PDA

View Full Version : Concierge Level GCH



elimoon
08-01-2002, 04:26 AM
Hey!
I will be coming to DLR from Nov 1 - 9 and can't wait to show my kids where I had some of the greatest days of my life! I am worried however ...after reading some of the other posts about the concierge level I am getting a bit concerned has anyone been there in the past couple weeks? Of course there was only one negative post on that subject but I am still concerned I am really splurging on this trip and I an kind of countiong on some of the amenities that the Conc. level offers! We will also be visiting relitives but we decided to stay at Disney for the entire trip instead of packing up and relocating 3 kids in the middle of our vacation I am positive we will not gwt bored (I hope) I want to thank you for this terriffic board I am learning so much ! I am also learning tooo much as some of the posts are awfully negative and there is alot of arguments on some subjects I thought this was suppose to be the Happiest Place on Earth! I guess you can't have your cake and eat it too! Anyway Thanks again and Have a Happy Day ! ....elimoon PS Hope you guys are ready to answer more questions I have a bunch! Thanks

MouseWife
08-01-2002, 07:15 AM
Wow, you will be staying there a long time!!

What I would recommend, as I only stayed in a standard room, is to call the front desk and ask for specific details. Perhaps you could speak to the front desk manager and conceirge clerk {separately} to get their views.

Also, whom did you book with? Ask them again what you are entitled to. Check and see if it is in writing anywhere on your papers. If you don't get what you paid for, complain.

Or, if they don't seem to be offering you what you expected, downgrade.

Also, people will post their experiences. Take heed. You never know.................

Anywho, your trip sounds like absolute fun!!!

scottmen
08-01-2002, 08:04 AM
I just stayed at the Grand Californian last Thursday and Friday night. We were on the concierge level and it was well worth it. The staff was very friendly and helpful. They really catered to our needs.

The lounge is where most of the benefits are. They have water and soft drinks in a refrigerator that you can take from all day long, so you don't have to spend three bucks on them from your room. They have a breakfast and a wine and cheese party everyday. I believe the breakfast, which is bagels, fruit, croissants and stuff like that and its from I think 6am until 10am. I am not exactly sure of the time. They also have cereal for the kids. At night they have a wine and cheese reception from 5pm to 7pm. They do have a nice selection of cheese and the wine they have is ok. They have four choices and at least two of them were bearable for me. They even have P&J sandwiches for the kids. The second night we made it in with 15 minutes left and we made a couple of plates and grabbed a couple of glasses and went back to the room to watch a movie.

They also have DVD rentals. There is a DVD player in the room and you can rent just about any Disney DVD out there. They even have TRON. ;)

The staff in the concierge can help you with any reservations you need also. They can call for you and help you with your schedule. I had already made reservations at Napa Rose so I didn't really use this service. They were more then willing to help though.

All in all I would think it was definitely worth it. You are up higher in the hotel so you have a better view, you get that little extra service and you can take advantage of all the extras that come with concierge level. You should have a great time. One tip is to check out the fireworks from the concierge lounge. They have a balcony and they pipe in the music from the show. It was a real nice experience, they even have hot chocolate there.

Well I hope that helps. Any more questions let me know.

elimoon
08-01-2002, 11:19 AM
Hey Thanks for the info !!! I booked through the Disney Club. I am sure everything will be great! Will there be Fireworks in Nov. ?
Thanks sooo Much and I am looking foward to more input on this subject! Thanks ...elimoon

disneyhead
08-01-2002, 08:31 PM
They shouild have the fireworks on the weekends in Feb. I hope it's worth it to. We are having our first concierge level trip this Dec. But we have stayed at the GCH twice before. We love the place.

MichelleC
08-01-2002, 08:54 PM
We are staying at GC in concierge in two weeks. I was also concerencd by a very negative review I read here. That review was older. The trip report I read at http://hometown.aol.com/ILuvDVC/ILuvDVC.html was from June 2002 and was very positive. The service and amenities provided are what I expect concierge to be. I will post when I get back about our experience.

TP2000
08-02-2002, 12:29 AM
I have stayed at the GCH three times in the past year, once in a Concierge level room and twice in a regular room. One of the times I stayed on a "regular" floor I had a nice one bedroom suite facing Grizzly Peak.

