Just returned from our first visit to WDW. We had a wonderful time and it was quite magical! The memories we have are priceless. Here is the down and dirty as to staying at a Disney resort. We stayed at the Poly and overall we enjoyed it. As for the cost of a deluxe resort, I don't think you can justify the cost if you are only going to compare by the rooms and properties. I don't mean comparing the Poly to other Disney resorts because I can't, I have never stayed at other Disney resorts. I am comparing the Poly to other resorts we have stayed at over the past 15 years my husband and I have traveled. At over $300.00 a night, no, the Poly is NOTHING special compared to other resorts I have stayed at, at that price. Our room was fine, nothing special. We were in Tokelau room 2916. Most CM's are nice and helpful. We did encounter one CM that was nothing but rude and most unhelpful! Housekeeping was adequate. We did have mold, little black mold spots in the shower that I pointed out but were never cleaned. They brought more towels up right away when we asked on our first day and then kept replenishing throughout our stay so that was nice. I really don't think they vacuum the rooms on a daily basis. Never once heard or even saw a housekeeping person with a vacuum cleaner. The grounds are beautifull, the pool is nice. There is a definite shortage of pool chairs for a resort of that size. If you were not at the pool by 11:00 a.m. to claim your spot don't even think you will be able to find something at 2:00 or 3:00 in the afternoon. There was a quiet pool too which was nice. We did not swim at that pool so I don't know how crowded it got. If you are a light sleeper you may have some issues, the air conditioning is a little loud, not that bad. But you can really hear through the walls. We could hear the people talking in the rooms next to us no problem or hear the tv show they were watching. But this is a problem in a lot of older hotels so you kind of have to live with it. What you are paying for is convenience to and from the parks. That is the bottom line! The Poly has the monorail and boat service to the Magic Kingdom. You can not beat that. You are also a 5 minute walk to the TTC, where you can get on a monorail to Epcot. You can not beat that. And right out the front door of the Poly is the bus stop where you wait for a bus to MGM, AK, and water parks. It is very convenient. Don't get me wrong, when MK closes after Wishes you are still waiting in line for a boat or a monorail like everyone else. The thing is, is that once you are on that monorail or boat, you are at your hotel and in your room in 20 minutes. That is a blessing after a long day at the parks when you have little ones. So if saving time is of great importance to you and you can afford to stay at a deluxe resort then I would do it. I am not a believer of putting my self in debt to go on vacation or stay at a certain hotel. DISNEY is MAGICAL. It is the memories of your children's faces riding Dumbo for the first time or seeing Cinderella. Those are the images you are going to cherish. So if saving some money to stay at a mod or value resort is best for you, do it, you will have a wonderful time on vacation. Sorry so long! If you have any questions please just ask.
You have summed up my greatest fear of staying on site for the first time, comparing it to other deluxe hotels. I am trying to keep my expectations in reason. I've stayed at some very nice places over the years and only a few have ever cost us what the Poly is costing us this year. I am trying to think of it as a resort vs. a hotel, hopefully that will help. Any other helpful suggestions? This is Dh first trip on site (at least with kids in tow, we stayed at SSR in Jan this year on buisness for a few nights, loved that.) and I am trying to make sure he feels the magic of being so accesible to everything. However, if we see mold in these newly renovated rooms it will not be a good thing at all, no, not at all. love to hear about any amenities you took advantage of and how you enjoyed the overall theming? my kids are looking forward to the pool (we've had to fight for chairs plenty of places tho so no biggie) but do they keep towels suppied? how are the arcades, boat rentals? housekeeping keeps coming up on these boards, did you have any trouble? if so, did you ask for it to be corrected and what was the response? I don't expect perfection (okay, I love when it's close!) but do expect a really good response to a problem! another question, do they have the little cards to put out that allow you to request daily towel and sheet changes as opposed to "saving water thing" and no vacuuming? huh? have they ever seen our floor after 2 toddlers snack? oh boy. could care less about towel animals just want **** and span clean everyday. okay, so now you have it, my greatest fear! If I could pay for CL I would but I really think $329 a night is plenty for decent service and a clean room!
