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[MaryBobbins]

We've just got back from a stay at the newly opened Golden Forest Club and just wanted to post up a quick report about what it is!

Golden Forest Club rooms are standard Montana rooms on the 7th Floor and have the following:

Nespresso machine
Kettle
Proper cups
Proper glasses
tea & coffee pack
Safe
Hairdryer (2 speeds, 3 heat settings)
Ironing board & iron
Mini bar
Flat screen tv with a variety of international channels

More in the next post! Can't seem to post the whole lot at once  :?

[MaryBobbins]

Benefits of Golden Forest club:
Club breakfast room (currently the bar as the new Golden Forest Club Room is not yet finished!)
No timed breakfast slot
Characters at breakfast (at least 2 each day, from 7.30 - we met Donald, Goofy (both in explorer gear), Minnie, Pluto)
Free soft drinks, tea, coffee or hot chocolate at the bar plus private use of bar earlier in the day (until new club room is finished)
Free towel hire at the pool
Bags taken up to room by bell hop
Hotel fast passes (1 each per day)
Separate check in

[MaryBobbins]

As the Golden Forest Club had only just been launched the day before we arrived there seemed to be very few of us! Breakfast was a fairly private experience - we tended to see 1 or 2 other families each morning, usually somewhere between 7 and 8am - the staff outnumbered the guests. A character arrived around 7.30 and we had so much interaction with them - because there was no one else there! We usually got a second character too 15 or 20 minutes later. They put out mountains of food (usual continental fare) so I don't know if there were lots more guests who chose to dine later.

We had a sneaky peek into the Golden Forest Club room while it was opened up for some decorating and it looks pretty swish but not as cosy as the lovely Sequoia lodge bar area. I hope that when it opens properly you'll still be able to get the free drinks in the proper bar  

Overall I think it's worth paying the extra, mainly because my least favourite thing about Disney hotels is the breakfast scrum - obviously it'll never be as delightful as it has been for us this week once people start cottoning on to the fab benefits of the the Golden Forest Club. The service was fantastic throughout, as it seems to be generally at Sequoia lodge.

The towels are still the postage stamp-sized ones as per the rest of the lodge (unfortunately!) but we got our toiletries refreshed a couple of times and new glasses and cups each day - I mention this as I'm not sure if these are standard services these days or not.

I think I've remembered everything! Will update if I think of something else  :lol:

[TigerLily]

Sounds like it was lovely! Glad you had a great time

[Aurora1]

Thank you for posting this. We`ll be staying in the Golden Forest Club this fall! It all sounds great =D>

Forgot: do you have pictures, you can post??
Aurora1

[MaryBobbins]

We had such a great time   We felt like total VIPs. I'll be very interested to hear what it's like later in the year once more people start using the service. If anyone's thinking about upgrading I would absolutely say go for it - I wish I'd opted for a lake view though! When we checked in - quite late, about 6.30 pm there were some other people checking into a normal room and they were offered a 9.30 breakfast slot and that was the only option they had left  :shock:  We would have been devastated if we'd had to take that. The queues for breakfast always looked huge as we walked past them to get to the park for EMHs.

Aurora1 I don't have pictures of anything new - the rooms are the same refurbished one's as the other Montana rooms, just with a few extra bits and pieces and the breakfast area was the bar area but cleverly closed off with screens at the entrances by the concierge and main corridor . The food was on tables in front of the bar - all the chairs and tables taken away from that area. The new club room looked nearly finished so I'm sure they'll be using that very soon and I think it'll over look the lake so will be a lovely breakfast area. I didn't get any pictures of the new room as I didn't want to advertise it's unfinished state but it looked shiny! I'll be eagerly searching for pictures of the finished product  when people start posting them though  

The other thing I thought worth mentioning was that on the Wednesday and Thursday of our (2nd to 6th April) stay the park was relatively quiet - I imagine the cold weather had an effect on visitor numbers. We didn't use up our free fast passes every day as most rides were 5-10 mins wait (bearing in mind we take full advantage of extra magic hours so get those rides out the way early). It got busier on Friday and it was heaving on Saturday, the day we left. We also found that the Studios do open earlier than advertised - not sure what time but we were able to get on rides (cars rally, slinky) at 9.45ish. Crush had the usual 1hour+ queues but our kids aren't keen on the faster rides so that was something we did miss out on - my husband and I took turns to dash off and have a go on the bigger rides but neither of us fancied waiting for that long on our own, and Crush is a really boring queue!  We normally visit in the summer but I think next time we'd go during the week after Easter again - best trip ever!

