Emergency Dolphin Question

[PamNC]

Something is eating at me. I'm not very trusting when making reservations. So many times (not usually Disney) you book at one rate and when you go to check out they try to say the rate was more for some of the nights and I absolutely HATE this scenario and I usually go balistic and get what I want. But, I don't like having to go balistic.

Here's my story. It starts out great. I have the Dolphin booked 11/23-11/27 and I booked it originally at an AP rate of $169.50 simply by calling to Dolphin to see if they had any discounts. Then, this a.m I was on allearsnet and they had a special code for a rate of $139.50 during those dates. I called the dolphin and asked if I coud apply the code and they did. No problem. I was happy.

then, I got my new confirmation via email and it listed "Additional Mandatory Room Charges per night" and it listed out $10 per night service pkg fee, $9 per night..... for a total of $49 per night additional. I remember they use to have a $10 per night fee, but I was told it was no longer in place.

So I called to see what was going on and they assured me that there would be no additional charges other than tax. I don't trust this completely - I'm not a trusting soul. A little character flaw of mine.

Anyone been to the S/D recently??? Were you charged additional fees per night?

HELP. I know I'm panicking but I just hate surprises. And I was so excited about saving $30 per night for my trip only to be shot down by this darn email. My first confirmation email DID NOT list the additional charges. I guess they may have accidently sent me an old form or something???????

Somebody calm me down.

PamNC

 

[Blondie]

We had a great stay at the Dolphin in late September and the only additional fee charged was the daily parking charge because we had a rental car.

Relax and have a great trip!

 

[Lives4Disney]

Hi, I would CHECK CHECK CHECK your credit card statement. I had August reservations at the Dolphin. They double charged me. Said they would credit me the double. They didn't. It went on and on and took several phone calls to Sheraton and the Dolphin accounting dept. I think I was supposed to be charged about $800 for our stay, and once they credited the double charge, my bill was still showing about $1100 for that stay. (This was all before check in - it was a lower priced prepaid internet deal) More phone calls and it was worked out. Finally. The SAME THING happened for my Thanksgiving reservation. Ugh. I was supposed to stay there the same time that you were, but changed to BWI.

Then, I go to check in for my August stay on August 13, and guess what?? They had charged me for August 12!! I told the front desk lady, I am just arriving and it is the 13th. She argued with me that it was the 12th for several minutes!!! It was a Twilight Zone check in. Finally we agreed that yes it was the 13th. She took the 12th off my bill. Well, at check out, the 12th was still on my bill!!!! It was just added frustration.

Stay on top of it before you check out and check and recheck your cc statement when you get home.

Lives4Disney

 

[Blondie]

Yikes, I've never had anything like that happen to us and we've stayed at the Dolphin 4 times now.

 

[CarolA]

Stayed at the Swan recently. Parking was something like $8 a day plus tax. Internet access was $10.95

Personally I liked the resort fee better then the nickle and diming they are doing now.

 

[k&a&c'smom]

Several friends and I stayed in two rooms at the Dolphin this summer. The room I was in had no problems with the bill - other than the parking charges. I had valet-parked my car for the first night, but self-parked the rest of the stay. When I switched to self-park, the charge should have dropped from $14/day to $7/day - but it didn't. Explained at check-out, and they removed the excess charges.

The other room guests had to go to the front desk numerous times to have OUR room charges taken off their bill. Somehow, they were getting charged our charges and theirs, plus we were charged our charges. It all got taken care of at check-out.

I will say, they had a confusing way of charging the room tax - it is listed as both "room tax" and "resort tax". At first, I thought they were still charging the "resort fee" of $10, as the amount for "room tax" happened to be $9.95 and they had just done away with the resort fee. But, when I went over the bill, it turned out that the two tax amounts, added together, came out to the 11.5% tax for the room, so that was OK. Just thought I'd mention this point, so it doesn't confuse someone else.

Overall, even with the few glitches, we found the Dolphin staff to be very accommodating, going out of their way to fix any problem that arose. We were very satisfied with our stay there, and will definitely stay there in the future!

