Calling recent Poly Club Level guests

[bouncer]

I am just curious if anyone who has recently stayed at Poly and has been there previously has noticed a decline in service. I have seen a few people mentioning that it's not as nice as used to be. We are booked for April next year and I am hoping to hear better news as this is our FAVORITE place to stay. :tikki: Please share your experience both good or bad.

[antnyh]

We were there in May and we noticed a big decline in the service and offerings on the club level. A lot less food and drinks. Someone there told me that their normal fridge was out of service. IDK, but we came back late one night and, since we were staying CL, we waiting to get drinks at the Poly. Well when we got there all the drinks were gone and the CM told us there was nothing they could do about it. He also said that a lot of families were taking large amounts of drinks and food with them. It just didn't have the magic it did two years ago. Of course, that is just my opinion.

[mickey&missy]

I've heard this several times lately too. It's concerning me a bit! DH and I are book for poly LVC for our 10th anniversary trip in March. We were lucky enough to stay CL a GF this past March and it was wonderful, to say the least. The amazing service we there is one of the reasons we booked poly LVC. We shall see...

[mouseketeer mom]

I don't know what people are talking about when they say this. We stayed last month at the Poly club level, and it was as wonderful as always. The staff is warm, the offerings plentiful, and the lounge as lovely as always. No worries!

[DDuck66]

We stayed at the Poly in May, and LOVED it. The staff was great but I did notice that a lot of families would take the entire bottle of water back with them as well as plates of food. We may have took a couple of snacks each, but we never loaded plates full and took them to our rooms. Never had a problem with them running out, but we did not spend a lot of time at the Club.

[DawsonAR]

We were there in January and everything was wonderful.

[Keneva]

We stayed concierge level this past August as well as seven years ago and we found the overall service level exceeded our expectations both times. In the lounge, if you want something and you don't see it, just ask the CM's and chances are they will cheerfully get it for you if at all possible. Noon-time snacks were a little skimpy but the other serving time offerings were plentiful. I asked for a beer a couple of times at odd times of the day and they popped one right open for me each time. As for the room, our check-in was flawless. When we drove in at 11am, the CM at the guard shack gave us a piece of paper that identified us as concierge and told us where to pull up to and within 10 minutes they had verified our room was already ready, got our bags out of the car, gave us a golf cart ride to the Concierge building, checked us in and there we were standing in our room starring at the MK castle! All throughout the week, Housekeeping was reading our minds on what we needed. We were really impressed. People said Aloha to us so often that a month later we are still greeting each other around the house will "AAAloooohaaa!!!". Good time.

[dtootsie42]

ok, this is almost a year ago, we stayed at the Poly CL in December of 2007....with the exception of one trip we always stay Poly CL. I thought the staff was terrific and was doing the best they could under the circumstances (meaning club level was filled to capacity as well as the rest of the resort).

We witnessed several people taking the bottles of water and walking out, plus during the evening service large groups would come in and load up several plates then leave. There was one group in particular that was there at breakfast and dinner and kept laughing at how they were pulling a fast one, only one family at the table was paying for Club Level and they were bringing in their friends and other family members. We stated our concern to the staff and were told that others had also stated their concern...not sure what happened because we did not go back for Breakfast or dinner due to ADR's.

My impression, and I know I could be stepping on some peoples toes, so please take note this is my impression. It seems that people are thinking we paid this extra money so we are going to clean out the fridge of cold drinks, take the bottle water, take as many plates of food as we can and who cares if others miss out.

Its sad and for this reason we are debating wether to stay at Club level again on our next visit.

This year we are doing Disney Land because it is so much closer (and got an incredible airplane fare on Virgin $71.00 each way from Seattle to LA) and will try and do Disney World next year.

I'm anxious to hear how it goes for you all.

[javamama]

We stayed in Tonga last April and it was amazing, so amazing we booked it again for this April/May. I honestly don't think we will ever stay in another resort again, or room for that matter since staying in the Princess Suite I'm spoiled:cloud9:

[Catzle]

We stayed in May and and had few things come up that had changed since the last time we were there but as always we love the Poly and hope with economic times we can go back next year. They have cut back a little on food offerings, ex: no more yogurt. Everything else was great as though.
With the water glass containers they are for you to take back to your room. Just ask the people working and they will get you one to take back to your room.
Love the Poly and hope to visit in 2009!

