The last time was September of 2023. Pastries and fruit in the morning and cookies/desserts in the evening. (Not that we ate the pastries...the croissants and nutbreads in Gregorys Coffee next door were staggeringly delicious. But they were there...and the bananas and coffee/espresso machine were very much appreciated.)
You took the words out of my fingers. We were there (Mayflower) just a few months ago and there was no food provided at any time. All they had were little bottles of water, an unlimited number of which could be procured from the front desk downstairs, from which I assumed that probably meant that the tap water was not to be consumed.
We also appreciate having a lounge to meet with friends and family who are traveling with us rather than city rooms which are smaller and don't have dining spaces like beach resort rooms. West 57th not only has an indoor space but an outdoor deck for owners. We've met many fellow owners in the lounge to share best places to visit.In DC, you also get two free drinks in the evening downstairs at The District if you don't feel like beer or wine....The HGVC lounges are nice and add to the experience. NYC is expensive and the heavy appetizers in the evening have frequently been our dinner.
The DC HGVC it is housed in top floors of the Embassy suites so you can also get a free full breakfast buffet downstairs if the lounge fare is unappetizing.
If I can't easily get coffee by 7AM (paying for it next door is OK) the hotel is a 'no go' for me. Anything else is negotiable...but not my morning coffee...;-)
Since you asked, the considerations I take into account include the quality of the accommodations, fringe benefits such as the availability of food and beverages, location, and cost. For example, I greatly enjoy going to Flora Farms where I have harvesting rights on the farm during a stay and the units are quite nice. I cannot come up with a rationale basis for not taking into account the pleasures in life when considering where to spend my vacation dollars and highly recommend that people planning their own trips do the same. I would never blindly disregard the differences between choices of places to stay based on the label on the door - in the instant case we were discussing the relative merits of The District and the Mayflower in a collegial way and I was commenting on the availability of food and beverages.
Sigh. In fact you may have sold me on the need to buy a small deed at The District...;-)
I suspect you have more company than you assume. There are plenty of MVC owners that I've spoken to that have been to lots of locations. Given how many decades the system has been around there has been lots of time for people to get out and about and many like being early guests at new resorts.