Reviews of Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge Concierge
Reviewed by Rbbss Review Date: 07/13/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
Returned for a Sunrise Safari after 8 years with my nephew and his family. Was a little disorganized in the beginning and we left the lobby more than 1/2 hour late. Once we boarded the busses all was good and we enjoyed seeing the animals. Breakfast was good, but I missed the fruit soup that I remembered from before. Pool was good. Concierge was pleasant with good food. Really enjoyed the opportunity to talk to the guides about the Savannas and their lives in their countries. Animals on the Savannas were very different from the last time we were there. Guides explained why they adjusted animal composition. Lucky to see Crested Cranes and 2 eggs. Tried dinner at Sanaa - delicious. Enjoyed the new Red River Hogs and donkeys. Hated to leave. Can't wait to return
Pros:
Concierge lounge, guides, sunrise safari, animalsCons:
Far from other parksReviewed by NJDzneMom Review Date: 11/11/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
We stayed at AKL Nov 2nd - 8th on 4th Floor Jambo House Club Level. View of the savana from the room was great and there were almost always animals there for viewing. We enjoyed the continental breakfast in the Club Lounge almost every morning - bagels, pastries, cereals, coffee, juices, tea. Loved the jungle juice! We were in the parks during the day so didn't really get to partake though we did experience great appetizers one afternoon. The evening presented beer, wine and some nice small desserts.
The staff was very helpful in assisting with dining arrangements and answering many questions throughout our trip. We found them very courteous, friendly and helpful.
Pros:
Very helpful staff; nice treats throughout the dayCons:
NoneReviewed by lb1160 Review Date: 05/09/2014
Rating: (10) Recommended
Just returned and was our first time staying on concierge level. Was hesitant that it would be worth the extra money. But it was amazing!! great staff, super friendly and really made you feel at home. Offerings from 7 am to 10:30 at night. Will never book without it again. Totally enjoyed the whole experience
Pros:
Wonderful Staff, great food offerings, open long hoursCons:
noneReviewed by Alexandra1986 Review Date: 09/22/2014
Rating: (9) Recommended
My fiancé and I stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge Club level on Sep 1 to Sep 3. This was our first trip to the Animal Kingdom Lodge and it was a wonderful few nights.
We were located on the fourth floor with a savannah view, and location wise it was perfect. The club level staff was very helpful with getting us last minute dinner
reservations at Teppan Edo, as well as making us feel special since we were celebrating our anniversary. The club lounge is beautiful it looks out over the lobby.
The food options were good in the lounge with breakfast you had croissants, mini muffins, cereal, bagels, toast, fruit and jungle juice which is amazing. During
snack time they had a good selection with peanut butter brownies, rice crispy squares, mini truffles, warm cookies, cheddar gold fish and yogurt pretzels.
The only thing that I would make sure to note is the club level guests are greeted right at the doors before entering the lodge, if no one is standing out there you have to go to the
regular check in so they can call someone to bring you up the club check in. This was something that I only found out from reading the allears reviews, no one in club level let
me know that.
The Animal Kingdom lodge is a beautiful resort and I highly recommend it, the bus service is my only complaint. The buses were very slow while we were there, we usually
waited 30-45 minutes for a bus to the Magic Kingdom. I don’t see anyone else having this issue so it could have been an off week. Next time we stay here we would have a rental car though. The bus picks up and drops off at Kidani first and Jambo house last (at least that was the route when we were there, bus schedules do change).
For any special occasions I would recommend staying club level, this hotel is just so romantic.
Pros:
service, room, foodCons:
—Reviewed by tink1970 Review Date: 05/23/2016
Rating: (5) Not Recommended
My mother had always wanted to stay here so we splurged for 2 rooms CL for 1 night prior to our NYE cruise. Sadly, her room was initially ready, then not. We waited, had dinner, waited some more., had dessert. The CL hosts were not helpful at all, either not knowing what the delay was or not sharing.Finally my parents were in their room by 9 pm. This defeated the point of being at AKL with a Savannah room. Since we were only there for 17 hours, and 5 were spent waiting for a room, 8 for sleeping, this was a waste of money. After the fact we were refunded a fraction of our cost...but there was no magic.
The food offerings were...fine. I'd hoped there would be some more unique items-but if there were I cannot recall. Again, the lounge hosts were neither helpful nor interactive.
Sadly, I think the obvious cost containment protocol has arrived at AKL CL.
Pros:
Animals, dining, themeCons:
cost, bus accessReviewed by Disney Dad Review Date: 10/19/2016
Rating: (5) Not Recommended
I have been to WDW more than 20 times, and decided to take my family to the AK lodge. We splurged on a Club Level, one bedroom suite. The room and lodge were fantastic, and as always Boma and Jiko were perfect!
However, we won't be back to the Club Level room. The club service continues to deteriorate.
I timed my check-in time at just over one hour (3pm on a Sunday). We were given a small, not helpful map to navigate the large resort without offer of Bell service or useful directions.
Several times, the cast members in the Club Level were complaining about their staffing ratios (apparently decreased from 4 to 3 cast members per shift) and needing to arrive for work at 5 am.
When they didn't know the answer to a question, they made up an answer instead of looking up the correct answer. As a savvy Disney traveler, this is sad. The AK lodge has a wonderful physical building, but the Club Level is not worth the considerable expense.
For a truly great Club Level experience, I recommend Yacht Club. It has always been warm and welcoming.
