Polynesian resort, please say it isn't so!!!!?!!!!

[tigger813]

We stayed at the Poly last summer and were upgraded to concierge. We loved every minute of our stay! We'd go back if we hadn't bought into DVC. We may sometime stay there an extra night if we don't have enough points. The people at the concierge desk were incredible and extremely helpful.

You really need to decide for yourself. What one person likes another may hate so just make your own decisions. You can get an idea and think about what your expectations are for your stay.

 

[hmp2z]

IIf I were to stay at the Poly I would pick "Rapa Nui" or specially "Tahiti." I really don't mind the 5/10 minute walk to the GCH. I was wondering if anyone has experienced exessive noise while staying at any of these areas?

We just stayed in Rapa Nui in December. We could hear people in the hallways; they weren't being overly loud, but we could definitely hear them. It woke me up a few times that night.

My biggest issue, though, was with the view at Rapa Nui. We had paid for a garden view room and got a parking lot view. I've always been an advocate for adding another room category: Standard View. If I drop $300 or so for a garden view, then I'm very disappointed when I look outside and see a not-so-lovely parking lot.

The CM with whom we checked in was friendly, though she was new so it went kind of slowly. The Mousekeeping is an issue at pretty much all of the deluxes, I believe. We have learned to call every morning before we go to the parks and tell them that we're ready to have our beds made up, otherwise we run a good chance of coming back and finding the room still uncleaned.

I'm a big believer in Disney having high standards, though, most especially when I'm spending $300-650/night for my room. I don't think that any issues with poor service are excusable at those prices. But then again, I like to get a good value for my dollar.

I stay in deluxes, and don't begrudge the money, because I have certain expectations for this category of resort. I don't make excuses for Disney when they fall short. Disney is in the tourism industry; they know that guests will be messy, which is why they should hire enough CM's to clean up. They know that guests will be loud, which is why they should build their walls thick enough. Bottom line is this: if I'm noticing trash cans overflowing, or being woken up by guests, it mars my experience as a Disney guest. And it makes me less likely to give them my money next time I'm looking for a vacation destination.

Cheers!
Heather W

 

[JerseySkiddie]

I actually work on the Unofficial Guide in fact one of the things I do is read the reader surveys in the back and make note of what people have to say about the parks, resorts, etc. Last year we did receive a suprising amount of negative feedback for Poly. In fact, I emailed a few of the readers to verify their dissatisfaction. It appeared that a lot of people were having problems with the service provided at the Poly last year. The ratings did bring down the averaged lower than it previously had been. However, I've been heard that things have been improving after a bad spot there for a while. I also know I've heard it discussed on wdwtoday at some point. The new edition of the UG will come out at the end of August and you can check that one out for confirmation! Good luck with your planning and thanks for using the Guide! You can also try allersnet.com for guest reviews and ***************** (the companion to the UG) for resort reports.

 

[LukenDC]

If you read tikiman's website you will see that AAA awarded the resort 4 diamonds on Feb 18, 2007 after an inspection.

After the poor grades in the UG and complaints from Steve (Tikiman) Seifert, the Poly supposedly made a concerted effort to improve customer service. AAA's four diamonds is recognition of the improvement and I seem to recall reading that the latest edition of the UG awards better grades to the Poly.

 

[Amy7979]

I stayed at the Poly two years ago and loved it! I don't remember any specific complaints that we had about noise or service. I'll agree that maybe the "value" rating is accurate - it IS pretty expensive, after all. But, all in all, it's my favorite WDW resort from all those I have experienced.

 

[freediverdude]

I'm wondering if a lot of the issues came about as a result of all the refurbishing that was going on, and probably a lot of confusion surrounding it, both by guests and castmembers. That was a big deal for the Poly to move the whole concierge building to a different building temporarily, and to move the whole counter service food location to a different location temporarily. The gift shops on the first floor also were completely relocated and redone. Anyway, I suspect that there was probably some temporary problems going on during all of that. I just hope that a lot of the long time castmembers, some of whom had been there since the very first day in 1971 or shortly after, stuck it out and stayed.

 

[kikiq]

All in all, I can barely afford a stay at the Poly but I'm doing it for my DGF. This would be her first trip to WDW and she loves anything with an Island theme, plus I'm keeping the resort as a surprise.

My dad grew up in the islands and quite frankly doesn't like staying anywhere else than Poly. Our last stay was a split stay Poly/DCL/CBR. Neither my DH or dad want to return to CBR...I thought it was nice.

I have been reading DIS for the last month because of a last minute trip planned for Aug. What I noticed is that people will post their bad experiences from anywhere from 2-6 years ago. I would take those reviews with a massive grain of salt. I'm more interested in the people who just got back or are leaving in the next week, what is happening now, and what is Disney's response.

 

[Disneydenise]

The Poly is a favorite resort of our families. The location is great and I really feel the Disney spirit when I am there. We have stayed there several times though the years. The only noise I have ever heard in the room is the folks getting up at the crack of dawn to get a shower. That was only once when we had a 2nd floor room, It had a balcony so we put up with the noise. Sometimes you can hear the sound of the ferry boat whistle in the AM but I found it pleasant.
I don't really go to disney to have a relaxing vacation so I guess that is why it doesn't bother me too much.

 

[PamNC]

We've stayed at the Poly twice, and LOVED it. It is indeed pricey. That's why we haven't stayed there since 2004...but it is our favorite resort. YC/BC following as a close second. For both of our stays at the Poly, we had zero problem with noise, housekeeping...or anything for that matter. Both stays were completely and utterly magical!

