Reviews of Polynesian Village Resort (Deluxe Resort)
Reviewed by Sandy Review Date: 09/30/2018
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
We stayed here on our very first trip to Disney. Wanted to be on the monorail. While it was convenient for that purpose, I otherwise don't think it was worth the deluxe price tag. May have been updated since, but when we went I was shocked that our room was so old and in desperate need of an update. Not what I was expecting for the money.
Pros:
MonorailCons:
PriceyReviewed by Michael P Review Date: 12/20/2017
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
As a long-time Disney fan, particularly of the Polynesian resort, it pains me to give this resort hotel a poor rating. However, I believe it is justified based on two things - poor service and inconvenient to the theme parks. I'll explain...
The service at the Polynesian was surprisingly poor. For starters, housekeeping (or "mousekeeping" as Disney calls it) was not on the ball. We had to keep asking for more in-room coffee pods, since they did not refill them daily. On one day, we slept in and went to the park in the afternoon. Apparently, that must have caused them to skip our room and it evidently NEVER got serviced that day, which left us with no new towels and a dirty room to come back to. On our second day there, I misplaced my flip flops at the pool area and had to chase down housekeeping and resort lost & found to find them. Every time I called, I was told in an uncaring tone that they don't have them and there's nothing they can do. On the second to last day, they miraculously appeared in my room. Really??? It took you all week to find them??? Finally, on our last day, I went to lobby concierge to ask about arranging transportation off-site. After waiting in line and listening to the concierge cast member have thorough conversations with each guest about dining, thing to do, etc., when it was my turn, he offered a very cold response and said "your only option is Uber or Lyft." After explaining that I'd prefer a taxi service instead and asked if they can arrange it for me, he said he cannot do that but provided me a number for Mears taxi to call. Really??? You're concierge!!! It's YOUR job to arrange transportation for me. Why would you make a guest do that? I guess since it's not revenue for Disney, they don't give a hoot.
As for the so-called convenience factor of staying on the monorail loop - that is a bunch of baloney! Disney recently switched bag checks from park entrances to the resorts. While this may save time at the parks themselves, resorts like the Polynesian get HUGE lines of people trying to thru bag check on onto the monorail. On one particular evening, it took us 90 mins to get from our room to the entrance of the Magic Kingdom. That's right, Disney, 90 minutes! You can see the castle across the lake from the resort but due to this terrible new system for bag checks, it causes a large bottle neck. We tried taking the water taxi from the Poly boat dock to MK, but had to wait for three separate boats to arrive before being able to get my family of four onto one! The other option was to walk to the TTC and take the ferry across the lake to the MK. Despite these options, none of them were convenient at all, made us miss precious time at the parks, and caused a lot stress for my wife and I with two small children in tow.
In summary, for the exorbitant amount of money we paid to stay the Poly, it was NOT at all worth it. The service was poor, almost unacceptable for Disney standards. The convenience factor was not there. Looking back, we could have stayed at a Moderate or Value resort for half the cost, and received the same level of service and convenience. The Poly is a rip-off and the prices Disney charges is highway robbery, considering the poor experience we had there. I have a feeling if I complain to Disney directly, they will respond the same way they did during my trip - with an unfeeling spirit and dismissal.
Pros:
Grounds, pools, diningCons:
Poor service, inconvenient to theme parks, not worth the moneyReviewed by mane62656 Review Date: 12/16/2013
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
We occupied 2 rooms at the Polynesian from Dec.1 to Dec. 7, 2013. First let me say the location is amazing. I am so very disappointed in this resort. From arrival to departure everything was so messed up. We were told we had connecting rooms which we did not. I can live with that although I made the reservation in July. We spent an hour everyday at the Concierge getting fast passes since we could not do them ourselves. They could not get our rooms synced together so we got reservations for only one room not both. We had 2 adults and 1 child in both rooms so that did not work well for us. We could not have breakfast in the hotel during our entire stay. We went to the Grand Floridian and the Animal Kingdom Lodge for breakfast. We could not have dinner in the main dining room the entire stay. We had the dining plan. After breakfast the first morning at the Grand Floridian I found I did not have charging privileges to my room. So that was another hour at the Concierge. They had to reset my pin and after that the other adult in my room lost her charging privileges, yep, another trip to the Concierge.
Every employee told us how incompetent the last employee was that helped us and said they were so much better at doing the job. Problem is, not one of them got it correctly. We spent and hour or longer everyday at the Concierge desk. Our room was not cleaned properly. I mopped under our sink and took pictures of black dirt on the washcloth I mopped with. There were visible cobwebs when you walked in. Our building entry was not cleaned the entire time we were there. I never once saw or heard a vacuum cleaner.The elevator had mud all over the floor and the walls were filthy. I am amazed to find this is a deluxe resort. There was no signage to the building we occupied. A tiny sign was right in front of the building but no other signs were there. I still don't know how we found the building. I have stayed at Port Orleans and Dixie Landing and I must say these resorts are 10 times better than the Ploynesian. Now that I am home I would like these issues addressed but I am having a problem finding who to contact. If anyone knows I would appreciate your letting me know so I can address these to the correct people so something can be done. All in all we had a nice trip but most likely won't be going back to Disney. Will stay at Universal next time...
