My husband, Paul, and I recently had the pleasure of staying in a standard view deluxe studio at Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows. This 3rd floor studio was room 3110 located in the Pago Pago longhouse. One great aspect of Pago Pago is that it’s further away from the Great Ceremonial House and one of the smallest longhouses at the resort. While some may see this as a negative, it really made it more quiet and peaceful due to its smaller size and the fact that we didn’t hear the traffic from people walking around the resort.
The grounds of Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort are lush and tropical. You could really forget for a moment you are at Disney World and instead feel like you’re in Hawaii.
Upon entering the room, we were greeted with a beautiful wood floor and warm colors. There is a nice sized closet and kitchenette on the left and the bathrooms on the right. Inside the closet was an ironing board, a safe, extra bed linens, and hangers. The kitchenette had a microwave, mini fridge with a small freezer section, small sink, dish soap, Mr. Coffee maker, toaster, and a small sampling of coffee. Inside the cupboards were a few dishes such as plates, bowls, glasses, and mugs.
While the look in the Polynesian rooms comprise of darker woods and warmer colors like in the Animal Kingdom Lodge, I really enjoyed how the pops of red and other colors brought out in the couch, pillows, bed runner, and decor livened up the room. The bed is a queen size and the couch folds out into a queen sized sleeper sofa. The Murphy bed hidden under the TV can sleep an additional person giving this room a sleeping capacity of five. The coffee table opens up to provide additional storage.
On each side of the bed is a night stand. At first glance, it looks like there is not a lot of options for charging devices. However, under the lip of the stand is a nice charging station complete with a USB port.
One of the best features of the studio villas at the Polynesian is the bathroom situation. Where most studios have one bathroom, the Polynesian boast a full bathroom with toilet, sink, and tub/shower combo PLUS an additional bathroom area with a walk-in shower and sink. This was great for when my husband and I were both getting ready for dinner at the same time and not bumping into each other. The walk-in shower has beautiful tile work with a nice rainfall shower head as well as a regular one that can turn into a handheld shower head.
My favorite thing about this resort, however, was the balcony. When we first received our room assignment, I was a little disappointed to see we would be facing the parking lot instead of the resort grounds. However, I found that I really enjoyed our view. We had some nice foliage around us and one of my favorite things to see in any resort-the monorail going by. It was also very peaceful on this end of the building. I would venture to say there probably isn’t a bad view at the Polynesian. The balcony itself felt very private, the tile floor was very comfortable to step out on even in bare feet, and the chairs were some of the best I have experienced at any DVC resort.
Another thing I really enjoyed about the Polynesian was the decor in the room. I found the artwork more noticeable than in some other DVC resorts and the overall decor to be a charming Disney touch throughout the studio.
I really enjoyed our stay at Disney’s Polynesian Resort & Bungalows. If I had any complains, it is that the AC in the room could have been a little cooler and would not allow us to adjust it, the furniture did have some wear on it, and the point cost per night is pretty high compared to many other DVC resorts. Overall though, the room was comfortable and well decorated, the resort grounds were beautifully manicured, the lobby had lots of great food choices, and the room was quiet and peaceful. The location makes it easy to hop on the monorail for a quick trip to Magic Kingdom, Epcot, or a neighboring resort. There is also boat transportation to and from Magic Kingdom, we loved the easy path to the Grand Floridian, and you can’t beat watching the fireworks from the beach then walking back to your room. I would definitely stay at the Polynesian again in the future.
Have you had a chance to stay at the Polynesian Villas & Bungalows? What are your thoughts on this tropical DVC resort?