Just back from Poly concierge in Tahiti building (UPDATED: photos added)

[TNMomof3]

We're just back from 6 nights at the BCV and 3 nights at the Polynesian concierge. We were checked in to the Tahiti building on Thursday, and the lounge started being in Tahiti instead of Hawaii on Friday morning. I know it was a lot of work, but the staff seemed to handle the transition very smoothly. If anyone has any questions about the concierge layout in Tahiti, I'll be happy to try and answer.

 

[princesslondon]

How was the lounge set up? Was there plenty of room and how about the view? How was the view from your room? We are going in Sept and are a little nervous about the tahiti change.

 

[TNMomof3]

Hi, princesslondon. We thought there was plenty of room to sit. The lounge is on the third floor in Tahiti. When you get off the elevator there is a seating area with some couches and chairs and the big screen TV.

The food offerings are set up over to the side of this area. Traffic seemed to flow OK thru here. On the backside of the one of the couches was where they had the fruit and cereal, and the cookies in the afternoon.

The actual tables are in two rooms right around the corner. There appears to actually be more seating available than there was on the second floor lounge in Hawaii. In this room is where they have the bottled water. The views from these rooms are fantastic! You can see the castle, Space Mtn., and the CR from here. You can also step out on the balcony if you like.

Chef Dick said that he's still getting used to where how things are set up differently in the kitchen, but he's still putting out a great spread. The main evening appetizer the nights we were there were...sticky wings, hamburger/macaroni dish, chicken caesar salad, and nachos.

I took a couple of quick pictures yesterday afternoon. If any of them come out well, I'll try and post them or send them to Tikiman.

Our room view was gorgeous! We had a garden view room which was super pretty. We loved the location of the Tahiti longhouse, and used the TTC often. The beach is quite down there and beautiful. My only complaint was a musty/mildew odor on the first floor. We had requested ground floor so that the kids could easily step off the patio and play on the lawn. Two of my children are extremely allergic (read:allergy shots). We thought about asking to change to an upper floor (didn't smell it on 2nd or 3rd floor), but we'd already unpacked, so I thought I'd wait and see if it made anyone's allergies flare up that first night. It didn't...so we didn't worry about it. The kids did enjoy that ground floor room too. They loved watching the ducks, bunnies, squirrels, and birds up close.

I don't think you have a thing to worry about the concierge set up in Tahiti. We used the lounge in Hawaii the first night, and you could tell that it was in need of rehab. The carpet was getting worn and stuff like that. They are doing everthing they can to make it a great experience in Tahiti too.

 

[DisneyMim]

Thank you so much TNMomof3 for posting this. I have one question if you don't mind. Could you tell me where the non-smoking rooms are located in the Tahiti building? We are going in August and I want to be sure to get a non-smoking room. I would like a balcony (second or third floor?) but I don't know how they are dividing the rooms.

Thanks so much for any help. I'm glad you had a good time!!!

 

[princesslondon]

Yes Thank you- Thank you for posting all that great info. We too requested a 1st floor room because we have toddler who thinks she is a mountain climber and I thought she would be a little safer on the 1st floor. Thank's again for the info and I can't wait to see the pictures!

 

[michelem]

Did you complain to anyone about the musty smell. I'm going in July and requested a GV 1st floor too. Do you remember your room number? Anyone else in the lounge complain about their rooms being mutsy. July is more humid and the must will probably get worse. I am allergic to mold and get all congested. I wasn't planning on being on allergy medicine during my trip. Think I should change request.

 

[4our4kids]

Thanks for the update TNMomof3. We are going in August for the first time. Never having been there I'm trying to picture the set up. Did you find the conceirge lounge/rooms crowded at all ? How about during the EWP or FW ? I'd love to see your pictures too !!

 

[alien]

Thank you for the info - I've been waiting for someone to come back from concierge in the Tahiti building.

You said the food lounge is on the 3rd floor. How difficult was it to get there from the first floor? Do they have indoor stairs or do you have to take the elevator?

I requested 2nd floor (thinking the lounge would be there) so my 2 DD (15 and 7) would have easy access.

Thanks for your help!
Cindy

P.S. How do you get the box on the bottom of the post that says how many days to your trip?

 

[TNMomof3]

Originally posted by DisneyMim
Thank you so much TNMomof3 for posting this. I have one question if you don't mind. Could you tell me where the non-smoking rooms are located in the Tahiti building? We are going in August and I want to be sure to get a non-smoking room. I would like a balcony (second or third floor?) but I don't know how they are dividing the rooms.

DisneyMim, I was a little confused on exactly where the smoking/non-smoking rooms were. We were on the left side of the building as you enter. Our room and several on that side had the non-smoking symbol on the door. There were also several on the lagoon view side of the hall, and a few at the far end of the hall, that did not have that symbol on the door. I smelled smoke a couple of times in the hall, but it wasn't bad. You know how when you don't smoke you can smell it even if it's faint. It didn't bother us, but I can't really tell you how they are 'drawing the lines' of smoking/non-smoking rooms.

I'd suggest that you just discuss that you want to be in a totally smoke free area when you talk or e-mail with the planning staff. I'm sure they'll do their best to take care of that.

originally posted by michelem
Did you complain to anyone about the musty smell. I'm going in July and requested a GV 1st floor too. Do you remember your room number? Anyone else in the lounge complain about their rooms being mutsy. July is more humid and the must will probably get worse. I am allergic to mold and get all congested. I wasn't planning on being on allergy medicine during my trip. Think I should change request.

No, we didn't complain about the musty smell. I figured that if it was really mold, we'd know it in the morning. My kids, and probably myself would have been all stuffy, but it didn't bother anybody, so we stayed put and didn't complain.

