AKL deluxe concierge room

[jillhou]

We are going to be at the AKL in what CRO called a 'deluxe savannah view' concierge room next week. I thought that svannah view was not an option at reservation time.

It is a 'deluxe' room I think because there are 5 of us and we have a bunk and a day bed....are all these rooms savannah view?

Concierge seems to be in the main building so how do they have a view of the savannahs?

Thanks for any info you can give!

 

[jel0511]

There are deluxe concierge rooms on the 5th and 6th floors. If you have a particular savannah in mind, let the concierge staff know and they will do their best to help you. The 6th floor concierge rooms, which have savannah views, overlook the sunset savannah. If you want any other savannah, your room will be on the 5th floor. Also, you can get a room with two queens and a day bed for a party of 5, bunk beds aren't guaranteed. I requested a room with bunk beds and was told upon check-in, I'd either have to wait for the bunk beds or could take a room with two queens immediately, so let that request be known as well. All the savannah rooms are non-smoking at AKL, so if you have a request for non-smoking, let them know. There are only approx 10 rooms which are pool view concierge rooms, and all are smoking and all are on the 6th floor. Your savannah view is from your balcony. The AKL is built around the savannahs, so I think 70% of the resort has a savannah view. I just returned from an AKL concierge stay a couple of weeks ago, so ask any questions, I haven't answered!!!!

 

[lizzie64]

Lori -

we're staying concierge at AKL for 5 nights. Did you do the sunrise safari? and how was it? We can't wait for it.

What room did you have and were you happy with it?

 

[jel0511]

No, we didn't do the sunrise safari, since we had two small children (4 and 22 mths). I didn't think it would be worth spending the money, when I'd probably spend the entire safari coralling my 22 month year old. Hopefully, on our next stay I will!!! We were in room 5305, on the Kudu trail. I was a little disappointed in the fact that we were about half way down the trail. I thought we would be a little closer to the main halways and elevator. Our room was immaculate and there were no complaints, except for the time it took to get from our room to the lounge, at least 5 minutes. We had requested the Arusha savannah and bunk beds, so I guess this was all they had for me.

 

[lizzie64]

Lori - thanks for the info.

i too have requested bunk beds in one of our rooms. My twins 15 are boy / girl and they will be in the room with my MIL. I don't think my DD will want to share a bed with her grandmother, nor can they share a bed with her brother, so I'm hoping to get those.

I have 2 queens requested for my second room for DH, myself, DS4 and DS2. They will provide bed rails for me for the second bed, although they both tend to wind up in the bed with us anyway.

I have us booked for the safari. My ds 4 and my 2 year old are animal fanatics. They have a jungle themed room and I couldn't pass up the opportunity.

Thanks again for the info.

Liz

 

[jel0511]

You might end up in my room!!! Our room was a connector, and nobody was occupying the room next to us, and I know it was the queen/queen configuration. The concierge told us the other room was next door!!!

 

[lizzie64]

I'll let you know.

How was the room with regards to the animals?

 

[jel0511]

It was pretty good. The zebra and giraffe feeding stations were right outside, so at 7am and 4pm (feeding times) they were front and center. My only complaint about being on the higher floors, is that you can only see animals if they are directly in front of you. Otherwise your view is obstructed by the trees. I would have liked a lower room, but concierge rooms are higher, as are the deluxe rooms. On our next stay, I'd definately spend more time at the savannah overlooks to see the entire savannahs.

 

[lizzie64]

Great
My guys love giraffes, as do I.

Sounds like you had a good room.

 

[vbfamily]

Lizzie64,

I'm just asking this because I have nothing else to do. When you check-in in May...let's say you ask them if a 2 bedroom suite is available and they let you upgrade. Would you take it?

Do you mind telling me how much you are paying for your rooms with the code?

I know you posted in another thread what you were paying but I can't find it.

Thanks.

 

[jel0511]

vbfamily - I actually did ask before checking in if I would be able to upgrade to a one bedroom suite. They said, I could, based on availablility. We stayed on DVC points, so basically paid rack rates, and ws told I could upgrade for $155 per night. I forgot to ask upon check-in, so it never happened!!!!

 

[jillhou]

Lori - As I am unfamiliar with the AKL - what is on the Sunset Savannah? It seems I had read that it had the fewest animals - is that true?

We would be fine with 2 Q and a daybed; however, everytime we talk to CRO they say it is a bunk bed configuration for 5 people. My boys would probably prefer NOT to have bunks....

I am really looking forward to this and hope I am not disappointed. We are splitting our stay between the Poly LV conc and the AKL conc. We love the Poly and the conc service there. I have read that the AKL is almost the only one that can beat it!

So the lounge CAn be quite a distance away from the room eh? I really do not want my kids running back and forth if it is too far. They are 14, 11 and 8 and we have usually let them go get a soda or cookie once we get in without us going with them. It is so secure at the Poly we never had any worries. It is also not a really big concierge area - room wise.

Thanks for the info so far. Forgot to ask about the NS situation - glad to hear most are non smoking!

 

[lizzie64]

Originally posted by vbfamily
Lizzie64,

I'm just asking this because I have nothing else to do. When you check-in in May...let's say you ask them if a 2 bedroom suite is available and they let you upgrade. Would you take it?

Do you mind telling me how much you are paying for your rooms with the code?

I know you posted in another thread what you were paying but I can't find it.

Thanks.

Hi VBFamily,

Good question,

If the rates are good enough maybe. Although the current codes aren't great, they're better than a suite. My mother in law is already in disbelief at what the rates we're paying per night are. The rate I have with the current AXA code is $434 including tax. That's about 20% or $90 off rack per night.

