Just back from AKL...CHEERS AND JEERS...

[katiemegcz]

Hi!

My DH and 2 DDs (10 and 5) just got back from a week at WDW in August at AKL. Just thought I'd share some of the good and bad...

Specific to AKL...

We paid the Annual Passholder price of 135 per night for a standard pool view. We got upgraded to a standard savannah view. Room 3128. I am so grateful for the upgrade, because I know many families have paid more for the same room.

Room 3128 is very close to the lobby. In case you haven't been there yet-the lobby of AKL is on floor 3. 3128 is just far enough not to be TOO close, but close enough to be convenient. It had 2 queens. I probably would have preferred a queen and a bunkbed for my 2 DDs, but who am I to complain??

The savannah view was wonderful. At almost any time during our 7 day stay we could spit on a giraffe if we so desired. I highly recommend this for any animal lovers out there. Our children were enthralled.

Now for my honest opinoin. Please realize that this is opinoin only, and I readily accept that other will have had different experiences...

Jeers...

We are big tippers. We leave a generous tip for our Mousekeepers each morning. At POR on our last 2 stays, and at the Poly, this meant a thank you note and wash cloth animals each day during our stay. At AKL, this meant nothing apparently. On 2 of our 7 nights we were not even given towels or toiletries! On the other hand...cheers to our "night runner" on those nights. We called for towels and shampoo and got it in minutes with a smile and apologies.

Here is a big one...We ate at Boma for breakfast each morning. It was a beautiful selection of high-quality buffet breakfast items. But the service was atrocious! When you walk in, you are seated by a lovely African hostess. But your server might be a different story. At Boma, you are served a glass of juice, and offered other beverages by your server. I declined the juices (I am diabetic, and my children and husband follow my diet). The servers on our first 2 days did not like that. They insisted they had to leave the juice, and never delivered the water, coffee and milk I ordered until our 3rd request. I even caught our server making a face at my husband when he asked for the 3rd time (after we had finished our meal).

On the other hand...Cheers for the management of Boma! We expressed our displeasure about the service and were given a free breakfast buffet. We were seated with the best server imaginable (Chad), and the chef even came out to speak with us. Our opinoin was certainly changed. But please learn---complain when you need to. When you pay 50+ dollars for breakfast, you should expect a certain level of service. Don't be afraid to ask for hat you need, and complain if you don't get it!

Jeers to the pool bar. They close down when there is a threat of thunderstorms (understandable). I allowed the bartender to wait on several people in front of me because they were impatient. A sudden storm cloud rolled in and the bartender insisted she could not serve me a simple diet coke because they were "offically closed". She could have made a quick exception for someone who had allowed her to wait on others.

If you go to AKL, please make sure to explore all of the nooks and crannies. There is a library-style nook and 2 overlooks on the lobby level. Don't miss having a relaxing drink or tea in those areas!

Cheers to the gift shop!

Cheers to 7:30 African Storytelling around the fire! We made it twice. Both times were awesome experiences. If you stay there-please try to make it at least once to the story time. You won't regret it.

Cheers to Jiko! We had priority seating at Boma on our 11th anniversary. When we arrived, we were told that they had no idea when they could seat us, but it would be at least one hour . We walked across the hall to Jiko, and they seated us within 10 minutes. The food was incredible. It was expensive, but well worth it. If you go to AKL, don't miss the beef rolls.

In all, I highly recommend AKL to anyone. I have stayed at the All Stars, POR, and the Poly. I have visited Disney more than 8 times now. My recommendations are:

For value, stay at POR if the prices fall under 100 dollars per night.

Stay at the Poly or Grand Floridian if you have plenty of money.

Stay at AKL if you are willing to spend more than 100 dollar per night and love animals and solitude (and have a rental car). I cannot recommend this resort if you do not have your own car. I hate the buses. But that is one woman's opinoin!

I'll post other tips on other boards specific to the parks.

Have a great trip!

 

[Abracadabra]

Glad you had a great trip!

Regarding the towel animals, I'm sure you know those are never guaranteed, no matter how large a tip you leave. Not every mousekeeper knows how to make them and they also may not have the time to make them (their top priority is to clean the rooms). My wife and I have been to Disney many times and towel animals have been the exception, not the rule. They are a nice surprise, but not something we expect.

 

[Deweysgirl]

Thank you for your trip report! I love reading about AKL because my kids want to try this resort in the worst way!

We have had mousekeepers who don't make towel animals but have arranged the kids stuffed animals in various positions which were just as adorable imho. When we stayed at POP the mousekeeper actually had them stacked on each other hanging over the curtain. It was pretty incredible.

I'm glad your anniversary dinner went so well at Jiko-we went to Cape May for our anniversary dinner and it was disastrious! Sometimes spur of the moment plans are the best ones!


Thanks again for a candid and informative report!

