Kudu vs. Zebra Trail

[justhat]

What is the advantage to the Arusha Savannah Zebra Trail rooms over the Arusha Savannah Kudu Trail rooms? It just seems that everything I read says to request Zebra Trail, Arusha Savannah, but as someone pointed out on another thread, if everyone asks for that, we can't all get it and then I may be stuck in a random location. Though the random location may have a great view, I'd prefer to put in a request that I have a greater chance of getting (especially since we won't arrive at AKL until about 7:30pm so I'm assuming many people will already have their rooms). We're faxing in our request tomorrow so please let me know if there's any reason I should specifically ask for the Zebra Trail instead of the Kudu Trail???

 

[Gillian]

Well, if you list your requests as arusha savannah, zebra trail, they will first try to fill the savannah request & then do zebra trail, if available. So you're not hurting your request by adding a specific trail. They fill them in the order listed.

The reason people request Zebra trail is that it is closer to the pool & restaurants. I'm not 100% sure, but I think if you are on the Kudu trail side, you have to go through the lobby to get to the pool area. The view should be similar on either side of the "horseshoe." If you don't mind walking, then don't worry about it.

Hope that helps!

 

[Redmic]

We have stayed on both trails. On zebra trail we saw giraffes, zebra, wildbeasts and the various cattle, in large numbers. On Kudu trial we saw pelicans and little else. We did occasionally see gemsbok or ancole cattle from a distance. The 2 problems I noticed with Kudu trail were a lack of feeding boxes to attract animals and a number of trees blocking the view. If you want to see lots of animals up close your odds are a lot better on Zebra trail.

 

[sharoncity]

As the other post points out, Zebra Trail is much more convienent to the Pool and Mara's Fast Food Rest. If you are planning on the refillable mugs, this could be important. Because of the way the horseshoe is set-up, if you are at the end of Kudu Trail, it is a pretty long walk to Mara's. Also, I chose Zebra Trail because it is the only one you can see Zebra's on (Zebras don't mix well with all animals). My DS was only 4 and I wanted to make sure we saw some animals he could easily recognize. If the pool and Mara's are not going to be highly visited by you, then Zebra Trail may not be as important. Don't forget, when you fax requests, they start with the first request and work down, fillilng as many of your requests as is possible. So what ever is listed third or fourth stands less of a chance of being fulfilled. Hope this helps! Have a GREAT time!

 

[Gillian]

Isn't the view of Arusha savanna from either side of the horseshow, kudu trail or zebra trail, the same? which savannah are the zebras on? If they are on arusha, shouldn't you be able to see them from either trail? If they are on the Uzima savannah (on the other side of zebra trail) then you wouldn't be able to see them from Kudu trail, of course. And one side of Kudu trail overlooks sunset savannah, which I've heard has a lot of birds.

I lent all of my AKL info to a friend.

 

[sharoncity]

There are three savannahs - Sunset, Arusha and Uzima. Ostrich are only on Sunset, Zebras are only on Arusha and Kudu are only on Uzima. If you request Zebra Trail on the inside of the horseshoe, the view would be the same as Kudo Triail on the inside of the horseshoe. However, if you are in a room facing the outside, the view would of course be of one of the other savannahs.
I personally did not want to be on the inside of the horseshoe because that would necessitate being on the main hallway, which I felt is a little too busy and therefore noisy for my tastes. But that is just MHO. MANY people prefer to be in this location. That is why we all get a chance to have our requests honored!

 

[sharoncity]

There are three savannahs - Sunset, Arusha and Uzima. Ostrich are only on Sunset, Zebras are only on Arusha and Kudu are only on Uzima. If you request Zebra Trail on the inside of the horseshoe, the view would be the same as Kudo Triail on the inside of the horseshoe. However, if you are in a room facing the outside, the view would of course be of one of the other savannahs.
I personally did not want to be on the inside of the horseshoe because that would necessitate being on the main hallway, which I felt is a little too busy and therefore noisy for my tastes. But that is just MHO. MANY people prefer to be in this location. That is why we all get a chance to have our requests honored!

 

[CRCrazy]

We loved our location on Zebra Trail - Arusha Savannah. We were in room 5429. It was convenient to the elevator which goes straight down to the pool/Mara area. The view was of the open savannah straight ahead and to the right. The view to the left was the Arusha Rock overlook. We were definitely up high - the animals would certainly not be looking into your window, but we have five people in our family, so we need to stay in the deluxe room, or get two rooms. We were actually staying concierge level - but requested a savannah view - so we got the deluxe room on the 5th floor. It was still easy access to the 6th floor lounge using our room key in the elevator.

