Just back from Poly(conceirge), HH, GF and OKW 3 week holiday!

Debs Hill

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May 27, 2000
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Just got back from our 3 week trip. First we spent 3 nights at the Poly in Lagoon conceirge, then drove to Hilton Head for 7 nights, back to the Grand Floridian ( Lagoon View) for 2 nights and then finished off with 8 nights at Old Key West!

Any questions about anything, just fire away!
Debsxxxx
 
Your vacation sounds wonderful! I was thrilled to finally plan a 15 day trip this year :) We will be staying 5 nights at OKW for the 1st time in 2 weeks-are there any "can't miss" things you would recommend?
 
I hope you have a fantastic trip, you will love OKW! It's a beautiful resort, just so laid back and chilled out, always our favourite place to end our holiday! The main pool is lovely and now has a nippy water slide inside the sand castle..............but we always request building 55 which is right next door to a quiet pool and hot tub which is perfect for popping back to the room to get drinks etc and when it's quiet it feels like your own private pool! It really is lovely and secluded there. I'm sure you know that the units are HUGE at OKW, so you can really spread out! I would say that the main thing to do at OKW is relax and enjoy your surroundings...........it's close enough to the parks to be convenient and the bus service was great when we were there, but once you're through the gates of the resort you could be a million miles away from the crowds! Enjoy!!!!! Debsxxx
 
How did you like the GF and Polynesian concierge?

And tell us about HH. :sunny:
 

Deb, It sounds like a wonderful trip!! We are planning to go OKW in Sept 07 and getting a two bedroom. In building 55, do you think it would be too far away from main buildings for my DD's (7&10)? They love the arcades and main pool areas but also like to have things very quiet to sleep(so do I).
Could you also let us know how long of a drive it was to Hilton Head(DD's and DH has motion sickness).
Thanks so much
Judi
 
Thank you! I am so looking forward to our stay at OKW! This is the 1st trip that I am planning actual resort days instead of park days! I can't wait-less than 2 weeks to go (ticker is off a few days) :cool1:
 
Color me jealous! I had to cancel a trip for later in this month----well, once I decided it was C-R-A-Z-Y to drive from Maine to Orlando with just my two kids. They would have caused me to drive off a road!!!
(I did have two stops planned for coming and going, but still decided it was too much. DH wanted us to visit him in SC for a few days, oh well.)

How was the weather?
Is Mike still a CM at HHI?????? What a cutie! And really good with the kids.
 
Poly conceirge:
I had very high expectations of the Poly having read such great reviews on these boards etc. Prior to our trip the staff had been BRILLIANT in arranging all our dining and golf reservations and I couldn't fault them. When we arrived at the resort, after a very long journey, we were looking forward to being whisked away to the conceirge building and a speedy check in...............this did NOT happen! We had to ask three times before someone came to take us to check in and we waited 25 minutes. None of the staff seemed remotely interested and there was no sense of urgency! Not a good first impression. Once we got to the Hawaii building the check in was quick and efficient and we did get a room on the ground floor as requested with a great view of the castle.

The newly refurbished rooms are lovely and very spacious. We used the lounge loads and the food in the mornings and evenings was great, although a little sparse during the middle of the day. We made the most of it though by popping back for drinks when we were at the pool etc and I would say that it was worth it as we spent quite a lot of time at the resort.

My son loved the volcano pool and slide and it was never too crowded and we could always get a lounge chair without feirce competetion!! ha! ha! There was a very laid back and relaxing atmosphere and it was great being able to watch the fireworks from the beach.

As a family we would have graded it as follows;
Staff: I would give the conceirge staff before arrival an A+ but once we arrived I was disappointed and they slipped to a B- overall.
Resort as a whole: I loved the laid back feeling and the closeness to the Magic Kingdom. I would rate it a B+ . My husband was not so taken with it, feeling that it was very dark and rated it a B-.
Rooms: The new rooms are lovely and a great size. I would give them a B+. Again, my husband was not keen and gave them a C+.
Facilities: Loved the pool area and convenience to the parks. A-.

Any other specific questions please ask away!!!!!!

Views on GF, HH and OKW to follow.

