Swan/Dolphin

[Sunshine1010]

Is this resort considered an 'on property' resort?

If not -- do they have the Disney bus service?
If not -- can you buy the dining plan while staying there?
If not -- Do they have it to where you can buy items and they ship them back?

.....you know what I'm getting at. LOL

P.S. Do they ever have discounts of some sort? If so...how and where do you find them?

(thanks in advance)

[Jillirose]

On property and enjoys all Disney transportation (boat to EPCOT, DHS, busses), but is not a Disney resort - you can't participate in the dining plan. We tried it last FEB for the first time and are going back FEB 2012 :mickey: They have discounts on their Special Offers (http://www.swandolphin.com/) tab. You can apply points if you are a SPG (http://www.starwoodhotels.com/preferredguest/index.html) member.

[RedSoxFan]

We are staying at the Swan for the first time in November with a AAA for the first room and a Connecting Rate for the second room. Considerably cheaper than a moderate resort and there are six of us going this time. I'm looking forward to staying on the boardwalk. You cannot use Magical Express; but we use private car service so that is not an issue for us.

[Figment!]

Do they have it to where you can buy items and they ship them back?Yes. The pick up is in the gift shop in the Dolphin.

[John]

BTW, as a side note - the Swan & Dolphin sponsor this site so by clicking on thier links/banners on the site here and booking there - you not only get a great rate but you help INTERCOT continue brining the magic to you!

[Goofy4TheWorld]

For my own clarrification are the ONLY three things that the Swan/Dolphin do not enjoy are:

NO Dining plan
NO "charging to your room"
NO free bus ride from the airport

[PAYROLL PRINCESS]

That's pretty much it. They did or do have their own refillable mug program as well.

And the location is fantastic. I love the fact that you can go out the International Gateway at the end of the night and walk back to your hotel in 5-10 minutes; no waiting for buses or monorails. You can take the boat if you want but sometimes it's quicker to walk.

And you will LOVE the comfortable beds.

[epceddie]

The Swan looks beautiful, but two pet peeves I have when it comes to hotels are resort fees and having to pay for self-parking. The MANDATORY resort charge is $12 and includes access to the health club (shouldn't that be included in the room rate?) two bottles of water a day (whoopee, isn't there a faucet in the room?) and local/long-distance calls (who doesn't have a zillion cell-phone minutes to use each month). It's also $11 a day to park. I think I can do without the Swan, and the Dophin for that matter, for like forever.

[texas211]

I hope to stay at the Swan/Dolphin next year. I'm hoping for more hotel, less chaos like at some of the resorts.

[Joannelet]

Yes book directly with the resort and you will get a great rate!

[gratuspater]

I hope to stay at the Swan/Dolphin next year. I'm hoping for more hotel, less chaos like at some of the resorts.

We have stayed at both the Swan and Dolphin several times, and depeding on when you go you can get some decent rates, using AAA or the intercot link, but keep in mind the parking fee, resort fee, and additional taxes, can add up to a $200+ a night room. That said, the location is great, 10 minute walk to Epcot, 15-20 minute to DHS, and right next to the boardwalk. And if you don't want to walk to either of those parks, you can take the boats. Buses take you every were else. Also the dining options in the hotels themselves are many, but you can also opt for any of the boardwalk or yacht club resteraunts. As far as the chaos goes, I always call the hotels directly and ask if they have any conventions going on for my tavel dates, with the Dolphin being more of the convention hotel. And with seperate but, shared pools, crowding there shouldn't be a problem. And the beds are great, both hotels are owned by starwoods, so they have "heavenly beds", and they are. We definately prefer these hotels above the moderates.:thumbsup:

[iceicebritney]

We stayed at the Swan with our American Express rewards. We had heard so many people put it down because it's not the traditional Disney resort that you think of when you think of WDW, but I'm so glad we weren't swayed by that mind set!

We really enjoyed the hotel. The rooms were spacious and had plenty of windows. I definitely prefer them over most other resort rooms on disney property. The pool was amazing! We spent all of our time at the pool instead of purchasing water park tickets, which is rare for us. We enjoyed the walk to Epcot and the close proximity to the boardwalk area as well. The best part about the hotel was the dining options between swan and dolphin were fantastic:mickey:

[Mousemates]

We have stayed at the Swan and got a great rate (thou once you add in the added costs, it was less great)...the location is great, the rooms are fab, and it felt a little less hurried. The pool is huge. Some folks feel less immersed in Disney there, but we did not. Once we get done with our quest to do them all. its one of the places we plan to go back to and do again.