Beware Swan/Dolphin policies

[rowlandmlr]

I've stayed at WDW many times.
Recently, because of an unforseen change in plans, I was forced to cancel a room reservation at the Dolphin. Be aware that this hotel will keep one night's room rate no matter how early you cancel your reservation. (My cancellation was 3 months in advance!) And if you book and pay your deposit through a third party such as hotels.com (which has a no-cancellation-penalty policy) the company and the hotel will each claim that it is the other company's policy.

No other WDW hotel has such a policy. This is probably why Disney no longer runs the Swan and Dolphin. They are owned/managed by Starwood Hotels, an obviously second-rate company.

I have stayed at these hotels in the past, but will not do so in the future. Yes, the architecture is wonderful and the services and amenities are good, but just be certain that you will have no change in plans because they are uninterested in your problem.

 

[nepalostparks]

Sorry that you are out the money, but in all fairness, when you made your reservation, whether online or over the phone, you at some point during the process had to accept the terms and conditions, which included the cancellation policy. Most websites these day make it relatively clear before you click through, so it's always important to read everything.

This is a good reminder to everyone, though, to make sure to read and understand all of the terms and conditions that go along with booking travel, whether at Disney or elsewhere. If you click the "I Agree" box, whether or not you read everything, you are signing off that you accept whatever terms are there.

 

[MIKETFROMRI]

Being a teacher I have booked the Dolphin in advance bout 3 years in a row, BUTR have never stayed there. Always had a better deal come up to stay at Disney Resort. Point making though..I have NEVER been charged one night for canceling...NEVER.

 

[Scuttle]

Being a teacher I have booked the Dolphin in advance bout 3 years in a row, BUTR have never stayed there. Always had a better deal come up to stay at Disney Resort. Point making though..I have NEVER been charged one night for canceling...NEVER.

It does sound a little crazy. It's just very bad business to not give a payment back to a customer that has cancelled a month or so out.

 

[wdwmagic]

The Swan and Dolphin offer different rates with different cancellation policies. They list them at the time of booking.

For example, the "Best Available Rate" for a stay on 12/13/2011 has the following cancellation policy.

If you cancel between 10/12/2011 and 6:00 PM hotel time on 12/08/2011, there will be no forfeiture amount. If you cancel after 6:00 PM hotel time on 12/08/2011, the forfeiture amount will be a 1 night stay.

The "Limited Time Sale" has a much stricter cancellation policy

"Limited Time Sale - Fully Prepaid, Cancel Rules Apply No Change Allowed".


It is really just like airlines and other hotel chains such a Hilton. They have different policies for different rates, and you should check them before booking. The absolute bottom line rates are often inflexible, but then they are offering a deluxe resort for about 50% of a Disney deluxe.

The Swan and Dolphin have never been operated by Disney.

 

[Master Yoda]

A couple of notes here....

To my knowledge S&D have never been operated by Disney.

S&D official cancellation policy is 5 days but it can vary based on what offer you are booked under.

http://www.swandolphin.com/offers/terms.html

Third party hotel sites like operate under their own cancellation policy that will supersede the hotels official policy and that is spelled out under their terms and conditions.

 

[lbrad]

Thats stinks ... sorry you are out that $$$ esp. with the way the economy is right now
One would think 90 days out would be plenty of time to fill the room.
Never stayed at S&D ... no plans to do so in the future either.
Thanks for the info

 

[njDizFan]

Caveat emptor.

Also, I would not classify Starwood as a 2nd rate company.

they own and operate the Sheraton,St. Regis, Westin, W, Le Meridien, Aloft and Element Chains as well as a real nice property down the road, Vistana Villages.

 

[worldfanatic]

This is probably why Disney no longer runs the Swan and Dolphin. They are owned/managed by Starwood Hotels, an obviously second-rate company.

As stated by others, Disney never owned or operated these hotels.

And your assumption that Starwood is a second-rate company shows your travel knowledge is second-rate.

The reason you were charged is listed below.

Pay attention next time you book.

The Swan and Dolphin offer different rates with different cancellation policies. They list them at the time of booking.

For example, the "Best Available Rate" for a stay on 12/13/2011 has the following cancellation policy.

