Disney's Club Level (CL) Information & Questions

[cwis]

Stopping turndown is yet another blow… incredible they do that, as this is pretty common practice in every luxury location around the world.

Any hints about if that new policy is only for AKL CL, or if it will apply to oths

We had maid service 3 times a day at the Four Seasons. The service there was exceptional! If Disney keeps skimping they will end up losing their high end clientele.

I believe part of the problem is that most people ending up at CL are “hardcore” Disney fans that are not used to sleeping in upscale yet luxury hotels. They won't mind if there is no turndown, if there is no chef at breakfast, if there is no extensive & gourmet room service, if there is no luxury toiletries in the bathroom, if there is no fantastic maid service…

 

[princess Maxwell]

The service is declining due to many factors, poor wages, outsourcing, college program, guests allowing poor service and turning the other cheek; if you don't speak up they are going to continue lousy service,every time I go there nothing goes smoothly due to human error over and over again!!!! If you want really good service any place you have to demand it,that the reality of it ,unfortunately.

 

[tarak]

Wow. That's disappointing. I'd honestly rather them take away the Goldfish and gummy Bears and use that money to put out pizza or nuggets every night. I understand it's not supposed to be a meal, but there should be something for everyone.

I wonder if there is someone we can contact in customer relations. I feel if enough of us voice our concerns we might be heard.

I agree and the attitude of Disney in that regard is obnoxious. I love Disney and have taken ten trips there in the last nine years. I'm taking my youngest and mom back in May. We're staying club level at the Portofino Bay hotel at Universal two days before we move to the Poly CL. I'm curious to see if there's a major difference between the two hotels.

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

The service is declining due to many factors, poor wages, outsourcing, college program, guests allowing poor service and turning the other cheek; if you don't speak up they are going to continue lousy service,every time I go there nothing goes smoothly due to human error over and over again!!!! If you want really good service any place you have to demand it,that the reality of it ,unfortunately.

Very true. And I've already wasted too much vacation time just trying to remedy their apathy.

 

[mmmears]

That's unacceptable, for the price they charge.

Seems like the only thing you can do is stop booking CL.

Totally agree. And if people continue to book with the new high prices and lack of service then why would they care if we complain.

We had maid service 3 times a day at the Four Seasons. The service there was exceptional! If Disney keeps skimping they will end up losing their high end clientele.

We've never had Disney CL service that approached our stays at Four Seasons around the country, but it really does seem to be sliding these days. As I said on your thread, last week we did have turn down (didn't need to request it) at the BC CL and at the GF (RPC) CL. But no welcome gift (frankly, that's not a huge deal to me) or extra amenities. I would have been complaining if no-one came to do turn down and switch out the towels in the evenings, though.

 

[gwynne]

Stopping turn down is yet another blow… incredible they do that, as this is pretty common practice in every luxury location around the world.

Any hints about if that new policy is only for AKL CL, or if it will apply to others


I believe part of the problem is that most people ending up at CL are “hardcore” Disney fans that are not used to sleeping in upscale yet luxury hotels. They won't mind if there is no turndown, if there is no chef at breakfast, if there is no extensive & gourmet room service, if there is no luxury toiletries in the bathroom, if there is no fantastic maid service…

Probably your opinion. Guests have lots of reasons for selecting various products in different markets. For example, my accommodation preference in cities like Rome, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Orlando vary greatly. In the Orlando market, I'm not judging folks who select on property vs off property. There are different options with various amenities and folks select what works for them.

 

[princess Maxwell]

Portofino Bay is a beautiful resort, I have stayed club level: rundown- service is good,food sucks,rooms nice beds are good,beautiful spa, nice property walk around,you only get beer &wine during happy hour not anytime before or after.

 

[mickeynut1]

Quick tip in case it's helpful. I drink a ton of water, especially at WDW, more than I can generally get in the lounge or other places. Someone on here posted that you can buy cases of Dasani water in the gift shop in the main building for relatively cheap. Sure enough, at GF last month I bought a case of water (24 bottles I think? Maybe 18?) for like $6.50, which seemed incredibly cheap to me for Disney standards! I don't know if Poly has the same thing, but I bet it does. I do know Poly sells the very large Dasani bottles...last October I bought like 6 of those and kept in the fridge. Kept us all happy and hydrated.

