swan and dolfin

[waymickey]

Please tell me about the Swan and Dolfin. I am considering this for our next trip to save a little money. My Husband and I are both teachers and see that they do give a discount. My fear is that I will miss the disney feel. I also am not sure how busing works. I will have a car but prefer to leave it parked and use Dtransportation.

[SBETigg]

I enjoyed my stay at the Dolphin and found it had enough Disney magic to please me, especially for the location at the price.

There are some Disney shops on premises, Disney themed gift shop with merchandise, plus a 24 hour quick service and great restaurants (not on Disney dining plan). The Swan and Dolphin participate in Extra Magic Hours and they use the same Disney transportation as other resorts in the area, shared buses with Boardwalk and or Yacht and Beach clubs, boat to Epcot or DHS, plus an easy walk to either park. And you have that whole lovely Boardwalk area to explore right there, too. The beach and pool are lovely. It's a win! I prefer it to the Disney moderate resorts.

[waymickey]

Do the shared buses come right to Swan and Dolphin or do they stop at the other resorts and the S/D guests walk back to their resort?

[BrerGnat]

It's really a toss up. If you plan to have a car, you have to pay a $15 daily parking fee at the Swan/Dolphin. This is in addition to the $14.95 (plus tax) daily fee you have to pay regardless. So, you are looking at around $32 per DAY in fees tacked onto that "discounted" room, so make sure you understand that. Disney resorts do not charge for parking.

The buses are WDW run/operated buses...same as you get elsewhere on property, so that should not be a concern. The buses do share always with the Boardwalk and sometimes also with Yacht/Beach club.

We stayed at the Swan for one night last month, using Starwood points, so our room was "free" (except for the aforementioned $32 in fees). My overall impression was neutral. I found the lobbies and public areas to be beautiful, really upscale, and well kept. However, it seems like once you leave the lobby level, there is a drastic reduction in the "deluxe" feel of the place. Our hallway (on level 2 of the Swan) was downright disgusting. Gross carpet, peeling wallpaper, room service plates/trays all up the hallway, dingy lighting and a massively foul odor (smelled like rotting fish). Our room itself was fairly well worn, musty smelling (although we had a balcony, so not for lack of ventilation), and kind of tired looking. I was surprised at how SMALL the room was. These rooms are around the size of a Disney moderate. The bathroom was nice, but again, mildew everywhere as well as a wobbly toilet.

Service at the Swan was lackluster to non-existent. No one seemed happy to be there, and it was difficult to get help at the front desk.

Food prices were outrageous, and I'm used to Disney prices but this was crazy. I bought an 8oz Naked smoothie from the coffee bar and it was $6! :eek: Breakfast at Picabu for 4 (but really for 3, since the kids shared one platter) was over $50, etc.

I don't know what to say. I mostly feel like these properties are overhyped. Sure, the location is great, but the overall experience is VERY different than you get from a Disney resort. If you have ever stayed in a sort of rundown Sheraton or Westin anywhere else, this is what you can expect at the Swan/Dolphin. They recently renovated both properties, but ALL the money was spent on the lobby areas. So, you get a really great first impression, but it ends there.

FWIW, our bed was not "heavenly." The mattress was saggy and old. Not a fan.

I said it in my trip report, and I'll say it now: if you can get a room here for WELL under $200/night (taxes and fees included), it's a good deal, but it's not worth a penny more than that. When they run the $129/night offers, that is a fair price for the accommodations.

[Disney Doll]

Do the shared buses come right to Swan and Dolphin or do they stop at the other resorts and the S/D guests walk back to their resort?

Shared buses just mean the buses make multiple stops so it takes a little bit longer, but they do pick up and drop off at Swan and Dolphin.

[SBETigg]

Do the shared buses come right to Swan and Dolphin or do they stop at the other resorts and the S/D guests walk back to their resort?

They pick up and drop off right at the Swan and Dolphin. In fact, when I stayed at the Dolphin, we were always first pick up, first drop off (though this isn't always the case).

And Natalie, I had a very different experience at the Dolphin than you apparently had at the Swan. Our room was huge. The beds were extremely fresh and comfortable. Service was great. Everything on our floor, in our room was well kept. I had a view of the Tower of Terror out my window. I was expecting a typical Sheraton experience, but I was completely happy to find it was up to my Disney expectations, and exceeded in many cases. Now, I'm normally a fan of the Disney deluxes and my one moderate experience was not that memorable. But I honestly loved my Dolphin stay for more than just the location. So there are two sides of the coin, I guess. If I had to pick a repeat at the Dolphin or at the Beach Club, in fact, I had it far better at the Dolphin. The Beach Club (which I know you love) was a disappointment to me. But of course, I would rather be at a monorail resort over anything else.

[Kenny1113]

I enjoyed my stay at the Dolphin and found it had enough Disney magic to please me, especially for the location at the price.


:ditto:

For the price and location it's great!!!! It does however lack that total immersion in theming like at the Disney resorts. Believe it or not DH was the one who commented on that on our last stay there. He's not a Disney fanatic like me!!!

