Poly Housekeeping Disappointing

[jlaneme]

We just returned from 8 nights at the Polynesian. It was wonderful. The resort, as usual was beautiful, the grounds are immaculate, the people are friendly and it was a wonderful vacation. I have to say though, we were very disappointed with Mousekeeping and I wanted to share it to see how others feel about this. First, this was our 2nd trip to the Poly, last year we stayed at a lovely room in Tokelau and this year we opted for a theme park view in Tahiti. The room wasn't very clean when we arrived - there was smoothie (or some kind of drink) all over the door and the tables were dusty and just not what I would expect. We took all this with a grain of salt, as we understood it was all about LOCATION. However, we each drink 1-2 cups of coffee in the mornings and on 5 of the days, they never left new coffee. We would have to call and request it (they always brought it but it was something we didn't feel like we should have to ask for daily). On two of the days, they didn't leave new shampoo/conditioner when we were out and on one of the days they didn't leave facecloths for us. It was something we never really experienced before. I also was surprised to find out they changed sheets on the 4th night's stay....just because I would have expected it to be more frequently. Overall, the stay was magical but the mousekeeping left us feeling less than "magical". We can only hope that next time it will be better. Oh - and it didn't appear that they vaccummed daily...or swept our patio. I would love to hear any thoughts regarding this - or if you have had a better/worse experience. Thank you!

 

[cwehrstedt]

Oh I have to agree. In august we spent 4 days on the dream, which was emaculate, the spent 3 nights in poly. We actually had crumbs and shopping tags all over out floor, and ice cream or something on our dresser.

The beds and toilet/bath were clean, so I didn't complain, but was disappointed in my first deluxe resort day....

The pool, fireworks and food did make up for it though

 

[JVP1]

I have stayed at alot of different resorts onsite over the years and can't say I have ever been satisfied with housekeeping. We had several times when we came back to the room after 4pm and the room still wasn't clean.

For the price you paid for Theme Park Room in Tahiti, the room should have been
spotless and well maintained. I think this ongoing problem stems from management who
just can't seem to correct this issue.

That being said, we are staying at the Poly for Christmas and am a little nervous with reports from people about the condition of the rooms and housekeeping.... It is my familys favorite resort and I can't convince them to stay at the Contemporary- their
rooms in the tower look gorgeous and were recently redone

 

[jlaneme]

JVP1 and cwehrstedt I agree with you both. We didn't formally complain but I did want to share the experience. It's so expensive to stay there but such a wonderful location that I can't help but think it would have been even better if it had been clean and well maintained. Perhaps they are just assumming it doesn't matter - because the longhouses are filling up, regardless of the condition of the rooms. However, I don't feel like I should have to call to request a facecloth - it's just careless on their part. The crumbs and lack of dusting is too much! Glad I'm not the only one who felt this way. We can only hope that someone will hear our issue and take the steps to clean up their act .... literally

 

[RMAMom]

Well if no one is formally making a complaint it will never be corrected. You can't expect it to be corrected until it's a problem for management and that can only be done by taking the time to discuss it with management.

 

[jlaneme]

I agree Mary, which is why we called each day they didn't leave coffee, or when they didn't leave our facecloths....or neglected to leave shampoo and conditioner. I would think they would make note regarding when guests contact them to get certain items but perhaps I am mistaken. Maybe I should write a letter or make a formal complaint. I also know that social networking is an important factor these days and can only hope that Disney will take a look at "chatter" on boards such as these and make changes when guests are repeatedly unhappy. I guess I was posting my experience on here to find out what other guests thought in order to determine if I had some unrealistic expectations or if it was a valid concern.

 

[catzle]

I would of complained to management. Just calling housekeeping does not forma complaint. I know we are paying $600 a night coming up in June and if we walk into our room and there is food and clothes tags etc. we will be complaining. For $600 a night the place should be immaculate!!

