AKL standard or pool view, what's best?

[Fromeurope]

Hi everyone,
Last year we spent a week at AKL and we loved the restaurants and the nearby AK. We had a savannah view room and we loved the animals, but because of the heat, that we are really not used to, we only spent a short time at our balcony. Now we are planning a return soon, but I am thinking about a different room. The standard view and the pool view are less expensive ofcourse, and because this trip is starting with a stay at GF, we could save some $.
I know that the standard view rooms have a parking lot view, is that very bad?
My DHB and I are both asthmatic and if you really are near the traffic it wouldn't be a good choice for us.
So maybe a pool view room? That would always be near the Mara would it?
That's cool, I love the African stew
I would appreciate some help with this , thanks

 

[bugbugmom]

BUMP! I also would like tho know this!

 

[Drnifer]

We've stayed at the AKL twice with a savannah view room and a pool view room. The pool view was nice, not as noisy as I expected. We could even see some of the animals behind the pool. Our room was down the hallway to the right when you enter the lobby, so we were not that close to Mara. It was nice to be able to keep an eye on the kids(teenagers) at the pool without sitting out there with them. I've never seen a standard view, so I can't help you there. I hope this helps. Have a great trip!

 

[F1Julie]

I had a standard view room and it was great. You can't beat the price. The room was very quiet. There was a lot of foliage between the balcony and the parking lot. I'd stay there again without thinking twice about it.

 

[Fromeurope]

That's nice F1Julie.
Only last time we stayed at AKL we noticed that when you walk to the busstop there are rooms near that sidewalk as well. That must be standard view rooms, but I really don't want to be put there...

 

[Deweysgirl]

I would definately go with the pool view. We just got back from AKL and we originally were booked with a standard room. Our balcony literally overlooked roof-tops, not very exciting to say the least. I would have preferred the foliage! Needless to say, we upgraded out of that room. I just couldn't handle 5 days of roof-top scenery.

 

[Fromeurope]

I was already thinking that I would prefer the pool view. That's not unusual for me, I always prefer the more expensive option
But on the other hand if we only spent 5 minutes looking at the view, why pay for it?

 

[mrsmom]

I had a pool view up on the fifth floor , It was beautiful!! I could smell the stews from Boma below. I loved the view.
Kim

 

[HopperFan]

Last trip we opted for pool view, had stayed savanna before not in the budget this trip and I feared the standard. WELL, we paid @ $50 extra to look at the roofs of the restaurants, a sliver of pool through a tree and across to the other balconies where the dreaded beach towels were hanging. We never used the balcony, decided to go use the public viewing areas. So we wasted our money.

 

[BostonRob]

Last trip we opted for pool view, had stayed savanna before not in the budget this trip and I feared the standard. WELL, we paid @ $50 extra to look at the roofs of the restaurants, a sliver of pool through a tree and across to the other balconies where the dreaded beach towels were hanging. We never used the balcony, decided to go use the public viewing areas. So we wasted our money.

Having only stayed in a Savannah room before, my opinion is a bit uninformed. But I think I'd go with the Pool view next time, just because $$ the difference between standard and pool in minor, but the $$ difference between pool and savannah is huge.

Of course, bad views are available in all categories, but I think I'm pretty sure I'd be more disapointed with a lousy Savannah view than a lousy pool view.

 

[dgaston]

Our stay at AKL in a pool room view was in 1030 I believe, on the ground floor at the end of the hall nearest the gym. We had a wonderful view of a .......are you ready?.....a Disney boulder! Yes it had some impatiens planted on it and there was a bit of pool you could see. I was crushed. However my family loved the room. We didn't dare change because the room did honor my request for bunk beds and with teen aged DS and DD that fit our ticket better. I had paid for pool view, but was hoping for an upgrade to savannah. Oh well....

 

[cranbiz]

We had pool view in Dec, 4014 and 4016. They were great. Not noisy, high up enough to catch a breeze and a patrial view of the savannah.

The standard views are not really that close to the parking lot and with the heavy folliage found at AKL, I would think that they won't be too bad, but that is just my opinion as I have never stayed in a standard view room.

Personally, I would book a pool view room again.

