Just returned from 8 night stay at AKV Value Studio

[todd222222]

Hi all we just returned from an 8 night stay in room 5120 a dedicated Value Studio with a savanna view.

The room was very nice and we were VERY happy we got the view. It was great.

We checked in around 2pm and our room was ready. The room very clean and ready for us.

The construction noise wasn't bad, we couldn't really hear it in the room but while we could hear it on the balcony it wasn't to loud.

We saw lots of animals and were amazed with the resort in general. (Our first stay in any deluxe resort).

The furniture in the room was very tight, almost comically so. The table and chairs were very close to each other and you had to squeeze in, but once seated it was ok.

Since we had a dedicated studio I don't have any idea where they would put a connecting door.....maybe the lock off studios have smaller pieces of furniture?

I think the sofa bed was a queen, which was cool as were were expecting a double.

While the full cleaning did a good job there were no surprises left, do they do little things in DVC/Deluxe resorts? While at pop century they always left little animals and arranged our many stuffed animals and whatnot. I left a $10 tip for the full cleaning, was this acceptable? Maybe they were just in a hurry.

All in all we had a great trip, my kids got a stomach virus in the middle which knocked them out for 3 days, but we had 2 good days at the beginning and 2 good days at the end, so we made do.

The front desk stay was very helpful with providing options for getting my wife and kids seen by a doctor. We ended up just renting a car for a day. After our return we learned that a friend had called the resort asking if they could send us a get well card and the staff told her no, they only have special cards for birthdays and anniversaries, again no biggie, but it have been very nice to have gotten something from the resort.

When I called to ask where the laundry and trash rooms where the person I spoke with seemed a little confused. She told me about the paid laundry rooms and wasn't sure about a trash room. I mentioned that we were on the DVC floor and that didn't seem to jog her memory. I insisted and she put me on hold and came back a minute later and provided the details, stating that you "learn something new everyday". No biggie.

anyone have any questions for me about the room or resort?

BTW: I did rent points and my room key had "DVC Member" printed on it so they always gave me the DVC discount at the counter service location, not sure if they should have.

 

[IMDORY]

I'm renting points and staying in a savannah studio at AKL in August...I've never stayed in a DVC room ever-the pics of the AKL rooms look awesome!

So, what DO you do with the trash on the days you don't have trash service? Is there somewhere you can dump it yourself, and if so-where is it? Is there a DVC laundry area or does everyone at AKL use the same coin operated laundry? Again, where is that located?

I've never stayed at AKL at all-I've only been there once for a breakfast at Boma, but never really had a chance to "explore" over there. We are really excited to try something new.

 

[spiceycat]

there is the free landry mat - they are close to the lobby steps.

there is trash too - it was next to laundry mat and another one close to the elevator.

would love a savannah view - but don't even think I have a dedicated (which I want)

bad - so sorry your poor little kids got sick. they did good to be only out 3 days. I have had twice this year and both times 5 days.

you are so luck you didn't catch it - it seems to be very inflectious

 

[todd222222]

The "Trash Room" and DVC Laundry Room are both located on the 5th floor by the lobby at the entrance to the "Zebra Trail". Here is a map.

The DVC laundry is free for guest staying in villas (Not sure about guest who book thru CRO). There are 2 washers (1 top loader and 1 front loader) and 4 dryers. You can buy soap or bring your own. There is a TV and a phone I think. The door is locked and you have to use your room key to enter.

 

[n2mm]

We just got back too! We stayed in a standard view studio for 4 nights (zebra trail 5418) then took the cruise and checked back in to the AKV and had a standard view dedicated studio for 1 night (zebra trail 5468). Hubby used the laundry room (free one) the night before the cruise and all worked well he reported. The trash room is near the laundry room. When we checked in yesterday for the one night we got there at 11:00AM and our room was ready!! We have stayed at the AKL several times prior so nothing really new for us. It was nice staying in a newly decorated room.

 

[lmb]

unrelated to the AKV...but we just returned from a 7 night stay at the BWV and our 2 kids and me both got a stomach virus also. Someone I know had friends staying at BCV and they got a stomach virus. Wondering if Jan. is a bad time to travel to disney because of nasty winter viruses....we were planning to go back next Jan.

