Polynesian Resort question

[JulieSharp]

Hi,

Thinking of a stay here next year as the resort looks fabulous.

Can anyone share experiences of staying there, especially which part of the resort is preferred as it is split between several different sections such as Samoa (our possible choice) and Hawaii etc

Did you find the rooms large enough for your needs? and recent re-furbishment?

 

[scanne]

I have stayed at the Polynesian 3 times. The newly remodeled rooms are beautiful! We have stayed in three different buildings:

Tahiti
Tokelau
Rapa Nui

My favorite? Rapa Nui! I didn't think it would be but it was a GREAT location. We were on the third floor with a balcony and we were a quick walk to the TTC to catch the direct monorail to Epcot. The walk to the GCH was about 5 minutes and the grounds are beautiful, so it was always a nice walk. The central location of the resort itself makes it one of our top favorites at WDW! I don't really think you can go wrong with any of the rooms or any of the buildings. Also, the building request is just that: a request. The only way to guarantee a particular building is if you book the concierge level (then you'd be in Hawaii) or a suite and then you'd be in Tonga. Otherwise, it's only a request.

Hope this is helpful and I hope you get what you want!

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Last December my family and I had a Club Level Lagoon View, so we stayed in the Hawaii Longhouse and we thought the room was great. Since the room had just been renovated we did not see anything wrong with it and scanne is correct that if you want to stay in the Hawaii Longhouse, you need to make a Club Level reservation for the Garden View or Lagoon View.

 

[Tam1067]

We've stayed in Samoa and Tokelau. We'll be returning on August 5--can't wait.

All the rooms have been refurbished in the last 2-3 years or so.

Though the maps make the resort seem huge, it's not that large, so the walk between buildings or to the GCH (main lobby building with restaurants and shops) is never that far. I think each building has good things about it. There's a great site you can google (tikiman and Polynesian will get you there) which gives lots of details about each of the buildings and can help you make your decision.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

My favorite longhouse is Samoa. I would take Rarotonga 2nd just for location to the GCH, Captain Cooks, pool, Bus stop etc. We have stayed in Aeorotora and Niuie before it was smoking. Cant do that now with the one ds asthma. We have stayed in the Hawaii concierge twice, this past time we were upgraded for free, just dh and I for our special anniversary last month. I would also prefer a 3rd floor balcony if we didnt have little kids and if your kids were little the lst floor is great. You will love the resort.

 

[joenan88]

We stayed at the Poly last November and really enjoyed it..the volcano pool was really fun and the zero entry is great for kids. Captain Cooks was great and O'Hana's and Kona Cafe are a must for every trip. The rooms were large and inviting..BUT I did feel they were very dark. The hallways are very dingy and the elevators can fit about 3 adults (not over weight). When they refurbished the resort I think they left out the elevators and the hallways. The proximity to the MK and TTC is wonderful....we are returning in August and surprising the kiddies ...so we picked the resort they wanted which is the CR. They were enamored with it...sometimes what we like is not what the kiddies would pick

Have a great trip no matter where you stay...

 

[DisCopper]

The Polynesian is now my favorite resort. I avoided it for years because whenever I walked through, the peaceful environment was ruined by what seemed to be 10,000 SCREAMING kids. It just seemed like a very loud resort. Maybe it was the timing, but when I actually stayed there, I didn't notice the screaming. Mealtimes in the lobby were loud, but I can take that.

We asked for a (free) upgrade to a lagoon view room. We didn't get that, but did get upgraded to the Hawaii building, garden view. It had full conceirge service, which meant free breakfast, free evening snacks (which could actually be dinner), free drinks in the evening, and free evening treats. Even though we didn't use it as much as we could have, we probably saved about $20 - $30 per person, per day.

The resort is absolutely beautiful... lush and tropical. Because it's so old, everything is grown in well- big beautiful trees and bushes.

The rooms were great! Definitely large enough to meet our needs. The decor was cool- you KNOW you're not in a Holiday Inn.

I'd check out Tikiman's site (just google him) and he's got insanely detailed information about the Poly. His site goes down from too much use near the end of the month, but will come up within a few days.

 

[mickeynut1]

We stayed at the Poly for the first time in September (we were in Samoa) and we loved everything about it . You can't beat the tropical surroundings and the overall feel of the resort. We loved laying in the hammocks while watching the fireworks at night or swimming during the day with the view of the castle . There was nothing we didn't like about the Poly. The rooms were great for us as we have two teen DS's and the youngest one is able to sleep on the daybed with no problems whatsoever.....so each gets their own bed....which is a plus .

 

[mickey2minnie1]

We stayed in Tokelau last October. There were 5 of us and I was concerned about the size of the room since we were staying for 9 nights. It was fabulous! The room was very large and we never felt cramped or like we were stepping over one another. The longhouse was centered so it was an equal walk to TTC/GCH/VP. We loved it!!!!!!! Going back next year I will either request it again or possibly Somoa to be right in front of the pool. I am just concerned that the 5 extra feet might be noticed and being in a central location is always good. Although I would looooove to stay in Hawaii.

 

[txdismom08]

My only advice would be to book it as soon as you're ready and able! The Poly was my first choice for our trip but DH was hemming and hawing and by the time I called to book it, the hotel was sold out!

Good luck!!

