AKL Concierge vs. regular Savannah

[eddieras]

ok-- i need your expertise and experience!

i'm planning a trip- week before thanksgiving to the AKL - kids,
8 1/2, 5 1/2 years. stayed in a savannah room our only other trip in '01.

we're planning on up to 7 nites there-- i've recently considered looking into the concierge room-- initially because it would allow us to do the sunrise safari. but i see it's $85 additional per nite--!

i did a search and read mostly good stuff about the concierge-but would like more input.

for those who have done both concierge and regular savannah rooms at the AKL - is it worth the extra $?
is it worth it to do the concierge for a few nites, then swithing rooms?? or too much of a hassle?
i've read that the views from the concierge of the savannah are not that good and you're not guaranteed a savannah view. true?
did you eat most/ all your meals there? that's included, right?
i also read they can get you tough PS seating... and they help out with other tough to get, do things... true?

thanks so much!

 

[Aunt Jo]

Hi eddieras, I hesitated about responding to your post but since I do qualify (having stayed in both categories) and no one else has responded, here goes. Concierge was a nice experience and I'm not at all sorry we did it but would be happy to settle for just Savannah view if we go again. We enjoyed the Concierge lounge but you shouldn't plan on eating all your meals there. Most of their offerings do not constitue a meal except maybe for breakfast - unless you want something like bacon and eggs. We ate evening snacks a few times and they were usually good. We ate most of our meals at other places. Concierge will make special PS's for you and can usually get the tough ones. The Sunrise Safari was nice but far from the highlight of our trip. Gee, I don't mean this to sound like a downer about Concierge and I don't really feel that way but it wouldn't be worth an extra $85 per night to me to do it again. We spent 2 nights on the second floor with a Savannah view and it was great. We spent 5 nights Concierge on the 5th floor and it was great too. Good luck in making your decision. Hope others will respond with their opinions.

 

[Rneighh]

We booked two nights standard and 4 nights conceirge on our last trip. We were put in the conceirge room when we checked in and never had to change rooms. We did not get our keys to the lounge until our conceirge stay started. I called and talked with the concerige staff about moving from room to room and they made the arrangements prior to our arrival so I did not have to move. We go in early Feb. to it is not a very crowded time which helped.

The only down side was we never really got the "conceirge check-in" I just went to the front desk the morning we switched, paid the balance on that reservation, and they gave me my new keys. Normally you check in at the conceirge lounge check in, are introduced to some of the staff, explained the services etc.

After our experience, we can't imagine not staying conceirge. As my youngest daughter says, "I have to have that coffee machine."

Renee

 

[wannabee princess]

Well, we stayed AKL concierge and we are going in a few weeks to AKL regular savannah, so I am not speaking with total experience yet, but thought I'd throw in my two cents!

Concierge was a wonderful experience for us, however, I do want to make sure you understand that it is not there as a meal program. The foods offered are more along the lines of a snack or appetizer in the evening. If you only want a very light breakfast (danish, muffin, cereal) everyday - or even once or twice during your stay, it is perfect for that. However, the lounge is busy in the morning also. Now, we did take our danish/muffin back to the room and sit on the balcony on a few days, and that was great!

We did occassionally eat snacks at the lounge - however, we do typically stay away from the parks every third day, so out of a week, we would snack there 2 afternoons. We did eat meals outside of the lounge otherwise (if you are at the parks until closing, the lounge is closed when you get back also).

Now, that being said, the sunrise safari was definitely worth doing concierge at least one night for us! Unlike Aunt Jo, the sunrise safari was the highlight of our trip! We loved every single minute of it from the CM who was our guide (Joe) to the breakfast at Tusker House afterwards. We would do this again and again!

I would say if you wanted to stay cheaper, then do the concierge on the day you wanted to be at the sunrise safari (that is you would need to actually stay concierge either Mon night or Fri night to go on the safari on Tues or Sat mornings).

As for the view, we had a great view! We were on the 5th floor and I can't find any fault with our view at all! We were on the Arusha Savannah.

As for the PS's yes, they can help with those, but they are not a miracle worker either! Don't count on every PS to be exactly what time you want or such. We did plan a couple of last minute PS's, but I was also flexible with the times, and Concierge was an easy way to get the place I wanted without me placing a phone call that morning.

 

[eddieras]

thanks for all the responses!

and princess- i DEFINATELY want to hear from you when you return!

thanks for the clarification on the foods-- so what does the $85 get ya!
seriously...

can you tell me more about the sunrise safari? plus i read that they have an afternoon one now too.

is the sunrise only offered on sat and tues?? how about the afternoon one?

maybe i should do day of arrival (Thurs) and fri in concierge and the next 4 or 5 nites in savannah.
once we do the safari tours is there any other 'behind the scene' things i should know about?