I can't say if this is common to ground floor rooms at the Polynesian, but I noticed the same thing (only stronger) on the ground floor of Hawaii as I was walking to the lounge.

I really don't mean to make this more than it is. The smell didn't bother us or detract from our enjoyment of the Polynesian. If there had of been enough mold spores there we'd have shown it with allergy symptoms. Our room was 1006 and it had a lovely garden view. I just thought I'd mention it because it was initially a concern of ours. Enjoy your vacation! We sure did.

 

[Tikiman]

Welcome back and thanks for the great report. The smell is usually an air conditioning thing in Tahiti and is not always there unless someone has been screwing with the system. Just like when you start up a hot car and all the moisture is in the system and it smells. The smoking rooms I was told last Thursday before the more, are on the second floor on the east half and they said they put up doors in the hall to contain as much smoke in the halls as possible.

I can’t wait to see the photos.

Aloha

Steve

 

[Tess]

I'm surprised they put smoking rooms on the 2nd floor--between two nonsmoking floors? Curious positioning. . .thanks for the information Steve. We requested a 1st floor smoking for my husband's occasional cigar at night. We were told we would be at the west end of the building (I wanted to be at the west end nearer the pools)--guess that will have changed now. My husband may have to enjoy his cigars elsewhere because I don't want to be on the east end!

I'm glad to hear the transition went well. We're really looking forward to our visit next week.

BTW, is the check-in area on the 2nd floor as originally planned? Is there anyone greeting on the first floor? Finally, is it a keyed entry as it was in Hawaii? Thanks!

 

[BCV23]

Glad to hear you had a good trip. Don't you love the landscaping at that end of the resort? It's beautiful everywhere but seems even more so in that area.

Thanks for reporting in!

 

[DisneyMim]

Thank you so much TNMomof3 for your reply. I guess I'll let concierge staff know that I really really need a non-smoking room. For me it's very important because I get migraines when I am around smoke. I'm sure, as you said, that they will do their best to accomodate us.

Mahalo!!!

 

[Nysie]

I'm glad you had a wonderful trip!! Do you recall the room numbers that the food was in? Did you get a lei upon check-in?

 

[PLibster]

I am so glad someone has put my mind at ease. I have been worried about the concierge for months now. I feel better that someone has actually been in the Tahiti concierge and could give some good info. It sounds like they have got everything under control. Is the bus-stop construction still going on? How was the walk to the pools and GCH? How about the weather? Thanks!

 

[Tikiman]

Tess,

I am sure TNMomof3 can help answer the rest but I can tell you the building does have key entry. Our friends stayed in Tahiti a few days before the move and the building was already key access and the refrigerators were in the rooms.

TNMomof3. Were the rooms that had the tables off to the left if you were looking back at the elevator doors?

 

[Tess]

I appreciate the update on that piece of information! Poor TNMomof3--she'll be bombarded with questions!

 

[TNMomof3]

Hi guys! Sorry I haven't gotten the pics up yet. I got them back last night, and do have pics of the lounge, food setup, and our room view. The problem is that my scanner appears to need to be re-installed, and I can't find the disk. I'll get them up tonight when DH gets home and finds that darn thing. I guess this is just another good excuse to get a digital camera.

Now for those questions...

* we didn't find the lounge crowded, but we were never in there at fireworks time. We loved watching the fireworks and EWP from the beach. What an experience! We were always able to find a seat up there for breakfast though with no trouble.

* the lounge is on the third floor and we had no problem using the elevator. One day it appeared that someone was holding the elevator on the 1st floor, so the staff encouraged us to use the service elevator if we wanted.

* we were on the west wing of the building, and someone was smoking in one of those rooms, but it's highly likely that they were just doing that without permission since Steve's been told that is a non-smoking area.

* check in is on the second floor. I didn't seen anyone greeting on the first floor, but the bellman may escort you to check-in. I know that our luggage was taken to our room in Tahiti, then the bellman drove me over to Hawaii to check in. He actually walked me inside and introduced me to Kathy.

* yes, the entry is keyed.

* not sure of the room # for the lounge rooms. Steve, you are right...if you are standing facing the elevators...they'd be the first two rooms that would be down the hall to your left.

* we did get a leis at check in. My DD loved that.

* bus stop constuction is underway. The only time we ever saw it was from the monorail though.

* the walk to the pool and the GCH were beautiful. We actually found it quicker to walk along the beach path to get to the volcano pool. It wasn't a bad stroll at all, actually quite nice.

* weather was great for us. We like it warm, it was in the low 90's, and not too humid until the last day. We only had one bit of rain and that was for about 20 minutes while we were staying at the BCV which we loved.

We really enjoyed our stay at the Polynesian. You guys don't worry about the transition to Tahiti. I was somewhat concerned because we arrived while they were making the change, but it was so smooth.

I'll update with the pics later.

 

[PLibster]

TNMomof3--- Thank you so much for answering all these questions. You are a great help! Do I understand you correctly that you have to check-in on the 2nd floor? I have never stayed Concierge before; do you not check-in at the GCH? Sorry for the stupid question,

 

[Tess]

When you arrive at the resort, inform Bell Services that you are a concierge guest. They will in turn contact the concierge staff and advise them of your arrival. If your room is ready they will drive you and your luggage to concierge--oftentimes directly to your room. You will then be able to unpack and check-in at the concierge desk at your leisure. If your room is NOT ready, your luggage will be stored and you will be taken to the concierge building to check-in and become oriented to the service.

No lines for check in--no GCH for check-in!