Anyone Stay at Raratonga at Polynesian?

[MinnieM3]

We're headed there this weekend and requested Samoa or Tokelau, but looking at the map it seems that Raratonga is closest to the GCH, which we'd like. I never see it mentioned here..... any reason? Has anyone stayed there? Maybe it's smoking only?

TIA!

 

[ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!]

We stayed there in December, its nice...it was in between GCH and teh arcade which were pretty much the two places we went to a lot.

Personally, I prefer Niue...its close to GHC and the Volcano pool and the rooms seemed bigger.

 

[MinnieM3]

Thank you! I'm glad to hear it's OK. Looked like a great location!

 

[Lollipop Mom]

We stayed there last October and were very happy with it! The room was in great shape and it was so convenient it was almost ridiculous! We were in the 2nd room in from the GCH on the ground floor. We were steps from the GCH door and if you had the ability to see through the foliage, you would have been able to see the bus stop off of our patio so we were at the transportation literally within seconds from leaving the room. Considering that the trip was a "Mom and kids only trip" for myself and a friend and we were each travelling with a 2 and 4 year old, convenience was HUGE. My sons LOVED that they had a fantastic view of the monorail from our room. It faced out towards the parking lot but the landscaping is so great and the rooms are far enough back that we didn't see parking lot at all.

It was so convenient I would definitely request it again when we return to the Poly (assuming we are in garden view...I am itching to try lagoon view!).

 

[disneyfan67]

I've stayed there twice and loved it. It's not as nice as Samoa but it's so close to the GCH and the bus stop. You can go wrong with Raratonga.


Here is a little trick I've learned while staying at Raratonga. If you are comming straight from the Volcano pool and want to save a few steps, just cut right through Niue and it saves you some walking time. This works out great when it's raining. Niue is such a short long house and almost butts up against Raratonga. Your key card will activate the sliding door. We got caught in few down pours and this tip saved us.

 

[Hopefully]

I am beginning early planning for next April for the Poly. Can you tell me where you found the map that shows the various Longhouses at the Poly. TIA

 

[skiwee1]

We've stayed on Raratonga 3 times and it has become one of our favorites. We always get 3rd floor facing the monorail which is so nice to watch come in.

 

[skiwee1]

I am beginning early planning for next April for the Poly. Can you tell me where you found the map that shows the various Longhouses at the Poly. TIA

We have a Poly FAQ thread here that shows the Poly map and also answers Poly questions. I'll bump it up for you to see.

 

[cdpa4d]

We stayed there just a few weeks ago. Third floor facing the monorail. It was fantastic! Rarotonga is a nice longhouse. It has very easy access to the GCH. Basically, you go down the elevator or steps and you can walk about 10 steps to your left to enter the GCH. If you exit Rarotonga on the opposite side you can walk about 20 steps to the Arcade and The NeverLand Club!

It is a little bit of a walk to get to Captain Cooks as it is at the opposite corner of the GCH. But still not too bad at all. The view of the monorail was great!

Aloha!

 

[eeyore45]

I'll chime in with our first experience at the Polynesian!

I'd requested Tokeluea based on the fact it was a large longhouse, near where I thought I wanted to be!! When the CM said "Raratonga 2nd floor, I knew there wasnt a balcony, but then again, the location was ideal, and it being the last week of July, I wasnt going to use that balcony, I kept my mouth shut!! I requested non smoking... this was our first trip, we were celebrating our anniversary, and DD '1/2 birthay"... our room faced the 'quiet pool' (and we paid for the 'standard room' ) I was deleted!! Everything fit into the closet, I used the top shelf for our breakfast foods, the floor fit our laundry 'basket' (I got a pop up one for under $10 at Walmart!!)

We'd walk to the TTC, we were near everything!! DD absolutely loved that Volcano pool!! We even got food to go from Kona, walked to the shop and bought a bottle of wine to go with it (they uncorked it for free!) It was fantastic!!