 

[n2mm]

unrelated to the AKV...but we just returned from a 7 night stay at the BWV and our 2 kids and me both got a stomach virus also. Someone I know had friends staying at BCV and they got a stomach virus. Wondering if Jan. is a bad time to travel to disney because of nasty winter viruses....we were planning to go back next Jan.

Actually we ate at WCC yesterday morning and there was a sick kids there who had to leave and housekeeping had to be called. We had no problems ourselves.

 

[IMDORY]

new to DVC terms-what's the difference between a studio and a dedicated studio? Is it that a studio could have a connecting door for a 1 Bedroom villa and a dedicated studio does not have a connecting door? Just curious...

 

[n2mm]

new to DVC terms-what's the difference between a studio and a dedicated studio? Is it that a studio could have a connecting door for a 1 Bedroom villa and a dedicated studio does not have a connecting door? Just curious...

We thought this too, but after just staying and one studio was a regular one, it had a connecting door. BUT, we also stayed in a dedicated studio and it too had a connecting door. The doors were in different areas. The first one, regular studio standard, the door was in the room across from the bed. In the dedicated standard studio, the door was after entering the room, but before the bathroom and kitchette area. This was a nice extra space to store the luggage. However, the first room had an extra night stand next to the bed (near wall). While the dedicated one did not have the extra night stand, but did have a small bench (about 36 inches long) with a draw under it for extra storage. Both times the blow dryers were inside the clothest/cabinet. The frigs were smaller than we are use to at the other studios. While the same height, they were narrower and when we closed the door, we kept pushing it further under the counter. We did find the lighting in each studio to be lacking near the kitchette. The beds were incredible and the sofa bed was great. We never used it except to sit on it and found it soft and deep, it was not hard like other studio/sofas. The TV took some getting use to, but it was nice not having to watch a little 19 inch like the other studios we've stayed in.

 

[todd222222]

I was under the impression that dedicated meant there was no connecting rooms....my confirmation said I had a dedicated studio and in fact there was no door to the room next door.

Maybe you booked a dedicated but they actually gave you a lock-off.

 

[Claire L]

I was under the impression that dedicated meant there was no connecting rooms....my confirmation said I had a dedicated studio and in fact there was no door to the room next door.

Maybe you booked a dedicated but they actually gave you a lock-off.

Todd must be correct, as dedicated means just that - no connecting door.

Claire

 

[AKV707]

Thanks to te OP for the report. Another happy AKV stay!

 

[n2mm]

I was under the impression that dedicated meant there was no connecting rooms....my confirmation said I had a dedicated studio and in fact there was no door to the room next door.

Maybe you booked a dedicated but they actually gave you a lock-off.

Maybe....but both rooms were different in design. One had a door near the closet, while the other had a little cove area after entering the room and there was a door through the cove. The second room did have a cushion seated bench where the door was in the first room. So the second room (5468) was much roomier than the first one (5418) which had the door actually in the sleeping area. Funny that the rooms were not the same, but the view was better in room 2 as it overlooked directly down on the pool, while room one looked at Boma's roof.

 

[LisaS]

We thought this too, but after just staying and one studio was a regular one, it had a connecting door. BUT, we also stayed in a dedicated studio and it too had a connecting door. The doors were in different areas. The first one, regular studio standard, the door was in the room across from the bed. In the dedicated standard studio, the door was after entering the room, but before the bathroom and kitchenette area.

Actually those are both lockoff studios. Based on the room number you mentioned in your previous post (zebra trail 5468) that room is part of a 2BR lockoff, it's not a dedicated studio.

As far as the connecting doors being in different places, this is a result of working around some structural issues during the hotel room conversion. I've looked at a lot of floor plans and in many of the lockoff studios they had to put the connecting door in the living area rather than in the entryway area.

It is very interesting that they put you in a lockoff studio when your confirmation indicated you had booked a dedicated studio. Most of the dedicated studios have a little broom closet so the vacuum cleaner, ironing board, etc. are not in the wardrobe. If I booked a studio at AKV, I would prefer a dedicated for that reason. I hope your situation was unique but it does make me wonder why they didn't fulfill your reservation for a dedicated studio.

