Just back from AKL....my report....bring on the flames!!

[flyball]

Just thought I'd add my 2 cents about disney, dogs, and hurricanes. As I've stated many times, we were at AKL during Frances and saw quite a few dogs, large and small. Believe me, they were there, because my husband was unfortunate enough to step in a "present" left behind by one. We discovered a trail all the way down the hall and had to notify a CM, so nobody else followed in my DHs footsteps! We were actually glad to see the dogs; they were a comforting presence, and we were glad they were safe.

 

[cjsmom5]

Bojangles -- Just as an FYI, if you call housekeeping when you leave your room and tell them you would like it made up by noon, they almost always will make a point to do so. We do this all the time at Disney as we come back to the room for afternoon naps. In five years -- almost 55 days -- at various resorts -- they have not missed getting it done by then, even once. Only takes a couple minutes and they seem to respond to it very graciously and get it done.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Originally posted by flyball
Just thought I'd add my 2 cents about disney, dogs, and hurricanes. As I've stated many times, we were at AKL during Frances and saw quite a few dogs, large and small. Believe me, they were there, because my husband was unfortunate enough to step in a "present" left behind by one. We discovered a trail all the way down the hall and had to notify a CM, so nobody else followed in my DHs footsteps! We were actually glad to see the dogs; they were a comforting presence, and we were glad they were safe.

Ditto! (Except for the finding of the "present").

 

[Bojangles]

Originally posted by cjsmom5
Bojangles -- Just as an FYI, if you call housekeeping when you leave your room and tell them you would like it made up by noon, they almost always will make a point to do so.

We did that. Nicely. And it was cleaned even later for the duration of our trip.

 

[lenshanem]

Oh, the human holding pen view. We've had it ourselves! The desk told us we had an animal view. I guess she wasn't lying. I think maybe twice we saw a giraffe far off in the distance in another holding pen area.

Regardless, we loved the resort and went back again and got a pool view. We walked over to a common viewing area several times both trips, but the kids got bored with it. I just like the feel of the resort in general. I think it is really cool.

 

[janetd]

Hi,

I think part of the problem for you was stated in your first sentence.I believe you stayed for 10 days at AKL. In my opinion, 10 days is just too much time there.

We've stayed at AKL concierge and loved it - but for never more than 2 nights. I mean how long does it take to get bored looking at zebras, giraffe and cattle.

The resort is too far away from the other parks and all those busses are a real drag.

We'll be returning this Thanksgiving week for 2 nights and will split our stay with another resort.

AKL is wonderful bit in samll doses.
Janetd

 

[bridgettesmom]

We have stayed at AKL twice, the first time we had a great time, even though we had a few inconveniences ,we did not let it ruin our trip. The second time we encountered rude CM's everywhere front desk, operator, waiters, food court, we also had a major problem with the lock on our door and we had to to go the front desk 4 times in 3 days with my niece on a wheelchair to get the problem fixed..Fun Needless to say, we left AKL very dissapointed. We just got back from our last trip , my brother wanted to stay at AKL, even though we could save a lot of $$$ by staying there, we decided it was not worth the agravation and stayed at the POLY. The CMs at AKL do act like they cannot be bothered. Management needs to get their act together, their CMs leave a lot to be desired. AKL is an unique and beautiful resort ,but, the poor attitude given by the CM's just ruins the whole experience.I worked in the service industry for many years, they need to retrain their staff to remind them what it means to work in the "service" industry. I have been reading a lot of complains lately about AKL.I rather stay at POR for half the price!!! I know some of you might not like my post, but, this is my honest opinion.

 

[AllyandJack]

For the person who asked about Tour Guide Mike, the site is www.tourguidemike.com. I'm not sur...lackluster service isn't right. :rolleyes:

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Originally posted by AllyandJack

I was very accommodating because of the hurricane. .... I expected people to defend the place, but blaming me for lackluster service isn't right.

Way to go AllyandJack--I agree with you! You made what you could but still found ultra-basic service problems. Bad weather or not--no excuses for it!

 

[AllyandJack]

Originally posted by Lisa loves Pooh
Way to go AllyandJack--I agree with you! You made what you could but still found ultra-basic service problems. Bad weather or not--no excuses for it!

Thank you.

I'm glad people wrote in to tell of their good experience there. I think it's important for people who have never stayed there to get both sides of the picture.

I don't think my expectations were unreasonable....changing the sheets and towels and valet service that I pay $6./day for, but couldn't use if I came back after 5pm.

I had a lousy view, too and it did annoy me because of this resort's tendency to upgrade people to the view I paid for. I could have asked for another room, but they had their hands full with the storm coming. The point of THAT comment was to alert people that Savannah View does not always mean Savannah View.

The other comments...well, that's just my take on everything. I found the rooms to be small and dark. I found the lobby to be smaller than, say, WL or YC.

If it means anything, I didn't have any problems with the one thing I did worry about! The AC in my room worked great and it was 66 degrees all the time. No problems with the sensor.

