My room was in the Ostrich Trail on the 5th floor. It took maybe 2-3 minutes at the very most to walk to elevators to get to the lobby although on the hotel map it may look longer. Add a couple more minutes if you are trying to get to the pool or Mara, the fast food court, for a quick coffee. It was by no means a bad room. There was a window in the hallway overlooking the savannah and we sometimes saw the animals as we walked by. I noticed quite a few of the standard rooms were occupied by guests as I would pass by walking. Personally, I rarely ever spend time on a balcony. In fact, to this day, I am still not 100 percent sure I even had a balcony when I stayed at the Yacht Club awhile back. I go out on a balcony to check the weather. So that may cloud my opinion somewhat. There are many viewing areas for the animals including two large open balconies in the back. If you have seen the map of AKL (I can find you the link if you need it), these are the two large semicircles above the words "Kudu Trail" and "Zebra Trail". There are rocking chairs there where you can sit and relax. I spent a lot of time there. You may walk all along the Savanna Overlook and go over to the Sunset Overlook at the side near the lobby for viewing as well. There is also a small area at the back of the pool area. Also note that the not all the animals are around from about 10am to 4-5pm depending on the heat. They sleep and get their check-ups in the back in this forested area where they hide all the buildings. As well, these animals are free to roam the savannah, it is not like they are standing in front of your room everytime you look out the window. This is also when most people are in the parks and not hanging around the hotel. I did not feel that I was missing out because I had a standard view. I spent one day at Universal so I was not even at the hotel nor was I near enough to just pop back anyway. The room was lovely and I had an excellent maid who made our trip extra special. You are not treated any differently because of a different view that I noticed (I could understand that with concierge but that is a different story). The hotel staff, especially the people from all over Africa, are very friendly. So yes! I think it was worth it because I wanted a stay at a nice hotel with a unique theme. I think you have to look at what you want. I did a lot of research and debating (up until a week before) as you are now. I did enjoy myself and may consider staying again given a good rate but there are other deluxe properties I would very much like to stay at as well for various reasons. Were you considering this hotel versus another?