Mixed feelings about our Kidani stay

[LadyTrampScamp&Angel]

LOL, I think it must have been sitting on the floor - our bed was high so that's one issue we didn't have! Amazing the things you learn on these boards!

 

[SamSam]

I hope the internet access isn't a continuing problem. Dh and I absolutely have to take our work with us on vacation (only morning though) and it is internet based, so I hope AKV gets those issue worked out before we arrive in October.

 

[le9397]

I think the HA rooms all have low beds. We had one at Pop in April. We walked in and I asked DBF if the bed seemed low. Then we realized the bathroom had the HA setup for the shower. The one plus was we had a fridge in the room which you do not normally get at Pop.

 

[dis-happy]

We had internet problems with a VWL room a couple of months ago. It was a huge problem for us, as my dh works all the time and some important things were happening, plus my dd was on a deadline for a college summer internship application. The access was vital. Someone from tech/maintenance came on Sun. night and couldn't fix it, said he'd be back the next day. By talking to the hotel manager I was able to get my dh use of a room for the day in the lodge until it got fixed. They also put us on a list to change rooms, just in case. We ended up making use of both options and they did not charge us to change. Hope it never happens to you again, but when it's for work (as opposed to casual internet use) I would talk to the manager and ask for what you need (nicely of course!!!). They should be able to accomodate a work situation if necessary.

 

[danielle782001]

We just came back from a six night stay...

We loved:
1) The size of our dedicated 2 bedroom
2) View of the savanna and all the active animals
3) Parking near our room because our room was right near an elevator and parking
4) Beauty of the village
5) The pool

We did not like:
*1) Far distance from the Mara
2) Small selection of food at the shop
3) Coffee was terrible at the shop

We would like to see:
More food offerings at the shop or a small quick service that takes the dining plan...Could be just cold food but we would like some more convience for grabbing food.

 

[DebbieB]

I was at Kidani last month. Regarding crowded busses - Kidani definitely has an advantage there. We used the busses a couple of times for early opening and we had no problem getting a seat but there were people left on the curb at Jambo. Regarding internet - no problem. I did have a problem at Jambo last year but it turned out to be the configuration on my computer (something with an IP address typed in).

 

[gkrykewy]

Man, I really hope we don't get an HA room in August. We're arriving at the airport at about 10am, so hopefully that mitigates that possibility to some extent. I think I requested a non-HA room, but I sometimes forget to do so.

Overall Kidani impressions have been excellent - can't wait to stay! I wish the Pembe Savanna would open early.

 

[kapeman]

Our home resort is AKV. We've stayed in five different rooms at AKV since becoming members and the only time I have NOT gotten a HA room was when I specifically requested we not be put in one of those rooms.

That is weird. I called once to ask NOT to get an HA room and the CM told me that wasn't really an option.

I guess it is another case of having to play CM roulette.

 

[gkrykewy]

That is weird. I called once to ask NOT to get an HA room and the CM told me that wasn't really an option.

I guess it is another case of having to play CM roulette.

The trick is to request a room with a bathtub.

 

[florep1]

The trick is to request a room with a bathtub.

Wouldn't have worked in our case. We had a 1BR with roll in shower and tub in bedroom as well as a shower/tub in the entryway/kitchen.

 

[LadyTrampScamp&Angel]

Our HA studio had a tub as well, the sides were just not as high as normal.

Really, a CM should put in it in your requests if you don't want an HA room, although they cannot guarantee it. Next time someone refuses, hang up and call back. Then ask again to NOT have that room type at check in. I didn't even think about it but will do this on our next visit. I think that's the most you could do. As others have said, if that's all that is left - you'll end up with it. In our case, we stuck it out to avoid the inconvenience of changing rooms and our HA room was in a much better location, the location was awesome actually. Sometimes I guess it'll be a trade off.

That's another thing that concerns me about Kidani though, some of those rooms are a long, LONG, way from stuff like the pool. It's a huge resort.

 

[florep1]

That's another thing that concerns me about Kidani though, some of those rooms are a long, LONG, way from stuff like the pool. It's a huge resort.

