Brilliant for everyone (Walt Disney World Animal Kingdom Lodge)

Member Name: frankie1984

Product:	Walt Disney World Animal Kingdom Lodge
Date:	16/01/09 (74 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Being able to wake up to giraffes in your room

Disadvantages: Not cheap - you know this when you book though

On my work trip to Florida we stayed in two different hotels. This was the first hotel we stayed in and I was absolutely delighted to find out this was where we would be staying as I had always wanted to!


The hotel:
The hotel is part of the Disney resort and is themed as are many of the Disney hotels. This particular hotel, as you may guess from the name, is themed with animals in mind. The hotel is designed ike an African lodge and there are certains animals that are left to roam about freely on the savannahs surrounding the hotel grounds.



Location and surroundings:
It is located in the Disney hotel area just outside of the parks. The hotel is obviously one of the Disney hotels so therefore has it's own transportaion to all the parks meaning you can board the shuttles directly outside the main lobby. This means you can also get back and forth to all the nightlife of the resorts and all this is free and included in the cost of the hotel. The shuttles run as late as up to 2am in the morning.
As the hotel is not on top of the nightlife you can really relax in the evenings and the rooms ar e all nice and quiet.




First impressions:
When you first pull get to the turning for the lodge you cannot miss the sign which is very colourful and certainly had the excitement fizzing in me! However when I first caught a glimse of the hotel from the front I wasn't overly impressed with it. However this soon changed as we entered the building as the lobby is big and bold - I think it helped that when I stayed here it was Chrstmas season and the huge Christmas tree in the lobby was certainly impressive!



Check in:
I travelled to Orlando on a work trip so upon check in we were literally given our room keys by the rep who met us on the coach once we pulled up. This wasdone becuase the group we were in was very larg and so I guess it was easier than doing it in the lobby. Because of this, unless you too are travelling in a very large group, I cannot really comment on what check in would normally be like but, the lady did run some general hotel rules by us that I am sure all guests receive as it was regarding the animals and what they ask guests not to do who regarding the animals on site such as feeding them.




Rooms:
The rooms are brilliant at the animal kingdon lodge. You can book a standard room or you can upgrade to a Savannah room which basically means you will be overlooking the savannah where the animals roam freely - these rooms are the main reason a lot of people stay at this hotel and I would highly recommend them! This is the type I stayed in during my stay. The room is pretty decent size with two queen beds, which may I note are quite high up! The bed is super comfy and the pillows are so nice - perfect for when you really want a good nights sleep after all the walking around the parks.
The room has a side table near the windows with a couple of chairs and the room has a what looks like a wardrobe on the far wall across from the beds but this turns out to be where the tv is. There is some drawers in the bottom section of this though. Next to this is a fridge and on top of this is the coffee maker.
The balcony isn't huge but it does it's job - a small table and two chairs provide enough room to watch the animals go by - most of the time when animals were there anyway I was up taking pictures so I didn't even use them!! The rooms were cleaned every day and the maids left us a little design on the bed with the towels on check in and also two little towel designs at the sinks one day - nice little touches!! The bathroom is located to one side as you enter and this is designed so that there is an alcove with twin sinks and the door to the toilet and bathtub is at the side of these. The room with the tub and toilet in wasn't that big but it was adequate and the shower was powerfu so I was happy anyway!
Room service could be ordered and it didn't look too expensive for the standard of hotel but I never ordered form it so I cannot comment on the standard of it. The view from the room speaks for itself - giraffes are the main highlight for the guests but there are plenty of other animlas to spot and the hotel even provide a checklist in the room so you can tick them off as you spot them! Overall I was not disappointed by my room at all.




General hotel amenities:
The hotel has various activities of which the main one being a safari around the savannah that you can go on. You can take advantage of the massage centre which also has fitness equipment and there is a clubhouse for children aswell as a childrens play area.
The hotel also has a really nice pool which is open until midnight - the pool has a 'zero entry' which means you can walk in until it goes deeper. The pool is manned by lifegaurds at all times and if you need it there is babysitting services available.
The hotel has a good sized gift shop on site and again prices are reasonable for the location of it. I really need some camera batteries and they were not expensive at all. It sells the usual stuff but, because each Disney hotel is themed, the stuff they sell also reflects this. For example they sold plenty of Disney teddies and these were mostly themed with safari gear or they had more of the animal characters such a Simba and Bambi.



Food & Beverages:
I didn't actually eat in the hotel whilst I was here at all but a couple of people who were on the same trip did and they raved about it. I looked at the menus and prices were qute good for the standard of the hotel. It was roughly $26 per adult to have a meal which at the time, based on the exchange rate was really good at around £15 per adult. I thought this was good considering both the standard of the hotel and the rave reviews everyone else was giving me! When I looked in the restaurant it was very busy and the room was lit by low lighting so it looked very cosy and certainly seemed like somewhere to dine. In fact I have now booked a table to eat here at the 'Boma' restaurant for when I go back this March!
Guests can also buy food from the snack bar and the pool bar along with a huge variety of drinks.


Price:
On average rooms at this hotel can be booked for approximately £60-70 per person per night on a room only basis. However if you want that all important Savannah room this can be anywhere from an extra £20-24 per person per night more depending on where you book it. It can soon add up to an expensive trip so a lot of guests sometimes stay somewhere else cheaper for a week or so and then stay here for the last few nights as a treat - it is pricey but, worth doing at least once.





Overall opinion:
The hotel is not one of the cheaper Disney resorts which is to be expected due to what the hotel provides - however it is well worth at least one visit if you can manage to afford it! The hotel is really stunning from the moment you enter the lobby and the hotel has a kind of natural feel to it all decorated in a dark wood. The rooms compliment this theme and there is lots of vegetation around to make the whole place seem tranquil and homely.
I truly fell in love with this hoteland have been saying to my husband and friends since we booked our Florida trip in 2007 that if I was to win the lottery before we go I would cancel the villa and book us all into here instead! This is part of the reason I have booked us a table to eat here as well as I wanted them to se how nice this place is at the same time as trying the food that everybody else semed to rave about!
I found the staff to be brilliant too and couldn't fault them in any way at all. They have door staff to greet guest as they come back to the hotel which I think is odd but at the same time a nice touch! I would definitely want to stay here agian some day and cannot fault it in anywway except to say it is a little on the pricey side for most families.

Summary: A great hotel - what more can I say!