Grand Floridian Sugarloaf Club 5/27-5/31 Review

[Bran Fox]

We planned a super amazing, no holds barred, dream Disney trip for our 20th Anniversary, including a club level stay at the Grand Floridian. The trip itself was amazing, and we truly enjoyed our time together. We went all out and tried lots of great dinners, tours, cabana, and the room. Some things were totally worth it, some were not. The Grand, sadly, was not.

It’s important to mention that we did use a TA to book, so I can not be certain exactly how the room was booked, but I am certain that every single place that could have our anniversary noted, it was noted. We were also clearly 2 in the room. We also spoke to multiple cast members during the check in process and all were aware of the anniversary. So, that’s the background.

We arrived at the GF really early on our check in day. We absolutely knew the room would not be ready and we were completely and totally fine with that. No intention of even stopping by the room. Just dropping bags and off to EPCOT. We gave our name at the gate and drove up to the hotel. It’s certainly so gorgeous. Really well maintained and tons of helpful CMs. As we pulled up and unloaded bags onto a baggage cart, a cast member came out specifically to greet us. My husband went to park the car and I snuck the CM our wedding cake topper to bring to the bakery for me, as I had called ahead and ordered a replica of our wedding cake top layer to be made and the topper placed on top. She was happy to help and excited to be in on the surprise.
We waited for husband and she brought us right over to SLC and introduced us to the concierge. We had a whole conversation about it being our 20th Anniversary and she even gave us some buttons to wear around. Super cute. They welcomed us to have some breakfast and Mickey waffles before we headed out, explaining that our room would not be ready. We said fine and mentioned we did not really care about anything about the room except King size bed. We headed out to the parks for the day and got a text around 2:30 that our room was ready.
We hopped back on the monorail and got back to the resort around 4:30pm. Stopped in the lounge to eat our 11th snack of the day, and went up to the room. It was 2 Queens. I called the operator right away and told her we’d requested a King and that even if we could not stay in a club level room, we wanted to change rooms.
She was incredibly snotty. She said, “Well, did you book a King” in the rudest tone. I said that we had been very clear with our TA that we needed a King but that I could not be certain what was booked. She said, “Well, let me look at the reservation because you probably did not book a King” I was sort of stunned silent. She kept me on hold a bit and came back and said, “Well, you just booked a standard room and put in a REQUEST for a King, but not a guarantee”.
Ok. So, here is where I am going to admit that I was SUPER annoyed. First of all, a standard room would be either a King or a 2 Queen. We were here very early in the AM. We clearly have the request in and spoke to everyone and their brother about Celebrating a special occasion.
I simply responded, “I see. Well, a King size bed is more important to us than club level, this hotel, or anything else. Please see what you can do about finding us a King size bed anywhere on property. We will pay the difference between the rates or not ask for a refund if the other room is less expensive. We really want a King for the duration of our stay”
Still in a nasty tone, she said, “So, you do not want to stay on Club Level?”
I said, “I would prefer it, but I care more about the bed than anything”. She said she would work on it and call me back. 30 minutes passed and I had not heard anything, so I went down to the concierge in the SLC lobby and explained the situation. He called the girl and I could tell by his tone, she was still not magical. He put her on hold and asked me, “Are you OK with a first floor room” Something about the way he asked it struck me funny so I said, “I am but should I not be?” He said that some people just prefer higher. I really should have pushed further and said, “Look, I really don’t care, I just want a QUIET room with a King bed for our stay” but I was already so super uncomfortable with requesting a change I might not have been entitled to, that I said fine. And the room they gave us was directly the first one in the hallway from the lounge, adjacent to the catering kitchen. It was a terrible room. So noisy both from guests AND from the kitchen. Banging starting at 6:30am until after 11pm at night. They should absolutely never ever assign this room to anyone. And they know it. And it was a sore spot on the trip. And we were not comfortable moving again because there had already been such a kerfluffle and we agreed to a 1st floor room.
The room itself was fine. Storage is very very limited. About 8 small drawers, a small closet, and 2 regular size drawers. The bathroom is nice. Lots of toiletries and towels. We used the couch as a catch all for our bags and various doo-dads, so I can’t comment on it. Bed was comfortable. There is no “wow” factor to the room. It’s a standard room. It’s not worth whatever insane price per night we paid for it.
There is viewing of the fireworks from the marina at night, which is so super nice. We really loved that. They even pipe in the music.
The CL offerings were fine, if a bit repetitious. Some mornings we had Mickey Waffles. Always a soup in the afternoon. Various evening appetizers. Plenty to drink and decent wines and beers. Breakfast was the weak spot, but certainly enough to fill your belly.
We rented a cabana at the pool for the 1/2 day and it was absolutely heavenly. What a great treat. Loved that so much. They brought us lunch from the pool bar which was fine, and also drinks which were amazingly good.
We only ate at the little marina restaurant for a little pizza during the fireworks and Victoria and Albert’s (which deserves its own review). Other than that we did dining elsewhere or in the CL for nibbles (so very many uncrustables and rice krispy treats).
Transportation was weird. No delay to get on the monorail through security, but the monorail itself is slow and got stuck a few times. The boat ride from MK was actually phenomenally quick and easy.
The grounds are well-maintained and the main building is lovely. We sat and listened to the band a few nights and they were really good.
Overall, we definitely would not opt for CL again at any property - it was repetitive, we don’t really drink much, and we found ourselves forgoing fun park snacks for so-so CL snacks. We also would not opt for GF again. The level of service was not better than any other resort on property and maybe worse. And the room was just Ok.
So, there you have it!