Pros:
Beautiful lodge, spacious room, comfortable rooms, quiet roomsCons:
Lounge staffReviewed by cdancel Review Date: 03/20/2017
Rating: (10) Recommended
Checked in and hostess gave my son his birthday pin and a cheetah print visor. She then escorted us up the elevator while singing the Mickey Mouse song. MANY other guests joined in the singing while we marched to the elevator. She told us not to try and push the #6 elevator button but rather just hold our band to it and it would take us there. Another cast member greeted us on the 6th with a welcome gift bag full of trail mix, scroll of welcome and hotel info. He then offered us alcohol while we waited for a room but we declined and just partook of the offered snacks which included jelly beans, cookies, fresh fruit and create your own trial mix: goldfish, yogurt covered pretzels, cashews, cranberries, golden raisins, and African spiced nuts. A room was ready but we wanted a bunk bed room which took about thirty minutes to clean for us. My son enjoyed watching Sister Act and snacking while I perused the small book lending library in the lounge. We came back at dinner time to the lounge and on the menu they had broccolini, mashed potatoes, butter curry turkey, as well as African stew. I remember reading that the club did not serve enough food to count as a meal and I would disagree. I think they served enough at breakfast and dinner to fill me up. However the lunchtime offerings definitely would not hold me over. For breakfast we had African quinoa which was quinoa with diced fruit and you could add additional fruit or brown sugar. They also had oatmeal, boiled eggs, fresh fruit such as pineapple, berries, grapes, grape fruit, bananas, etc, croissants, bagels, yogurt, jams, butter, cream cheese, scones, muffins, milk, juices, teas, and the cappuccino machine. We definitely got our money's worth with the food. They also kept the lounge very clean with a constant supply of staff members clearing the tables, refreshing the food supplies, and taking special requests from diners. I tried to tip one but he said they were not allowed to accept tips. Staying concierge level is also the only way to get the great views from the 6th floor. I have never stayed fancy level at any other hotel so have nothing to compare it to. Also should note that we paid less for it as we had the Florida resident discount rate and the concierge level was only about $20-$30 more per night than a non concierge level room. But we loved it, would recommend, and would do again.
Pros:
Free food, great views, great customer serviceCons:
noneReviewed by LynnM Review Date: 03/31/2017
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
We stayed at AK club level 3/9 - 3/13/17 and were very disappointed this time. The club level staff ignored us in the lounge. At check in we asked for a quiet room and were told we would be away from the elevator as requested. When we got to our room that was not the case, the room was right off the elevator corridor. The next morning after not sleeping very well due to elevator noise, staircase noise and a service room above our room we voiced our complaint. Sue said she would let management know. Later that day she got us a credit for one night which was very nice. But, besides Sue, the attitude of the staff was not what we are used to at Disney. We will not stay club level there anymore.
Pros:
Beautiful resortCons:
club level service was terribleReviewed by EMFR Review Date: 01/21/2018
Rating: (3) Recommended
We stayed there for a week in October. We always split our room stays so had just come from a week in WL CL, which was fantastic. We had no idea that the Club Level would be so different in a similar resort. Consistency please! On arrival we were directed to our room, which was on another floor and some distance from the lounge. We returned to the club lounge to request a different room which we were allocated. (There was another family there at the same time demanding a move as well). This was still on another floor and although closer to the lounge, was still a reasonable walk away. We again requested another room, however there were none available in the resort. We requested a move to another resort, but there were no vacancies. Disappointed, we returned to our room. The room was a standard room with standard amenities, no robes, additional toiletries or anything that would indicate the room was a club room. We then received several free FP to compensate and although the gesture was appreciated, the fact remains that the resort has multiple flaws in club level service. DVC members seem to be the main focus of service - their rooms are on the lounge level, the busses always stop there first, and ordinary club guests appear to be an inconvenience. The serving staff in the lounge were downright rude on at least two occasions and incompetent on some others. They watch what you eat and drink like a hawk - we’re not greedy by any means, but you can ask for two drinks at one time apparently, we didn’t know this (hubby asked for 4 which was two each as there was a line and it would have saved us from queuing up twice - this request was refused). We were treated like children and told off by a member of staff for using a tray to take food back to our room! The lounge was frequently packed and not an enjoyable place to spend time, with an unfriendly atmosphere.
Our TV was broken so we reported it, nothing was done so we reported it again, it still wasn’t fixed so we reported it for a third time to be told “you don’t stay here to watch TVâ€. We borrowed DVDs from desk just so we could watch something other than the Disney infomercial channels. Would never set foot in this resort again (we are actually very reasonable people and not fussy but you should get what you pay for) and wouldn’t recommend it for anyone else. Spend a little more and stay elsewhere, or stay in a normal room and get the DDP with the saving!
Pros:
Beautiful resort to look atCons:
Service, bus service, terrible club levelReviewed by Mars315 Review Date: 09/26/2018
Rating: (3) Not Recommended
We stayed here in early September for five nights. The cast members are unfriendly. The only time they paid any attention to us was when we checked in, and even then they seemed bored and distracted. The lounge is WAY overcrowded. Our room was on a different floor, far from the lounge. Ovbiously Disney can designate as many rooms as they like as CL this way, instead of the old model of doing it where there was a club level floor, and you would be limited in the number of guests making use of the lounge. At the AKL, if I did not go right up to the lounge first thing, we could not get a table. In the evenings, people would crowd around just waiting for the staff to bring the food out and they would descend upon the offerings as if they had never had food before. To get a glass of wine, you had to flag down a passing CM (EXTREMEMLY difficult as they walked by with eyes averted on their way back into the kitchen), who then acted surprised that you were asking for a glass of wine. The last straw for us was when, having paid in the upper hundreds for a savannah view room, we attempted to take our wine back down to our room to enjoy the view (as well as to just get some peace from the OVERCROWDED lounge), we were loudly SCOLDED by the desk CM who told us that THEIR wine glasses do not leave the lounge! Are you kidding me? EVERY hotel I've ever stayed at I have been allowed to take my wine back to my room. Even at the Courtyard by Marriott. We will never return to the CL there. EVER.
