A quick stay at the Dolphin...not impressed.

[DanenRox]

Luck forced us to extend our DVC vacation for two additional days. I really should have looked off property and simply enjoyed another part of Orlando. Instead, we opted to optimize the "Nurse Discount" and spend 2 nights at the Dolphin. In two words...never again. Sure the location is fantastic but that's where the charm starts and ends. The hotel is overpriced despite my discount. The accomodations are basic - nothing noteworthy. The room seemed particularly lacking having just left a DVC studio with it's little pantry and balcony. There is an additional daily charge if you use the hotel's parking lot. (Really?) The hotel is big, unwelcoming, without the "magic" and warmth of the Disney resorts. I wanted to throw this post out in case this was ever a location on your to do list. My advice, move it to your don't do list. If this is your location of choice, best bet are the DVC Villa's at BWV or BCV. Again, just my opinion.

 

[hercamore]

Duly noted, thanks for the tip.


Sorry you had a less than stellar stay.

We haven't been to disney in 7 years, and we're thinking maybe a trip this Oct. Prices have increased so drastically since we've been there that I'm thinking offsite in a suite with frig and microwave is the way to go.


herc

 

[jperrot1]

Humm. We stayed at the Dolphin 3 summers ago. We had a standard room and thought the resort was fantastic. The pool is excellent. The standard guest room we had was very nice. The beds were great. The fitness center is very nice. There are no fast food spots But, the sit down restaurants are very nice. We have stayed at several deluxe, most moderates, and one value WDW resort. All WDW resorts we stayed at we would recommend, except for the one value we stayed at.

I think the price is around what the moderates go for, but it is a deluxe resort. We had to pay for parking also, but factored that cost in when deciding to book the resort (in addition to the resort fee). Still when you add everything together it brings to to about the price point of a WDW moderate.

Ooops. I misstated. We stayed at the Swan, not the Dolphin. Another pp corrected me that Dolphin does, indeed, have a quick service food service. I do not think Swan has one, though.

 

[JimMIA]

Luck forced us to extend our DVC vacation for two additional days. I really should have looked off property and simply enjoyed another part of Orlando. Instead, we opted to optimize the "Nurse Discount" and spend 2 nights at the Dolphin. In two words...never again. Sure the location is fantastic but that's where the charm starts and ends. The hotel is overpriced despite my discount. The accomodations are basic - nothing noteworthy. The room seemed particularly lacking having just left a DVC studio with it's little pantry and balcony. There is an additional daily charge if you use the hotel's parking lot. (Really?) The hotel is big, unwelcoming, without the "magic" and warmth of the Disney resorts. I wanted to throw this post out in case this was ever a location on your to do list. My advice, move it to your don't do list. If this is your location of choice, best bet are the DVC Villa's at BWV or BCV. Again, just my opinion.

I agree with you, but we're comparing apples and oranges.

Swan/Dolphin is a good business hotel complex. It is what it is supposed to be...and yes, parking charges are part of the package.

DVC or other onsite accommodations are vacation resorts...and they are great for what they are.

There is a huge difference in the nature of the beast.

I stayed at the Dolphin a few years ago when I was speaking at a professional conference. It was fine for what it is (and I wasn't paying the bill, so I have no idea what the price was). It was not a Disney Deluxe, or even a DVC resort, but it was what it was supposed to be.

On the bright side, you were "forced" to endure two additional days of magic!

 

[jaykorf001]

Duly noted, thanks for the tip. Sorry you had a less than stellar stay. We haven't been to disney in 7 years, and we're thinking maybe a trip this Oct. Prices have increased so drastically since we've been there that I'm thinking offsite in a suite with frig and microwave is the way to go. herc

Check out Wyndham Bonnet Creek. We just got back from a week's stay in a one bedroom presidential. LOVED it.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[DanenRox]

You know what the craziest part of the stay was? We were on one of the top floors, facing the Magic Kingdom with a perfect view of Cinderella's Castle. So each night we had a bird's eye view of the fireworks. Admittedly they were far away but cool nonetheless. Here's the thing that was weird though...Because we were up so high, we could see all of the buildings, the rooftops, the roads, the traffic, the infrastructure of WDW....all of the things that you really never see. The things that are purposely hidden when you're staying in Disney resorts. I kept thinking...we're seeing "the machine" or "the man behind the curtain"...and I didn't like it. In getting this view, it made me realize that Disney keeps you distracted by keeping everything at eye level. That you're rarely high up enough to see roadways and parking lots and storage sheds and all the things that reinforce this is, in the end, just a business plan. I also realized I really like being distracted and have bought into the Disney methodology hook, line and sinker. I don't want that view anymore. I don't want to see the machine behind the magic. So besides all of the other things I didn't enjoy about my stay at the Dolphin, I didn't like what it almost took from me. Does that make sense to anybody else?

 

[Lewisc]

Your point doesn't make much sense to me.

Virtually every, non Disney, resort hotel in the Orlando area charges extra for guest parking. You need to include the cost of parking and any resort fees when evaluating the cost of a stay.

