Originally Posted By mamacita I am debating on doing concierge for our next trip. Can anyone tell me if it's worth the money and what are the perks? We'll be at the Disneyland Hotel. Is there a specific tower for concierge? Are the rooms on a high floor with a decent view? Any information would be appreciated. Thanks!
Originally Posted By nemopoppins We had a concierge room once at DLH. It was when concierge came automatically with the suites. Our suite was in the Marina tower that time. We've had suites a couple of times since then in the Sierra tower, tenth and eleventh floor (where the lounge is) but not concierge. The concierge lounge is nice, and it possibly could be worth it if you intend to fill up at breakfast, soft drinks throughout the day, and in the early evening have plenty of wine, beer and snacks. We were never at the hotel long enough to partake in all that so I don't think it would be worth it. We love so many of the restaurants around there that we wouldn't be able to eat enough at the concierge lounge to make it cost effective. If you can afford luxury without making it pay for itself, it is a nice lounge.
Originally Posted By nemopoppins Oh yeah, you are supposed to automatically get a view room with concierge, I think. And you get a DVD player in your room (which is usually in the suites anyway) but you also get free Disney DVD rentals (who has the time?) and you get the nightly turn down service that comes with all the regular rooms at GCH. That's where housekeeping folds down the covers on your bed in the evening and leaves a box of cookies on your first day and chocolates on your pillows every day.
Originally Posted By mamacita Thank you nempoppins. So basiclaly the big perk is lots of snacks? We don't spend a ton of time in the room either but we do go back for midday breaks (sometimes). I have some thinking to do.
Originally Posted By SuzieQ Unless you plan to have the continental breakfast and partake in the evening wine and cheese, it's really not worth it. How else do you justify the money? Vacation Planning can make all of the same priority seatings and reservations the concierge can make.
Originally Posted By nemopoppins I would say that having a better level room and access to the exclusive lounge just to lounge are pretty nice perks too, it's just that it's hard to place a monetary value to them. Consider if this would fit your daily schedule. You get breakfast stuff in the mornings, something like 6:00 to 9:00 or so. Then all there are are soft drinks and perhaps pretzels and such the rest of the time. There really isn't anything for a midday break. Then it's at about 5:00 to 7:00 when they have the wine and cheese reception, a lot of yummy stuff and endless free wine, and I think beer too. Even being there for a week, it was hard for us to schedule it in just once. Then the lounge closes at 10:00. We never get back by then but we were there in the summer. I think it's still open until 10:00 even when Disneyland closes earlier. Just going over this makes me wish they still included concierge with suites. I stubbornly won't pay extra for it. But, if it works for your schedule and you don't want to buy very much outside food, it could be a deal. Oh, also, you can watch the fireworks from up there. They play the soundtrack in there while you watch but if you've ever seen the fireworks from the hotel, you know they're pretty small from that far away. I know a lot of people don't mind that but I prefer to be right at the entrance to Toontown where they're the closest and biggest.
Originally Posted By RoJo We used concierge on our trip in the middle of Aug. at the PP. 90% of the time the lounge was empty or close to it.I just don't think the added price makes it as popular as it was when it was included with your suite. Now that I'm a litle older(51) but still doing the park thing like I'm 21,it is a nice place to crash and use my laptop after many hours at the parks.The food is so-so and like SuzieQ mentioned you can get VP to help with most of your PS's. I'll probably still continue to use it in the future only when I stay at PP.
Originally Posted By DEDE71755 We used concierge on our trip in april of 2005 for my sons graduation trip. I was ok. Nemopoppins you don't automatically get a view room with concierge. Our room had a view of the pool, would rather have had a view of the park but that was more money. Now don't get me wrong, we were glad we did it once. Would we do concierge again no. Was it worth the money no. We felt that we had to use the concierge for breakfast instead of eating elswhere to get our moneys worth.
Originally Posted By DEDE71755 Oh yeah I forgot that on our 2nd night there our airconditioner quit working. and we had to move to another building. It took 2 hours to get moved to a new room. But they tried to get us the presidental suite but it was book and we were moved to the gov. suite which was bigger than the 2 bedroom we had. and they gave us 2 front of the line tickets and vouchers for free ice cream.
Originally Posted By SuzieQ FWIW, a pool view is considered a view room. The non-view rooms are on the backside of the Marina and Bonita towers. They look over parking lots.