I've always seen the AP rates run between 30-40%, so that's what I'm hoping for.

 

[jel0511]

jillhou - Here is something I pulled off the AKL FAQ about which animals are on each savannah:

Sunset Savannah: Male Giraffe, Bongo, Impala, Thompsons Gazelles, Ostrich, Ankole Cattle, Waterbuck, African crown cranes, stork and blue cranes.

Arusha Savannah: Pelicans, geese, giraffe, ankole cattle, zebra, Wildebeast, eland, gemsbok

Uzima Savannah: Giraffe, Impala, Kudu, Bongo, Blesbok, Thompsons Gazelles

I actually only looked at the Arusha savannah (our view) and the sunset savannah. And to be honest with you, I always saw more animals on the Sunset savannah. Now, it could have just been luck. I chose the Arusha savannah, so we could see zebras, it's the only savannah with zebras.


I liked the AKL concierge and thought the lounge was BEAUTIFUL, and it definately was nicer than the Poly's lounge. The Poly still wins in terms of food and snack available, they just seem to have more of a selection in my opinion.

If you are placed on the 5th floor, which is where most of the concerge rooms are located, it definately isn't as secure as the Poly. You have to go up to the 6th floor to get to the lounge, and that is the floor with keyed access. Your kids would have to wander the halls to get to the elevators, then go up, and come back down, etc. I don't know if I want my kids wandering that far, especially where we were. It will all depend on where you room is located. Like I said before, we were located halfway down the Kudu trail and it definately was a hike to get to the lounge. The morning my son was sick, I sent DH upstairs to bring breakfast back. He had to make several trips, since the lounge doesn't provide trays like the Poly. He explained the situation, and the only response he received was that there weren't any trays. It took him approx 20 - 25 minutes to make two trips up and back to get breakfast. It would have been MUCH faster to have just gone to Mara, since they had trays!!!!!

 

[jdads2]

From our September trip:

DAY 5:

Well, as you know by now we were bumped up to concierge by special services and AKL staff when there was a problem with our savannah view room. As soon as we got the room…ok the next day, I made arrangements for us to go on the Sunrise Safari. We have been looking forward to this since the day I made the PS’s and we were not disappointed.

We didn’t want to fill ourselves this morning with the concierge staff’s offerings because we wanted to be hungry for the breakfast at AKL. We board the special bus to AK and enter via the back door entrance. We get a nice description of the barns and the horticulture staff and their responsibilities. Very interesting and informative. The safari was incredible! We were out there for about an hour and the views and sights were terrific. No one on the ride was disappointed. It was a great opportunity to see the animals run around and stretch in the early morning sun.

After the safari came breakfast and what a breakfast it was! Opened face omelet, fruit stew with a pastry topping, cinnamon buns, bacon, sausages, and fried eggs. Fresh fruits, juices and pastries. Let’s not forget the tasty French toast with banana syrup and much more. They brought in an African singer during breakfast. At first I was a little startled but he was very good and when we started to sing along it became a lot of fun.


The Sunrise Safari was wonderful! We advise that if you have the opportunity to take advantage of it, do it.

My kids (11, 8 and 5) had to take turns on the bunk beds...and using the key to gain access to the 6th floor.

Have fun.

 

[vbfamily]

Can someone clarify the smoking/non-smoking issue at AKL for me.

I have read that all savannah view rooms are non-smoking but was told by CRO that the suites are smoking-optional and I think she said some of the deluxe savannah view rooms are that way, too.

Does anyone know the official policy?

 

[lizzie64]

Originally posted by vbfamily
Can someone clarify the smoking/non-smoking issue at AKL for me.

I have read that all savannah view rooms are non-smoking but was told by CRO that the suites are smoking-optional and I think she said some of the deluxe savannah view rooms are that way, too.

Does anyone know the official policy?

Is there such a thing as Disney having an "official policy" on smoking? Hmm.

Anyway, this is what concierge told me. Which is totally different than what I have read about the personal experiences of those staying in concierge.

Concierge stated to me that all savannah view rooms are non smoking and that included the balconies because of safety issues for the animals.

I was told that pool view rooms are smoking optional and they were on the 6th floor.

I had to have them be specific because of health issues in my family. I could not have a room in smoking or that was near smoking.

This said,

others will tell you that they were even bought ashtrays by the staff so they could smoke on their non smoking balconies. So who knows what the "official policy" is.

 

[jillhou]

Thanks for all the help! We appreciate how kind all onthe board are...makes planning sooooo much easier!

 

[jel0511]

I was told by the cocnierge staff that all concierge savannah rooms are non-smoking. We needed a non-smoking room for medical reasons. I have read reports that there are a few smoking optional savannah rooms. But what you need to realize is that you aren't allowed to smoke on a balcony in a savannah room, because of the animals. So, all smoking must take place in the room, I'm sure the same is true for the suites. And they can catch you, since there is a LARGE sign letting you know that your balcony is under video survailance for ANY type of activity that may harm the animals. It also stated for complete privacy, keep your drapes closed!!!!!

 

[Richyams]

When we reserved the "deluxe concierge room" we were told that all Concierge rooms were deluxe(it has to do with size), we were told that all the smoking optional rooms(no mention of suites) had pool views. We were told to request non-smoking, savanah view and that we could smoke on the balcony.

There were NO 'no smoking' signs on our balcony which overloked the sunset savanah. Our paper cup filled with water for butts on the balcony was replaced the first day with an ashtry that was emptied everyday.

I really don't know where this myth of no smoking an any AKL balcomies was born, but it certainly is not true.