 

[goin2disneyagain]

Having stayed at AKL twice in the last 1 1/2 years I have never heard a toilet flushing or my neighbors period. Everyone has their own views and opinions but sometimes I think people just expect too much. Some people just can not be pleased regardless. I am not saying that is the situation here because I do not personally know the OP but some of the posts I have read on these boards I believe that to be the case. I just returned from Pop Century last night and only heard my neighbors toilet flush once, and that was only when I was in the bathroom getting in the shower. Not a big deal. Just remember that you were there during a hurricane and you can not (realistically) expect everything to go perfectly.

 

[totalia]

People expect way too much. Its like they think it will be like home or something. This is a hotel with lots of people around, not your house. That means that, short of spending alot of money to sound proof every room (hotels won't do that), your going to have noise. Unless there are kids screaming in the middle of the night, people running up and down the hall outside, etc, there is nothing you can do about it.

 

[septbride2002]

No flames, although I think alot of the issues you experienced were due to the Hurricane. Sorry about the view though which is what I want to comment on. I have stayed at AKL with a standard view and LOVED it! If we wanted to see the Savannahs we went to the public viewing areas which were almost never ever occupied. We enjoyed Boma and Mara - especially the African Stew. I would stay here again in a heartbeat. Having said that - I would never pay of a Savannah view because I think you get more out of your $$$ by booking the standard view.

~Amanda

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I've stayed on site for the hurricane--this person was not expecting too much. The hotels have a plan, evidently AKL was a poor plan. All guests should be treated equally.

This is what I think was the point of the OP:
1.If service is reduced (i.e. housekeeping)--then all guests should be reduced by the same amount. Not more for one guest and less for another. And it was REDUCED, not eliminated.

2. All guests should have been stocked by housekeeping (and not the guests go and ask for it). It is the resorts responsibility to keep full tabs on current events--weather and otherwise and not the guests. They knew they would be reducing housekeeping--each housekeeper should have been providing extra service in terms of extra towels, toiletries, and trash bags--heck they weren't cleaning rooms on Sunday, so this would not be a big deal.

3. Once housekeeping resumed--ALL rooms should be cleaned, not just some of them. Of course, the checkouts get priority--but neglecting a guest for 4 days--poor planning on housekeeping and they should have done better.

4. Soiled linens--when it is obvious--covering it up is not an option which is what housekeeping did by making the bed with soiled linens.

5. OP may not have been aware (hey it can happen!) about various activities and such. Perhaps since they missed cleaning his room, they also forgot to drop a note. It can happen.


Expecting good service is not "expecting too much". OF course it won't be 4 or 5 star during a hurricane--but were talking--the basics should have been a 3 star.

OP I'm curious, what was your check in day?

Others have commented on CM's during non-hurricane times, so evidently OP is not making this stuff up. They've also commented on the toilet flushing.

I guess OP invited the flames in his post--but it really seems that people are so quick to isolate this event as a "hurricane" incident and that the OP should have lowered his expectations. It is up to Disney--to live up to their expectations as much as possible--it is clear from OP that they didn't live up to some basic stuff whether or not their was a hurricane.

So before anyone defends housekeeping--you are preaching to the choir. For the events of the OP, the choir was severely out of tune!

 

[Snow_White]

My fiance and I stayed at AKL a few years back and we also were terribly UNimpressed. One day (if you can believe this), our in-room fire alarm started going off (the LOUDEST, most piercing sound you've ever heard in your life) for no reason in the middle of our afternoon nap and it took the staff well over an hour to turn it off. We had to call the front desk many times in order for them to even send someone up to check it out. It was horrendous and we were miserable.

We also experienced sub-par mousekeeping throughout our stay. Overall, we much prefer to stay at the All-Stars (smaller rooms, but superior service for a fraction of the price). We also found the sounds of toilets/showers to be identical to those at the All-Stars (i.e. loud, which we don't mind when we're paying 70 bucks a night, but we DEFINITELY mind when we're paying 400 bucks).

The view was cool, but it wasn't worth $400 a night (we had a deluxe savannah view room). We found the bus service to be poor as well. On multiple occasions, we had to wait for over 45 minutes for a bus (!!). One evening, we waited for over an hour to get to Epcot. Again, All-Stars have much better service there too...our average waits there are always 5-10 minutes, tops. Nope, we wouldn't even stay at AKL on a bet. I would literally stay ANYWHERE on Disney property rather than AKL. Live and learn

 

[AllyandJack]

Hey, Snow_White! Enjoy the Food & Wine Festival. This was my very first trip to the Festival and I loved it! The Chocolate Creme Brulee from France was amazing.

My friend who was with us (in another room) said she got better service at the All Stars, too. I've never stayed at the All Stars, but I definitely got better service at POR. One day, we didn't leave the room and had the Privacy sign out. The housekeeper hung a big bag of towels and toilet paper on the door with a note saying they didn't want to disturb us, but wanted to make sure we had everything we needed. I wonder if this is the sign of a general breakdown in service at Disney and not just an AKL problem? I haven't been back since 2002. Could things have gone that bad in that short of time?