[MR.MIKE]

I am just curious if anyone who has recently stayed at Poly and has been there previously has noticed a decline in service. I have seen a few people mentioning that it's not as nice as used to be. We are booked for April next year and I am hoping to hear better news as this is our FAVORITE place to stay. :tikki: Please share your experience both good or bad.

We were there this summer. We enjoyed our time there in summer 2007 and decided to return.
There was definately a decline in service and im not talking about food in the lounge.
There was a decline in the quality of concierge castmembers. There was a decline in meeting simples requests, (no, not a particular room) .

Unfortunately the concierge manager Mark Puig is a big factor in all this and doesn't seem to know how or want to solev the problems that are brought to his attention.
We had a great trip, but the poly has some problems to work through.

[Ian]

We've only stayed club level once and it was at the Poly ... it was a really bad experience. We'd never do it again. Not only was it not up to expectations, it was one of the worst stays we've ever had.

The staff was rude, completely disinterested, unhelpful, and (outside of the food) we felt totally ripped off. I honestly don't get why anyone would pay the extra money, because I struggle to see what your extra money gets you.

Honestly, I think it must just be a status thing or something, because I'd challenge anyone to justify the extra expense.

[javamama]

For example today I called down there left a msg for my favorite concierge host to ask a question or ten, he called me back on my cell to answer it and small talk about my White Sox loosing to Tampa Bay:thedolls::mad: We honestly got everything we asked for there, whether or not it was because it was of the room we stayed in, and the price we paid for 10 people for 7 days--you could have bought a car for what we paid last year no joke. So this year same thing, the basically cater to whatever we want so far w/ADR's I'm doing my wishlist already, so I can't complain. My only issue last year was the mini fridge broke and I cleaned up the mess, because housekeeping never came up--that can happen anywhere though.

[Polynesian Dweller]

We'll be there Saturday and let folks know what we find. And yes Ian, it is worth it to us and we can justify it. As others have said in many other threads, its not always about the dollars but the intangibles that you can't value quite the same. Not going to waste time here going over that yet again.

In terms of service, there have been items removed over the years, but they have been due to two factors according to my conversations with the CMs and managers. First, as people have noted, too many people just empty the coolers and the trays of food. This causes others to either do without or for a re-stocking. Neither of which goes well for Disney.

And two, wastage. What people may not undestand is if you take a Coke, beer, water etc. back to your room and leave it when you check out it has to be thrown out. That's even if its unopened. Health laws mandate that. One of the managers once told me that her budget had become half again as much due to just that factor. The other part of wastage is Disney's desire, as a corporation, to become an environmentally sensitive company. So, they are encouraging less wastage everywhere in the park systems and managers do get challenged about that amount that is being seen in their area.

Finally, yes I'm about to get off the soapbox, its my experience that when anything has been taken away in one form (i.e. boxes of cereal) they do replace it (with hygenic cereal dispensers) once they can identify a method that meets health laws. Replacing yogurt cups with some sort of dispenser will be hard. And, you can ask at the counter and if they have it they will give it to you.

Based on past years, I'd say, there has been some reduction in convenience (you have to ask) but not service. As I say, we'll be there Saturday and see what we find.

[bouncer]

Ian-one reason our family stays @ Poly club is that usually we travel without DHs (they really aren't interested). Mom, Grandma & kids. We love that our "hotel" is locked and only 3 stories tall. In an emergency evacuation is easy. IMHO the value of security (or feeling secure) is priceless... :)

[javamama]

Bouncer-I totally agree on the safety issue, granted we stay on the first floor in the Tonga building so I have to be extra careful with my kids and the two sliding glass doors, and two handicap doors---they figured those out last year--well my 2 year old did. I like that not everyone has access to our area, I have to watch the marina though too w/the kids:eek:
My dd had a milk allergy so last year I had a case of soy milk waiting in the fridge for her ice cold for the week, they made sure we had enough. Since we had a few cocktails every night they had beers waiting for us in the room chilled in the fridge, and would just send them down. We actually ran out a few nights watching baseball, and eating sushi:blush: We rebooked our room for this coming April before we left last year, if that says anything.

