Why don't they fix what's wrong at the Poly?

[jasper]

I am repeatedly seeing the same criticisms in reviews of the Poly, namely that the food at the Luau isn't all that good, and the rooms are worn and have a musty/moldy odor.

Being that this is Disney, and this resort costs a pretty penny, why haven't they come up with a better menu for the Luau and updated/refurbished and deodorized the rooms?

OK, I haven't even been there before, but I wouldn't consider it given everything that I've read.

So either people are being overly harsh in their reviews, or ???????????.

I hope to visit the resort when I stay at POR in April and form my own opinion.

 

[Lollipop Mom]

I can not vouch for anyone else's experience at the Poly but it was wonderful during our recent stay. We had a first floor room which from what people have said before, has the most chance of a moldy smell. We had no trace of a musty or moldy smell. I have very bad allergies to mold and mildew to the point that I can not talk for coughing constantly but I had not one bit of a problem during our stay. Also, they are renovating the rooms one longhouse at a time.

I haven't been to the luau so I have no comment on that.

All I can say is that we were thoroughly pleased with everything about the Poly during our stay and will absolutely return.

 

[precious pixie]

I absolutely love the poly! It is such a wonderfully themed resort. They are refurbishing the rooms ( they are doing it to alot of the hotels for normal wear and tear). I have also been to the luau and I enjoyed it greatly. I thought the food was delicous. I even saw the show during the rain and it didn't seem to bother the performers at all. I didn't hear anyone complain and I have heard good comments about it. Everyone has their own opinion. When choosing a hotel, resturaunt, dinner show, etc you really have to go based on what you think you would like. These forums are great, I absolutely love them and chatting with fellow Disney lovers but I wouldn't decide not to try something bc someone else gave it a bad review. Thats what is so great about Dsney their is something for everyone!

 

[tatin]

I second everything that Lollipop Mom said---we were also ground floor & had no unusual odors. I've visited Florida all my life, & I think the vegetation itself gives off a certain smell--there's an awful lot of lush tropical greenery at the Poly which could account for "wet" smells. I didn't do the luau either, but I found the decor to be very fitting with the theme. It ain't Pottery Barn, but it's charming just the same

We had the time of our lives--not a single complaint with the Poly

 

[KathyTX]

I've stayed at the Polynesian over a dozen times, in rooms in different areas of the property, and never experienced the "musty" odor described by some. Like others have said, there is a tremendous amount of lush foliage around the property, so I imagine that could be the source of some of the comments. So, at least in my experience, that's not a critical problem that needs to be fixed.

The food at the Luau isn't great- it's typical dinner show fare. About the same quality you'll get at Medieval Times, served to a huge group all at once. The Luau is a show that happens to serve some food, not a fine restaurant that happens to have entertainment. I think this is all about expectations, and the food at the Luau met my expectations.

The Polynesian delivers a very unique ambience and experience. If these two issues are very high on your list of concerns, maybe the Polynesian isn't the "Disney experience" for you.

 

[ellenmiele]

We love the poly, have stayed there several times (last in '03) and during our spring '04 trip we went to the luau where we all had a great time (2 adults, 4 kids) and My DH and I thought the food was actually quite good (and the kids liked it, too).


So...what's wrong with the poly? In my opinion, nothing -- except that it (and the rest of WDW) is 900 miles away!!

 

[JohnnyTarHeel]

The Polynesian is one of the highest-rated hotels in the Disney books I've read and has probably the highest return-visitor rate of any Disney hotel. I've read complaints about it on here too, but we didn't experience anything musty there either. I consider the Luau kind of a sidebar to the Polynesian anyway, we never tried it...didn't need to. We loved the Polynesian and will certainly return in the future after we try a couple of other places next week.

 

[DisneyMim]

We love the Poly. We just came back from a visit there in August and did not notice anything wrong with the resort. In fact, in all our stays there we have never had a bad one!! I'm not saying that people who say they had a problem are wrong, it's just that with all the tons and tons of people who stay there in the course of a year you are bound to find some not so great visits. In fact this is true about all resorts no matter where you are, WDW or anywhere else. Nobody HAS to stay at the Poly, Disney has many different types and styles of resorts to suit different budgets, tastes, etc. I think that more negative is posted. People tend to not post positive experiences. As an example, I have never posted a trip report and we've been to Disney too many times to count. Each and every stay is different. I don't base my visits on other people's reports, only on my own.

 

[disneyag]

We love the Poly and have stayed there frequently. We have never smelled a musty smell. Our rooms have never had mildew in them. People complain the rooms are "dark", but they are not. I think some folks just don't like the decor of the Poly, since they use dark woods on the outside, so they think it looks "dated". I guess it's all a matter of personal taste.

 

[princesstommi]

Why? Because the complaints may be valid, but there are far more happy, paying, customers that give management no concrete reason to do anything other than what they are doing right now.

I love visiting the Poly, and hope to stay there one day.