Disappointed with the Poly

[brittsmum1998]

I agree with the OP, we were sooo excited to finally stay at the Poly. I absolutely hated it!! Spending all that $$ even made me hate it more. Thankfully we were only there one night before we moved over to the Boardwalk. I would take a moderate any day over the Poly.

 

[Tink3Belle]

NOw I don't feel too bad about not being able to stay there.

 

[Dzny Nut]

That sounds odd to me. There are 2 pools.there were no loud air-conditioners, or bad maids.

 

[noseybuddy]

I stayed at the Poly for the first time last August. DH and I loved it. We in the past have stayed at GF, Beach Club, BWI, CBR, POFQ, All the All Stars and the only one that was a big disappointment was the GF. Dirty! Dirty room, dirty pool, ect. So I think it just comes down to timing and luck at any resort that you stay in.

 

[raven69david]

I've never stayed at the Poly overnight, but i've visited there and have been in the rooms on just about all of our visits. I was never impressed and when i saw the price of the resort after getting back home and planning for the next trip, i couldn't believe it. I've never said anything bad because everyone else praises the resort and didn't want to get the look, but i'm glad to see i'm not the only one (albeit being in the minority) who doesn't "feel" the magic of the resort. I'm glad others do feel it, and for the price, they better.

I'm glad you were able to get to WL, but hate to see that you didnt get compensated for the price difference in resorts. At least you had a great time at the parks and that's all that matters.

 

[marlower]

I think you should never go into a Disney resort expecting to be "blown away", the only way to go is down from there! The luxury resorts are not truely "luxery". You are paying for the beautiful view from the Poly. People need to realize that going into it. However, you should expect great customer service, there is NO excuse when that falls short!

Well said, you are also paying for location, location, location. I have never stayed at that Poly. I have a trip planned there for Aug 18th and I think this is good advice. I have been wanting to stay there my whole life and finally have the opportunity!! But I don't really have high expectations, just planning on having a great time! I'm sorry that your experience wasn't what you had planned.

 

[ConcKahuna]

I thought all the rooms at the Poly had the bathroom fans. They are motion sensor, so maybe yours just wasn't working?

 

[bigAWL]

I'm guessing some of the service problems have been experienced by at least some guests at all of the resorts. I see some posting here that the Poly rooms felt old and run down (on trips several years ago), but wasn't the place completely renovated just last year? I'm still considering the Poly for my trip next year, but my wife wants to stay at GF. This is the first negative reporting I think I've seen on the Poly in the few weeks I've been reading here, but it sounds like those with something bad to say just didn't want to say anything at all. I'm interested in hearing from more people who stayed there recently. I'll keep an eye out on all the Poly threads.

 

[Artoo]

Sorry to hear you had so many problems at the Poly! I've never stayed at a Deluxe resort (would love to, though!), but I will be spending my Honeymoon at POFQ. I've been paying attention to resort reviews too, and got a little nervous whenever I would read a bad one concerning POFQ. Usually they concerned the food court or the size of the rooms, two things that I could care less about. The way I see it, this is my first time staying on-site, which is something I've wanted to do ever since I was a kid! I consider myself very lucky to be staying at a romantic (moderate!) resort and, heck, we'll be in Disney World!
But yeah, I can see where you are coming from. I would feel pretty cheated too if I stayed at an expensive resort and it turned out to be less than I expected. I've heard similar things about other resorts (not as old as the Poly), in terms of lack of maintanence. I hope Disney will someday take care of these issues that are causing their guests discomfort! I think that the Poly and the Contemporary are both very exciting resorts and should stay in WDW forever!

 

[KJF]

Sorry to hear about your stay. We're staying there in Nov - primarily for the monorail. That's the part I'm looking forward to. I agree that the housekeeping has suffered all over - we had a really bad experience w/ getting our room done last year at CSR - coming back for naps & it wasn't done, nor did it get done when it was promised later in the day. Nothing like having to call for clean towels at 10 at night for the next morning. Glad to hear it did improve though at WL - I would like to try that one next.

 

[nanalisa]

Sorry to hear you had so many problems at the Poly! I've never stayed at a Deluxe resort (would love to, though!), but I will be spending my Honeymoon at POFQ. I've been paying attention to resort reviews too, and got a little nervous whenever I would read a bad one concerning POFQ. Usually they concerned the food court or the size of the rooms, two things that I could care less about. The way I see it, this is my first time staying on-site, which is something I've wanted to do ever since I was a kid! I consider myself very lucky to be staying at a romantic (moderate!) resort and, heck, we'll be in Disney World!
But yeah, I can see where you are coming from. I would feel pretty cheated too if I stayed at an expensive resort and it turned out to be less than I expected. I've heard similar things about other resorts (not as old as the Poly), in terms of lack of maintanence. I hope Disney will someday take care of these issues that are causing their guests discomfort! I think that the Poly and the Contemporary are both very exciting resorts and should stay in WDW forever!

Take the reviews with a grain of salt. Only you can decide if you like a place or not. I will tell you that I think POFQ is charming. I think it will be a romantic spot for a honeymoon!

 

[disneyfan67]

That sounds odd to me. There are 2 pools.there were no loud air-conditioners, or bad maids.

