Heard bad things about the Poly today- your thoughts?

[vicki_c]

LOL- chalk it up to my OCD to need to know what the hallway looks like! I was just curious how it looked not being attached to the main building but not "motel style" like the values and mods. I guess what I am moreso wondering is, where do you enter the longhouses? Through a door at either end?

Yes, each standalone longhouse has a door at either end - maybe there are a few with doors in the middle as well, I can't remember. Usually though there is one long hallway and doors are somewhere on both ends of the hallways.

It's totally inside-seeming once you are in the building. You really couldn't tell the difference between a hallway at the Poly vs. a hallway at WL or AKL other than the carpet and wall decorations.

 

[KellyNY]

My favorite is Poly but it is expensive for me so we usually stay at CBR. I love CBR island feel, carribean music everywhere and it is very light, yet relaxing. Poly also has an island feel but very differnt one. I would say it feels like tropical forest, pretty dark, relaxing but depressing sort of. Pool is always busy, we spend a lot of time at Poly, eat, watch fireworks, people at pool are always on each others heads. Because of that pool has no suffistication, or deluxe feel. Main building is pretty cool and I love all those little areas to just sit and relax. Beach at Poly is absolutely wonderful. Rooms condition depends on room, sometimes people have problems and you can always ask another room BUT remember this board is just a tiny portion of all visitors and in this tiny portion very few people had problems and it does not indicate overall problems or bad rooms at all. Good luck.

 

[guitarob]

Here's a pic of a hallway (they all look pretty much the same) and some room pics, there is a door at the end but it's night time so you really can't see it too well. Most longhouses have doors at both ends. Tahiti also has doors in the middle, and Rapa-Nui has one on the front towards one side. I read so many people saying that they find it "Dark". It is more dimly lit, but I like to think of it as subdued and to me it goes along with the laid-back and relaxing feel of the resort. I'm not the type that has lights blazing all night either though. I like the dimly-lit look at night. The lights in the rooms get plenty bright if you need them, and during the day if you open the shades, sunlight floods in through the sliding glass doors.

 

[TomAndLori]

We stayed at the Polynesian specifically for the stroller. Monorail access to MK and Epcot. Well worth it. I cannot tell you how wonderful that was. We stayed a week, but still did not go to AK and spent only one day at DS. We stuck to the Monorail transportation and I think that made our trip. It was so leisurely to just get on and off the Monorail.

While we have not stayed at the Beach Club, we have visited there on a couple of trips and it is beautiful. Now that our daughter is older, we will consider it for the next trip because of the pool area, but it will be hard because if I am spending that kind of money I want to stay at the Poly. When we don't stay there, we visit it several times to eat at Ohana's and Kona Cafe. Two great restaurants IMO.

If they ever have a DVC at the Polynesian, I will be all over it. We absolutely love the theme and Monorail access. It is by far my favorite resort. We did get a nice Disney Visa discount when we stayed, but all I did was add days and did not save any money. It was great to spend a week at the Poly.

 

[Lightgician]

We stayed at the Poly last week, club level, and found it to be wonderful. No complaints. From the first greeting at Valet to ever CM we saw, nothing but polite and friendly. The pool might seem a little small, but we weren't there to swim laps. The view of the fireworks is the best. something about watching the fireworks while having a drink and eating dessert in an air conditioned lounge. Then just a short walk to the room Pretty great. I'm not looking for absolutely pristine experience and sure am not looking to find fault with anything that I can. I just want an enjoyable experience and the Poly provided that.

 

[Clover9990]

Thanks everyone- you're making me feel much better about staying there! Admittedly I am trying to not look at too many pictures so as to not "spoil" it for me but the pictures are great and just what I was looking for to answer my question- thank you!

I want to also thank everyone who chimed in about the Beach Club- it looks gorgeous and I would LOVE to stay there at some point. You have all made some excellent points about the perks of the different resorts. The monorail is definitely winning out, though, because of the baby. I think my older kids would absolutely LOVE Stormalong Bay, though, so we'll have to try that out in the future.

What is the a/c like in the rooms there? Is it a wall-type unit or does each room have a digital thermostat?

 

[TomAndLori]

Thanks everyone- you're making me feel much better about staying there! Admittedly I am trying to not look at too many pictures so as to not "spoil" it for me but the pictures are great and just what I was looking for to answer my question- thank you!

I want to also thank everyone who chimed in about the Beach Club- it looks gorgeous and I would LOVE to stay there at some point. You have all made some excellent points about the perks of the different resorts. The monorail is definitely winning out, though, because of the baby. I think my older kids would absolutely LOVE Stormalong Bay, though, so we'll have to try that out in the future.

What is the a/c like in the rooms there? Is it a wall-type unit or does each room have a digital thermostat?

Your older kids are going to love the monorail. Boys especially, it is just cool. And the Volcano pool is a nice pool.

I honestly cannot remember about the thermostat. But I do remember we thought the room was freezing when we first checked it. A couple days of the heat though and we really looked forward to that A/C.

 

[guitarob]

What is the a/c like in the rooms there? Is it a wall-type unit or does each room have a digital thermostat?

It's a digital thermostat, and gets plenty cold

 

[Chelley00]

Thanks everyone- you're making me feel much better about staying there!

I'm another who has read some bad reviews lately and am a little nervous about staying at the Poly. Part of it is because I want my mom to love her first trip. However, what sealed it for me was I read a bad review from someone who hated AKL. We LOVED LOVED AKL. That's when I realized that not everyone has the same tastes and I just need to relax. Easier said than done, no?

 

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

.....My only advice is to take the opinions of others with a grain of salt. No one will ever really share the same perspective or the same experience so it is really hard to veto staying somewhere based on someone else's experience.
.........
Happy planning!

I agree with this 100%. I have read bad reports on all the resorts we have stayed at and I have enjoyed them all. Including the Poly. For me it is well worth the money, if you can afford a stay there. It is a beautiful resort.

 

[padawans]

When look at hotel reviews I look at that percentage that give it a thumbs up if its over 75% I will just read the good ones. Reading the bad reviews will just make you confused. Some people are just really fussy and will complain about anything so I dont know if I'm getiing a realistic review. By the way the poly is awesomeWe were in the Tokelau long house the rooms were clean,in good condition and huge. I'm sure it doesn't compare to four seasons or ritz carlton, but the location,landscaping and atmosphere:thumb cant be beat.

 

[kwlewis10]

The biggest thing for us and why we'll probably return to the Poly if given the financial opportunity is the location on the monorail. We have 3 kids, the last trip with 2 in strollers and spend a lot of time at MK. Compared to our stay at AKL 2 years prior, the Poly was hands down 1,000 times better for us. But we're all about convenience, otherwise the properties were very similar in level of decor and amenities to us.

We also stayed in a longhouse very close to the TTC so there was rarely any breaking down of strollers or dealing with elevators. Again, what is easiest but meets our level of needs is what we pick.

When we stayed at the Poly, we could only do the "pure" deluxes because we needed the daybed. All the inexpensive CR rooms were booked and the GF just isn't us. The Epcot resorts were too far for all the trips to MK that we do.

We are planning to go back to DW in May but will be trying out the CR since we could get the standard garden view and it's a lot less than Poly. BUT, I am looking for the day when we are stroller-less, less dependent on MK and can stay at BC.