Reviews of Disney’s Yacht Club Concierge Level
Reviewed by rkold Review Date: 01/16/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
We booked a standard view room concierge level from 12/4-12/10 to celebrate my birthday with an Annual Pass discount. We were met when getting off the Magical Express by a cast member who greeted us by name and helped us inside. She called upstairs to concierge and since there was a small wait there, checked us in immediately downstairs. Check-in was super quick (again, just like in Oct when we were not concierge) and then lead us upstairs. I loved our room, yes it was standard view, but the view was quite pleasant and it was not a long walk to anything but still quiet. We got a surprise of birthday balloons and some candy from the concierge staff which my DD loved.
Every cast member I met on concierge level was just lovely. They made me feel like I was visiting royalty. One night when we weren't going to back in time for dessert, they brought some back to our room and left it in the mini fridge for us since they said this was their favorite dessert and we had to try it. (And they were so good too, they were these delicious Oreo bon-bons!) I liked the food served in the lounge. My 2 year old DD loved the mini bagels and enjoyed that there was a TV, tables and chairs set up specifically for little kids. The mid-day snacks were the weakest part of the food service, but then most people are out at the parks so what was on offer was fine to me. Our family is vegetarian, yet we always found something to try during the dinner/appetizer time period and it was so nice to have fresh vegetables readily available. Dessert was super yummy too. We never had a problem getting a seat, though we did tend to eat breakfast later.
Dan in particular was super nice and helped me to get the reservation I wanted for lunch at the Prime Time Cafe as well as helped me make a reservation for dinner for our unexpected extension of our trip. The regular cast members of the Yacht were also amazing. Everyone was friendly and made us feel welcome. I felt like we were recognized and remembered and were more than just people staying at a hotel. When our flight home got unexpectedly canceled and rebooked for 2 days later, the cast members at the Yacht were an enormous help! They found us another room, tried to rescue our luggage from the airport and did everything in their power to make our two extra days as enjoyable as our planned vacation.
This was our first name staying concierge and it was really lovely. I love the location for the Yacht and we all adore the pool. I think the hotel is my favorite I've stayed at now. Our trip was so amazing, we're going to stay here Concierge again at the end of January.
Pros:
The staff, the staff, the staff!!!Cons:
—Reviewed by hello12345 Review Date: 06/11/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
We had reservations for a standard room for 2 days in early June. Checked in around 12:45pm and we were upgraded to Club level. Not sure why, but with the amount of money we have spent at Disney over past 5 years I didn't feel bad about it. For breakfast they had juice, danishes, fresh fruit, cereal, and bagels. For dinner they had light finger foods (Couldn't really make a meal out of it). Beer selection was pretty good; Bud Light, Sam Adams, Heinekin, and Yuengling. Only complaint was beer was slightly warm. I don't think they kept it chilled prior to putting it in fridge. Desserts were limited. Liqueur selection was limited to a few different types of brandy and kahlua. Not a bad spread if you spend a lot of time at resort. Park commandos would probably not benefit from club level. I would consider club level in the future if I was using a passholder discount, but I would not pay full price for this benefit. Staff was extremely friendly.
Pros:
Friendly StaffCons:
Beer not cold enoughReviewed by Hannamom Review Date: 06/26/2013
Rating: (4) Not Recommended
I just got back from a 4 night stay June 19-22 at the club level. I was disappointed with the small selection of food. The breakfast was adequate. The selection included oatmeal, bagels, coissants, cereal, muffins and fruit. The hard boiled eggs had no taste to them. Coffee was served in an urn at breakfast, otherwise it came out of a machine. Afternoon snacks was gummy bears, trail mix, yogurt covered pretzels and cookies. You could ask for bottled water, wine or beer at any time which was nice. The staff was extremely helpful and pleasant, although at times no one was stationed by the food and I had to go looking for someone. A staff member should be on the floor at all times. The hot hordorves from 5-7pm were good. I had the bacon covered water chestnuts. The evening dessert and cordials had 2 selections of a tiny parfait. I was really surprised by the lack of food choices and the quality of the food. I had stayed at the Wilderness Lodge and it was totally the opposite of the Yacht Club. The area to sit was small and sometimes you had to wait for a table. When you walk into the food area, you have to cross thru it to get a plate and then walk back. It is ackward.
We had a good time talking to Daniel. He went out of his way to make us feel welcome.
We stayed in room 5230. It was the smallest room we have ever stayed in on Disney property and I have stayed in 4 other deluxe resorts. The bathroom door just clears the toilet! The view was a rooftop at a lower level..wow
The short walk to Epcot is the easiest and quickest entrance into a park. It barely took 5 minutes and I was in Epcot.
The pools are large, well supervised and clean.
The lack of counter service was another surprise. In the lobby, there is a coffee stand and you could get a counter service meal, which was not a meal. A drink, a fruit and a muffin or bar. It was a waste of a counter service meal, but we were so hungry at that point looking for a breakfast we ate it.
