Swan and Dolphin

BoarderPhreak

BoarderPhreak

Well-Known Member
There are several threads discussing the pros/cons of Swan & Dolphin; scroll down a bit or search.

Basically, a Deluxe accommodation for the price of a Moderate. The rooms range from comparable to spacious, the beds/pillows are outstanding. The decor is fairly generic but nice/modern. You get almost all the benefits; 60-day FP, Disney transportation. You cannot charge to your MagicBand since it's technically not a "Disney resort" (making it a ticket-only, basically). You will need to tack on $30/day for a "resort fee" that gives you free WiFi and a bottle of water pp/day.
 
B

BASS

Well-Known Member
Agree with the sentiment of others.

The location is fantastic. You can walk to Epcot and take a boat to Hollywood Studios (or walk, actually). Avoiding the buses is a plus for me. And now that the Skyliner is functioning you have even more options.

Both also offer fairly upscale dining.

Also, it tends to be a bit quieter than most of the other Disney properties. There are usually less kids.

Last, my family loves the Boardwalk area which is a quick walk away. The Boardwalk area also offers some nice restaurants. We enjoy grabbing ice cream at Ample Hills. My kids really enjoyed the street performers too.
 
BuddyThomas

BuddyThomas

Well-Known Member
Do they have those annoying energy efficient air conditioners that are at the other Disney resorts, the ones that shut off during the night if they sense no movement and leave you in a puddle of sweat?
 
T

tiggerunner

New Member
Recently stayed at Dolphin for a quick trip. We are Bonvoy members and we were really disappointed in the service at the hotel. Amenities are fine, but the management was off most days and no one seemed to care much. Not just us, others noticed. It seemed they were more focused on the business clientele.If you want Disney, stay in any resort that you can afford. So much better.
 
PolynesianPrincess

PolynesianPrincess

Well-Known Member
scorp16 said:
They were much better when they weren't owned by Marriott. I have a bias though. I remember getting rooms there regularly for $149-$199 a night (If I wasn't using points - the SPG program was good). Good luck with that now. Damn Marriott.
Click to expand...

My Mom has Starwood points and we used to stay at the Swalphin ALL the time for the marathon. Since Marriott bought them out, they have blocked marathon weekend and have hiked the points per night. Now we will only be able to stay there once every 2-3 years versus every year when they were owned by Sheraton. My mom is actually going to sell her points at the end of this year. It's not worth it to us anymore.

That aside, just beware of the resort tax that they charge daily on top of the room plus no DME to and from the airport. Otherwise we enjoyed our stays at both the Swan and Dolphin.
 
Horizons '83

Horizons '83

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
These hotels are very hit or miss now. Gone are the days of finding $139 a night rates (although we came real close to that last year). They are a great option for a night or 2 in my opinion but I do prefer the Yacht & Beach Club for longer stays if affordable.
 
BoarderPhreak

BoarderPhreak

Well-Known Member
We stayed at the Dolphin for ten nights recently... Got points for the green housekeeping option (which in retrospect we wouldn't do again; we had overflowing garbage cans) but got no credit for nights stayed because we booked through Priceline. On top of that, got charged $480 in resort fees/taxes. Worse, Dolphin has smaller rooms and beds than Swan.

The value proposition is not so great anymore. We had a much better stay at the Boardwalk (which was $100 more per night, minus the $30+ resort fee/tax; so <$70).
 

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