We've never stayed in Samoa. I have the same concern you do regarding noise and chaos, so we simply never requested Samoa (I'm sure the room assigner was THRILLED as I was probably one of the few that didn't request that building, LOL!). We have stayed in Rarotonga facing the quiet pool and absolutely loved it. We were on the 3rd floor all the way at the end of the hall so, not only were we super close to the GCH, we also had an outdoor staircase nearby which led down to the path to the pools and the path to the TTC. It was SUPER convenient and less noisy and chaotic than many other areas around the rest of the resort. We've also stayed Fiji, marina side, third floor and enjoyed that as well.