Originally posted by AllyandJack
I just spent 10 nights at AKL. It was my first time there. It will be my LAST time there. I will post my Trip Report on the other Board since my trip was great. I'll just post my AKL review here.
Now...the lawyer in me: This report is NOT meant to discourage people from staying at AKL. I am NOT suggesting anyone cancel and/or change any reservations they have at this resort. This is my opinion and the opinion of my best friend and her DH who stayed at the resort with us. Your experience could have been different. Your experience might be different. This is MY experience and MY opinion.
First off...my room. I booked Savannah View. I think there was one other room in the resort with a worse view. My room overlooked a big fenced in area. I found out from the guy who brought up our luggage that the pen is used to evacuate guests in the event of an emergency. Beyond the pen, I could see a small Savannah. Every now and then a truck came by to parade giraffes through. I wouldn't be so annoyed at what came to be known as my Crappy Savannah View if I didn't know that this resort has a reputation for giving lots of upgrades. I knew the chances were pretty good that someone who paid for standard view had a better savannah view than I did. But, I was happy seeing the giraffes every now and then, so I didn't complain.
My room was also right next to the stairwell. So, I got to listen to the sounds of people in big stupid shoes clunking up and down the stairs all day and all night. Since the hurricane was pending and things were in chaos, I decided not to say anything or ask to be moved. Besides, the Cast Members at the front desk weren't exactly a cheery bunch and my interaction with them over the course of the trip indicated that asking to be moved to another room wouldn't have been a good idea.
I had requested a fridge when I make my reservations back in January. It wasn't in my room, so I asked for it. I was told that I would have to be put on a waiting list. A waiting list?? I guess there has been a big run on the fridges since they became complimentary. Ya think?!? Not the point. I requested one WAAAAY back in January - before the complimentary thing.
I got one my second day there - and yes, it was free.
Then Hurricane Jeanne checked in. We got messages over the phone about the parks being closed, etc. We were able to move about the resort...well, sort of....parts of the resort were off limits because the place was leaking. We had to dodge buckets on the floor to move around (especially by Boma). There were activities for kids, but the lobby is pretty small and trying to cram all those people into it was not fun.
At some point on Saturday night, the Cast Members started paying people visits. My best friend called to tell me that they walked right into her room without knocking. They gave her a flashlight. She called to ask me if they walked into my room, too. Nope. I didn't even get the flashlight. So, I called the front desk to see if I was supposed to get one. I'd come down and get it, I told them, since I knew they were really busy. They'll send one right up, they said. About an hour later (10:30), they called me back to tell me housekeeping was coming right up. I waited up until 1am and nobody ever came with it. I finally put the Privacy sign out and went to bed.
We got a message on Sunday, the day of the storm, telling us that there would be no housekeeping service. OK...we had an extra roll of toilet paper and two towels. We were all set for the storm! They closed the food court. I have no idea why since we later found out that even the All Stars kept their food court open. They even cut the usual menu at the restaurants in half. So, for $12.00, you could get African Stew, some chicken and macaroni and cheese. We called the front desk to see about any
PS or reservations for the restaurants and they said they weren't taking any. Yet, we get down there and find out that because we didn't make PS we would have to wait until 9:50pm. So, we ate what we had in the room.
They ran movies the day of the storm. I was sick with a cold, so I just medicated and slept. At least I tried to. When I ran my hand over the bed, I could feel the metal coils poking through at my poor back and legs. This was also around the time I heard it. I've read about it on these Boards. I've heard about it being a problem at the All Stars. Since I've never stayed there, I had never heard it. Until now. The WOOOSH of the toilet. Over and over again....WOOSH! WOOSH!!! I don't know if it was just one room or the entire hotel. It became the joke of the trip between me and my friend. We called it the Supersonic Woosh and joked about being lulled to sleep by the wooshing. We could also hear the THUNK of the people opening and closing the lid. We could also hear whenever someone showered. It sounded like a rainstorm. I found that if I left the bathroom light on, the sound of the fan alleviated the rainstorm sound. There was nothing to be done about the wooshing.