 

[alex9179]

Interesting. Your opinion of service and the lack of "wow" regarding the room is similar to Pete Werner's on his newest DisUnplugged vlog.
Did you love V&A's? We dined there, for our anniversary dinner years ago, and it was a wonderful experience.

 

[Ashley Marie]

I understand the frustration about not getting what you requested, but unfortunately, it IS just a request. There is no option to "book" a king bed in the Sugar Loaf building. There are much fewer rooms with king beds vs. those with queen beds. You're fortunate that they were able to move you into a room with a king, even if it was not an ideal location. It sounds like the actual CMs at the GF were as helpful as they could be; the person you spoke to on the phone was likely someone at a call center, not a GF CM. I'm sorry you had a lousy experience there, though.

As for CL offerings, if you read the threads/reviews on this forum you'd have found out exactly what's been available recently and been able to decide if it was a fit for you prior to making the decision to book the room. CL works out very well for many of the people who post here, but it doesn't make sense for everyone.

Hope you were able to enjoy your anniversary overall!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Thanks for posting about your experience.

It sounds like you (or your TA) should have booked one of the Deluxe King rooms in the main building (Royal Palm Club, GF's other club level) given your material desire for a King room. I suspect you might have enjoyed that CL over Sugar Loaf as well.

While there are some around, the supply of Standard Room kings is relatively low at most/all Disney resorts, including GF SL (which is a relatively small building to begin with). One always runs the risk of not getting a king even if requested.

Your spidy senses were right when the CL CM asked if you were OK with a first floor room. First floor SL (if around the middle lounge area) is just about the one location in any Disney resort where I would not want a room. No way you would have known that at the time though.

A recommendation for those reading OP's review and staying CL (also applies to non-CL too). If you don't like your room assignment and feel inclined to ask if anything else is available, go downstairs and talk to a CL CM (or front guest CM if not staying CL). They can call the on-site room assignor and discuss options right there. Calling from your room likely gets you to a call center and often less efficient results. Granted, Disney resorts tend to run so full your options can often/sometimes be limited. But talking to a live CM is key.

I hope you were otherwise able to enjoy your anniversary.

 

[Bran Fox]

Interesting. Your opinion of service and the lack of "wow" regarding the room is similar to Pete Werner's on his newest DisUnplugged vlog.
Did you love V&A's? We dined there, for our anniversary dinner years ago, and it was a wonderful experience.

