Reviews of Polynesian Village Resort (Deluxe Resort)
Reviewed by mrspierce39 Review Date: 01/14/2013
Rating: (7) Recommended
The Poly will always be my favorite resort at Disney since the first time seeing it on tv commercials in the 70's. Although it took until 1995 for my first visit, I fell in love with the place when I finally had a chance to stay there.
This visit on 1-9-2013 to 1-12-13, after 4 nights at Bay Lake Tower, was no different with the exception of a couple of things. The reason I have a 7 rating is because as I looked around at the buildings inside and out, I realized that my beloved Poly is in desperate need of a total facelift and it made me feel sad that it is in such poor condition.
The grounds however are still beautiful with well established foliage and nice pathways. Placement of the buildings is fine as well, but the overall
decor is sadly outdated, way long ago compared to newer resorts.
I love the Poly so much, and hope they bring it back to life with new materials so she can once again outshine, or at least keep up, with other deluxe resorts. In the state it is in now, I can not justify the price with the condition being as it is now. That is the reason for my 7 rating
It breaks my heart really and I hope when I return to Disney in a few years that I can be once again excited to stay at the Poly.
Service was still perfect. Volcano pool still great. Feeling relaxed on grounds still excellent.
Wonderful people cm's and other guests. Perfect location and white sand beach. Monorail excellent.
Pros:
Location grounds monorail oldest resort nostalgiaCons:
Blogs need severe updating inside and outReviewed by Nurserachet Review Date: 01/17/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
Just got home from an 8 night stay (Jan 7-15, 2013). This was our first time at the Polynesian. We have stayed at a variety of Disney resorts over the years in all price ranges (Pop Century, Port Orleans, Coronado Springs, Grand Floridian, and Wilderness Lodge). My 20 year old daughter liked the Polynesian best of all! My fav is the Grand Flo. I did enjoy the Poly very much and would stay there again in a heartbeat. It starts as you get off the bus. You are greeted with the sound of waterfalls and the beauty of the tropical vegetation. The staff all smile and bid you aloha. Check-in was smooth and we each received a pink lei. We were in room 1706 in the Niue building which is just behind the Great Ceremonial Lodge. We were close to the quiet pool. We were blown away by the incredible landscaping! In Jan there were blooming things everywhere! The sidewalks gently curved around the buildings and along the beach. There is also a short walkway to the TTC.
We were very pleased with our room. It was large and clean, with 2 closets and a mini fridge, a safe, and feather pillows. The decor is very cute without being overwhelming. Bed and pillows are very comfortable and there are extra pillows and blankets in both closets. There is a nice desk with another pull-out desk under it. They have thoughtfully included a power strip along the top with multiple outlets. The dresser has 6 drawers. Bathroom is roomy and the lighting is ok ( would have liked a magnifying mirror). I have to agree with other reviews about the bus situation. There is 1 bus for 3 deluxe resorts. I can't for the life of me understand this! You pay a lot of money and get crammed into buses going to 3 resorts. When we've stayed at the Pop and Coronado Springs we had one bus for that resort. Being on the monorail does not matter when you need transportation to DHS or Animal Kingdom. I never saw people that were staying at The Grand Flo get a seat and at times they had to wait for another bus.
There are several dining options from quick service to character meals. We had a fabulous breakfast at Kona. We had a very entertaining character breakfast at O'hana with Lilo and Stitch. Food wasn't remarkable and wasn't hot either. We had so much fun that it more than made up for it. Mickey and Pluto were there too. I'm just crazy about character meals! They know how to make it fun for all ages. Lilo sat at a table and started pounding on it to get some service. Everyone was laughing! It was so funny!
We ate at the quick service place Captain Cooks. Food was average at best. However, there is a dole whip machine with vanilla and pineapple dole whip!! Need I say more? You can get sushi in the evenings outside the Kona restaurant. And there is an indoor bar and a bar by the volcano pool.
You can rent little boats or lay on the beach. You can relax in a hammock and watch fireworks. You can also catch a water taxi to the Grand Flo or Magic Kingdom. Only a small number of passengers are allowed, so if there appear to be more than 20 people waiting for it, you are better off catching the monorail as it is rather slow. We did enjoy riding the boat back to the resort. Very relaxing and quiet.
The water pageant makes the rounds to all the resorts on Seven Seas Lagoon every evening. This is a cute light-up musical float on the water.
There are 2 gift shops, an art gallery, a photopass station, and convenience store.
There is just no shortage of anything you could want or need. This is a special place and Disney has done a wonderful job making it one of the most beautiful resorts I have ever seen!