 

[*Fantasia*]

No matter how much the cost of the stay.. We are all suppose to expect a clean room with nothing broken, all the lights working and the appliances working from Disney. So even if I am staying at a value resort or deluxe, the room should be the way Disney intend it to be.

 

[padawans]

We just returned from a 3 resort stay BW/POlY and YC. We did not have any major housekeeping issues at any of them, but the coffee was an issue. They kept leaving decaf instead or regular. I also noticed they were not as generous with the hair products as normal. It is standard for the sheets to be changed every 4 days. They do this at the Universal resorts to. They say it is for conservation, but I am sure it has more to do with saving money. One thing I found interesting was I always leave 5 dollars on the pillow for housekeeping. At the Yc they would never take it. This was the first resort I have stayed at where the housekeepers would not take my tip.

 

[maxiesmom]

Well if no one is formally making a complaint it will never be corrected. You can't expect it to be corrected until it's a problem for management and that can only be done by taking the time to discuss it with management.

Exactly. If no one alerts them to the problems, then they can't know anything needs to be done. It is much for effective to complain at the time the to go home and write a letter, or send off an e-mail.

You shouldn't have to call and ask for coffee or shampoo on a daily basis. Why not complain when it first happens, so that you don't have to deal with it for your whole vacation?

 

[Auntie Liz]

I would of complained to management. Just calling housekeeping does not forma complaint. I know we are paying $600 a night coming up in June and if we walk into our room and there is food and clothes tags etc. we will be complaining. For $600 a night the place should be immaculate!!

I totally agree with you. It takes an awful lot for me to complain about something. After years of working in retail, food industry, etc I just don't complain about a lot. However, if we are paying 600+ a night for a room, I would expect it to be clean and ammenities filled every day.

 

[k&a&c'smom]

The policy for the sheets is actually every third day - so, if you check in on Monday, the sheets should be changed when the room is made up on Thursday. There is a card in the room explaining that you can request daily change of sheets by calling housekeeping, but it may have gotten misplaced in your room or you might not have noticed it. As another poster stated, this is the policy at the US resorts as well.

I agree with the previous posters, the best time to voice your complaints is while you are onsite. Calling housekeeping does not alert the resort management of a problem, it is simply a request for an item. We request extra hangers, but I doubt they see that as a statement there aren't enough hangers in the room! However, you might have gotten more attention if you had asked for the housekeeping supervisor. Just a thought for your next trip, should something similar arise.

By all means send a message to the Poly GM. They can't remedy the problem if no one voices their complaints. And as others have stated, if the resort keeps booking up despite previous issues with housekeeping, I doubt they will feel the need to make any changes.

Glad your overall stay was magical, and I hope your next is even better.

 

[Mamato3Princes]

The policy for the sheets is actually every third day - so, if you check in on Monday, the sheets should be changed when the room is made up on Thursday. There is a card in the room explaining that you can request daily change of sheets by calling housekeeping, but it may have gotten misplaced in your room or you might not have noticed it. As another poster stated, this is the policy at the US resorts as well.

You know, I was wondering why they didn't change our sheets daily when we were there in Feb! I thought it might have something to do with going green, but I wasn't positive.

I agree with the PP, the amount that Disney charges for their rooms- those rooms should be SPOTLESS. There's no excuse for that. But as PP have said, if people never complain to management about it then they probably won't realize there's a problem. OP, despite the mousekeeping, I'm glad you had a magical time!

 

[k&a&c'smom]

You know, I was wondering why they didn't change our sheets daily when we were there in Feb! I thought it might have something to do with going green, but I wasn't positive.

....

Yes, they like to say it is due to going green - as someone else posted, that may be a good way to sway guests toward saving them money. Still, I like the idea of saving water and we never change our sheets daily at home. We do get new towels each and every time, though, as I hate a damp bath towel.

