Back from my week at the Poly...we were there 10/14 - 21 (well, we checked into Poly 10/15, first night was at Pop)
My only request was for a third floor balcony (decided to take off longhouse request and just go with 3rd floor as it was my priority, but was hoping for Rarotonga), since I'd booked standard view.
We ended up being "upgraded" to Hawaii, and CL. I put upgraded in quotation marks, because I think someone else may have enjoyed the experience more. We were given a first floor wheelchair accessible room. The door closed on a delay, and we had to stand and wait for it to close when we came and went. Our shower also flooded the bathroom floor every time we used it (which was two to three times a day - morning and evening). It wasn't a new problem just for us either, there was a lot of water damage and discoloration on the back of the bathroom door. When I asked about it at the CL concierge desk, we were given a shrug and a sorry. They didn't seem overly concerned, so we just dealt with it. I wanted to ask for a room change, but I didn't want to seem ungrateful. Honestly, we'd have enjoyed a regular plain ol' room just as much or more. We didn't ever use our patio b/c it was right by the walkway to and from the quiet pool, and people were out there all the time.
Aside from check in, the CL concierge CMs weren't very helpful. One morning
MDE was down on my phone, and I went to ask if they were able to see what time my FPs were for, b/c I wasn't quite sure on the timing of the first one. The other two I remembered. When I asked, the CM just said, "it's down for us too, I can't help you." and then picked up his phone and turned his back on me. The next time I tried to ask them something was halfway through the trip when I was going to ask if I could pay off our room charges there or if I needed to go to the main front desk. One CM was on the phone trying to help a bell services CM figure out a room issue for luggage. The other was typing something. I said, "Excuse me, I have a quick question," and she said, "I'm busy." and turned her chair away. I left and went into the main lobby and took care of it in two minutes. The final time we tried to ask them for help, my mom asked if they could access a vacuum so she could use it for her space bags (OMG, she overpacked, LOL!!). The man said, "I don't even know where we could get something like that." The woman rolled her eyes and said, "Housekeeping. Call them instead." So mom called housekeeping and left a message, but we never heard back and I managed to get the suitcase closed.
Now, the negative aside, the lounge CMs were awesome!! They were all so friendly and helpful. Lipoa was there, who some of you may recognize as the previous entertainment at 'Ohana. The food in the lounge was just ok, but a few things were excellent. You can't beat unlimited access to POG juice. We watched Happily Ever After one evening from the lounge, which wasn't my favorite experience. It was loud in the crowded room and they didn't dim the lights so while you could see the fireworks, they were marred by the glare of the lights and reflections of the other people in the room. Daytime views from the lounge were gorgeous though!!
My favorite part of the Poly is the lobby, and being in the Hawaii building did isolate us a little from it. I didn't feel very connected to the resort, which I realize sounds ridiculous, LOL!!
Overall, I enjoyed the resort. The grounds are beautiful and it's magical in the evening with the torches lit...and it was a special touch to walk by the movie area in the evenings when they played Moana or Lilo and Stitch - the music in the background of such a perfect tropical setting really transports you. Shopping options at the resort are great, with a varied mix of items. We enjoyed watching fireworks from the beach! Our check in was great, and the main desk CMs were beyond helpful and amazing. They were all warm and friendly. The access to transportation was great - the walk to the TTC wasn't bad at all to catch the Epcot monorail. We never had any issues with buses, boats, or monorail crowds. Everything worked well.
I understand why so many love this gorgeous resort, but for me it will probably just be a dining destination in the future. I just can't get past my love of the Wilderness Lodge. The Poly had always been my imagined "dream resort", and I am so happy and fortunate to have been able to enjoy a week here!
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