Swan or Dolphin

[mjaclyn]

DH and I are thinking of going to WDW for an upcoming weekend without the kids and are considering the Swan & Dolphin. We have never stayed at either one so I'd love an insider's opinion on which is better. Any info would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks so much!

 

[DisneyGuy]

Well, my family has stayed at both (only the Dolphin for one night) but we prefer the Swan. It's a little smaller, so more quiet - and I guess we are just used to it - therefore we feel more "at home" there.

Either one is great though.

 

[mjaclyn]

Which one is closer to Epcot?

 

[rie'smom]

If you're walking, the Dolphin is a smidge closer. If you're taking the boat, it doesn't matter because the pick up is between the 2.

The Swan has 2 queens in a standard room and the Dolphin has 2 doubles.

 

[hannahthompson]

First of all you find all information about these places and then which one is better, select it and than go, if the place is right you should go with your children also.Thanks.

 

[wildernesslodgelover]

I have stayed at both. I really expected to like the Swan better...but I didn't! I thought the lobby would seem tranquil compared to the Dolphin, but to me, it just seemed dull. Don't get me wrong, I would stay there again but the Dolphin is a wee bit cheaper and we prefer it!

 

[wildernesslodgelover]

BTW, did you see this rate? WOW!

http://www.travelzoo.com/hotels/orlando/876307/

 

[tony67]

I stay at a lot of Starwood hotels all over the country and I have to say I was not happy with the staff at the Swan at all.

I have stayed at the Swan twice and the Dolphin Many times.
The Dolphin was far superior IMO.

Yes it is larger and busier, but they seemed to have a better staff.

The rooms at the Swan are slightly smaller.

Request a tower room as high as possible or one of the larger king rooms at the end of the wings that have a balcony.

You may be able to watch the fireworks from your room, but we usually walk over to boardwalk to watch them.


Also check out restaurant.com They have $25 off $35 certificates for most of the better restaurants at the Swan and Dolphin for $2- $4 with a promotional codes you can find on the web.

 

[DisneyFreq]

I booked the food and wine classic...having never been, I told the booking agent I'd take either. She gave me dolphin. After I hung up I sat their thinking that I should have told her swan but now I'm glad I didn't.

Thanks for the Rest.com tip! Just printed out a GC for Kimmonos (most reasonable prices really). $25 GC for $4. (use promo code "MENU") I love sushi and kirin!

 

[Ramsfan28]

I have stayed at both - over a dozen times in total and I prefer the Swan (not that I don't love the Dolphin) - I just have had better experiences at the Swan.

I saw a post about some service issues - that is something that I never encountered. I find the service to be great and the staff to be very helpful.

 

[mjaclyn]

Thanks so much for the restaurant.com idea!! I just got three $25 gift certificates (Kimonos, Shula's & Bluezoo) for only $12! That's awesome!

 

[JCMHutch]

I have stayed at the Dolphin twice for conferences and really enjoyed it. DH joined me one trip and thought it was fantastic. He spent a lot of time walking the Boardwalk. We stayed for a few days after the meetings were over and had a great time. It is a short walk to Epcot (it was faster to walk there than take the boat!). I can't say enough about how comfy the beds are. They have a great pool and at night they will shut off the waterfall and lower a movie screen down and show Disney movies. As you already know, some of the restaurants are on restaurants.com.

It is a conference hotel so you may see a lot of convention attendees there.

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

we liked Swan b/c its smaller than Dolphin and the beds are queen...dolphin is double bed.

 

[cwnhokie]

I just booked the Food and Wine Classic for the start of our kid-free trip. We are leaving for a cruise in the morning. They didn't ask which one I wanted and didn't tell me which one I got. I don't really care though, I think I could sleep comfortably in a dumpster without the kids there to wake me up all night.

 

[tony67]

we liked Swan b/c its smaller than Dolphin and the beds are queen...dolphin is double bed.

The Dolphin is 2 Double Beds or 1 King Bed + Sleeper Sofa
The Swan is 2 queen beds or 1 king bed + sofa bed

Kind of odd since the rooms at the Swan are slighlly smaller.

Anyway I assume they want a King bed since teh kids are not with them that is not an issue.
Even with kids I prefer the king bed and sofa so there is soem room for them to play.

I saw a post about some service issues - that is something that I never encountered. I find the service to be great and the staff to be very helpful.

Yeah it's one of those rare things that happens. It was disgusting and I will not go into it on these boards.
It was bad enough that I will not go back to the hotel and none of the staff wanted to deal with the issue at all.

All I will say is it was so bad that they upgraded us to a full suite and refunded a large part of the 5 night stay and gave us a few extras, but that was only after speaking with someone at corporate.
Oh and they brought a brand new couch to the room we were in before moving us to the new room...but again only after the call to corporate.
Until I called corporate they tried to avoid the issue as much as possible.



BTW: If they brought back the Club level and the staff (Mama T and Thabo) I would probably return to teh Swan they were great.
Thabo still remembers me because of this incident. Last time I saw him he was manager at the Dolphin.