If this is a common practice it will also be of concern to those booking a Value studio. None of the dedicated Value studios face the parking lot so many of us have been wondering if booking a dedicated Value studio would guarantee that you would not get the parking lot view.

 

[n2mm]

Actually those are both lockoff studios. Based on the room number you mentioned in your previous post (zebra trail 5468) that room is part of a 2BR lockoff, it's not a dedicated studio.

As far as the connecting doors being in different places, this is a result of working around some structural issues during the hotel room conversion. I've looked at a lot of floor plans and in many of the lockoff studios they had to put the connecting door in the living area rather than in the entryway area.

It is very interesting that they put you in a lockoff studio when your confirmation indicated you had booked a dedicated studio. Most of the dedicated studios have a little broom closet so the vacuum cleaner, ironing board, etc. are not in the wardrobe. If I booked a studio at AKV, I would prefer a dedicated for that reason. I hope your situation was unique but it does make me wonder why they didn't fulfill your reservation for a dedicated studio.

If this is a common practice it will also be of concern to those booking a Value studio. None of the dedicated Value studios face the parking lot so many of us have been wondering if booking a dedicated Value studio would guarantee that you would not get the parking lot view.

Thanks for the info. Since this was a new resort to me and with so many levels of rooms at Jambo house I had no idea what they considered what level. The second room was much better even if it wasn't a dedicated one. My confirmation did say I was suppose to have a dedicated studio standard view. Since we had just gotten off the cruise Sunday at 9:30AM and checked into the AKV at 11:00AM, I was thrilled that we had a room available. At that point I didn't care since it was only one night and we left Monday afternoon for our flight home. However, I know now and in the future I would've asked why I didn't get the level of room I had reserved. I would've taken this room if I had had to wait until 4:00PM for the dedicated one, since we didn't even unpack it just didn't matter to me. At least this explains why we had 2 completely different standard studio rooms, but both were lockoffs.

 

[antree]

unrelated to the AKV...but we just returned from a 7 night stay at the BWV and our 2 kids and me both got a stomach virus also. Someone I know had friends staying at BCV and they got a stomach virus. Wondering if Jan. is a bad time to travel to disney because of nasty winter viruses....we were planning to go back next Jan.

To answer your question, yes I think that Jan thru March is a bad time for viruses my kids always get sick when we travel to Disney at those times. It never failed as long as we have been going to Disney {10yrs} and as long as it was within those months they got sick.

 

[antree]

I can't wait to go back to AKL, we stayed there a few years ago and LOVED IT! Are the DVC rooms smaller or the same size as the other rooms?

 

[byoung]

Thanks for taking the time to report.

 

[LisaS]

Thanks for the info. Since this was a new resort to me and with so many levels of rooms at Jambo house I had no idea what they considered what level. The second room was much better even if it wasn't a dedicated one. My confirmation did say I was suppose to have a dedicated studio standard view. Since we had just gotten off the cruise Sunday at 9:30AM and checked into the AKV at 11:00AM, I was thrilled that we had a room available. At that point I didn't care since it was only one night and we left Monday afternoon for our flight home. However, I know now and in the future I would've asked why I didn't get the level of room I had reserved. I would've taken this room if I had had to wait until 4:00PM for the dedicated one, since we didn't even unpack it just didn't matter to me. At least this explains why we had 2 completely different standard studio rooms, but both were lockoffs.

For the most part a dedicated studio and a lockoff are equivalent. As I said, most (but not all) dedicated studios have a small broom closet and they also might be quieter because of the lack of a connecting door but otherwise there isn't much difference. I would take a lockoff with a great view over a dedicated with a "so so" view.

The one place where it could make a difference is with the Value studios since there are no dedicated Value studios with a parking lot view. Those booking a Value studio and seeing "dedicated studio" on their confirmation have been hoping that it means they would get either a pool or savanna view. I've been watching out for any reports like yours where the confirmation said "dedicated" but the actual room assignment was for a lockoff, primarily because of what it could mean to those booking a Value studio.