Is concierge worth it?

While I was at the travel conference, I stayed in a Club Level room at the Loew’s Royal Pacific. It was a great example of how having concierge privileges can really add to your experience.

At Royal Pacific, the club level lounge includes a continental breakfast with several cereals, hard boiled eggs, fruit, and yogurt. Between noon – 3 pm, the lounge has snacks available. They also provide a happy hour with beer and wine, a salad, an entrée, and cheese and crackers from 4:30 pm – 6:30 pm. Desserts come out at 8:00 pm for an hour.

How does this improve your stay?

It means that when your family wakes up, a subset of you can head down the hall for breakfast while everyone else wakes up slowly. Many of the families we met had breakfast in the lounge, headed to the Parks, came back to have dinner in the lounge, headed to the pool, and then back up to the lounge for dessert before bedtime. Given that typical quick service meals are $8 - $12 per person, this is a great cost savings.

How to tell if upgrading is right for your vacation? This is something I help you decide as we work to match you to your best vacation.

Here’s a few questions I use:

·       Will upgrading to concierge or club level give you access to special areas? Some all-inclusive resorts will have separate pools or beach areas for preferred club or concierge guests.

·       Will upgrading make something more convenient? As the example shows, having access to the concierge lounge made breakfast and dinner so much easier at the resort.

·       Is upgrading necessary to get a great view?  At some resorts, the rooms with the best views will all be concierge.

Have you stayed in a concierge or club level room? What was your experience?  Email me or comment below.