Recent POLY visitors

[ohMom]

please share your opinion of the upkeeping of this resort!! We are booked land/see in December and choose the POLY for monorail access and Hawaiin theming. After stumbling across this POLY reviews I'm a bit concerned about our choice. any input is welcomed please and thank you very much!!

 

[msteddom]

ohMom,
Don't worry! I recently had the opportunity to tour almost all of the Disney resorts and I think you will love it. The location was great, the theme was fun and the pool looked awesome! It really had a 70's kind of vibe to it that I really enjoyed. I almost expected to see the Brady Bunch walk by at any moment. I can't tell you about the condition of the rooms since I just toured the grounds, but what I saw I liked. If I can ever afford to, the Poly is on my list of resorts I would like to stay at!


Melissa

 

[Mamu]

There will always be likes and dislikes to certain resorts. I agree there are probably some rooms that may be worn.

Over all you will be happy wth the Poly. DH, myself and 2 of our Grandchildren spent 7 days here in February. Our room was perfect, no smells or odors. Housekeeping did a great job keeping it clean.

The resorts grounds are beautiful, and we love being on the monorail line.

Both Poly pools are great.

I found no fault with this resort. It is one of our favorites.

 

[swimmom]

Check out "tikiman's" website about all things poly. I think Mary Waring has a link from her mousesavers website. Their are great pictures of each longhouse and a nice list of pro's and con's about which places to stay and I believe, renovation dates. The Kona Cafe is one of the best casual eateries on property and the Volcano pool rocks. We've been three times in the past 18 months and the resort was under some type of construction each visit . They seem to do a good job of keeping the inconvenience to a minimum. It is awfully convenient. One gripe, the worst valet staff.

 

[JayCT]

We love the Poly. It is (IMHO) the best resort at Disney. Some people put it down because it is one of the oldest resorts but I think it is classic. Just because the rooms are not stark white with whatever the latest bedding color scheme is, doesn't mean that it isn't a great place to stay. We stayed there last May and found it to be very well kept and with all the remodeling going on, it should be even better. My DW and I are now starting to think of going again next May. We were so spoiled by the Poly Concierge Lagoon View that we splurged on that I do not think we will be able to stay anywhere else. Yesterday I suggested that we go garden view to save some money. My wife looked at me and said that she loved watching the castle every night change colors (it was awesome). I have a feeling we will be back there again.

 

[IndianFan2]

We returned from a week's stay at the Poly last week. The atmosphere is beautiful. We thought the rooms were much bigger than the other Disney Resorts we have stayed at. My children (16, 14, and 10) absolutely loved the Volcano pool. We stayed in the Tokulau Bulding. Easy walking distance to either the monorail at the Great Ceremonial Hall or to the TTC. Our only complaint was the way the bathroom was configured. Both the shower area and sink area are in the same room. So when Dad went in to take a shower, we were unable to get to the sink to brush teeth, wash face, curl hair, etc. I wish the sink area was on the other side of the bathroom door. But, we managed to get ready with that one inconvenience. Overall, we absolutely enjoyed our stay at the Poly.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

We just got back from the Poly last week too. We never pay for more than a garden room. I would also suggest you look at tikimans site. It depends what you want. One thing I have heard is that the Poly is not decorated too christmasy if that is also one of your considerations. We have stayed at Niuie (closest to the GCH), but now smoking so we wont go there again, Aeotoroa , had a view of the monorail, not bad, this bldg. is refurbished and nice but with the new bus stop its really out of the way if you are going to be using the bus alot. Its a close walk to captain cooks and the GCH. But I did notice alot of people heading that way at luau time. This time I asked for Samoa and we got 1st floor with a view right in front of the volcano pool. My kids spent alot of time swimming so this is what we wanted. It was a little more inconveient to the bus stop. We also cut through Rarotonga alot and I have made a few other comments to threads and said we really did notice a strong musty smell, mattress moving and baracades. So I would say make a request ahead of time and also have a backup just in case. Make sure its noted on your reservation. Good luck.

 

[Disneydenise]

We just returned form a week at the Poly and since this is our fav resort I think I am biased but, for the first time I smelled the smell that is spoke of on this board. We still love the resort but I am glad they are renovating the rooms. We always stay in Tokelau and when we went to check in they assinged us to a longhouse that was closer to the parking lot. The room was recently renovated but we just love the Tokelau location. We asked if they could put us in that longhouse and they did but by the second day of 4-5 showers a day the room was smelly. I think that it is just something that happens in some rooms because I never smelled it in another room. We still had a great time and we will be returning to the Polynesian but I think we are going to spring for Hawaii next time. They had the place under construction and it looked like it was going to the place to be. I don't think they are ever going to change the bathroom configuration but I love the resort and I can live with that. I never got a chance to talk to anyone that was working on the building because my husband thought that they were hardly getting any work done due to all the rain. He made me feel like I would be annoying the workers. I still think that you can't beat the location and the atmosphere and the staff really is always nice to me and my family.

 

[FOTM_Ring_Bearer]

We were in Fiji, second floor looking out at the marina. The room was great. It was a short walk to GCH and the pool. Had breakfast at the Kona Cafe. Tonga Toast (Yum, Yum). My kids loved the pool. It's my favorite resort.

