AKL concierge-worth it?

[asr3535]

Hello! I've booked a one bedroom villa at AKL, concierge level. Was very surprised at the number of points I"m not guaranteed a savannah view; which is very important to us. I've read there are a handful of savannah view one bedrooms, so the odds aren't good, and also reading that many are disappointed in the evening food options. I'm now rethinking my plan. Perhaps we should forget the concierge, and get a guaranteed one bedroom savannah view? We stayed on the club floor about 6 yrs ago and loved it. At this point, we don't plan to do the sunrise/sunset safaris but wanted the kids to be able to see animals from the balcony. The pool at Kidani Village looks great, but we don't like not having a counter service restaurant.
Appreciate any input!

 

[Simba's Mom]

Although I've never stayed in concierge, I was at AKV two weeks ago, and talked with some people staying in concierge. They said it definitely wasn't worth it to them, primarily because of, as you say, the food offerings. They were "downgrading" to a Kidani room in a few days and couldn't wait! They said that they'd never do concierge again.

 

[hakepb]

I'd love to once try concierge for the sunrise safari, it sounds like a spectacular start to the day.
I'd try to enjoy the breakfast, and I'd probably put the concierge staff to work getting a few difficult reservations.. (If you got all your reservations already then I guess that does not help)
But, yes if you thought you were booking concierge for free dinners, no it would not be worth it. To add do possible disapointment, I believe there is a 20% chance you get the HA room with a roll-in shower and no tub...

 

[LIFERBABE]

I will give you my reasoning on AKV Concierge.

The 1 bedroom Concierge villas for me are a sore spot. If you get the Savannah View, you run the high probability (1 in 3) of getting the villa without a tub. If a whirlpool/soaking tub is not important, then ok, but it is to me especially for the points.

We stayed in a 1 bed a few holidays ago. We didnt need the kitchen, we had concierge and DDP. The laundry was nice but not a must. So except for the separate bedroom, which is not ensuite, I felt we gained very little for the ton of points it cost us.

Since then, we still book and stay concierge at AKV, but mainly studios, so the tub is not an issue, we dont care about the view (is not that great anyway) and only if we plan to relax around the resort and enjoy the benefits of concierge.

If I were going to spend the 1 bed points, I would go with Kidani because the the layout of the 1 bedrooms and savannah views are superb. 2 bathrooms including ensuite bath with separate soaking tub, and really nice savannah views. I can order room service and have snacks delivered at Kidani if I am not planning on doing the concierge safaris.

To sum it up, this is my AKV booking strategy, studios only at AKV Concierge or Jambo because I wont cook in a studio and want to be close to offerings or counter service, 1 bedrooms or larger will be booked at Kidani for the layout and views (still have room service) with possible Grand Villa stays at either.

Just stayed at AKV Jambo in a Value studio last Saturday. We got a savannah view!! 20 points for Saturday night so it really
put the points in perspective for me since we were right below the c-level.

Sorry to write a book just a different pov!

 

[ppony]

I have yet to stay in a villa, but we've stayed in concierge at AKL, GF and the Poly. "Worth it" is incredibly subjective and only you can answer that. Let me preface this by saying we LOVE AKL. We really do! I am just pretty sure I won't do concierge there again there unless I want a Sunrise Safari again and if you want to do it for that only, you can book it for the safari day. Either checking in or out the day of the safari makes you eligible and then you can do a regular room the rest of the time. But I would it in a heartbeat at the GF or to try it at new resorts. I didn't like being a mile away from the lounge ( it felt like it anyway w/ our room location). I didn't like that the food and sometimes beverages weren't restocked very well in the 7 days we stayed there. It was often crowded and I twice tried to talk to a CM at the desk there to arrange something and had to wait a good long while and had people butt in front of me while the CM let them do it. It just left a bad taste in my mouth having experienced other concierges. And to be perfectly honest, I LOVED the Poly concierge being in it's own building. That was IDEAL! But when we stayed there, the CMs were crabby and not helpful at all. I understand things have changed since then. The GF stay probably has a special place in my heart because we were pixie dust upgraded to it and since that was the case, we had no expectations. LONG stories on the CM let downs but I pomise, they weren't becuase I expected too much, it was because they had no follow through.

SO! You can give it a shot. Ony YOU know what is "worth it" for you and your family. It's a fantastic resort!

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

On Monday, I'm calling to try to get a concierge level studio for a Saturday night. I've never stayed at AKV before, so I can't tell you about concierge but I know I want to do the sunrise safari, so that's the only reason I'm booking concierge. We plan on staying one night, then moving to a 2 BR at Kidani (savanna view) for the next 6 nights. I'm like you--getting a savanna view is very important to me, so I will not take a chance by booking something other than a savanna view. If you don't have an interest in doing the sunrise safari and the savanna is a priority, I would choose a guaranteed savanna view. Good luck with your decision.

 

[tedisney]

We like it, and feel it is worth it for a couple reasons. First, we like the location of the rooms. While they don't compare with Savannah views, the proximity to the elevators and the lobby/entrance are great. We park hop and frequently are back at the hotel midday for a toddler nap, so walking an extra 1/2 mile to the room 4 times a day is rough on the feet. We have stayed in one of the GVs at the very end of the hall in Jambo, and while the room was incredible, and the views spectacular, the walk really tired us all out.

We also like the lounge offerings. We don't really treat them as true meal replacements, except at breakfast time, where we would have only otherwise had cereal in the room anyway, so any warm food is an upgrade. If we are using it in place of a meal, say dinner, we eat a later lunch in the parks, and try to get our fill there. Then, the lounge offerings suffice perfectly.

We also love the ability to grab an apple, coke, yogurt or water anytime. Can't forget about the African Smoothies, either.