I found that the animals have definite spots where they like to hang out. Although there were at least two giraffe on the savannah all the time - we only saw them from our room once. They liked to hang out further back near the open end of the horse shoe, behind the trees. The zebra on the other hand, were always right outside our balcony! We got some awesome pictures! There were always plenty of other animals as well. The Ankole cattle tended to hang closer to the Kudu Trail side, they were visible, but not audible! I've heard they can be a problem while sleeping! This was our first trip to AKL, but definitely not our last - my 6 year old couldn't wait to go out on the balcony when we checked in - she came running right back in and said "Mommy, I see a Cantelope! " This set the tone for our entire trip!

 

[pewing]

We just got back from a week at AKL. It was awesome We were in room 3511...right off the lobby. That is on the zebra trail. We had animals ALL the time. I don't think we ever looked out our window and didn't see at least one animal. Hope you have as good of a time...I loved it!!

 

[justhat]

Thanks everyone for your help! It sounds like everyone who sayed on the Zebra Trail was happy so that's what we'll be requesting. I've been trying to send in our fax all night but their fax line is busy so I'll keep trying. Thanks again!

 

[Spacedog1975]

Online checkin is offering kudu trail but not zebra. It does offer near elevator or near lobby. Would either of these help? Should I wait to make requests onsite?

 

[sndral]

Online checkin is offering kudu trail but not zebra. It does offer near elevator or near lobby. Would either of these help? Should I wait to make requests onsite?

Realize you have resurrected a 2002 thread and the information is no longer accurate, zebras, for example are on each of the 3 larger savannas these days, for example.
When I did online check in I left it blank, I wouldn't mind trying Kudu trail overlooking Sunset Savanna, but that's because I've been on Zebra trail overlooking both Arusha and Uzima savannas and wouldn't mind a change.
What view did you book and are you in a regular room or a DVC villa? The best choice depends on what matters to you (partial savanna view while paying for a standard view - Kudu's a good choice, Arusha savanna view then Kudu might not be a first choice as Zebra trail is more convenient to quick service and pool, etc..)

 

[Spacedog1975]

Realize you have resurrected a 2002 thread and the information is no longer accurate, zebras, for example are on each of the 3 larger savannas these days, for example.
When I did online check in I left it blank, I wouldn't mind trying Kudu trail overlooking Sunset Savanna, but that's because I've been on Zebra trail overlooking both Arusha and Uzima savannas and wouldn't mind a change.
What view did you book and are you in a regular room or a DVC villa? The best choice depends on what matters to you (partial savanna view while paying for a standard view - Kudu's a good choice, Arusha savanna view then Kudu might not be a first choice as Zebra trail is more convenient to quick service and pool, etc..)

On the point of the age of the thread - I didn't pay close attention . I just don't like creating new topics when my question probably came up before and this was the first one in the search thread.

For the room reservation: I have 2 successive reservations with different parties.

The first reservation is a standard savannah view room.
The second wave is for Standard savannah view club level. (This one was booked by a travel agent who was clear it was savannah view, but it appears as Standard Room - Club Level Access in the materials.) This one has a priority for connecting rooms.

I get the impression I should not select the kudu option for online checkin, but will Elevator or Lobby influence my view?

Thank you!

 

[tiger4me2]

On the point of the age of the thread - I didn't pay close attention . I just don't like creating new topics when my question probably came up before and this was the first one in the search thread.

For the room reservation: I have 2 successive reservations with different parties.

The first reservation is a standard savannah view room.
The second wave is for Standard savannah view club level. (This one was booked by a travel agent who was clear it was savannah view, but it appears as Standard Room - Club Level Access in the materials.) This one has a priority for connecting rooms.

I get the impression I should not select the kudu option for online checkin, but will Elevator or Lobby influence my view?

Thank you!

When we stayed club level you got the Savannah view. We requested Zebra trail and got that. They might have change since we stayed in 2006. Just my views. Good luck !!

 

[nkereina]

We were just there two weeks ago and we got zebra trail, room 5505. It was a hike from the elevator, and off the main hallway. It wasn't *super* convenient to the Mara or the pool - still had to walk down long corridors and down the elevator, but I guess a few steps closer since we didn't have to walk across the lobby. From our balcony, we had vultures perched just below us and we could see giraffes and wildebeasts (or warthogs?) and other deer-like animals. There was a chainlink fence preventing those from crossing over into the area our room was overlooking, but we could still see them well.

 

[Spacedog1975]

Any guidance on the "magic" level at which animals are easiest to see? Doubt this can impact the Club reservation, but the standard savannah earlier in the week...