We had such superb service at V&A’s it was astounding. We did the wine pairing and the Wagyu upgrade. I HATE fish AND caviar but did not make any changes to my menu when they called. The caviar was sooooo mild and good and the fish was among the best dishes I have ever had - like ever. The whole meal was an experience. We live in Miami and eat at as many of our famous restaurants as we can here, and this rivaled any meal we have had. It was also probably 30% more money. So, a one time experience for us, that we really enjoyed, but still on the pricey side if my wallet was deciding. We had a meal at Cali Grill that was also really excellent.

 

[Bran Fox]

I understand the frustration about not getting what you requested, but unfortunately, it IS just a request. There is no option to "book" a king bed in the Sugar Loaf building. There are much fewer rooms with king beds vs. those with queen beds. You're fortunate that they were able to move you into a room with a king, even if it was not an ideal location. It sounds like the actual CMs at the GF were as helpful as they could be; the person you spoke to on the phone was likely someone at a call center, not a GF CM. I'm sorry you had a lousy experience there, though.

As for CL offerings, if you read the threads/reviews on this forum you'd have found out exactly what's been available recently and been able to decide if it was a fit for you prior to making the decision to book the room. CL works out very well for many of the people who post here, but it doesn't make sense for everyone.

Hope you were able to enjoy your anniversary overall!

We had a wonderful trip. Clearly, either me or my TA was not aware of this policy, and we have learned a lesson. I was not upset with CL offerings, as I knew exactly what had been there, but I was surprised by how easily I got bored with them and frankly, how mediocre some were.
I do not know who I spoke to on the phone. I picked up the room phone and dialed “0”.

 

[Bran Fox]

Thanks for posting about your experience.

It sounds like you (or your TA) should have booked one of the Deluxe King rooms in the main building (Royal Palm Club, GF's other club level) given your material desire for a King room.

Your spidy senses were right when the CL CM asked if you were OK with a first floor room. First floor SL (if around the middle lounge area) is just about the one location in any Disney resort where I would not want a room. No way you would have known that at the time

I hope you were otherwise able to enjoy your anniversary.

We truly had a wonderful time together.

We definitely had the worst room on property. Literally sharing a wall with the catering kitchen in addition to the very loud lounge. It should not be a room. I think anyone who stays in it will be either awakened by the banging or kept up at night by it.

And yes, the TA should never have booked it that way - she was aware that King bed was our top priority.

 

[Bran Fox]

In all fairness to our TA and me, I just went back to review the booking process. For standard rooms at GF it says “2 Q or a K”. At any hotel I have ever stayed at, if you have a preference stated, they meet it. Certainly we checked in early enough, certainly we made the preference known both on the reservation and in person several times. It’s not beyond the realm of normal expectations to receive the room we requested, and certainly to be able to request such without getting major attitude from the person on the phone, or waiting over 1/2 hour for word back. I was not asking for a refund, I was asking for a room in our room type booked.
And, quite honestly, I would have had better service from any standard Hilton or Marriott, even if they were unable to accommodate. If I were staying club level in any chain, even more so. Disney dropped the ball in their response to me, in tone, in timeliness, and in execution. There is also no excuse for having a room adjacent to the kitchen like that. It should be storage and nothing more. The further out I get from it, the more aggravating it is, actually. When you pride yourself on guest experience, especially on a premium level at your premium resort, it’s an issue when you fail at that experience. Had the person I spoke to been pleasant, had there truly have been no rooms available, had they not then put us in an awful room, different story. But, I stand by being upset that at a premium price point they could not handle this better.

 

[FSU Girl]

Every time I've gone to Disney with my husband I've requested a king sized bed. We go sometimes every other week. We have never once been granted that request. The only time I've gotten my king bed is when I book it as an actual category. It's why we've started booking the one-bedroom villas because it will guarantee the king sized bed. Grand Floridian does have a bookable category for a king, but it's in the main building and would have been much more expensive than the room you booked. If that bed is the most important thing to you I highly recommend booking a king sized bed bookable category next time. There aren't many king rooms on property, so when it says two queens or a king you are far more likely to get the queens. When you put in a request for a king it is not a guarantee, they will do their best to fulfill the request, but it is possible to not get it.

