Just back from our AKL adventure!!

[kimisabella]

We got back yesterday from a week stay at the AKL. We had such a great time, will try to do a full trip report sometime in the coming days. I'll start off by saying that the resort is beautiful. We walked into the lobby, which is quite dark and went to check in, it was about 12:00 noon last sunday, we only waited a few minutes to be called, the cm who checked us in was very thorough, he explained, in detail, about the myw package and dining plan (even though I knew all of my adr's, I just let him go through his explanation). He advised us that we had been upgraded to a poolview room, we had booked a standard room. The room wasn't ready, and he gave us a card with the number to call back between 3-5 pm to see if the room was ready. We decided to go to the Mara for lunch, very nice, everyone is very helpful, bought the mugs, ate lunch, and headed for DTD. Did some shopping, went back to the AKL around 3:30 p.m. to see if the room was ready, it was so we went up to get swimsuits on for the pool. The room was nice, two queen beds, nice view of the pool, but I thought the rooms were a little on the small side for a deluxe. Anyway, we stayed in that room for a couple of days when I realized that the real reason I chose the AKL is to see the animals, and since we were looking onto the pool, I felt that it didn't have the same "feeling" as if we were looking onto a savannah. I went to the concierge desk and asked if I could switch rooms, she said I could have a savannah view room for an additional $25/night, I figured it would be worth it, so we moved to room 3502, zebra trail for our remaining nights. I have to say it really was nice, my dd's loved looking at the constant changing view of animals. I'm glad we did it. I did overhear a couple of guests saying that although they think the resort is beautiful, it just doesn't have that "disney magic". It's funny because I heard that a couple of times from different people. We thought that the resort, although maybe not whimsical disney, was elegant, classy, and something that we could not do anywhere else (OK, maybe in Africa, but we're not going there anytime soon ) If there are any questions, I would be happy to answer if I can!

 

[LeesyUD]

I really just wanted to say that I got back from AKL last week and I also loved it! I thought it was a beautiful resort and though I do want to venture out and try other resorts I know I will be going back at some point!! Loved it! Loved it! Loved it! And I miss staying there already!

 

[disneytraveler]

We got back yesterday from a week stay at the AKL. We had such a great time, will try to do a full trip report sometime in the coming days. I'll start off by saying that the resort is beautiful. We walked into the lobby, which is quite dark and went to check in, it was about 12:00 noon last sunday, we only waited a few minutes to be called, the cm who checked us in was very thorough, he explained, in detail, about the myw package and dining plan (even though I knew all of my adr's, I just let him go through his explanation). He advised us that we had been upgraded to a poolview room, we had booked a standard room. The room wasn't ready, and he gave us a card with the number to call back between 3-5 pm to see if the room was ready. We decided to go to the Mara for lunch, very nice, everyone is very helpful, bought the mugs, ate lunch, and headed for DTD. Did some shopping, went back to the AKL around 3:30 p.m. to see if the room was ready, it was so we went up to get swimsuits on for the pool. The room was nice, two queen beds, nice view of the pool, but I thought the rooms were a little on the small side for a deluxe. Anyway, we stayed in that room for a couple of days when I realized that the real reason I chose the AKL is to see the animals, and since we were looking onto the pool, I felt that it didn't have the same "feeling" as if we were looking onto a savannah. I went to the concierge desk and asked if I could switch rooms, she said I could have a savannah view room for an additional $25/night, I figured it would be worth it, so we moved to room 3502, zebra trail for our remaining nights. I have to say it really was nice, my dd's loved looking at the constant changing view of animals. I'm glad we did it. I did overhear a couple of guests saying that although they think the resort is beautiful, it just doesn't have that "disney magic". It's funny because I heard that a couple of times from different people. We thought that the resort, although maybe not whimsical disney, was elegant, classy, and something that we could not do anywhere else (OK, maybe in Africa, but we're not going there anytime soon ) If there are any questions, I would be happy to answer if I can!

How did you find the bus service and how was it for getting to your adrs?
I am thinking of going next september and trying the Akl maybe with the platium plan.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Thanks for the review. We also just returned also this past Tuesday Oct 4 from a week long stay at AKL. What an awesome resort this is, it is so beautiful. We also had a Savanah room 2326 and it was so great to sit out on the balcony and watch the animals. We will be staying here again in the future. Did you get a chance to eat at Boma or Jiko ? I agree that the resort is very classy . The marketplace is a great store to shop for beautiful gifts to bring home.

 

[kimisabella]

How did you find the bus service and how was it for getting to your adrs?
I am thinking of going next september and trying the Akl maybe with the platium plan.

We didn't use the bus service, we had a rental car, so it wasn't an issue for us. I would say to try the resort, it really is something different to experience!

 

[kimisabella]

Thanks for the review. We also just returned also this past Tuesday Oct 4 from a week long stay at AKL. What an awesome resort this is, it is so beautiful. We also had a Savanah room 2326 and it was so great to sit out on the balcony and watch the animals. We will be staying here again in the future. Did you get a chance to eat at Boma or Jiko ? I agree that the resort is very classy . The marketplace is a great store to shop for beautiful gifts to bring home.

It really was relaxing to sit out on the balcony and watch the animals - we didn't get a chance to eat in boma or jiko because my dd's love the character meals and we did alot of those, I wasn't so sure if they would like the food there, so we didn't go, but every time I walked out into the lobby, (we were on the third floor), the aroma from the restaurants was incredible. Even at 6 in the morning the whole place smelled so great! The marketplace was really nice, it's funny that one of the cm's at the cash register at the store started asking me where I was from, ect.. and turns out she was born and rasied in the exact same town we live in now - she recently moved to FL!!! She said she has never run across someone from the same town as her!
I would also like to go back to the AKL, but there are some other resorts I want to stay at as well!

 

[HueyDewey&LouiesMom]

This is great to hear. We booked a Savannah View room to surprise our boys and I am sooo looking forward to it. I know they will love the view of the animals from their balcony. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Ilovestitch]

I love AKL!! We stayed savannah view this past May and we are staying there at the end of this month standard view. Everyone has to try savannah view at least once, its so amazing