AKV - super confused!

[PeanutButterMom]

We're renting points for my mom and step-dad for 5 nights. Club level. Is there any place to find pictures? I've been googling and tooling around the DIS to no avail.

What's the difference between Kidani and Jambo? Do both have Club? It's just the two of them, but is the 1 bedroom better than the studio? Are there any with King size beds?

[KAT4DISNEY]

Club level villas are the same as all other villas at Jambo (except the Value category). The difference is that they have access to the club lounge. There are only a possible 5 1BR's and 5 studios so that can be a difficult category to get.

Only Jambo has the few club level rooms and they are all located on the 6th floor. This means you get the thatch roof overhang above the balconies which hinders the view a tiny bit compared to other rooms. If you're booking for views these are not the rooms to have. If you're booking for the lounge then it needs to be booked right at 11 months.

Studios will have a queen bed and a double size pull out. The 1Br's will have a King bed in the bedroom and a queen pull out in the living room area. They also have a full size kitchen and washer/dryer while the studio has a kitchenette and no washer/dryer in the room.

[PeanutButterMom]

OK, 1 more question. Studio Club level versus 1-bedroom value? What exactly does the "value" mean?

[rcchello]

Since you are asking these question, do you realize to rent either those categories it would help to do it 7 to 11 months out. There are very few rooms in either of those categories.

A value room is slightly shorter than a regular room of that type, so they discount the number of points slightly. They also do not promise or allow a request for a view for a value room. The view depends on what is available the day you show up (parking lot, savannah or pool.).

[supersuperwendy]

The one bedroom is very nice and would be great as a gift. They have a master bedroom with king bed, master bath with shower/jacuzzi tub combo, living room, kitchen, stackable washer/dryer. The studios are nice too, they have a queen bed, sofa, kitchenette. I'm talking about Jambo House.

If you can get them booked into concierge they would also receive daily housekeeping and nightly turndown service as well as access to the lounge. They would also have use of the itinerary planning office to books meals, tours etc for them.

I hope you are planning far in the future because they usually book up quickly starting 11 months in advance.

For a trip within the next few months you could probably get them into a standard or savanna view at either jambo or kidani. Kidani's villas are a little larger and the master bedroom has a really nice split master bathroom.

[supersuperwendy]

Here's some helpful links..

Video Tours..

Jambo House 1 Bedroom - same villa for concierge, savanna and standard view

Value Studio

Kidani One Bedroom

Kilimanjaro Club for concierge guests

[Deb & Bill]

Originally Posted by rcchello

Since you are asking these question, do you realize to rent either those categories it would help to do it 7 to 11 months out. There are very few rooms in either of those categories.

A value room is slightly shorter than a regular room of that type, so they discount the number of points slightly. They also do not promise or allow a request for a view for a value room. The view depends on what is available the day you show up (parking lot, savannah or pool.).

And if you wait until seven months out, you won't get them. They go quickly at 11 months out.

Three of the concierge two bedroom lockoffs (one bedroom combined with a studio) are savanna view, but the view is blocked by the overhang of the roof. Two two bedroom lockoffs are pool view. These are all on the sixth floor. At least two are handicap accessible.

The value rooms are three feet shorter in depth and the one and two bedroom do not have the sleeper chair, so occupancy is limited to four and eight respectively. Some members have mentioned that it was hard to close the bedroom door because of the missing space.

The value villas and concierge villas are all in Jambo House. None in Kidani Village. Some value villas have a pool view, some have a savanna view and some have a parking lot view. You cannot request a view with the value villas.

[lync]

We are staying in a 2br value lockoff at jambo house. I have a question about the 1 br part of it. Is there a dishwasher in the kitchen?

Oh, and we got the reservation at 11 months out but it isn't club level.

Thanks in advance!!

[lync]

I looked at the links....they're very helpful! Thanks for posting them!!

[supersuperwendy]

Originally Posted by lync

We are staying in a 2br value lockoff at jambo house. I have a question about the 1 br part of it. Is there a dishwasher in the kitchen?

Oh, and we got the reservation at 11 months out but it isn't club level.

Thanks in advance!!

Yup..there's a dishwasher!

[Deb & Bill]

Originally Posted by lync

We are staying in a 2br value lockoff at jambo house. I have a question about the 1 br part of it. Is there a dishwasher in the kitchen?

Oh, and we got the reservation at 11 months out but it isn't club level.

Thanks in advance!!

Originally Posted by supersuperwendy

Yup..there's a dishwasher!

But it's so small, it might just be a little monkey under the sink with a pan and a sponge.....

[PeanutButterMom]

Oh my gosh, those links are perfect! We (my mo and I) ended up deciding to go with the 1 bedroom. The trip is October 2013, so more than enough time this is why we wanted to have it nailed down now, so that when it hits 11 months out we know exactly what we're doing.

The studio looks to "regular old room" to her, lol, and the 1 bedroom looks SOOO nice, with the added feature of the washer/dryer that is great. The itinerary planning is kind of useless, since I'll be the planner, thanks to DIS

[MikeyNS]

Here's my dark video of our 1BR Value Savannah View from a few years back.

[tjkraz]

Others sort of touched on this but the only way to have a realistic chance of getting a One Bedroom club level room is get all of the rentals details addressed at least a few days before the 11 month window arrives. Find someone who owns AKV points, agree to terms, and have them prepared to book right at 8am eastern when the DVC website begins taking reservations.

There are only FIVE club level One Bedroom villas, and each of those rooms can be booked either as a stand-alone 1B or as part of a Two Bedroom configuration. Thousands of AKV owners eligible to book at 11 months....FIVE rooms.

We have no way of knowing exactly how long it takes (on average) to fill those rooms. Could be days, hours or minutes. But if you really want one, it would be wise to get all of the details addressed in advance.

And make sure you have a "Plan B". If the owner from which you rent forgets, oversleeps or just isn't one of the first 5 to attempt booking such a room, you may not get it.

Good luck.

[quirty30]

Originally Posted by PeanutButterMom

OK, 1 more question. Studio Club level versus 1-bedroom value? What exactly does the "value" mean?

OP, are your choices a club level studio OR a 1br value? If so, just keep in mind the 1br value is NOT club level. Value villas are also in Jambo House, but not on the club level floor.