If you get a great rate, including the resort fee and parking. I say go for it! The Disney resorts are close enough for the "Disney feel" :mickey:

[Tigerinvestigator]

I am always the one singing the praises of the Swan/Dolphin on these boards. This question has been raised dozens and dozens of times and you will always get the same answers. Personally my family has stayed over 10 times at the Swan/Dolphin and every single trip was fantastic. I cannot even imagine them being dirty, disgusting etc. They have always been among the best resorts at WDW. We find the service at the Dolphin is better than any of the Disney owned resorts. We usually stay a couple of nights at Disney resorts and the majority of our stay at the Dolphin.

As far as the Disney feel, this is always the big argument against the Swan/Dolphin. Personally I have never understood it, but accept that certain people just don't think it has that disney feel. I always argue that: It has a Disney Guest Relations desk, A Disney merchandise store, a character meal, is very whimsical and colorful and beautiful, has great Disney transportation (Boats to Epcot and DHS, and Bus everywhere else), the best views of WDW from the upper rooms, rooms with views of Epcot's Illuminations, and DHS's Fantasmic, and some of the best restaurant's at WDW. So I just don't understand why it wouldn't feel like Disney. It is "Home" for us and we absolutely love it. Not only do they give teacher discounts, but also nurses discounts (DW is a nurse), a great AAA discount, and with every 8,000-10,000 starwood points we get a free night. I don't think you would be disappointed at all, especially for the price and location!:thumbsup:

[BrerGnat]

I have read quite a few reviews of the Swan lately that jive with our recent experience. Maybe its just the Swan that has these issues? It's very possible.

I just didn't get the "a deluxe for a moderate price" feel that I was expecting. For us, it was more like "a moderate with a really good location."

The poor service and room condition really soured the experience. We probably won't stay there again.

[Melanie]

As far as the Disney feel, this is always the big argument against the Swan/Dolphin. Personally I have never understood it, but accept that certain people just don't think it has that disney feel. I always argue that: It has a Disney Guest Relations desk, A Disney merchandise store, a character meal, is very whimsical and colorful and beautiful, has great Disney transportation (Boats to Epcot and DHS, and Bus everywhere else), the best views of WDW from the upper rooms, rooms with views of Epcot's Illuminations, and DHS's Fantasmic, and some of the best restaurant's at WDW. So I just don't understand why it wouldn't feel like Disney. It is "Home" for us and we absolutely love it. Not only do they give teacher discounts, but also nurses discounts (DW is a nurse), a great AAA discount, and with every 8,000-10,000 starwood points we get a free night. I don't think you would be disappointed at all, especially for the price and location!:thumbsup:

Agreed 100% with all of this!

We've stayed twice at the Swan and loved it.

[Mousemates]

We greatly enjoyed our stay at the Swan and didn't really feel we missed any of the magic during our stay...how could we when we looked out our window and saw a giant dolphin looking at us and the magic of the whole bc/yc/bw activity going on below. the location is terriffic.

however, I cannot speak to the current condition of the room and hallways...its been four years since we stayed there and four years can be an eternity when it comes to the wear and tear that takes place in a lodging establishment. thus, we always try to read recent reviews (less than six months old) on travel sites to kind of gauge current conditions before we book.

[BrerGnat]

however, I cannot speak to the current condition of the room and hallways...its been four years since we stayed there and four years can be an eternity when it comes to the wear and tear that takes place in a lodging establishment. thus, we always try to read recent reviews (less than six months old) on travel sites to kind of gauge current conditions before we book.

This is VERY true! I am 100% sure that if the resort as a whole and the room had been in pristine condition, I would have a completely different opinion of the Swan.

However, I cannot get past foul odors in hallways and mildew and mildew smells in rooms. That speaks to a larger issue that the management is trying to ignore. I have never had that issue at any of the Disney resorts I've stayed in.

[Tigerinvestigator]

My brother and friend stayed at the Swan a few weeks ago while we stayed at the Dolphin. His floor was clean, no bad odors, and a very nice stay. The Dolphin was absolutely perfect. I can say with absolute certainty the pool area was perfectly clean because I spent most of my time there. Sounds like BrerGnat caught a really bad isolated experience and with only staying one night may have got a room on a floor that was undergoing rehab etc. We were there for 10 days at the end of July and it was perfect. That can happen at any Disney resort. As far as reviews go I have seen very few negative reviews ever on the Swan/Dolphin other than folks that think it doesn't have the Disney feel.

[BrerGnat]

I can say with absolute certainty the pool area was perfectly clean because I spent most of my time there. Sounds like BrerGnat caught a really bad isolated experience and with only staying one night may have got a room on a floor that was undergoing rehab etc.

We were there at the end of August, so a month later. I found out since coming home that 4 out of 10 of the Grotto pool's main filters had broken about a week before we were there. Rather than shut the pool down to fix it, they kept it open. The green algae overgrowth was a very real problem, and the pool should not have been open in that condition (if green algae is present, that means that bacteria levels are WAY too high to be safe for people to swim in). I am not exaggerating when I say the pool water was GREEN, and the rocks surrounding the pool and the stairs up to the slide were dark with mildew. I noticed it, but didn't really over analyze the situation because the pool was full of people, and I since I had never been there before, I assumed that was the pool's "normal" pool color (much like AKL's pool was before they re painted it).

Anyway, you can find plenty of bad reviews on Trip Advisor or similar, mentioning the same issues we experienced. It wasn't just us. I stay in all kinds of hotels and motels, but the Swan just did NOT live up to it's reputation at all for us, sadly.