wdw4life- We were in Tokelau. Hope you had a wonderful trip. I was kind of bummed this morning to wake up and there was no castle out my window! kileybeth- You will have a great trip. The Poly is beautiful. The pool is wonderful, especially if you have little ones because it is a zero depth. They also have a jumping water fountain area next to the pool for the kids to play in. That was neat. If your kids wear floaties, the things that go on their arms, pack some with you. WDW, I mean the entire place was sold out of floaties. Not one to be found anywhere. A few of the CM's we asked said it could be a few weeks before they get any in. Don't worry if you forget to pack them, they have life vests for kids to wear. They are available behind the pool area at the desk where you rent boats. You can sign one out for your entire stay and just return it before you check out. Lots of towels at the pool. We didn't rent any boats but it looked like fun. The overall theming is great, lots of tiki guys and the landscaping is beautiful. Having just been to Hawaii in September I can say Disney does a great job of creating a Hawaiian or Polynesian feel but lets face facts there is no replicating Hawaii! Yes, they do have the "save water" signs in the bathrooms. Sorry but I threw all my towels in a pile every morning so they knew to give me new towels and they did. I did ask mid-way through our trip to have the sheets changed and they were. Other than that, no the little mold spots in the bathroom were never cleaned. The cleaning was okay, I think they just make the beds, wipe down the bathroom sink and give you new towels. I really don't know what the dear is with the vacuuming. Yes my 4 year old spilled Cherios on the floor and we picked up most of them but there were still some on the floor when we left the next day. The Cherios were gone from the floor but there were other things left, plastic tags from clothes, sticker paper. Things like that, that if you vacuumed would have been picked up. There is an arcade next to Capt. Cooks. My husband and son had fun there. Kona Cafe is a good place to eat. We had dinner there and it was very good. We did the character breakfast at Ohana's and that was tons of fun. The food is served family style and it was great. Our servers at both Kona and Ohana were wonderful. I was doing the same thing you are, comparing these five star resorts we have stayed in that didn't cost me what Poly was costing me. Don't do that or you will probably be disappointed. It is a lovely resort and if there was no Disney world attached to it there is no way in HE!! I would pay over $300 to stay there. You would have to be crazy. I stayed at a beautiful, I mean beautiful, oceanfront villa in Hawaii run by Marriott, 2 bedroom 2 bathroom, living/dining and kitchen with 3 pools, restaurants, kids programs the works and we paid $300/night. So if you compare things like that OOUCH! BUT, Disney is attached to this resort and the convenience of the Poly is great. So yes, if we go back to Disney I will probably stay there again. Hope that helps. If you have any other questions just let me know. I also want to thank everyone for all their great ideas, reviews and tips! This board is WONDERFUL!
We were in the Samoa building from 5/13 - 5/18 and I agree the best thing is the ease to get to MK as well as EPCOT. I was very disappointed with the shape of the room. I can't believe it was just recently rehabed. Bathroom: We also had mold in the shower two large areas in the 2 corners connecting the walls. The full length mirror had paint (it was the wall color) on it and a big scratch and was never cleaned. The bath door hinges were all rusted! I could not believe it! There was also an extra piece of plywood glued to one of the bottoms of one of the shelves in the bathroom. No attempt to paint it or disguise just glued plywood. Our towels were all replaced even though we left a few on the towel rack to use again later. The bed area: I agree it needs a good vacuuming! The area under where the bedspread hangs down was dusty and had food & other things I can't identify sitting on the floor. I saw the vacuums housekeeping uses, even though uprights, they do have the detachable hose to do close area cleaning but it was not done in our room. I did notify housekeeping about the state of the room but during our stay the vacuum never did get around the frame of the bed! I have tried to lower my expectations of Disney hotels after my stay at the GF in 2002 and housekeeping made the bed with a sheet with rips in it! Not little holes but rips several inches long all along the top of the sheet which they folded down so that was what was showing when the bedspread was pull back. I keep repeating...it's the parks that matter but really for these prices they really need to do a better job. Sorry to highjack your thread OP but I thought maybe we got the only room that looked like it needed more work. Sorry to read that's not the case. Colleen
Hmmm, If I keep reading all of these posts about housekeeping and the room conditions - it really makes me wonder. A couple here and there, you take w/ a grain of salt, but they are really adding up! The rooms are newly remodeled! I don't get it?
I've stayed in 1 or 2 deluxe hotels in the Uk, and pound for pound, the Disney resorts do it better. Better amenities prettier decor, and larger rooms. As opposed to fancy deluxe hotel chains, I feel that at Disney deluxes you are paying for the magical theming, not the amenities. I have seen nicer room furnishings at deluxe hotels and resorts but they are not as themed or next to a theme park etc.
kileybeth, I'm not sure the ages of your children, but it is so convenient to stay on the monorail. We arrived really late the first night so chose to stay at POR. We did not get there until after midnight. We had a hard time finding our room because it is so spread out. With three tired kids it was not much fun. We transferred to CR the next day and LOVED our stay. We did not get animal towels, but housekeeping was fine. Things were cleaned daily. We have traveled a lot and stayed at many places. I really think you are paying for location. My DH was not sure at first, but after our trip, we both agree it will be either the Poly or CR next year! Good luck with your decisions.