We've stayed in concierge twice before, and are there again for a week in January. We won't stay concierge every time we stay at AKV, but it definitely has some benefits.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

If Savanna view is very important and you don't plan on doing the Sunrise safari I'd skip concierge and book a guaranteed Savanna view.

We liked our concierge stay and probably will try it again (although I did cancel our concierge room for this Nov) but we don't care if it's pool view or savanna. If it did matter that's what I'd concentrate on.

 

[SimmerBaggins]

Here's the thing: there never is a perfect trip or stay, but if you get some of the big things you wanted, then it ends up being pretty good. We stayed one day in a 1BR Concierge, and loved it. Here's where my TR on it began (I'm blogging with my BFF, who had started the TR earlier, and then I jumped on at the appropriate time):

http://http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2238931&page=5

I'll let the TR speak for itself, but whoever said the food shouldn't be completely substituted for a whole meal (with the exception of breakfast) is pretty spot-on. We had a late lunch the first day, and the ribs and stew they served that night in concierge was the great final touch for us. Great food! Great service...okay, read the TR!!

 

[ppony]

I'll let the TR speak for itself, but whoever said the food shouldn't be completely substituted for a whole meal (with the exception of breakfast) is pretty spot-on.

Just for the record, I don't advocate the concierge offerings being subbed for a whole meal ( I got quite involved in a thread no that long ago about that where some people felt they paid $$$ so they should be able to do whatever they wanted), my complaint was the food was very poorly replenished. In our experience. There were quite often empty plates that didn't get filled in our time while we sat in the lounge waiting, and there were often empty containers where drinks had been. Pop, milk, coffee, that was always there but the smoothies and other beverages were often gone. As I said, when WE were there. And as I said, we stayed there a week so it was a good sampling of time I think in early-mid Dec. It was also 3 years ago though and could have changed.
Still LOVE the resort and plan on buying some DVC points there.

 

[jarestel]

The only reason I would consider CL is the access to the special safaris. The rest of the "perks" are pretty much meaningless to me. And as you say, if I'm staying at AKV, I'm staying there for the view.

But access to the sunset/sunrise safari is a BIG plus, if you're planning to do it, and certainly worth it for that.

 

[campbellus]

We stayed concierge level in August for the sunrise safari opportunity. Unfortunately I don't think we will ever stay concierge there again. There are only a few concierge rooms (5 if memory serves me right) and the majority of those that have savannah rooms, are handicapped accessible-meaning the rooms is layed out a bit different and there is no tub.
This was quite a big blow for us, as all our kids love to soak in the tub and we were so high up (6th floor) that we felt very far away from the animals. Also our "savannah view" was majorly obstructed by roof poles and other roof thatches. All in all, we were less than pleased with our room, the shower leaked ALL OVER the entire bathroom floor, even into the outside tiled vanity area. The dust along the walls was thicker than I have ever seen in a disney resort and the walls/doors were very banged up-not to be helped from wheelchairs but still...I was paying for concierge level and to me, that includes having a very nice room. We felt the lounge did not make up for the room/view issues we had.
I think if view and room are the important things for you, then don't do concierge. If the amenties at the lounge and the safari opportunity are what you are looking for, then go for it...but I wouldn't do it more than once at AKV.
We're still looking forward to maybe trying concierge at another DVC villa...but that is a way off for now.
Amy

 

[disneynutz]

Disney took the less desirable rooms, top floor, overlooking the roof, and turned them into Concierge rooms. They added daily Mousekeeping, $5 worth of food and charge you more money/points. Then they allow you to spend more money for the Sunrise Safari.

If this is something that you are interested in then go for it.

We will be there next month.

Bill

 

[ppony]

Disney took the less desirable rooms, top floor, overlooking the roof, and turned them into Concierge rooms. They added daily Mousekeeping, $5 worth of food and charge you more money/points. Then they allow you to spend more money for the Sunrise Safari.

If this is something that you are interested in then go for it.

How considerate of them!
Yeah, we stayed just before they started converting. We were on the 5th floor. Still felt like a half mile at least to the lounge.

 

[LIFERBABE]

We stayed concierge level in August for the sunrise safari opportunity. Unfortunately I don't think we will ever stay concierge there again. There are only a few concierge rooms (5 if memory serves me right) and the majority of those that have savannah rooms, are handicapped accessible-meaning the rooms is layed out a bit different and there is no tub.
This was quite a big blow for us, as all our kids love to soak in the tub and we were so high up (6th floor) that we felt very far away from the animals. Also our "savannah view" was majorly obstructed by roof poles and other roof thatches. All in all, we were less than pleased with our room, the shower leaked ALL OVER the entire bathroom floor, even into the outside tiled vanity area. The dust along the walls was thicker than I have ever seen in a disney resort and the walls/doors were very banged up-not to be helped from wheelchairs but still...I was paying for concierge level and to me, that includes having a very nice room. We felt the lounge did not make up for the room/view issues we had.
I think if view and room are the important things for you, then don't do concierge. If the amenties at the lounge and the safari opportunity are what you are looking for, then go for it...but I wouldn't do it more than once at AKV.
We're still looking forward to maybe trying concierge at another DVC villa...but that is a way off for now.
Amy

This exactly describes our first AKV Concierge experience!! We had the same 1 bedroom and I know from experience you are not exaggerating. We had a 1 bedroom for 6 nights over Christmas (mucho points) and no tub! I walked in the room, weary and soooo looking forward to soaking in my tub and having a glass of wine. I had a complete meltdown!! I wanted to move to SSR but nothing was available.
Thank goodness for the daily mousekeeping because the shower water was everywhere and we used every towel just to keep it out of the vanity area.

We have stayed since and will in the future, but only in studios if more than 1 night.

AKV is the only DVC currently that offers any concierge.