If you cancel between 10/12/2011 and 6:00 PM hotel time on 12/08/2011, there will be no forfeiture amount. If you cancel after 6:00 PM hotel time on 12/08/2011, the forfeiture amount will be a 1 night stay.

The "Limited Time Sale" has a much stricter cancellation policy

"Limited Time Sale - Fully Prepaid, Cancel Rules Apply No Change Allowed".


It is really just like airlines and other hotel chains such a Hilton. They have different policies for different rates, and you should check them before booking. The absolute bottom line rates are often inflexible, but then they are offering a deluxe resort for about 50% of a Disney deluxe.

 

[xdan0920]

I've stayed at WDW many times.
Recently, because of an unforseen change in plans, I was forced to cancel a room reservation at the Dolphin. Be aware that this hotel will keep one night's room rate no matter how early you cancel your reservation. (My cancellation was 3 months in advance!) And if you book and pay your deposit through a third party such as hotels.com (which has a no-cancellation-penalty policy) the company and the hotel will each claim that it is the other company's policy.

No other WDW hotel has such a policy. This is probably why Disney no longer runs the Swan and Dolphin. They are owned/managed by Starwood Hotels, an obviously second-rate company.

I have stayed at these hotels in the past, but will not do so in the future. Yes, the architecture is wonderful and the services and amenities are good, but just be certain that you will have no change in plans because they are uninterested in your problem.

Everything everyone else said is correct.

You did a poor job reading the not so fine print.

Disney never operated the Swan & Dolphin.

Starwood is anything but a second rate company.

:wave:

 

[jduran]

There nothing second rate about Starwood or the Swan & Dolphin. I should know, since I just came back from WDW and stayed at the Dolphin 10/3 - 10/6. I feel for you that you lost your deposit, but like others have stated, you really should have read the Terms & Conditions, which are included in the confirmation email from S&W. Mine were:

If you cancel before 06:00 PM on Wednesday, 28 September 2011 there will be no forfeit amount.
If you cancel after 06:00 PM on Wednesday, 28 September 2011 the forfeiture amount will be 149.00.
Room taxes may be charged on deposits and any penalties.

I was well aware of my cancellation policy from the moment I booked the room.

The staff went above and beyond to accommodate my every need. And even though I booked a lowly standard room (hence the 149 per night price, although that was heavily discounted to begin with), I was upgraded to a standard room with a balcony and resort view upon my arrival, something that has never happened to me when I've stayed at a Disney-owned resort. It was great as I could see most of S&D and Boardwalk from my bed.

And when I arrived and found several bulbs were burnt out and my room telephone wasn't working, they immediately fixed it when I brought to their attention and apologized, even though I wasn't angry about it, I just thought it would be nice to let them know.

After the level of service I received at S&D I'm not sure I can ever stay at a Disney resort again. This was a true deluxe in every sense of the word. I almost hated leaving the resort to go to the parks ... and this coming from someone who enjoys going park commando every single day I'm there.

 

[BeanSz]

First off, Swan and Dolphin have never been operated by Disney. You need to be careful when buying hotels especially through online discounters such as Hotels.com or Priceline, or even a hotels website when they offer fully-paid advance purchase ticketes. These are often non-refundable. Cheap deals almost always come at a price. Sorry about your situation. Good lesson learned however.

During our recent trip in September, we stayed at CBR in a Pirate Room. We got a good deal on airfare, we decided to add 2 nights to the front end of our trip. Figuring we are staying at Disney property, we could just stay at one of the resorts then transfer to CBR since the CBR Pirate room was not available for our extended days. Soon found out this is not possible even though I booked through WD Travel --- not their fault just mine for not fully understanding how the packages actually worked. fortunately, a Pirate Room opened up and all was good.

Good luck next time...and just don't always click through those Terms and COnditions websites ask you to accept.

 

[SusanAnne]

I booked into the Swan last September because they were offering a good rate of $269.00 per night, but then Disney (in Nov) offered me a fantastic rate of 273.00 per night for the Beach Club, so I quickly cancelled the Swan and received my full refund promptly.
We had stayed at the Swan the previous year and had a great time, but I do prefer the Disney hotels the best.

