Swan vs Deluxe

[pjredhead]

My son and I are planning a trip to Disney Feb or March,if all goes good. We always stay in value and moderates but I would like to step up to a Deluxe.They are pretty pricey or at least to me. We are considering the Swan. Yes I know no Magicial EXpress but off season you can get some real good rates.Anyone want to share your experience with Swan compared to on sight Deluxe and Downtown Disney properties.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Well,,,,

Beds. Disney has Disney beds. Nothing special. Swan has heavenly beds and that they are
Theme. Disney wins
Rewards program. Swan you can join the Starwood program and earn points for stays. Disney has no rewards for loyality
Transportation. Swan does not have Magical Express, but all other transport is via Disney
Extra charges. Swan has. Parking and resort fee resort fee.gets you a couple of bottles of water daily and internet. And their internet works unlike my last experience my last experience with Disney's free Internet at my DVC resort
Location. No difference

Pricing. Disney, are they crazy? Swan even with extra fees it is much more reasonable and often stay there

I won't pay for Disney,but find the Dolphin or Swan a good option

 

[nessz79]

You should check out the Swan and Dolphin thread under the Resorts forum. You will find *tons* of information there.

Swan is significantly less expensive than the other Epcot Resort Deluxes. It's a little less "Disney" in atmosphere but that can be nice. For us, it's definitely worth it when we want to be close to Epcot and/or Hollywood Studios and not pay Disney Deluxe price.

 

[Grumpy92]

You also might want to read the reviews and look at pictures of the resort on tripadvisor.com

 

[duffy]

The Swan is my favorite hotel at Disney World. Combination of great prices, deluxe accommodations and an easy walk/boat ride to my favorite park-Epcot.

 

[kiki02]

The Swan is my favorite hotel at Disney World. Combination of great prices, deluxe accommodations and an easy walk/boat ride to my favorite park-Epcot.

I never see the swan or dolphin less than $150 a night. and that's with FR discount.

 

[duffy]

I never see the swan or dolphin less than $150 a night. and that's with FR discount.

I've stayed at the Dolphin twice, and the Swan once, and each time I used Starwood points, with my American Express card. If you can be flexible with dates, you can use points and cash, which is what I did, each time. Each time, I got the rate of $60 + 4,000 points/night.

Keep in mind, you will have to pay a "resort fee" of $10/night, and parking is ~$10/day, bringing the price up to ~$80/night. As I've said, I paid these prices twice at the Dolphin and once at the Swan. The Swan stay was over a year ago.

Sign up for the AMEX card with Starwood, and start accumulating points. I'm staying at a place at the National Harbor in Washington DC next weekend. Cost to me: $60 and 4,000 points. Without points? Probably ~$150-~$200/night.

 

[happymommy]

I never see the swan or dolphin less than $150 a night. and that's with FR discount.

We've gotten it about $129 a night for August before. Also used Starpoints which is great!

I love the Swan! The location is my favorite, the pool is nice, love having better tv channels and movies on demand (that was nice for the kids after a long day, to chill and watch a movie, order room service or I'd pick up something for us, when we've been really tired).

I would definitely stay there again!

 

[elaine amj]

I've stayed at the Dolphin twice, and the Swan once, and each time I used Starwood points, with my American Express card. If you can be flexible with dates, you can use points and cash, which is what I did, each time. Each time, I got the rate of $60 + 4,000 points/night.

Keep in mind, you will have to pay a "resort fee" of $10/night, and parking is ~$10/day, bringing the price up to ~$80/night. As I've said, I paid these prices twice at the Dolphin and once at the Swan. The Swan stay was over a year ago.

Sign up for the AMEX card with Starwood, and start accumulating points. I'm staying at a place at the National Harbor in Washington DC next weekend. Cost to me: $60 and 4,000 points. Without points? Probably ~$150-~$200/night.

Keep in mind that 3000 Starpoints gets your a night's stay at many Four Points by Sheratons. I have also gotten Sheraton Suites for 4,000 Starpoints. I tend not to use Cash & Points much because 3,000 points is worth up to $100 to me. I would typically choose to pay cash to stay at the Swalphin (if I could get the good rates of $120-$150) and earn points on my stay.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

I never see the swan or dolphin less than $150 a night. and that's with FR discount.

And when was the last time you saw a Disney Deluxe for anywhere close to that price.

In Disney's world of "overinflated pricing" $150 gets you a moderate.

 

[nessz79]

And when was the last time you saw a Disney Deluxe for anywhere close to that price.

In Disney's world of "overinflated pricing" $150 gets you a moderate.

Exactly.
Even with the resort fee and parking fee, you are still paying significantly less than a regular Disney Deluxe, *especially* the Epcot resorts. WL and AKL are sometimes around $250 at their cheapest (I think...it's been a while since I looked) but you can't walk to a theme park from either and AKL has no special transportation...at least WL has the boat to MK.

 

[ShellyG]

We stayed at the Dolphin on our Honeymoon in 2007. LOVED it! Everything was clean and comfortable. The first night they didn't have any king rooms available so we ended up in a double as our flight had been delayed so we got there late. They moved us the next day, the room was lovely and big and had a great view out of the window. I wouldn't hesitate to stay at the Swan or Dolphin again, we had a lovely time and the atmosphere of the hotel was so laid back and almost peaceful! We really enjoyed chilling in the bar area in the evening. Last time we stayed at AKL, I found this to be much busier and the lobby was always loud with African drums etc, amazing atmosphere but not so much for us. Depends what you like in a hotel, if I had the choice between AKL (non Savannah view room, the view is the only thing that made AKL a better stay in my personal opinion) or the Dolphin, I would choose Dolphin. It is in an amazing location as well, you can walk to the Studios and the Friendsship boats between the Studios, hotels and Epcot are a really nice way to get to the parks!