Pros:
Location, landscaping, room size, restaurants, beach, fireworks viewing, dole whip,Cons:
PriceReviewed by Emteach Review Date: 01/20/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
Our family of 5 (3 adults, 1 teen, 1 child) stayed at the Polynesian in August. We found the environment welcoming from the second we entered the resort. The landscaping is gorgeous and concierge is very helpful! We were very happy with the room sizes, perfect amount of space for our family (having the pull out was great). The rooms were always kept clean and we always had replacement towels etc. We stayed in Tokelau and loved the fact that at the end of the hallway we could watch the fireworks (with music through the speakers). The location cant be beat - was great being on the monorail (although there were a couple of occasions that it was down)which made getting to our reservations challenging. We found the busing great, longest wait was maybe 15 minutes but most times the bus was either there or shortly arrived. We were a short walk from the quiet pool (which was a nice alternative for just cooling off). We found the Large Pool very crowded, although the kids (and adults) loved the volcano waterslide. We also really enjoyed Captain Cooks (had a good breakfast and dinner menu and good even for picky eaters + they have Dole Whip and cant complain about that). Overall, I would highly recommend the Poly, it is quite costly and not somewhere our family could always stay but we LOVED!
Pros:
Room Size, Location, Atmosphere, Captain CooksCons:
Cost, Pool, Monorail DownReviewed by mare54 Review Date: 02/09/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
We stay here every year because of the close proximity to the monorail. We love the ambiance, the beach, the pool, the 'Ohana character breakfast, and the Kona Cafe. The beds are like sleeping on a cloud.
My complaint this time is with Cap't Cooks fast food restaurant. Everything is delicious. BUT!!! If all you go there for is a cookie, a bottle of water, and a Mickey Mouse ice cream bar, you must wait behind 20 people waiting to pay for their entire family's dinners, drinks, desserts, and beer....and there are only two people taking the various forms of payments...ex. dining plans, room keys, credit cards, cash. I only needed a bottle of water, apple juice box for my granddaughter ready for bed back in the room and would not sleep without her water. After waiting for 4 families with at least 10 checks to be paid, I spotted a shorter line in front of me, so I moved there. I waited for an elderly lady cashier (yes, I am older, too, and am sympathetic...but don't put me in a position of customer service where I can't see the keys of the register) to take 20 dollars from a customer, each and every wrinkled bill turned every which way and handed to her in a ball, to unfold, unwrinkle and turn in the proper direction, every single one dollar bill, before she would put the money in the drawer. Yes, the customer was inconsiderate to hand it to her like that, but just unfold it and put it in the drawer and worry about organizing it when you don't have 40 people with screaming babies waiting) MY BP went up to 400/200 while waiting there and my 63 year old hips and knees were throbbing from 3 days at the Magic Kingdom and Epcot. They need to install 4 more registers and younger English speaking people operating them..I love every ethnicity and soooo appreciate the fact that these people speak more languages than I do, but I had a very difficult time communicating with a few of them.
Pros:
location, beautiful grounds, restaurants, volcano poolCons:
Cap't Cooks restaurantReviewed by VAMouselover Review Date: 03/10/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
We (3 adults 1 child)stayed at the Polynesian Feb 26th-March 4th. We loved it! We stayed in the Aotearoa long house. The room was very spacious and the beds were comfortable. We had specifically requested a monorail view as we had a 2 year old that loves trains. Even though we could see the monorail it was still a peaceful and tranquil setting looking out our patio. The resort itself is absolutely beautiful and everyone was so eager to help with anything we needed. Mousekeeping was also very friendly and always talked to and said Aloha to us. The Great Ceremonial House is one of my favorite parts of the resort and we just sat in there and just listened to the waterfall. The pools were also very nice especially the little kiddie pool for our traveling 2 year old. It was not as packed full of kids like the volcano pool and it was very quiet and peaceful. At night the resort was very beautiful and beautifully lit with tiki torches. We even would walk to the TTC just to enjoy the scenery. This was our first time staying at a resort on the monorail line and I can honestly say we will probably never stay at another resort again. It was so easy and convenient and we never had to wait more than a few minutes for a monorail. The Kona Cafe in the Poly is also a great restaurant. We had breakfast there and the food was delicious! We didn't have reservations but that wasn't a big problem as they accept walk-ins and we only had to wait maybe 20 min but we didn't mind because there was plenty to look at and the furniture is so comfortable in the great ceremonial house that we didn't mind waiting. The only thing we didn't really prefer was Captain Cook's. There wasn't a wide variety of quick service choices and there was never enough seating during "rush" times. Other than that I would highly recommend anyone stay here if given the chance. We are actually coming back the week before Thanksgiving this year and have requested the same long house. It will definitely be hard to stay anywhere else from now on.
