Reviews of Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge Concierge
Reviewed 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 Jason V Review Date: 09/29/2018
Rating: (3) Not Recommended
I had stayed here with DVC rented points and wasn't aware of all the DVC rules, such as you only get towers ever so many days, if you want them daily you have to pay per towel... The hotel itself to visit is great, the theme and atmosphere is awesome and great restaurants. But to stay here, I DO NOT THINK IT IS WORTH THE MONEY. If you are going to spend a majority of your time in the hotel, then maybe splurge. But my family has stayed at the All-Start resorts many times and had better staff service and overall experience that here at a fraction of the cost.
The pool here isn't that much better. The location is basically where All-Star resorts are.
When we stayed here we had issues with our tickets that I knew how to resolve and the desk staff argued with me on the solution to finally admit I was right and do what I suggested to start with. When we checked out, I waited 2 hours for check my bags with magical express and we still didn't get them checked the line was so long and service was so slow.
We had an safari view and barely saw animals out of our room.
Pros:
Good restaurants and atmosphere but you can get those from visiting, you don't have to stay here and pay the high cost.Cons:
Services wasn't good it actually seemed to be the worst service we ever had, they won't clean your room or give you new towels daily without paying extra for it. Doesn't seem like there is much extra value to pay for based on the price.Reviewed 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.
Pros:
The food itself.Cons:
Service (NONE), overcrowding, distance from room to lounge, unfriendly staff.Reviewed 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 Anonymous Review Date: 06/10/2022
Rating: (5) Recommended
Spent a week at the resort. Housekeeping every other day and had to get up at 7AM for Genie+. Renaldo was a great cast member who helped us with reservations at Sanaa. The food offerings were very tribal and flavorful. The buses were always loaded to capacity and we had to stand most of the time. Mara had some burgers and mac and cheese that were as good as Steakhouse 71. We thought the unlimited alcohol was a plus and we took a bottle of Gran Manier back to the room for our enjoyment. The room needed cleaning and we slept on towels on the soiled sheet. The AC was noisy and we left the balcony door open most of the time. The animals were always near our balcony and we enjoyed the zebras. We thought the distance between the resort and amusement parks was a bit too much. If I rent a car I will stay here again
Pros:
Animals and tribal artifactsCons:
Housekeeping, Cleanliness. Most of staff, Kids running around in club levelReviewed by MelMel82 Review Date: 11/10/2020
Rating: (5) Recommended
Hit or miss. I think it all depends on who is working the concierge level as to the type of service you receive. I received a free upgrade to concierge level, my room was far from the lounge and everytime I went up there, I was followed around by a cast member, kind of weird.
Pros:
nice for a break and some snacks. the views from the rooms are great.Cons:
depending on where your room is located you could be very far from the concierge level. I think the service is hit or miss.Reviewed 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 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 disneymom5 Review Date: 02/13/2019
Rating: (6) Not Recommended
You’ve read all the reviews about the animals and the great theming, it’s a lovely place. It truly is a great resort, although more spread out and expansive than we prefer. Our preference for a similar resort is Wilderness Lodge, with a similar pool and similar architecture in the main building, but everything feels closer, more central and more easily accessible in the WL; plus we prefer that location by the MK. AKL is very nice but it cannot be overstated how inconvenient the location is, particularly with small children, to be SO far away from the other three parks and have to take the buses everywhere. They are such a hassle. With three small children and a stroller…Those busses day after day became a nightmare. For us, it wasn’t worth seeing a few animals to deal with those buses as our only mode of transportation. In addition, you have to pay significantly more for a savanna view room (that’s probably why you’ve come here, to see animals, right?) and the standard rooms are nice, loved the bunkbeds, but if all you’re going to get is a standard room, why not just stay at the Wilderness Lodge and be much closer to everything? But we’re glad we tried it once, and if you absolutely love animals, then this is the place for you. Really nice counter service location.
Pros:
Lovely theming, great pool, lower priced than the other deluxe resorts (the rooms are slightly smaller).Cons:
Four people max per standard room. Smaller rooms that most deluxe resorts, and SOOO far from the other 3 parksReviewed by SpookyTraps Review Date: 06/30/2020
Rating: (7) Recommended
I just discovered this website and I want to give out my review for AKL. I went with my family last year in July. We stayed in AKL for 6 days/5 nights. We took an overnight flight to Orlando and landed around 5 AM. We got to AKL around 8 AM. This was a special event, so we had a club level standard room with a savannah @ Jumbo House. We checked in @ Concierge, and we waited for over 7+ hours for our room. I went every other hour to check on the status of our room, and the staff seemed annoyed to talk. We were told our room has been cleaned, but we still were not allowed to take our luggage in and rest. By the time we left AKL for a dinner show reservation @ 4 PM, right as we went onto the bus, we were informed our room was ready. Overall, the rest of the days we spent in our rooms were great, the views outside our window were amazing. It takes a bit of a walk to get to the top floor for refreshments and free food, even if you are close to the elevators on the lower levels. I highly recommend the tours in AKL, once in a lifetime experience. All the food areas were at the bottom floor, which will take a bit of walk if you got midnight cravings like I do (thankfully, concierge keeps their drinks available after 10 PM). On the last night of our trip, my family and I took the night vision tour, and it was one of the best tours of my life. The animals were right at your noses! However, after we got back to our room, less than 20 minutes after, the fire alarm went off in the entire Lodge! Everyone in both Jumbo House and Kidani Village was forced to leave their rooms, many people in their pajamas. My family was still dressed, so we were free from embarrassment. The drill only lasted for a solid 30 minutes, and everyone was allowed to go back to their rooms. Overall, I recommend this resort for a one time visit. It has its own amazing qualities, but with the distance it has from the rest of Disney Parks, as well as the Amenities inside the Resort, my best advice is to try this Resort at least once, and then move on to others.
