Dolphin vs Swan

[mouseRD]

We stayed at the Swan in May - loved it! Now we are going to the F & W festival at the beginning of October. We wanted to try the BC or YC because we have already stayed at the Swan & the BWI, but were told there is no availability at BC/YC/BWI. We can get a room at either the Swan or the Dolphin for that time period (Dolphin is only $10 per night less). My question is this: do you think for 2 adults that it would be worth it to try the Dolphin when we know we liked the Swan? We do like our peace & quiet. Is the Dolphin atmosphere pretty much the same as the Swan? What do you who have stayed at each of these hotels feel are the advantages of each?

 

[Dan Murphy]

I personally like the Swan better. Smaller, easier to get around (not lost, LOL), 'cozier'. The Dolphin is too big for my tastes, however, it does have Tubbies and the laundry, the soda/burger shop, all nice to have 'right there'. And I guess one could say it is marginally closer to the Grotto pool area. You can't go wrong at either though.

 

[Ladyhawke10]

The environment is pretty much the same in both, though the Swan might be a bit "cozier" as the previous poster stated, because more conventioneers go to the Dolphin and the Swan is smaller. The Dolphin has a much prettier lobby, though is not overall any more luxurious than the Swan. It used to be that the Swan had better bed (the Westin heavenly beds) but now the Dolphin (owned by Sheraton--both are starwood properties) began the Sweet Sleeper bed which is just as comfortable. The Dolphin is more convenient for the refillable mugs since the place to refill them is in the Dolphin rather than the Swan. When I stayed at the Swan it was quite a hike to go get my diet coke refilled--hardly worth it sometimes. More of the restaurants are in the Dolphin, and there are a lot more rooms at the Dolphin. I don't think one is better than the other, they both have the same bright Floridian decor and are quite nice and well located w/in WDW.

 

[jwfla422]

I always have a difficult time choosing between the 2. BUT, I have to lean just a bit toward the Swan because it is smaller and more intimate.

As far as the quiet goes, that really depends on room location at either. You do have to go a lot further though for a room at the end of a wing in the Dolphin. But, you do have conveniences like Tubbi's and the awesome restaurant FRESH. Of course, these are both a courtyard walk away from the Swan.

Actually convention goers stay at both resorts, but the bigger conventions are at the Dolphin but I've never had any problem with that at either resort.

The rooms at the Swan have 2 sinks as opposed to a vanity area and 1 sink at the Dolphin. The rooms at the Swan have 2 queens as opposed to 2 double beds at the Dolphin. All rooms at the Swan are renovated and almost all rooms at the Dolphin are renovated. Kings are available at both resorts.

The bottom line is the amentities are pretty much the same. If you stay in the far east wing in the Dolphin it's almost the same walk to Tubbi's even if you're staying at the Swan (except if it's raining LOL)!!

It took us more than 5 Swan stays to finally try the Dolphin because I was hesitant that we wouldn't like it as much and honestly I'm glad we did, we were NOT in the least dissappointed with that choice. So, if you feel like trying something new you should be fine, if you'd feel more comfortable staying at the Swan by all means stay there (sorry hope I was helpful...LOL!!)

 

[swilphil]

I have stayed at both the Swan and Dolphin, and there are things that I love about each. If you get a renovated room that is on the West Wing or the in the Central section, I think you will be just as happy. The Dolphin Lobby is impressive. To make it more special, maybe you could upgrade to Club Level or a suite. Also try some of the restaurants at the Dolphin--Fresh and Blue Zoo, especially.

If you have any problems with your room location at the Dolphin because of noise or distance, be sure to mention it the staff. They are just as wonderful as the Swan staff.

 

[cindala]

Is the air conditioning set up the same in the Swan as in the Dolphin? We stayed in the Dolphin the beginning of this month, and the motion control AC was never cool enough for us, so we transferred earlier than planned to the YC where you have complete control over the AC functioning.

 

[swilphil]

I was at the Swan two weeks ago and had total control over the a/c controls while I was in the room. I think there is some sort of motion sensor that stops the a/c from running when the room is empty--good energy conservation But the room cooled down very quickly and I could raise or lower the temperature, as well as the fan speed. If anything the temperature was often too cold for me, but it was easy to change.