AKL Concierge...Wow!!!

[Donald is #1]

Thank you so much for posting the report. I will be staying there in May in a studio. I have never stayed at CL before so I am very excited.

 

[claire_ont]

Thanks for the great report! We are staying there Mar 8 - 17 and I am really looking forward to it. I read your post to DH who woke up at the part about Grand Marnier after 8 pm.

This is our first trip on our points, so I splurged and booked concierge. Glad to hear a cheery report. We are pretty easy to please so I am sure we will enjoy it.

 

[dizfanz]

Well, after I read BCV23s post, I had to know what liferbabe thought. Well to say the least, they had a completely different experience than we did, in the exact same unit. It just goes to show how subjective an impression of a room can be. If you look at my picture of the living room, there is a lone end table next to the TV, which I thought was odd. Now I know that liferbabe moved the chair from that corner next to the sofa so you can see the TV from it. It actually works out well and I found it funny that mousekeeping never moved it back. If one was in a wheel chair in this unit, I think the coffee table would need to be moved so they could maneuver in the living room. Otherwise, I found plenty of space here. I thought the wardrobe allowed plenty of room to hang up clothes. There are numerous drawers in the bedroom and under the TV in the living room for the rest of the clothes. There is also a short rod to hand clothes next to the washer/dryer. I can't imagine someone(even 4 people) having so many clothes on hangars that there is not enough space in this unit. There is a lot of dark wood in the unit, which does make it feel dark in general. However, you do not quite need a flashlight to get around. I like the balcony with the thatch roof, I think that adds a lot of ambience. And this balcony might be one of the largest I have had for a one bedroom. The lightbulbs in the unit are all Cfls, which I do not particularly like, but we must learn to be green I guess. I am sure it will happen in are lifetime that all bulbs will be this way. Again, I thought this was a wonderful unit. Each person will take away a different experiencefrom it. But for it being HA, I enjoyed myself. It is a great location just the second door from the lounge. The unit is virtually soundproof. I could not believe we were so close to the action and could not hear anything. Enjoy it and the view.

 

[kgc07]

dizfanz, thanks so much for posting. We'll be in an accessible 2BR in May and so I think it's safe to assume we'll be in your room and the lockoff studio that connects to it. I was nervous after Liferbabe's report but feel much better now. The wide open kitchen will work well for us. The view of the animals looks like fun. Thanks for all the pictures.

When in May will you be there? We will also be there in May and hope to not get this room becaues DS does not like to take showers. I also must confess, with that big of a shower I would have to get in it with him and I am not up for that.

 

[LIFERBABE]

Disfanz,

Yes, we did have different experiences in the same room!

We are a family of 4 and we stayed for 6 nights. It was Christmas and we had clothes for all the weather plus holiday wear. After our 1 night stay in July, I tried to hang more clothes because I expected the minimal drawer space.

I really enjoyed your report!

I will say, that the fact that you checked in after 9 pm and got a savannah view room did not happen by accident. Many parents would not want this room with children. I could understand liking it more as a couple, but the loss of the tub is a dealbreaker for me especially at 1 bedroom points. Im a spagirl

While we enjoyed our stay after the shock of not having a tub numbed, I personally do not want that room again, so I will not book a 1 bed Concierge.

We will stay again, but in a studio.

Oh! Too Funny about that chair! I just could not for the life of me understand why that chair was in front of the sliders. I remember thinking, it would be pretty difficult for someone in a wheelchair to get past the coffee table and then the chair to get to the balcony. That and you can't see the T.V. or animals from that angle.

 

[VLee]

Thanks for posting on the concierge...we have a studio concierge booked for Dec 13-19!

 

[pyrxtc]

I have a 2 brm from Aril 18-27 in the club level at AKV I can not wait do you have any pictures of the Club and the offering on it??

I Can not wait Is it April Yet

I'm checking in on the 27th thru May 2nd ina 2 bed conc too. Maybe we'll pass each other or see each other in the lounge during the day.

 

[lauriegs]

I must shamefully confess we've never been ones to leave tips in hotels for housekeeping. We're staying concierge for our upcoming trip ( and I"m sooo excited now that I've heard your report), so I'm wondering what you left for mousekeeping, did you leave it daily, and where do you put it?

thanks for the help!

 

[drag n' fly]

Honestly I don't care if I have a tub don't have a tub; if the animals have to lick me off in the savannah to get a bath. If the chairs are bolted to the ceiling if I can see animals from my room if I can't....we got our concierge room from December 22-24 before we cruise and from what I read it sounds GREAT! WOOOO with the HOOOO!!!!

