So we just returned from the Polynesian in a club level room. It was our first ti e staying club level and now we can’t go back without it. We try a new resort every trip but with club level now we are okay repeating resorts. What club level resort would you choose as your favorite based on the food and drink offerings they have in the lounge? We didnt sit up there too much as we had a water view on the first floor and usually enjoyed our patio so the seating options in the lounge aren’t a factor to us.
Poly is one of our least favorites. (The view was great, but the other guests were less than ideal. Food was so-so. price tends to be very high.) It is favored by others though, so it might always be your favorite!
Otherwise I'd say they all have pros and cons. In some ways, they are all similar. We will happily stay at any of them. Breakfast is somewhat similar across all of them. Though food offerings change over time. Right now, breakfast offerings are probably the most diverse they have been going back 10+ years. Mid-day offerings are also similar across all of them. Appetizers is when they are most diverse, though again, there is also some similarity in offerings. Like they all have beer, wine similar canned soft drinks, coffee, tea, hot chocolate. They all tend to have the apples that aren't great. (Though on our last visit CR only put out tangerines after breakfast and packaged grapes that were not great.)
Desserts are desserts, but I suppose there is some considerable variety in what each one offers. They do tend to all offer desserts in small portions, so you can taste multiple desserts. Some now have ice cream bars.
I think just about all have water on tap, but only Gran Destino offers bottled water. At least I think that is the current situation. The WDW don't tend to give out bottled water, but sometimes if you ask a CM they might be able to give you one small bottle of water per person in your group.
Most do not have the kind of fireworks view that Poly has. CR has a view, but it is a bit off-centered. At WL, I think there is now also a partial view. I did not watch them from the lounge. BC, YC, AKL - no fireworks from lounge. Not sure about BWK, but I don't think it has a fireworks view. Some BWK rooms probably have at least a partial view of Epcot. Gran Destino has a nice view, GF main lounge has only a partial view. Downside of Gran Destino is no PM extra hours. Otherwise, it is a nice place.
The layout is a bit different at each. The time offerings are the same across all of them. Thay all have coffee 6:30, breakfast starts 7am, everything closed at 10pm.
The staff is somewhat variable. We've generally found the staff to be friendly at all, but we have some favorites. Again though, staff changes over time, especially the last few years.
I will also say the Universal CL's are also nice. They too are similar in many ways, but not clones of WDW or each other. Hard Rock probably has the least exiting food, but it is close to the parks, and has a fun energy. Portofino and Royal Pacific both have maybe a little better food. Those two tend to offer 'light dinner', but the Uni desserts aren't quite as nice as the WDW desserts. Portofino sometimes have nicer desserts the other two. None of them have the latte machines of WW, but they do have a nice selection of teas, and the regular coffee is better than WDW's regular coffee.
I tend to prefer variety from visit to visit. I don't really have one favorite. In terms of frequency, we've stayed at CR and BC more than other WDW CL's. It has been a combination of good rates and being able to walk to the parks, not really the lounge as to why we chose those. We are evenly split among the 3 Universal CL's, depends on where we get best rate.