The picture above of the food offered in the club level never looked like this! It don't know how long ago it was taken but that is not what is offered now.
If the cast had not been as friendly and helpful this would have been a bad experience. It is not worth the extra money to stay at the club level.
Pros:
Short walk to Epcot, very friendly staffCons:
Small room, sparse selection of foodReviewed by Chrisgriz Review Date: 10/09/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
This was our first experience with Club Level, and Yacht Club did not disappoint. We had brought our own breakfast, snacks and drinks, but I think we had about 1 or 2 of those items the entire week. We are not big breakfast eaters, but the bagels, pastries, cereals and fruits were plenty to get us started in the morning. We had the Dining Plus, but still managed to grab snacks and appetizers each day. It was that good. The beer and wine in the evening was a refreshing and the varieties of drinks were perfect. My children loved the covered pretzels and the homemade potato chips. I definitely would spend the extra money for this upgrade, since I feel it provided 1 full meal (breakfast) and some extra perks (beer and wine) that could add up quickly if purchased in the resort elsewhere. The service was great. The food was always being filled and the plates were constantly being cleared.
Pros:
Food Variety and Friendly ServiceCons:
NoneReviewed by oldmxr Review Date: 12/28/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
We stayed 12/13/14 to 12/16/14 for a long weekend. We went to DHS and ECPOT on the same day, perfect location. Staff was great!
Pros:
LocationCons:
A little long bus ride to the MKReviewed by LucyKate0811 Review Date: 02/14/2014
Rating: (10) Recommended
We stayed at the Yacht Club from 1/26 - 2/1. We had a standard room room. Due to noisy neighbors (think crying children middle of the night, early morning and during the day) the extremely helpful staff found us a new and quiet room, so that my husband and I could sleep. Food choices in the lounge were fantastic, my husband had the ranch dressing and chips each day and missed them greatly when we returned home! We ate breakfast in the lounge each morning, pastries and baked goods were always fresh! The convenience of being located between Hollywood Studio's and Epcot was wonderful! We really enjoyed our stay at the Yacht Club!
Pros:
Professional Staff & cleanlinessCons:
noneReviewed by tink1970 Review Date: 05/07/2015
Rating: (5) Not Recommended
Stayed here prior to crusing for Spring Break 3/27-3/30/15/
The concierge desk was too busy to check us in upstairs so we were checked in downstairs-I was rushed and was unable to ask the several questions I needed to nor was given time to find my preferred payment. I recognize this was not concierges' fault but being given the option to wait for one of them would have been nice-also I spent the rest of the trip trying to "catch up" with them to ask questions and address what I could have at check in (waste of vacation time!!) and was never told about some of the perks of the club. Also, due to the paucity of food choices and large crowds, the lounge would run out of offerings.
Disappointing given the cost. We've now stayed at more than half of the Concierge level resorts and YC/BC are consistently the worst.
Pros:
Proximity to DHS, EPCOTCons:
size of club, variety/amt of foodReviewed by mmagaillard Review Date: 07/25/2015
Rating: (10) Recommended
We stayed at the Yatch Club, club level June 21-27, 2015. We had an absolute blast! This was only the 2nd time we had stayed club level. The service was top notch; at check in we were escorted to the top floor to check in. We were met with champagne to welcome us home. Our room wasn't ready so we relaxed in the lounge for a while. In the week we were there we absolutely got our money's worth from the lounge. They stock can drinks and, depending on time of day, chips, cookies, fruit, chips, yogurt, and various desserts. You can also ask for beer (not kept out). The room was spacious and spotless! One of the employees even got us a hard to get dinner reservation the day before. Over all, we loved it and will stay club level again very soon!
Pros:
Excellent service, beautiful resort, did I mention the pool?Cons:
NoneReviewed by krichburg Review Date: 12/08/2015
Rating: (6) Recommended
We stayed at CL from 11/22-11/25. We knew the lounge was being re-done before we got there. We did not know the whole floor was being refurbished! We requested a room from our CL rep near the elevator or lounge and while I realize they can not guarantee a room request, she said she would try. We were as far away from the elevator as possible! Quite a hike after a day in the parks and to grab a quick bite in the lounge in the am.
I also emailed our rep to tell her someone in our group (my sister) had a birthday when we were there & could they do something. A pin? A card from Mickey in the room? Whenever we've had a birthday in our group when we've been in the world, the birthday has always been acknowledged. This has been done at Pop, CB, AoA. Here-nothing.
We had to ask 2 people where to get the bus to MK. We also saw other families looking around as well. You had to walk over to the convention center. A small sign on the sidewalk as you walked up to the wait area told you where to go. Very confusing and quite a hike from the lobby!
Mousekeeping: not on their game. On our 1st night I saw there was something sticky (soda?) on the night stand. We also brought a glass of wine back to our room from the lounge and obviously the empty glasses were in the room when we left the next morning. When we came back in the evening - they were still there. It was our running joke to see if they'd stay there until we left - they did along with the empty "welcoming" box of chocolates they brought us on our 1st day.