 

[NurseEileen]

We stayed at the Poly in Tahiti in 2008 and had similar issues with the cleanliness of the room and a light and fan in the bathroom not working, as well as a drain in the bathtub that was full of hair. I ended up cleaning out the drain as asking housekeeping to clean it did no good.

I did write a letter to the manager after our return home describing the issues we had, but I can see from these posts that housekeeping is still a problem. My sister told me I should have asked to speak to a manager while we were there. Perhaps that would have been a better choice. That being said, the Poly is a beautiful resort and hope to return there one of these days.

 

[jlaneme]

I agree with all the posters above. We should have contacted management as soon as we got there. I just hate to be that person and just kept trying to give them the benefit of the doubt. I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt that the issues would be corrected. Having stayed the previous year and experiencing none of these issues, I thought the first day was a fluke, etc. Going forward I'll be sure to notify management and try to get the issues taken care of immediately. There is just something about complaining as soon as you get to paradise that seems wrong. Then again, the squeaky wheel gets the grease! Thanks for everyone's responses.

 

[Childs1stTime2Disney]

I also just got back about a mth ago from our first every Poly stay. I too was a bit disappointed...I saw loads of dust on the area behind the bed, the nightstand, headboard, etc. And there was a bag of opened carrots left in our fridge when we arrived at the room. I found a merchandise tag on the floor, so while I believe they vacuumed, I figured it was a quick job.

I def felt the hotel was a bit run down for my taste. Loved the resort location and grounds, but the rooms were not appealing to me. And the beds were some of the cheapest and most uncomfortable beds in a hotel I have ever slept on.

I probably won't stay there again for a really long time.

 

[patsal]

After watching the hotel guy on the travel channel, I was thinking yesterday, boy I'd love to see him head over to disney and go through the rooms. I'm sure he would have an earful for the housekeeping manager as well as for the maintainence supervisior! Then it would be on to the GM who should have control over all of these things, lol. When I arrive I go through the room, and if necessary I take a list to the fornt desk. All is usually taken care of by the time I return.

 

[Beccabunny]

I also just got back about a mth ago from our first every Poly stay. I too was a bit disappointed...I saw loads of dust on the area behind the bed, the nightstand, headboard, etc. And there was a bag of opened carrots left in our fridge when we arrived at the room. I found a merchandise tag on the floor, so while I believe they vacuumed, I figured it was a quick job.

I def felt the hotel was a bit run down for my taste. Loved the resort location and grounds, but the rooms were not appealing to me. And the beds were some of the cheapest and most uncomfortable beds in a hotel I have ever slept on.

I probably won't stay there again for a really long time.

My sentiments exactly! We did enjoy the resort, loved the pool, cabana rental, etc. The room was gross. Not only dirty, but run down. We won't go back unless they do major refurbishments.

 

[1971DBday]

Well if no one is formally making a complaint it will never be corrected. You can't expect it to be corrected until it's a problem for management and that can only be done by taking the time to discuss it with management.

I would of complained to management. Just calling housekeeping does not forma complaint. I know we are paying $600 a night coming up in June and if we walk into our room and there is food and clothes tags etc. we will be complaining. For $600 a night the place should be immaculate!!

Completely agree! We are Poly lovers and enjoy the theme of the rooms. In my personal opinion I wouldn't call the rooms dark but beige and browns (which can make a darker look because of the dark color of the wood). It makes sleeping a lot easier if you prefer a darker room. Open the drapes and ta-da light!

We had challenges during our October stay in which I had to become "that person". I did have to go to management and finally all of our issues were addressed. However, when I came home I still emailed WDW to let them know about all of my frustrations. I guess it was enough that they are giving us a free night this next trip to compensate. I am not saying everyone will get this, nor did I ask for it. Like I said we had enough or a big enough of an issue that they felt compensation was necessary.

Good customer service includes correcting the situation appropriately by management and addressing it with their front line staff. They can't do that if their customers don't communicate their issues appropriately.