Another Bad Dolphin Experience - *UPDATED*

[grimgrinnin]

At the risk of being bashed by the Swan/Dolphin fan club...

When I fist saw the Dolphin hotel on my first visit to WDW, I said "THAT'S where we're gonna stay next!"
I loved the architecture and especially the location. I am a big fan of Michael Graves work (especially the Denver Library).

I booked 6 nights for our honeymoon last month. Even got the teacher rate of $129. I was absolutely thrilled. Until we got to our room...

I didn't pay for an upgraded view, so I wasn't expecting one. What I wasn't expecting was a view of the huge air handlers and the loading dock. After some moaning and groaning from me, my new wife put things in perspective for me - how important is the view? The curtains are going to be closed most of the time anyway.

The next day, we came back to the room for a nap. First I noticed that housekeeping had been there, and there still wasn't any coffee in the room, yet I was paying $5 a day for it (I don't care about the newspaper or gym. $5 a day for the convenience of coffee in the room I can handle).

Tried to fall asleep, but couldn't - all I could hear was 'BEEP BEEP BEEP' from the big trucks backing into the loading dock. They were unloading supplies for the new convention center construction. This went on all day. I had called the Dolphin directly BEFORE I made our reservations and asked it the construction would be noticeable in anyway. I was assured it wouldn't be.

If that wasn't bad enough, housekeeping made a habit of closing the 'deadbolt' on the door, so the door wouldn't close all the way, using it as a doorstop for all the rooms they were servicing. They would swing the door wide open, and let it bang against the lock. Not just one bang, but a bouncing bang - 'BANG BANg BAng Bang bang...'
EVERYTIME they would go in or out of a room.

Oh, and EVERYTIME we would pass housekeeping, we would smile and say hello. They would just GLARE at us. I've had never felt guilty for staying at a hotel before, until now...

Now, I am NOT a complainer. I never complain about anything. I don't have an 'entitlement mentality'. But I had had enough this time. I finally called the front desk and voiced my laundry list of complaints. Their response?

"We'll talk to housekeeping and get you some coffee, there's nothing else we can do about the construction".

No offer to move us to another room, no compensation for not having coffee that we paid for, not even an apology.

The next day, housekeeping still hadn't delivered any coffee, and they were still banging doors. My wife (sounds weird to say that) finally had to go outside and glare at housekeeping to get them to stop banging the doors (we are SO passive aggressive...).

We later found out that our housekeeping problems were probably stemming from some kind of labor dispute between housekeeping and management. It explained a lot, but didn't excuse any of it.

Housekeeping did finally supply us with coffee - a grocery bag with about 7 packets of coffee, for our remaining 2 nights. I guess they expected me to make up my lost caffeine intake all at once

Last year we stayed at the ASM for $49 a night, and we were treated like royalty. Needless to say, I will never be staying at the Swan/Dolphin again, and they do not get my recommendation.

Thanks for listening

Grim

 

[cottontail]

Wow, So sorry all this had to happen and especially on your honeymoon. I hope the rest of your time there was very memorable and special.

What ended up happening with the staff, did they go out on strike or not. I wonder if the housekeeping was so grumpy cause of their dispute with management, but if they frighten off the customers, then they won't need as many housekeepers, so their only cutting their own throat.

Bye,

Deb.

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

They didn't strike, but the unpleasant atmosphere was very noticeable!

 

[NancyIL]

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy staying at the Dolphin - especially since it was your honeymoon. I would've been annoyed with all the noise, too - and the lack of coffee (if I actually drank the stuff). Did you ask the front desk to take off the resort charge?

 

[Amberly303]

Grim.......i am so sorry to ear about your experience too. I am not sure if you have read my post yet but i also had a very bad experience with them just last week.
I never even posted my other complains but i as well never recieved coffee that we paid for! Took us forerver to reach anyone in roomservice. And, they was peoples trays in the hallways( the same trays mind you) for 2 whole days just sitting there on the floor. It was still there when we checked out.
O well i just wanted you to know we did experience some of the same negative respnses from the front desk when we called and complained.......they didnt even care. How amazing! Well i hope you choose wisely on your next trip to WDW!
By the way .......i have posted on planetfeedback about the Dolphin.
They have also made more charges as of this morning that are bogus that I WILL be posting on planetfeedback.com as well.

