dianeschlicht reviews Kidani

[dianeschlicht]

Most of you know I own a few AKV points and have stayed mostly on Concierge level, but also other Jambo stays. We just spent Monday and Tuesday at Kidani Village. Here are some of my general impressions:
Long halls:
Yes the halls are annoyingly long. We were on the 1st bead nearest Jambo house, and it took me 6 minutes to walk to the Kidani lobby. By the same token, it only took me 6 minutes to walk to the Jambo lobby as well!

Savannah views:
That end of Sunset Savannah we were on was pretty void of animals. We saw an ostrich and a pair of roan antelope, but nothing more exotic than that made it down our way. It looks to me like you need to be near the lobby or on the 2 beads either side of the lobby to see the most animals. I didn't go look at Pembe savannah, so I can't say about that one.

Parking:
LOVED parking under the building! It allows you to be near your car via one of the elevators. It reminds me of parking at SSR only maybe slightly better, because you are closer to your vehicle. Not quite as convenient as OKW, but almost!

Studio Kidani VS Jambo. I've decided I like the Kidani studios better. The floor plan is better and the bathroom is MUCH better and not nearly as dark as the bathrooms at Jambo.

Decor:
I felt the Kidani decor was not nearly as nice as the Jambo decor, but it was much easier to live with! It wasn't nearly as dark in the bathroom, but the bedroom still seemed light challenged. I think the paint colors are better at Kidani.

Check in:
Kidani takes a big fail for me in this department. We did not get a welcome home packet. The guy handed me a "welcome letter", but nothing else. I was going to ask for one, and then I decided I couldn't understand him well enough so he likely wouldn't understand me either. I went down later and picked up a time schedule so we'd at least have the EMH times and days.

I've pretty much decided if I want to stay in an AKV studio, I'll stay in Kidani and request near the lobby. If I stay in a 1 bedroom, I'll likely stick to Jambo because I'll likely either be in concierge or will want to be more guaranteed of a good animal view.

 

[bobbiwoz]

How many bathroom sinks are in Kidani's studios? I know Jambo has 2 and I really like that.

We've only stayed in Kidani last May when all of the villas were close to the lobby. I go next week, and wonder what sort of walk we'll have! I did check out the walk in January, and I think it can be longer than the BWV's!

Bobbi

 

[Anjelica]

Thanks for posting the review. We haven't had the chance to stay in Kidani yet but will be there in May. I did put a room request in to be close to the lobby/pool.

 

[Inkmahm]

Thanks! We'll be checking in to Kidani tomorrow and I requested close to lobby and close to elevator (my mom is with me on this trip and she is in a wheelchair.) We have a 2 bedroom dedicated so I'm hoping we get a great room this trip. It isn't so bad when it is just me and DH, then I'm less picky about the view I get because we are there so often. This trip is my mom, sister, niece and other niece for her high school graduation gift. I always hope fo the best when we bring relatives. At least the weather looks like it will be great for the next week!

 

[disneyfan67]

I was wondering, can you tell me where the Grand villas are located at in Kidani? I'm staying there in December and have no clue on how far they are. I'm bringing both my parents who are 78 years old and I'm wondering how long the walk will be? I have been told the hallways at Kidani seem to go forever and I'm trying to get myself oriented to the place. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[twinklebug]

I'm surprised they didn't give you a welcome home packet. Sounds more like a slip up than intentional as we were just there 1 month ago and got one. Unless they're saving on paper/printing now.

The animals go where they're fed. I did notice the giraffe tend to sleep away from the feeding areas though. Maybe if you peeked out at, oh, 3am you might have seen a few using each other & the trees as pillows This is what happened to us when we stayed at Jambo.

I agree with you, the Studio layout in Kidani is far better than Jambo. In fact I'd argue it's better than any of the other studios I've stayed in (OKW, BWV, VWL) I missed the little simba tiles behind the kitchenette sink that Jambo has though.

After 3 stays at AKV (one in Jambo, two in Kidani) I've decided that I love Kidani*. I don't think I could go back to Jambo stays again due to noise and packed buses... of course I have yet to try concierge

* disclaimer: VWL is still #1 with me

 

[BEASLYBOO]

Thanks Diane for the review. We're staying there in Aug in a 1 Br and the underground parking will help with the heat. Always been lucky with Jambo savannah view, seems like it might be a little harder at Kidani. I'm glad to hear that the villas aren't as dark.

 

[dianeschlicht]

How many bathroom sinks are in Kidani's studios? I know Jambo has 2 and I really like that.

We've only stayed in Kidani last May when all of the villas were close to the lobby. I go next week, and wonder what sort of walk we'll have! I did check out the walk in January, and I think it can be longer than the BWV's!

Bobbi

Only one sink, but the counter top is as long as the ones in the master baths of a Jambo 1 or 2 bedroom. There is also a proper kitchen/bar type sink in the kitchenette area. I thought the bathroom was much more spacious than the studio bath at Jambo.

I was wondering, can you tell me where the Grand villas are located at in Kidani? I'm staying there in December and have no clue on how far they are. I'm bringing both my parents who are 78 years old and I'm wondering how long the walk will be? I have been told the hallways at Kidani seem to go forever and I'm trying to get myself oriented to the place. Any help would be appreciated.

