AKL Concierge - Just Back! Long

WeLoveDisney

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Apr 7, 2002
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Just back from 4 nights at the AKL concierge. It was a great trip. I know a lot of folks have questions about the concierge experience, so here's what I thought.

The service was fantastic. When we drove up, we were greeted by the valet and a concierge staff member. They took us directly to our room, by-passing any check in (at the front desk or at the concierge desk). They presented us with our keys and told us to stop by the concierge desk anytime that day to setup charging privledges.

We were delighted to see that we were upgraded to a 2BR suite, and even had a gift in our room and a letter welcoming us from the GM.

The concierge staff was friendly and always helpful.

The food offerings at the AKL concierge were much more plentiful than those we had at the GF RPC last year.

Breakfast: Hot oatmeal with and without brown sugar, pastries, bagels, muffins, cereal, fresh fruit.

Afternoon snacks: mixed nuts, pretzels, sunflower seeds, dried fruit.

Tea time: (never made it, but the brochure said tea sandwiches, scones, biscuits, cookies)

Cocktail time (5-7): wines, cheeses, crackers, each night they had 2-3 different hot items, including meatballs, salmon, chicken skewers, and ribs. They also had a kids section with PB&J, goldfish, and chicken nuggets.

Desserts (8-10) cordials and mini desserts from Boma and Jiko

Beverages: All day they had 3 different cold beverages: iced tea, lemonade, and African smooth (a fruit drink made of honey, papaya, lemon, and yogurt - I think). Also a small refrigerator of bottled water, milk, juice and soda, as well as teas and hot chocolate.

Also, many people have written about he awesome cappucino maker and it is really neat! With one button you can make an espresso, latte, or cappucino (all regualr or decaf). We improvised and made iced lattes by adding the espresso to milk and ice in a tall glass.

As a note to compare to the RPC (which was lovely, but we had some service problems), the AKL staff was always replenishing food items, cleaning, offering to bring us magazines, change videos in the TV, etc. At the RPC if you didnt arrive at the beginning of a service (ie cocktail hour from 5-7) all the food and drinks were likely gone. Not so at AKL, even with only 5 minutes left of a service to go they were happily bringing out more.

One other really cool thing - the hotel manager offered to have a special tour of the lodge and animals, and we spent about 90 minutes with the assistant curator who gave us a personalized tour of the art and animals. It was great! Let me know if you have any questions.
 
What an upgrade!

What type of room did you have booked?

It sounds like you are another guest who had a wonderful time at AKL. I'm glad you enjoyed your trip.

May I ask what floor your suite was on?

Did you eat at Boma or Jiko? How was housekeeping? Did you see a lot of animals from your room?

Basically, I want to know everything;)
 
Wow - what perfect timing - I just decided last night to upgrade to concierge (see post below). I do have a few questions - some of which you answered in your post. Did the concierge staff contact you beforehand? I want to make some PS's - should I wait for them to contact me? How close were you to the lounge? How was your view? And did you request a certain view? I saw that you were upgraded. I am not really looking for an upgrade but was a little concerned when I heard they couldn't guarantee savannah view.

Thanks for the report!
 
WOW! Nice upgrade! SOunds like I'll put the AKL on my list to try!
Thanks for a great report!
 

We booked a concierge room, which are normally on the 5th and 6th floors. The suite we got upgraded to was on the second floor, all the way at the end of the Kudu trail. They explained this was for the view. The main concierge rooms are all closer in b y the lobby and there is not as much animal activity there. The room was a long walk from the concierge lounge, so view was definitely a trade off for convenience.

The view, however, was amazing. Since the suite was at the end of the trail, it ran the width of the buidling - the balcony in the bedroom faced the Arusha (sp?) savannah and the big Arusha rock, and the living room faced the sunset (?) savannah, so we saw all different types of animals. Plus, the balconies were as big as the suite so we could walk out the living room or bedroom to one huge balcony.

They cant guarantee a savannah view for conciege because some of the rooms are pool view. These rooms however would be closest to the lounge and elevators so they are more convenient. There are plenty of places in the lodge to see the animals.
 
We booked our trip only about 2 weeks prior to it, and we were contacted within 2-3 days. They made all our PS's and gave us a printed itinerary of them when we checked in.

We noticed that every restaurant we ate in we were seated at one of the best tables. I was told by a CM that when the concierge makes your PS you are noted as a concierge guest and given VIP seating status. It must work because we had some great tables!
 
Wow - what a great surprise for you - how many people in your party that they would switch you to a 2bdrm?

Great review - the concierge is really nice - no wonder you needed an iced cappucino after that long walk from your room!
 
WOW! It sounds amazing!
Was you upgrade automatic-or did you inquire at concierge checkin? Do you know many suites there are!
 
I believe there are 7 1 br suites and 12 2br suites for a total of 17 suites. Of course, there are the Presidential and Vice Presidential suites.

They are located on various floors of the lodge.

From what I've been able to gather. All of the 1 br suites have 2 beds in the bedroom and the 2br suites have a king bed in the bedroom with various different bed configurations in the 2br-some have 2 queens and some have 1 queen, bunks and a day bed, etc.

Sometimes they use the 2br suites as 1 br's by not utilizing the 2nd room-this was the hardest thing to figure out for a while because I kept hearing about people staying in 1 br suites with a king bed. I believe these were actually 2 br suites without access to the 2nd room.

Did you absolutely love the suite????
 
Yes, we loved the suite. It had a master bedroom with a king bed, a very large master bath with tub and HUGE stand alone shower, a living room, dining area, and small kitchen area. There was also a half bath off the foyer. Attached to that, was what would basically be another hotel room - 2 queens and full bath with separate entrance. It connected to the rest of the suite by the connecting room door.

We didnt ask for the upgrade at all, we booked a regualr concierge room and were pleasantly suprised when we checked in!
 
What a great upgrade! Had you stayed there before? Did you take them up on the tour? How many people were in your party? Sounds like you had a fantastic trip. we have found the staff at AKL to be exceptional.
 
So glad that you had a good time!!! :) Our family is very excited about our first stay at the AKL concierge - and we will be there on sunday!!

Jill...who better get packing soon..
 
WeLoveDisney- you never answered the question: How many people were in your party? I wonder if there is any rhyme or reason as to whom they upgrade!
 
We just stayed at AKL concierge and as always it was wonderful. There was 1 family that took away tons of food and spread out all over the lounge, but there is always 1. The service was excellent, and the food was plentiful. We had a room close to the lounge this time so went back to the room with snacks and drinks. We love this resort.
 
...can't wait to hear your report when you get back!!!:teeth:
 












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