Positives: Pool is fabulous. Walk to Epcot & boat to HS was SO convenient. The staff in the lounge was great & so accommodating. It got busy in the small space, but it was well organized. We had a lightbulb out over the bed and I called about it and asked if they should send someone right up. I said no the next day was fine & it got changed.
Would we stay here again? Maybe if it was a GREAT deal. It just didn't feel as special as I had hoped it would. I recommended "yes" for this resort because of the access to Epcot & HS and the pool can't be beat.
Pros:
Pool!Cons:
ServiceReviewed by DEtter Review Date: 04/24/2017
Rating: (2) Not Recommended
We just returned from a 3 night stay, 4/16/17-4/19/17, and I have to say it was the worst Club Level/resort experience we have ever had. From arrival to departure it was an absolute waste of money. Upon arrival we were not personally greeted, which is expected when staying concierge, so we made our way to the lobby check-in where our first cast member encounter was bordering on downright rude. Our understanding was that our check-in was to take place with the club staff and when this was mentioned we received a flat, annoyed look and were told “no, I will do it then someone will come get you.†So, we proceeded to endure the agonizing process during which we advised that if our room was not ready we had bags that would need to be stored. Sure enough, once check-in was completed, we were told to wait and he would “get someone.†We again stated that we needed to store bags and were huffily pointed down the lobby and told “drop off your stuff then come back and I will get someone.†So, right off the bat we were questioning our resort decision but figured it could only get better….boy, were we wrong.
We dropped our bags, returned to the check-in counter only to find it completely deserted. Granted it was quite early in the morning but to find absolutely no one there, knowing we could not proceed any further without an escort was mind boggling. Finally a nice young man came out and asked if we had been helped. We relayed our adventure so far and he kindly apologized and proceeded to escort us to the 5th floor where we were left in the hands of cast member Ryan. I can honestly say, in the 3 nights/4 days we were there, he was the only shining light we had. Seeing we were frustrated at our treatment so far, he went above and beyond to turn the situation around and was an absolute pleasure to deal with. We had noted on our reservation that we were celebrating our 15th anniversary so Ryan gave us our buttons and warm congratulations and that is where the celebration ended. For the remainder of the time we were there we did not receive recognition form another cast member! Absolutely nothing! Now we are seasoned Disney veterans and understand that any sort of extra for celebrations are completely random and not to be expected but a simple verbal acknowledgement from the cast members should be second nature to them. Very disappointing to say the least.
Once we were situated we went to the Regatta lounge for breakfast. I have to say, this is the strangest and most unwelcoming lounge we have yet to encounter. The layout is odd as you have to cross through the food station to get plates, the soda fridge is crammed in by the coffee maker which is right by the door so you are inevitably having to cut through the middle of a line just to get in the room and the seating is akin to a small break room. There are no comfy chairs or couches, no room to relax and the staff seems less than thrilled to be there. The food selections are counter service at best with the breakfast and mid-day snack selections being exactly the same every day. The kicker to this place is that it closes 3 times a day, actually closes with no access to guests! So, if you come back from the parks for a break and want to grab a drink or a snack but don’t time it right you are out of luck because there is no entry and the cast members will not even answer the door! For the amount of money guests pay to use the Regatta club this is absolutely unacceptable! When we asked about this strange process we were simply told “yeah, we close between services.â€
We stayed in room 5192 and it was nothing to write home about. No nautical feel, beds were hard, pillows were marshmallow soft and there was no comfortable place to relax. Considering how uninviting the “lounge†was, it would have been nice to have at least had a comfortable room to relax in but not dice. Only upside was that the shower was good. Mousekeeping was adequate, at best, and never once did we get a towel character or any type of extra. Of the 2 concierge desks, more often than not, 1 was empty and the solitary cast member that was present, regardless of who it was, just seemed bothered. It was strange to not even receive a “hello†or “have fun†from them when leaving or returning. I mean, the desks are right off the elevators so it’s not like they don’t see you! One day we did return to an absolute war taking place between a guest and the staff over missing pants. Apparently he had a very important dinner at the Yachtsman Steak House that evening so he had sent his dress pants out to be pressed early that morning with a guarantee that they would be back in time. Well, it was after 4p and he did not have his pants nor did anyone know anything about it. Seems he had gotten the brushoff and shuffle one too many times and he lost it….understandably so. To cap off the stay, on the morning we checked out we were surprised to see 4 cast members in the concierge area. Alas, only one was actually working, but didn’t speak, while the other 3 were gathered in a huddle looking at the computer with one of the ladies filing her nails. They looked up but didn’t utter a sound. Fitting ending to a dismal stay.
Overall, we were thoroughly disappointed in the Yacht Club. From cast members to rooms to concierge we feel like our money was not well spent. After years of staying at the Boardwalk and never having anything but exemplary service, whether in a standard room or Club Level, we now know for a truly magical and relaxing vacation, Yacht Club is off the list. Shame, as it is a beautiful resort.
