Just back - thoughts on Kidani

[scotgirl]

We've been back a week now from a fab holiday and just have some of our opinions on the DVC accommodation we used.

First three nights were at OKW in a non-refurbed studio room. Was okay - don't think I would rush back to the resort.

Then we had 10 nights at The Boardwalk in a one bedroom villa. Can't beat the location, accommodation was excellent. Could do with a refill/coffee station inside though.

Last 4 nights were at Kidani. This is our home resort and I have to say we were very disappointed. The general feeling is that the resort is now very run-down and needs a refurb. The amount of guests from Jambo using the pool was unreal. It was so crowded we couldn't use either of the 2 hot tubs for the time we were there. The refill station at the pool bar also had a few broken dispensers. I did contact member services while we were there to raise my concerns and the dispensers were fixed by the next day. If our waitlist for the Boardwalk hadn't come through and we had to have spent the bulk of our holiday at Kidani it would have put a dampener on it for sure. It's a shame because we normally love it there. I can only hope that a refurb is on the cards soon.

[YorkshireT]

Originally Posted by scotgirl

We've been back a week now from a fab holiday and just have some of our opinions on the DVC accommodation we used.

First three nights were at OKW in a non-refurbed studio room. Was okay - don't think I would rush back to the resort.

Then we had 10 nights at The Boardwalk in a one bedroom villa. Can't beat the location, accommodation was excellent. Could do with a refill/coffee station inside though.

Last 4 nights were at Kidani. This is our home resort and I have to say we were very disappointed. The general feeling is that the resort is now very run-down and needs a refurb. The amount of guests from Jambo using the pool was unreal. It was so crowded we couldn't use either of the 2 hot tubs for the time we were there. The refill station at the pool bar also had a few broken dispensers. I did contact member services while we were there to raise my concerns and the dispensers were fixed by the next day. If our waitlist for the Boardwalk hadn't come through and we had to have spent the bulk of our holiday at Kidani it would have put a dampener on it for sure. It's a shame because we normally love it there. I can only hope that a refurb is on the cards soon.

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Hi Scotgirl

Sorry to hear it wasn’t that great. Always disappointing when you’ve spent so much on DVC.
I’m not a massive fan of Kidani myself, having been there this summer, but didn’t particularly notice it being run down. Where was it bad- the room?
I wasn’t a massive fan of either pool. When we were there they had a real bee problem, and my wife was stung. As soon as you sat out, the wasps/ bees were all over you, but they don’t seem to be able to do much about it, as they cannot destroy the bees’ nests. Biggest disappointment for us was inability to walk anywhere, and underspecced gym.
Totally agree re Boardwalk, really top notch. I love OKW but I haven’t been for a few years and I imagine the non refurbed rooms are long in the tooth. I really like the refurbed ones though from videos.
Re Kidani pool, even just for Kidani in summer, this pool was busy so it was obvious to me it wouldn’t cope with Jambo people in as well.
And here is a point. Kidani is entirely DVC (some cash but that is from DVD/ Disney effectively selling points as cash bookings). Now we have non DVC people (from the hotel side) of Jambo, all coming over to the pool. Is the maintenance for both pools partly met by the hotel side of Jambo, or does Kidani entirely fall on the Kidani DVC members? If it does, should the hotel side of Jambo be paying more for the upkeep?
I think a big difference in management. The managers at BWV are all over the job, walking around the pool, asking staff to rectify anything wrong, wondering around the grounds with real attention to detail. At Kidani I didn’t see similar.

[scotgirl]

Originally Posted by YorkshireT

Hi Scotgirl

Sorry to hear it wasn’t that great. Always disappointing when you’ve spent so much on DVC.
I’m not a massive fan of Kidani myself, having been there this summer, but didn’t particularly notice it being run down. Where was it bad- the room?
I wasn’t a massive fan of either pool. When we were there they had a real bee problem, and my wife was stung. As soon as you sat out, the wasps/ bees were all over you, but they don’t seem to be able to do much about it, as they cannot destroy the bees’ nests. Biggest disappointment for us was inability to walk anywhere, and underspecced gym.
Totally agree re Boardwalk, really top notch. I love OKW but I haven’t been for a few years and I imagine the non refurbed rooms are long in the tooth. I really like the refurbed ones though from videos.
Re Kidani pool, even just for Kidani in summer, this pool was busy so it was obvious to me it wouldn’t cope with Jambo people in as well.
And here is a point. Kidani is entirely DVC (some cash but that is from DVD/ Disney effectively selling points as cash bookings). Now we have non DVC people (from the hotel side) of Jambo, all coming over to the pool. Is the maintenance for both pools partly met by the hotel side of Jambo, or does Kidani entirely fall on the Kidani DVC members? If it does, should the hotel side of Jambo be paying more for the upkeep?
I think a big difference in management. The managers at BWV are all over the job, walking around the pool, asking staff to rectify anything wrong, wondering around the grounds with real attention to detail. At Kidani I didn’t see similar.

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Hi,

The rooms are looking very tired - carpet needs replacing, cupboard doors etc. You're absolutely right about the DVC aspect of Kidani and Jambo - this is one of the concerns that I raised with member services whilst there. Until the resort is refurbed we will be waitlisting for next year's holiday to stay elsewhere. It's a shame because we've liked staying there in the past. The pool and the hot tubs were quietish and it was nice to relax after a busy day. Can only wait and see what will happen next.

[duchy]

Bit late now but at the BW the lounge (open mornings and evenings) does the coffee refills as well as the BW bakery.

We were moved from Jambo to BWI due to the pool closure but we had family at Jambo for one night. The first room had a great view but the floor including the carpeted area was soaking wet. Disney moved the bags whilst we took the just off the plane kids to eat , the second room had a view of the empty pool. It was too late to move again as the kids were exhausted but it was quite unimpressive. (I was actually very relieved we'd accepted the move to BWI and I've shelved any plans for AKL in the future)

I do agree management are very proactive at the BW and it really shows.

[YorkshireT]

Shame about the room. Have to say our room was in good shape, but that was a 1 bed standard (car park) view and I suspect it doesn't get as much hammer as, say, a Savannah studio.
Another thing I wasn't keen on was a PIR sensor lighting up red on movement pointing at the bed- seemingly put in to keep the Aircon going. Quite strange.

[Guest]

we stayed in Kidani 2 years ago ( infact my FB timeline just shared a picture of our first morning ) and we thought it was " ok " , it just felt very " hotel like "

NOW

OKW we absolutely love , the place just ticks the box, it feels like you are anywhere in the world, but with Disney just sat in the background ready to make it even more special

If we had the choice it would be OKW over Kidani everytime of the week

[PoohBears#1fan]

What a shame, we absolutely love AKL (both Kidani & Jambo) although to be fair, do tend to use it for the Universal / off site part of our trip rather than when doing WDW parks, although we've never experienced the crowds there that you did, maybe that's hampered your view?