and plan on spending the moola to do it again as soon as we can afford it. Holy moly! A whole week at conciege level?! I can't even afford a night or two at that level!

TP2000
02-25-2003, 11:47 PM
In 2001 I stayed in both regular and concierge rooms at the GCH, and a regular room at the GCH in 2002. I may return to the GCH, but I doubt I'd pay for Concierge level again. I can sum up the experience by saying....

Take FULL advantage of EVERYTHING they offer in the Concierge Lounge, because that is about all the extra cost boils down to. The concierge rooms are the exact same size as the same classes of rooms on the regular floors; staying concierge does not get you a bigger bathroom or bedroom, and it does not get you any extra in-room amenities or toiletries. Heck, in my concierge room there wasn't even a throw pillow on the very bare looking sofa. Oddly, the only difference I could spot between a regular and concierge room bathroom was the chrome bath scale in my concierge room. Apparently those paying extra for their rooms don't need fluffier robes or towels or more space, they simply want to weigh themselves during their stay. The towels, flowers and toiletries are exactly the same as a regular room. GCH rooms are already on the small size, especially for the price point and ranking of that hotel, and concierge does nothing to help this.

I found the actual "concierge" service of the Concierge Room to be useful; that is, having someone make dinner reservations for us at Catal and Blue Bayou. But the funny thing is that I received the exact same service, and the exact same results, while staying in the "regular" rooms by simply stopping by the Guest Services desk in the lobby and asking them for help with dinner reservations. The guy behind the desk picked up the phone and secured me a Catal reservation within 30 seconds, and I didn't have to pay a "Concierge" price for that service. Every CM I encountered on the "regular" floors was just as nice as the CM's on the "Concierge" floor; I don't think there's any real difference in the service between the rooms.

Take full advantage of every Coke, snack, coffee, magazine and newspaper in the Concierge Lounge, because that was about the only thing I found that differentiated the GCH Concierge experience from staying on the "regular" floors. I suppose after a week you could save a small fortune in coffee's on your way to the Parks, rather than buying them from the Compass Books coffee house. Whatever you do, DON'T get your coffee from La Brea Bakery, it's awful there! And the Blue Ribbon Bakery or the coffee place just inside DCA isn't that great either. Compass has the best coffee at the Resort; but the stuff from the Concierge Lounge is free.

IMHO, Disney really needs to come up with something extra for the Concierge rooms to differentiate them from the regular rooms. Throw pillows, better media equipment, classier furnishings, something. The Lounge amenities just aren't enough to justify the quite hefty surcharge for GCH Concierge as they currently offer it. Doesn't Disney benchmark the Orange County Ritz-Carlton, Monarch Bay or Four Seasons? If they don't, they should, because those hotels are offering more polished presentations at exactly the same or slightly lower price points than GCH Concierge rates.

But the best part of this entire visit, regardless of where you stay, is that you are doing it all for your Mom! You've got a gold star next to your name in heaven now, you realize that right? ;-)

Pirate33
02-26-2003, 08:19 AM
We stayed at the concierge level, too, and it wasn't worth it. The good was good enough when it was out, but the lounge is small and crowded. The service left something to be desired. Water bottles -- a supposed perk -- were often all gone. Once when I asked the staff person, he told me there were no bottles left! I told the concierge I was pretty disappointed given the price of the room, and he went back in the storage room and brought out some water!

Next, when we tried to buy a park ticket for a friend, the ticket printer ran out of paper. It took 40 minutes for the concierge to go downstairs and get whatever he needed to give us one ticket to the park.

On the other hand, the hotel in general is very nice. The spa and gym are quite nice, and I had very good massage there. So you might be better off spending money on the massage and skipping the concierge level.

KarenW2
02-26-2003, 08:44 AM
We've stayed at the GCH three times, twice on concierge level and decided we would not pay the extra price for concierge level again. We did not find their services to be worth the extra price, as they sent us downstairs to the guest services desk, to get the tickets we needed for the Blast dinner package and other things.

Three times my husband went all the way down there, and only one time was there actually a CM there to help, meanwhile the CMs in the lounge were constantly talking amongst themselves and doing nothing! They could've easily helped us, but seemed more interested in their own PRIVATE conversations!

Also, when we got to the restaurants they were supposed to have made priority seatings for us for, the restaurant said they did not have them!

