LvsTnk
Home is AKV&BLT
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- Apr 22, 2000
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Not sure if that is the appropriate thread title, but I have been contemplating my trip report since my return Sat.
I think the most valuable information I have been able to get from this board is the posting of first hand experiences of resort stays and like to hear both the negative and positive.
We planned this trip on short notice(I have a son with special needs and I needed to make sure things would be all set for him) for our 20th Anniversary and only had a couple of requests for a 2 day trip, king sized bed, savannah view, a dinner at Portobello, and the Sunset Safari. The Sunset Safari was the reason we were excited about staying at AKL (DH hadn't stayed there before and I really wanted him to like it) and our big plan for the day of our anniversary. I had made the initial requests and DH called a few days later to make sure things were a go with the SunsetS. a CM assured us we were all confirmed.
We arrived at the AKL about 11pm and of course needed to check in at the front desk. CM was not very pleasant, she had to go out front and get our keys (I had told concierge I would be arriving late) then gave us our info but no packet from concierge I thought maybe they changed the way they do things. No big deal we would get it in the morning and all the CM's seemed a little stressed (one party was trying to switch resorts to no avail) so off to our room. Room was great except for not getting the kingbed I knew these were in short supply so it didn't surprise me. Concierge left a cute gift for our anniversary and turndown was done already
. Concierge did leave 2 messages saying we needed to come to the concierge desk and make payement on our room. I guess they did not make the notation that we were checking in late after all.
The next morning I send DH to the desk to pick up our packet as per the CM that left a message on the machine. He is gone for a while and when he comes back tells me that the SunsetS. does not start until Nov. my heart sank. I should say here that the planner in me almost lost it, especially when I thought about all the options I would have had to plan something terrific had I known that it was postponed. So, what are we gonna do it is the day of our Anniversary and we have NO plans first trip without the kids and we could have gone to V&A was all I could think of had we brought the "proper attire".
I got to looking at our itinerary and it says our time at Jiko with the sunset safari "starting in Nov." what do I care if it starts in Nov.
and the Portobello is booked for our arrival day at 8pm when we wouldn't even be there.
The CM's new they dropped the ball on this one. They actually had quoted my DH saying we needed to make sure the Sunrise Safari and PS's were O.K. in the notes on our reservation so they got to working on a solution quickly. I already had a boohoo and was determined not to let it get me down (Thank's DISer's for reminding us all of that in these situations!) We had decided since we were leaving early on Sat.(5am) that we do Jiko the following night and leave lot's of time for the food and wine festival( the Chefs from Boma even had a cooking demonstration in the lounge!) and to check out if some of the clubs on PI that we wanted to take the kids to would be appropriate for them.
Before we left for the day a CM got back to us from concierge and made everything A.O.K.!! Yea AKL Concierge CM's!!
Oh!, and even with the mishap my DH definately "got" my love for AKL and hopefully we will stay there again
So, after that LONG explanation should we have contacted concierge yet one more time of course the planner in me says YES!! It probably still would have been too late to get V&A or a Breathless Cruise but I would have felt more in control of the situation. I also think if you don't stay at the same resort all the time use the phone and try to talk to one planner if you can, let them get to know you. We usually stay at the BWI and talk to the same people and I definately think this makes a difference.
Happy Planning and I hope you all have great trips!!
**Remember this is just my experience no flames please.**
I think the most valuable information I have been able to get from this board is the posting of first hand experiences of resort stays and like to hear both the negative and positive.
We planned this trip on short notice(I have a son with special needs and I needed to make sure things would be all set for him) for our 20th Anniversary and only had a couple of requests for a 2 day trip, king sized bed, savannah view, a dinner at Portobello, and the Sunset Safari. The Sunset Safari was the reason we were excited about staying at AKL (DH hadn't stayed there before and I really wanted him to like it) and our big plan for the day of our anniversary. I had made the initial requests and DH called a few days later to make sure things were a go with the SunsetS. a CM assured us we were all confirmed.
We arrived at the AKL about 11pm and of course needed to check in at the front desk. CM was not very pleasant, she had to go out front and get our keys (I had told concierge I would be arriving late) then gave us our info but no packet from concierge I thought maybe they changed the way they do things. No big deal we would get it in the morning and all the CM's seemed a little stressed (one party was trying to switch resorts to no avail) so off to our room. Room was great except for not getting the kingbed I knew these were in short supply so it didn't surprise me. Concierge left a cute gift for our anniversary and turndown was done already
. Concierge did leave 2 messages saying we needed to come to the concierge desk and make payement on our room. I guess they did not make the notation that we were checking in late after all.The next morning I send DH to the desk to pick up our packet as per the CM that left a message on the machine. He is gone for a while and when he comes back tells me that the SunsetS. does not start until Nov. my heart sank. I should say here that the planner in me almost lost it, especially when I thought about all the options I would have had to plan something terrific had I known that it was postponed. So, what are we gonna do it is the day of our Anniversary and we have NO plans first trip without the kids and we could have gone to V&A was all I could think of had we brought the "proper attire".
I got to looking at our itinerary and it says our time at Jiko with the sunset safari "starting in Nov." what do I care if it starts in Nov.
and the Portobello is booked for our arrival day at 8pm when we wouldn't even be there. The CM's new they dropped the ball on this one. They actually had quoted my DH saying we needed to make sure the Sunrise Safari and PS's were O.K. in the notes on our reservation so they got to working on a solution quickly. I already had a boohoo and was determined not to let it get me down (Thank's DISer's for reminding us all of that in these situations!) We had decided since we were leaving early on Sat.(5am) that we do Jiko the following night and leave lot's of time for the food and wine festival( the Chefs from Boma even had a cooking demonstration in the lounge!) and to check out if some of the clubs on PI that we wanted to take the kids to would be appropriate for them.
Before we left for the day a CM got back to us from concierge and made everything A.O.K.!! Yea AKL Concierge CM's!!
Oh!, and even with the mishap my DH definately "got" my love for AKL and hopefully we will stay there again
So, after that LONG explanation should we have contacted concierge yet one more time of course the planner in me says YES!! It probably still would have been too late to get V&A or a Breathless Cruise but I would have felt more in control of the situation. I also think if you don't stay at the same resort all the time use the phone and try to talk to one planner if you can, let them get to know you. We usually stay at the BWI and talk to the same people and I definately think this makes a difference.
Happy Planning and I hope you all have great trips!!
**Remember this is just my experience no flames please.**
I missed that last call because I thought it was a little excessive but not on this next trip