 

[threeboysmom]

We didn't have much luck with a pool view last September. The first pool view room was on the first floor with very thick foliage in front of the patio - so much so I would have felt claustophobic sitting out there. We asked to change rooms, but the second room they put us in was really no better. You had to stand way over in the left corner of the balcony to be able to see the pool with all the trees. We finally bit the bullet and paid for an upgrade to savannah view. It was wonderful and well worth it! I would never pay the money for a pool view there - either standand if on a budget or savannah....

 

[EsmeraldaX]

We had a 5th floor standard view last week and we did not mind at all. There are so many places where you can go and sit in rocking chairs looking at the animals, that we didn't mind at all.

We were in room 5102 and we could not see any parking lot. Our balcony had sort of a wall thing blocking any real view but we could see thatched roofs over the wall. It was not anywhere near as bad as I thought it would be. We didn't spend a lot of time on the balcony really, though I liked having it there (as opposed to the values etc. where you don't have a private balcony).

We spent most of our time walking around the resort and watching animals from the overlooks and public viewing areas, none of which ever seemed very crowded.

ETA : I honestly don't think I could stand a pool view. I think it would be very noisy.

 

[CBCit]

We had a 5th floor standard view room a few weeks ago and it was excellent.The balcony overlooked the parking lot,but with all the landscaping it was more of a "tree" view. Quiet and pretty and it was a regular,not solid wall balcony. We quickly spent all the $ saved on a room upgrade on other things.The AKL is so pretty and so much time at Disney is spent in the parks the room view is really not a great issue for us anyway.

 

[HopperFan]

".....because $$ the difference between standard and pool is minor....."

$50 per night is some nice food or spending money for us, especially since other than the view, the rooms are exactly the same. If I'm not enjoying the view I got, then the $50 per night I am being charged for it is much better used elsewhere. Next time, we are going to stay in a standard view room and splurge elsewhere.

 

[BostonRob]

".....because $$ the difference between standard and pool is minor....."

$50 per night is some nice food or spending money for us, especially since other than the view, the rooms are exactly the same. If I'm not enjoying the view I got, then the $50 per night I am being charged for it is much better used elsewhere. Next time, we are going to stay in a standard view room and splurge elsewhere.

Based on your comments, you aren't a 'view' person, so it probably doesn't matter anyway. But, except for holiday season when the difference is $31, the difference between Standard view and Pool View is $26 per night. I'm not sure where you get the $50 figure.

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

Just a note: The DISers who posted that they stayed on the 5th floor poolview is not actually considered a "Pool View" room, it's a Deluxe Pool View room. The Deluxe room's a bit larger. Just wanted to clear that up.

We have only stayed in Savannah or Deluxe Pool view and I have enjoyed both rooms. My wife enjoys standing on the balcony, staring endlessly at the Savannah. I prefer the shade that the Delkuxe Pool View affords, seeing that I like to go out in the early morning and read the paper. I'd do the pool view if your only other option is Standard.

 

[florry]

We booked a standard view room from the UK with a "package" tour company and on arrival we were upgraded to a pool view room without asking. My understanding is that there are only approximately 15% of the rooms with a "standard" view (parking lot) - so - I would take my chances again and hope for an upgrade.
To be honest - we did not spend too much time in the room anyway. There is far too much to do in Orlando!
I prefer to get a coffee and sit in one of the rocking chairs overlooking the Arusha Rock - or one of the comfy sofa's in the lobby.
People watching is just as much fun as watching the animals....!

 

[sjw4870]

Having only stayed in a Savannah room before, my opinion is a bit uninformed. But I think I'd go with the Pool view next time, just because $$ the difference between standard and pool in minor, but the $$ difference between pool and savannah is huge.

Of course, bad views are available in all categories, but I think I'm pretty sure I'd be more disapointed with a lousy Savannah view than a lousy pool view.

Perfectly put. I just did exactly what you mentioned. In my previous stays before the trip I obsessed over making sure I had the perfect room on the Arusha savannah and was worried that I'd end up in a bad room overlooking a people pen. This time, I booked a standard at a great AP rate, then upgraded to pool for $10 per night. I never once worried about my view of the pool, whereas in a savannah, a bad view would have disappointed me. Turns out I had a great view of the pool, very close to the elevator near Simba's Cubhouse.