Pros:
LocationCons:
everything elseReviewed by SNC Review Date: 04/30/2022
Rating: (2) Not Recommended
I have stayed at the Poly 4 times prior to this and absolutely loved it. I'm not sure who is now managing this resort, but it is no longer the Poly of the past. We arrived at the front of the hotel and were promptly ignored by the staff out front despite our obvious checking-in. We stood with all of our luggage and children, as staff members noticed us and then promptly ignored us. For $800 a night, my husband got to haul all of our luggage by himself to our room. Our refrigerator had remnants of food in it from previous hotel guests and the shelf in it kept collapsing when we would open it, spilling anything we had in it onto the floor. While the Moana theme is tastefully done in the new rooms, the rooms are definitely NOT designed for families with young children to stay. The hardwood floors have no carpeting or area rugs and I spent the better part of the trip mopping up water from the pool, water from bath time, water from the wheels of our stroller from Florida rainstorms after all of us realized how slippery the floor can get. After a long day in the parks our aching feet ached even more walking on these floors. The side tables are made entirely of some kind of heavy marble that little kids moving around the room in excitement could slam into and I had to repeatedly remind them to stay away from them. And the glass barn door on the bathtub made it a nightmare for me to reach through to give the kids a bath. On the rare occasion that I had a question, the front desk staff was often dismissive, patronizing, or downright rude depending on the time of day. In the gift shop downstairs, the young woman assisting me rolled her eyes at another cast member when I tried to use a visa gift card that wouldn't work the first time she swiped it. It worked the 2nd time she tried after I asked her to swipe it again. Bizarre. The best cast members we encountered worked at the Pineapple Lanai and the lifeguards the pools. It was not a magical stay, and quite frankly, the pandemic is not the excuse at the Poly. It is obviously a poor management and poor training issue. It is beyond me how Disney can charge the price they do for this resort with the lack of service and congeniality that we encountered at what was once our favorite resort. As my husband lugged all of our luggage back all by himself again (bell services did not arrive after 40 minutes) at the end of our stay, we agreed that it would be a VERY long time before we stay here again, if ever.
Pros:
Oasis Pool, Pineapple Lanai, Quick and fun boat to MKCons:
Poor Service not living up a Deluxe Resort or Disney standard, Rooms are not designed for young families only couples, Dismissive CastmembersReviewed by Hdhntrss Review Date: 02/09/2022
Rating: (2) Not Recommended
My family and I stayed on the Club level. I have stayed on the Club level at the Grand Floridian and Wilderness Lodge. Do not stay on the Club level here!! Waited 4 hours for our room to be ready. Had to carry our own luggage to the room! They couldn’t find our magic bands and when they did it took 3 days to get them to work!! No greeting or welcome package! The refrigerator on the Club level had Coke, Sprite and beer. Great things to give the kids for breakfast! Asked for bottled water and was told management did not want it given out but to give only tap water. Finally after much disgust they gave me 4 bottles from the locked closet! Food was disgusting!! Not sure if this is all fallout from COVID but not worth the money or comes even close to the other 2 hotels. AWFUL!!!!!
Pros:
Can’t think of anything. Oh wait, yes, the $7 ice cream pop and the $3 mini bag of chips!!Cons:
They have no idea of how the Club level should be run!! Don’t waste your money!!! No thought put into the children. No milk or kids food unless your child wants to grab a coke or beer from the fridge!!!Reviewed by paulacraiglow Review Date: 09/26/2018
Rating: (3) Not Recommended
We stayed at Poly, our first time, for my son's 14th birthday. Normally we stay moderate and I would not usually spend the money but I had heard so many rave reviews that I bit the bullet and spend the exorbitant cost. We arrived late evening and had already received our text so went straight to our room. Was disappointed in how dirty our building was in the hallway and elevator area. It looked like the carpet had not been cleaned in months. While the room was clean, it was plain and a bit worn. While I will admit my expectations were high due to the cost, we have stayed at nicer moderates.
The quick service cafeteria was small and did not have a huge selection, which was disappointing. The parking was awful and one evening, I took the very last parking spot. I assume this is due to everyone coming to eat at the restaurants.
The couple of bright spots were the cast members. They were always friendly and had smiles on their faces. Our interactions at the gift shop and concierge would very good. We also enjoyed the boat ride to the Magic Kingdom. Although we did have to wait a couple times for one with enough seats. And on the morning of our early morning breakfast at Crystal Palace, the boat was almost 30 minutes late starting service.
I am sad that it did not live up to my expectations and I will not visit again, other than to eat at Ohana!
Pros:
lobby, dole whip access, cast membersCons:
rooms, transportation to parks, food serviceReviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 03/20/2022
Rating: (4) Not Recommended
Terrible place to stay, bathroom BLACK mold, needed light bulbs, no turn down service.
Pros:
Overlooking parking space FROM balconyCons:
Room's we're musty smell AND run down. Breakfast reservations, 3 hours wait at 9am. Rude at front desk just asking for help.Reviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 07/06/2023
Rating: (7) Not Recommended
Resort is beautiful! However, rooms are just average for the cost to stay there. We just retutned Sunday after a week at the Poly. Food options are not good st all. Quick serve is worse than at the budget resorts. Very disappointing!
Pros:
LocationCons:
Cost, FoodReviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 05/31/2023
Rating: (7) Recommended
Resort is beautiful and our DVC studio room was perfect. BUT the main pool was really overcrowded (we were not there at a peak time). The quiet pool was good, but as we were there with younger kids they wanted to use the slide/splash pad etc.
The food was good, but we had to hunt for a inside table at captain cooks.
Pros:
Location, it's beauyand the food is greatCons:
Really busy and overcrowdedReviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 07/13/2022
Rating: (7) Recommended
I have stayed at this resort two times both in the vacation club area.
The first time was not the best. We found mold in the room. Both pools are good. The second time I stayed it was wonderful and had no complaints.
