ALOHA! The Poly FAQ~ Spring 2010 Edition

[carlnix30]

This is good to know!! Do they keep it out or do you have to ask for it?

During the day it is in the back!! But... If you ask they will give it to you!
At cordials at night they have it in ice behind the counter.

 

[hstrickland]

During the day it is in the back!! But... If you ask they will give it to you!
At cordials at night they have it in ice behind the counter.

Thanks for the quick reply.....and by the way, I love your signature ...."Kids aren't happy unless we stay at the Poly, BRATS". If anyone asks my DD 4, she tells them we are staying at the Poly CL. Most people look at her like she's crazy...they have no idea.

 

[Zuzu03]

During the day it is in the back!! But... If you ask they will give it to you!
At cordials at night they have it in ice behind the counter.

I'm also looking forward to this!

 

[kaffinito]

Oh,oh, I know one answer!

TSA rules regarding liquids--3oz or less, must fit in 1, 1-quart baggie, basically. Liquid medication is separate.

Thank you!

 

[woodleygrrl]

Were you offered a "Bounceback" offer (and if so, what was it)?

It was 40% off.

 

[kaffinito]

A couple of Monday morning pics....

From the water

Ferry boat with GF in background

Towards Hawaii

Scenery

 

[toddd]

Thanks Kaffinito - Great pics!

We are one we away - woo hoo!

 

[livie1205]

just came back from a week at Poly (Figi) and while it is a lovely resort we did not like being there so much, the CMs were not very nice at front desk or food court and we had some broken things in the room and we had our privacy sign up the whole time and they came in anyway (honeymoon trip), when I told someone the guy acted like I was lying saying "well are you sure it was out,that does not sound right" and we had to complain about the very loud fights next door a few times and no one ever walked over to check.It sounded like someone was getting thrown around.
When we checked in I asked if I could pay to upgrade and they said they had nothing but the 3 times I called CRO they said they had plenty of waterview rooms showing and the resort was not that crowded.I think the person didnt want to check or something...who knows.
The resort was pretty and we liked the monorail and the food there was good (we ate at all three places) I think just the service was the issue...we still had a great time though.I felt bad for the lady next door...I guess they were getting a divorce, he wouldnt take his meds and kept yelling she slept around (nice way of saying it) and then he would go outside on the balcony and smoke while we had our sliding door open.I am NOT anti smoker (my dh smokes) but he walked down to smoking area as respect to other guests.I know this is not resorts fault but we did make a few trips to lobby to report what was going on to no avail.
We did watch the fireworks each night from the beach and that was nice and the pool was nice and not crowded.We have a christmas trip this year and we will be going back to AKL CL , its is farther from the parks but its a great resort all around.We did have a GREAT trip overall.

 

[marianos]

just came back from a week at Poly (Figi) and while it is a lovely resort we did not like being there so much, the CMs were not very nice at front desk or food court and we had some broken things in the room and we had our privacy sign up the whole time and they came in anyway (honeymoon trip), when I told someone the guy acted like I was lying saying "well are you sure it was out,that does not sound right" and we had to complain about the very loud fights next door a few times and no one ever walked over to check.It sounded like someone was getting thrown around.
When we checked in I asked if I could pay to upgrade and they said they had nothing but the 3 times I called CRO they said they had plenty of waterview rooms showing and the resort was not that crowded.I think the person didnt want to check or something...who knows.
The resort was pretty and we liked the monorail and the food there was good (we ate at all three places) I think just the service was the issue...we still had a great time though.I felt bad for the lady next door...I guess they were getting a divorce, he wouldnt take his meds and kept yelling she slept around (nice way of saying it) and then he would go outside on the balcony and smoke while we had our sliding door open.I am NOT anti smoker (my dh smokes) but he walked down to smoking area as respect to other guests.I know this is not resorts fault but we did make a few trips to lobby to report what was going on to no avail.
We did watch the fireworks each night from the beach and that was nice and the pool was nice and not crowded.We have a christmas trip this year and we will be going back to AKL CL , its is farther from the parks but its a great resort all around.We did have a GREAT trip overall.

That is terrible, and your honeymoon no less. I wonder why they didn't switch your room. You have to pay so much for these vacations it is not right to have to put up with the nonsense next door. Your a better person than me. I would have insisted to be moved especially after the smoke. Hopefully your Dec trip will make up for it.

 

[kayleesmomxo]

A couple of Monday morning pics....