PamNC

 

[Smailey]

I think that people complain more if they are paying a higher rate at the Poly than if they were staying at say POP. You just have higher expectaions when you pay more money and rightfully so. I have stayed at the Poly numerious times. Some of my greatest memories when I was a kid come from the Poly, it still holds that magic for me when I go back! On our last trip we had a room in Somoa directly facing the main pool. We would hear kids playing late at night, but it never really bothered us. The Poly brought back a lot of great old memories and gave me some new ones to take home. It quickly became my DW favorite resort. When we started planning for our next trip in Jan (DW is running in the Marathon) my DW said we can ONLY go down if we stay the last 3-5 nights at the Poly! No Problem!
One thing I've learned working in retail my whole life is that out of 10 people who have a good experience your lucky to hear back from 1. If you have 10 people that have had a bad experience, you hear back from 8! The good really does out weigh the bad, and don't let someone else's poor experience create any anxiety in staying at the Poly. You will enjoy it.

 

[Lauralee131]

We stayed in Tahiti in a Garden View room. We heard the noise coming from the Speedway, as others have mentioned, but just barely. I'm putting a link to the TR I did from then...It should start right on page 12 where we checked in. There's pictures, etc. and if you want to weed through it, feel free...there's plenty of mention about our room and the noise, etc....Tahiti's in a good spot if you're on the lagoon. A bit of a walk to everything, but worth the view if you can get it...

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1262013&page=12&highlight=mulligan

Again, good luck with your decision!

 

[mom4graceandlogan]

Completely disagree with the reviews in your guidebook re: noise. We are huge WL fans, but did a split stay in January. Stayed a poly several days then WL several days. The Poly was one of the quietest hotels we ever stayed at. We stayed on the 3rd floor so that may have helped. It is much quieter than WL. My husband and I commented on it several times and concluded that it was probably due to being older and maybe more solidly constructed. Housekeeping was great and the beds were much more comfortable than WL. We also loved how much bigger the bathroom and room was. Our only complaint was that Captain Cooks was chaotic in the morning. We still like the atmosphere of WL better as it is our preffered theme, but Poly was great. If you stay there be sure to take time to swing in the hammocks on the beach. We did this in the a.m. You could hear Mickey Mouse in the distance over the lake opening the Magic Kingdom and the parade music later in the day. We are returning for 10 days in sept. and will be spending five days each at the WL, then the Poly. We decided to save the Poly for last because I am pregnant and we are hoping that those comfy Poly beds and the fact that we found it to be much quieter would be much needed by the middle of the week. I'd request a third floor room and that will help even more. One tip with the Poly, when we tried to check in early they tried to stick us in a room we didn't like, 2nd floor facing parking lot. We asked if we could wait a little while for a different room and they were happy to accomodate. We have also done this at WL. It took a few hours but was worth it.

 

[MsStinkerBelle]

The only noise I heard in a Lagoon View room in Tuvalu was the sound of the ferries blowing their horns, the fireworks and the music from the EWP. Our stay was wonderful in December and yes, I'd read the Unofficial Guide's rating about the Poly before going but I still stayed there anyway.

Can't wait to go back next month! Woo hoo!

 

[sotoalf]

I've been reading the UG since it published its first Disney guide in 1985. Its snarky wit has been a treasure all these years. Like any review, you admire it as a piece of writing before its ability to tell the truth.

 

[BCV23]

I've been reading the UG since it published its first Disney guide in 1985. Its snarky wit has been a treasure all these years. Like any review, you admire it as a piece of writing before its ability to tell the truth.

Well, that about sums it up!

 

[Sammie]

The main problem with any lack of good service is the fact that Disney has over built the ability to hire quality help. They have 60,000 employees and they are still about 3000 short in housekeeping and maintenance and resorts in general.

The sad thing is they keep building though; without the necessary manpower to staff the resorts. It makes those that are there, over worked and frustrated.

 

[mika911]

What building might you guys recommend at the Poly? I'd like a balcony and maybe not too too far from the TTC.

 

[Tam1067]

I'm sorry so many of you have had bad experiences, but we just returned last night from eight nights at the Polynesian and had a great time.

We were in Tokelau and loved the larger rooms and central location. Last year, we stayed in Samoa which is also nice. Housekeeping seemed improved this year. Our room was always made up when we returned from the parks, once by 11 a.m. The maid automatically gave us extra towels without our even asking, perhaps because we had 5 people in the room (this did not happen last year and we repeatedly had to call housekeeping for more towels and soap).

Food and service at all three restaurants (Kona, 'Ohana, Captain Cook's) were good. Cast members were pleasant.

Once at lunchtime, we did see the overflowing garbage cans outside Captain Cook's that someone mentioned. Also, sometimes the coolers in Captain Cook's were not well stocked with items.

We heard some noise from our neighbors across the hall, but that's because they were very inconsiderate and slammed doors and talked very loudly in the hallways late at night. We never heard anything from the speedway. We did hear fireworks from MK, but that's the price you pay when you stay at a resort so close to MK.

We also were disappointed with the airline check-in people...but I'm going to post that on another thread.

I just want to reassure people planning to visit the Polynesian that it's a great place and a lovely resort, and if anything, service seems improved when compared to our stay last year. We plan to return next year as well.

 

[JerseySkiddie]

a lot of what's reported in the UG is based on reader feedback with our own witty commentary and opinions thrown in for good measure. you wouldn't believe some of the things i've had to read from surveys...

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

When I read that the OP's comment were about things written in the Unofficial Guide, I would take those with a grain of salt. I always think when reading their reviews about the hotels, restaurants and etc they are a little to negative about their comments and ratings. As for the negative posts about the Polynesian there are always going to be people with posts like that, however you can say that about all the Walt Disney World Resort Hotels that are on property.