 

[mrincredible2008]

We just got back this morning. Had a wonderful 9 days at the poly . We had asked for Tokelau longhouse but at arrival, we were told that the longhouse was not available. So, to our surprise we were placed in the Hawaii building , first floor with patio and great view. We had a great stay. Hawaii longhouse was fantastic. Got to start the ticker for next wdw trip

 

[MickeyNicki]

We stayed there once Oct 07, this was DH dream resort...it was a great room (Fiji second floor with a huge view of the marina and just steps to the main house) and has great restaurants and transportation but it was so loud and crowded all the time every day that it was not what we thought it would be (we just stayed 4 days at the super quiet YC and then moved over to the super noisy Poly)

The grounds are beautiful and the staff are so nice and helpful

We are going back again for a weekend in Aug because of a great discount we received, $202.50 including tax and again in January for 4 nights when we bring our nieces

You cannot beat the Poly for location and dining choices but if you are looking for a quiet relaxing resort this aint it

 

[kinggoofy]

We stayed there once Oct 07, this was DH dream resort...it was a great room (Fiji second floor with a huge view of the marina and just steps to the main house) and has great restaurants and transportation but it was so loud and crowded all the time every day that it was not what we thought it would be (we just stayed 4 days at the super quiet YC and then moved over to the super noisy Poly)

The grounds are beautiful and the staff are so nice and helpful

We are going back again for a weekend in Aug because of a great discount we received, $202.50 including tax and again in January for 4 nights when we bring our nieces

You cannot beat the Poly for location and dining choices but if you are looking for a quiet relaxing resort this aint it

Hi,

can I ask how did you get the $202.00 per night rate ? we are going in August with the Bounceback rate that we booked in November 07 for $238.00 per night PLUS tax for a total of $267.00.

Did you get the rate from Bounceback, email or other ?. Thank you.

 

[drcandon]

There are a ton of threads with opinions on the Poly - good and bad..we have been at the Poly a few times and never had a bad stay...a few years ago Disney had a major "cleaning house" of the Poly and service has gotten much better. And of course having new updated rooms really helps as well.

The only room or sets of rooms that we did not like was the parking lot side on Rapa Nui. The monorail is close - and the garbage trucks taking out the garbage between 4:30 and 6:00 every day was annoying.

Other then that every other room was nice.

Take a look at the map and decide for yourself a few things..

...how close to the GCH do I want to be for convenience, meals etc etc
...do I want to see the fireworks etc from my room??? Is that worth extra money?
...how close to the TTC for quick and easy connections do I want to be???
...Do I want to walk to the Lua and GF ( if I am going???) how much walking is what I mean..
...how close do I want to be to the volcano pool or adult pool???
...do I want conceirge service?
...how close do I want to be to the monorail pickup at the Poly?
...do I want a lagoon view room
...do I want to see the MK all the time from my room???

Once you answer all those questions, then you can make an informed decision on the long house you want - or post the answers and the experienced Poly goers can help based on your answers.

Of course depending on when you want to go...you might have to take few items your list because of room availability

 

[lady browning]

Our first stay at the Poly was Sept. of '07 and we were in the Nuie building second floor. Our room faced the quiet pool. It was wonderful. We had stayed the previous year at ASM, so the room size change was like night and day. We never felt like we were on top of each other. Our mousekeepers were wonderful. The setting is beautiful and since we were right next to the GCH, it was convenient to everything. They were in the process of redoing the bottom floors of the Nuie building because it had been the smoking longhouse. Never was disturbed by this though. Yes, the rooms have a darker decor, but this wasn't a problem for us. Everyone was so friendly and helpful. In other words, we fell in love with the Poly. We will stay there as often as possible. I have been toying around with staying at the BC next year, but my heart belongs to the Poly. My DH agrees with me and it will be hard to convince him to try somewhere else.

 

[maciemouse]

We stayed in Somoa this past May. We were on the ground floor facing the volcano pool. It was very convenient. My only downside about our location was that the sun would beat down on our sliding glass door during the day. It was so hot, we had to use a towel to open it. Same with the furniture on the patio. We love the Poly and we stay there on our longer trips to the world. I will say, that even though the rooms have been refurbished, I would not consider them to be in EXCELLENT condition. Just don't go thinking you are going to be in a grand room (since it does cost 400. a night to stay there you might think that) or you will be disappointed. The cost is strictly for the location and grounds of the actual resort. The grounds are BEAUTIFUL. This is my favorite resort so I am not trying to bash it. I just don't think the rooms are that great.

 

[freesone]

We stayed there last year during Thanksgiving week. It was our first time at the Polynesian and we loved it. My parents traveled with us and needed a handicapped room, so we were in the Rapa Nui building. The rooms were huge(ours was not HC)!!!!!! The Rapa Nui building also has its own small parking lot, which was great when we had to drive the Studios or Animal Kingdom. We were also very close to the TTC. It took my 5 minutes to walk to the GCH, which isn't bad. Overall, it was great stay and hope to go back someday.

 

[JulieSharp]

Thanks for all your replies,

we have now booked for 3 nights for April 09 and requested Samoa, 3rd floor balcony.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Thanks for all your replies,

we have now booked for 3 nights for April 09 and requested Samoa, 3rd floor balcony.

You're welcome and have a great time staying there.

 

[kaysmommie]

You Will love Samoa 3rd floor Balcony . I think it's the best Garden view there is and it's close to the pools and Great Ceremonial House and also right behind Hawaii building so the beach is close too. Here is our third floor view.

The rooms are really nice and spacious too. Pic of the beds.