[tikiman]

We've only stayed club level once and it was at the Poly ... it was a really bad experience. We'd never do it again. Not only was it not up to expectations, it was one of the worst stays we've ever had.

The staff was rude, completely disinterested, unhelpful, and (outside of the food) we felt totally ripped off. I honestly don't get why anyone would pay the extra money, because I struggle to see what your extra money gets you.

Honestly, I think it must just be a status thing or something, because I'd challenge anyone to justify the extra expense.

Ian,

I totally can understand people not wanting to pay for club level or being disappointed with the experience. All resorts have their problems and rude CMs. You have that chance at any resort during any visit so I won’t tell you that you are wrong about your observations or try and minimize your bad experience. I am sure your response is justified.

I will say that I think your statement that it is a status thing is a little antagonistic to those of us who do find the benefit in it. That statement just puts a label on anyone who pays for the club level.

You want someone to justify club level? I am not about to spend money just to spend it and I find club level invaluable especially with a kid. I have a place to hang out, let the kid watch cartoons and enjoy snacks while I have a beer and decompress from the crazyness of the parks. We also meet up with our friends in the lounge often. I also have a place to quickly get milk, water or juice for my 3 year old who just does not stop drinking.

Now here is my meager attempt at justifying the added cost.

Cost per day based on my family (2 adults and one kid)
Things we don’t buy when having the concierge lounge
Breakfast per day for 3 = $30
On average 10 waters a day for the 3 of us ($2 each x 10) $20
3 sodas for the 3 of us (one each) ($2 each x 3) $6
Coffee in the morning and night for each adult ($1.89 each x 4) $7.56
Snacks (chips, gummys, cookies) easily $10 in the parks or gift shop
Beer, wine and liquors at night (beer $5.25, Wine $7.25 a glass, liquors $6.00) add up a few beers each a couple of glasses of wine and maybe one liquor I get $62 for a couple of adults throughout the day.
Desert $6 each = $18

I believe that is very conservative on the amounts that we use the lounge and what it would cost to go buy those items at a restaurant but that total for one day is $153.56 and add on only one dinner that we stay in the lounge and eat and not go out (say $60 and that is very low for what we would pay for dinner)

So if my daily total is approximately $153.56 (would actually be higher) that I saved by not buying what I get in the lounge would be $1,074.92 plus one dinner is $1134.92 for the week.

I actually did a report where I added up what we used from the lounge one year and what it would have cost us to go buy from the resort store or from a restaurant and we would have spent $1875 for the week and I saw people using the lounge much more than we do.

That total could be much higher if you have more than one kid or use the lounge more often. That does not include having the staff in the lounge so you don’t have to walk back to the lobby, a prime location to the beach, pool and boat to the MK, and the pre planning help.

By the way I want to echo Polynesian Dweller’s comments about not wasting what you take from the lounge and also be courteous to the others there and don’t take everything you see. I have seen people clean out something that was just put out before anyone else in line even gets to it. Of course they took it back to their room for all their family and left none for anyone else.

[tikiman]

We were there this summer. We enjoyed our time there in summer 2007 and decided to return.
There was definately a decline in service and im not talking about food in the lounge.
There was a decline in the quality of concierge castmembers. There was a decline in meeting simples requests, (no, not a particular room) .

Unfortunately the concierge manager Mark Puig is a big factor in all this and doesn't seem to know how or want to solev the problems that are brought to his attention.
We had a great trip, but the poly has some problems to work through.


Aloha MIke,

Yeah I know you know the issues going on there and if they don't adress the training and managment of the concierge they are going to lose all their long time guests. Lets hope they decide to do something.

Aloha

Steve

[Ian]

Ian,

I totally can understand people not wanting to pay for club level or being disappointed with the experience. All resorts have their problems and rude CMs. You have that chance at any resort during any visit so I won’t tell you that you are wrong about your observations or try and minimize your bad experience. I am sure your response is justified.First off, thank you very much for providing one of the nicest, most well-thought out, and considerate posts I've seen around here in a long, long time. I really appreciate folks willing to engage in constructive dialogue.

Some of the intangible benefits you listed I won't comment on really ... I think they're mostly a personal choice and nothing that can really be debated with any real productivity. I could say, "There's a free lounge in the main building." and you could say, "Yeah, but I don't want to have to walk to the main building. I pay for the convenience." and we'd both be right.

