Concierge/Club Level Information - Part II (Sept 2009)

[redrocks]

I read somewhere that AKL CL rooms have microwaves, but I don't see them in any of the pictures. Does anyone know if this is true? TIA!

 

[RachelTori]

I read somewhere that AKL CL rooms have microwaves, but I don't see them in any of the pictures. Does anyone know if this is true? TIA!

No, the resort rooms don't have microwaves; the Villas do, but that's AKV-CL (which is a small number of rooms on the 6th only). AKL-CL rooms are the same as the non-CL rooms. Ask the AKL-IPO if you can request a microwave for your room. (some resorts offer that on a first-come basis.)

 

[redrocks]

I'll do that. Thanks!

 

[mmmears]

Hi just upgraded out of the blue to CL at BC,have no idea at all what to expect.
Can anyone here give us some info please?
Thanks

We were there in July and it was wonderful. The staff was friendly and helpful. The food in the lounge was very nice, and I've heard that they have doubled the size of the lounge since I was there. What exactly are you interested in hearing about?

I read somewhere that AKL CL rooms have microwaves, but I don't see them in any of the pictures. Does anyone know if this is true? TIA!

We haven't had a microwave in our rooms the two times we stayed CL. Must be AKV rooms, not AKL rooms.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

No, the resort rooms don't have microwaves; the Villas do, but that's AKV-CL (which is a small number of rooms on the 6th only). AKL-CL rooms are the same as the non-CL rooms. Ask the AKL-IPO if you can request a microwave for your room. (some resorts offer that on a first-come basis.)

Don't forget even if they request a microwave and are not able to get it, they can still use the one located at Mara.

 

[RachelTori]

Don't forget even if they request a microwave and are not able to get it, they can still use the one located at Mara.

Yes!! Great advice - thanks for adding that!

 

[smahoney6]

My hubby and i are going for our 15th anniversary on the 16th and leave on the 19th standard concierge level at the contemporary...is there certain rooms that have a better view or are just better that I could request???

 

[kaffinito]

Any info as to what kind of coffee machine is at the Innkeepers Club please?

TIA!

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Yes!! Great advice - thanks for adding that!

You're welcome.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

My family and I will be in the Atrium Club lounge enjoying the hot hors d'ouvres and I can not wait.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

My hubby and i are going for our 15th anniversary on the 16th and leave on the 19th standard concierge level at the contemporary...is there certain rooms that have a better view or are just better that I could request???

I personally think all the Bay Lake Views look the same, so it doesn't matter which room you would get.

 

[Tinkaroo]

Quick question that I need answered ASAP (so thanks in advance!)...

Does anyone have any experience either requesting for the room, and/or using the concierge lounge's (if there is one), microwave at AKL?

I just booked a room only reservation for there that is 5 days away, but need to know if a microwave will be accessible (need it for sanitizing purposes).

Thanks for anyone that can give me a quick response! I believe from the first posts of this thread that IPO wouldn't be available to answer my call in time to cancel tonight if needed.

ETA: I just saw that someone else asked a similar question a page ago! So, never mind. I do appreciate the info. that there is a microwave available at Mara - I couldn't recall if there was one there or not.!

 

[nathanyell]

We are staying CL at WL in January.

Anyone have any idea what Cordials they are serving?

I want to come up with a little drink list that could be made with them....

TIA

Brian

 

[mommykds]

Doea anyone have pictures of the expanded CL at the Beach Club? Or has anyone been to the lounge recently? I was just wondering how much bigger it is now & if new seating was added. TY!

 

[kaffinito]

My family and I will be in the Atrium Club lounge enjoying the hot hors d'ouvres and I can not wait.

Your trip is coming up soon, eh? Hope you have a wonderful time!

 

[mmmears]

Doea anyone have pictures of the expanded CL at the Beach Club? Or has anyone been to the lounge recently? I was just wondering how much bigger it is now & if new seating was added. TY!

I was wondering the same thing. We were there just before they closed the lounge. I heard it was going to be doubled in size, but haven't been able to find any photos of it?

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Our stay at AKV Jambo is over - overall, we had a good time.

Our villa was 6202 - I'm pretty sure this room is handicapped accessible, so it didn't have a tub (which disappointed me). Also, it had the partial view of Sunset Savanna. Not the best view, but we weren't staying there for the view, so it's ok.

I liked what the lounge had to offer, even though I'm sure offerings have declined recently:

-For breakfast, there was a selection of bagels, pastries, fruit, and hot/cold cereals. Also, there was mango, orange, and another type of juice. The selection was good, probably as good as GF's breakfast offerings (although I think GF is the only one that has cold cuts, like ham or turkey, in the morning).

