AKV Review w/ concierge info and PICS

[kaylie&laurensmom]

We were so excited about our upcoming concierge stay in the weeks leading up to our recent trip (June 1 - 10), and I would have loved to see some pictures of the lounge! So, I took some notes and lots of pictures for everyone who may be planning their own trips! I have also included a general review of AKL, the room, and the services.

Pre-trip planning: the concierge staff made all my dining reservations, emailed me a new itinerary every time I made a change (which was often), and arranged for a gift to be in the room for Father's Day (a gift certificate for a massage at the spa). Don and everyone there was fabulous.

Arrival: we decided to spend the day at AK, so we didn't arrive at the Lodge until around 4:30. We drove up to the entrance and were immediately greeted by a parking valet (free valet parking for DVC members!) and bell services, who loaded up the cart with our luggage and led us up to our room (love this concierge perk of NO front desk check-in - we immediately felt like celebrities or something)! He gave us a tour of the lounge and the room, and was very helpful.

We were in room 6401 (AWESOME location - the closest room to the elevators and the lounge). I had requested savannah view, knowing I had only 50% chance, but we ended up being very happy with this pool view room. The 6th floor savannah view rooms (Sunset Savannah) have a view of cranes and construction right now anyway. Here are some pics of our view:

To be continued...........

 

[kaylie&laurensmom]

Here are some pics of our room (please look over all the luggage, bell services had just left):

Balcony:

 

[Monorail Purple&Gold]

Awesome pics--great info!!! Glad you enjoyed!! Thanks for sharing.

 

[Pocahantas]

Thanks for sharing the info and awesome view pictures!

 

[kaylie&laurensmom]

I did want to mention that I was worried about storage space from reading posts on here. We removed the pack and play from the cabinet under the TV and put in under the bed. So we had the drawers in the TV cabinet as well as the big drawer undeneath the bench, and the hanging space in the armoire. That was plenty of space for our family of 4 (and we tend to overpack)! We had no problems.

The room was very nice, we are used to hotel rooms and haven't been spoiled by 1 BRs, so we were very happy with the room and the space. I will say that the pull out bed was not as comfortable as the one we had at Boardwalk Villas this past September; you could feel the support bar through the mattress. The girls still slept well on it, but I couldn't have handled it for more that a night or two!

The Lodge itself was absolutely gorgeous!!! The lobby is breathtaking, and there are lots of animal viewing areas at the different savannahs. The girls had many hours of fun at the pool and hot tubs, although my oldest was disappointed with the slide (though still lots of fun, it's obviously nowhere near the excitement of the huge roller coaster slide at Boardwalk)! The zero entry was a huge plus with my youngest. The pool bar makes yummy drinks - I had a half strawberry daiquiri/half pina colada and it was the bomb! We didn't eat at Boma (ate there before and not a big fan) or Jiko (we want to try this next time), but tried Mara a few times. It was just OK, nothing spectacular or horrible. Here are some pics around the lodge:

Firepit:

Animal viewing area:

Lobby view from 3rd floor (main lobby area):

 

[SLM]

Thank you for sharing-the pictures are great-and your girls are adorable!

 

[Marc A.]

subbing

 

[kaylie&laurensmom]

Housekeeping - one word - AWESOME!! This is one of the best perks of concierge to me - daily housekeeping PLUS turndown service. We always get up and get to the parks at rope drop, then return for a nap and/or pool time around 1 - 2. Our room was cleaned by this time every day (except once), fresh towels and supplies were ready, and the bed was returned to the sofa. We would then head out for our evening activities, and when we returned the sofa bed had been made back to a bed, we usually had towel animals, and the beds were turned back with a cute animal card and chocolates. If we had taken showers in between the morning cleaning and the turndown, we had fresh towels again. And housekeeping always removed our dirty dishes (we brough back food a lot from the lounge) from the sink. HEAVEN!!!!

Here are some pics of towel animals:

This is slightly off topic, but here's a picture of my girls after a long Disney day:

 

[tink6137130]

Love your pics...thanks for sharing!

 

[mouse4ever]

Thank you for sharing the pictures and info.! We are staying in a CL studio in December. I can hardly wait!