Since I am not much into snacking, I didn't really find the value in the Concierge level rooms. My room on the 6th floor Concierge level was the exact same size as the other rooms in the hotel. As a rule, the rooms in the GCH are not very big. I've stayed in airport Hilton's and suburban Sheraton's that had bigger rooms. The Concierge floors have rooms that are exactly the same size with the exact same amenities as the other rooms. All GCH rooms triple sheet their beds and offer a nice toiletry sampling in the bathrooms. All of the GCH regular rooms also receive nightly turndown service with some cute Disney mints on the pillow. The one thing that sticks out in my mind as unique to my Concierge room was a chrome bathroom scale near the bathtub, and that's about it. The small sofa that sat next to the bed in my Concierge room didn't even have a throw pillow, it was simply a nicely upholstered sofa pushed up against a wall. I stayed in a regular room that also had the same type sofa, without a throw pillow.

The staff at the GCH were all generally very good, except for the valet parking guys in the Porte Cochere that I have noticed have gotten a bit sloppy in their presentation in the past year. Lots of leaning, gum smacking, ill-fitting uniforms and some rowdy yelling routinely goes on in that Porte Cochere now. They seemed so sharp and disciplined in February, 2001. But the rest of the hotel staff is generally very good. They are not quite as polished or as elegant as the staff of a big Four Seasons or Ritz-Carlton, but certainly a cut above the average Hilton or Marriott. The general vibe I get from GCH employees is that of clean cut middle class kids from the suburbs trying to be on their best behavior and playing "dress up" in a big fancy hotel. They mean well, but sometimes they don't come off as polished and crisp as they probably could. But I wasn't bowled over by any "extra" service when I was in the Concierge room. I had already made a reservation for the Napa Rose a month in advance when I stayed in the Concierge room, so they didn't help me there.

When I inquired in the Concierge lounge one morning about making a reservation for that evening at the Blue Bayou I was very politely told that Blue Bayou reservations have to be made the day before with the concierge and that "day of" reservations can only be made in the Park by the "guest". Um, okay. Thanks for nothing. No offer was made to bend the rules to a guest who did not know about that customer-unfriendly policy beforehand and phone the Blue Bayou and have the Hostess there write down my name in the book via house phone. And no offer to send a runner into Disneyland to write down my name at the Hostess stand was made either. I was simply told, with a big smile of course, that I would have to go into Disneyland and make the reservation myself. Thanks a bunch! Nevermind that I was planning on going into DCA first and didn't want to go into Disneyland until evening.

The concierge lounge had some nice self serve coffee urns and light continental breakfast fare available, as well as LA TImes and USA Today's to take back to your room. But the concierge staff didn't do anything that the rest of the hotel staff was happy to do anyway. And when they were presented with a guest who needed assistance with Blue Bayou reservations they simply felt that all they had to do was very politely tell me to do it myself, with a big Disney smile on their face of course.

The next visit I made to the GCH was on one of the regular floors. The staff was generally excellent, and I made my reservation for the Blue Bayou and Napa Rose myself a week before. I also stopped in for my morning coffee at La Brea Bakery on my way into the Parks. The 3 dollars I paid for my coffee, plus the phone call I made to 781-DINE to make my own dinner reservations was worth it to me to not pay an extra 60 dollars a night for "concierge" service. Although I did miss checking my weight before bed on the bath scale in the concierge room.

Your mileage may vary of course.

tredla
08-02-2002, 01:06 AM
Personaly i think you can get a biger bang for the buck across the street. I'm told that the rooms at the disneyland hotel and disneyland's Paradise Pier Hotel are larger and the pool at the disneyland hotel has been redone to be a child's paradise. there concarge service has all the same amenities and evening turdowns include things like mickey shaped rice treats cookies and mints. With 3 children i would go for the disneyland hotel which has in my oppinion the best to offer someone in your position. GCH is more for eligance and the disneyland hotel is more for kids also the Paradise Pier Hotel is more for people traveling on business. good luck with whatever you do i'm sure you'll have a blast.