Talked with Guide Today Told Me to Skip Poly

[Johnny D]

I was entertaining a small add on at PVB and called my guide who I have a good relationship with to pick his brain. He sounded like many on this board in recent days in regard to his disappointment in the product.

Some of what he said:

1) Point chart for the bungalows "is nuts"

2) The extra square footage in the poly rooms was mostly put in the bathrooms. He said the bathrooms are huge, but felt the floor plan could have been designed better with a smaller bathroom(it would still be a double and large) and putting in a closet with a stacked W/D.(I agree)

3) Felt 7 month booking window would not be a problem with the amount of studios.

And here is a bonus....Only one of the buildings is going to have laundry facilities, with DVC owners in the other buildings walking to that building to do their laundry

He suggested If I was to add on to buy more VGF.

So here is what we got. Lots of studios, no 1 bedrooms, crazy point chart for bungalows, walking to other building to do laundry. I think I will pass!!!

I think I am going to go with the strategy many on this board have suggested. I have my 200 points at BWV, 200 at VGF; a add on at SSR with some inexpensive points to help get those expensive VGF 1 bedrooms that don't seem to be difficult to get at 7 months most of the year, while using my VGF 11 month advantage to do the studios.

 

[Dean]

I was entertaining a small add on at PVB and called my guide who I have a good relationship with to pick his brain. He sounded like many on this board in recent days in regard to his disappointment in the product.

Some of what he said:

1) Point chart for the bungalows "is nuts"

2) The extra square footage in the poly rooms was mostly put in the bathrooms. He said the bathrooms are huge, but felt the floor plan could have been designed better with a smaller bathroom(it would still be a double and large) and putting in a closet with a stacked W/D.(I agree)

3) Felt 7 month booking window would not be a problem with the amount of studios.

And here is a bonus....Only one of the buildings is going to have laundry facilities, with DVC owners in the other buildings walking to that building to do their laundry

He suggested If I was to add on to buy more VGF.

So here is what we got. Lots of studios, no 1 bedrooms, crazy point chart for bungalows, walking to other building to do laundry. I think I will pass!!!

I think I am going to go with the strategy many on this board have suggested. I have my 200 points at BWV, 200 at VGF; a add on at SSR with some inexpensive points to help get those expensive VGF 1 bedrooms that don't seem to be difficult to get at 7 months most of the year, while using my VGF 11 month advantage to do the studios.

Right or wrong I'd give Kudos for honestly and reasonableness. I happen to mostly agree with him as you've phrased it other than I personally wouldn't buy VGF either.

 

[DonnaL]

I am not surprised about the laundry facilities not being in every building. At SSR they are not in every building, but, near the pool areas. I'm not sure about OKW since I've only stayed in a 1 bdrm there so never needed to look for the laundry. And, the other DVC's are really only in one building...yes, even AKV and BWV with their looooong hallways.... so laundry facility is not a problem. I know there are many, many Poly fans out there, but, can't say that I'm really impressed with it....however, I do like the VGF 1 bdrm for an occasional two or three night midweek stay....not too frequently...just way too many points....and we just can't bring ourselves to book studios anymore....just love having the full kitchen, w/d, and king bed ....very difficult to sleep in a queen when you're used to sleeping in a king at home.

 

[paults]

unless they changed the laundry at OKW was at the pool when we went

 

[supersnoop]

Right or wrong I'd give Kudos for honestly and reasonableness. I happen to mostly agree with him as you've phrased it other than I personally wouldn't buy VGF either.

Or they're getting a bonus for selling VGF. Maybe I'm just too cynical.

 

[Geomom]

PVB Laundry--really, only in 1 building? In other resorts, it's not a big issue--there are a limited number of studios in them--this resort is 370 studios...how many washer/dryers will they have in that one building to accommodate that many studios? Looks like we'll have to do a 'short' trip to try out a studio here.

 

[lionqueen]

Which building will have the laundry room?

 

[DenLo]

Which building will have the laundry room?

It is in Moorea, the building next to the beach. I saw the drawings in the declaration showing the laundry room is on the first floor of Moorea right off of the lobby.

I haven't seen any declarations for the other two buildings. If the CM is correct what is DVC thinking with only one laundry in Moorea and none in the other two buildings? With 360 studios, roughly 6 washers and dryers (that is a guess based on the drawings) are not going to be enough. And with very little drawer space in the villa, guests will need to wash clothes regularly as there will be nowhere to put all the clothes for a family of 4 (or 5) for a week or even 4 nights.