I doubt there is any way to avoid a long walk to the GVs at Kidani. I think they are on the ends just like they are at Jambo.

 

[dianeschlicht]

The animals go where they're fed. I did notice the giraffe tend to sleep away from the feeding areas though. Maybe if you peeked out at, oh, 3am you might have seen a few using each other & the trees as pillows This is what happened to us when we stayed at Jambo.

I think if they get a few complaints about the location of the animals, that maybe they will change some of the feeding areas a bit to spread them out more. I know they have done that on a couple of the Jambo savannahs several times.

 

[DizGirl20]

Just curious - do you find one to be overall more "quiet" than the other? I have stayed in neither Jambo or Kidani but we plan to stay at AKV next year.

Thanks. We just bought into DVC and AKV is our home resort so I am trying to find out as much as I can about it.

 

[riu girl]

What is usually in a DVC "welcome packet"? As a renter will I also get one at check-in?

Thank you

 

[Tikihula]

Just curious - do you find one to be overall more "quiet" than the other? I have stayed in neither Jambo or Kidani but we plan to stay at AKV next year.

Thanks. We just bought into DVC and AKV is our home resort so I am trying to find out as much as I can about it.

Kidani is probably a little quieter, since the lobby is smaller and more intimate and doesn't have huge crowds of people traveling through it. Jambo has resort rooms that open out to balconies above the lobby which adds to the noise.

The hallways are indeed long at Kidani, but hopefully you can find a parking spot close to an elevator in your wing, which is very convenient.

 

[Inkmahm]

Most of you know I own a few AKV points and have stayed mostly on Concierge level, but also other Jambo stays. We just spent Monday and Tuesday at Kidani Village. Here are some of my general impressions:
Long halls:
Yes the halls are annoyingly long. We were on the 1st bead nearest Jambo house, and it took me 6 minutes to walk to the Kidani lobby. By the same token, it only took me 6 minutes to walk to the Jambo lobby as well!

Savannah views:
That end of Sunset Savannah we were on was pretty void of animals. We saw an ostrich and a pair of roan antelope, but nothing more exotic than that made it down our way. It looks to me like you need to be near the lobby or on the 2 beads either side of the lobby to see the most animals. I didn't go look at Pembe savannah, so I can't say about that one.

Parking:
LOVED parking under the building! It allows you to be near your car via one of the elevators. It reminds me of parking at SSR only maybe slightly better, because you are closer to your vehicle. Not quite as convenient as OKW, but almost!

Studio Kidani VS Jambo. I've decided I like the Kidani studios better. The floor plan is better and the bathroom is MUCH better and not nearly as dark as the bathrooms at Jambo.

Decor:
I felt the Kidani decor was not nearly as nice as the Jambo decor, but it was much easier to live with! It wasn't nearly as dark in the bathroom, but the bedroom still seemed light challenged. I think the paint colors are better at Kidani.

Check in:
Kidani takes a big fail for me in this department. We did not get a welcome home packet. The guy handed me a "welcome letter", but nothing else. I was going to ask for one, and then I decided I couldn't understand him well enough so he likely wouldn't understand me either. I went down later and picked up a time schedule so we'd at least have the EMH times and days.

I've pretty much decided if I want to stay in an AKV studio, I'll stay in Kidani and request near the lobby. If I stay in a 1 bedroom, I'll likely stick to Jambo because I'll likely either be in concierge or will want to be more guaranteed of a good animal view.

We just checked in today. Love the 2 bedroom dedicated villa. Got one on the 5th floor, close to the lobby and elevator. I didn't specify a floor in my room request but 5th floor is fine.

I did check in online and our packet was ready when we got here. Unfortunately, all the keys said they weren't good for room charges. I have an online confirmation email with the charge card info included but the CM insisted there was no credit card on file for me. We had to give him the card so he could then redo all 6 KTTW cards.

Next issue with checkin was that our room was not ready. They never did call us to tell us when it was ready. At 4:20, we went to the front desk and asked about it only to have the CM disappear to the back and come back to say the room was ready now. At check in, they gave us the room number. That was odd because usually we don't get a room number until the room is ready.

 

[uncw89]

How many bathroom sinks are in Kidani's studios? I know Jambo has 2 and I really like that.

We've only stayed in Kidani last May when all of the villas were close to the lobby. I go next week, and wonder what sort of walk we'll have! I did check out the walk in January, and I think it can be longer than the BWV's!

Bobbi

Thanks for the review Diane. I will be at Kidani in 9 days in a std studio. Parking lot view?? Hopefully, it won't be too bad. I can't wait. We've stayed at Jambo in a savannah view twice and loved it. It's too bad the studio's only have one sink.

Bobbi, Maybe we'll see each other there.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Just curious - do you find one to be overall more "quiet" than the other? I have stayed in neither Jambo or Kidani but we plan to stay at AKV next year.

Thanks. We just bought into DVC and AKV is our home resort so I am trying to find out as much as I can about it.

We heard nothing at Kidani, but then we were way down on one end, so not much around us, since I think the 1 bedroom portion of our lock off was empty. I did notice one time walking down the hall that we could hear someone running in the hall above.