Disney Swan The good The bad and the Ugly

[aarmando20]

I am curious to hear everyones past experiences. I am pretty fired up today leaving in 30 days for a 3 week stay at the Swan. Well mostly 3 weeks for 2 nights in the middle of our stay we rented a room at the Nick hotel to let the kids play at the waterpark but will be comming back to the Swan to sleep. God I love the heavenly beds.

 

[MickeyNicki]

We have stayed at the Swan a few times and love it! The rooms are very spacious and clean, amazing bed, pillows and linens, great location and a nice quiet atmosphere

 

[rie'smom]

The only uglies (and I don't consider them uglies) is no DDP,ME, or charging to your room. Everything else is the best!!!!!

 

[TammyC]

During our first stay at the Swan, we did have a couple of problems. One was that our heat did not work, and it was a chilly December night. They handled the problems well and gave some financial compensation which was not even requested. Our second stay was great with no problems at all. And, we will return again for our next trip. The location is great.

T

 

[Lives4Disney]

I've stayed at the Swan several times. It's been OK. Nothing great and nothing to write home about. Just OK. Housekeeping was sporadic - I mean as far as they rarely left us toiletries...we had to use our own that I brought, haha...and if we were at the hotel at a convenient time call for some along with extra towels because they are skimpy on those, too. I requested turndown at check in...then again on the phone w/housekeeping...I was assured it would happen....it didn't...even though I CALLED each night when we would return to find it dind't happen. THey'd apologize etc. and say we'd receive turndown the next night and once again..same thing.

On our most recent stay we didn't get the flat screen TV and other little upgrades that most rooms have (I thought it was ALL, but it's not) They couldn't move us because they said they were full. fine. Not a biggie, but not what I expected. They did away with the minibars -which I always liked and thought of as a convenience as it's hard to get any soda/water/snacks after hours at the Swan...there's no convenient grab/go place. Check in at the desk was LONG. Their bell services is always very apathetic.....it just makes for a bleh first impression...they just seem very down about being/working there. Our room key didn't work on the door OFTEN....we were on the 9th floor so it was a PITA to go up there schlepping two TIRED kids (who both often had to go to the bathroom ) and then have to catch teh elevator back down to wait in line at the desk to have the keys fixed......Just had a bunch of problems the last stay we had.

Before that it was May 07 that we stayed more than one night (did a one nighter at the Dolphin in Nov 07) and we had other issues....they overcharged me for the room & that was a hassle to fix - they couldn't do it..I had to call the TA, many calls from home etc, we had a very rundown room last May, BAD housekeeping.....just not a good time there, but I was told they were rehabbing so I expected a really nice room in March 08 . I have the SPG Amex and have tons of points but told my kids that's the last time I blow 10K pts/nt at that hotel. We only stayed 5 nts, but that was $50K.

Sorry...I am less than thrilled wht the Swan, but for a discounted price the location cannot be beat. That is the positive...it's less $$$ than a WDW hotel and great location.

Lives4Disney

 

[rie'smom]

I've stayed at the Swan several times. It's been OK. Nothing great and nothing to write home about. Just OK. Housekeeping was sporadic - I mean as far as they rarely left us toiletries...we had to use our own that I brought, haha...and if we were at the hotel at a convenient time call for some along with extra towels because they are skimpy on those, too. I requested turndown at check in...then again on the phone w/housekeeping...I was assured it would happen....it didn't...even though I CALLED each night when we would return to find it dind't happen. THey'd apologize etc. and say we'd receive turndown the next night and once again..same thing. On our most recent stay we didn't get the flat screen TV and other little upgrades that most rooms have (I thought it was ALL, but it's not) They couldn't move us because they said they were full. fine. Not a biggie, but not what I expected. They did away with the minibars -which I always liked and thought of as a convenience as it's hard to get any soda/water/snacks after hours at the Swan...there's no convenient grab/go place. Check in at the desk was LONG. Their bell services is always very apathetic.....it just makes for a bleh first impression...they just seem very down about being/working there. Our room key didn't work on the door OFTEN....we were on the 9th floor so it was a PITA to go up there schlepping two TIRED kids (who both often had to go to the bathroom ) and then have to catch teh elevator back down to wait in line at the desk to have the keys fixed......Just had a bunch of problems the last stay we had. Before that it was May 07 that we stayed more than one night (did a one nighter at the Dolphin in Nov 07) and we had other issues....they overcharged me for the room & that was a hassle to fix - they couldn't do it..I had to call the TA, many calls from home etc, we had a very rundown room last May, BAD housekeeping.....just not a good time there, but I was told they were rehabbing so I expected a really nice room in March 08 . I have the SPG Amex and have tons of points but told my kids that's the last time I blow 10K pts/nt at that hotel. We only stayed 5 nts, but that was $50K.

