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.

 

[Hakunamatata]

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

I can't count the times that I have had to make reservations with a gun to my head with a countdown voiced by a very shady individual.

 

[BrianV]

To what extent is this a hotels.com/expedia/orbitz/Priceline phenomenon and what extent is it s&d? Ultimately whoever you book through would seem to have the say in the refund policy.

We booked a conference rate there in march. There is something like a 5 day cancellation policy pretty similar to disney. I'll have to go back to see the exact policy.

 

[MissingDisney]

Wow, just realized....holy threadbump