Rarotonga anyone?

[rjjr]

Has anyone stayed in this building recently (this year) at the Poly? If yes, could you let me know how your room was? Which room it was, mousekeeping quality, etc.

I'm very interested in requesting it for our trip next month since I have very small children and it is in such a convenient location. However, I have heard that some of the rooms are very much in need of rehab.

Any help, please?

 

[joyful1nh]

We stayed one night in Dec 2002 in Rarotonga & moved (by request) to Tokelau. The room condition was okay, but personally I don't care for the building. If you have young children I suggest specifically requesting a room with a balcony so you can sit outside and read/people watch while they nap. Some of the Rarotonga rooms don't have balconies and you also risk the dreaded parking lot view.

The Poly is not nearly as spread out as many other resorts, I'm a big Tokelau fan myself. Close enough to both the Ceremonial hall and the TTC, larger rooms, all have balconies....

 

[rjjr]

Thanks for the info joyful!

What room were you in at Tokelau? We're planning to do refillable mugs at Capt. Cooks, will Tokelau be convenient for a quick run over there for refills and the morning milk? Also, how was the sound in your room (people above or below)?

Thanks for helping me with my decision!

 

[skiwee1]

We have stayed in Raratonga twice. The last time was this past May. The building was fine. The rooms were very nice with no wear or tear. Mousekeepers were great and we had a zoo of towel animals by the time we left! We requested and got a third floor room facing the monorail. You do face the parking lot but you don't see it. You see lots of lush foilage and a great view of the monorail. This is the second time we've stayed in this building and love it! I would not want another building. It is close to the GCH and to the volcano pool. Only the second floor has no balconies. Bottom floors have patios and third floors have balconies. We are going to the Poly for the third time in 12 months and have requested Raratonga again.

 

[dianna112198]

We were at the Polynesian from 8/15 - 8/22. I had requested to stay in Tokelau, Samoa, or Fiji. If they were not available then I asked to be in a room facing away from the parking lot....they put me in Rarotonga facing the parking lot. I did not like the view at all. If you get a room facing the other direction (towards the quiet pool) you will have a beautiful view(it is a very quiet location). The rooms aren't bad, but if you have stayed in one of the newer rooms , Rarotonga might not live up to your expectations. We wound up changing rooms the next morning to my all time favorite longhouse: Tokelau.

 

[rjjr]

Skiwee,

Any noise from the parking lot or monorail? What was your room number?

Thanks!

 

[rjjr]

dianna,

That's 2 for Tokelau! Which room were you moved to and how about the noise and convenience factors (running to Capt. Cooks in am) at Tokelau?

Thanks!

 

[Mamu]

Another option, would be Niue this is a small building with 2 floors. The ground floor has a balconey. All views are garden views one facing the quite pool and the other side facing the volcono pool. This building is also right next to the GCH and Captain Cooks. You couldn't get any closer.

I think this building has already been redone so it should be in good condition.

On our stay at the Poly last year I really liked this building and think with little one it's a great choice.

 

[dianna112198]

rjjr,

we were moved to room 1903 on the 1st floor of Tokelau. We were facing the quiet pool and the Hawaii building (they were doing renovations on the Hawaii building but that really didn't bother us at all). During the day you could here them working on the Hawaii building, but it didn't bother us at all b/c most of the time during the day we were out at the parks. In the morning and at night it was awesome becuase there are speakers right by the quiet pool that play lulling polynesian music and you could here it when you sat out on the patio. Oh it was sooooo nice! You could here some people splashing around in the quiet pool but it wasn't bothersome at all....actually it just made me want to join them . Tokelau is very centrally located (which is a good thing when you have to deal with pouring rain almost everyday). If you go out one of the side doors, you are a hop, skip and a jump away from the arcade, laundry room and bus stop. If you go out the other side door, you are right on the beach. If you go out the back door you are a couple of minutes away from the TTC and if you go out the front door (or the sliding door from the room in our case) you are right by the quiet pool. Oh yeah, and you could see the castle from our patio!!