[Figgygirl]

Hi,
Very useful to read this review as many of us have been waiting for more information! Thank you.

When I phoned Sequoia Lodge about the rooms the CM I spoke to said that the room layout was the same but with different colour scheme - more brown/ red/ silver instead of the brown / green/ gold of the Montana and Lodge rooms. So you did not find this?
Photos I have seen of the refurbished suites decor is very different, with purple, and looks rather dated IMO. They don't appeal to me - I like the more cosy decor of the standard and Montana rooms.

[MaryBobbins]

The colours were warm figgygirl - most walls cream with a brownish-red-terracotta-ish feature wall behind the beds. Other than this I think the rooms were the same as the other refurbished rooms (I've been comparing my few photos of the room with stuff online as I haven't stayed at Sequoia before). The bed spread panel is the same as is the Bambi wall motif runner. I've just been looking at people's photo's from this year on Trip Advisor (http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Revi ... rance.html) and they show lots of good pictures of the new bathroom, sink and room furnishings which are the same as the GFC rooms.

The room was cosy but in fact a little dark as we only had half the windows of other rooms! There was a massive stone pillar on the outside of the room where another window would normally be.

[MaryBobbins]

Bad link in previous post.  //http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g226865-d262682-Reviews-Disney_s_Sequoia_Lodge-Marne_la_Vallee_Seine_et_Marne_Ile_de_France.html

[MaryBobbins]

For a bit of context, on our last visit (2010) we stayed at Newport Bay, on the Admiral's Floor with a fabulous lake view where we could see the fireworks at night. I had booked there again for this trip but from reading people's recent reports wasn't sure if we'd get the nice breakfast room/non timed breakfast this time and as we'd always been to Disney in the summer before realised that we might need the cosier surroundings of SL, and then I found out that the GFC was launching the day before our arrival and I couldn't resist changing our booking to try it out!

I'm hoping that they'll turn the Admiral's Floor into a proper club area soon as I do love it there too. I missed the lovely views from the NPB bar this trip. Am also thinking about trying out the Empire State club next time though you miss out on the special discounts don't you?

[JediBUZ]

Great post lots of good information.  We were booked in to the admiral's floor family room as we are a family of 5.  We decided to change the booking to two rooms at the sequoia lodge and then changed to the golden forest club (what the heck it's only money).  So sounds good though, but was hoping to hear breakfast had sausages and bacon for the premium.

[MaryBobbins]

Jedibuzz - We weren't offered hot foods but we didn't ask either- tbh we were up so flipping early (went just after the clocks changed so everything felt 2 hours earlier than expected) that I couldn't have stomached anything more than continental!

FYI - breakfast choices (as far as I can remember):
bread rolls, croissants, pain au choc, cereals, milk, orange juice, apple juice, pineapple juice, tea selection, coffee, hot chocolate, sliced white & granary beads, toaster, olives, garlic sauce, spicy tomato sauce, cold meats (ham, chicken, mortadella, salami), fruit salad, yogurts, fromage frais, apple puree, butter, gouda, cheddar, cream cheese, jam, marmalade, honey.

You can make the money back in hot/soft drinks in the bar if you try hard enough! €3.99 for a hot chocolate... and we got a cake selection at certain time of the day (unexpectedly - maybe 3pmish?) The fast passes are very convenient too...

[never2old]

Thanks for that!! I too was very curious about the Golden Forest Club... We're staying in the New York for our next stay in May, but I think we'll give the GFC a try next time, sounds nice! I've always loved the feeling in the Sequoia, but by DH doesn't like at all the crowds for breakfast...

Maybe once they open the lounge they'll have a cooked breakfast?

[MaryBobbins]

never2old What are the breakfasts like at the NY? I know there's hot food but is it a scrum? Or timed?

[never2old]

I think it depends on how busy it is, I've been times when it was timed and others when it wasn't. We usually go for an early breakfast and its always very pleasant, not a scrum at all.

Food is excellent! Amazing way to start the day... Especially in the Manhattan restaurant, I just love it there!