We also found the the food and drinks to be lacking as well. One night in particular, we made a point of coming back early from the park, so that we could get the milk and cookies, but when we got to the lounge, we were turned away!

We got there at the time it was stated that was supposed to start and the CM there said they were "out"! Didn't offer anything else to us to make up for it!

One of the two times we stayed in concierge was for our 23rd anniversary, so it was very disappointing to have gotten such poor service from them on such a special occasion, especially since we told them that was why we were staying there!

There were other problems too, like not having a remote for the DVD player in the room and it taking more than one call and 2 hours to get one, taking over an hour for a glass of milk from room service after 2 calls, etc., but suffice to say, we like the feel of the hotel, its proximity to the parks, but would not pay for concierge level again.

TP2000
02-26-2003, 10:27 PM
Okay, I'm glad I'm not the only one who has been unimpressed with GCH Concierge service. I was afraid that I was just being grumpy, but I guess not if others have had the same underwhelming service from the Concierge CM's.

I just stayed at the Laguna Ritz-Carlton this past Christmas, and it was amazing! Everything was possible, and every staff member did everything to make whatever I needed appear instantly. And with every little courtesy and graciousness offered to me, my words of "Thank you" were answered with eye contact and a sincere "It's my pleasure, sir." And I wasn't even staying in a Ritz Concierge room or an ocean view suite, I was just in a regular room with a view of the pool.

The GCH Concierge CM's, and the management of the GCH, could learn a few things from the staff at the Laguna Ritz-Carlton.

KarenW2
02-26-2003, 10:54 PM
Hi TP2000,
I so totally agree with what you said, about the level of service received from Disney hotels vs. those in the "real world". We've received much better service, at better prices, with better accomodations, outside of Disney parks and always wondered why Disney didn't measure up, especially when they advertise how well they're supposed to be treating people who stay with them!

Don't know if they think that just because they're attached to the theme parks, that that should be enough to make up for the difference in service, but I don't think that's how it should be.

When I wanted to spend my birthday at Disneyland, for the first time in my life, last October and my DH made reservations at the DLH, concierge level (we heard they were supposed to be better than the GCH concierge!), they couldn't have done more things WRONG! Several things happened, that I've discussed in more detail here before, but here's the biggest disappointment of them all.

My DH had made reservations, well in advance, with flowers, gifts & balloons to be delivered to the room, as a surprise, so that they'd be waiting in our room when we checked in. When we got there, they told us the room wasn't ready, so we gave them our cell phone #, so they could call us to let us know when it would be ready. We went to DL, got a call later in the day, saying all was ready & my husband took the call away from me, to make sure everything was set and so that I wouldn't know about the surprises.

Imagine our disappointment, when we walk into the first room we were given keys to, to find the door sitting wide open, an unmade bed, no surprises and that they've given us the wrong room, as the cleaning staff was still working in it! He went down to the concierge desk, then came back with keys to what was REALLY supposed to be our room, on the other side of the hotel, not the king bed we reserved, but a smaller queen!

When we walked into the room, there was a CM in that room, on our room phone, talking very loudly, asking why the flowers, balloons and gift "surprises" were not there as planned, right in front of me! I wanted to say, excuse me, shall I leave the room, so you can discuss this without my hearing this and then I can come back in and TRY to act surprised when these things finally show up?! It took them over 2 hours to locate my things and to finally deliver them!

My husband had gone to a LOT of time and trouble, including making a special trip up to the hotel during the week without my knowing (we live over an hour away in each direction!), to drop off the gifts ahead of time, just so he could surprise me, only to have them royally botch it big time!! No apologies were given and the only compensation we received was 2 passes to use on Space Mountain and California Screamin', that I guess are like fast passes!! The rest of the weekend was all downhill from there!

We're big Disney fans, but after the bad experience we had for our 23rd anniversary, then for my birthday, we decided we wouldn't spend any more special occasions at a Disney hotel!

adriennek
02-27-2003, 09:33 AM
I'm glad I've read these posts, frankly.

For a long time, I've had this "dream" that I would save up money from our budget to take Doc to a really nice hotel and really *splurge* on something nice. I've toyed with the idea of making it a Disney trip. Interestingly, the LN Ritz-Carlton was one of my thoughts, too.

I know where I'll be directing my plans in the future... Thanks TP and KW2!