The problem with the Poly pools is that the Volcano pool is so cool and beautiful looking, everybody always goes there. Plus it's kind of small for the size of the resort. The quiet pool dates back to the mid 1970's when it was built and looks like any pool from that era that could be found at moderate priced motels/hotels. Don't get me wrong, it's a nice pool, but for the setting and theme it is in, it should be so much more than what it is. They also need to do ID checks once every hour or so at the volcano pool and word would get around eventually that pool hoping is tough to do there. That should cut down on some of the crowding.

I think Disney really should re design the quiet pool area and put in a newer style zero entry pool with a big hot tub. They have plenty of room to do it and it doesn't have to a giant slide or any slide at all, for that matter. Just theme it to match the Island setting, pipe some Hawaiian music in and make it more for adults, but friendly enough for people with kids. A big hot tub would go over as well and there still should be enough room for all the chairs, tables, etc.

 

[Fish2girls]

The problem with the Poly pools is that the Volcano pool is so cool and beautiful looking, everybody always goes there. Plus it's kind of small for the size of the resort. The quiet pool dates back to the mid 1970's when it was built and looks like any pool from that era that could be found at moderate priced motels/hotels. Don't get me wrong, it's a nice pool, but for the setting and theme it is in, it should be so much more than what it is. They also need to do ID checks once every hour or so at the volcano pool and word would get around eventually that pool hoping is tough to do there. That should cut down on some of the crowding.

I think Disney really should re design the quiet pool area and put in a newer style zero entry pool with a big hot tub. They have plenty of room to do it and it doesn't have to a giant slide or any slide at all, for that matter. Just theme it to match the Island setting, pipe some Hawaiian music in and make it more for adults, but friendly enough for people with kids. A big hot tub would go over as well and there still should be enough room for all the chairs, tables, etc.

Hot tub and new quiet pool are an awesome idea! But watch, if they do that the rates will go through the roof to compensate
I would love to stay for the first time! It looks like a great place now that they renovated

 

[dolly-dawne]

I am still curious to know if you were compensated for the price difference when you switched resorts and how long did you actually stay at the poly before switching. We love the Poly and hope to have only a good experievce agaian this year when we stay. I thought about switching to Wl for the savings of about $1000 for a weeks stay but my dh WOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. It turned out for the best in the end because my older son decided to come with us afterall and now we are five.

 

[Matt'sMom]

I was expecting to be overly impressed after reading all I could find on these boards. I'm sorry but I wasn't... When I walked through the lobby doors at the WL I felt that feeling of excitement that you should feel when checking in at a Disney resort. I know many people love the Poly but I'm not one of them.

Well, everyone has their own opinions, likes and dislikes. Luckily, WDW has different themed resorts with varying advantages/disadvantages in order to best suite the many different wants and needs of their guests.

Obviously, my family loves the Poly and it has been everything we expected of it & more. Visited the WL last May (as we were considering a future stay there), and personally I found it extremely underwhelming. I no longer have any desire to try it out (for numerous reasons)--it's just not at all the sort of place I'd want to spend my vacation. The location, atmosphere and ammenities at the Poly simply suite me/us a lot better.

So, to each his own. Stay where ever you like.

 

[disneyfan67]

Hot tub and new quiet pool are an awesome idea! But watch, if they do that the rates will go through the roof to compensate
I would love to stay for the first time! It looks like a great place now that they renovated

I don't know how much more they can go higher. Discounts are becoming scarce and Disney changed how the they charge per night if your stay falls into a peak time while you're there. I put up with rates of $300 + a night and accept it as part of the cost of being a Polynesian fan. Disney raises those rates much higher and it may force me to go another route. The scary thing will be in 10 years, people will look back at 300 dollars a night for a Garden view and wish they could have gotten the room for that cheap of a rate.

2014 WDW rates for a garden view room at the Poly $675 a night in value season.

 

[boomhauer]

It's odd - I LOVE going to the Poly for dinner, drinks, walking around. I always am hesitant about staying there though.

Not sure if it's the smelly elevator stories or just the $400 a night price tag.

 

[mommykds]

We stayed at the Poly in 2002. We didn't have a nice stay & the staff was very rude to us & very unhelpful. At check in they were less than welcoming. My DS became sick while we were there & he threw up. I asked for some cleaning products (like Lysol) because I felt bad for the housekeeper. I figured I would clean it myself. They all looked at me like I had 3 heads & no one knew what Lysol was. No one told us there was a house Dr that could have come to see him (I learned that after we left). When we asked the front desk on how we could seek medical treatment for him (he was only 2 st the time) they just said "drive to the nearest clinic".

We saved up for that trip & really were excited to stay at the Poly but the service there was pretty bad. (Sorry to you Poly fans! To each is own).

We stayed the Beach Club last year & were so well taken care of that we are returning this August.

 

[IWISHFORDISNEY]

I think this can happen with any of the deluxe resorts. We had this similar "build up" over the beach club. I found the resort to be not all that special. The pool crowded, etc etc etc. But I love the Boardwalk just across the lake. It all depends on what you like. Like others have said this is why disney offers so many choices. At least you had the sense to check out and go someplace that was a good fit for your family.

 

[aesalsa]

I am so sorry that you did not enjoy your stay at the Poly.
We stayed there in December and loved everything about it. . . .except the service. I wrote about here on the DIS. It was really well below par. And yes, we took everything up with management (they were basically useless to us)) and didn't get a competent manager until the day we checked out to go to WL.

I would give the Poly another try, but DH said I would have to go there without him !

Glad you enjoyed the rest of your trip!