-The afternoon snacks were also great. We couldn't stop munching on the kettle chips and yogurt covered pretzels. I liked the African Smoothie drink, but it's a bit too sweet and acidic, so I usually diluted it with water. Afternoon tea is better at Grand Floridian, because the scones are kept warm and there's sometimes trifle, but most concierge lounges don't even have scones, so this is a plus.

-The evening offerings were mixed. I liked how the hot items had a lot of flavor, such as chicken bastilla, lamb fig tarts, and seafood corn tarts. Also, the wine and cheese selection was good, and it was nice to have some interesting dips. However, most of the vegetables and hot items were heavily spiced - we enjoy spicy food and unique flavors, but some items were too spiced and practically inedible. We didn't see the dessert/cordial offerings because we were always out at night.

We ended up not doing the Sunrise Safari - we go to South Africa almost every year to see family that still lives there, so we visit game reserves quite frequently. As such, we didn't want to wake up super early just to do something that wouldn't live up to past experiences. But we still enjoyed being so close to the lounge, and I understand why people like AKV concierge.

Issues:

-The villa was much smaller than BLT's 1-bedroom villa (I understand Kidani's accomodations are more spacious), and while we loved the decor, it was incredibly dark. The thatched roof extended over most of our balcony, and it blocked out a lot of natural light, making the problem even worse. There was also the fact that we didn't have a tub.

-The lounge was always crowded and noisy. Our villa was right next to the lounge, so it was easy to get back to our room, but the lounge was less relaxing than the lounges at GF, CR, or even Poly. Also, the concierge desk was always busy, yet there were many times when only one person was at the desk.

-AKV is a lovely resort. The lobby is beautiful, and the Christmas decorations added a nice touch. However, I found myself constantly missing the Magic Kingdom resort area. There's something about being on the Seven Seas Lagoon, seeing the castle across the water, and hopping on a monorail/boat that is really special to me. It's not AKV's fault, just a significant personal preference.

Other

-Got to ride the "new" Space Mountain. Didn't like it. Disneyland's is far superior, and WDW's still lags behind in every way besides the queue/post-show (and IMO, it's the ride itself that actually matters).

-While in the single rider line for Expedition Everest, I saw three boys cut the entire line and get away with it. You know how when you request the front row, you're asked to wait on the side in a different line? The line for the front row is parallel to the single rider line, and these three boys literally jumped the singles line and acted like they were waiting for the front. The cast member didn't notice, and he sent them to the front of the next train. The worst thing is that the boys' father encouraged them to do it. It was one of the ugliest things I've ever seen people do at WDW.

-I saw the ordinary Wishes show on Saturday, and there were noticeable cutbacks. Some of the biggest fireworks were totally missing from the show, such as during the part right before the finale ("Like a bolt out of the blue, fate steps in and sees you through, when you wish upon a star your dreams come true"). This part literally had no fireworks accompanying it, whereas it usually has some of the most impressive fireworks.

-Christmas decorations are nice. I like the Mickey-shaped wreath on the northern Contemporary wall, it probably looks really cool from BLT. Epcot looked strange without the Lights of Winter.

So that's it. AKV was nice, and seeing the holiday decorations was fun. But a few things felt off during the trip. It's sad that cutbacks have become so noticeable across Disney. It's hard to watch the menus and merchandise becoming homogenized, holiday traditions going away, fireworks shows shrinking, and concierge selections decreasing. Then there's the lame attempts at refurbishments, like Space Mountain. We don't have any future plans to return to WDW right now, and maybe we won't for a while. But hopefully next time, some aspects of these cutbacks will begin turning around (and I hope to stay at my favorite resort, GF, again!)

 

[RachelTori]

We are staying CL at WL in January.

Anyone have any idea what Cordials they are serving?

I want to come up with a little drink list that could be made with them....

TIA

Brian

This is what's available at AKL-CL and I believe the lounges usually have the same (or similar) cordials.

[/QUOTE]

Doea anyone have pictures of the expanded CL at the Beach Club? Or has anyone been to the lounge recently? I was just wondering how much bigger it is now & if new seating was added. TY!

We definitely need some lounge pictures of BC & YC. Anyone?

Our stay at AKV Jambo is over - overall, we had a good time.

Our villa was 6202 - I'm pretty sure this room is handicapped accessible, so it didn't have a tub (which disappointed me). Also, it had the partial view of Sunset Savanna. Not the best view, but we weren't staying there for the view, so it's ok.