 

[Face Like Fizz]

Prior to the DVC conversion the Poly had only one laundry, in the same building as the kids' club. I can't remember exactly how many machines it has but I'm guessing 8 of each. We never had any trouble getting a free machine. So I would imagine one laundry for the three DVC buildings would work out okay.

 

[yitbos96bb]

I was entertaining a small add on at PVB and called my guide who I have a good relationship with to pick his brain. He sounded like many on this board in recent days in regard to his disappointment in the product.

Some of what he said:

1) Point chart for the bungalows "is nuts"

2) The extra square footage in the poly rooms was mostly put in the bathrooms. He said the bathrooms are huge, but felt the floor plan could have been designed better with a smaller bathroom(it would still be a double and large) and putting in a closet with a stacked W/D.(I agree)

3) Felt 7 month booking window would not be a problem with the amount of studios.

And here is a bonus....Only one of the buildings is going to have laundry facilities, with DVC owners in the other buildings walking to that building to do their laundry

He suggested If I was to add on to buy more VGF.

So here is what we got. Lots of studios, no 1 bedrooms, crazy point chart for bungalows, walking to other building to do laundry. I think I will pass!!!

I think I am going to go with the strategy many on this board have suggested. I have my 200 points at BWV, 200 at VGF; a add on at SSR with some inexpensive points to help get those expensive VGF 1 bedrooms that don't seem to be difficult to get at 7 months most of the year, while using my VGF 11 month advantage to do the studios.

Yeah, when you can get roughly double the points at the sa,e cost that makes sense. Only caveat of course is the longer expiration date. Since I'll be mid 70s, not gonna sweat it.

 

[yitbos96bb]

Prior to the DVC conversion the Poly had only one laundry, in the same building as the kids' club. I can't remember exactly how many machines it has but I'm guessing 8 of each. We never had any trouble getting a free machine. So I would imagine one laundry for the three DVC buildings would work out okay.

I think it's a poor setting of expectations by Disney. This was arguably the most buzzed about DVC and many feel they kind of soiled the bed on it. At the other resorts the expectation is either in suite or in-building laundry (not to mention most of us thinking the 2BR would be around VGF pricing).... By failing to meet expectations there is a general feeling of disappointment among DVC owners AND regular poly visitors (since they lost some rooms)

 

[aroundtheriverbend]

Or they're getting a bonus for selling VGF. Maybe I'm just too cynical.

This is what I was thinking too.

 

[Jason99]

There you guys go again. Guides get the same pay regardless of what resort

This is what I was thinking too.

 

[Annaelsa]

I know the room types for Poly DVC have been known for a while, but still really surprised DVC decided to go with no 1 or 2 BR. Guess they decided the point cost and chart would make them out of reach for us mere mortals. Too bad, we were thinking about adding on there. Disney will lose our business to resale (at a less expensive resort with more options) because of this.

 

[Dean]

Or they're getting a bonus for selling VGF. Maybe I'm just too cynical.

That would be an extremely cynical view. Is sales it wouldn't make sense to try to talk someone out of buying a high end option they're already looking at. You'd only take that step after the customer led you that way. Of course we don't know the flow of the conversation, maybe it was sales speak that the guide was reflecting back to Johnny. On average I find the guide's very reasonable but there are more exceptions than there used to be.

 

[Anjelica]

Holy Moly - I just saw the points for the bungalows; A "measly" 853 points for a 2 bedroom bungalow during Adventure season. The no 1-bedroom at POLY is a big fail.

 

[jsivigny]

That Poly points chart has floored me. So if you wanted to make the Poly your home resort and you bought enough points to stay in the 2BR bungalow....that's 850 points times 160 dollars for a Buy In of $136,000 bucks!!! Assuming a 5 dollar per point annual fee, that's another $4250 per year EVERY year for those points. That gets you 1 week a year in a bungalow in Mid-Season.
That's some mighty high cotton. I suppose that a high end market exists, but wow!

 

[LisaS]

Assuming a 5 dollar per point annual fee, that's another $4250 per year EVERY year for those points.

PVB's annual dues for 2015 will be $6.02!

 

[MoreTravels]

Another way to look at if is, 1000 points for one week. It costs $14 per point to rent so it is $14,000 for 7 days of stay. That is $2000 per day. When was the last time you saw someone spending $2000 per night for accommodation? I think only Hollywood stars and CEO with $100 million per year income would go for it and don't feel the burning pain in their wallet. Then again these people go to the real Polynesian like a private island and not the fake one created next to a man-made lake.

 

[DVCTiff]

My husband LOVES to do laundry on vacation so Moorea it is!

(Or a one bedroom at SSR)