I agree, if you drink a lot of water, buying a case is a good idea! I also agree that $6.50 isn't all that bad for Disney pricing .

Probably your opinion. Guests have lots of reasons for selecting various products in different markets. For example, my accommodation preference in cities like Rome, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Orlando vary greatly. In the Orlando market, I'm not judging folks who select on property vs off property. There are different options with various amenities and folks select what works for them.

 

[cwis]

Probably your opinion. Guests have lots of reasons for selecting various products in different markets. For example, my accommodation preference in cities like Rome, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Orlando vary greatly. In the Orlando market, I'm not judging folks who select on property vs off property. There are different options with various amenities and folks select what works for them.

If only there was a tier above CL, then maybe guests would stop expecting CL to match upscale. While I agree with your statement, part of the inconsistency found in CL offerings is because of its pricing that is more or less those of the Four Seasons, hinting the reasonable expectation that they would match the service, whereas in the end you end up paying mostly for location and theming.

Or maybe the should just drop the price to get the consistency back, as several point out on this thread…

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I believe part of the problem is that most people ending up at CL are “hardcore” Disney fans that are not used to sleeping in upscale yet luxury hotels. They won't mind if there is no turndown, if there is no chef at breakfast, if there is no extensive & gourmet room service, if there is no luxury toiletries in the bathroom, if there is no fantastic maid service…

Ehh, I probably shouldn't touch this topic, and I don't mean any disrespect of your opinion here, but if I were going to generalize I'd probably have the opposite perspective. Maybe I'm just reacting to the types of personalities you see on this board and folks I've met in CL (perhaps not a fair sampling), but I see more experienced travelers than "hardcore" Disney fans with limited travel experience.

 

[BenandMorgsMom]

Let me be the first to say: As a longtime owner of DVC 18+ years, I never once thought of Club Level Reservations. I tend to travel to Disney every 6-7 weeks as a break from the world of business and I am so thrilled that I opened this thread one day and said: Hey…let’s try Club Level. Yes I have read every post on every page because knowledge is key. Thank you TigrLvsPooh...this page makes a difference!

We tried our first stay at the end of Jan at Yacht Club. Wonderful experience. We had room 5195 which although has a King Size bed only and is a corner room (you are looking at your corner neighbor straight on) has a great view of fireworks. It overlooks roof and part of SAB. Food was fantastic in the CL lounge. Service from all the CM’s was great. Friendly, took time to chat, remembered you with likes for beverages, what not. Having someone man the drink service at night was really not a big deal, but it definitely could be intimidating to others. The CM’s would actually bring a second round while we were snacking which was such a nice touch. Room was clean, housekeeping spot on, no issues. We received our welcome gift and large size toiletries including the foot lotion and sun gel aloe. IPO was helpful but we are self-sufficient so we took care of things ourselves.

My husband took advantage of the bounce back offer in the room while we were in Disney to book the stay we just came home from Thursday. Only 6 weeks have passed between visits. He received a great price on BC CL but decided since I have never stayed at Poly, to pay the additional $700 and stay there.

I welcomed the adventure. We had a glitch with our online check-in. We contacted every possible person to let them know we would like a ground floor or 3rd floor room since we no longer, after 100’s of trips, need to rush off for the parks. I am there to golf and relax. Wouldn’t you know we received the text: 2nd floor. My husband immediately contacted the IPO and asked for a room change. We then received interesting texts. First text they had upgraded us to a theme park room, but then 25 minutes later, we received another text with a different room in the Standard Category. Not a good start. The upgrade was not granted at check-in. We should have tried the door but we are not like that. We went to the CL CM’s and explained what happened. Lawrence did not grant the upgrade sent via text. OK no Pixie Dust!

I will sum things up for Poly CL this way:

We did receive a welcome gift and I asked the young woman who delivered it where were the upgraded toiletries. She said you do not receive them in resorts that are not DVC…I was going to mention--yes this is a DVC resort--but chose not to embarrass her. Just the plain old small bottles. Negative check mark for me love, love the nice lotions!

Food: We are aware of cutbacks. If you compare Poly to Yacht club a month ago….OMG what a difference between the 2 resorts.

NO proteins like meat cheese at breakfast to supplement balance of a bagel or croissant. For snacks they served Conch fritters and Spring rolls…not warm/ Chicken Wings and Mushroom Risotto balls/ Bacon wrapped meat and Pierogis …same 3 cheeses every night and same three crudité items. Kids had PBJ crustables and turkey corndogs one night.

