Checking Off AKL

[Dancind]

My family has a list of resorts we'd like to try when not staying at our DVC digs, and we have now checked AKL off of it. We won't be going back there, at least not for the Savannah view rate. We had requested a room with the inside view of the horseshoe, but when we checked in we were told that we had been upgraded to a 5th floor deluxe savannah room. No, we said, we want to see the animals, not the tops of the trees. So we were given a 3rd floor room with a view of the "people pen" and were assured we would see lots of animals. Well that evening, we did see 4 giraffes. The next morning, we looked for hours because our DD was exhaused from the cruise and slept late, and all we saw were a few birds. That evening, zip. The next morning, check out day, no animals at all because they were servicing the pond. You guessed it, all the animals were inside the horseshoe. I know that about half the "savannah view" rooms are not looking inside, but IMHO, the should not be savannah view rooms, and should not have the higher rate. With a 50/50 chance of actually having a decent view, we would not do this again. Other than that, the lodge was nice, and we spent checkout day mostly at the pool, which was pleasant. Diana

 

[DigitalDizzney]

ughhh now you got me paranoid that AKL is going to suck I still havent recieved any confirmation of what room number we have so I still dont have any idea where in the hotel we are....all I know is that we have a sav view room...

 

[Mary Ellen]

Sorry you got stuck with one of the 'people pen' rooms.

We stayed at AKL last Dec (and will again this Nov) before moving to BWV. We had a 5th floor deluxe/concierge room. By being up high we could see many, many animals all over the savannah. When we went to the 2nd floor 'public' viewing areas, we were closer to the animals right there, but we were able to see very few animals. Down lower we felt we were looking through the foliage rather than over it.

In retrospect, you probably would have been happier in the 5th floor room.

 

[pooh6890]

Wow! 5th Floor Savannah Deluxe Room? I would have taken that in a second. Sorry you had such a bad time....We love AKL and plan on going back hopefully in January.

 

[Dancind]

You guys are right, we should have taken it. Oh well, live and learn. Diana

 

[mrsltg]

DigitalDIzzney- so far as I know, you won't receive a room number until you check-in. It's pretty much "luck of the draw". I wouldn't worry too much about it, either. If you are unhappy with your room, you can request another. Go with the idea that everything will turn out fine.


Have a great vacation!
Erin

 

[tampafan]

We are trying this out in December. I hope we have a better Savannah View experience than you did.

 

[jdkdorn]

We were put in a people pen room and a lovely view of barbed wire fencing. They originally had us in Kudo trail, after requesting Arusha savannah, Zebra trail.

When we got to the room I refused to stay there. I called the front desk and the CM was rude. She then put me on hold and a manager took over, she applogized for the first CM's rudeness and told us she would move us the next morning to a very nice room.

The next day we returned to the hotel to find that we had been upgraded to deluxe savannah and were right in the middle of the Arusha trail. Great room.

You should have called the desk and asked for a transfer, it worked for us

 

[WDW2002]

These "people pen" rooms really should be classified as "Standard" view not "Savannah." If you pay the extra for the view you sould get the view you are paying for.

 

[Maleficent2]

And no way would I have turned down 5th floor delux room.

We just returned and had room 2594 on the second floor.Although the walk to this room was long we loved the room.
But if we had been given a people pen room I would have been sitting on the front desk demanding a room change.

The people pen on our side of AKL hardly ever had animials in or around it and if they were there they were hardly close enough to be classed as a "Savannah View Room" in my op. At the least they should be less expensive than savannah view rooms.

Sorry your room was a disappointment.



Mal

 

[Mich Mouse]

Can someone enlighten me? What is the people pen? We will be visiting AK and I'd like to know in advance what rooms are the best. What exactly should I request??
Thanks in advance for any information!!!

 

[Turtlegirl]

Mich Mouse, We are going to AKL in two weeks, and while we haven't been there before, the information I have gotten from the wonderful, helpful people on the boards has lead me to believe that inside the kraal or "horseshoe" is best, so you would want
an Arusha Savannah view. Kudu trail is further away and Zebra trail is closer to the pool.
Opinions vary regarding whether you want to be up high (long distance view) or low (up close and personal), but higher has the deluxe and concierge rooms (which you pay more for). Third floor is the lobby floor, so foot traffic is probably heavy on this floor.
The people pens are enclosed metal fences where people have to go into in the event that the hotel is evacuated. I agree that People Pen view rooms (no matter where they are) sound like they should be standard view rooms.
I think that this is one hotel where people (including myself) really twitch about the view and location of their room. If we don't watch out, we're all going to be requesting
the exact same rooms all the time!

 

[Turtlegirl]

Here's a map of AKLwww.wdwig.com/aklmap3.jpg

 

[DigitalDizzney]

*crosses fingers* please upgrade us to 5th floor deluxe sav view... please upgrade us to 5th floor deluxe sav view...please upgrade us to 5th floor deluxe sav view...

 

[Fantasia Sam]

Oooo I'm going to cross my fingers too - these sound like good rooms. I have already booked Savannah View and it's good to know what to ask for in special requests.

 

[Gillian]

It might be hard to reclassify all the rooms that have views of the pens. They are on 2 of the 3 savannahs & at least on the uzima side, you can see them from many of the rooms. It doesn't mean you can't see animals though.

The only rooms that would really be bad, IMO, are those on the 2nd floor right near the pens.

 

[YangYang]

Have they always had these "people pens"? I stayed at AKL in July and don't remember these. We stayed at the end of Zebra Trail on the 2nd floor. I think our room number was 2592. The CM, who was very nice, was almost apologetic about the room - it was a long way away and the view was of the barns. We didn't complain because we were getting an upgrade - any view was wonderful! We loved the room. Because we were at the barns we were guaranteed to see the animals as they were called to the barns every day. I was so entranced by the animals that I didn't want to go to the parks! I'm going back in Nov. and taking my nephews. If we get an ugrade, it would be great but I am prepared for a view of the parking lot.