We returned last night from our second Polynesian stay in as many years. Overall, it was a great experience.
Details: We arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on July 9, received our leis and were checked in quickly. I had requested Tokelau because I wanted a larger room in a central location with a balcony, and we got that request.
The room was lovely. The power strip appeared to be a bit pulled out, but beyond that, everything was nice.
Housekeeping was excellent, and actually an improvement over our stay last year when we were in Samoa. This time, the room was made up each day before we returned from the parks--one time by 11:00 a.m. We had extra towels each day without asking for them. Last year, we repeatedly had to call down to housekeeping and request more towels (we're 5 in the room), but this year, we were automatically given six bath towels and wash cloths each day. Toiletries were replaced each day, too, whereas last year they were not always.
Food and service at Kona, 'Ohana, and Captain Cook's were all good. Last year, the temporary location of Captain Cook's was not nearly as nice as the newly remodeled one (though the computer ordering can be confusing at first).
We ordered water, juice, and milk from Garden Grocer which saved us a lot of money.
I can say that we only had a few minor issues. First, as others have noted, the pool is crowded, and it's nearly impossible to find a chair in the afternoon.
Second, one afternoon, the garbage cans both inside and outside Captain Cook's were overflowing terribly. Another guest told my husband he had complained to some Captain Cook's CMs but that nothing had been done. They were still overflowing when we finished our lunch and left.
And the strangest of all was when we checked out. We called bell services for help with the luggage, and a bellman arrived within a few minutes. He took our bags down to the front, and my husband tipped him. Then, my husband tipped the valet who took our carry-ons to store while we went to the parks before we had to catch the bus to the airport. When DH went to the airline check-in desk to get boarding passes and check in the checked luggage for our flight, there were three employees there. One of them said to him, "We do accept gratuities here too."
DH was pretty irritated. First off, there were three employees there--are we now supposed to tip people who type in information on the computer? Do we tip someone who puts the airline stickers on the bags? We'd just spent over $30 in tips on people who actually were helping us, and it seems somewhat ridiculous to tip again. Also, I can't believe that a CM would be rude enough to ask for a tip in such a way. Does Disney now allow this, or am I behind the times here?
It's too bad that this one experience left a negative feeling to the end of our trip because otherwise, it was great.
Feel free to ask any questions about the resort--I'll do my best to answer.
Details: We arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on July 9, received our leis and were checked in quickly. I had requested Tokelau because I wanted a larger room in a central location with a balcony, and we got that request.
The room was lovely. The power strip appeared to be a bit pulled out, but beyond that, everything was nice.
Housekeeping was excellent, and actually an improvement over our stay last year when we were in Samoa. This time, the room was made up each day before we returned from the parks--one time by 11:00 a.m. We had extra towels each day without asking for them. Last year, we repeatedly had to call down to housekeeping and request more towels (we're 5 in the room), but this year, we were automatically given six bath towels and wash cloths each day. Toiletries were replaced each day, too, whereas last year they were not always.
Food and service at Kona, 'Ohana, and Captain Cook's were all good. Last year, the temporary location of Captain Cook's was not nearly as nice as the newly remodeled one (though the computer ordering can be confusing at first).
We ordered water, juice, and milk from Garden Grocer which saved us a lot of money.
I can say that we only had a few minor issues. First, as others have noted, the pool is crowded, and it's nearly impossible to find a chair in the afternoon.
Second, one afternoon, the garbage cans both inside and outside Captain Cook's were overflowing terribly. Another guest told my husband he had complained to some Captain Cook's CMs but that nothing had been done. They were still overflowing when we finished our lunch and left.
And the strangest of all was when we checked out. We called bell services for help with the luggage, and a bellman arrived within a few minutes. He took our bags down to the front, and my husband tipped him. Then, my husband tipped the valet who took our carry-ons to store while we went to the parks before we had to catch the bus to the airport. When DH went to the airline check-in desk to get boarding passes and check in the checked luggage for our flight, there were three employees there. One of them said to him, "We do accept gratuities here too."
DH was pretty irritated. First off, there were three employees there--are we now supposed to tip people who type in information on the computer? Do we tip someone who puts the airline stickers on the bags? We'd just spent over $30 in tips on people who actually were helping us, and it seems somewhat ridiculous to tip again. Also, I can't believe that a CM would be rude enough to ask for a tip in such a way. Does Disney now allow this, or am I behind the times here?
It's too bad that this one experience left a negative feeling to the end of our trip because otherwise, it was great.
Feel free to ask any questions about the resort--I'll do my best to answer.
So what, now these guys consider themselves to be skycaps?! Anyway, I took that as a hint that he expected to be tipped. I did give him a few dollars and the computer guy one. The third guy just stood there, not saying anything or doing anything. I gave him nothing. I'm not even sure what an appropriate tip amount is in that situation, but we were on our way home, and I had just about used all of the bills I had set aside for tipping on the trip. (I did have some 20's in my wallet, but that wasn't going to happen!! 
) I know, generally speaking, it is customary to tip anyone who handles your bags, but the GF bellman had already done most of the work. All this guy had to do was to tag the bags and put them in the cages. 
and the resort airline checkin was very convenient for us.) Now that I know they are in fact considered skycaps for real, I can plan for it in the future. Thanks for clearing that up.
)
