I'm staying at VGC for the first time in April 2022 and haven't been able to find an answer to this question. Is there an entrance to the pool near the VGC wing? And if so, where is the access located? Thank you!
This one is near and dear to me!
Short Answer: "Sometimes, there is access from VGC"
Long Answer:
Before they built Craftsman Bar, we could freely use both gates to get to/from VGC wing to both the DCA gate and Whitewater Snacks. There were many reports on this board of the WWS gate not working or being an emergency exit only. But we personally did this every trip for years. There was/is an Emergency Exit sign on the gate, but there is a button to exit, and there is no alarm. And there is a hotel key scanner on the entrance side that previously worked with our hotel keys.
After Craftsman Bar was built, the gate by WWS (now Craftsman Grill) became exit only, and only the pool bar staff could use their cards to enter the pool. If you showed your room key and asked to follow them in, they didn't mind at all. Or you could wait for someone to exit the pool (many people don't because of the "EE" sign on the inside of the gate). But timing was everything and often not worth it to wait. Likewise, in the early days of the Bar, they frowned on people cutting through the seating area and directed you to the main (center) entrance to enter the pool.
At some point, they added pool wristbands to the mix. This was due to the new Bar traffic, as well as cutting down on pool hopping (I think). No argument there. But when this happened they setup an additional lifeguard station at the VGC gate. They would open the gate for you and issue a wrist band.
Fast forward to our last trip June '21: Both gates were exit only. The lifeguard station at VGC gate was only staffed at times (for towel duty, not wristbands), and the gate did not accept keys. If the lifeguards were there they would open the gate but direct everyone to the main/center gate to get a wrist band, although this time it was due to the capacity restrictions on the pool. You could chalk this up to the current staffing issues but also the need to keep a central capacity count. I totally get it.
In the elevator lobby there was a QR code to send any questions or comments to the manager. Squeaky wheel does not come naturally to me, but this issue has just bugged me. So I appreciated this QR invite and sent very friendly feedback about our frustration at the chipping away of pool access to/from the VGC wing, since we purchased our points ( then-current capacity challenges aside). We loved this access and we always frequent WWS/Craftsman Grill often multiple times daily.
I got a very nice voicemail follow up the next morning that they appreciated the feedback and had activated pool access for the gates on all of our key cards. Wow. I see how people can "become" squeaky wheels. I was thrilled and wanted to share my appreciation. Unfortunately, it was our checkout day! HaHa. I should have spoken up sooner.
So, like everything at DLR, there always seem to be changes. Others may have encountered a different setup, and I hope they will report back. But, I encourage all members and guests of that wing to share the feedback to allow access through these gates... as they were originally designed and operated for years! Thank you GCH CM's!
