During our trip to Walt Disney World in August 2019, we stayed Club Level at Disney’s Beach Club Resort. We are huge fans of Club Level at Disney’s deluxe resorts and our stay at Disney’s Beach Club was our fourth Club Level stay at Walt Disney World.
We enjoyed our time at Disney’s Beach Club and the hotel’s Club Level lounge, the Stone Harbor Club. The lounge was pretty basic and lacked the glitz and glamour of its counterparts at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge and Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort. But, the food was enjoyable and the full Club Level experience was present. This review will summarize the Beach Club’s Club Level lounge, our thoughts and our experience. If you plan to book a Club Level stay at the Beach Club, this review is for you!
Perks
According to the Walt Disney World Resort website, Club Level guests receive the following amenities in addition to the standard resort amenities at Disney’s Beach Club Resort:
- Evening turndown service
- Access to the Club Level lounge, the Stone Harbor Club, from 6:30AM to 10PM
- Personal vacation assistance from the Club Level staff
- Complimentary newspapers in the Club Level lounge
- Access to Disney Signature Services
- Access to Fast Pass+ selections 90 day in advance (for an additional fee)
Club Level guests stay on the fifth floor away from guests in standard resort rooms. The Stone Harbor Club is located on the fifth floor directly across from the elevators. All Club Level guests will have their magic bands programmed to unlock the option to visit the fifth floor via the elevator. Non Club Level guests will not have access to the fifth floor.
It’s a nice perk and adds a level of luxury and seclusion from the rest of the resort hotel. Upon arrival, we were escorted to the lounge from the lobby and our Magic Bands were programmed to allow us access. The Club Level attendants staff a desk right at the entrance to the Stone Harbor Club and they are available for assistance from 7AM to 10PM. They also have a phone number you can text for any questions.
The Stone Harbor Club
Undoubtedly, Club Level is known for the lounge and its food. The Stone Harbor Club is a fairly decent size lounge with a large serving area with plenty of tables and chairs. Like other Walt Disney World lounges, it included an area for kids, including a TV that played cartoons all day.
In terms of theming, the lounge was bare. There was one ship on one of the food counters, but the lounge looks more like of a Hilton breakfast area than anything Disney. We think the Beach Club theming is almost nonexistent and we weren’t surprised by the lack of theming in the Stone Harbor Club. Overall, the lounge isn’t pretty. It’s just a lounge to serve food. Anyway, we didn’t visit the lounge to escape reality. We came to eat.
For food, the Stone Harbor Club is open from 6:30AM to 10PM with different food offerings available throughout the day. Below is the complete list (a menu of the day’s food selections can be found by the elevators):
- Coffee: 6:30AM to 7AM
- Continental Breakfast: 7AM to 10:30AM
- Light Snacks: 11:30AM to 4PM
- Hors d’oeuvres & Select Beverages: 5PM to 7PM
- Desserts and Cordials: 8PM to 10PM
The lounge follows the same serving schedule as the other Club Level lounges at Walt Disney World’s deluxe hotels. Between food offerings, beverages are always available and so are light snacks. The lounge includes a refrigerator full of sodas and juices, along with coffee and an espresso maker. Food is all you can eat and the food can be taken to go.
For those who enjoy alcoholic beverages, beer and wine are available all day, upon request. If you need a beer after riding Test Track, stop a server and politely ask for a Yuengling. They will be happy to assist.
Coffee and Continental Breakfast
The lounge opens every morning with fresh coffee followed by a continental breakfast. During our stay, we found the lounge stocked with breads, pastries and bagels.
Cereals, fruits and oatmeal were also available during breakfast. Stella and I usually grabbed a bagel and topped it with cream cheese, salmon and cold cuts. From there, we poured a cup of coffee and drank plenty of orange juice. The fruit was a mixture of watermelon, strawberries and grapes. For those looking for more of a kick in the morning, ask a server for a round of mimosas.
The main takeaway from breakfast is that it’s just a continental breakfast. The club does not serve hot food, eggs or omelets. But we found the food satisfying. Stella and I don’t eat a lot and the food is perfect for when we wake up. We want a quick breakfast before heading into the parks. Once we finish eating, we can grab some fruit and coffee to go as we prepare to Drink Around the World in EPCOT.
Light Snacks
After breakfast, the lounge transitions into its weakest phase, the afternoon snacks. As most guests are out in the parks, the lounge does not put out an impressive display of food for the afternoon snacks. Overall, it’s incredibly light with very few options.
During our stay, we saw plenty of cookies, chips (with ranch dip and salsa), mixed veggies, humus and fruit. The lounge also had iced tea and other juices out on display. Beer and wine are available on request.
Since we spent most of our time in the parks, we would stop by the lounge during a break. We fill a plate full of chips and dip, grab a beer and relax for a little bit. The snacks were just enough to hold us over for a little while longer before our next activity.