To answer the other questions:
1) No, I don;t think that building 55 would be too remote. It only takes a maximum of 10 minutes to stroll to the main area, and you can also hop on any bus as they all stop at hospitality house. The bus stop is 1 minute away from building 55 and they are very regular! I love the fact that there is no traffic noise, no buses turning in front of your building and great access to the quiet pool! You'll love it!

2) It took us 5 and a half hours to get to Hilton Head including a quick stop for lunch. It is a very easy drive, but long and boring!!! ha! ha! It was worth it though and we would do it again!

love
Debsx
 
Sorry forgot the weather!!!
We were very, very lucky! It was hot and humid the whole time but we had very little rain. A lot less than we were expecting! It was considerably hotter in Hilton Head so when we returned to Orlando it felt cool in comparrison! ha! ha!
Debs
 
Thoughts on the Grand Floridian:
When we arrived we were instantly ushered to a check in desk with no queues and our room was waiting for us. I had requested a view of the Magic Kingdom and the view from our room was just magical! We were in Big Pine on the ground floor and from the balcony could see the castle, fireworks and space mountain and then we could see the Poly on the other side. It was truly beautiful! The room was nice, although smaller than I expected. The toiletries were different to the other deluxe resorts which made a nice change.
We ate at Victoria and Alberts, Citricos and Narcooses.....yell if you want to know more!!!
My only complaint of the hotel would be the pool area.....it was very crowded and quite difficult to find somewhere to sit and they are very aggressive in their policy of not reserving loungers....so I was constantly watching my place when in the pool as attendants were taking guests things away if they weren't sat on it!!!!!! Not good!!!
The grounds were beautiful and Jake loved the slide at the beach pool.
Hubby preferred it to the Poly!
Ratings:
Room: B+ (due to size)
View: A+ could not be beaten! Fantastic!
Staff: B
Pool: B-
Restaurants: B- Victoria and Alberts A+

HH and OKW to follow! Any specific questions don't hesitate!
Debsx
 
OK, here is the next installment!!!

OLD KEY WEST

What can I say? We always love coming home!! We checked in early, about 10.00am and didn't expect the room to be ready but got a lovely welcome from the cast members. We had requested building 55 and that is exactly what we got, so I was thrilled! We chilled by the pool until our room was ready at midday and were not disappointed with our fab 1 bed right next to the quiet pool and with a lovely view of the waterway.

Jake gave the new slide a big thumbs up!

We didn't eat at Olivias after reading poor reviews of the new menu I'm afraid!

Room: A+
Location on resort: A+
Staff: A
Transportation: A
Pool and slide: A

OKW just can't be beat!!!
 
WOW!!! That sounds like my DREAM vacation. I can't imagine being able to enjoy the Magic that long!!!
 
That sounds wonderful!! My DH and I are going to OKW for our first time in a couple of weeks. :thumbsup2 Now I really can't wait!! Thanks for the reviews!
 
Final installment!! HILTON HEAD!!

Let me say first of all that I was very nervous about the drive from WDW to HH........but it was a breeze! It was very long and boring but not difficult to find! ha! ha! We were very glad to arrive though!!!

I had requested a 1 bed with a marsh view and when we arrived the resort was full and we had an interior view that looked onto the side of another building! Very disappointing. We did ask the front desk if they had any other rooms but they didn't and we stayed put. Despite the view the unit was beautiful and I loved the rocking chairs on the balcony!

We spent a lot of time at the pool at the resort, at the beach house and my husband explored lots of the golf courses! We had glorious weather for the whole week and the sea was as warm as bath water! Ate over at Shelter Cove and cooked ourselves! you must go and see Shannon Tanner at Shelter Cove, he was great!

All in all a lovely trip and we will definitely return................and we met Shadow!!!

Room: A+
View: D
Pool and beach house: A
Beach : B....lovely beach but expensive chair rentals!
Staff: B+

Debsx
 
That sounds like such a wonderful vaction! I want to stay at the Poly and GF sometime too. I have been thinking about a suprise trip for DH for our anniversary :)
 
I'm glad you had such a lovely vacation.

That's some report card that you gave OKW, I think you really love it!!

Bobbi :sunny:
 



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