Following with the WL CL theme, here's a loose overview of my two-night stay in May:
Check-in: As another poster recently mentioned, WL has the warm welcoming technique down pat. We were received at the entrance by a sweet CM who welcomed us back (we'd been there in February and he remembered us somehow.) He took us up to the lounge while giving my brother a mini-tour since it was his first time there. As I posted that morning in a hazy sleep-deprived bliss, I was immediately handed a mimosa during breakfast and notified that our room was ready (at 8:00 AM!) We were checked in by a Puerto Rican CM and we all reveled in being loud islanders (my parents felt so much more comfortable having someone who spoke Spanish around.) She gave my brother and mom bday buttons and even hooked it up with extra boxes of chocolate. It was awesome.
Room: I opted for a Deluxe Room since we were four adults traveling together. I felt worried about us feeling cramped, but we all had more than enough room to spread around. My dad said it was like an apartment. We were in room 5000, which was exactly the room I requested via DSS. Fairly quiet (you can hear the boats and the geyser, but faintly) and we got a kick out of cramming into the tiny second balcony to watch HEA one night. It was a trek to a lounge, (albeit a pleasurable trek,) so there was a bit of family bartering involved to see who would go up to grab rounds of drinks and snack refills. The CMs would provide us with cardboard trays to carry stuff down whenever we asked. Which brings me to...
Lounge offerings: Breakfast was the same, usual spread with the addition of whole-grain croissants. (I ate two each morning after haphazardly smooshing them into the toaster.) Amazing evening apps included shrimp fagioli (chef said it was her latest recipe), nigiri, pork sliders, corn chowder... needless to say it was a gluttonous experience. Monday night's menu listed roasted chicken with tomatoes, but it never made an appearance. My dad's allergic to shellfish, so he was kind of looking forward to it as his option for the evening. We asked the manager CM and he called in and had a grilled chicken breast with broccolini brought up, made to order from the kitchen, just for my dad to eat. An amazing customer service moment, especially since they don't "have" to accomodate us (they could've just told us to go out and buy dad a steak or something, you know?) One thing I definitely noticed from last time was how much they'd stepped up their dessert game since then. Last time deserts had a more homemade, (dare I say basic?) feel to them. Cobbler, cookies, and cupcakes topped with tacky, too-much-food-coloring frosting. Desserts were much fancier this time around, with panna cotta in mini milk jars, mocha cupcakes topped with pearls, and the ubiquitous cobbler. (Funny story: One night the cobbler was strawberry-rhubarb. My mom, having never "experienced" rhubarb was flabbergasted: "Why'd they ruin a perfectly good cobbler by putting CELERY in it?") I was pleasantly surprised by this new direction in WL CL desserts but still think they should reach a middle ground. My brother bemoaned the absence of cookies.
Housekeeping: First night was a fail since we never got turndown service and had to call in someone to help us with the sofa bed around 10 PM. However, the following day and night we had great service. Lots of chocolates, extra H2O sea salt toiletries (please tip your housekeepers!) and extra sheets and blankets for the sofa bed.
CMs: All super nice and genuinely warm and caring. Two (!!) native Spanish speakers, which was a real bonus for my family. We were always encouraged to heap our plates and we never felt like nuisances asking for beer early on in the afternoon (or even to-go cups for said beer.) Also has anyone encountered Lucille at the lounge or at Roaring Fork? She says she is working the lounge temporarily until RF is back up and running but honestly she is an angel on earth and I will make an effort to seek her out once I'm back!!
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