Paradise Pier concierge with a view review

[melancholywings]

Posting in case this helps others:

We took a trip a couple of weeks ago and splurged for the Paradise Pier concierge/view room. I was a little nervous as it was a lot of $ for us to spend on the room. But I'm seriously so-so glad we did it. Our room was #1434 and the view was breathtaking. We slept with the curtains open and it was very magical. And looking down on WOC gave us a different appreciation for the show. The room was far enough left that the view of WOC wasn't blocked by Mickey's Fun Wheel. There's also something magical about seeing the sunrise over the park. And the lights are so bright at night that it softly illuminates the room.

Concierge was fun. We had a birthday cake delivered to our room, and while it was pricey it was the best cake I've ever had - better than our wedding cake. White cake, chocolate mousse with butter cream frosting. I still miss that cake. The food and water at Concierge saved us a lot of money as we'd stock up before going into the park. And we ate most breakfasts there. Seating can be an issue if you go during peak hours, or during beer/wine hours. We also took advantage of the movie rentals. The park was so cold the week we were there that we'd head back early, grab dinner to go from Earl's Sandwiches and watch a movie in the room. It was a great way to decompress from the cold and crowds. BTW Earl's tuna melt and tomato soup is to die for.

If/when we go back we'll do this room type again.

 

[DharmaLou]

Thanks for the review - it sounds like a great time!

 

[TXMemaw]

Thanks for the review. We are staying there next month and I can't wait. Your review made me so glad that I went ahead and splurged for this.

 

[Echie]

Thanks for the review It sounds like that type of room works perfectly for you!

I just wanted to offer a different view in helps of enhancing people's decisions...

I don't mean any disrespect, I just would like to offer my thoughts on the PPH concierge... For our family (no kids) I didn't think it was worth it.
I think that if you have kids or are going to be there for longer and thus spending more time in the hotel rather than in the parks, are a big eater, want to watch movies, enjoy alcohol (we don't drink) and probably other reasons it would be worth it.

We found that we never made it to the concierge lounge for the hot or speciality foods because we were usually in the parks during that time. Also the fact that the concierge lounge closes at 8pm was kind of a bummer for us (so early).
Yes it was nice to have the breakfast there, but we aren't huge breakfast eaters and usually just take along our own oatmeal to make in the room and then brew some coffee. We did like the waters to take along, but again we usually just bring a water bottle and fill it up throughout our stay. So for us, we'd rather stay at one of the other disney resort hotels but not stay concierge

OMG I agree with you the cakes at Disneyland are amazing! And you don't have to be concierge to have a cake delivered to your room.
We just stayed at the Grand Californian on our last stay in January (that's our personal preference, cheapest room in the Grand, and I always fax over a kind request letter ahead of time which usually gets us a room upgrade over concierge in the PPH) and had a cake delivered and everyone agreed, the BEST cake ever!!! Disney knows how to do delicious cakes!

 

[LisainCalifornia]

The thing I am stuck on is the "grabbing dinner at the Earl of Sandwiches"---

we were there last month, and each time we tried to eat there the line stretched around to far outside and the wait was easily an hour plus! So you didn't find this to be true?

We also enjoyed our concierge stay at Paradise Pier (we did it 18 months ago), but the protestors really marred our stay. I think they especially like to protest at that hotel. I don't know that it was worth it.

 

[lucysmom]

Protesters?? What are they protesting? Are they always there? We were thinking of staying CL here for Christmas next December. I would hate to have that experience marred. Can you elaborate, please?

 

[LisainCalifornia]

Protesters?? What are they protesting? Are they always there? We were thinking of staying CL here for Christmas next December. I would hate to have that experience marred. Can you elaborate, please?

I don't know if they are still a constant thing at Paradise Pier, but when the protestor situation happened to us I discovered it is a common thing there. They pick this particular disney property to protest because the sidewalk is on public property. There were hotel maids walking with signs and other union members. They were complaining that there benefits were being reduced. Unfortunately, that is a reality for many companies. I work for the school district and mine were eliminated. All the same, it isn't right to ruin the trip of the families that stay there.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2820176
Here is my initial post about this issue, also a review of the concierge.

 

[melancholywings]

The thing I am stuck on is the "grabbing dinner at the Earl of Sandwiches"---

we were there last month, and each time we tried to eat there the line stretched around to far outside and the wait was easily an hour plus! So you didn't find this to be true?