Be careful what you wish for. We learned this the hard way. A month ago or so, as soon as Kidani opened and I heard about the lack of CS options there, I actually asked here where would be a good location for easy access to Mara as we were on the DDP. The response I got was, request to be close to Jambo house. We got that request for 4 nights, just a couple of doors away from the end of the hallway on the third floor. As soon as we got to our room, we decided to venture out and find Mara. I noticed a door at the very end of the hallway, saw a stairwell, and took it all the way down to the ground floor. We ended up in the receiving dock and happened to find a CM who showed us the way to Jambo house. I would not recommend this route. We just happened to be there when that gate was open. On subsequent trips, using the elevator and following the signs, that gate stayed closed. The silver lining? walk to lobby of Jambo house was 2-3 minutes.
We moved to a 1BR on day 4, and although it was a HA room, we preferred it's location.

 

[eliza61]

Sorry you had problems. Hope you mention these issue to management and email customer relations.

General question to any one. Why would you be charged a fee to move if your room is defective. I would think a broken toilet and no internet access would be considered below par.
Isn't kidani brand new?

 

[LadyTrampScamp&Angel]

florep1 - yes, that's a word of caution to anyone. It's huge and guests will have to chose carefully what they want to request. I overheard a CM telling some guests to walk all the way down the hall toward Jambo, take the last exit and you'll be halfway there - in order to stay inside, covered in the air conditioning. He isn't kidding about how far down Kidani goes, but if you are on that end you're a long walk away from the lobby, store, pool and fitness center.

Why would you be charged a fee to move if your room is defective. I would think a broken toilet and no internet access would be considered below par.

My thoughts exactly. It's the first time I felt disadvantaged for being a DVC member

Is there a room report by resort thread anywhere? That would be useful to have.

 

[Pinnie]

Interesting topic in that we checked into a one bedroom on Friday (7/10) and when we walked in noticed right away it was HA. We immediately called down to the desk and told them we wanted a regular room. We were told one wasn't available yet and that we would be called on our cell when it was ready. So, we schlepped our bags back down to our car. We were called a little after 4:00 and ended up in a room in the ZAZU area.

While it is a nice place, I am glad my points are at BCVs. Trying to read at night is difficult because it is so dark. The TVs are slow to respond to channel changing and we had to call down for 2 different coffee pots before we got one that worked.

Also, I didn't like where the dishes were kept in that lower cabinet by the stove.

The up side of this resort are the animals. Our view was spectacular! We saw the pool and thought it looked like it would be a lot of fun. CMs were outstanding and helpful.

Just not my cup of tea.

pinnie

 

[pilferk]

I was at Kidani last month. Regarding crowded busses - Kidani definitely has an advantage there. We used the busses a couple of times for early opening and we had no problem getting a seat but there were people left on the curb at Jambo. Regarding internet - no problem. I did have a problem at Jambo last year but it turned out to be the configuration on my computer (something with an IP address typed in).

We had an issue in January of '08, at Jambo....and that was before "free internet" for DVC members.

I quickly found that the wall jack wasn't actually connected to anything...whoever had installed it had not actually connected the CAT-5 cabling to the jack.

They sent up a net tech, who ended up calling in facilities to make the connection. The tech walked in, plugged his network signal tester into the wall, and got no lights. He popped the jack off, and could see the wiring behind the face plate....sitting there. It had been run all the way to the jack, but never connected.

He said he had to have facilities send someone to connect it. He wasn't allowed due to union rules regarding electrician work....but the facilities guy showed up about 30 minutes later, and was done in 10 minutes or so.

The wonders of "full priced beta testing" new construction, eh?

 

[pilferk]

That is weird. I called once to ask NOT to get an HA room and the CM told me that wasn't really an option.

I guess it is another case of having to play CM roulette.

In December '08, they tried to put us in an HA room. We called and talked to a CM, a supervisor, and finally the in-house manager for DVC. The HA set up, with young kids, can be downright dangerous. At least with our kids. The cooktop was super low, and they could easily (and by "they" I mean even our 2 year old) get to the controls. As my wife is on the phone, pleading our case, we watched our 2 year old (unprompted) go over and start playing with the knobs.

My wife relayed the story (and her displeasure about not having a tub, making it difficult to BATHE our 2 youngest kids)..and we were quickly moved across the hall to another room.

We made sure, on our ressie this time, to SPECIFICALLY request we not be assigned an HA room. Hopefully, that will help. It's our only request, actually.