From the water

Ferry boat with GF in background

Towards Hawaii

Scenery

Great pics Thank you so much for posting these!! September will be our first trip to the Poly and I am sooooo excited

 

[Tess]

just came back from a week at Poly (Figi) and while it is a lovely resort we did not like being there so much, the CMs were not very nice at front desk or food court and we had some broken things in the room and we had our privacy sign up the whole time and they came in anyway (honeymoon trip), when I told someone the guy acted like I was lying saying "well are you sure it was out,that does not sound right" and we had to complain about the very loud fights next door a few times and no one ever walked over to check.It sounded like someone was getting thrown around.
When we checked in I asked if I could pay to upgrade and they said they had nothing but the 3 times I called CRO they said they had plenty of waterview rooms showing and the resort was not that crowded.I think the person didnt want to check or something...who knows.
The resort was pretty and we liked the monorail and the food there was good (we ate at all three places) I think just the service was the issue...we still had a great time though.I felt bad for the lady next door...I guess they were getting a divorce, he wouldnt take his meds and kept yelling she slept around (nice way of saying it) and then he would go outside on the balcony and smoke while we had our sliding door open.I am NOT anti smoker (my dh smokes) but he walked down to smoking area as respect to other guests.I know this is not resorts fault but we did make a few trips to lobby to report what was going on to no avail.
We did watch the fireworks each night from the beach and that was nice and the pool was nice and not crowded.We have a christmas trip this year and we will be going back to AKL CL , its is farther from the parks but its a great resort all around.We did have a GREAT trip overall.

That's no way to celebrate your honeymoon. . . I don't blame you for being disappointed with your stay, but glad to hear your overall trip was good. Now you know--the Polynesian isn't your cup of tea and solidified your love of AKL.

As an aside, I've been around the boards a long, long time. I know there are others who have also been here for a good while. It seems to me the volume of these types of negative reports on the Polynesian tend to be somewhat cyclical--spring break/spring and fall. By the time summer rolls around, I tend to notice fewer "issues" with resort posts.

I wonder if it has anything to do with the increased addition of staff unfamiliar with the resort and vacations of those who are more seasoned CMs. It could be the turnover with the college programs, internships, and hiring of seasonal need CMs may be the culprit especially when most complaints are "service" related. These complaints aren't limited to the Polynesian, but other resorts as well.

Just an observation. . .and in no way implies I'm making excuses for my beloved Polynesian--poor service is poor service and not acceptable.

 

[Minnie&Nana]

Nice Monday morning pics, Karen! Thanks!

livie1205, I am so sorry the Polynesian staff were not more helpful - especially because it was your honeymoon, but they should have offered to move you no matter what. Did you ask to speak with a manager on duty?
As for the upgrade question - unfortunately, you may have gotten a CM who thought you might be fishing for a free upgrade - completely unfair and behavior not called for. We have paid for an upgrade upon arrival at the GF and the CM couldn't' have been nicer.
I'm glad you still enjoyed your trip, but yours are legitimate complaints. We've stayed at the Poly many times and have had a less than helpful CM at check-in (she must have been having a terrible day), but far more wonderful ones.

Congratulations on your honeymoon!

 

[Mary T in PA]

Thanks for those fabulous photos Kaffinito - just what I needed on this Monday morning to brighten my day. We are roughly 90 days away from our first Poly stay and I want to go so badly right now!

 

[carlnix30]

Now we are 45 days out! I remember being 200 plus days out!

We come from hotel/hospitality field, there will always be angry times no matter what hotel you stay in. In WL we had a housekeeper take the clearly marked envelope for turndown as well as her envelope! In CBR we had a staff member use our credit card to paint the town red. (including valet parking). In Poly we had our a/c sporatically break throughout our stay. That does not compare to the honeymoon couple that had the fighters, but we understand what the staff of the hotels go through! Sometimes it is hard to smile when someone is in your face yelling and cursing about their a/c problems! Also the staff do have lives that they are living outside the resort and sometimes those problems affect the way that they treat their guests.

The magic words at any front desk of a hotel is being calm and ask "is there anything that you could do to help us"?) this will get more than you can imagine! I can't imagine what the staff was going through when they heard that there was a domestic disturbance in their hotel! What would you do if this happened to you? I just can't imagine having a fight such as this on my Disney vacation.

 

[livie1205]

Nice Monday morning pics, Karen! Thanks!

livie1205, I am so sorry the Polynesian staff were not more helpful - especially because it was your honeymoon, but they should have offered to move you no matter what. Did you ask to speak with a manager on duty?
As for the upgrade question - unfortunately, you may have gotten a CM who thought you might be fishing for a free upgrade - completely unfair and behavior not called for. We have paid for an upgrade upon arrival at the GF and the CM couldn't' have been nicer.
I'm glad you still enjoyed your trip, but yours are legitimate complaints. We've stayed at the Poly many times and have had a less than helpful CM at check-in (she must have been having a terrible day), but far more wonderful ones.