 

[dianna112198]

and I forgot...Captain Cooks was about a 2 minute walk from our room. We got food from there almost every morning for breakfast...their french toast sticks, cheese danishes, and croissants are SO good!

 

[rjjr]

Mamu,

The location of Niue is great except that when Samoa was rehabed this year and reopened, they made Samoa non-smoking and Niue a smoking building. Also, I believe Niue is scheduled for rehab either late this year or early next. I'm guessing that's why they didn't mind changing it to smoking for now, not sure what will happen after its rehab, though.

dianna,

Thanks for the great info on Tokelau, it sure sounds like an ideal location, especially when it's raining.....One last question, being on the first floor (which I'm hoping for), could you hear the people in the room above you? We have one very light sleeper in our party!

Thanks everyone for all the help so far. I really appreciate it!

Sue

 

[Mamu]

I had not realized this building had been changed to smoking. Too bad! Hopefully when it's redone it goes back to non-smoking.

 

[dianna112198]

rjjr,

this time we did not hear anything besides a slight crick here and there. Last year we stayed on the second floor and could hear the toilets constantly flushing (beware of the toilets...they are very forceful and feel like they are going to suck you in! ) But we did not have that problem this year. And thankfully we had very quiet neighbors. We heard a few excited kids getting ready in the morning but no screaming or crying like we had in our original room in Rarotonga.

 

[rjjr]

Dianna,

Thanks for the heads up about the toilets. I'll warn my son beacause he doesn't like that kind of toilet. I'll be doing all his flushing!

Sue

 

[luvmarypoppins]

We were in Samoa 8/10-8/17. We had a first floor room right in front of the volcano pool. My 3ds thought it was really cool that we left the sliding door unlocked (we were in the room) but they could take a short cut in from the pool and captain cooks. We did find it a little inconveient walking to/from the new bus stop after a tiring day in the parks and we would cut through niuie and rarotonga to get cooled off with the a/c or to dodge the rain when we were going to the gch. Warning: Rarotongas 1st floor had a HUGE musty moldy smell. There were tons of mousekeeping carts all over the floor and we observed guys moving mattresses and there were nicely freshly painted brown barriers up around too. Think twice about this bldg. Samoa is rehabbed and has great automatic doors etc. Does tokelau have garden view rooms? I really don't know and guess it depends on what you paid for. But I would definetely put in your request ahead of time after you make your decision. With the FTP the deluxe resorts seem pretty crowded.

 

[rjjr]

luvmarypoppins,

Thanks for letting me know about the musty smell on the 1st floor of Rarotonga because I am definitely requesting a 1st floor room while we are at the Poly. Looks like Rarotonga would not be a good idea in this case.

Hopefully, since we are going 9/28 to 10/6, the Poly will not be so packed while we are there.

Again, thanks for your feedback!

 

[Cameo]

rjjr -

We are in the exact same position as you. We are at the Poly 9-22 to 10-1 and were thinking that we would do Rarotonga, but am now concerned with the condition of the building. We have two little ones and would love to be close to the GCH, pool, etc. but don't want too much noise either. Ha! Our kids will probably be the ones making the noise!

 

[Nik's Mom]

Hi, We stayed in this bldg earlier this month and liked it. We were in 2801 overlooking the walkway leading to Niu. View wasn't the best, but the location was great. We were just seconds from GCH and the all you can drink refillable mugs! The volcano pool was a minute away. Laundry and arcade was just a minute away. We did not have a musty smell at all. I can tell you that if you enter the building while mousekeeping is there, you will see their carts in the hallway. We were pleased with our mousekeeping service. She came early in the morning (not too early though). We returned from the parks at noon to find our room already cleaned! But I think you can't go wrong with any bldg at this great hotel!

 

[rjjr]

Cameo,

I think I've decided to request either Samoa or the Rarotonga end of Tokelau. The longer walk to the new bus stop from Samoa won't affect us because we won't be using it at all on this trip, yet I don't want to be too far away for the refillable mugs!

See you there!

Sue