I never heard a toilet at POR...at GF, at YC, at the POLY or at CR either. We joked about the toilets and the rainstorm we heard when someone showered. No big deal. I would expect better from a deluxe, since I had never heard that at a deluxe before. Maybe I've just been lucky. I've always heard people running up and down the hall (not stairs like at AKL). That's expected.

Oh well....to each their own. I'll stay somewhere else and the AKL lovers can have my room.

Although, I do have a question. I had a less than stellar time at the Poly, but I would stay there again. DH would only stay concierge there - he feels that having a go-to person would be better than having to deal with the front desk. A compromise I would make to try AKL again for a few days to see if this is a one time deal or if it happens again. I'm hesitant to stay at AKL concierge because it's the same price for everyone and you're not even guaranteed a Savannah view. So, my question is this: is it worth the money to stay concierge if you don't get that view? What is the other view of and why is it all the same price instead of Savannah view and Standard view?

 

[Sammie]

Originally posted by AllyandJack
Hey, Snow_White! Enjoy the Food & Wine Festival. This was my very first trip to the Festival and I loved it! The Chocolate Creme Brulee from France was amazing.

My friend who was with us (in another room) said she got better service at the All Stars, too. I've never stayed at the All Stars, but I definitely got better service at POR. One day, we didn't leave the room and had the Privacy sign out. The housekeeper hung a big bag of towels and toilet paper on the door with a note saying they didn't want to disturb us, but wanted to make sure we had everything we needed. I wonder if this is the sign of a general breakdown in service at Disney and not just an AKL problem? I haven't been back since 2002. Could things have gone that bad in that short of time?

I never heard a toilet at POR...at GF, at YC, at the POLY or at CR either. We joked about the toilets and the rainstorm we heard when someone showered. No big deal. I would expect better from a deluxe, since I had never heard that at a deluxe before. Maybe I've just been lucky. I've always heard people running up and down the hall (not stairs like at AKL). That's expected.

Oh well....to each their own. I'll stay somewhere else and the AKL lovers can have my room.

Although, I do have a question. I had a less than stellar time at the Poly, but I would stay there again. DH would only stay concierge there - he feels that having a go-to person would be better than having to deal with the front desk. A compromise I would make to try AKL again for a few days to see if this is a one time deal or if it happens again. I'm hesitant to stay at AKL concierge because it's the same price for everyone and you're not even guaranteed a Savannah view. So, my question is this: is it worth the money to stay concierge if you don't get that view? What is the other view of and why is it all the same price instead of Savannah view and Standard view?

You left your "Do Not Disturb" sign on your door, housekeeping can not disturb you, however before the maid went home she was nice enough to leave what she thought you might need. What is your complaint? What would you have her do? I would have been extremely pleased that someone cared enough to do that for me.

 

[*Fantasia*]

Originally posted by Sammie
You left your "Do Not Disturb" sign on your door, housekeeping can not disturb you, however before the maid went home she was nice enough to leave what she thought you might need. What is your complaint? What would you have her do? I would have been extremely pleased that someone cared enough to do that for me.

I agree. I don't think the maid wanted to disturb you since you did put that "Do Not Disturb" sign on your door. She was just respecting your privacy and it was nice of her to leave the things that you might need.

BTW, I didn't read the whole post.

 

[dansyr]

Not flaming here either....

but just wanted to mention ....we stayed there last year and absolutely loved it.. The housekeepers were awesome , The bed was awesome and everyone was very friendly.
Unfortunately it seems either you hit and off time or we hit a really good time. Sorry for your disappointment in the resort.

 

[anne60]

I think the maid leaving the stuff outside the door happened at POR during a different visit and the OP was noting it as a nice thing for the maid to have done. I took her point to be that if that kind of service can be accomplished at a moderate, you should expect a little more from a deluxe.

(zipping up my flame proof suit now...... ) The lack of maid service wasn't one day after the storm, it was FOUR days after the storm and still no maid service. How can you defend that?

Honestly, I think the staff should be commended (by their employer) for coming in during a storm, but somehow by showing up they were supposed to be allowed to behave badly toward guests and "take their frustrations" out on them? I think not. I worked at a nursing home during the blizzard of 1978. The national guard picked me up at my house and drove me to work, where I stayed for the whole week. I was 17 and worked 80 hours that week, sleeping in one of the rooms at the nursing home. I did not take it out on the customers (patients), although I admit I will never drink powdered milk again if it's the last liquid on earth. What I remember more than anything else was that the owner paid me $1 more an hour for that time (I didn't know he was going to do that), and it was the biggest paycheck I'd ever seen!!

In any service industry, one of the first things you learn is: you are not allowed to vent, be P.O'd, be surly, cop an attitude, or anything else, ever, in front of a customer. Period. You are allowed to "walk it up the line", (i.e., excuse me sir, but I'll have to call my manager now), but that is about it. Maybe this basic lesson has been overlooked by the management at AKL.

To the OP: I'm glad you maintained perspective (what a concept) and did not let the annoyances ruin your vacation. I am enjoying reading your Trip report on the other board.