 

[focusondisney]

In all fairness to our TA and me, I just went back to review the booking process. For standard rooms at GF it says “2 Q or a K”. At any hotel I have ever stayed at, if you have a preference stated, they meet it. Certainly we checked in early enough, certainly we made the preference known both on the reservation and in person several times. It’s not beyond the realm of normal expectations to receive the room we requested, and certainly to be able to request such without getting major attitude from the person on the phone, or waiting over 1/2 hour for word back. I was not asking for a refund, I was asking for a room in our room type booked.

Should you have gotten attitude, no. But unless you have specifically booked a king room, at WDW that is a request. And when you book, that is made very clear. Sorry your TA didn’t make that known to you. But that part is not Disney’s fault. Disney World resorts run very full. The amount of king rooms is relatively limited. Many, many people are celebrating special occasions while there & make room requests. It actually happens very frequently that people do not get their requests. Speaking to “everybody & their brother” about celebrating a special occasion does not guarantee you to get your requests. The rooms are assigned days before you arrive; the CMs you meet when you arrive have absolutely nothing to do with your room assignment. As you witnessed, they have to call to the room assigner for any changes.

The room assigners likely know that king room is not ideal. Which could be why you were not originally assigned to it. They very well may leave it as the last assigned room. But you insisted on a king, so that is what was available. I have had a room right next to the club level prep room once at YC. I agree, those rooms are not great. But there are people who are not bothered being in those rooms.

I may be reading your post wrong, but it is coming across as entitled & with your own attitude. It does make me wonder if the phone CM was responding to your attitude or tone. We celebrate our anniversary at WDW every year, as do many people. We just had our 41st at YC & we go all out every trip too: club level, tours, paid fastpasses, dessert parties, fine dining meals daily. Those things have nothing to do with getting room requests met. I do agree, you shouldn’t get attitude from CMs. But personally I think you went in with unrealistic expectations re: your room assignment.

 

[Brett Wyman]

This was your TA's mistake not Disneys. A good TA would have immediately told you that you either pay for a Deluxe King room or its a roll of the dice.

 

[sullyfam]

Sorry to hear about your experience. I think a lot of disappointment goes back to initial expectations. I agree with you that when you are taking a special anniversary trip and paying to stay at the Grand Floridian, in Sugarloaf and Club Level no less, you do have high expectations and rightly so. It sounds like your TA should have taken your request for King Bed as the most important factor and booked you a room that would guarantee that. I would also say that the person you reached on the phone was out of line. I've learned my lesson through the years and now always go directly to the front desk when there is an issue. We just took an anniversary trip too (15 years) but it was last minute and we decided to go cheap and stay Pop. I didn't have a lot of expectations for Pop and gladly so, we were put in the furthest room from the main area and mouse keeping came at 4-5 p.m. daily, just when we were getting back to rest and one day they didn't come at all. But, I knew what we were getting into so I kept quiet and we enjoyed our trip. Not saying I should have kept quiet but I do think it goes back to expectations. I think out of any Disney property, the Grand probably has the highest expectations so I'm sure they deal with complaints quite frequently. Having said that, the customer comes first and guest experience should always be top priority. Here's to hoping your next trip goes smoother!

 

[DisneyWishes14]

In all fairness to our TA and me, I just went back to review the booking process. For standard rooms at GF it says “2 Q or a K”. At any hotel I have ever stayed at, if you have a preference stated, they meet it. Certainly we checked in early enough, certainly we made the preference known both on the reservation and in person several times. It’s not beyond the realm of normal expectations to receive the room we requested, and certainly to be able to request such without getting major attitude from the person on the phone, or waiting over 1/2 hour for word back. I was not asking for a refund, I was asking for a room in our room type booked.
And, quite honestly, I would have had better service from any standard Hilton or Marriott, even if they were unable to accommodate. If I were staying club level in any chain, even more so. Disney dropped the ball in their response to me, in tone, in timeliness, and in execution. There is also no excuse for having a room adjacent to the kitchen like that. It should be storage and nothing more. The further out I get from it, the more aggravating it is, actually. When you pride yourself on guest experience, especially on a premium level at your premium resort, it’s an issue when you fail at that experience. Had the person I spoke to been pleasant, had there truly have been no rooms available, had they not then put us in an awful room, different story. But, I stand by being upset that at a premium price point they could not handle this better.

