Jambo or Kidani grand villa

[rugman1969]

I need help!
I would like to stay at a 3 bedroom grand villa at AKV, but I understand their is a 1 story at the Jambo house with a pool table, and 2 story grand villas at Kidani Village. Does anyone know which of the 2 are the better one to stay at, the 1 story or 2 story? Is there a difference? I know the 1 story is bigger than the 2 story, but is the layout better? Is it better to be at Jambo than Kidani? I need help so I can book. Thanks

 

[DisneyShari]

I have the same question regarding value rooms. Which section is the best?
~Shari

 

[dgaston]

I can only speak to the Value question. The value AKL DVC rooms were converted from smaller standard hotel rooms on the 5th floor of Jambo. They are on the Giraffe and Ostrich trails and can be a view of parking lot, pool, or savanna. They are 3 feet shorter than the standard or savanna rooms at Jambo. The balcony is also more narrow. There is no room for a sleeper chair in the 1 or 2 br, so they sleep only 4 and 8 respectively. You cannot request a view for the value rooms.

There are no value rooms at Kidani, although you can use the amenities of both resorts.

 

[KKKKCS]

We have never stayed in Jambo house but we had a Grand Villa in Kidani in December of 2009. !3 people (7 adults, 3 teenagers, 2 kids, and 1 infant) and no one felt the least bit crowded. It was fantastic! Loads of room, great views of the savanna, lots of animals, and a great pool area. Could not have asked for more.

 

[dwelty]

We have stayed in a Grand Villa at Jambo. It was very spacious. The Master Bedroom had an amazing bathroom with a tub in the middle of the room facing a flat panel TV. I Would recommend the GV at Jambo over Kidani. But if Kidani is all that's avaliable, they are pretty darn nice as well.

 

[drusba]

Grand Villas at either are very nice. However, nothing beats the Jambo single story GVs which I consider the best on site. With its large living room, pool table, and large balconies, it cannot be beat.

 

[rugman1969]

Grand Villas at either are very nice. However, nothing beats the Jambo single story GVs which I consider the best on site. With its large living room, pool table, and large balconies, it cannot be beat.

thank you

 

[Malaguti Ball Clan]

Add another to the JAMBO GV, we loved, the balconies are fantastic. Have a great trip.

 

[valkate]

I just book the Grand Villa at Jambo for a family trip in October a couple of weeks ago. I was thrilled to get the reservation at 7 months. We are all very excited.

 

[Lancer]

Like others, I can not attest to the Kidani GV, however we stayed at the Jambo GV and it was absolutely over the top fantastic. I felt like we were in a house with all the space (3 adults,2 kids), ammenities and decor. Ours faced Kidani while it was still under construction. It was a nice break from the usual room trip. The only negative I can even think of, was that it gets to be a long walk from the lobby if you do it more than a couple times a day.

 

[paminpa]

Haven't stayed in Kidani Gv- but Jambo was great! Our group included 4 "20 somethings" who loved the billard table. There is also a 4th full bathroom in the villa which was helpful. the only "downside" was the rather long walk down to the end of the hallway where the GVs are located

 

[rugman1969]

Any recommendations on which GV at Jambo to stay at? I have read about the smell where they keep the animals, etc, and would like to find the best GV to stay in

 

[Malaguti Ball Clan]

We stayed in 5394 which is fairly close to an animal holding area, but never had ANY odor, not that I noticed anyway although after long days in the parks the animals seemed to run away from me when I was out on the balcony

 

[magicaldisney]

So interesting that I found this thread. We just got home last night from our Kidani (one bedroom) trip. Our next trip we will be getting a GV at AKL and have been deciding between Kidani and Jambo. We took a lot of time this last week walking both resorts to see what we liked better and here's what we came up with.

Without a doubt, we feel that Kidani offers better viewing of the animals from your room/balcony. We kept watching if the animals were close to the Jambo grand villas (the ones we could see from our room) and it was very seldom. Outside of the Kidani rooms, animals were abundant. We went over to Jambo many many times to see where the animals were roaming and there just weren't many to be found. The pool we also felt was less crowded at Kidani, which we were surprised about because it is a smaller pool than Jambo. The Kidani pool also offers a better child's play area. Kidani offers the loft for sleeping so no one needs to sleep in the living area if that is needed. Kidani is the first bus stop which is a plus.

Now all of that being said. We think Jambo will work best for us and here's why. My dad and his wife will be joining our group this time and he is not able to do a lot of walking. He will be spending a lot of time back at the resort while the rest of us go to the parks. We are thinking that the resort itself will offer more for him to do while we are gone during the day.

I can't make a decision though because the viewing of animals from the room is soooooo much better at Kidani. Now I have myself confused again.

 

[Lancer]

As I mentioned above, we stayed in a grand villa at Jambo while Kidani was about 3/4 complete with its construction. That GV faced Kidani on the sunset savannah and I believe its number was 5363 which is the one just before the end of the kudo trail. There was definately no unpleasant smells noticable from that GV. Also, you may consider the fact that many guests feel that Kidani has the better savannah views but Jambo has the better GV. This very GV may be the perfect villa for you since it shares the same savannah as Kidani. No guarantees, as I have not been in it since the completion of Kidani and the savannah work.

Hope this helps in your decision!

 

[Malaguti Ball Clan]

Now all of that being said. We think Jambo will work best for us and here's why. My dad and his wife will be joining our group this time and he is not able to do a lot of walking. He will be spending a lot of time back at the resort while the rest of us go to the parks. We are thinking that the resort itself will offer more for him to do while we are gone during the day.

I can't make a decision though because the viewing of animals from the room is soooooo much better at Kidani. Now I have myself confused again.

If walking/distances are a consideration let me add that our GV at the end of kudo trail was a HIKE So IF you go with Jambo I would REQUEST either the first one on kudo 5284 or the one overlooking the pool 5483 as the end units are pretty far out, (if I recall correctly it was 260 or so strides from lobby to 5394) Either way.......Your going to a a AKL GV... Edited to add that 5294 is an HA room