Adrienne K

Niwel
02-27-2003, 09:45 AM
Thanks for the info guys!

I'm sorry some of you had some "bad show" experiences.
Being the Pollyanna I am, I went ahead and booked it anyway. I promise to give a report when I return. If it's bad -- then I'll have learned my lesson. It is only for one night and as long as my mom can go to Catal and get her vodka and smoke her cigarette, she'll be content :)
I figure I NEVER spend the night ... since I live only one hour away ... and it'll be an adventure :D

80S ERA
02-27-2003, 01:21 PM
Originally posted by TP2000

The GCH Concierge CM's, and the management of the GCH, could learn a few things from the staff at the Laguna Ritz-Carlton.

I agree, TP2000! I have a friend who works for the Ritz and she told me how rigorous the training of their staff is. My wife and I stayed at the Ritz Carlton in Montego Bay, Jamaica recently and we were treated like royalty. You could tell that every member of their staff is trained on how to greet guests, right down to the janitors and housekeeping.

In regards to concierge, it is my opinion that it is only worth it during discount seasons. In my case, I stayed concierge during the dark ages shortly following 9-11. We found the lounge, concierge desk, and turndown service all convenient.

Niwel - quick "tip": during our stay, we tipped our turn-down service person well on our first night. We were rewarded with extra goodies (more than they typically leave) waiting on our pillows when we came back from the parks. On one night, they left the entire box of the cookies you'd buy for $20 in the World of Disney Store!

In summary, it was fun, but will never do it again unless they upgrade us for free. :cool: Have fun!!

*envy*

kisroo
03-02-2003, 03:04 PM
Sorry to hear some of you didn't have a good experience with GC concierge. :( We loved it...We were there in Oct, so maybe "off season" makes a difference? :confused:

BTW Yellowman~not that we didn't pay a lot for our honeymoon and without going too much into $ details, we did get a *great* deal from our travel agent through DreamsUnlimited. We did the math one evening, based on drinks, snacks, and eating at the wine and cheese hours for dinner several nights and figured we came out ahead paying for concierge vs. regular room at any of the DLR hotels including PP. This was probably compounded by the length of our stay and the fact that we got in on one of the Fall Getaway promos...

I hope you and your mom enjoy, Niwel...We plan on going for our 1 yr anniversary in Oct!:)

LuvDisney
03-05-2003, 12:40 PM
In July our family is staying on the concierge level in GCH. We have suite 5318-C booked. Does anyone know how to get a map of the hotel, or find out the layout of this suite? This is the first outing after some family tragedies and we want this to be very special. I would be exciting to get some info on our room. Also I have downloaded the Disney handicapped guide, but where could I go to get info from those who have actually done the parks in a wheelchair? Thanks to all you MPers:)

adriennek
03-05-2003, 12:58 PM
Have you checked out the Theme Park Access Guide (http://www.mouseplanet.com/tag/) here at MousePlanet? Tony, one of the co-authors, frequently uses his wheelchair at DLR.

Also, if you have a specific question, you can post it to our Theme Park Access Guide Forum (http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/forumdisplay.php?daysprune=30&forumid=16) here on MousePad.

Adrienne K

Lani
03-05-2003, 03:15 PM
Originally posted by adriennek
I've toyed with the idea of making it a Disney trip. Interestingly, the LN Ritz-Carlton was one of my thoughts, too.Oh good heavens, nothing compares to a nice weekend at the Ritz! Not even a weekend in a suite in the Grand Floridian!

...by the way, I have two questions:

-- How much is GCH charging for a Concierge room these days?

-- Has anyone tried the fitness center in the GCH (if so, how are they equipped), and it is free for ALL GCH guests, or only Concierge guests?

MouseWife
03-05-2003, 03:27 PM
Originally posted by Lani
...by the way, I have two questions:

-- Has anyone tried the fitness center in the GCH (if so, how are they equipped), and it is free for ALL GCH guests, or only Concierge guests?

I do not know how they are equipped, except to say that Hubby thought it was fine. He got a great workout.

We were not concierge and it was included.

Niwel
03-05-2003, 03:44 PM
Originally posted by Lani


-- How much is GCH charging for a Concierge room these days?

-- Has anyone tried the fitness center in the GCH (if so, how are they equipped), and it is free for ALL GCH guests, or only Concierge guests?

