Back from AKL 12/23/12/26 What a ROOM!

[adisneynut]

We had booked concierge for 3 nights and the Sunrise Safari for 5(3 adults and 2 10 year olds). Well I had asked the concierge for a room close by because my Mom is post hip replacement. Well when we arrived we were checked in within 10 minutes and on our way to our room on Kudu trail. Well we kept walking and walking and walking and finally we arrived at the end of the hall at room 4395. After Joe opened our door I noticed only 1 bedroom and a den with a sleeper sofa. Not enough room for 5 people. Then Joe politely informed me that there was another room at the end of the short hall way. Well we were in a 2 bedroom Suite With 2 1/2 bathrooms and a microwave and small fridge. There were 3 balconies and I just couldn't believe it. I called the front desk to make sure we were in the right room and she in turned doubled checked for us. We just couldn't believe it. We were quite a hike from the lobby but it was quite peaceful where we were. We saw zebras, widerbeasts, cattle, birds, giraffes, antelopes, and many others. I took lots of pictures of the aniamls and the room. I can't wait to get them back. The digital camera is broke now so we had to use our 35 mm Kodak. If you have question I would be happy to try and answer them. The service at the concierge was wonderful.

 

[lizzie64]

Adisneynut,

glad you had a great trip. We are booked for 5 nights at the tail end of our 9 night trip in May. We are doing the Poly for the first 4 nights.

We have 7 in our party so I had to book 2 rooms. Getting upgraded to a 2 bedroom suite was awesome.

 

[adisneynut]

lizzie- Who knows what may happen for you. Maybe you can get some pixie dust sent your way.

I hope you enjoy the resort as much as we did. It is a nice way be end a trip. Just the right spot to unwind. There is plenty to do if the kids want to.

 

[Do Re Mi]

We stayed at the AKL in June and there is always something going on for the children and adults. It's an educational experience staying there! Our room was on the Kudu
Trail too and we saw giraffe's every time we looked out the patio window. A feeding box was nearby so I felt as though I could touch them! Enjoy your stay.

 

[Misti]

What a wonderful story! I'm so happy to read about your incredible upgrade. Welcome home and thanks for sharing your report with us.

 

[adisneynut]

We were very happy with the resort and we will go back. Our visit at the Grand however wasn't that Grand. I realize that everyone can have an off day. We were next in line to check in but it took the CM over 45 minutes to complete the check-in and then she sent us to a room that would only sleep 4 after ckecking all five of our names listed on the reservation. Not very organized. Hank from bellservices was our knight to the rescue. The whole thing was rough on my Mom who was worn completely out and really needed to get off her feet. She is still not 100% after a hip replacement. I had mentioned that in the fax I sent to the hotel asking for a room close to the Main building for medical reasons.

 

[queenof4hearts]

We are staying for 2 nights at AKL Concierge. What is the concierge area like? Are there food and drinks out all the time? I am just curious since this is our first concierge exp. I think our kids are going to die of excitement to see the animals from the balcony. We have a 2,3, and 7 year old. I just called and requested bunkbeds. Thanks for sharing your exp.

 

[adisneynut]

The concierge area is nice and very well themed. They have a large TV with cartoon playing for the kids. They offer some type of refreshments all day.

Breakfast 7:30-10:30

Snacks- 11:00-2:30

Tea- 3:00-4:30

Wines and treats from Boma/Jiko-5:00-7:00

Desserts and Cordials 8:00-10:00

Most everyone agrees that they have to best service and offers.

Yes your kids will love seeing the animals. However they are only out in the Mornings and late afternoon and evening. They take them into the barns during mid-day so that they can check up on them and give ground crews to do whatever they have to do.

It was clean, warm and extremely friendly resort.

Have a gret trip. Also the pool is now our DD favorite.

 

[vbfamily]

Joe that you are talking about-is he part of the concierge staff?

Just wondering-A really nice CM named Joe that worked at Vero Beach told us last time we were there that he was transferring to AK Concierge. He was really nice and we hope to see him when we check in later this year.

Glad to hear you had a great room!!

I always read posts about requesting to be on the Zebra Trail-I haven't heard much about the trail you were on.

We would love to hear more about your trip if you think of anything.

 

[queenof4hearts]

Thank you for the reply, we can't wait!!

 

[adisneynut]

Joe was our bellman. He was from South Arifica. He was extremely patient while I called the front desk to double check on the room. He had all our check-in material with him. We checked in around 7:00 pm. We didn't even see the concerige lounge until the next morning when we met for our Sunrise Safari.