 

[jeancbpugh]

then, I got my new confirmation via email and it listed "Additional Mandatory Room Charges per night" and it listed out $10 per night service pkg fee, $9 per night..... for a total of $49 per night additional. I remember they use to have a $10 per night fee, but I was told it was no longer in place.

So I called to see what was going on and they assured me that there would be no additional charges other than tax. I don't trust this completely - I'm not a trusting soul. A little character flaw of mine.

Why not call back and ask them to fax you a correct reservation confirmation, without the $49 in fees? Having something in writing is useful.

 

[FINFAN]

You can also check you balance on the tv before you check out, and call the desk if you see any errors. We have not had any problems with the Dolphin, quite the opposite...always a very pleasant experience.


Pam

 

[PamNC]

I didn't know there was a parking fee. We are driving down so we'll be liable for that charge. We'll self park though. I agree, I would just as soon have the $10 fee and be done wth it.

I'll certainly watch my charges every step of the way - whew! Nothing can screw up your vacation more than someone trying to overcharge you for the room.

I think I'll request a new reservation confirmation. I called back 3 times just to talk to 3 different people and every single one of them told me there wa no resort fee. However, they should have mentioned the parking fee when I asked "so, I won't be charged anything additional except tax."

PamNC

 

[paladin]

I have always found that it is very rare for hotels to quote parking fees when you ask about room fees and taxes. They don't know if you will have a car and a parking fee is not strictly a room fee. It is always best to ask specifically about parking charges if you will have a car.

 

[D L and K's Mom]

I am pretty sure we didnt get charged the parking fee as we had handicapped access parking.....but I am not positive. We had a car with a sticker for handicapped aprking and I dont think we were charged to park at the Dolphin when we were there...........

 

[madge]

Something is eating at me. I'm not very trusting when making reservations. So many times (not usually Disney) you book at one rate and when you go to check out they try to say the rate was more for some of the nights and I absolutely HATE this scenario and I usually go balistic and get what I want. But, I don't like having to go balistic.

Here's my story. It starts out great. I have the Dolphin booked 11/23-11/27 and I booked it originally at an AP rate of $169.50 simply by calling to Dolphin to see if they had any discounts. Then, this a.m I was on allearsnet and they had a special code for a rate of $139.50 during those dates. I called the dolphin and asked if I coud apply the code and they did. No problem. I was happy.

then, I got my new confirmation via email and it listed "Additional Mandatory Room Charges per night" and it listed out $10 per night service pkg fee, $9 per night..... for a total of $49 per night additional. I remember they use to have a $10 per night fee, but I was told it was no longer in place.

So I called to see what was going on and they assured me that there would be no additional charges other than tax. I don't trust this completely - I'm not a trusting soul. A little character flaw of mine.

Anyone been to the S/D recently??? Were you charged additional fees per night?

HELP. I know I'm panicking but I just hate surprises. And I was so excited about saving $30 per night for my trip only to be shot down by this darn email. My first confirmation email DID NOT list the additional charges. I guess they may have accidently sent me an old form or something???????

Somebody calm me down.

PamNC

the only fee we were charged in October was to park. The $10 resort fee is gone. There are additional fees for the health club, internet access, etc. but we didn't use any of those services.

 

[madge]

I didn't know there was a parking fee. We are driving down so we'll be liable for that charge. We'll self park though. I agree, I would just as soon have the $10 fee and be done wth it.

I'll certainly watch my charges every step of the way - whew! Nothing can screw up your vacation more than someone trying to overcharge you for the room.

I think I'll request a new reservation confirmation. I called back 3 times just to talk to 3 different people and every single one of them told me there wa no resort fee. However, they should have mentioned the parking fee when I asked "so, I won't be charged anything additional except tax."

PamNC

are you a SPG member? you should be able to see your confirmation online if you are.

If you aren't, you should join...it's free, and you might gat an upgrade as a member!

 

[CaliforniaDreaming]

I'd also rather pay the resort fee and have everything included than having to pay everything seperate. I mean, the internet alone is more than the old resort fee, lol.

