Help for Aussie please re. deciding BC or Swan

[aussiedaisy]

Hello, we are coming over in Oct and cannot decide between the Beach club or the Swan hotels. Just wondering if anyone can tell me if the beach club rooms have been renovated recently? We stayed at the CR last year and the new beds were lovely! Does the BC have new beds and are they comfortable? What is the ambience like in the rooms? Also, how does it compare to the Swan, is the room and location comparable to the BC? I know the Swan would be better due to the price but I also want a nice room and a good location. Please help me decide!!! Thanks

 

[mma800]

I can't comment on the beds, but I would choose BC for atmosphere and pool.
Have a fantastic time!

 

[sanibelover]

I think you will be happy with either.

We have stayed at both and actually like the Swan better. Our room at the BC was in dire need of a rehab and our Swan room was beautiful! That is so hit or miss though.

SAB is pretty cool, but the pool hours seem to be extremely limited at certain times of year. When we got back to our room in the evening, the pool was always closed - approx. 7 pm.

There is no Disney theming at the Swan, so if that is important to you, you should go with the BC. The Swan seems like a more grown up resort.
One caveat - if there is a large conference at the Swan/Dolphin, it could impact your trip. I have been there during a large conference and would proably not been happy if it were my family vacation - just too many people everywhere.

 

[dawz1026]

The Beach Club is Disney owned....the Swan is not..You have more Disney at the Beach..hidden Mickeys in the walls,bedspreads,carpets..more Disney perks...We are Beach Club only the past 6 years..there is my vote

 

[happymommy]

We've stayed at the BC twice - the room had serious problems. The first room had two DOUBLE beds, not queen. I am tall, and was VERY not happy. Plus it was tiny - so they finally moved us. To another room with DOUBLE beds. They couldn't move us again until the following day (they said they were full, but now I think I should have refused to let them do that). The housekeeping wasn't good either. In fact, they gave us a free dinner at the Yachtsman steakhouse as an apology, and a free night. The free night we used the following year - my DH had a convention at the Hilton, so we stayed at the BC the first night, then SOG. Well, the free night didn't impress us either. We had scaffolding covering the window to the outside. We just needed a place to sleep so we didn't care.

I am giving it another try in the villas this summer - not concerned about housekeeping as I'll keep it clean myself for the most part (different when travelling with kids!).

The Swan is very clean and the beds are comfortable. It's a longer walk to Epcot, but I like the walk personally. The pros of the Swan are that they have nice room service (or we do carry out from the sushi bar sometimes) so if you're tired at night you can do that (they even have a kids menu for room service and it's reasonable). Plus movies on demand, which sounds silly, but at night it's nice to chill out with a movie sometimes. Disney doesn't have this. The Swan has a nice pool, although the BC has Stormalong Bay.

We've been to WDW so many times, so we like the Swan a lot, as I don't always need Mickey soaps. I'm going for the BCV one bedroom next trip as it's all 4 of us so I like the washer/dryer and kitchen. Plus we do like Epcot! When I go without DH, I love the Swan. It's perfect for the 3 of us. We need 2 rooms if it's all 4 of us.

The Swan has a laundry room, across the way in the Dolphin. I use it every time we stay there; it's fine and right by the Picabu's so you can have a snack while you wait for the stuff to wash.

I personally vote for the Swan.