As far as the expense breakdown goes, I guess I'd ask this ... on the trip where you saved $1,800 or so, how much extra did you pay to stay Club Level?

Regarding my comment about it being a status thing ... I guess in re-reading it it might sound a little snarky. But it wasn't intended that way. I'll be honest and say that I'm a status guy, to some degree. I am normally willing to pay more for status items.

So I wasn't really trying to "look down" on people who did it for the status. Merely commenting that that was the only real plus I could see to it. Sorry if I came off wrong!

[tikiman]

First off, thank you very much for providing one of the nicest, most well-thought out, and considerate posts I've seen around here in a long, long time. I really appreciate folks willing to engage in constructive dialogue.

Some of the intangible benefits you listed I won't comment on really ... I think they're mostly a personal choice and nothing that can really be debated with any real productivity. I could say, "There's a free lounge in the main building." and you could say, "Yeah, but I don't want to have to walk to the main building. I pay for the convenience." and we'd both be right.

As far as the expense breakdown goes, I guess I'd ask this ... on the trip where you saved $1,800 or so, how much extra did you pay to stay Club Level?

Regarding my comment about it being a status thing ... I guess in re-reading it it might sound a little snarky. But it wasn't intended that way. I'll be honest and say that I'm a status guy, to some degree. I am normally willing to pay more for status items.

So I wasn't really trying to "look down" on people who did it for the status. Merely commenting that that was the only real plus I could see to it. Sorry if I came off wrong!

Aloha Ian,

Well I am glad you did not take my post as an attack on your comments because it was not intended to be. I appreciate hearing other sides to issues and it looks like you do also. I think we can agree that there are many factors to making the decision to pay extra for club level or not.

You are absolutely right that the lobby is a free lounge and not enough people take advantage of it to relax and enjoy. I don’t know that I would consider its view or location from my room a good comparison to the concierge lounge but still a good point to bring up so maybe others will consider using it more often.

I can tell you that I spent $1050 more for my lagoon view concierge room for the week that I saved $1800 but I don’t know if it is a fair comparison. I would have booked a lagoon view room if I had not booked concierge lagoon view so there was not as much difference in price as if I went from a garden view to a lagoon view concierge. Than again going by rack rates right now it would cost $1750 more for a week going from standard garden to lagoon view concierge room. Those are the two extremes (not including the suites) so any other comparison would be some where less than the $1750. Also many times I can get a discount of $150 off rack rate at the Polynesian club level so it makes the decision that much easier for me.

No need to apologize for the “status thing” remark. The more I think about it I am sure some do it for exactly that reason and I am sure there is something I have paid for because of that reason.

Now with all that being said I find it ironic that I am breaking down the numbers for staying club level as a way to save money. If anyone ever asks me if you can save money on food by staying club level my answer is usually to tell them that staying club level should not be done as a cost saving measure. If you can afford the club level there are some benefits to it but if you are doing it to save on food you are doing it for the wrong reasons. I also feel that when people stretch the budget to stay club level they start off with higher expectations and are setting themselves up for disappointment.

Club level might be one of those things you have to try and decide if it is right for you. Also every resort seems to have a different club level so a bad experience at one should not scare you away from trying it at another.

My final thought on this is that the Polynesian has so many great things to offer that staying in a standard garden view room would still be a great experience.

Aloha

Steve

[mickey&missy]

I
You want someone to justify club level? I am not about to spend money just to spend it and I find club level invaluable especially with a kid. I have a place to hang out, let the kid watch cartoons and enjoy snacks while I have a beer and decompress from the crazyness of the parks. We also meet up with our friends in the lounge often. I also have a place to quickly get milk, water or juice for my 3 year old who just does not stop drinking.


:thumbsup: I completely agree with this statement!!

I probably never would have thought to book club level for my family before our stay at GF in March. But have the services and amenities provided by the staff and the lounge made our stay that much more magical and relaxing. I joke to DH that Disney upgraded us on propose because they knew I'd be hooked! But, even DH, who I knicknamed the Money Police, finds benefit in it and doesn't mind paying a bit extra for it!

We're booked to stay CL at WL in January (only 79 days!) with the kids and CL at Poly in March just DH and I. No, it's not a status thing, it's the little bit of extra magic and relaxation!