 

[momof3poohlovers]

We were in the same room as you, we checked out on July 8th(we also had the one bedroom 6402 next door)!!!! You are right the view and location are amazing. I am glad you had a great trip. My DD slept on the same pullout as your DD's and she thought the same about it, it was a little uncomfortable. I think the pullout in the 1 BR side was a little more comfortable. My DS(9) also agreed with your DD about the slide, he said it wasn't as much fun as the one at BCV's. Our room was spotless when we checked in but they usually didn't come until around 3-4 pm to clean our room and I was wondering if you got nightly turndown service? We didn't our first and last nights there. Is this normal? It wasn't a big deal to us though. We really enjoyed the concierge lounge, esp. being so close to it. I am glad to hear you had a good time!

 

[kaylie&laurensmom]

Our room was spotless when we checked in but they usually didn't come until around 3-4 pm to clean our room and I was wondering if you got nightly turndown service? We didn't our first and last nights there. Is this normal?

We did get nightly turndown service, one night in the middle of our trip they didn't come until later than usual, but they were definitely there every night! You're right, it's not that big of a deal, but for some reason I just really enjoyed it!

 

[kaylie&laurensmom]

OK, before I get to my detailed concierge lounge review I wanted to mention the one negative at the Lodge. The bus service was TERRIBLE several times. DH and DD waited over half an hour at Hollywood Studios for a bus to return to AKL - this was the first Sunday of Star Wars Weekends. We waited twice at Epcot for over a half hour in the middle of the afternoon. And we all got to the bus stop around 8:45 on a Monday to go to Typhoon Lagoon, and the bus didn't arrive to get us until after 9:30!!! I really think that's unacceptable and we did complain about it to the bus drivers and to the front desk. One of the best benefits about staying on property is the transportation, and it just wasn't up to par here. The bus drivers basically said it's not their fault (which I know), and that they've had LOTS of complaints about the service at AKL.

OK, back to happy thoughts!! Here are a few more pics around the lodge I just scanned from a disposable camera (forgive the quality of these pics)!

Outside our room:

Had to include an elevator pic b/c my girls fought every time about who got to put the card in and push the button for the 6th floor:

Just came off the slide:

Looking back towards our room from the pool:

The flamingo pond that's to the rear of the pool:

Taken in front of the zero entry area:

Lounge review coming up next!

 

[kaylie&laurensmom]

Breakfast at the lounge - (served from 6:30 - 10:30)

The same items were served every day, basically a continental breakfast:

In the cooler - Yogurt, apple juice, milk, chocolate milk, low fat milk
In the drink dispensers - orange juice, mango juice, pineapple juice
Coffee area - coffee, expresso, cappuccino
Breads - bagels, muffins (blueberry, bran), pastries (apple, chocolate), croissants
Hot items - oatmeal (with toppings) & quinoa (nature's highest protein source)
Cold cereals in dispensers (fruit loops, frosted flakes)
Fruit - strawberries, blueberries, pineapple, watermelon, canteloupe, grapes, and whole fruits - apples/oranges/bananas
Assorted jellies, toppings, and spreads

Coffee station:

 

[nikkistevej]

Great pics, makes me wish I were "home"!!

 

[moredisneyplease]

thanks for all of the pictures and information! Much appreciated and now I can't wait until my March stay there!

 

[VLee]

Enjoying your post very much...do you have pictures of food other than breakfast. We have a concierge studio scheduled Dec 14-19 and again on May 24-30.

 

[kimberh]

Oh, you are making me want to go Back!!!! We were at the C lounge in May. I have another reservation May 09. I just can't wait. The lounge makes the trip another world. We never hang out at the hotel. I did last May. We did try to hit the lounge at different times of the day and night.
Your family is lovely!

 

[Resqlt]

We were there in May also. We loved, loved loved the lounge. There is nothing better than being able to get a cup of coffee at any given time and breakfast at the ready when you are heading out. We had the whole kitchen in our room and I didn't even make a frozen waffle. The kids actually liked coming back to the room because they could grab a cookie and a drink on the way. I know we will miss it on our next trip. I get spoiled very easily.

 

[dvcbnd]

Ooooh!! We can't wait to get there!!
We're staying there for 2 nts. in Aug. concierge level, so we're truly enjoying your photos and trip report. THANKS FOR SHARING!!