You hit the nail in the head. The room description states: 2 Queen Beds and 1 Day Bed or 2 Queen Beds or 1 King Bed and 1 Day Bed or 1 King Bed and 1 Double-Size Sleeper Sofa. You certainly got lucky if every other hotel you've stayed at met your requests. WDW resorts are at capacity virtually year-round and they simply cannot fulfill every guest's request. Please understand, your room is assigned days before you check in so, even if you told multiple people at check-in that you wanted a king, it just may already be occupied by others and there are none (or none that are desirable in your case) available. There are also guests who may have the same request staying at the same time and they simply can't fulfill every request for a king bed when there are so few available. You lessened your odds by choosing outer building-CL as the room assigner could only choose what was available in Sugar Loaf as opposed to a standard GF room where they would have multiple buildings to work from. Yes, I would have to say it is unreasonable to expect you will get a king bed when it is very clear in the room description that you could get any one of 4 room configurations. I agree that the woman on the phone, if she in fact was rude, could have handled things better, but I strongly suggest, in the future, going personally to the front desk (or in your case, the CL staff) to discuss room assignments. Dialing "0" on the room phone will get you nowhere in this department. End of the day - your TA should have advised that this was simply a request. If you wanted a king, she should have booked one for you. It doesn't matter how many notes you place on a reservation or how many people you talk to - it's a request.

I've stayed onsite over 50 times and like you, I've learned hard lessons on how to book rooms that will work best for our family. One lesson is to book the room category that will best fit our needs and priorities and don't leave requests up to the pixie dust fairies in the room assignment department. If king bed is a priority, you need to book a king bed category. As FSUGirl mentioned, the 1-bedroom villas at the DVC resorts are perfect for this type of trip. They guarantee a king bed and the master bedrooms have no exterior or connecting doors, so noise is reduced significantly.

I have to agree with the others that this is really on your TA. If a king bed was priority, he/she booked you the wrong room. He/She did not advise you well.

 

[ERQTraveler]

Expectations for Grand Floridian should be tempered. High rates do not always equate to luxury and high end service. All Disney properties are over priced for what they are.

I’m sorry your holiday didn’t meet your expectations. It truly is a shame.

ERQ

 

[MsOnceUponATime]

OP, I hate to hear this.

We stayed at GF on our one year anniversary yearsss ago and were also deeply disappointed. From the lack of cleanliness in the room, hallways and restaurants to disappointing food - I understand your frustration. We won't stay at GF again unless it gets a major overhaul.

 

[HairyChest]

A Disney Cast Member should NEVER be rude like that, no matter where you stay, let alone the flagship Grand Floridian, that is inexcusable. I've always had a wonderful experience at the Grand personally but if I had encountered a CM like that, I'd be extremely vocal about my experience. If you send an email about your experience through the Disneyworld website, they will review it and do take it seriously. I've had a few issues over the years and whenever I contacted Disney about it, even after my trip, they have gone out of their way to make up for it. I also believe they need to know about these experiences so they can deal with the issues and improve. One of the reasons I will always go back to Disneyworld is because of the way they have resolved my issues and shown me they truly cared.

 

[Bran Fox]

P

Expectations for Grand Floridian should be tempered. High rates do not always equate to luxury and high end service. All Disney properties are over priced for what they are.

I’m sorry your holiday didn’t meet your expectations. It truly is a shame.

ERQ

I would have had extremely high expectations of a value resort as well. I have incredibly high standards for Disney, not because of price point but because of their focus on customer service and experience.

