To Balcony or Not? Polynesian Experience?

[wheatpenny]

Calling all present or former Polynesian guests.

Anyone have a recommendation on first floor patio room vs a 3rd floor balcony room at the Polynesian in the Hawaii longhouse? From what I've read the railings are high on the balconies and block the view, but do offer more privacy??

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Not stayed in Hawai, but based on this year in Fiji ground floor room patios suck. Its not private and I dont especially want to see fitness freaks huffing and puffing their way past as I sip on a wee hello cheeky. Id much rather go with the balcony as we had at Tahiti. the view wasnt obstructed.

 

[rkelly42]

I agree, we have stayed in Tahiti many times and the 3rd floor offers the best views and the most privacy.

 

[HopLow]

I've stayed in Hawaii w/ the first floor patio. I loved that we could walk right out to the beach and the view was great. However, we were there in January when the place is really quiet, so maybe at a busier time of year it could get annoying with more people walking by. :shrug: I think it depends on what time of year you're going.

 

[CleveRocks]

No matter where I am in any hotel anywhere, I always prefer the highest floor possible, just for the view, even if I have a view of nothing in particular.

I also prefer a balcony for a little tiny birt of privacy as compared with a patio. However, I also must point out that the patios aren't right on top of the walkway, there is a little bit of a setback from the main walking path.

My short-for-her-age 6 year old had the "bar" of the balcony right across her eyes, so she needed to stand on something or be lifted up (or to duck down) to see a lot of stuff, but my 8 year old and my wife and I had no trouble seeing over the railing. I hope that helps you visualize how high the crossbar is.

 

[wdwfan100]

We like a balcony. It offers superior security, privacy and views. It feels like an extension of our room. It offers us our own outside area to relax and enjoy the scenery. Just my opinion but I would go with the balcony.

 

[erstwo]

I've stayed at Poly twice and I can't remember what building we were in (sorry!) but we loved having a patio room.

But we did/ do have small children. We loved walking out in the morning and our kids were more entertained by the (very aggressive) ducks that visited every day than just about anything else at the resort! DH also liked that he could take our son out onto the beach directly from our room to watch Wishes while I gave DD her bath or he could just go sit out there with a nice drink. I, much to the dismay of Pumbas , also loved taking off for my morning constitutional (aka run) straight from our patio.

 

[redfive13]

I had a 3rd floor balcony room in the Fiji building and home no problems at all. The view was of the GF and the lagoon.

I guess the balcony was a little distracting if you were sitting in the chairs, but I agree with Pumba, that a lot of people run in the morning and I think its more peaceful up high.

 

[corey154]

We've only stayed on the ground floor and we loved it, but not so much for the balcony but for the location and not dealing with elevators and such. I don't remember the name of the building, but it was the one that was right next to the lobby on the side closest to the magic kingdom. It was so easy to grab something to eat or coffee and then be right back in our room in minutes. We had bunnies and ducks outside our door. We didn't have alot of people passing our room, but we had the monorail going by (which we enjoyed watching). Also the kids have more room to play if you have small children.

 

[RiversideBunny]

..... We had bunnies and ducks outside our door. .....

It doesn't get any better than that.

 

[tigsmom]

Balcony room in Rapa Nui and we loved it. It seemed that the ground floor patios had no privacy, especially from little kids running around.

 

[Epcotian]

No experience with patio rooms, but loved our 3rd floor balcony in the Samoa building!