Hors d'oeuvres & Select Beverages
From 5PM to 7PM, the lounge serves its signature food service. The lounge is stocked with selections of salads, vegetables and hot appetizers. The hot food selection changes each day. During our trip, some options included a mac and cheese bar, pulled pork sliders, tomato bisque soup and meatball sliders. The cold food portion always included cheeses, cold roasted vegetables and crackers.
The appetizer plates are small, but there is no limit on the amount of food you can eat. We always end up going back to the counter for seconds or thirds. If you rather skip paying for an expensive dinner, we recommend filling up on appetizers instead. You can easily make a meal out of the food selections.
Although alcohol is served all day, it is proudly advertised during the evening appetizers. The different beers and wines available for selection are out on display. Under the watchful eye of a server, the server will pour you a glass of wine or open your beer.
Bud Light, Coors Light and Yuengling were some of the beers available. For wine, the standard red, white and sparkling were all options for consumption. Again, alcohol is complimentary and like food, there is no limit to the amount of alcohol you can consume.
Desserts and Cordials
Finishing up the day, the lounge offers its dessert service. For dessert, plenty of different cookies, cakes and brownies are available. For cordials, we saw staples like Kahlua, Disaronno and Cutty Sark. Surprisingly, no server guarded these treasures. Coffee, sodas and juices are still present for those who do not partake in alcohol consumption.
The Other Perks
Outside the lounge, we didn’t really use the other perks. Turndown service came by each night at 5PM and gave us some free chocolates. We asked one Club Level castmember to cancel a dining reservation, which I could have done via the My Disney Experience app but I was lazy. And we used the texting service once to ask about our bill when we checked out. Otherwise, we took care of everything ourselves.
The desk outside the lounge was always staffed and available if we needed anything. But, you can do everything on the My Disney Experience app. And frankly, we find it easier to use the app rather than explain our situation to a castmember. The Club Level attendants can help you plan your Fast Passes 90 in advance, if you pay for the service. Read our full review of Club Level Fast Passes HERE for more info.
Is the Stone Harbor Club Worth It?
Now for the biggest question, is Club Level worth it? For the added price, is it worth it for the upgrade? Well, for Stella and I, it is worth it. Club Level has become a mainstay for our vacations and we feel we are missing out if we don’t book a Club Level room. The Stone Harbor Club followed the traditional Club Level experience we are used to at Walt Disney World and it was worth the price of the upgrade. But Club Level won’t work for everyone’s vacation needs.
For us, the hotel is a big part of our vacation. We enjoy spending the morning in the parks, heading back to the hotel for the afternoon/early evening, before heading back out for the night. We do not and cannot spend all day in the parks. We don’t enjoy spending all day in the parks and prefer to spend a large portion of our day relaxing at our resort hotel. The resort hotels are unique with their theming and we love spending time exploring our hotel and enjoying the Club Level lounge.
Club Level is prefect because we do not have to worry about meals and we have semi seclusion from the rest of the hotel guests. I like waking up, walking to the lounge for a quick breakfast before heading back in the afternoon for a beer and some snacks. The food can be taken to go and we can take food and beverages to the pool or back to our room. The Stone Harbor Club was easy to access, always had a server present and offered a great variety of different food and beverages.
Now Club Level is expensive. If you can swing the price, I’d say go for it, especially if you plan to spend a lot of time at the hotel. If you spend all day in the parks, then there is no point for a Club Level room. Sometimes the extra money needed to upgrade is worth it when you calculate food and alcohol expenses. But sometimes it’s so ridiculously more expensive for an upgrade, it’s not worth the price. Overall, it just depends.
During our trip, the price was worth the upgrade and it worked perfectly with our schedule. Be flexible with your dates and hopefully you qualify for a discount. If it’s $100-$200 more a night, book it. If it’s more than $200/night for Club Level, then I would pass. The food is nowhere good enough to warrant an additional $200+/night. The food at the Stone Harbor Club was good, but not $200+/night good.
Conclusion
Stella and I had a great time during our stay at the Beach Club and enjoyed the use of the Stone Harbor Club. We used the lounge everyday for breakfast and the evening appetizers. We found the castmembers to be helpful, the lounge clean and the food enjoyable.
We did find the lounge a little plain, especially when compared to the King Kamehameha Club at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort or the Kilimanjaro Club at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. We do wish we could view the fireworks from the lounge like we can at the Polynesian or the Disneyland Hotel in California.
But, the lounge had everything we needed and followed the standard set for every deluxe resort. If you plan to stay at the Beach Club, we recommend splurging for Club Level. If the price is too outrageous, then pass. But if it is an acceptable upgrade for your budget, you will not be disappointed. The Stone Harbor Club may not be our favorite Club Level lounge, but it is still a great place for a quick bite to eat and a refreshing beer after a long hot day traveling around World Showcase.
Thoughts?
Thanks for reading our review! We hope you enjoyed it and the review will be useful for your vacation planning needs. While Walt Disney World remains closed, please read our full review of Disney’s Beach Club Resort HERE and our One-Day EPCOT Itinerary HERE.
Have you stayed at the Stone Harbor Club? What was your favorite part? Do anything crazy? Let us know in the comments below!
