Okay, so we are headed to our last full day at Jambo for this trip. The following is a rundown of what we have found as Pros, Cons, magic, and annoyances.
PROS:
*Magnificent views...
*Magnificent savannas and animals.
*Magnificent embiance
*Beautiful decor and theme.
*The beds here are MUCH better than the Fred Flinstone rocks we sleep on at OKW.
*The resort is very quiet with only the hall causing a slight bit of noise. Well except for the appliances that I'll address below.
*Animal care is unbelievable! The animal caretakers are monitoring the animals day and night with their little trucks and the hotel mounted cameras. We saw them out on the savannas cleaning up the eating areas and scooping poop frequently. As an animal caretaker myself (we have a kennel), I was quite impressed.
*Loved the location of the laundry in the unit. It is very convenient between the bedroom and the bathroom.
*Plenty of storage space even with the small closet. There are plenty of drawers in the master, and the large closet in the kitchen is very nice for storing coats and luggage.
* Nice to have a desk in the master.
*The kitchenette in the 2nd bedroom is nicer than at OKW and about on par with SSR.
*Bus service is VERY good here!
CONS:
*HATE the kitchen! It's definitely a one butt kitchen and the layout of the items in it is crazy and very inconvenient. If you make coffee and want a cup to put it in, you'll find it on the other end of the kitchen by the sink. If you want a drink of water at the sink and need a glass, you find it on the other end of the kitchen by the coffee maker!
There are very few utensils here, and you will NOT find a pancake spatula or anything to mix up the batter with. We asked for a spatula, and they brought us another skimmer (which I can't say would be of any help at all). It's dish shaped and has holes in it for skimming fat off of soups etc., but is absolutely useless for turning pancakes! This kitchen was enough of an annoyance, that I decided I wouldn't want to stay anywhere but CL level again here. I'm hoping Kidani will be different. Perhaps it's a plot to get us to eat out ALL the time.
*The long hallways. I vowed this would NOT ruin a trip for me, but it was a major annoyance. We are on Zebra trail out to the beginning of the last pod of rooms. I always feel like we are walking half way back to the park when we come "home". It did help a bit that there were animals to look at along the way and nice decor, but DH was so annoyed by it that his harping on it became a problem for me.
*Noisy appliances. I'm not sure if they purchased the cheapest thiing around or what, but the dishwasher is so loud it sounds like a B52 is landing in your room when it's on! The same goes for the washer in the laundry area. Perhaps I am spoiled by my Bosch at home that makes absolutely no noise at all, but this was really bad.
*HOUSEKEEPING! Okay, so we hear all the time about how bad housekeeping is at OKW on this board. We've only had housekeeping issues once at OKW, but I'm starting to look more at the detail here, and as DVC members, we are not getting our money's worth in this department. It used to be that Disney in general and DVC in specific had marvelous housekeeping standards. Now I feel they are on about the par of a Motel 6 or Holiday Inn. It's a "hit the high spots" kind of cleaning at best and a total avoidance of anything I would call even routine cleaning at worst. I'vd decided there is no need to worry about tipping for this kind of housekeeping. Perhaps the dark decor here makes it more noticeable, but the grime on the top edges of things kind of got to me this time. The dark walls in the toilet room were so covered in dust, they appeared to have a haze on them. Here again, it's probably a product of the dark paint color. I know the wall knicks would be less noticeable with lighter colors too, and that adds to the overall look of things. Our kitchen cupboards here had all the finish worn off the top of the doors under the sink.
*Large Jacuzzi with the shower in it. This will be gone at Kidani, but it's a major problem here. Just getting in this shower is difficult for us, and I was always afraid of having a fall when getting out. We also hated how the water pools on the granite next to the wall ...great place for mold.
*Lack of light...especially in the bathroom. It's very difficult to put on makeup in this bathroom. There just isn't enough light, and with the high counters, I can't get close enough to the mirror, so I have to go to the long mirror over on the end wall. That means there is nowhere convenient to place the makeup, so I'm constantly going back and forth (just like the kitchen). This whole place is in serious need of an efficiency expert to help them figure out where things should go!
*The sinks are placed too far in from the front edge of the counter. It makes washing your face or anything else difficult and messy, because you can't get close enough to the sink.
*TVs. Okay, it's nice to have the flat panel TVs, but these are not the best. The remotes are temperamental and will need to have the mode reset nearly every time you turn it on. The channel selectors wont let you put ini both numbers, so they pick up only on digit of 2 digit channels. All three TVs in the unit were the same way, so it wasn't an issue with just one set.
*Not enough waste baskets. There is no waste basket in the bedroom. You have to go to the bathroom to find one, and the only one in the living area is under the sink. Oh, and the recycle is in the living room....I put it under the island to get it out of the way. Who wants the recycles sitting out in the middle of the living room???
*Lack of understanding DVC. I get the impression here that DVC is barely tolerated much less understood. I kind of think the resort doesn't really want us here, and they are less than helpful.
I know I'll be back here at least every 3rd year. I really wanted to love this place, and the things that are good, I do love, but the negatives are pretty high for me right now. I just wish I could take the savanna and move it over to OKW!
Enjoy your stay!!
