Disney's Polynesian Villas & Bungalows

Never write reviews, despite traveling consistently for work, because I feel like everyone is entitled to bad days, and having spent plenty of years in service industry jobs as I was in college and grad school I know it’s impossible to please everyone. That said. If you are expecting anything resembling a luxury hotel experience or even like a pretty OK three star hotel, stay elsewhere. A few snippets from this trip: - arrived at 4 (check in time.) Was told room was not ready and that 4pm was an “approximate” check-in time. Room was not ready until 5:52. - at 5:52, asked if the bell services could bring our luggage to the room and was told no - we had to be in the room for delivery. - returned to the hotel (with young kids) at 8pm. Was told bell services was “very busy” and they could “bring our luggage in approximately 60 minutes but it could be longer.” I said I would do it myself. I lugged all luggage on a cart to the bungalow - approximately a five minute walk. I called bell services to come pick up the cart and was asked “to be placed on a brief hold.” Nobody ever came for the cart. I walked it back myself after kids were asleep. Amazingly, everyone I talked to was wildly unapologetic and disinterested in helping. In the past, I have found “cast members” at Disney to be so kind, helpful, and unfailingly polite. This hotel was so understaffed that I think everyone was just hanging on by a thread. I don’t blame them. It was chaos. - silverware and dishes in the room patently unclean. Fingerprints on knives. Hair in a coffee mug. Hair in bathroom sink. Every 2-5 minutes, there is a thunderous sound of the water evacuation pump pumping water/sewage. Woke me and my kids up multiple times in the night. It’s the plumbing system for these bungalows. If you’re a sound sleeper, great. But it’s louder than the fireworks. - upon checkout, called one hour before pickup for bell services to come take our stuff since it was pouring rain and I thought I had learned my lesson. Was told all luggage carts were in use and they would “try” to get to us but all times approximate. Walked in the pouring rain to get a luggage cart and then went back to bungalow and took all luggage myself to the front lobby. In short, if it has been a dream of yours to stay at a bungalow, then do it. If you want a great view of fireworks, it’s exceptional. But this is basically a Best Western and there is no justification for the astronomical cost.

What an inviting oasis of Polynesian hospitality and warmth! A totally relaxing resort, with several entertainment options for family members of all ages! The updated interior is a long-awaited, yet lovely welcome, sharing a small taste of Aloha.

We stayed at the Polynesian on May 24-29. The hotel is beautiful. It feels like you are in Hawaii. They give you a (fake) lei when you arrive. The lobby is beautiful and holds true to the Hawaiian vibe. Being on the monorail line was awesome. You can walk to the TTC to catch the monorail to Epcot. The grounds are very lush and beautiful but it makes it hard to find your way around. The signage is lacking. The pools were great. The pool with water slide was fun and there was lots of seats. It was very busy and it was kinda hard to find chair. There were servers that were taking drink and food orders. The quieter pool was right outside our building and it had zero entry area, plenty of shady areas to sit, drink refill station and quick service food. The rooms were clean and beautiful but the storage was limited. It did not have many drawers to unpack if you like to to do that. The room had a bathroom with a sink, toilet and bath/shower but then another bathroom with a shower and sink. My husband and daughter thought the bathroom with no toilet was weird. It does allow for multiple to get ready at one time which is nice. We enjoyed watching water parade and fireworks from the beach area. It's a very nice to stay and it has a lot of great amenities for your Disney vacations.