Tell me about AKL and AKL concierge~I want to like it!

[tinkerrn]

I am curious about AKL and AKL Concierge. It looks like such a beautifull resort! I would love to be able to talk hubby into staying their for our anniversary. Is it too far away from all the other parks? We always drive. Is it relaxing? It looks much calmer and serene than the other resorts. I am curious as to hoe their concierge compares to the others; having read that DVC is also on the concierge floor. PLEASE, GIVE ME ANY INFO OR TIPS! IT WILL JUST BE THE 2 OF US.

 

[chimo2u]

We just got back from our trip at AKL Jan 15-24/08. We were lucky enought to upgrade to AKL concierge after our first night for less than $15.00 extra per night.... Originaly booked a bunk-bed savahnna view room. After first night, DS 15, found the bunks too small. I inquired if we could move to a 2 queen bed room and if concierge was available. Well, for $100.00 extra, we upgraded for our remaining 8 nights. It was heaven. The concierge staff treats you very well. There is always food/drinks to enjoy all times of day until 10pm. Free beer,wine, liquor "cordials" as they call it! desserts, and everything provided in the AM eliminated our need for breakfast. They had bagels, fruit, yogurt, milk, toast, oatmeal, juice. Sometimes I felt with the basic dining plan and concierge, there was WAY too much food!! Many times we weren't even hungry for our CS meals, and when we checked out we still had one credit left for CS which went to waste. I can't say enough about the beauty, peacefulness and absolute "removal from the rush of the parks" AKL offered. Bus service was prompt and plentiful, and we never found it a problem getting around from the more-remote location of AKL. It actually has it's own busses and doesn't share with other resorts, so the service is prompt. On crowded days it can be busy, and only standing room, but that only happened to us over MLK weekend. Not a big deal. We had a wonderful time, the savannah view rooms were beautiful and I think I came home with more animal pictures than family pictures!!LOL We were definitely spoiled and I think this will be the only other resort I return to in the future! I left with a huge feeling of sadness in my heart to be saying goodbye to AKL. I truly hope we can save enough to experience a holiday like this again!
You'll not be dissapointed, I promise.

 

[JenS]

It has been a couple of years since I was there (May 06) but I loved it. I visited with my youngest DS (3 at the time) and my mom. We booked concierge and were originally put in a room on the 5th floor. It was such an extremely long walk to the lobby elevators and up to the lounge that we asked to be moved closer. The only room they had was an obstructed view room on the 6th floor. I believe it was 6001 and when you walked out the door, you were in the lounge. I was quite happy with the view as well since I was warned that I basically wouldn't have one at all. The balcony looked into a savannah and we were able to watch the animals all the time. The roof hung down and did block the view from the far right of the balcony and if you were sitting in the room. If you stood on the left side of the balcony, you could see quite nicely. I'm also not really concerned with views because I don't have a lot of time to enjoy them when I'm at Disney! To me, being able to grab drinks and snacks from the lounge and and have only steps to get to the room was really handy with a 3 year old. We never had a problem with any noise and the food was fantastic. Always enough and almost always available. Most days, we'd eat breakfast in the lounge, lunch in a park and have enough in the lounge for dinner too. Now there wasn't a full dinner but chicken strips and the other offerings were plenty for us to be full. The staff was fabulous too and I loved the look and feel of the whole hotel. In the evening, there was story time around the fire out the back side of the lobby and there were rocking chairs to sit around the fire in. Granted, in hot weather a fire isn't what you might be looking for, but it was relaxing. The lobby was so comfy and we just felt so at home. We always drove to the parks and it never seemed to take very long to get anywhere. It might be my favorite hotel at Disney.

 

[jeni16]

We're going to AKL for the first time in April. Love hearing all about it! I don't know how I'm going to make it that long.

 

[MickeyNicki]

So glad to hear it!

We are staying there for my birthday in Oct...got a savanah view club level for $216 per night!

 

[IWISHFORDISNEY]

We spent 2 trips on the CL at AKL and it is out of this world. Book the sunrise safari you wont regret it. The staff is wonderful and better than the other 2 CL we have tried out (WL/BC). I think it is money well spent. The buses were great because they didnt share with other resorts and they were always there within 10 min of getting to the bus stop. We loved it and it didnt seem far from anything to us.

 

[MrsBlovesDisney]

We're going to AKL for the first time in April. Love hearing all about it! I don't know how I'm going to make it that long.

DITTO!!!!!:

 

[tinkerrn]

AKL CL sounds wonderfull! I just need to talk hubby into it. What views are the cl?

 

[lilyv]

The concierge level room are all Savanna views now.

We are booked for a trip in the fall to coincide with Epcot Food and Wine. It will be our first time at AKL and to have booked CL is a lovely bonus.

 

[DisneyTones913]

I didnt stay on the concierge level but i absolutley loved the hotel when i stayed there back in april 07. It was the most beautiful hotel i have ever stayed at and cant wait for the next chance to stay there.

for those of you going in april: when are you going? The disney channel games are from april 28th to may 3rd and last year, the kids in the games stayed at akl so you might see them if you are staying at that time! I got lucky on my previous trip. it definitley added to the magic.

 

[jeni16]

I didnt stay on the concierge level but i absolutley loved the hotel when i stayed there back in april 07. It was the most beautiful hotel i have ever stayed at and cant wait for the next chance to stay there.

for those of you going in april: when are you going? The disney channel games are from april 28th to may 3rd and last year, the kids in the games stayed at akl so you might see them if you are staying at that time! I got lucky on my previous trip. it definitley added to the magic.

We're staying April 18th-25th so we'll just miss them.

 

[Blessedx3]

We stayed in Nov/Dec 07 and LOVED it. There were always great food offerings and the staff was wonderful. The most helpful of the CL we have stayed. We did the sunrise safari and it was great. Very early but worth it. And the views are awesome also. Nothing like waking up to a giraffe outside your room. We had a 1 bedroom suite and we were a haul from the lobby and lounge but we didn't mind. It was a great vacation.

 

[thatgirl23]

MickeyNicki - If you don't mind me asking, how did you get that rate? Was there a code or other type of discount (AP, AAA) good for that time?

 

[MickeyNicki]

MickeyNicki - If you don't mind me asking, how did you get that rate? Was there a code or other type of discount (AP, AAA) good for that time?

i got a 40% off code card in the mail. I called to see what was open and the CM was shocked to find that great deal at AK. I snatched it up right away. I wanted to stay there for the entire week but we love the F&W and like to stay nearby there too.