Just returned - AKL Pool View

[rach98n]

As I wade through mountains of laundry, I'll try to give a quick trip report. If anyone wants to PM me for info, feel free!

We checked in on Wed. afternoon around 1. Rooms (2 connecting standard pool view) not ready. I asked about the cost for upgrading to Savannah - no freebie offered - would've cost $50/night. Not worth it. We were given GREAT rooms! 3454 and 3456 on the zebra trail - connecting. One room had 2 Q beds, the other had one Q and bunks. PERFECT. Third floor (lobby level) 2 doors down from the elevator and a great view of the pool. These were just a quick elevator ride to the Mara where we filled our mugs often! Perfect location. I would DEFINITELY request 2nd floor or higher...I would not have been happy w/a 1st floor view.

Just some observations...

Noise: Yes, you can hear the people in the pool at night. Yes, you can hear your neighbors to some extent. Yes, you can hear frequent toilets. If you don't like to hear it, definitely get a good pair of earplugs. I could not hear any hallway noise.

Savannah vs pool view: Just my opinion definitely, but I was glad to not have spent more for Sav. view. There are SO many convenient viewing areas, and truly, I found our pool view very appealing. The animals are everywhere and we did not lack seeing them. One plus to Sav. view might be that it is quieter.

Housekeeping: Absolutely average. I can't necessarily complain, but for a deluxe, I would have expected a little better. I'm not sure the carpets were ever swept. If so, not well. We tipped well for both rooms and nothing special or over and above was ever done. No big deal though - we had plenty of clean towels, etc.

Cast members: Never ran into ONE at the AKL that was unpleasant or rude.

Food: Unfortunately we never ate here! Our loss I'm sure. We did get a pizza from the Mara one night. It was a fairly good value. We bought 2 mugs and used them constantly, but then we were VERY close to Mara. We found an area VERY close to the AKL with a Publix and tons of restaurants. I think we saved a lot of $$ by heading there. We didn't stop at the grocery on the way to AKL and were glad because this Publix was very handy.

Refrig and coffee makers were in room without being requested.

Pool: My kids swam 3 out of the 5 days. The water is kept very warm.

We had fun, but are glad to be home! Any questions???

 

[mrFDNY]

glad you had a good time,
just one question how were the parks busy?

 

[rach98n]

Actually, suprisingly, yes. Thursday was supposed to be rainy, but ended up not so bad, but I think that kept the crowds away. We did everything we wanted at MGM very quickly. Friday, we hit MK - it was COLD and cloudy, but yet, seemed fairly crowded. I would still say we didn't have to wait more than about 20 minutes on things though, so I'm probably spoiled! That was the Dance Team day at MK - there were big packs of them! Saturday at Animal Kingdom in the am - no lines. PM at Epcot...not bad. Suprisingly, the wait for Mission Space was always only about 5 minutes! Sunday (Super Bowl day) we hit all 4 parks. AK was a MESS! MGM - not bad. Epcot, again not bad waits, but seemed really crowded. MK - very crowded.

 

[mrFDNY]

thanks for the quick reply leaving in about 6 hrs for wdw thx again

 

[Pea-n-Me]

We visited there 2 weeks ago to eat at Boma and decided we'd like to stay there for 2 nights before our next cruise. From what we saw by the pool I was wondering if you were able to see any animals from there even though it wasn't savannah view? Where were there other viewing areas besides the main one off the back lobby and the small ones by the pools?

Thanks for your report and insight!

 

[kathmzh]

We just missed you there! It is a beautiful resort, isn't it? I was wondering, when we were in the pool at 8 p.m., if those rooms were noisy with the "bowl effect" they have around the pool. But the convenience to the Mara and pool would be worth it, in my opinion -- we had a long, long trek to our Kudu trail room.
And Pea-n-Me, there are viewing areas all over, down every hallway. On our walk to our room, we must have passed three our four areas with nice, big rockers overlooking the savanna.

 

[rach98n]

To answer both of you...yes, there are TONS of viewing areas all over the AKL. You can't walk down the hallway without passing at least two or three. The last day we were there my kids and I decided to hit ALL savannah viewing areas. It took forever. I also realized how lucky we were to be located where we were. No, we could not see animals from our balcony. Truthfully, my kids are 8, 8 and 11 and I was comfortable letting them go to Arusha rock on their own whenever they wanted.

The noise from the pool was not that loud, but I am not a good sleeper with any noise. It did not bother my DH or kids.

 

[tubachick]

Thanks for posting your report, I think we will visit AKL to look out at one of the viewing areas.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I know it's strange but I kind of like the noise when I'm on vacation (grew up in the city but now live in the country). So it sounds like pool view has the advantage of being close to everything but you can still see the animals wherever you go. Excellent. Thanks, guys!

 

[marymrg]

Thanks rach98n for your mini report. My family and I have never even visited the AKL, but I think we will on our next trip.

 

[Sharon Esch]

It was nice to hear you had a great time with a pool view. My DH and I would love to stay here, but the actually money for the Savannah, we didn't think it was worth the money. It's nice to know that are other ways to see the animals.

How's the pool and slide? Do you have kids and, if so did they enjoy it? Have DD7, DS5.

 

[micksterlee]

We stayed at akl on our last trip and we were upgraded to a pool view room. I agree with the viewing areas I didn t miss a savannah view at all. I liked walking around to the outdoor viewing areas and talking to the cms that knew all about the animals.

 

[cranbiz]

We stayed there in Dec. Had 5014 and 5016 pool view. We had no problems seeing animals from the room (OK they were a little far from us, but we still enjoyed them)

I would stay there again, the lodge has great viewing places, story telling and night viewing places.

 

[rach98n]

How's the pool and slide? Do you have kids and, if so did they enjoy it? Have DD7, DS5.

The pool was good! Warm enough that my kids and DH were in it 3 times, even in Feb. The air was cold, but the water was warm. They liked the slide, but I thought it was going to be "cooler" than it was. They also liked the hot tubs!

 

[racheltyler]

We also love AKL! We were once YC/BC lovers now, AKL has so much appeal to us! We also had a pool view in zebra trail and thinking back, I would not have wanted a savannah view. We spend alot of time at the resort and my kids loved going out and exploring for animals. If we were seeing them from the room all the time, they wouldn't have been excited to get out of the room and go exploring. And our location to everything from our room was the best we ever had at any resort we've stayed at. We could get to Mara, pool, animals, lobby, playground in no time from our room. We also found the CM's there to be soo nice! The ones by the animal lookouts were so nice to the kids giving them binoculars and explaining the animals to them.