 

[Gupsmom]

I can't speak of AKL but I can say what I feel the benifits of conceirge are:

Breakfast.....we aren't big breakfast eaters. The cereal, bagels, toast, yogurt and juice/tea/coffee are plenty for us. As a family of 5, that saves us a minimum of $20 a day.

Drinks....it's so great and convenient to just go down to the lounge when we're thristy. We can grab juice and I always pop in for a cup of hot tea. WE definately save a lot of money here. With 5 people anytime we pay for a drink it's going to be atleast $8-$10.

Late night snacks...We like to take the kids down to the lounge before bedtime. They have a couple cookies and again, I get a cup of tea.

Conceirge is not a replacement for meals (except breakfast). We have had a late lunch out a few times and then been able to use the lounge for a snack. They usually do have atleast 1 hot dish and often PB&J or mac and cheese for the kids.

We're doing AKL Con for the first time soon. We don't pay for conceirge for an entire trip. We like to resort hop so we'll often tack on a couple nights of pampering and spend the bulk of our trip in a Moderate or regular room.

Jess

 

[wannabee princess]

I will definitely post my experiences in the "regular" AKL room and compare to concierge!

Now, as for the extra $85 and what it gets you

The food offerings are actually a good way to save money! I think it depends on the type of resort stay you are going to do.

For example, if you are going to be at the parks at opening and/or always there until closing, it may not be as cost effective to stay at concierge (IMHO). When we were there in Dec, we had shorter park hours, so we would be back at the resort some nights before 10 (lounge still open), and we were not worried about being in the parks at the moment they opened, because the crowds were not so horrible that we wanted to beat the rush! Also, in Dec. the weather was beautiful, but we didn't worry about taking an afternoon break. In the summer, if you are planning to head back to the resort for a rest or swim, then concierge may be a great way to get a snack and a drink.

If you are looking at the food court even, you can easily spend $$ on a small breakfast and snacks. Also, if you don't buy the refillable mugs, the cost for drinks starts adding up. The concierge snacks and drinks are a nice way to get your money's worth.

Also, the concierge is there to help with PS's. Now, if you are a major planner, calling CRO 90 days out and planning your own meals, this is not a benefit you are worried about. However, if like us, you like to have set plans for some days, but "wing it" other days, then concierge is great to help on the last minute PS's. We always got the restaurant we wanted at a time that we were happy with.

The nice thing also was having our packages sent directly to our room. I believe concierge is the only place you get this service. Otherwise the packages are sent to the resort, you have to pick them up at the desk. I loved shopping and not worrying another thing about the package until it "magically" appeared in my room.

The concierge staff is also helpful in other ways - like helping you to plan little suprises. I had arranged to have Mickey Mouse send my two ds's Santa Mickey hats when we arrived. This was handled wonderfully by the concierge! They even included an autographed picture for each boy.

The robes and refrigerators are also nice and provided (I believe) for all concierge rooms.

And, you also get turndown service every night. We loved returning to the room and our little chocolates would be waiting.

Edited to add -
The new safari is the Sunset safari. It is for adults only. No children allowed. The meal afterwards is at Jiko. The cost is around $150 a person I think. It is different than the sunrise in one way, because it is a much smaller and more intimate group. I believe you all eat together also. At the sunrise safari, we ended up with two charter buses from AKL to AK. This was a larger group, but we didn't find that a problem at all. I would HIGHLY recommend it! From all I have read, the Sunset safari is a totally different kind of thing, but perfectly wonderful! I'm hoping to do this with dh our next trip (planning a return in Dec!)

After the sunrise safari tour, the only other thing I can think of is that you do get a fastpass to go back on the KS. The meal at Tusker house was DELICIOUS!! One of our most favorite meals!

Yes, unless things change, Sunrise is Tues and Sat am only. You report to the lounge, check-in and then go to the lobby to meet the tour guide. You then ride tour buses over to AK, get on the regular KS ride, but stop and don't have the regular storyline of hunting poachers. As you see animals, the guide goes into great detail about the animal.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Wow. I can't even imagine being able to spend $85 on a hotel for the night , let alone an "extra" $85. Lucky! AKL is one of those places I'll never be able to stay at, I'd say, if you can afford it go for the full deal.

Definately write a trip report and let us know how it goes, whichever way you choose to go.