Pros:
Pretty much everythingCons:
Captain Cook'sReviewed by gnssoukup Review Date: 03/18/2013
Rating: (8) Recommended
We had a very nice first stay at the Polynesian March 2-8. Their computers were down when we checked in, thank goodness I printed out my reservation because that's what they used to check us in. Our room was ready at noon and it was very clean and very spacious. We had to get 3 refrigerators before we got a working one but that was a minor inconvenience. We were offered a microwave and were very happy about that. The maintenance guy had to fix our air conditioner and our water was cut off one morning but thank goodness both things were fixed very quickly. We had to wait 35 minutes two days in a row for buses to Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. There was a cast member at the bus stop though and he was very helpful. Didn't care for Captain Cook's but Kona was wonderful. Overall, I loved the resort but looking forward to trying someplace new next time.
Pros:
Big rooms, beautiful groundsCons:
Slow bus serviceReviewed by nats1966 Review Date: 04/14/2013
Rating: (7) Recommended
I am wishy washy about the poly. On one hand I do love the atmosphere, but the other the rooms really need refurbishment for the price you pay. But, having said that they are being refurbished right now.
Pros:
transportation; monorail and ferry
theming
dining
grounds are beautiful
Cons:
rooms
outdoor walkway; rooms are not connected to main lobby
Pros:
grounds, atmosphere and diningCons:
rooms, outdoor walkwayReviewed by mr_speed77 Review Date: 04/19/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
My family and I stayed at the Poly from March 22-29. I can't say enough good things about this resort! Prior to this trip, we stayed at Pop Century and Port Orleans Riverside. Even though the price was rather expensive, this was by far our favorite place to stay! The monorail makes it nice to travel to MK, and the TTC is a short walk to take another monorail to Epcot. The beach is awesome with excellent views of MK, Grand Floridian, and Contemporary resort. The beach hammocks and swings truly make for a tranquil and relaxing time. Every night around 9pm you get to enjoy the Electrical Parade with a great view of the MK fireworks later on. We also loved the outdoor movie on the beach with the giant big screen. We saw Toy Story, Tangled, and Wreck it Ralph on different nights. They also have s'mores for people to cook on the beach around dusk. The volcano pool is right next to the beach and it's awesome! There's a cool water slide too. We enjoyed the smaller pool too, which was right outside of the building we stayed in... Tokelau. It was only a 2 min walk to the Great Ceremonial House where we enjoyed O'Hana, Kona Cafe, and Captain Cooks food court. By the way, Captain Cooks is the only place where you can get Dole Whips other than at MK. At Cap. Cooks, you get to control the Dole Whip machine and make them as big as you want. Makes for an awesome snack credit! You also have to try Tonga Toast... It's great! Our room was nice, but nothing too special. It really wasn't anything too different from our previous rooms at other resorts other than the sliding glass with a little patio with table and chairs. We also had a little sofa that folded out to an extra bed. Also, I must say that the walkways, torches, plant life, and overall feel of this resort really make for an authentic experience. The rental boats were a blast too. Finally, I love the smell of the Great Ceremonial House....it's almost like a combination of the ocean and flowers. I highly recommend the Polynesian, but if you don't spend alot of time at your resort, it may not be worth it to you. We spent more time at the resort this trip and didn't overdo the parks.
Pros:
Tropical atmosphere, location, pool, beachCons:
PriceReviewed by megeveland Review Date: 07/16/2013
Rating: (8) Recommended
We have a child with dietary issues and can only eat certain foods which we brought with us. During the night the in room refigerator quit and spoiled her food. We went to the desk to see what could be done and they brought us a new refrigerator and sent someone to an EarthFare to replace the food while we went to the park. Even called us to let us know they had found the food to put our mind at ease. MAGICAL SERVICE for sure!
The resort itself is well-maintained but still dated due to the low ceilings (I think). If you get a room in the back of the resort, you will have a long walk to the main house which is mainly an issue if it rains. plenty of good dining choices at the resort.
Pros:
On the Monorail, serviceCons:
bulidings spread outReviewed by jacksonian Review Date: 07/30/2013
Rating: (8) Recommended
I have to say I was not too impressed with Poly. We went for my daughter's 16th birthday as this is where she wanted to stay. this trip cost more than any other trip in the last 5 years because of the resort. In those trips we stayed at AK and Wilderness Lodge. There may have been too much to take in at Poly but I didn't feel relaxed there. The worse thing was waiting for the transportation buses. Every time it was at least 30-40min. We ended up walking to the transportation center or taking the buses back to the Grand Floridian and walking back. When we go back, I think it will be at the Wilderness Lodge again.