I liked what the lounge had to offer, even though I'm sure offerings have declined recently:

-For breakfast, there was a selection of bagels, pastries, fruit, and hot/cold cereals. Also, there was mango, orange, and another type of juice. The selection was good, probably as good as GF's breakfast offerings (although I think GF is the only one that has cold cuts, like ham or turkey, in the morning).

-The afternoon snacks were also great. We couldn't stop munching on the kettle chips and yogurt covered pretzels. I liked the African Smoothie drink, but it's a bit too sweet and acidic, so I usually diluted it with water. Afternoon tea is better at Grand Floridian, because the scones are kept warm and there's sometimes trifle, but most concierge lounges don't even have scones, so this is a plus.

-The evening offerings were mixed. I liked how the hot items had a lot of flavor, such as chicken bastilla, lamb fig tarts, and seafood corn tarts. Also, the wine and cheese selection was good, and it was nice to have some interesting dips. However, most of the vegetables and hot items were heavily spiced - we enjoy spicy food and unique flavors, but some items were too spiced and practically inedible. We didn't see the dessert/cordial offerings because we were always out at night.

We ended up not doing the Sunrise Safari - we go to South Africa almost every year to see family that still lives there, so we visit game reserves quite frequently. As such, we didn't want to wake up super early just to do something that wouldn't live up to past experiences. But we still enjoyed being so close to the lounge, and I understand why people like AKV concierge.

Issues:

-The villa was much smaller than BLT's 1-bedroom villa (I understand Kidani's accomodations are more spacious), and while we loved the decor, it was incredibly dark. The thatched roof extended over most of our balcony, and it blocked out a lot of natural light, making the problem even worse. There was also the fact that we didn't have a tub.

-The lounge was always crowded and noisy. Our villa was right next to the lounge, so it was easy to get back to our room, but the lounge was less relaxing than the lounges at GF, CR, or even Poly. Also, the concierge desk was always busy, yet there were many times when only one person was at the desk.

-AKV is a lovely resort. The lobby is beautiful, and the Christmas decorations added a nice touch. However, I found myself constantly missing the Magic Kingdom resort area. There's something about being on the Seven Seas Lagoon, seeing the castle across the water, and hopping on a monorail/boat that is really special to me. It's not AKV's fault, just a significant personal preference.

Other

-Got to ride the "new" Space Mountain. Didn't like it. Disneyland's is far superior, and WDW's still lags behind in every way besides the queue/post-show (and IMO, it's the ride itself that actually matters).

-While in the single rider line for Expedition Everest, I saw three boys cut the entire line and get away with it. You know how when you request the front row, you're asked to wait on the side in a different line? The line for the front row is parallel to the single rider line, and these three boys literally jumped the singles line and acted like they were waiting for the front. The cast member didn't notice, and he sent them to the front of the next train. The worst thing is that the boys' father encouraged them to do it. It was one of the ugliest things I've ever seen people do at WDW.

-I saw the ordinary Wishes show on Saturday, and there were noticeable cutbacks. Some of the biggest fireworks were totally missing from the show, such as during the part right before the finale ("Like a bolt out of the blue, fate steps in and sees you through, when you wish upon a star your dreams come true"). This part literally had no fireworks accompanying it, whereas it usually has some of the most impressive fireworks.

-Christmas decorations are nice. I like the Mickey-shaped reef on the northern Contemporary wall, it probably looks really cool from BLT. Epcot looked strange without the Lights of Winter.

So that's it. AKV was nice, and seeing the holiday decorations was fun. But a few things felt off during the trip. It's sad that cutbacks have become so noticeable across Disney. It's hard to watch the menus and merchandise becoming homogenized, holiday traditions going away, fireworks shows shrinking, and concierge selections decreasing. Then there's the lame attempts at refurbishments, like Space Mountain. We don't have any future plans to return to WDW right now, and maybe we won't for a while. But hopefully next time, some aspects of these cutbacks will begin turning around (and I hope to stay at my favorite resort, GF, again!)

Thanks for your honest review. I love Jambo House, but the Villas are definitely smaller & darker than Kidani. And while I enjoy the Club Level lounge, I do often find it very noisy.

I've got to agree with you on Space Mountain. I rode it in November and was WAY disappointed. I had hoped they were going to make it like Disneyland's.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Your trip is coming up soon, eh? Hope you have a wonderful time!

We leave this Saturday and thank you.

 

[Leafsgirl36]

We leave this Saturday and thank you.

Have a great trip...can't wait to hear all about it as our trip is less then 2 months away!!!