E
erikthewise
Guest
We spent one night (the night after Thanksgiving) at the Swan. We had the AP package with the upgraded view and late checkout. The "upgraded view" turned out to be on the back side facing the Dolphin on the 5th floor. At that level you also see the wings of the Swan hotel, so you basically see nothing but hotel, plus the boat dock and some of the lagoon. I was a little disappointed but since it was only one night it wasn't a big deal. I'm sure there are worse views at the Swan.
We spent an hour or so that afternoon at the Grotto Pool, which our boys really enjoyed. Although it is not themed and landscaped as extensively as Stormalong Bay, it is just about as large as far as actual pool size is concerned. As at SAB, you can get free life vests for children, which was really nice for DS7 since he is not a good swimmer and only 47" tall. With the life vest he had a lot more freedom. I like the waterslide there better than that at SAB because it is smaller, and the water is not as deep at the exit, so DS7 could go on it.
The "heavenly bed" is just that. Normally I belong to the "marble slab" club when it comes to beds: the firmer the better. But these were kooshy without being too yielding. The Swan staff were friendly and helpful. I did have to specifically request late checkout, but when I did I was given a 4:00PM checkout time. That was really nice because we were moving to BCV the next day, and this meant we were never "homeless".
The only things about the Swan I don't like are the things I don't like about most hotels: the minibar (I HATE minibars!), the resort fee (more aggravating than just adding $10 to the regular rate), etc. But I would have no problem staying there again at a similar rate ($139 + tax + resort fee = $165)
After 6 days at BCV we spent a couple days at the Polynesian, in a first floor room at the Rarotonga longhouse. We love the Polynesian and were not sure when we'd have another chance to go back.
I don't know if there are any bad rooms at the Polynesian; they all have their advantages and disadvantages. Our room (like most) only has one sink in the bathroom, and the bathroom lock didn't work. This is actually good because if you have children, whether they are toddlers or teenages, you don't want them to be able to lock the bathroom door! The good thing about our room was that the Great Ceremonial House was literally just a few steps away. This came in really handy when I went to get breakfast at Captain Cook's, then had to go back because I forgot something, then a third time because I forgot something else. It was no problem because Captain Cook's was only a 60-second walk away. We had a patio that was completely private as it was enclosed by Jurassic Park-like vegetation.
The Tuvalu longhouse is currently under renovation. (Are there any others remaining to be renovated? Seems like it ought to be just about finished by now.) If Rarotonga has been renovated, they neglected to put in low-flow showerheads. The shower in our room gushed enormous quantities of water compared to BCV; it was like a hole in a dam. After all the concern about being friendly to the environment in the room materials, it was disappointing to see they have neglected what is probably the single most important conservation step they could take. I did not notice any Hawaiian Christmas music being played on the speakers throughout the resort as they did in 2001. I don't really miss it.
We spent an hour or so that afternoon at the Grotto Pool, which our boys really enjoyed. Although it is not themed and landscaped as extensively as Stormalong Bay, it is just about as large as far as actual pool size is concerned. As at SAB, you can get free life vests for children, which was really nice for DS7 since he is not a good swimmer and only 47" tall. With the life vest he had a lot more freedom. I like the waterslide there better than that at SAB because it is smaller, and the water is not as deep at the exit, so DS7 could go on it.
The "heavenly bed" is just that. Normally I belong to the "marble slab" club when it comes to beds: the firmer the better. But these were kooshy without being too yielding. The Swan staff were friendly and helpful. I did have to specifically request late checkout, but when I did I was given a 4:00PM checkout time. That was really nice because we were moving to BCV the next day, and this meant we were never "homeless".
The only things about the Swan I don't like are the things I don't like about most hotels: the minibar (I HATE minibars!), the resort fee (more aggravating than just adding $10 to the regular rate), etc. But I would have no problem staying there again at a similar rate ($139 + tax + resort fee = $165)
After 6 days at BCV we spent a couple days at the Polynesian, in a first floor room at the Rarotonga longhouse. We love the Polynesian and were not sure when we'd have another chance to go back.
I don't know if there are any bad rooms at the Polynesian; they all have their advantages and disadvantages. Our room (like most) only has one sink in the bathroom, and the bathroom lock didn't work. This is actually good because if you have children, whether they are toddlers or teenages, you don't want them to be able to lock the bathroom door! The good thing about our room was that the Great Ceremonial House was literally just a few steps away. This came in really handy when I went to get breakfast at Captain Cook's, then had to go back because I forgot something, then a third time because I forgot something else. It was no problem because Captain Cook's was only a 60-second walk away. We had a patio that was completely private as it was enclosed by Jurassic Park-like vegetation.
The Tuvalu longhouse is currently under renovation. (Are there any others remaining to be renovated? Seems like it ought to be just about finished by now.) If Rarotonga has been renovated, they neglected to put in low-flow showerheads. The shower in our room gushed enormous quantities of water compared to BCV; it was like a hole in a dam. After all the concern about being friendly to the environment in the room materials, it was disappointing to see they have neglected what is probably the single most important conservation step they could take. I did not notice any Hawaiian Christmas music being played on the speakers throughout the resort as they did in 2001. I don't really miss it.