[Polynesian Dweller]

Been here at the Poly since Saturday with a few days to go. I promised to let everyone know what I found and here goes. I have seen nothing missing or really changed since last year. If anything, the cooler is better stocked with soft drinks than last year and they have made it easier to get the bottled water. Ask and they'll tell you how. Food selections are pretty much the same and really tasty. The staff has been sensational and the regulars welcomed us back with hugs.

We had a couple of minor issues at check in (it was due to our specific requests not the Poly folks) and they fixed them quickly. Terrifically helpful and actually going a little more out of their way than in the past.

Cleanlinest of the hotel and ground is much improved. They have been cleaning walkways meticulously, never seen such attention to detail. They scrubbed the walkway lighting by hand this morning for example. You'd have to see the efforts to really understand how hard they are trying to keep the property spotless.

The level of friendliness has definitely returned with the bell and mousekeeping staff. These are outsourced (as I understand it) and weren't really Disney style last year but they sure are this year. Absolutely great stay, no complaints and definitely still worth it to us.

[tikiman]

Been here at the Poly since Saturday with a few days to go. I promised to let everyone know what I found and here goes. I have seen nothing missing or really changed since last year. If anything, the cooler is better stocked with soft drinks than last year and they have made it easier to get the bottled water. Ask and they'll tell you how. Food selections are pretty much the same and really tasty. The staff has been sensational and the regulars welcomed us back with hugs.

We had a couple of minor issues at check in (it was due to our specific requests not the Poly folks) and they fixed them quickly. Terrifically helpful and actually going a little more out of their way than in the past.

Cleanlinest of the hotel and ground is much improved. They have been cleaning walkways meticulously, never seen such attention to detail. They scrubbed the walkway lighting by hand this morning for example. You'd have to see the efforts to really understand how hard they are trying to keep the property spotless.

The level of friendliness has definitely returned with the bell and mousekeeping staff. These are outsourced (as I understand it) and weren't really Disney style last year but they sure are this year. Absolutely great stay, no complaints and definitely still worth it to us.

Great report. Enjoy the rest of your trip. I still have 9 months to go.

[MR.MIKE]

Aloha MIke,

Yeah I know you know the issues going on there and if they don't adress the training and managment of the concierge they are going to lose all their long time guests. Lets hope they decide to do something.

Aloha

Steve

First i have to say club level helps us so much with our 4 kids (two of which are under 4 years of age). The kids are one of the biggest factors we stay club level.

It is a shame really because as of right now we do not have plans to go back to the Poly.

We are going for Christmas this year.
We are staying at the GF's RPC for 9 nights to start the trip and because we were having trouble finding room there for New Years i had originally booked a Poly club level room for dec 30th until jan 1st. I thought it would be a great way to see the fireworks with our young children.
This was booked before our July stay at the Poly.

Now not only will we not stay there but since I still cant find full availability at the GF we decided to end our vacation early at the GF and go over to Universal for 4 nights at the Hard Rock Hotel.
This isn't a complaint either; I'm just trying to show how thier actions are affecting some of us.
The kids have been wanting to go to Universal for some time But Disney's Magical Express makes things too easy and we dont rent a car.

Since we are driving this time it seemed like the perfect time to try something new.

Not sure how much you and Lisa talk but after he spoke to me and promised to send something to our kids at the GF when we went back in august and what he sent was abasolutely nothing...that left a bad taste you know?
If we are able to go for tikifest next year we'll be staying at the Boardwalk.

I already told them I'd consider staying club level again if Allison was back. She was just amazing in helping us last year and this year.
But my point is that Mark and his staff helped in our decision to go to Universal.

[Aurora]

I'm a little confused about one complaint so help me out on this.

What's wrong with taking a bottle of water with you? If you open it up in the lounge to drink it and don't finish it you either have to take it with you or throw it away anyway.

And same with cans of soda.

And also what's wrong with eating a plate of food? Isn't that why they have it there?

I'm just wondering why it's not OK to take these things back to the room with you instead of eating or drinking them in the lounge if you're staying and paying Club Level.

[Catzle]

It is okay to take the bottle water back to your room. All you have to do is ask the staff and they will get it for you. That's why it's there.
You can also take food to your room. A lot of people don't sit in the lounge and especially in the morning they take their breakfast back to their room and get ready at the same time.
I think maybe what some people complain about is taking hoards of food and drink that they will never eat and than just throwing it away.

