10th Anniversary - Swan or Dolphin?

[T-i-double-g-err]

My wife and I are starting to plan a 10th anniversary trip to WDW in early December 2006. The rush to plan is driven by an accumulation of Starwood points from my prior job that are about to fizzle if I don't use them, so I want to go ahead, spend the points and book the free room.

From the Web site, both hotels have free nights available when we want to go. The question, however, is how do the two compare to each other. I always seem to see them treated almost as a single resort...

Any thoughts by those that have stayed at either or both?

Thx!

 

[CarolA]

I like the Swan a lot better.

Rooms are just a little nicer IMHO and it's not as big.

 

[MLAinVA]

We love the Swan and would recommend it. But we've never stayed at the Dolphin so we couldn't help with a comparison.

 

[DisneyFans4]

I've always stayed at the Swan but never the Dolphin but I can tell you that the Swan is smaller and alot quieter than the Dolphin. There is alot going on in the Dolphin so if your into all that then that would be great for you. Bear in mind, whichever one you stay at the other hotel is just a walk over. I also prefer the queen beds at the Swan as the Dolphin only has double beds.


Whichever one you choose they are both great in my book!

Enjoy!

 

[Lives4Disney]

I stayed at the Swan with my husband last May and it was very nice.

I stayed at the Dolphin a few nights in August with my 3 kids and we had a nice time, there.

I know if I were to stay at the S/D with my kids I would choose the Dolphin as it has the arcade and fast food choices. It is much larger, but fun for kids. Maybe fun for adults, too, but Dolphin is much more kid friendly than the Swan, I think because of the extras it has within. You are bound to see more families at the Dolphin than the Swan.

The Swan size is much more manageable and it feels more adult to me.

Lives4Disney

 

[jwfla422]

The Swan is more "intimate" than the Dolphin. Although we do like both we do prefer the Swan because of this reason. We also like Palio as well, but I do hear Blue Zoo and Shula's are excellent as well. I also agree that the Swan is quieter, but it is also half the size of the Dolphin. They are treated as the same resort because they share the same main pool and they are run by Starwood Properties. But, they are 2 different hotels with some different amenities. But, the amenities are available no matter which one you stay at.

 

[T-i-double-g-err]

Thanks for the input from everyone. We've booked Dec. 4-9, 2006 at the Swan. We may take a peak when we visit this January with the kids...