My brief review of our stay at AKL

Mr.MouseFan

<font color=blue>Is a line cutter<br><font color=g
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Nov 11, 2000
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Hi All!

We just got back from a 6 day stay at AKL and had an awesome time. We were in a savannah view room #4553 which was alllll the way in the back of the hotel. What we gave up in closeness to the lobby we more than regained back with the view of the animals. Our room was off in a corner of the savannah and the animals were out quite often. Even though they go back to the barns in the middle of the day, we were able to see them at any time due to the fact that the barns were back in our corner of the savannah.
The pool is absolutely tremendous!! 11,000 square feet! Huge! Boma's breakfast was THE BEST breakfast I have ever had! Delicious. Unfortunately we didn't get to try Jiko, but then again, why do it all in one trip and leave nothing for the second? :D The Mara was good too. Only thing wrong with The Mara was the limited selection on the menu. Nonetheless, the double bacon cheeseburgers are out of this world!
The only real problem we had with the whole trip was with mousekeeping. I know that these people have more than 1,200 rooms to clean, but man are they slow! Several days we returned to our room between 3:30 and 4pm only to find that our room had not been made up yet! Needless to say, by that time of the day we didn't want our room done....we wanted to take our mid-day nap/break, and of course, it was also the time that mousekeeping would knock on the door. I know tipping mousekeeping has been quite an issue on this board in the past. Before I was religious about leaving a tip for mousekeeping, but I certainly didn't do so this trip.
On the other side of the spectrum, we had a great bellperson (is that what they're called?) bring our bags to our room. Her name was Terre and she was great! We originally booked a smoking room and unbeknownst to us, we were given a non-smoking room. We didn't know this until we asked Terre and she got right on the phone with the front desk and took care of everything. She had them reassign us a room and also had them send someone to meet us at the room with our new keys. She then reloaded our bags and escorted us all the way to the other side of the hotel where our room was. All throughout the walk to the new room she told us of all the fun facts about the hotel and where the best lookouts were and when the best time of day to see the animals was. She was great and is an asset to the AKL!

Well, I guess this wasn't such a brief review was it? Anywho, on a scale of 1-10 I give the AKL a 9.75. I sooo want to give it a 10 but mousekeeping definitely has room for improvement. :D :D
 
Wow! Sounds like you had a blast! Your post makes me even more excited about our upcoming trip. I'm glad you liked Boma for breakfast so much, I've eaten dinner there but never breakfast. We will definitely be trying it on this trip.:)

Thanks for the report!
 
Tina26- You're going to have a blast too! AKL is such a beautiful resort! Be sure to go out onto Arusha Rock at night. They have a night-vision scope that can be used to see the animals in the dark! Have fun!!! :D
 
I can't WAIT! I'm almost tempted to get a pool view room instead of a savanna view though...mainly because they're so close to everything. Plus, if the animals aren't there, seems like it'd be the better view. Any thoughts?
 

Sounds like you had a wonderful time!

The pool view rooms are convenient. I had one (upgrade from standard) & it was very easy to run down to Mara for a drink or back to the room when I needed something.

One tip is to call housekeeping when you are leaving your room & ask them to clean it early. They always seem happy to help out when we explain that we have a toddler, and will be back to the room to nap in the early afternoon. It's easier for everyone if they clean the room in the morning while we're away. We've done this at non-disney hotels too.
 
Mr.MouseFan, I've never heard about the night vision scope, that sounds so neat. My kids are going to love that!

Gillian, thanks for the tip on calling and having them clean the room early. We have a toddler too so we need our room in the afternoon for naps.
 
Gillian....Great tip! :D
I just never thought to do that....I figured they pretty much stick to their schedules.
We have had rooms that are last on their list to clean for the day and it is a pain!:eek:

Anyway.....AKL is a BEAUTIFUL resort. When we went last May, we had a room near the pool but with a savana view (the rooms on the other side of the hall had pool view). So that was excellent, so convenient.
I do remember telling my family I would NOT want to be way down at the end of the wing!!! :eek: But at least you can stop and look out all the windows at the animals while on your way down. :D
 
jennymouse- if you're looking for convenient access to The Mara and other amenities, I would definitely go for a pool view room. The pool area is incredible and is just a good as a Savannah view. The only problem I could see would maybe be the noise from the pool as it is open 24 hours a day.

Gillian- that is a great tip! I would never have thought to do that! I'll keep that in mind during our next visit!:D

cindyfan- being waaay and the end of the wing was just terrible after a long day at the parks! LOL. Also, one thing I didn't get was why the walk from the bus stop to the front door was uphill. It should be the other way. :D :D :D
 
Hi Mr. Mousefan

Sounds like you had a wonderful trip.

We're leaving Sat May 4th for 7 nights at AKL Savanah View Room.

We also have requested a smoking room and was wondering if they had very many smoking areas around the resort or pool area.

Also, what Savannah did you overlook? My son has to do 2 reports on animals as part of his massive homework assignment and it sounds like your room location would be ideal for him.

Thanks for the info
 















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