Congratulations on your honeymoon!

yeh and I made it clear that I was asking to PAY for a upgrade...

 

[BreezysMom]

A couple of Monday morning pics....

Towards Hawaii

I love this pic...it is from a different perspective than I have seen before!

just came back from a week at Poly (Figi) and while it is a lovely resort we did not like being there so much, the CMs were not very nice at front desk or food court and we had some broken things in the room and we had our privacy sign up the whole time and they came in anyway (honeymoon trip), when I told someone the guy acted like I was lying saying "well are you sure it was out,that does not sound right" and we had to complain about the very loud fights next door a few times and no one ever walked over to check.It sounded like someone was getting thrown around.
When we checked in I asked if I could pay to upgrade and they said they had nothing but the 3 times I called CRO they said they had plenty of waterview rooms showing and the resort was not that crowded.I think the person didnt want to check or something...who knows.
The resort was pretty and we liked the monorail and the food there was good (we ate at all three places) I think just the service was the issue...we still had a great time though.I felt bad for the lady next door...I guess they were getting a divorce, he wouldnt take his meds and kept yelling she slept around (nice way of saying it) and then he would go outside on the balcony and smoke while we had our sliding door open.I am NOT anti smoker (my dh smokes) but he walked down to smoking area as respect to other guests.I know this is not resorts fault but we did make a few trips to lobby to report what was going on to no avail.
We did watch the fireworks each night from the beach and that was nice and the pool was nice and not crowded.We have a christmas trip this year and we will be going back to AKL CL , its is farther from the parks but its a great resort all around.We did have a GREAT trip overall.

I am glad you came out feeling positive about your trip but I am sorry about the poor customer service you experienced. I will be the first to admit that I have had hit or miss customer service at the Poly. I think Tess may have a point about the cycles of issues.

I always recommend sending the Poly GM a letter with both positive and negative experiences. The management and staff don't see the Poly through our eyes so we need to point out what keeps us coming back and what makes us chose not to.

I hope your Disney Honeymoon positive memories will be the ones that you remember through the years and congratulations

 

[lilasmom]

I'm an avid reader here and am counting down to our first Poly stay. 39 days til GV CL !! I was so excited about this trip, I scheduled another one in July Mommy and Daddy.. We'll here's my question- Will I need to pack bug spray for our trips ? With all the foliage there, are the bugs bad? Also, thank you
to everyone for all the beautiful pictures, they are wonderful..and certainly help me decide where we should stay.

 

[MsStinkerBelle]

Kaffinto, I am loving the pics! The one with the GF in the background is making me feel like such a traitor for staying at the GF in June.

yeh and I made it clear that I was asking to PAY for a upgrade...

I am so sorry to hear about the service quality during your stay. And during your honeymoon nonetheless! I'm inclined to agree with Tess about the cyclical nature of the service. I've had stays at the Poly during Christmas and in the summer and I have to say, the service during the summer was of a higher quality. And that's weird since the resort was at capacity during each stay!

Definitely make sure you send Disney a letter in writing about what happened during your stay.

 

[BreezysMom]

I'm an avid reader here and am counting down to our first Poly stay. 39 days til GV CL !! I was so excited about this trip, I scheduled another one in July Mommy and Daddy.. We'll here's my question- Will I need to pack bug spray for our trips ? With all the foliage there, are the bugs bad? Also, thank you
to everyone for all the beautiful pictures, they are wonderful..and certainly help me decide where we should stay.

I have only been in Oct/Nov/Dec and the only time we needed bug spray was when we went to the campfire and movies on the beach in between the GF and Poly. Our ankles were all bit up but I can't recall needing bug spray any other time, even on the beach watching fireworks we never were bothered by biting bugs.

Maybe someone else who has been in spring or summer has more to add

 

[BreezysMom]

Kaffinto, I am loving the pics! The one with the GF in the background is making me feel like such a traitor for staying at the GF in June.

We will still let you hang with us

I am actually looking forward to hearing from you when you return being the Poly lover that you are. I make no secret that I long to stay at the GF but the Poly keeps pulling me back. The fact that it is right next door and I can see it! I feel like I will sit there longing for the Poly the whole time If I could not see the Poly it would not be a big deal....I know, I am pathetic


DH says he would only consider it for Christmas 2011 which would technically be my 40th birthday celebration/Christmas gift. I am planning on booking bounceback while we are there in November. I would start taking bets now that I change back and forth between the Poly and GF about 100 times before December 2011