Well, one night, two people, AP rate, concierge is costing me around $450. Plus taxes and the $7 resort fee (which includes the workout area, parking, morning paper, etc.) We have a room on a Thursday night with a park view. So the rates would be higher on a weekend ... but possibly lower on a Sunday night.

Grandbreaker
03-05-2003, 06:34 PM
I will forward this post to the guest services manager maybe they will listen? I will try to let you know if anything happens.

kisroo
03-06-2003, 05:46 PM
Originally posted by Lani
Oh good heavens, nothing compares to a nice weekend at the Ritz! Not even a weekend in a suite in the Grand Floridian!

...by the way, I have two questions:

-- How much is GCH charging for a Concierge room these days?

-- Has anyone tried the fitness center in the GCH (if so, how are they equipped), and it is free for ALL GCH guests, or only Concierge guests?

Lani,
Our 7 night stay cost about $250/night (this is a rough estimate because it was a package and included 8 day passes and some other stuff~plus we got the 3 nights, 1 night free fall getaway, so we essentially got 2 nights free as far as I can tell) in Oct.

The fitness center had 2 elliptical trainers, several stairsteppers, I think 5 treadmills, and several bikes. They had universal and free weights in 2 separate areas. The "locker" room had several nice sized private showers, a steam room and a dry sauna. I think it was available to everyone at the GC, not sure but I thought there was a daily $3 charge if you weren't concierge.

~Kisroo:)

TP2000
03-06-2003, 08:53 PM
If you just wanted to walk up to the Laguna Ritz-Carlton and stay in a room for two nights, without any special deals or travel agent packages, the prices look like this for weekend nights in March....

$275 per night for a standard king bed pool/courtyard view room (I stayed in one of these at Christmas, and they were VERY luxurious. Very lovely furnishings, every amenity I could ever want, an incredibly comfortable bed, and noticeably more posh than the Concierge level room I stayed in at the Grand Californian.)

$425 per night for a king bed Club Level pool/courtyard view room (Club Level is the Ritz version of Concierge. I've never stayed in a Club Level room, but the regular rooms are so nice I can't imagine what makes a Club Room better. I assume the food/drinks in the Club Lounge is fantastic. But maybe the Club rooms also come with a little Japanese woman who rubs your feet every night before you go to bed or something?)

$475 per night for a Deluxe Ocean View room. Anyone who has been to Laguna knows how jaw-droppingly beautiful the ocean views are from those cliffs.

$525 per night for a Executive Suite. Seperate living room, king bed in the bedroom.

There are also big multi-room suites and Club Level suites that run up to $1,000 per night at the Ritz.

So how do those rates compare to the current prices at the Grand Californian?

Grandbreaker, if you are a CM at the Grand, ask your manager if he has ever been to the Ritz and seen how hotel guests are treated there, and how polished the presentation is there. Maybe the Grand Californian managers should pile into a company van and drive down to the Ritz for lunch one day?

adriennek
03-09-2003, 03:51 PM
^bump^

Ok, Shana, spill. How was it?

Curiously,
Adrienne K

Niwel
03-09-2003, 04:35 PM
Originally posted by adriennek
^bump^

Ok, Shana, spill. How was it?

Curiously,
Adrienne K

OK, here goes nothing:

I picked up my mom at LAX around 7:30 p.m. and we went directly to the Grand Californian. I wish we had been able to get there earlier, as we missed the wine and cheese reception which was on from 5 to 7. (We also did not have enough time to visit the spa/gym).