 

[Bstanley]

Clear and to the point, good info for anyone thinking of staying at AKL!

So many people are unwilling to speak up when service is not up to par - I personally thank you for speaking up because I know that the next time we're at The Boma chances are you will have improved OUR experience by alerting someone THIS time!

We've stayed at AKL twice now, and are likely to go back, but I agree having your own car does make a difference. We drive to WDW - in fact it's kind of a hoot for us to drive up to the AKL entrance because...we arrive in a Land Rover Discovery! Gives me a chuckle just thinking about it LOL!

Oh - btw, you're not allowed to spit on the animals

 

[Deb & Bill]

Silly me, I thought that a tip was for services already rendered, not for services you hoped they would render.

 

[Jalva22]

I will be at WDW in early June and I have a daughter who will be 9 and a son who will be two months shy of turning 6. We will also have our own car. I know they would love the animals at AKL, but I am torn between that resort and the Poly. In everybody's opinion, would the Savannah view at the AKL be more enjoyable for kids at this age or would it be nicer to have the convenience of monorail access from the Poly to the MK? I keep flip-flopping on which I think would be best. Also, this will probably be our only WDW trip for 5 yrs or so. Thanks!

 

[tinkgrl]

Hi,

Great report! Can't wait to go back!!

Allison

 

[Dalpal]

Hi,
Great info on AKL. Thanks for posting!

Jalva22,
We are planning on going to WDW next July with twin 5 YOs. I am thinking of splitting our stay between the Poly and AKL. I wanted to go to the Poly because of it being so close to MK. The cost though is very high. So I am thinking, if I can get a good AP rate at both resorts I could offset the cost of the Poly ($209 garden view)by staying half the time at the AKL($109 standard). Three days at the Poly and three days at AKL.
Anyway thats the big plan!

 

[Mom of Sleepy Bashful and BabyDoc]

I enjoyed reading it. And it was an honest opinion.

Regarding tipping.................I hope you didn't tip on the days that you didn't even receive your clean towels/shampoo. I can see it happening one night, but TWO in the same week?? That's pretty sad for a deluxe resort.

I never expect the towel animals, but they are a nice bonus. It doesn't ruin my trip in the slightest (I don't think it did for the OP either) if I don't get them. I do find it interesting though, that when we stayed at POR we got them everyday, but when we have stayed at WL (twice now) we never got them. Doesn't really matter......just interesting.

Glad you had a nice trip.

 

[Jalva22]

Dalpal, that's a very good idea. My plan so far is to spend the first 2 nights at Pop or ASMo, then the last 4 at the Poly or AKL. But, the rates you listed are much lower than what I was thinking. We were planning on buying 2 adult/2 child 5 day hoppers. Would it be better for me to buy 1 adult AP and hoppers for the rest? I assume the single AP qualify my group for the AP rate? At the rates you mentioned (well, I guess our rates would still be a little higher as we're going in June instead of July), we could definitely split our stay at the AKL and the Poly.

 

[WeLoveThePoly]

Originally posted by katiemegcz
.....

The savannah view was wonderful. At almost any time during our 7 day stay we could spit on a giraffe if we so desired. I highly recommend this for any animal lovers out there. Our children were enthralled.

.....

I'm in a punchy mood today ..... this part made me laugh. I know what you meant but it comes across pretty darn funny.

Hee Hee.

Glad you and your DDs had a nice trip!

Debbie

 

[princess pooh]

I really enjoyed reading your report, I thought it was honest and fair. I was thinking of trying Boma for dinner in October but maybe I'll try Jiko instead.

Heh, spit on a giraffe! That made me spit out my drink!

 

[Planogirl]

We just returned from AKL too and never received towel animals. But I didn't care because our room was so nice and clean and that is all I wanted.

Our room was actually overlooking the lobby which worried me at first. But once the door was closed, we didn't hear a thing so it was fine. It was nice walking out and down the stairs directly into the lobby and then down again to the pool.

I agree that the extra overlooks were really nice. If you wander around the hotel, you find even more seating areas and African artwork to admire too.

We only ate dinner at Boma and it was DH's first experience there. He really, really liked it and luckily the service was excellent. I must try Jiko someday though because it looks so good and is really pretty.

As for the Polynesian versus AKL, the Poly's location is wonderful and so is its beach. Other than that, I personally can't say that one is nicer than the other and we've stayed at both. Plus the Polynesian is SO pricey nowadays. I think that we'll just stick with the AKL unless we can land a good deal at the Polynesian.

 

[k&a&c'smom]

Originally posted by WeLoveThePoly
I'm in a punchy mood today ..... this part made me laugh. I know what you meant but it comes across pretty darn funny.

I must be in a punchy mood, too, I laughed at this although I knew what the OP meant!

katiemegcz - glad you had a great trip, we love the AKL, too!!