[javamama]

What I don't get is the taking the drinks part, you have a fully stocked fridge in your room right:confused: At least we did we had two of them with tons of stuff, pops, beer, waters, a case of plain soy milk for my dd waiting for us when we checked into our suite. I asked mousekeeping for whatever we needed more of the next day and they restocked it, or I'd ask "J" our fav guy upstairs and he'd show us where everything was when he was gone for the day. Everyday we had them delivering us cocktails to our suite, to the point of them running out of :beer: by the middle of the week--no joke--granted we had 8 adults drinking. They would call us to see what we wanted for the night, after day two to drink when they knew we were in our suite getting ready for the night.

We also would hit the Hawaii building for ribs, bring the food back to room for everyone to pick at as appetizers before we went to dinner a night or two, same with the sushi. A few of us would walk in grab a few plates for the rest of our party of 10, and take it back to the suite. Now in Tonga we never have/had that issue, we seriously can go up in our jammies, grab some cereal, bagels, muffins, OJ, java bring it back down for 4 people and "J" doesn't care he knows we have 10 people in the suite. It's the only suite in all of the entire Disney property that can hold 10 guests. So I feel like saying to someone who looks at me or someone I'm with as a "hoarder" we're paying 15K for 7 days/nights for 10 of us to stay here on vacation every year now since that's what we get for christmas from my parents. I was brought up not to waste, that was embeded into my head as a child by my grandparents who lived through the great depression when they came here from Italy, and my parents hate waste, in turn I loathe when my ds wastes food every day at 4 years old my dh works to hard for him to waste food. Someone usually eats it or we put it in a drawer, or the fridge for later on if it's a bag of chips, rice crispee treat, bagel, gummy shark, etc. as for water we do drink them all we take them to the park or pour them into a sippy cup for dd.

[Catzle]

No, there is NOTHING in the fridges. Only what you bring with you or what you get from the lounge. They are not stocked not even with water.

[bouncer]

I believe that the difference in fridge stocking is that the Hawaii building has no suites therefore no fully stocked fridges. The Tonga building with suites must have stocked fridges. When you stay in Hawaii you rely on the lounge for your drinks.

We also take breakfast back to our room while we are getting ready. While it appears that someone may be hoarding food or taking a huge plate back to their room in all actuality they may be taking a sample for 3 other people. I just hope that they (like we do) take their plates & silverware back to the lounge and put it away. I do not like seeing people's dirty plates left on tables or in the hallway for someone else to clean up. That would be one way to help the Poly staff keep the place clean. Maybe we need to help each other keep the Poly clean and the staff will appreciate it.:thumbsup:

[Polynesian Dweller]

I do not like seeing people's dirty plates left on tables or in the hallway for someone else to clean up. That would be one way to help the Poly staff keep the place clean. Maybe we need to help each other keep the Poly clean and the staff will appreciate it.:thumbsup:

That was one of the pleasant surprises this year at the Poly. There was very little of that this week. The lounge staff also had a cart that they were able to move easily between the tables and clean them pretty quickly. We never had a problem finding a clean table. This is an improvement over last year. If you go there say Hi to Ivette, she is a wonder and runs the place during morning breakfast. You couldn't find a better staff.

The concierge staff at the desks also seemed to be a step up from last year. Very friendly and attentive and we had no problem with them at all.

To a couple of other people's comments, you can take water back to the room with you and you can take food back as well. You can also get complimentary beer and we had wine and liquers every night. Great time. The fridges are small but hold a number of sodas and the large water bottles.

[TammiMcMan]

What's wrong with taking a bottle of water with you? If you open it up in the lounge to drink it and don't finish it you either have to take it with you or throw it away anyway.Just to clarify, that we're not talking about individual plastic water bottles. Those were phased out to reduce waste many years ago. Now, they place a large glass bottle of water on the sideboard by the other drinks and guests are free to fill a cup.

As stated, if you ask, usually a lounge member will go in the back and give you a large bottle to bring back to your room.

Standard club level rooms do not come with a stocked fridge, but this is something that you can arrange for ahead of time. Suites come with a lot more and at the Poly, they're not even in the same standard concierge building.