Look out from the observation deck at the Contemporary. You'll plenty of backstage stuff.

A studio at BWV costs far more then a room at Swan Dolphin.
Rack rate is close to $500. Discounted rate is going to be over $300. I'm not going to mix apples and oranges by considering renting points.

Restaurants at S/D are about the best restaurants on site.

edited to add:

Your points make sense to you. Different people use different criteria when selected a hotel. A room at the S/D, with discounts, is frequently less then the cost of a Disney deluxe hotel. Sometimes similar in cost to a Disney moderate. Location and hotel amenities is superior to a Disney moderate. Some of the amenities of S/D are superior to Disney deluxe hotels.

 

[chirogrrl]

There are no fast food spots But, the sit down restaurants are very nice.

Actually, The Dolphin has a great quick service restaurant called Picabu We like the variety and the fact it is open 24 hours. More than once, we have ventured over there from BWI or YC/BC for a late-night dinner!

We have stayed at the Dolphin twice, and loved it. I feel it is totally worth it if you can get a great rate (we got a June $129/night rate in 2009). Location, location, location. We love the Epcot resort area, so it's a great option for us if there are no decent Disney discounts.

I have never felt a lack of "magic" there. Maybe I set my expectations differently? The least "magic" we have felt at a Disney resort was at CBR. Never again.

 

[happymommy]

I have to say, after several stays at the Swan and Dolphin, our last stay at the Swan sucked! Now, granted, it was just for one night, and we got in in the evening. I'm SPG gold (not that it means anything) but they "upgraded" us - how I do not know!

Our room this past time was just a basic motel type room. Worst things were: crayons scribbled all over the wall to the left of the door going in, a huge hole in the wall where the door must have slammed into the wall, the room got hot and cold all night long, we all woke up with swollen eyes from nasty pillows (YUCK).

I have to say, I used to love the Swan and Dolphin, but after this stay the love is gone!

Side note: we got it later in the evening, and checked out in the morning to move over to the BWV (so I made my DH do the walk with our luggage LOL - like how else would you do it? A cab???). So even though we thought the room looked sucky, we were tired and just wanted to go get dinner and sleep, then check out in the morning.

Nice thing: we were given a survey from Starwood about the stay, and I was honest about it. They refunded half our points for the stay. I was not expecting that.

 

[jperrot1]

Actually, The Dolphin has a great quick service restaurant called Picabu We like the variety and the fact it is open 24 hours. More than once, we have ventured over there from BWI or YC/BC for a late-night dinner!

We have stayed at the Dolphin twice, and loved it. I feel it is totally worth it if you can get a great rate (we got a June $129/night rate in 2009). Location, location, location. We love the Epcot resort area, so it's a great option for us if there are no decent Disney discounts.

I have never felt a lack of "magic" there. Maybe I set my expectations differently? The least "magic" we have felt at a Disney resort was at CBR. Never again.

Oops. Sorry. I misstated. I did not stay at the Dolphin. I stayed at the Swan, and I believe the Swan does not have a quick service in their building. Of course, the Dolphin is just a walk across so.......

 

[aidtrismommy]

We always rent points and stay at a two-bedroom dvc. We booked a last minute trip in December a couple years ago and there was no DVC availability for a two-bedroom so we booked the Swan. I thought the Swan was very nice for a "regular" hotel. The rooms were updated and clean, the beds were amazing, the grounds and pool were up to the Disney standard (even though not technically Disney-owned). There was plenty of dining options, including Picabu and the nearby Boardwalk. The location can't be beat. It is certainly not my first choice as we prefer the villas, however, I would not hesitate to stay there again. And comparing the DVC and Swan/Dolphin is not fair as they are completely different accommodations.

 

[mikehn]

We recently spent a couple nights at the swan. Location is what you pay for, in this case walking distance to epcot. Other than that, the hotel itself is about average.

 

[vital]

I'm sorry you didn't like your stay here, but I find your post interesting. My son and I stayed here for a week when he was 12 and this the hotel he begs to stay in whenever we go back. He absolutely loved the pool and laying in the hammocks at night watching the world go by. We were on an upper floor facing EPCOT so we watched the fireworks each night.

This year we are staying at AKL with a Savannah View so his hotel choice may change

 

[shalom]

I also realized I really like being distracted and have bought into the Disney methodology hook, line and sinker. I don't want that view anymore. I don't want to see the machine behind the magic. So besides all of the other things I didn't enjoy about my stay at the Dolphin, I didn't like what it almost took from me. Does that make sense to anybody else?

This makes perfect sense to me. Disney Corp wouldn't go to the extents it does to keep onsiters "in the Disney magic" if it didn't make a difference. I do think the person who enjoys Disney magic has to "buy into it" to some extent, but at the same time Disney does a lot to create it. And "hiding the workings" by building structures that hide what's really going on is one of the important things does to keep that magic going.

Although if you look at the Worst Room View Pics thread, Disney loses track of that concept sometimes as well. But the same resorts pop up time and again on that thread; most Disney resorts, room views are considered.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1674676