 

[grimgrinnin]

Thanks for the replies.

We noticed the trays in the halls too! It was... yucky.

We still had a great honeymoon, and I can't wait to go back (just not to the Dolphin). We will be staying at the BCV next time. The poor service we had made the decision to join DVC that much easier

Grim

 

[Amberly303]

Well i am happy to hear you still had a wonderful time on your honeymoon despite your stay at the Dolphin. Next year for vacation we will be choosing a different deluxe hotel. One that deserves my money.

 

[Blondie]

Sorry about your troubles!

It's almost hard to believe that I can have such an awesome experience at the Dolphin, while others experiences/opinions fall short. We had a gorgeous balcony room and the view was outstanding. Everyone was very kind and courteous to us.

I think you got caught in their labor dispute or whatever is going on there. I hope they can get things straightened out soon.

Congratulations on your wedding, I hope you were still able to enjoy your honeymoon!

 

[grimgrinnin]

I emailed Starwood about my experience, and they wrote me a nice apology letter including a complimentary 2-night stay at any Starwood hotel.

I really appreciate the letter, and I will be sure to stay at the Dolphin again for part of my upcoming trip this New Year's Eve. Hopefully this was an isolated incident, and next time I will be raving about the Dolphin!

Thanks,


grim

 

[Kallison]

LOL at the passive aggressive stare! That stage will pass as you get older!

 

[grumpyandbashful]

Just a suggestion - whenever I check into a WDW resort, if I am not happy with the room location or view, I ask right away to be moved. I don't even let the kids bounce on the beds before I check it out! (my family thinks I'm crazy, but this stuff matters to me, especially with the amount of money we pour into WDW!). We have always had luck getting the general room location we would like, even if it means waiting awhile to check in, or moving the next day.
If you ask nicely, it's usually no big deal

 

[Jen80370]

It is great to see that Starwood stood by their properties and coughed up for the inconvenience. I would mention at check in (nicely) at the front desk that this is their second chance and what happened before...I would bet you see a vast improvement and possibly an upgrade...maybe even email the week before you go...good luck!

 

[LisaF]

I think we also were caught in the housekeeping dispute. We had to chase down housekeeping everyday to get coffee. Our rooms were nice, but not what we reserved - a balcony with resort view with a suite near by. Instead we received ground floor with a partially obstructed view. Our resort fee was waived and we paid for a standard room instead of a balcony room. I will send a letter to Starwood right now - glad to hear they listened to you.

 

[sgtdisney]

On my first visit to the Dolphin they assigned me a room on the first floor, right next to the walkway to the pool. Bear in mind the first floor is 2 floors BELOW the lobby. When I stay in a tall hotel, I like to have a decent view, especially for what you pay for rooms these days. I know others like to be on lower floors. Anyway, I called the front desk the minute I got into the room and told them, nicely, that I wasn't happy with the room location and expressed my desire to be on a higher floor. They immediately offered to move me to a more acceptable room, sent someone for the bags and I ended up on the 10th or 11th floor overlooking the SWAN. It just goes to show you that the squeeky wheel sometimes DOES get the grease.

 

[LisaF]

When we checked in and found out the room location, before even seeing our rooms, I explained that we had reserved a balcony room, paid the deposit for a balcony room and wanted to be higher than ground floor. We were told that the hotel was sold out, and they could not move us until Monday (this was Friday at noon). No apology, no I'm sorry that we're not able to accomodate your request, just we're sold out and this is all we have. I was in tears. We do not like to unpack, repack/move, and unpack again, so moving was not an option. Along with a balcony room, we also had reserved a suite (total of 8 people) - so we were paying a lot of money for 2 rooms.