 

[Mandalou]

Just out of curiosity. . . and I hope this isn't tacky. . . but I was wondering what everyone tips? Do you vary your tips depending on the resort you stay at? Do you have a certain "rate" at which you tip? I'm just curious what everyone else is doing. . .

 

[missydisney]

Your jeers reflects the same thing a friend of mine told me. Crumbs on the beds from the night before, No clean glasses, Trash wasen't emptied. They moved to another hotel. It may be a problem they are working to correct. I would love to stay there one day.

 

[Tinkbell]

Originally posted by katiemegcz

At Boma, you are served a glass of juice, and offered other beverages by your server. I declined the juices (I am diabetic, and my children and husband follow my diet). The servers on our first 2 days did not like that. They insisted they had to leave the juice, and never delivered the water, coffee and milk I ordered until our 3rd request.

What is up with Boma and the juice? My boyfriend got "juice pressure" from our server last month too. He did bring the coffee and water, but asked him over and over again if he wanted "special juice". He finally said yes just so the guy would shut up about the juice. It has become a running joke with us now. I have to show him this thread. He won't believe it!

 

[katiemegcz]

Just to clarify about the towel animals and tips...I didn't mean to imply that we tip in order to get special services. Nor do I ever expect something above and beyond. We always tip for services rendered, and add more for extra special service. The reason I brought up the towel animals was that it stood out to me how much better the services were at a moderate resort than a deluxe. I didn't mean to sound like a spoiled brat!



As for tipping-someone once told me that 1-2 dollars per person staying in the room was sufficient. I tend to leave 5-8 dollars per night. I make up special thank you envelopes before we leave, and make sure to write a note about extra special touches when I leave the envelope in the morning. I also always let the housekeeping manager know about how much we loved our mousekeeper(s) when we leave. At POR, our mousekeeper always left a quick thankyou note as well (not necessary-but very sweet). I worked as a hotel housekeeper putting myself through college, and let me tell you-they have a difficult job even on the best days! We did still leave a tip on the days when we did not get towels or toiletries (not as much). I tried to assume that they ran out of supplies and then just forgot to come back.


As for the Poly vs. AKL...We have stayed in both. I have a deep affection for the Poly, and my husband stayed there as a child, so it is very nostalgic for him. What helped us decide was the price difference. The Poly would have been 239 dollars, as opposed to 135 for the AKL. But if you have the option to do both-go for it! I far prefer the Poly at breakfast time. The convenience of the monorail is hard to ignore when you have small children. But when you go to the other parks, that is only somewhat important. If you have a rental car, it becomes even less important. Our AKL room was close to the lobby, and most of the rooms are fairly close (although 2 of the trails can be quite a walk if you get a room on them). At the Poly (and POR), we did MUCH more walking, as our buildings were seperate from the lobby building. If you enjoy a quick morning coffee, or like to be close to the amenities, this is a consideration. The beach at the Poly is wonderful, as is the ability to watch the fireworks and the water parade right from your resort. I think a split between the two is a great solution-if you don't mind the packing and hauling bit! Just to enjoy the Poly magic, we went to the Luau, then sat on the beach for the fireworks.

Have a great trip!!

 

[ScottOKW2K]

Originally posted by missydisney
Your jeers reflects the same thing a friend of mine told me. Crumbs on the beds from the night before, No clean glasses, Trash wasen't emptied. They moved to another hotel. It may be a problem they are working to correct. I would love to stay there one day.

Go ahead and stay there ! During our stay at AKL we never had any concerns about mousekeeping. The room was always clean and tidy when we returned, and this was over the NYE time period last year - a Very Busy time period.

I suspect what your friend experienced was simple human error - a room that had not yet been cleaned was inadvertantly shown as ready for occupancy in the checkin computer system. In general I remember very few complaints on this board about the housekeeping at AKL.

But I do recommend staying there more than "one" day .

 

[ppony]

I think that was an excellent, well written post. Very good with balancing the cheers with the Jeers! Good job and Kudos! We're going to stay there in Dec 2005 for the first time. I admittedly know little about the resort but we did eat at Boma's for dinner the last time we were there and really thought it was beautiful! I'm VERY grateful I sprung for the savannah room (family won't know it till we get there, SURPRISE!) Thanks for confirming that and I didn't know about the bunk bed. I'm going to see if I can request it though I know there's no gauantees!
We did get animal towels our last night in the Poly concierge. That was the first and only time I had ever seen them. I think we still have one here. i HAD to ake one home! Cute weren't they?!?!?! We got bunnies. We're there other's?

So glad that your speaking up got you results! I often don't wnat to say anything for fear of being a pain in the rump...but you were 110% right to do so. Diabetics have to steer clear of some things. it's not pickiness, it's your health! So juice is what everyone is doing and there is juice pressure huh?!?!?! Hilarious! I must say, whenever I go out to eat and have OJ, it really does remind me of Disney.

Thanks SO much for the great post!