I admit: I’m an unabashed Poly lover. It’s the first place I stayed at WDW when I was three years old; I still have fond memories of my stay, particularly the character breakfasts.  I stayed there with my family when I was a pre-teen, too, and then again when I (briefly) worked on the WDW College Program.  Until this past December, however, it had been ten years since I had done more than walk through the Polynesian.  When CP and I considered where to stay for the last couple days of our December trip, my nostalgia for the Poly – plus a pretty sweet 40% passholder discount – made the decision a relative no-brainer. Perhaps it was gilding the lily, but we felt emboldened by the discount and thus booked ourselves a club-level room for our stay.  Even with the 40% discount it would be an expensive stay, but there was something about the prospect of free snacks and alcohol and staying in an exclusive building that appealed to us. With a couple months to ruminate on our stay, I think I have to give the Poly decidedly mixed reviews. For as much as there is to love about the Polynesian (and there is a lot), there are many things that could be so much better. Especially when you consider that the room cost well over $300 a night, and that was with the discount! Here’s a rundown: Pros: The grounds and landscaping.  If it’s an immersive vacation you’re after, a stay at the Polynesian will truly leave you feeling like you’re someplace other than central Florida.  As one of WDW’s oldest resorts, the vegetation has had time to mature, so the grounds feel authentically tropical. Add in soothing music, a lovely beach, and large expanses of grass and greenery and you have a winning recipe for a relaxing stay.  Did I mention the tiki torches that cast a warm glow on the paths each night? Amazing.

Beautiful inside and out. (Here, inside.)

And outside.

Location.  You’re only two monorail stops away from the Magic Kingdom, and either a quick monorail ride or walk to the Transportation and Ticket Center.  While you feel secluded on the Poly grounds, you can get almost everywhere else quickly – it’s the best of both world.

Not pictured: quick walk to TTC. But this is prettier!

Coffee. Coffee. Coffee. (And breakfast).  Let’s face it, coffee on Disney property almost uniformly stinks.  The Polynesian offers not one but two stellar coffee options: Kona blend coffee at the Kona Island, and 100% pure Kona press pots at Kona Cafe. The former is a significant improvement over all other WDW coffee; the latter is some of the best coffee I’ve ever had, and I’m pretty snobbish about coffee.  Kona Cafe also offers a fantastic (and well-priced, at least for WDW) breakfast, tied in my book with Boma for the best breakfast on property. Room size.  While the rooms have some significant cons (more on that in a second), if you have more than two people in your party – or if you just like some extra room to spread out – you won’t find many more spacious rooms on property than you will at the Poly.  I’d also wager that room noise is lower at the Poly than at newer hotels, at least that was our experience in December.

This photo shows one of the Poly's best features, and one of its worst.

Cons:

Darkness.  While the lush tropical feel of the Polynesian is something to appreciate while you walk the grounds, the Poly rooms reflect this tropical feeling through their dark decor – and dark lighting.  While our room in December had nice afternoon light, it was somewhat dark at other times of day. If you like darker, richer interiors this fact might not bother you – people who like the Animal Kingdom Lodge, for example, probably won’t be bothered by the dark theme – but if you’re expecting a light and airy room like you’d find at the BoardWalk or Beach Club, you’re going to be disappointed.

Our room, mid-afternoon. It's either "dark" or "cozy" depending upon your perspective.

Dark AND dated, but turndown service is always nice.

Something that's meant to be dark - the closets! But at the Poly, they light up. (This is actually pretty awesome, both visually and functionally.)

Decor.  Although the Polynesian has undergone a soft goods refurb in the past few years, the decor nevertheless looks a bit dated. I also think that in an era when even Hampton Inns and Holiday Inn Expresses are turning to duvets, the old-style polyester comforters leave much to be desired.  And while you can’t argue with the Polynesian’s themeing, I’m not sure the theme translates into an environment that I would term “Deluxe.” Mousekeeping.  Now, I’m the first to admit that what I experienced in December might have been a fluke. But there’s no denying that our room was seriously lacking in the housekeeping department. Crumbs on the carpeting, black mold growth in the shower, a couple dried-in stains in the sheets…these things were hard not to notice.  While no one of these things was so bad that I felt the need to lodge a complaint, the feeling I left with was that for $300+ dollars a night (with a discount! I can’t emphasize this enough), it wouldn’t be unreasonable to expect a higher standard of attention to detail.   We also observed that the club level lounge wasn’t kept as clean as one would hope; there were a lot of sticky tables, bits of food on the floor, and piles of dishes that weren’t quickly cleaned up. Whether this is a staffing issue particular to the Poly or an indication of larger staffing cuts/cutbacks throughout WDW, I don’t know.

If you squint you can see the mold in the shower - well, not really. (And actually, the bathroom is pretty nice.)

Value (or lack thereof).  I understand supply and demand, and I understand that Disney has little incentive to cut prices when demand stays high. That said, the rack rate at the Polynesian is simply astronomical, and even more so for club level.  Our experience is ours alone, but it wasn’t one that left me feeling we got a good value for our money, even when you factor in fuzzy WDW logic.  Take club level service, for instance: before our Poly stay, everything I read about club level stated that we’d be greeted at the door, escorted to our club level building for private check-in; issued special gold Keys to the World cards; and be assured of round-the-clock service should we need anything. We got…none of these things.  A harried valet attendant directed us to the main check-in desk; we received no escort (or gold keys) to the Hawaii building; no one asked if we needed anything or had any questions.  Really the only thing that indicated our club level was the evening turn-down service and our access to the lounge.  When you add in the housekeeping issues and the dated decor (and facilities – looking at you, Great Ceremonial House), a rack rate of $565/night seems – frankly – ridiculous. So, the age-old question: Would I stay there again?  My answer is a qualified maybe.  If I was offered another good discount during a value season, I’d probably give a non-club level room a try.  But you’d never catch me paying rack rate, and I don’t think I could justify club level again, even with a discount.  Before that happens, however, there are many other Deluxes I’d like to try, and many I’d like to visit again. That said, if you want a relaxing tropical hideaway with a convenient location, good food, and spacious accommodations, the Polynesian might be for you – you might want to ask your wallet’s opinion first, though.

Let's end on the pretty, shall we? Electrical water pageant as seen from the Poly beach.