Back from the Swan...

[montessori]

We are home from the Food and Wine Festival and our first stay at the Swan Resort.
We had a renovated room. The Heavenly beds truly are heavenly and I love the art deco interiors. Very very pretty rooms.
I think the AC does not work when you aren't in the room, it seemed to take a while for the room to get comfortable. I don't like that there are no ceiling fans. I need a fan when I'm sleeping!

We were in Room 512. It faced the courtyard and the Dolphin Resort. We didn't have a balcony, we were right in the corner of the courtyard area. The rooms facing in towards the middle were right beside us. I can't explain it well, but it was very blocked in. The location of the room and the view were a disappointment to me. I never feel that way about a standard view room at a Disney Resort.

We arrived early, pre-checked in and left our luggage with the bellman. The Swan is not like a Disney resort in that you have to come back to the reservation counter to get your room keys later. You might wait in line to pre-check in and then wait in line again to get your room keys later. At a Disney Resort, they give you the keys early, but don't program them to work until the room is ready for you. It might be a small thing but it is an added convenience.
We really needed a nap on Sunday afternoon.

We stayed up till midnight on Saturday and had gotten up at 5:30 on Sunday. It was a hot and sunny day too!
Unfortunately, new carpet was being installed in the room above ours. They were hammering down the tack strips, not condusive to a nice nap.

My husband managed to doze off a little after he put in some earplugs (great packing tip) but I had to get up and take a walk.

I realize they have to nail down the carpet sometime, if only it hadn't been right there and right then.

I will probably stay at the Swan again, if I can't get a good discounted rate at a Disney resort and I can get the teacher's rate at the Swan.
The issues I've mentioned may be minor but they contributed to our overall impression and experience. The Swan and Dolphin have a loyal following on these boards and that means many happy customers.
For me, there was something missing. And I don't just mean the fan and the nap!

We thought the parks seemed crowded but enjoyed every minute. We ate some great foods and had some interesting wines at the Festival.

We did ALOT of people watching! MGM was great for people watching, with all of those "devoted" soap fans there!

And I took pictures of shoes! It gave some actual purpose to sitting around people watching, I had a mission! The shoes some people wear! It's amazing!

Happy Holidays Everyone!

 

[Boots]

Thanks for the report. We have always stayed on site and have often wondered about the Swan and Dolphin. I think the view you had would have bothered me too. Glad you had a good time though!

 

[montessori]

I just convinced some teacher friends of mine to stay at the Swan in February. It IS a very nice hotel. I love the new decor in the rooms!
The location of our room is what really put us off the place. We have stayed in many Disney resort standard view rooms and were never bothered by the location like we were here.
Some standard view rooms at the Boardwalk are really quite fantastic.
The rooms in the courtyard area at the Swan are just so closed in, like being surrounded by huge colorful cement walls on three sides. I just didn't like it.
BUT, the hotel itself is nice!
I can see why people like the Swan but I can also see why it's so important to work at getting points and upgrades to avoid a standard room. It'll take me 25 years to get enough Starwood points to make a difference.
The discounts for teachers and government employees are generous and I appreciate that.
I will probably stay at the Swan again someday but I will pay for a better view.

 

[paduncan]

We thought the Swan was very nice, but it did involve a lot of walking. Unless we missed something, I didn't like how you had to walk all the way back to the main Dolphin/Swan corridor area if you were coming from the pool area. Especially when our room were in the section closest to the pool. If you're coming from the lagoon pool, that's a long walk past many doors that were either locked or marked exit only. I figure it was for security purposes but...No problem walking all over the parks, just would have liked to walk a little less at the resort.

 

[Muffy]

Thanks for the review of the Swan.

 

[Claudia Kellenberger]

I enjoyed the Swan last Dec., and I will again this Dec.

That said.....I was also very disappointed about that long walk through the hotel to get to and from the pool. I vacationed SOLO, so I did NOT want to go through the hotel lobby, alone, in my bathing suit and little robe. I didn't use the pools.

I really missed that ceiling fan....it used to be a great thing to dry my deodorant in the morning ! LOL !

Seriously.....the ceiling fans in the Disney resorts were whisper quiet, and it was great to sleep with it on.

 

[jgates]

??We came in on the right side of the courtyard down a hallway - ended up coming in near the elevators. Did they now have this locked? We hardly ever entered thru the main lobby.

 

[jgates]

??We came in on the right side of the courtyard down a hallway - ended up coming in closer to the elevators we used. Did they now have this locked? We hardly ever entered thru the main lobby hall.

 

[jgates]

??We came in on the right side of the courtyard down a hallway - ended up coming in closer to the elevators we used. Did they now have this locked? We hardly ever entered thru the main lobby hall.

 

[Blondie]

If you have the time, there are lots of little short-cuts around both the Swan and Dolphin. You just have to look for them!

 

[Mickeyfaniam]

Originally posted by jgates
??We came in on the right side of the courtyard down a hallway - ended up coming in closer to the elevators we used. Did they now have this locked? We hardly ever entered thru the main lobby hall.

yes, that what we did