Sorry...I am less than thrilled wht the Swan, but for a discounted price the location cannot be beat. That is the positive...it's less $$$ than a WDW hotel and great location.

Lives4Disney

Wow, I'm glad we've never had this experience. I've recommended both the S/D to many people and they always give these hotels raves! You must have had terrible bad luck.

 

[aarmando20]

Thanks everyone. I have always had positive stays but would still like to hear from everyone else on their experiences.

 

[Lives4Disney]

Wow, I'm glad we've never had this experience. I've recommended both the S/D to many people and they always give these hotels raves! You must have had terrible bad luck.

Bad luck once, maybe...but I've stayed there 7 times and always had big troubles. What I listed above is just a small sample.

I only recommend it to anyone as a cheaper alternative and for the great location. It's not worth it even then unless the WDW resorts are at peak season rates.

Lives4Disney

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Wow, you sure will be getting a lot of starwood points!! We love the Swan too but I dont think I could stay there for that long of a time.

 

[AndyMcV]

Bad luck once, maybe...but I've stayed there 7 times and always had big troubles. What I listed above is just a small sample.

I only recommend it to anyone as a cheaper alternative and for the great location. It's not worth it even then unless the WDW resorts are at peak season rates.
Lives4Disney

Wow that's really too bad. We've stayed at the Swan and then the Dolphin and we're going back to the Dolphin in 2-3 weeks. We've had really good luck at the S/D. In fact on our first trip to the Swan we were upgraded to a Swan Studio suite for free. It rocked!! We love the Swan or Dolphin for the location, pool, amenities, restaurants, being a deluxe resort, being able to do the SPG program, character breakfasts, the beach, the transportation, seeing the fireworks from your room, really friendly staff,.... etc, etc...

Wow, you sure will be getting a lot of starwood points!! We love the Swan too but I dont think I could stay there for that long of a time.

Ohhhh... we could stay there for 3 weeks no problem!!

 

[geokeim]

IMO they are the best value available of ANY of the Disney area hotels.
For the location, pool, restaurants, service, etc...
I consider them of par with GF,Poly & CR.
They have always gone out of their way to accommodate us and give us an upgrade view.
I'm sorry to hear of the terrible experiences of the one poster, but I think that their experience may have been an exception, rather than the rule.
I hope that is the case!
Enjoy your stay!

P.S. One thing i did learn last rip I will pass along to you. Those big fancy bottles of water in your room are part of the $10 resort fee you pay daily, along with wireless internet. So be sure and take them, they're yours!

 

[TxTiggergal]

I have stayed at the Swan once, with DD, back in 2001. Overall, the resort was pretty nice and we had an okay time there. The good for us was the price, as that was when I was teaching and I was able to secure an excellent discount on the room. We also liked the location of the hotel. As for the bad, the major negative we had was the convention crowd. Specifically, when one of the meetings would let out, all the food places would be packed and it would take forever to get something to eat if we were unlucky enough to be trying to grab a bite at one of those times.

 

[Poly Pal]

We've stayed at the Swan.

The Good: It's less expensive than the Polynesian, especially at Easter.

The Bad: It's not the Polynesian.

The Ugly: That awful pattern of the carpet in the hallways

Actually, we found the Swan to be quite nice. We liked being able to take a boat to HS and walking to the Boardwalk and EPCOT. We would have appreciated a few more restaurant choices right in the Swan (but the Boardwalk and Dolphin present alot of dining options.) Now if they only had tiki torches...

 

[mmmagic7754]

The Good: the beds,the price(wife gets nurse discount)and the location
The Bad: paying for parking and has a damp smell