We also enjoyed our concierge stay at Paradise Pier (we did it 18 months ago), but the protestors really marred our stay. I think they especially like to protest at that hotel. I don't know that it was worth it.

The line for Earl was really short, like at the most 2 families before us. But we went late Jan and it was SO cold that week. We did RSR 3 times in a row on early entry. It didn't warm up until the day we left. Earl heats the outside seating. And gives you a buzzer when your food is ready for pick up. Plus compared to park prices it's really cheap and filling.

We had a really hard time finding anything to eat at CA that wasn't a hotdog, pizza or a turkey leg. They had lots of healthy cold foods, like fruit and snacks. But not a lot of places that had home style hearty foods. We tried Flo's in the morning (they closed it when we went back for lunch on another day), and the potatoes were over peppered and couldn't be eaten. The caramel french toast was amazing, but so sweet that we split it between 3 of us. The sandwiches at the starbucks place were all weird combinations - nothing my kid (who is an adventurous eater) would eat. And we found the food at the pier to be below mall food. Outside of the bread - that was so good. We didn't try the pasta/pizza place after being disappointed in the pier food. Earl's was better quality, more and cheaper. 2 weeks later and I'm still craving it.

A few trips back we saw picketers at the gate side (a crossed from Denny's). They were Dis hotel maids wanting (rightfully so) health insurance bennies.

 

[lana772]

I don't know if they are still a constant thing at Paradise Pier, but when the protestor situation happened to us I discovered it is a common thing there. They pick this particular disney property to protest because the sidewalk is on public property. There were hotel maids walking with signs and other union members. They were complaining that there benefits were being reduced. Unfortunately, that is a reality for many companies. I work for the school district and mine were eliminated. All the same, it isn't right to ruin the trip of the families that stay there.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2820176
Here is my initial post about this issue, also a review of the concierge.

I don't know how "common" this is. Over the last 4 years we have stayed at all 3 DLR hotels numerous times and never experienced any of that.

Sent from my DROID X2 using DISBoards

 

[jmac323]

Great review. We ate at Mickey's Surf's Up a couple weeks ago and decided our next stay wil be at PPH. Can't wait to plan!!

 

[Markie Mouse]

Any pics of the view? I am thinking of doing it but only if its the same view as the theme park view rooms. I am looking to purchase and all I see is pool/city view concierge. Any input?

 

[larina]

What company are you trying to book through?

 

[Sully14]

The line for Earl was really short, like at the most 2 families before us. But we went late Jan and it was SO cold that week. We did RSR 3 times in a row on early entry. It didn't warm up until the day we left. Earl heats the outside seating. And gives you a buzzer when your food is ready for pick up. Plus compared to park prices it's really cheap and filling.

We had a really hard time finding anything to eat at CA that wasn't a hotdog, pizza or a turkey leg. They had lots of healthy cold foods, like fruit and snacks. But not a lot of places that had home style hearty foods. We tried Flo's in the morning (they closed it when we went back for lunch on another day), and the potatoes were over peppered and couldn't be eaten. The caramel french toast was amazing, but so sweet that we split it between 3 of us. The sandwiches at the starbucks place were all weird combinations - nothing my kid (who is an adventurous eater) would eat. And we found the food at the pier to be below mall food. Outside of the bread - that was so good. We didn't try the pasta/pizza place after being disappointed in the pier food. Earl's was better quality, more and cheaper. 2 weeks later and I'm still craving it.

A few trips back we saw picketers at the gate side (a crossed from Denny's). They were Dis hotel maids wanting (rightfully so) health insurance bennies.

We love concierge at PPH, but we usually ask for cabana rooms as we are not crazy about the elevators at PPH ! And our place to grab and go food is to swing through the GCH and go to White Water snacks ! You can always ask them for special requests and they do a great job trying to do it. We actually think PPH concierge is far better than a regular room at the DLH or GCH for the money. We did just stay at the GCH for New Years, and it's a great place, but for extended stays nothing beat concierge.

Last August they opened concierge at 6am, and we were right there. We loaded up on water and snacks for the day. When we took our 2pm or so break...right back in concierge. When we here headed back into the parks after 6pm or so, time to load up again at concierge. Then we closed the park...only to start all over again the next day !!! Can't wait until July 28 for our next stay.

 

[DharmaLou]

there were no picketers when we were there over Thanksgiving last year.

 

[Markie Mouse]

What company are you trying to book through?-larina

I'm booking through Getawaytoday, I might call an agent to get more info.