AKL CL vs CR CL

[fsupharm77]

Right now we have a CL booked at AKL May 19th to 26th. This has been something we have wanted to do for a long time, but we can get CR for about $500 more for the stay. We haven't stayed at a Deluxe before, but I have wanted to stay at AKL for the Savanah views. My only problem there is the distance to the parks and that we won't really use the CL because it is a long trek back to the resort and back to the parks. At CR it is a short walk from MK and the views from the lounge look to be amazing. My other fear is that we are going to stay club level at a deluxe and decide we never want to go without it again. Just curious to hear from people who have stayed at both AKL and CR at the club level and to get some feedback to which you prefer and why.

 

[Sue M]

Well I haven't stayed at CR CL but love AKL CL.

CR is only close to MK. AKL is close to AK. So with either you're close to one park. DHS & Epcot are in the middle. In between AKL and CR.
We had no problem getting back to AKL, but we always take mid day breaks. If your family prefers to stay at the parks from opening to close, you wouldn't get much use out of CL.

 

[AliceIn]

For $500 more, I'd move to the CR CL in a heartbeat! I loved the CL experience at the CR. The rooms are much larger and nicer than the AKL rooms, and all views at the CR are pretty good. We picked a standard club, and the view of Bay Lake was gorgeous. You could see Epcot in the distance. You have a perfect view of the MK fireworks from the CL lounge. Transportation from the CR is much better than from AKL - especially being able to walk to and from the MK. That part is the best!

The AKL is a nice resort, and I enjoyed my stay there, but to me the CR is the better experience.

 

[johnsonet]

I've stayed at both (many times at AKL CL). If you've always wanted to stay savanna view at AKL then I would stick with that.

If your trip is all about the MK, then I'd switch to CR. CR has an awesome CL (but so does AKL).

AKL would be great, IMO, for a slightly slower-paced trip.

Time spent in the CL lounges can be very relaxing (or not, depending on the other guests) but if you can take time for a leisurely cup of coffee (or get it to-go!) and a continental-style breakfast and then be back at the resort for wine and appetizers (5-7pm-ish) then I think you'd be very happy. Then back into parks at night

Good luck deciding. Nice choices!

 

[gwynne]

We've stayed at both resorts.
CR CL is is very nice, and walkable to MK. One thing that surprised me there was the wait for elevators. Sometimes it wasn't too bad, sometimes it was really long.
AKL CL is further from the parks. The plus of it is the totally unique experience.
We'll stay at AKL CL again. CR CL, while a good experience is not a CL we will book in the future.
We have found that we really like AKL CL and the Epcot CL's.

 

[Regan117]

They're both fantastic, but I thought the food was better at AKL CL We have stayed both Atrium and Tower Club at CR and weren't terribly impressed with the food selections. The rooms were lovely though.

 

[fsupharm77]

Thanks for the input guys. My daughter is pushing for CR but I think we are going to stick with AKL, my main concern is the time for transportation.

 

[nikkid1]

We have done AKL Club Level a few times. It is amazing and totally worth the experience. It is hands down our favorite resort and we only have two left to have stayed at all of them! That being said, we never minded the buses, it was never really an issue, UNLESS you are a stroller/double stroller user. Then we found it taxing. Especially since the bus ride seemed to be just enough time for the kids to pass out and then you had to try and get the strollers and passed out kids off the bus! That is when we decided to try and do split stays, one MK resort and one Epcot resort and only use the bus to go to AK. Given all of this, we had amazing trips and enjoyed all the other resorts we have tried, but NOTHING compares to AKL and coming back from an exhausting day and the park and sitting outside watching the animals roam at night.
Enjoy whatever you decide!

 

[Babsy]

CR CL is superior to AKL CL! The AKL CL is in a small attic like area overlooking the AKL lobby and has no view at all! It is small and we often could not get a table or even a seat. The food is fine, but the food in all the CL lounges is OK at best, IMO. Basically you get a continental breakfast, some snacks in the afternoon and a few appetizers or desserts in the evening (IF you happen to be around at the appropriate times). The food isn't worth the time to go all the way back to the resort and lose time in the parks, IMO, so breakfast is the only real benefit most days. In fact, the CL experience is more about the relaxation in the lounge area for us and that just wasn't even possible much of the time. It was just too crowded.

CR rooms are huge and comfortable on the 12th or 14th floor, with wonderful views of either Bay Lake or the entire MK area. The CR CL lounge has a spectacular view of the MK area with a large balcony that you can go out on to watch Wishes ( nice if you have the Bay lake view from your room). The CL lounge never closes at the CR (although food offerings are only out at certain times). It is nice to always have the lounge seating area available to sit and relax in. though. The CR lounge is larger and we never had any difficulty getting a place to sit here. Also, the CM's at the CR were friendlier than those at the AKL. CR CL CM's went above and beyond for us, even offering to bring a case of bottled water to our room for us so that we wouldn't have to be fetching it from the lounge all the time. These days, it is difficult to even get a bottle of water in many CL lounges, so an offer to bring a case to your room is rare.

Of course, the AKL is a lovely resort and we truly enjoyed our stays there. However, the MK resorts are all better located, have larger rooms and nicer CL experiences, IMO.

 

[AshleeH]

We loved AKL, it was a quiet and relaxing hotel and one of our favorites... if we were going to have a resort only stay. That being said, we decided that it was not ideal for when we go to the parks (which is always) so it's location, location, location for us and the Contemporary area hotels win for that every single time. We're staying at Bay Lake in October and Contemporary in January - you just can't beat that walkway to MK. And even though some consider the hotels sparse, I'm not in the hotels for themes - I choose them for convenience and for what's outside. The view is very important to me because we spend a lot of time at the hotel and words cannot describe how great it is to watch the fireworks from my balcony at the end of the night with the music playing on the TV behind me.