Drinks…they are self serve…which was very nice. During the day you could get a drink if you hunted down a CM. One night a young man did monitor the drink area…I just looked at him and engaged a bit of dialogue. I felt I paid a great deal for that glass of Sangria. He was a bit too serious and chased a guest up to the 3rd floor he thought was young. The man was about 30 years beyond drinking age. LOL One thing that drove my husband crazy was the tables were left filthy! The only person we ever saw clearing was IRV(?) in the morning. Very nice elderly man. He knows service. It was borderline gross. I should have brought my own cleaning bottle and moppine to wipe down the table. I like a clean dining area. This is a huge glitch in their service protocols at Poly.

Desserts were yummy not elaborate.

Bottom line:

CM’s were not that friendly here. No one engaged any of the guests that we observed. They hid quite a bit back in the kitchen prep area. I introduced myself to the chef so I could inquire about July 4th visit, and he shared his pending menu. He was very gracious.

I am returning with my daughter for 4th of July at Poly CL because I promised, since she could not travel this time. My husband is a harder sell to tear away from work. He was very disappointed in CM interaction/service and Food snacks. He said he will go back to Yacht Club eagerly.

Turn down service was excellent…above and beyond Disney service standards! Housekeeping was excellent.

Location is the selling point if the large $ difference doesn’t matter to a guest. View was wonderful. Lounge was never really busy after the first day.

I know this is long winded but reading peoples thoughts are how I learn and determine my plan of action. Hope I am helpful. If you have any questions and I can answer: ask away.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

BenandMorgsMom - Thank you for the wonderfully detailed write-up and assessment of the pros/cons of your stay. I guess it's further proof of the inconsistency between CLs that many people report. We've had mostly great Poly CL stays where the staff was warm and comforting with excellent service. We had one stay where CMs were terribly cold, unfriendly, and downright rude - I left never wanting to come back (but I of course did, which I guess is the problem). Clearing tables was a horrible problem at GF CL last month too, even as CMs stood around monitoring the area. It was almost as if they didn't care, or at least weren't motivated at all.

Regardless, I very much appreciate your detailed thoughts. Thank you again for sharing your experience. I'd love to hear how July 4th goes, that's one that is on my bucket list.

 

[mrsap]

I agree and the attitude of Disney in that regard is obnoxious. I love Disney and have taken ten trips there in the last nine years. I'm taking my youngest and mom back in May. We're staying club level at the Portofino Bay hotel at Universal two days before we move to the Poly CL. I'm curious to see if there's a major difference between the two hotels.

I know, it's sad! Please let us know your comparisons!! I'm very curious to know if there's a big difference! Enjoy your trip!!

 

[rteetz]

Heads up

http://www.orlandoparksnews.com/2016/03/walt-disney-world-airline-check-in.html

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

I know, it's sad! Please let us know your comparisons!! I'm very curious to know if there's a big difference! Enjoy your trip!!

I stayed CL at Royal Pacific in January. It was pretty similar to WDW as far as the lounge, food offerings, drinks, etc. They definitely had turn down service and they provided free bottled water. Plus the entire floor was recently renovated and is beautiful.

 

[eastendlights]

Heads up

http://www.orlandoparksnews.com/2016/03/walt-disney-world-airline-check-in.html

"To better meet guest demand." How is cutting the hours better meeting guest demand???

 

[dansdad]

"To better meet guest demand." How is cutting the hours better meeting guest demand???

I have no idea.

 

[PackYourPixieDust]

"To better meet guest demand." How is cutting the hours better meeting guest demand???

My thoughts exactly!

 

[Eastern]

"To better meet guest demand." How is cutting the hours better meeting guest demand???

It's just a sound bite; you can't really argue with meeting guest demand, right? If they said the real reason, whatever it is, people would be up in arms.

 

[Eastern]

I know this is long winded but reading peoples thoughts are how I learn and determine my plan of action. Hope I am helpful. If you have any questions and I can answer: ask away.

We had the same dirty table experience on a recent CR trip. They just would not bus the tables. They literally let every table pile up with dirty dishes. I asked them to please clear the tables. They would come by and take a few things, then not venture back. I do think it is to discourage people from taking more food items (each tiny appetizer receives its own plate) and leave earlier. I found it very annoying.