Originally Posted By goodgirl I've done concierge twice at GCH and once at Paradise Pier. At the GCH it was my girlfriend and I in May and then my sister and I, again in May. We took complete advantage of it: ...I need breakfast and enjoy the continental breakfast: bagels, pastries, juice, fruit, coffee and some other noshes. It was perfect for me. Rather than spending time at a restaurant we could easily dine in the concierge lounge. ...We took advantage of the wine and noshes in the early evening. We usually went out to dinner and thus avoided extra costs for drinks. It was also relaxing to sit and talk about the day. Sometimes we did this in the lounge, other times we took it back to our room. ...The evening cookies! Always had those. ...Beverages. Water and soda. We'd grab water on our way to to the park and soda on our way back to our room. ...Reservations. When we needed last minute reserations the concierge staff would do them for us while we had breakfast or wine. This might be for restaurants, Aladdin, or a shuttle to Universal Studios. It was expensive but we had the money to spend on those trips and wanted to indulge. Paradise Pier it was myself and my 11 and 12 year old nieces. It was a last minute add on. When I checked in I asked what the cost was and they gave it to me for $50 a day. A HUGE savings! --We ate breakfast every day. --In the afternoon I indulged in a glass of wine while the girls ate snacks and soda. --The girls checked out DVDs to watch while I took a nap. --Reservations (Fantasmic and Aladdin) --Beverages and chips and cookies The Paradise Pier concierge actually saved me money. I think I got it so cheap because the hotel wasn't booked full. That was late August 2005.
Originally Posted By mamacita Thanks for the input. I still can't decide but maybe we will try it this once and see how it goes. We always use Vacation Planning and that seems to be the biggest perk and you don't need concierge for that. Having breakfast available is nice but it doesn't seem any more luxurious than muffins and bagels in the room like we usually do. Cool they offered it to you for $50 a day goodgirl. I am hoping the view is good too.
Originally Posted By nemopoppins If we could get concierge for only $50, I think it would be worth it. I'm going to ask whenever I check in any more. Thanks for the tip.
Originally Posted By brea77 What types of wine and beer do they offer during Happy Hour at the Paradise Pier? Was the food good during Happy Hour?
Originally Posted By nemopoppins They had a few varieties of California wine available. I seem to remember that they also had some premium wines that could be purchased. Although I'm not usually a wine drinker, I didn't drink the beer because I didn't want to get filled up so I didn't notice the beers.
Originally Posted By MickeyMommy We added concierge to our suite at DLH Memorial Day Weekend 2005. At that time it was $125 a day extra. For us it wasn't worth it because I always bring our favorite treats for our room when we go, and there really wasn't anything that special in the lounge. My homemade brownies are better than the the concierge selections. My oldest son always brings his DVD collection, so borrowing DVD's wasn't a factor either. Cereal is great in the morning, but it is also very cheap to pack along with you. I could buy a TON of stuff for $125 a day! I enjoyed trying it once, but for us, it didn't make financial sense at all. Especially since we go to Disneyland so often. But alot people think it is worth the splurge and think it adds alot to their trip. Personally, I might consider it for $50 a day, but not $100+.
Originally Posted By tuknshak We had our room upgraded to a concierge level room at the GCH during our trip in July 2001 when they put us in the wrong room and were sold out (city view instead of DTD view). It turned out to be a nice perk. There were six of us and we would have breakfast there, afternoon wine/snacks and the afternoon cookie/drinks. We also got to watch the fireworks for the lounge balcony (not a fantastic view but it was ok and had no crowds). We were all adults so it wasn't a big difference but was a nice perk. If I had multiple young kids I would surely do a concierge room. I went once to DL with three small cousins and they were typical kids and ate 1/4 of what they ordered. A concierge room would easily come in handy there if it covered breakfast and snacks and the other non-food perks they have for kids for increased cost per night. Overall I think the concierge rooms are nice but you have to realize as other have said not all the perks have a monetary value to them.
Originally Posted By Disney Downunder Concierge is worth considering if you're staying longer than just a couple of days and particularly if staying with kids. When we stayed, the continental breakfast was plentiful and of good standard. This set us up for the day. Free water & snacks to take into the parks. The use of the lounge was a great benefit. It was like an extra room and didn't mean we had to be all together in one room when back in the hotel. Happy hour between 5 - 7pm with unlimited beer and wine was well used by us. As was supper when returning from the parks in the evening. I guess we used concierge at bit like our home base at the hotel. It certainly added to our very positive experience staying at the DLH.
