AKL

[michgeo]

Hi! We booked AKL for the end of June (with the hopes of minimal tour groups traipsing through the parks...) and only booked a standard room. Savannah view was out of my price range! Any suggestions for the resort? We have stayed at Coronado, CB,and Wilderness before.. but I heard that it is super quiet and a beautiful resort.

 

[Sue M]

Love AKL. Be sure to look at activity guides. They have storytelling, marshmallow roast, movies by the pool, evening savana viewing with night vision scope, CMs are usually posted by Arusha Rock lookout, and sometimes Uzima lookout. One of my favourite things is the Cultural Safari in the evening off the lobby. A CM ambassador gives a presentation of their country. It’s always well done, and informative. There is also a culinary tour.
Great restaurants. Love Boma, and Saana in Kidani.
It’s a 10 min walk over to Kidani to go check out their savana lookout, pool, shop, etc.

 

[gharter]

Other than WL, AKL will blow away the other resorts you have stayed at. We love this one! From seeing the animals in the savanna, to the restaurants that rival any other resort, to the theming. The theming in WL probably rivals AKL. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

 

[720L]

You will love it no matter what room you get. Take advantage of the resort activities. We love the cultural safaris, talking with CMs in the viewing area. The Mara is my favorite QS of all the resorts. AKL is my favorite resort .

 

[mickeynut1]

As others have said, AKL is a beautiful resort with a lot to do. Some people don't care for how isolated it is, but that is one of the (many) things I love about it. Since it is out away from everything, it is very quiet and peaceful. Have a great trip .

 

[Mousemommy1]

We stayed at AKL last week and absolutely loved it!! It is very quiet and peaceful, and DH and I loved sitting at the Victoria Falls lounge every night after the parks. Enjoy your trip!

 

[patster734]

Although we had a Savannah room, I went exploring down the hallway. At each intersection, there were more African displays like the lobby has. At the end of the hallway was a door that lead to the outside stairs. Walking out, I was greeted by a giraffe about 50 feet away. No one else was on the stairs, so it was just giraffe and me. Pretty cool. A couple days later, I took my wife to the stairs, and a giraffe (same one?) was there.

 

[ginny65]

We have never been to AKL and we thought mid-day on our day at AK, we would head over for lunch at AKL to check it out. 1) Is it possible to sit outside at the pool bar to enjoy a drink and late lunch even though we aren't staying there? We don't want to swim. 2) How long of a bus ride is it from AK - AKL?

 

[Happy2BGoofy]

We have never been to AKL and we thought mid-day on our day at AK, we would head over for lunch at AKL to check it out. 1) Is it possible to sit outside at the pool bar to enjoy a drink and late lunch even though we aren't staying there? We don't want to swim. 2) How long of a bus ride is it from AK - AKL?

1) Yes, you can buy food from the QS MARA restaurant or Uzima Springs Pool Bar
2) Buses from AK to AKL are short (I'll say about 8-10 minutes).

 

[xyloist]

Love AKL. Be sure to look at activity guides... There is also a culinary tour.

Can anyone provide recent evidence of this culinary tour taking place? I couldn't find any information on the website; just a blog post from a year ago.

 

[Sue M]

Can anyone provide recent evidence of this culinary tour taking place? I couldn't find any information on the website; just a blog post from a year ago.

Google The Frugal South web site. She has a write up about AKL and mentions the culinary tour.

 

[xyloist]

Thanks! Looks like it was still happening at least in January!

 

[jaiminee krikit]

We stayed there a few years ago. It is an amazing resort! I highly recommend lunch at Sanaa and breakfast at Boma if you have the chance. I wasn't a fan of the Mara.

Also, you can (well you used to be able to) request an obstructed savannah view room. We made Kudu Trail view our only request and had an amazing view with many animals constantly in view. But even if you don't get a savannah view room at all, there are several places to view the animals throughout the resort. There are big viewing windows in the hallways, some with rocking chairs set up.

 

[Haley R]

We stayed there last year with a standard room. Our first night we were near the animal stables so that was kind of cool but next to a fire door. We heard that thing slam shut all night. The next night we got to move to a room with a king bed and a fantastic view of animals!!! We saw lots of giraffes, zebras, and more all at once. Don’t be afraid to ask NICELY for a room change if you aren’t happy. They have always been willing to do things for us if we were nice and flexible.

 

[rentayenta]

We stayed there 6 years ago and when trying to decide where to stay this next trip come Aug, we are staying there again; Kidani. Its a beautiful resort. As the others have mentioned there is so much to do, 3 great restaurants (we will be trying Jiko for the first time), and a totally unique theme we can't get unless we actually travel to Africa. In fact DH has been to Africa 3x and loves AKL.