 

[NancyIL]

Lots of people complained about the $10/day resort fee because they didn't use the "amenities" covered by it. Now people complain about the individual charges. Guess they can't make everyone happy.

 

[PamNC]

are you a SPG member? you should be able to see your confirmation online if you are.

If you aren't, you should join...it's free, and you might gat an upgrade as a member!

I'm not, no. I 'll join, thanks for the idea. I've been meaning to do it. I wonder if I'll get my card in time for my trip? I leave in 10 days.

PamNC

 

[Poohlovr]

You proabably won't have your card, but you'll have your membership number.
When you have that, call the Dolphin and ask to have your SPG number added to your reservation.
It works the same as having the card.

 

[Lives4Disney]

You proabably won't have your card, but you'll have your membership number.
When you have that, call the Dolphin and ask to have your SPG number added to your reservation.
It works the same as having the card.

Wow, it seems you all have had better, more easy going experiences than I have!! I HAD to show my card. Not only that, it is my husband's card and he was not with us on this trip. I had requested the reservation be under my name as it was MY credit card and I knew he wouldn't be there anyway. They gave me a BUNCH of grief because it was HIS card. I am SO LUCKY I had my check book with me to show the front desk clerk as it has both of our names and our common address on the checks PLUS I had to phone my husband on my cell while at the front desk so she could OK it with him!!!! Ugh. That was the same idiot that insisted I was checking in on the 12th when it was the 13th. ANOTHER good thing - I had my computer receipt printed out that I was arranged/reserved to check in on the 13th NOT the 12th like she insisted. She took my info into the back without a word of "I will work this out," "just a minute" - nothing! Just took it and walked off for about 10 minutes while I stood there worrying what's up. After it was all resolved, no "I am sorry" or anything close to customer service.

OK, there are a couple of lessons in there somewhere!!

Just turned me off of the Dolphin, I think. Too much hassle after a delayed evening flight with 3 tired kids. The front desk needs to keep in mind they ARE the FIRST impression people get of the hotel - other than it's appearance. Unfortunately the employees can make or break it for me.


Lives4Disney

 

[madge]

Wow, it seems you all have had better, more easy going experiences than I have!! I HAD to show my card. Not only that, it is my husband's card and he was not with us on this trip. I had requested the reservation be under my name as it was MY credit card and I knew he wouldn't be there anyway. They gave me a BUNCH of grief because it was HIS card. I am SO LUCKY I had my check book with me to show the front desk clerk as it has both of our names and our common address on the checks PLUS I had to phone my husband on my cell while at the front desk so she could OK it with him!!!! Ugh. That was the same idiot that insisted I was checking in on the 12th when it was the 13th. ANOTHER good thing - I had my computer receipt printed out that I was arranged/reserved to check in on the 13th NOT the 12th like she insisted. She took my info into the back without a word of "I will work this out," "just a minute" - nothing! Just took it and walked off for about 10 minutes while I stood there worrying what's up. After it was all resolved, no "I am sorry" or anything close to customer service.

OK, there are a couple of lessons in there somewhere!!

Just turned me off of the Dolphin, I think. Too much hassle after a delayed evening flight with 3 tired kids. The front desk needs to keep in mind they ARE the FIRST impression people get of the hotel - other than it's appearance. Unfortunately the employees can make or break it for me.


Lives4Disney

I have never had to show my physical SPG at the Swan, Dolphin, Westin Indianapolis, Cincinnati, or Sheraton Nashville. Once the number is noted on the reservation, that's it. Same with Hyatt Gold Passport and Hilton Honors. Strange that you had to jump through so many hoops, I'd be up a creek....I NEVER have my card with me, LOL!

 

[Poohlovr]

I've never had to show my card, either.
Last time we were there, we were in a suite I asked if there was a possiblity of adding CL privileges to our room as there are no executive suites on CL . She said that would be no problem; she would just use that as my gold level up-grade. I never showed my card for her to know it was gold.