We had a great trip. Actually, the only thing that fell short enough to even mention was the GF, both the way they reacted to a guest request AND by the room itself.
Yes, my TA should have known better. The GF staff should have done better.

 

[ERQTraveler]

P

I would have had extremely high expectations of a value resort as well. I have incredibly high standards for Disney, not because of price point but because of their focus on customer service and experience.

We had a great trip. Actually, the only thing that fell short enough to even mention was the GF, both the way they reacted to a guest request AND by the room itself.
Yes, my TA should have known better. The GF staff should have done better.

Good point. It’s good to have high expectations from all Disney properties.

I’m happy to hear that that was the only major problem.

I really hate hearing that holidays were ruined.

 

[zoo2tycoon]

These posts shows that everyone needs to remember requests are not guaranteed and only requests. Bed configuration (in most cases) certain buildings, views, floors and connecting rooms aren’t a guarantee only a request. CMs can’t assign rooms that aren’t available.

Yes, it’s possible CM was rude to OP but we have his side only. I’m sure OP was very frustrated and probably that tone was reflected in his voice also.

People go to Disney daily celebrating every occasion (anniversary, birthday, graduations from college to preschool), engagements, babies , divorces, making the school play, selling the most Girl Scout cookies, etc). Everyone wears a button and since it’s Disney expects magical pixie dust and freebies- everything is perfect. Then when it doesn’t happen vents and is told to complain.

Disney is the real world also- yes you should get what you paid for but they can’t make things happen when no rooms open. You should have an enjoyable trip in the room you booked and treated with respect by the CMs you treat with respect.

 

[vinotinto]

A Disney Cast Member should NEVER be rude like that, no matter where you stay, let alone the flagship Grand Floridian, that is inexcusable. I've always had a wonderful experience at the Grand personally but if I had encountered a CM like that, I'd be extremely vocal about my experience. If you send an email about your experience through the Disneyworld website, they will review it and do take it seriously. I've had a few issues over the years and whenever I contacted Disney about it, even after my trip, they have gone out of their way to make up for it. I also believe they need to know about these experiences so they can deal with the issues and improve. One of the reasons I will always go back to Disneyworld is because of the way they have resolved my issues and shown me they truly cared.

Not to excuse the CM, but she did *NOT* speak with a CM at GF. She picked up the phone and dialed "0," which goes to the Call Center.

These posts shows that everyone needs to remember requests are not guaranteed and only requests. Bed configuration (in most cases) certain buildings, views, floors and connecting rooms aren’t a guarantee only a request. CMs can’t assign rooms that aren’t available.

Yes, it’s possible CM was rude to OP but we have his side only. I’m sure OP was very frustrated and probably that tone was reflected in his voice also.

People go to Disney daily celebrating every occasion (anniversary, birthday, graduations from college to preschool), engagements, babies , divorces, making the school play, selling the most Girl Scout cookies, etc). Everyone wears a button and since it’s Disney expects magical pixie dust and freebies- everything is perfect. Then when it doesn’t happen vents and is told to complain.

Disney is the real world also- yes you should get what you paid for but they can’t make things happen when no rooms open. You should have an enjoyable trip in the room you booked and treated with respect by the CMs you treat with respect.

This!

Just to reiterate what others are saying, I think the issue is we read in chat boards and FB groups about requests and assume they will be met or picture in our heads that they will be met. I read all the time: "what is a good room to request?" They will try to meet requests, but the reality is that they are *only* requests and many are requesting the same. CMs cannot provide a room that is unavailable.

Our last 4 room requests, 2 were partially met and 2 were NOT met. One that wasn't met was our room request for our 20th wedding anniversary, also staying CL, also taking place like yours on Memorial Day weekend this year. But the room they assigned us was very nice and we had a very pleasant stay. Hotels are operating at capacity, it's very difficult to meet everyone's requests.

People go to Disney to celebrate. They've been creating marketing materials about it for years and we drink it all up. We all are like "Let's go to Disney to celebrate." When everyone is there celebrating a milestone, or birthday, or anniversary, or being cured from a disease, the experience is diluted so that if everyone is special, then no one is.