 

[lizzie64]

Were you worried about not getting a savannah view? This is really stressing me out. Even though I've spoken to AKL directly and told not to worry. I also need 2 non smoking rooms because of medical reasons. Was told that most of the pool view rooms were smoking? Do you know if that's true? It would kill me to get there and not have a savannah view.

 

[adisneynut]

Our suite was Sav. view. My Mom's balcony overlooked the main savanna. Our balconies overlooked the end portion of this savanna and the fence serperated our area from the Ostrich trail . So we had 2 savanna view. The giraffes were in the area with the Ostriches most of the times we saw them.

I don't think you will be disatisfird. Everyroom I saw was considered a non-smoking room.

 

[lizzie64]

Thanks for the info.

Did you hear of anyone in a pool view concierge room? So far I haven't heard of anyone saying they stayed pool view concierge.

 

[Mary Ellen]

There are 6 pool view concierge rooms (they are on the 6th floor which is key-access only). Since they are 'smoking optional' you shouldn't need to worry about getting one.

 

[lizzie64]

Thanks Mary Ellen,

Your the second person to say that there are only 6 pool view and that they are smoking optional.

I guess I feel better now.

 

[*Flower*]

adisneynut-

I thought I'd drop you a note to let you know what a pleasure it was to talk with your Mom.
We ran into her quite often in the Kilimanjaro Lounge, and she was always so cheerful and excited about seeing the animals on the Savannah from her balcony that we really enjoyed our time with her.
We were on your safari also, but I didn't tie your family together until you posted.
It's nice to know that you had such a good time at AKL!!

 

[adisneynut]

Mom did have a great time and she is so shy.
We were in and out the lounge the kids wanted to swim as much as possible so we weren't able to linger and visit.

 

[Fridye]

This is some of the info I gathered on concierge before we went at Thanksgiving. Hope it helps:

Morning (7-10:30am): pastries, muffins, bagels, dry cereal, oatmeal, butter, cream cheese, jellies and preserves, peanut butter, raisins, granola and brown sugar, milk, coffee and specialty coffees, teas and juices and fresh fruits throughout the day.

There is a WONDERFUL espresso/cappuccino/coffee machine - press a button and you immediately get the coffee drink of your choice in your cup. The lattes were perfectly made each time.

Afternoon (11:30-3pm): Peanut butter and jelly shells (small sandwiches in the shape of shells), nuts, chips and snacks

Tea (3-4:30pm): scones, cookies and a few small pastries.

Evening (5-7pm): Meatballs, skewered barbeque shrimp, chicken and beef, beef and veggie rolls, chicken nuggets and wings, pastry topped with ham and pineapple and another with beef and vegetables.

Each night features a different mix of items from the resort's restaurants Boma and Jiko. There were chicken nuggets every night, and during our stay we had pork tamarind, Durban chicken, salmon, steak satay, veggie rolls, tamarind chicken flatbread, veggie flatbread, cheeses, crackers, and three varieties of Cape Indaba wine: Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Chardonnay. The wines are sold downstairs in Mara for $24 a bottle, but they are also sold at local wine/liquor stores for $6.99 to $7.99 per bottle, which is where I buy mine.

Late evening (8-10pm): Cordials, candies, fruits, nuts and cookies. People start arriving before 8 in anticipation of an array of desserts and cordials. Some people put a shot of Kahlua or other liqueur into their mug and add a latte or coffee. The desserts vary each night, and generally include something chocolate.

The best thing was the African Smoothie. They had three large drink dispensers at all times. Orange juice, pineapple juice, mango juice, iced tea, and a few other things, they switched off periodically during the day. One of the choices was this African Smoothie. It was a juice that was a mixture of banana, papaya, and a couple other things. It was really, really good.

The concierge staff is very friendly, and encourages the guests to stay as late as they want on the day of their checkout - into the evening if they wish. The room would not be available, but people can enjoy the lounge.

Concierge staff provide bottled water and cans of soda at no charge, which is particularly nice when headed to the parks on a warm day. Each night housekeeping provides turndown service, leaving chocolate mints and a card with an African proverb.

As far as the concierge rooms are concerned:

There are concierge rooms on the sixth floor (where the concierge lounge is) and fifth floor. The sixth floor rooms do not have as good of views as the fifth floor because of a thatched roof.