captainkidd
Well-Known Member
Just got back from 16 nights at WDW. We spent 8 nights at the Poly and 8 nights at the GF. Here's how I'd break it down:
-Convenience/transportation: The Poly is within easy walking distance of the TTC, so access to Epcot is a breeze. GF isn't bad, but you have to take the monorail to the TTC. By the time the monorail gets to the GF, it's already stopped at the Contemporary, TTC and Polynesian, and is usually packed. No question here, winner is Polynesian.
-Food: This is a tough one. Kona Cafe is great for breakfast, and Ohana is great for dinner. However, Kona stinks for dinner and Ohana stinks for breakfast. The Grand Floridian Cafe is fantastic for all 3 meals. We didn't eat at Citrico's or Narcoosee's. We ate at V&A's which was great. The food court at the GF edges Captain Cooks. Winner on this one is Grand Floridian.
-Rooms: The GF's rooms are very beautiful, and smell great. The ceiling fans are right in the middle as they should be. In our room at the Poly, the ceiling fan was over the right side of the room.
Rooms are nicer, and seem cleaner at GF, but the rooms at Poly are much more interesting theme wise and larger. Winner here, Polynesian.
-Front Desk: This one shocked me, as there have been a lot of bad reviews in the past about the Poly's front desk. However, on this trip they were fast, friendly and efficient. GF's front desk was slow and rude. No contest here, winner is Polynesian.
-Outer Buildings: Poly's longhouses in the hallway smell like urine. Always have. Cobwebs all over the place on the outside of the longhouses. GF's lodge buildings were crystal clean and smelled beautiful. No contest, winner is Grand Floridian.
-Housekeeping: Neither was great or poor. Just average. Key here is GF has turn down service. Plus, GF housekeepers were VERY polite. Poly's not so much. So, winner is Grand Floridian.
-Service: Our safe wasn't working at the Poly. Took them about 45 minutes to get someone there to fix it. Fridge was busted at GF. A manager was at our door within 5 minutes, apologized and had us a new fridge and candy for the kids within 10 minutes. Winner is Grand Floridian.
-Castmembers: We had a couple of great CM's at GF. One manager at the front desk was fabulous, all the housekeepers were nice, and the wait staff at the restaurants were all fabulous. However, the front desk at the GF was snotty and rude. When I walked up to the front desk with a large box and asked where to go to ship it home, the woman simply pointed in the direction of the Convention Center and said "Go over there." Not "Can we assist you with that?" For $545 per night, this is unacceptable. Everyone at the Poly was nice. Every one. Winner here, Polynesian.
-Lobby: Poly's is beautiful and smells wonderful, and has a great atmosphere with the waterfall. However, the GF's is beautiful, relaxing, has great music, smells wonderful. Winner here is Grand Floridian.
So, it's a tight contest between these two, but overall, it was unanimous, the Polynesian was the better resort. Better views. Better CM's. Nicer landscaping. Better theming. More enjoyable time over all.
-Convenience/transportation: The Poly is within easy walking distance of the TTC, so access to Epcot is a breeze. GF isn't bad, but you have to take the monorail to the TTC. By the time the monorail gets to the GF, it's already stopped at the Contemporary, TTC and Polynesian, and is usually packed. No question here, winner is Polynesian.
-Food: This is a tough one. Kona Cafe is great for breakfast, and Ohana is great for dinner. However, Kona stinks for dinner and Ohana stinks for breakfast. The Grand Floridian Cafe is fantastic for all 3 meals. We didn't eat at Citrico's or Narcoosee's. We ate at V&A's which was great. The food court at the GF edges Captain Cooks. Winner on this one is Grand Floridian.
-Rooms: The GF's rooms are very beautiful, and smell great. The ceiling fans are right in the middle as they should be. In our room at the Poly, the ceiling fan was over the right side of the room.
Rooms are nicer, and seem cleaner at GF, but the rooms at Poly are much more interesting theme wise and larger. Winner here, Polynesian. -Front Desk: This one shocked me, as there have been a lot of bad reviews in the past about the Poly's front desk. However, on this trip they were fast, friendly and efficient. GF's front desk was slow and rude. No contest here, winner is Polynesian.
-Outer Buildings: Poly's longhouses in the hallway smell like urine. Always have. Cobwebs all over the place on the outside of the longhouses. GF's lodge buildings were crystal clean and smelled beautiful. No contest, winner is Grand Floridian.
-Housekeeping: Neither was great or poor. Just average. Key here is GF has turn down service. Plus, GF housekeepers were VERY polite. Poly's not so much. So, winner is Grand Floridian.
-Service: Our safe wasn't working at the Poly. Took them about 45 minutes to get someone there to fix it. Fridge was busted at GF. A manager was at our door within 5 minutes, apologized and had us a new fridge and candy for the kids within 10 minutes. Winner is Grand Floridian.
-Castmembers: We had a couple of great CM's at GF. One manager at the front desk was fabulous, all the housekeepers were nice, and the wait staff at the restaurants were all fabulous. However, the front desk at the GF was snotty and rude. When I walked up to the front desk with a large box and asked where to go to ship it home, the woman simply pointed in the direction of the Convention Center and said "Go over there." Not "Can we assist you with that?" For $545 per night, this is unacceptable. Everyone at the Poly was nice. Every one. Winner here, Polynesian.
-Lobby: Poly's is beautiful and smells wonderful, and has a great atmosphere with the waterfall. However, the GF's is beautiful, relaxing, has great music, smells wonderful. Winner here is Grand Floridian.
So, it's a tight contest between these two, but overall, it was unanimous, the Polynesian was the better resort. Better views. Better CM's. Nicer landscaping. Better theming. More enjoyable time over all.
