~Will I Be Making A Mistake Staying At AKL?~

AKL was a wonderful place to stay....it would be great if you were doing the parks non stop or hanging out at the resort more.
 
AKL is the perfect resort to just relax at. Since you are fairly distance from most of the parks, it feels more like a traditional resort than a resort attached to an amusement park.

On severall of our trips, we have just relaxed at the AKL for the entire day w/o a single park visit.

I can watch the animals from my room (or other resort locations) for hours. And since they move throughout the day the view changes.

While there is no quiet pool, the pool is nice never the less. They have a couple of hot tubs available also.

The lounge is one of the nicer ones on property.
 
Wow, I don't know where to start with raving about this resort.

We stayed at the AKL for the Fourth time in May, I can't wait to go back!

I love sitting out by the pool bar watching the sun set over the pool and the lodge-so beautiful.

Relaxing in Victoria Falls for a pre dinner drink prior to going to Boma or Jiko.

Boma and Jiko. Two of my fave restaurants on Disney property. I can't get enough of the Zebra Domes at Boma. They sell them at Mara too.

And last but not least the Savannah view. We spend hours out on our balconey watching the animals. Last visit we saw two giraffes running side by side on the Arusha Savannah. We were awed and speechless when we witnessed this.

Go and have a wonderful time. AKL IMO is an amazing and wonderful resort that is not too be missed!!!

Renee
 
Not if you enjoy fantastic food (Boma and Jiko), a relaxing atmosphere, a cool pool, great bar over looking savannah, a large general store and animals outside your room. Nah, nothin' special! ;)
 


AKL Pros:

1. The animals. IMHO, don’t book an AKL room unless you book a Savannah room; the Savannah room view is what makes this resort so unique, and you give up a lot for that view, so don’t settle for a view of the pool or parking lot.
2. Public animal viewing spaces.
3. A nearly perfectly executed theme.
4. The art at AKL is distinctive and is an attraction unto itself.
5. AKL concierge. With a stay in the concierge you have the opportunity to experience an exclusive animal safari at the AK.
6. Proximity to the AK. There is, obviously, no closer resort to the AK than the AKL; if you spend a lot of time at AK, you can’t do better than the AKL.
7. Interesting restaurants.
8. A large, zero entry free form pool.
9. Arusha Rock storytellers each evening.
10. Some rooms with bunk beds.
11. Deluxe rooms that sleep five people.
12. Remote location (this is a Con for some).

AKL Cons:

1. The views, while impressive at times, are also often times devoid of animals, and the vehicle trails are less than picturesque; it is not much fun to pay for a view of animals and get a view of a maintenance road.
2. The décor is not for some people. The rooms are dark and cool.
3. Distance from MK, Epcot & MGM. While it is true that AK busses are not shared with other resorts, in off-season, the busses often make a stop at the AK after leaving the AKL and then heading on to their destinations. This makes for a very long commute to the parks.
4. Only 1 pool. This pool, while large, gets crowded. There is no quiet pool, so it is also very noisy.
5. Limited recreational activities. There is, naturally, no beach or boating, but there is also no jogging path and no tennis courts.
6. Inconvenience to other resorts. The AKL’s biggest drawback, IMHO, is that it is very difficult to get to any other resort. You must take a bus to a Theme Park or DTD and then transfer to another bus to get to any other resort. This is an especially big problem if you (1) get tired of the food at your resort or (2) are not an adventurous eater. Every other deluxe resort has boat or monorail access to at least two other resorts so that you can take advantage of additional restaurants and recreational activities.
7. Standard views often have highway noise.
8. The walk to your room can be extremely long.
9. Price. Savannah view rooms are expensive.
10. Non-deluxe rooms are small.
11. Remote location (this is a Pro for some).
 
I guess if your planning on relaxing, AKL would be okay..

I find it so isolated from the rest of the "world".....
are you renting a car? if so, then go for it..

but personally, I would rather be at poly or CR enjoying the view
 


We just got back from there last week and we LOVED the resort. With the exception of one time when a bus broke down, our longest wait for a bus was 8 minutes (yes, we were timing them so I could report back here). We had a view of the "people pen" but had great animial viewing the entire time we were there and at all times of the day. We spent a lot of time on our balcony watching animials. It is very relaxing. There are a lot of common areas to sit and watch people or animals in the resort. It was very quite in the room. We had people in the rooms on either side of us and the only way we knew they were there was that we saw their card on the door the day they checked out. There was one room near our room that had room service for pretty much every meal. We figured they never left their room. There was always a tray in the hall when we walked by.

For the poster that made the comment about the kiddie pool, yes it is very small, but the large pool is zero entry so toddlers and babies could easily play in there, too. We didn't have a problem with the pool, but it was raining most of the time we were there. We never saw more then about 20 people in the pool.

Yes, a savanna view it worth every penny, without it, it is just another hotel.
 

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