AKV Kilimanjaro Club Concierge

[CajunDisneyFreak]

Is the Kilimanjaro Club Concierge worth the points or is it no different than regular Savannah View?

 

[drusba]

Views are mediocre: two of the 2BR lock-offs overlook the pool, the other three (including an HA room) have a mediocre view of the end of a savanna. Moreover, you cannot request view, it is luck of the draw. Do not get club level if what you want is savanna view. The rooms are all directly above the lobby and thus close to everything at Jambo such as pool, bus station, store, and restaurant. The other advantages of club level are having concierge services, daily cleaning, and a lounge with drinks and finger foods.

Be aware that the small number of club level DVC rooms are typically reserved extremely fast at exactly 11 months out (within nanoseconds after the 11 month window opens on line at 8 a.m. eastern and sometimes before it opens, except that the 1BRs often last longer). If you are a possible renter of rooms from a DVC owner, the chances are essentially zero in getting a reservation for a studio or 2BR because you need to find an owner who both will attempt to make a reservation at exactly 11 months out at 8 a.m. eastern, and has a computer that communicates with Disney's computers faster than anyone else's.

 

[dvcdream4fld]

I agree with the last post for the most part. We are AKV DVC members and still had to wait list part of studio stay at 11 months. However, we did eventually get our entire stay. Our view wasn't the best, but we were traveling with our less than one year old and it was awfully convenient for us. Our room was literally right next to the concierge lounge. We could lay our baby down for a nap or early evening and step outside our room and have snacks and drinks. Also, the concierge food wasn't a lot, but it was perfect for a baby with fresh fruit, milk, etc. Daily cleaning was also useful to take care of diapers and other baby related trash. Also, everyone knows AKV is a huge resort and it was nice to be directly upstairs to most of the resort amenities. In my opinion, concierge on points is good, if you plan to spend a significant time at the resort and enjoy free drinks (alcoholic too) and snacks. Quite honestly, if you use the concierge lounge, it doesn't take that much food and drink to make it worth the extra points.

 

[Cyberc1978]

We are doing it for the first time this October - akv is a nice resort so I decided that we had to try it.

Depending on the selections I can sometimes be a picky eater so I wonder if it’s worth it or not.

I guess what I can’t eat I can make up for in alcohol

 

[_auroraborealis_]

And sometimes, realistically, even at 8AM 11 months out... there is zero availability, not because of speed or luck, but because when there is a max bookable load of 10 units (5 lock-offs), sometimes they are all booked for your check-in day by people arriving earlier that week.

 

[disneynutz]

Worst views so they gave the rooms to DVC. CL food typical of any CL. Concierge service level below others.

Bill

 

[CajunDisneyFreak]

Thanks for the info

 

[bobbiwoz]

We book AKV Concierge every year, or year and a half. We like the food offerings, like the lounge and enjoy the extra service.

Have had savannah View about 1/2 the time.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Book AKV Concierge villas for concierge access, not the view. Book a savanna view villa if you want a good savanna view.

 

[jcjen519]

We book akv club level when we have planned ahead enough to do it and want to stay at akv. Our main reasons for doing so are room location and having club level access. If the priority is Savanna view I would avoid club level.

 

[SL6827]

I thought the food was good, wouldn't mind owning a few points there just to have somewhat of a shot at the CL rooms from time to time. Can't compare to any of the rest, because that is the only CL I have experienced.

 

[Eddie]

If you are booking for a view the Savanna is the way to go. For other reasons you could book there.

 

[robinb]

Yes. The extra few points is worth the concierge level for us. We stay ALV-C once a year and we really love it.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

I was thinking about trying to rent points for a AKV CL 1-bedroom for a stay in late December 2019, reason being I wanted the 3 extra FP per day that is offered to CL guests for a daily fee (is that still a thing or did they end that trial?). If SW:GE actually opens on time, I feel like the extra fast passes would be the only chance we would have to experience those new rides as we tend to take trips that are 5 nights or less. It's a shame the views aren't good though because that was my favorite thing about staying at AKL last time.

 

[Marionnette]

I was thinking about trying to rent points for a AKV CL 1-bedroom for a stay in late December 2019, reason being I wanted the 3 extra FP per day that is offered to CL guests for a daily fee (is that still a thing or did they end that trial?). If SW:GE actually opens on time, I feel like the extra fast passes would be the only chance we would have to experience those new rides as we tend to take trips that are 5 nights or less. It's a shame the views aren't good though because that was my favorite thing about staying at AKL last time.

Club level is extremely difficult for owners to book for themselves. It would be a hard to get reservation for a renter, especially in December. IMO, you have a better chance just booking a CL room at one of the regular resorts. In fact, I recommend doing that and then trying to get the AKV CL room thru an owner when the booking window opens in January. Line up an owner ahead of time to increase your odds.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Club level is extremely difficult for owners to book for themselves. It would be a hard to get reservation for a renter, especially in December. IMO, you have a better chance just booking a CL room at one of the regular resorts. In fact, I recommend doing that and then trying to get the AKV CL room thru an owner when the booking window opens in January. Line up an owner ahead of time to increase your odds.

And expect to pay more than the going rate per point.

 

[robinb]

Club level is extremely difficult for owners to book for themselves. It would be a hard to get reservation for a renter, especially in December. IMO, you have a better chance just booking a CL room at one of the regular resorts.

I was going to say the same thing. Frankly, I don't see ANY owner being willing to go through what I have to go through to get my AKV-CL reservations for a rental.

 

[Marionnette]

I was going to say the same thing. Frankly, I don't see ANY owner being willing to go through what I have to go through to get my AKV-CL reservations for a rental.

Exactly!

Some owners walk a reservation to get the dates they want. Others do a wait list and/or stalk the website for openings. Just getting ANY CL reservation requires a lot of time and perseverance. I'd do it for my own vacation but not for a renter. And the brokers won't even ask an owner to attempt it.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

Thanks for the candid responses. I wish we were in the market to buy DVC points at AKV ourselves as our youngest is only 2 and we probably have at least 2 decades of WDW trips ahead of us. But we've already got the DCL Alaska cruise to pay for, and I think my DH will balk at giving any more large sums to the mouse right now. I just can't help with every trip we take, it kind of feels like "that money could have gone to DVC." We loved the Poly studio rooms we stayed in paying cash last trip and I'm sure we would love the other DVC rooms too. But truthfully we will never be the kind of family that goes to WDW every single year, so it's probably not the right investment for us.

 

[AnnaKat]

I was going to say the same thing. Frankly, I don't see ANY owner being willing to go through what I have to go through to get my AKV-CL reservations for a rental.

Exactly!

Some owners walk a reservation to get the dates they want. Others do a wait list and/or stalk the website for openings. Just getting ANY CL reservation requires a lot of time and perseverance. I'd do it for my own vacation but not for a renter. And the brokers won't even ask an owner to attempt it.

Though they love it if you had booked an AKL CL stay & then list it with them!
Our 9- day CL studio stay in Sept. sold within 2 days as a dedicated reservation. David's told us it would go fast!