The day after the storm they said there would be limited housekeeping. We saw her in the hallway and asked for some towels and toilet paper. DH had spilled some Diet Pepsi on the bed and there was a big stain on the sheets, but we could wait another day. No big deal. The next day we came back from the parks at about 3pm to find that our room hadn't been touched. Same for the next day. Again, we chased her down for towels. She promised she would do our room first the next day. So, after having no housekeeping for 4 days, we returned to the room to find the beds made. YAY! When we turned down the sheets to get in, we found the big stain. She never changed the sheets. She just made the bed.
The next day, I was talking to my friend about it and she said she had the option of changing her sheets. I asked her what she meant. She returned to her room that previous day to find clean sheets sitting on the bed. So, she could have made her bed herself if she wanted clean sheets. At least she had the option!
There were times we were able to self-park. Other times, we got back so late we would have had to park in Guam and take a cab, so we chose to valet. At least we tried. Most of the time, we ended up sitting there for 10 minutes waiting and then giving up and parking ourselves.
We were asked twice, by the same CM, how our trip was and we were all honest. She gave us a comment card with numbers and an e-mail address to express our opinions. I'm not sure I see the point. The trip is over. I won't stay there again. No damage done.
So, that's my experience. I just don't see it as a "Deluxe" resort. I don't expect to hear toilets at a Deluxe resort. I don't expect to have to wait 10-15 minutes for a valet at a Deluxe resort. I don't expect to have to chase a housekeeper down for towels and toilet paper and not have my sheets changes for 4 days at a Deluxe resort. I certainly don't expect to have to make my own bed at a Deluxe resort! It seems like they have an attitude that "well, you can see animals; what more do you want?" With the exception of that one CM, I found the rest of them to be grumpy and have the personalities of wet mops.
I know lots of people love AKL and that's great. I'll never stay there again, so more for you, right!
Ok, I work in a hotel.
First thing, we can't fix what we don't know is broke. If you have a problem with your room or its location, you need to SPEAK UP. Otherwise, you have no business complaining.
Second, it was the MIDDLE OF A HURRICANE. Did you expect the staff members to be cheerful and pleasant and quick? They have more important things to deal with than just you.
If you have a complaint, tell them but they likely won't be all Disney pleasant like you would like because its possible that a hurricane would wipe the hotel (and them and the guests) off the map for good.
I don't know about you, but thats alot of pressure and they are dealing with much more than just the guests (not to mention that likely EVERYONE was complaining. Perhaps its horrible but eventually as a hotel clerk, you just get sick to death of hearing it. There is nothing we can do about the weather or how it is handled. We just work there).
It's extremely exasperating when guests don't speak up and then have the nerve to complain after the fact. Again, if we don't know you have a problem, we can't fix it.
As for your room, there are usually rooms in a hotel that are filled last. Rooms that, while mildly desirable, are only given out when you have no other choice in the matter. These rooms also usually have older furniture and the like. Sounds like you got one of them probably because they had nowhere else to put you or the person at the desk was new or just so busy, they didn't think about it.
Next time, say something if you want problems fixed. It's the only way a hotel can help.
You wouldn't order a meal, eat the whole thing, tell the waitress everything is fine, and THEN at the end say everything was horrible and actually think you'd get your money back would you? The same thing goes here.
Btw, in regards to the fridge. The hotel is NOT supposed to say "we CAN'T do blahblah for you." Clerks are told specifically not to say that. I don't know why that is. Something about presenting a bad image. It's just as annoying to us to have to deal with guests yelling at us over it as it is for the guests.
Someone tell the managers because the clerks don't have anything to do with it. We aren't trying to be cruel to you. We are doing the job we were told to do.
Put it this way, did you really expect the staff to be happy and pleasant? Their lives are in danger because they are in the direct path of a hurricane. They probably want to be with their families or long gone out of town no matter how good the pay is because frankly, their lives are more important than making other people happy. Some of them may have even had their jobs threatened if they left because likely they were shorthanded when other staff members just simply left not caring whether they lost their jobs or not (can you blame them?).
My fiance was in the path of Ivan. I told him I didnt care if he lost his job, he needed to get out of town. His life was more important than a job and jobs are a dime a dozen. The hurricane turned at the last minute and missed New Orleans though. But I will tell you that I am very glad he was in Houston at the time. I'd rather have a live fiance than a dead one.
Wish it would have been better.