When we pulled up to the gate at GCH they asked for our name, check my trunk and my ID. We decided to valet park the car (which answrs the question in THE OTHER THREAD) for $12 a day.
When we got out of the car, someone from concierge was waiting to great us and help us to the check-in where she gave us the "concierge run-down." We walked through the gorgeous lobby outside to the other bank of elevators (where along the way I showed my mother where she could smoke --- WARNING they charge big time is you are caught smoking anywhere except the designated areas.
We decided to take out own bags up to the sixth floor (concierge level). However, before we went to the room, my mom wanted to get bottles of water ... so using my map (incorrectly at first) we found the concierge lounge (which is located near the lobby. We walked in as they were in the middle of storytime ... which was sooooo cute! One of the guides was telling interactive wilderness tales while the kids in their PJs sat on fluffy pillows and drank milk at ate giant cookies (I stole a couple for our room). There was a fridge full of drinks, copies of the newspaper, coffee, fruit, cookies and DVDs which we could rent to use in the players in our room. We were told the lounge is also a great place to watch the fireworks.
Then we walked back to our room (I LOVED OUR ROOM) where I had asked for a park-view and two queens. One of the beds was turned down, the other was not (which was fine). We were given four chocolate coins and a "plant-your-own-tree" kit. From our room I had a great view of Grizzly Peak, the Tower of Terror, the side of Soarin', the backdrop on the Hollywood Pictures Backlot and we were practically over the Golden Gate Bridge. I didn't see any other lights on our side of the hotel ( I don't think there were many people in the hotel that night).
There was a pciture of Snow White's Cottage on the wall and the shower curtain was covered with trees and a smattering of Thumpers and Bambis.
Since we were both hungry, we called down to the concierge desk to see what was open. Since it was a Thursday night, the restaurants were open until 10. We decided to go to Naples after learning we couldn't eat at the Uva bar and Catal was on the expensive side.
Then we walked around a bit and my mom said maybe we should consider staying a second night (I hadn't told her how much I had spent on the room and when she found out, I thought she was going to kill me and then drop dead, herself.)
Since we were so tired we both slept very well. Since we were on the park side, we were not bothed by noises coming from Downtown Disney
In the morning, mom got up for her coffee and smoke, and I read the paper sitting while reading the paper on our balcony. dressed. We had to check out by 11, so we decided to pack up and take our stuff to breakfast, but I told the front desk we weren't leaving until 10:45 (in case we needed to come back).
We went to the lounge for breakfast (fruit, danish, cereal, coffee etc.) My mom grabbed some fruit, cereal and four water bottles (boy was her backpack heavy!) We asked the lounge hostess for a twist-tye for my mom's suitcase, she looked but couldn't find one. Then she called down to the store to see if they had any locks (but no one answered). But she found us some ribbon that worked perfectly -- and she did it all with a great big smile.
We took our things (except our jackets) to the bell desk -- where they so nicely babysat them until that evening -- and headed to the special GCH-only entrance to DCA. It was still a bit early so we sat near the pool where my mom couldn't get over the weather (she had flown in from Chicago where it had been snowing for days).
We walked over the entrance at 9:50, where the nice CM told my mom she could use her special So-Cal ticket as a hopper if she tells the CM she wants to. (They can override the system, but they don't advertise it that much).
We hopped back and forth all day and there were NO LINES ANYWHERE (except Matterhorn, of course). Indiana Jones was a 10-minute wait at 4:30 p.m.
That night, we headed back to the hotel via Downtown Disney, went to the bell desk, gave our ticket to the valet and waited about five minutes for the car. The valet helped us load our stuff into the car and that was the end of our Disney adventure.

So was it worth it?
I loved the added perks (breakfast, the DVD, the lounge, the check-in).
My mom said we could get a junior suite at the Ritz in Chicago for less money (I even used the AP discount). If we had spent more time there, it would have been worth it. Would I do it again? Probably not, unless I was staying longer. But it was a magical Disney experience, nevertheless. :)

adriennek
03-09-2003, 08:37 PM
Oh, I'm bummed you missed the wine/cheese thing!

Thanks for the report!

Adrienne K

disneyholic family
03-09-2003, 09:50 PM
this past summer, we spent a week at the grand californian concierge right after spending 3 weeks in WDW in various concierge rooms (Grand floridian, Beach Club, Yacht Club, etc)...

while the service in WDW was outstanding, we were VERY disappointed in the GC.....
the food staff was downright unpleasant (that never happened in WDW)....not the concierge staff working the desk, they were pleasant enough, though not nearly on the level of the staff in WDW.....
but the staff handling the food itself...
i was really shocked at how unpleasant they were....i watched them interact with various guests, and without fail they never smiled....they even talked back on occasion.....
i remember one particularly shocking moment with a mother of a severely retarded and handicapped child.....too long a story, but my kids were so shocked they jumped up and gave the few things they'd taken to the little girl......

having said that, the GC is very well located....and i'm sure i would stay in the concierge again, simply because we always stay concierge level in whatever hotel we're staying in......my kids usually manage to eat and drink enough to make up the difference in cost...
one thing that was nice, they had small bottles of bottled water, so my kids took a bottle each time we left for the park (my kids are big drinkers of bottled water)....