 

[kverdon]

Well let me add my word of warning to the list here. We are staying at the Dolphin Dec 4th to 8th 2014 because at the time we booked there were no other openings for a hotel on Disney property for that weekend. Well, as luck would have it, a AP Rate at Boardwalk opened up and I went to cancel our reservation at the Dolphin and was told that if I cancelled our reservation FOR ANY REASON OR AT ANY TIME AFTER BOOKING we would be charged a fee of 1 nights stays plus tax and fees! Needless to stay we did not cancel. I went back and looked and this information IS available on Expedia's booking page but it is pretty obscure and you have to hunt and click to find it. We will stay this one time and NEVER again. I've stayed in hotels all over the world and have never encountere a hotel that charges a one night fee for a cancellation at any time after booking. 24/48 hours yes, 1 month yes but ANY TIME, no. With an elderly mother-in-law we cannot afford to stay at a hotel that charges a cancellation policy like this as we never know when we will have to cancel a trip we have planned. Keep this fact well in mind before you book at the Dolphin.

Kevin and Mona

 

[wdwstateofmind]

I'm pretty sure hotels.com and other websites make their policies well known when you're booking just like airlines and I know Expedia does it too. Hotels like Hilton have websites set up that have the refund policy on the room selection screen. I'm sorry you lost money, but come on, read before you click.

 

[travelgal79]

I stayed at the S&D back in September and was highly disappointed. The service was very good, but the room was rundown and in need of a refresh, and the fact that they have a resort fee for parking and internet adds to the cost even more. For the price, I would rather stay at a Disney property.

 

[wdwmagic]

Well let me add my word of warning to the list here. We are staying at the Dolphin Dec 4th to 8th 2014 because at the time we booked there were no other openings for a hotel on Disney property for that weekend. Well, as luck would have it, a AP Rate at Boardwalk opened up and I went to cancel our reservation at the Dolphin and was told that if I cancelled our reservation FOR ANY REASON OR AT ANY TIME AFTER BOOKING we would be charged a fee of 1 nights stays plus tax and fees! Needless to stay we did not cancel. I went back and looked and this information IS available on Expedia's booking page but it is pretty obscure and you have to hunt and click to find it. We will stay this one time and NEVER again. I've stayed in hotels all over the world and have never encountere a hotel that charges a one night fee for a cancellation at any time after booking. 24/48 hours yes, 1 month yes but ANY TIME, no. With an elderly mother-in-law we cannot afford to stay at a hotel that charges a cancellation policy like this as we never know when we will have to cancel a trip we have planned. Keep this fact well in mind before you book at the Dolphin.

Kevin and Mona

See my post above, it all depends on the rate you book. Lower rates have stricter cancellation policy than more expensive rates.

Bottom line - read the rate terms and conditions carefully when booking. It applies to hotels and airlines.

 

[kverdon]

Oh it is there on the final payment page, there is a link to Rules and Restictions and if you follow that link you will find it but it is not obvious and easy to miss if in a hurry. It is also worth noting that you do not receive Airline or Hotel reward points for booking this hotel through Expedia. I figure they do this because if anyone had a choice they'd stay elsewhere so they don't want to give an chance to change your reservation if something better from Disney comes along. All very good, just don't expect me to stay there again or recommend it. A bit short sighted in my opinion.

Kevin and Mona

 

[wdwmagic]

Oh it is there on the final payment page, there is a link to Rules and Restictions and if you follow that link you will find it but it is not obvious and easy to miss if in a hurry. It is also worth noting that you do not receive Airline or Hotel reward points for booking this hotel through Expedia. I figure they do this because if anyone had a choice they'd stay elsewhere so they don't want to give an chance to change your reservation if something better from Disney comes along. All very good, just don't expect me to stay there again or recommend it. A bit short sighted in my opinion.

Kevin and Mona

If you book directly with Swan and Dolphin, you will have access to a variety of rates, with cancellation policies that might be a better fit. In that case you would not be bound by Expedia rules.

 

[unkadug]

Perhaps booking a reservation without reading the restrictions is a bit short sighted. Why would anyone book a hotel room "in a hurry" online?