Then, later that evening, I called the Dolphin front desk from Magic Kingdom to check on my parents and make sure their room was acceptable. The front desk told me our reservations had been cancelled!!!!!! OMG Our luggage was in storage with the bellhop and our CC had been swiped, so what do you mean our reservation was cancelled???!!!! After what seemed an eternity, the front desk manager was finally able to find us in the system, but let me tell you I was in tears again.

There were other issues during the week, but I'll stop here.

 

[dreamflight99]

Grim...thanks for a very honest and descriptive post. I had to laugh aloud when you wrote:

Oh, and EVERYTIME we would pass housekeeping, we would smile and say hello. They would just GLARE at us.

This unnerved me as well, as I am used to smiling at someone--and having them return the smile. The housekeepers at the Dolphin (most of them) Do NOT smile. They are "Haitian", and are very spiritual/religious/serious persons. They do a fine job of cleaning, etc., but are not too socially inclined. This was an eye-opener for me as well. Here's something which should make you chuckle. Last summer, my DH bought a Big Rubber snake at MGM (Indiana Jones Cart), and hung it over the light by the murphy king bed. EVERY EVE...there was a huge bath towel "tossed" over the snake, completely covering it! When I phoned the housekeeping manager to inquire, he said the girls were superstitious and terrified of "serpents" due to religious beliefs. I asked him if they were aware this was a RUBBER snake, and not real? He assured me they did, but it was inconsequential. They feared the snake would "come-alive" (VooDoo) and unleash evil. He told me they toss a coin to see which one will enter our suite and toss the towel to cover the snake! To make matters even worse, our DD won a huge stuffed snake at a golf game @ SW, and she placed this green fluffy serpent coiled upon her bed. They were so afraid, they called the room to ask us to "hide" the snake in the closet, etc.--so they could clean our room! LOL...I still laugh to think of it. (Boy, everyone knows their weakness now!!)

Also, I must agree with you about the "Banging" of the doors on the lock-arm. Since we sleep-in on our summer sojourns, we are in our rooms when these noises are rampant! Most DISers/guests are at the parks. The door "Bangs" a minimum of three counts with each forceful opening/falling. The culprits, surprisingly enough, were not the housekeeping staff, (while we were there) but the malicious minibar personnel! They open a door after tapping and giving the standard high-pitch auditory "minibar", and then carelessly throw the lock..slamming and banging the door as they go inside to check the bar. We caught them, and surprised them with a "tongue-lashing"! They never did this again, near our room, for the duration of our stay..LOL! Housekeeping probably uses the same tactics, and these are most-annoying. Ask to stay on an end wing...away from most of the noise, preferably in a king turret room with a nice view. Inform the desk of what occurred on your previous "Honeymoon" visit, and they should be eager to assist you! So glad things have been amended through SW. I wish you a wonderful stay this NYE, and a fabulously happy marriage!

 

[jwfla422]

I'm sorry about the bad Dolphin stays (these comments are concerning me-I only hope ours goes well)-but I did want to mention that even when we've stayed in a WDW owned resort, I recall the banging of the doors and on one occasion, 2 very loud screaming children in the room next to us at 6am. We heard them through the connecting door when we stayed at the POLY. At that time we were kidless and I was not at all happy being up that early when we didn't have to be especially after going to PI the night before. I also recall many occasions of people walking by the door during the wee hrs of the morning yelling or banging as well.

 

[Captain Crook]

jwfla, these comments should cause you little concern...For example, just hit your back button and look for positive posts on the last two pages, I'm sure you'll find just as many if not more positive comments. Further, it is quite obvious that these guests were unfortunate enough to be at the S/D during an uncertain labor situation...Case closed...

For the record, we've stayed at th S/D atleast 15 times and have had one bad experience (that was rectified)...Don't worry.

 

[jwfla422]

I know that there are always mixed reviews about the S/D hotels but I've always had positive experiences at the Swan until our last visit although the problems we had were resolved. So, the negative feedback kinda just prompted the last experience we had in the back of my mind.

I did check out a very positive thread and added one of my own with nice positive responses. Thanks for pointing them out and adding another positive response.

 

[gschmerl]

What is the present status of the labor dispute at the Swan/Dolphin?