 

[aklconciergesteve]

I must confess, I did not think about tipping outside the usual CMs. I took great care of mousekeeping and of course bell staff and valets(many times, many many times). I only used the staff and the concierge desk for check in, park tickets and 2 ADRs. Should I have tipped them? Man I am embarrased being that I am a bartender and work for tips.

Dumela!

I'm so glad you had a great trip, dizfanz! I hope I had a bit of a hand in making it that way

As far as tipping concierge cast members, our position is a non-tipped one Any tips we recieve are supposed to be turned in and pooled for cast activities, pizza parties, etc. . .
That being said, the best tip you can give us is that if you are impressed with the service you recieve, mention it to a manager. If a cast member stands out, mention them by name. Make nice comments on Disney discussion boards like this one! They get noticed as well (this one was noticed by one of our managers). Nice things happen when names are mentioned

For those of you that I read that are coming to stay with us in March and April, and everyone else who comes to visit, I hope you have a wild time!

 

[tomandrobin]

Dumela!

I'm so glad you had a great trip, dizfanz! I hope I had a bit of a hand in making it that way

As far as tipping concierge cast members, our position is a non-tipped one Any tips we recieve are supposed to be turned in and pooled for cast activities, pizza parties, etc. . .
That being said, the best tip you can give us is that if you are impressed with the service you recieve, mention it to a manager. If a cast member stands out, mention them by name. Make nice comments on Disney discussion boards like this one! They get noticed as well (this one was noticed by one of our managers). Nice things happen when names are mentioned

For those of you that I read that are coming to stay with us in March and April, and everyone else who comes to visit, I hope you have a wild time!

Thanks for clarifing that bit of information! We will see you guys in April 10-14 and again Oct 31-Nov 4. It good to get the inside scoop once in awhile!

 

[Tigger1]

Will the new building have Concierge rooms?

Tigger

 

[AKV707]

It does not appear that Kidani will have concierge. At least there has been no information to suggest that there will be. Jambo has concierge because DVC took the 5th and 6th floors of the lodge. The 6th floor was the concierge level.

I do suppose that if they think there will be enough demand that they might consider haveing a concierge section in Kidani, but at this point, I would say it is unlikely.

 

[tomandrobin]

Will the new building have Concierge rooms?

Tigger

Not at this time. That doesn't mean they couldn't change and add some, but its more then just changing ponts and room catagories. They would have to add additional staff and a lounge. Remember that Concierge lounge now is still served by AKL and the 5 AKV rooms.

 

[kimberh]

I am so glad you had a great stay. We stay in May, I just can't wait!! I am a shower person, but when we take the family, the tub is used. I can see how that would be missed. I have a studio booked.

 

[SyrCinderella]

I am a bit confused - are all the 1 bedroom concierge savannah view rooms HA?

 

[dizfanz]

I am a bit confused - are all the 1 bedroom concierge savannah view rooms HA?

I quite doubt it. My guess is that we stayed in the only one that is part of DVC.

 

[doodle]

Dumela!

I'm so glad you had a great trip, dizfanz! I hope I had a bit of a hand in making it that way

As far as tipping concierge cast members, our position is a non-tipped one Any tips we recieve are supposed to be turned in and pooled for cast activities, pizza parties, etc. . .
That being said, the best tip you can give us is that if you are impressed with the service you recieve, mention it to a manager. If a cast member stands out, mention them by name. Make nice comments on Disney discussion boards like this one! They get noticed as well (this one was noticed by one of our managers). Nice things happen when names are mentioned

For those of you that I read that are coming to stay with us in March and April, and everyone else who comes to visit, I hope you have a wild time!

Just wanted to say Welcome to the DIS!!! and many happy posts!

 

[momsgoofy]

Dumela!

I'm so glad you had a great trip, dizfanz! I hope I had a bit of a hand in making it that way

As far as tipping concierge cast members, our position is a non-tipped one Any tips we recieve are supposed to be turned in and pooled for cast activities, pizza parties, etc. . .
That being said, the best tip you can give us is that if you are impressed with the service you recieve, mention it to a manager. If a cast member stands out, mention them by name. Make nice comments on Disney discussion boards like this one! They get noticed as well (this one was noticed by one of our managers). Nice things happen when names are mentioned

For those of you that I read that are coming to stay with us in March and April, and everyone else who comes to visit, I hope you have a wild time!

Thanks! DH & I will be there in a studio March 10-14...DH is excited about concierge since he's never experienced that before. I was just happy to get AKV at the 7 month mark for this trip since it's just the 2 of us. (Our DS is marching before the afternoon parade in MK on the 13th with his high school band.) I'm sure we're going to have a "wild time"!

 

[aklconciergesteve]

Will the new building have Concierge rooms?

Tigger

The demand is certainly there, but there's been a wall of silence on whether or not that will happen.