 

[Tikiman]

I think the thing that gets me the most is how some call the Polynesian resort dark, 70’s or (my favorite to hate) Brady Bunch. Ok so the Brady Bunch went to Hawaii once. Does that mean that all things Hawaiian are “Brady Bunch”? As far as 70’s, well the Polynesian was built in the 70’s and the 40’s- the early 70’s had a big Tiki pop culture but if you look at the original photos of the Polynesian in the 70’s on my web page you will see that when they updated in the mid 80’s they got rid of the 70’s stuff and replaced it with the same materials and colors that you would find in old Polynesia. They even order fabric and building materials from Hawaii for the Polynesian. Now the dark thing gets me almost as much as the Brady Bunch thing. I can not imagine the Polynesian being bright with pastel colors like the Grand Floridian. I realize some hotels in Hawaii do look more upscale and are decorated like the GF but in Hawaii many of the long lasting hotels had a huge influence from the British since they found the islands. Because of this some of the resorts have an English look. Actually I just returned from Maui and our room (which was just built a few years ago) was very much like the Polynesian room and at $610 a night I would say it was not a cheap hotel.

Some resorts on the islands are true to the culture and do have the bamboo furniture and the Hawaiian prints and I have seen many that look much like the Polynesian. But the other thing here is the Polynesian is not just Hawaii. It is many islands and if you go to many of the islands that the longhouses are named after you will see those dark Earth tones and natural materials used. The Disney designers spent time in places like Samoa,Tahiti,and Hawaii to come up with the designs. The design for the Great Ceremonial House (GCH) was inspired by the royal assembly lodges in Tahiti. The longhouses were designed after authentic Hawaiian longhouses and is the reason the original houses did not have balconies outside their rooms.

There is very little at the Polynesian resort that is old. All but 2 of the longhouses that are the original construction have been completely gutted and redone with new materials in the last couple of years and some just finished with one still being worked on. The other two original ones will be done in the next year and the three newer construction buildings were refurbished in 2001. Two of the newer buildings are only 3 years older than the GF. Almost none of the original décor of the Polynesian still exist. Even the whole middle section of the grounds was ripped out and redone with the new volcano pool in 2001. I am not saying everyone should like the Polynesian but I try to state the facts instead of giving inaccurate descriptions of a resort. If true Polynesian themeing is what you like you will like the Polynesian. If the décor of the GF or Yacht Club is more your taste that is good also.

Aloha

Steve

 

[JayCT]

Right-On Tikiman. I totally agree with you. People just have it in their minds that this place is 30 years old and therefore, must be out of date. It is the through-away mentality of the American society. Oh well it is their loss.

 

[goofy4tink]

We also just returned last Sat from 9 days at the Polynesian. It was not my first choice but my dd talked me into it and I found that I really liked it. I certainly didn't have a problem with the decor. I didn't think it was dark. Maybe it's the darkness of the wood that turns some people off. Our room was bright and cheery and kept quite nicely. We didn't have a huge problem sharing the bathroom but there were only 3 of us. My only problems are: the size of the volcano pool. It gets very crowded in there. But I sure did like that water-fall massage!!!! And I hated getting soaked everytime we had to leave our room to get to the GCH. But, there is nothing you can do about that. Or about the excessive amounts of rain we had.
I loved the boat service to the MK. I loved the monorail being right there. And the closeness of the bus stop to Tolelau was truly wonderful. I loved being able to walk to TTC. Capt. Cook's was a wonderful surprise. Kona Cafe, a remarkable place to eat.
I wasn't greatly pleased with my room assignment. Loved that we could easily see the lagoon, but didn't like seeing the workers at work. But, hey. Someone has to get those rooms. Better me than some of the complainers we ran into!!!!
So, all in all, I'm glad we tried the Polynesian. We have only one or two more trips planned, and one with another family, so I'm not sure if we will be back to the Polynesian. But, we really liked it a lot. Go and have a ball.

 

[ohMom]

so much for all the great comments and info you guys, DISers are the best!!!

I think I got concerned reading comments that the mattress were "saggy" which made me think old and musty? I also read in the Unofficial guide that the Poly's closeness to the speedway can be disturbing to afternoon nappers.

I know there are pros and cons about every resort and we choose the poly for the monorail access more than anything. The Hawaiian theming is a bonus to me. Quite honestly I don't know if we would pay for the POLY but on a land/sea package it would be the same price for us at the poly or WL or S/D? didn't make sense to me so I felt good picking the more expensive resort to "get my money's worth" hope that logic makes sense to someone besides me, LOL!

my only other real consideration is WL based on location and theming as well. I have a poll posted on this thread so maybe that will help me rethink things too. But our ressies are at the Poly and sounds like we can't go wrong there

 

[Poly Pal]

ohMom, trust your fellow WISHer and stay at the Polynesian. (Now, if you do want a dark room, then stay at Wlderness Lodge.) The Polynesian is very nice. Rooms are large. And like Tikiman said, I don't get the whole '70s thing comments (other than I've wanted to stay at the Polynesian since the '70s when the Brady Bunch was my favorite show!) We even stayed during the "pink and turquoise" era before the current green, beige and rust decor was installed. The Polynesian was still tops in our book!

You're going to have a great time! I know we have in our 8 (or is it 9 stays?) at the Polynesian. My wife won't stay anywhere else!

 

[lentesta]

Hi ohMom,

The Poly is very nice. I wouldn't let the comment in the Guide scare you. You can always call Disney to see whether any racing or practice sessions are going on while you'll be there.

FWIW, my brother and his finance, both Unofficial Guide researchers, are getting married at the Poly in January. Virtually everyone in the wedding party is staying there, too. Should be a lot of fun.

Don't forget to check Mousesavers.com for discount codes.

Sincerely,

Len

 

[AuntMinnie]

Originally posted by Poly Pal
The Polynesian is very nice... I don't get the whole '70s thing comments (other than I've wanted to stay at the Polynesian since the '70s when the Brady Bunch was my favorite show!)

Me too! I remember when the Poly was only for rich people who had to book it a year or two in advance, or so my parents told me. I am so thrilled to be going and taking my children. The thought of the Poly brings me memories of my childhood and my longing to stay there. Everyone here wants magical memories. I say it is because it's one of the original resorts that it is the most magical