imbe@aol.com
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- May 22, 2001
- Messages
- 371
Let me start with a quick run down on the food in concierge first..
Only breakfast things and early evening snacks are offered here, but that wasn't a problem for me. Honestly, it's rare that we're at the hotel at lunch time, and if we are (when we're on long trips), we're usually having a sit down lunch anyway.
The first thing about concierge that bears mention is definitely Mama T!! WHAT a nice, sweet, wonderful lady!! She is such a tremendous asset to the Swan! This woman could teach many a CM I've encountered, in Disney and in other hotels/resorts, more than a thing or two about hospitality, and about dealing with people in general! I'll go so far as to say it's pretty much worth even a short stay there in concierge just to meet her! She's got a gift for making people feel welcome, special, that I just don't have myself! LOL
BREAKFAST - I'm really not sure what time breakfast ends here - I know it begins at 6:30 a.m. There were coffees, teas, hot cocoa, and flavored syrups to put in the beverages; water - plastic bottles to take with, and glass still and sparkling water for use there; orange juice; apple juice; juice boxes; assorted cold cereals; several types of bagels; about 4 types of muffins - corn, blueberry, grain, and I'm not sure of the other .. maybe chocolate chip?; cheese, apple, blueberry danishes; chocolate chip, oatmeal, GREAT peanut butter and also chocolate chocolate chip cookies; assorted fruit - blackberries, raspberries, honeydew, cantaloupe, red and green grapes, pineapple, oranges, apples. I think that's it ..
Evening Snacks - I believe these started at 5, though again, I don't know when they ended. I only went up there myself once, so I may be forgetting some things, but ... there were assorted crackers; cheeses - pepperjack, swiss, cheddar; fruits - same as breakfast for the most part; one hot appetizer, and that night, it was jalepeno poppers; the same cookies as breakfast ... that's all I can remember.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Overall Impressions ~
(*just a note before I begin this - I say "I personally" a lot in this review, because these were just MY experiences, and I don't want people to think that things are this way all the time, or that they will find it the same. Everyone's different ... )
This was our first stay at the Swan. Like I said in my 1st day's TR, it *was* a very strange feeling for me to be there, instead of the Grand, or another Disney resort. I think that the 'camp' is divided on this issue - whether or not it's "important" to someone to stay at a "Disney" hotel. I'm ... pretty darned sure that, for ME personally, it *is* rather important to do that. This may sound silly, but ... somehow, it just wasn't the same 'feeling' I get, being in the Swan, as opposed to being in the Grand, or AKL, or BWI, etc. *I* felt like I wasn't really even at WDW, at least, not until I walked down the path and got onto the boardwalk.. maybe that would've been different had we had an Epcot view, I don't know. But as it was, we didn't. And this 'lack of Disney feeling' had nothing to do with the fact that there are conventions going on at the Swan - heck, there've been many a convention going on at the Grand & Contemporary on assorted stays! It's just that those little, small 'Disney touches' weren't there .. you know, the things that you probably don't even think about .. until they are missing.
For one thing, I personally found the Swan's housekeeping to be pretty lacking - a few examples are .. empty, dirty concierge plates that were consistently not taken away; one concierge plate a member of our party left in the DR with a couple strawberries on it sat there for 3 days, and actually began to get mold on it! My husband shaved the first morning we were there, and when he shook the towel with the hairs on it into the trash, a few hairs fell on the floor. I didn't pick them up (hey, I am on vacation! and I don't "do" cleaning then <g>) and darned if they didn't stay there the ENTIRE trip. Yeah .. I *could* have picked them up .. but frankly, I thought I'd do a test.. And it wasn't 2 hairs either - it was a small pile. Unless they have blind housekeepers, I don't know how these could've been missed! LOL Also, another morning, I was in a hurry to get out of there, and inadvertantly left my robe (the robe provided by the hotel) on the floor under the sink outside the bathroom. When we came back that afternoon to change for dinner, AND when we came back that evening after dinner, it was still there. When I picked it up to put it on, I found a pile of dirty towels under it! My husband also found a lid to a water on the floor when we got there that never did get picked up. I think the worst of what happened though, was .. I'd ordered some flowers & truffles to be delivered to our suite before leaving home, from an outside florist. I specified the date - day after we arrived. I called twice that day, and once a day on subsequent days, and was told .. nope, nothing here under your name, or under the name the suite was registered in. Hmm. I couldn't do anything about it at the time, because .. like a dummy, I hadn't THINK I had saved the confirmation email, and had no clue how to get a hold of them. As it turns out, when I got home, I found I DID have the email .. and when I checked with Fedex, I found that yes indeed, someone at the hotel DID sign for the delivery - it just never made it to ME!
The good things were the close enough proximity to Epcot, which, imho, is such a plus for the Festival. Also, one CM named Rosalinda was a doll, and managed to get us into one of the rennovated suites, with those wonderful Heavenly beds!
The atmosphere of the hotel was good too - nice fountain in the lobby <g>, and nice employees too.
I know - all of this makes no sense huh? LOL I saved a LOT .. a whole lot! LOL of $$ choosing the Swan. This trip, the price/deal we got for the Swan couldn't be beat (much as it pains me to say this <g>, it's true...). Thanks to the generosity of a friend, we were all able to have this big 2 BR suite for an amazing rate, that we could not have gotten on our own. The location was good too - though the BWI was my original choice. But, the type of room/suite I wanted there was not available, so .... I am NOT, not in ANY WAY, putting down the Swan, don't get me wrong! And I'm not saying I wouldn't choose it again possibly, if the situation arose as it did this year. What I *am* saying is that I really missed my entire "Disney Immersion" experience! LOL It's simply a matter
of personal preference I guess.
Only breakfast things and early evening snacks are offered here, but that wasn't a problem for me. Honestly, it's rare that we're at the hotel at lunch time, and if we are (when we're on long trips), we're usually having a sit down lunch anyway.
The first thing about concierge that bears mention is definitely Mama T!! WHAT a nice, sweet, wonderful lady!! She is such a tremendous asset to the Swan! This woman could teach many a CM I've encountered, in Disney and in other hotels/resorts, more than a thing or two about hospitality, and about dealing with people in general! I'll go so far as to say it's pretty much worth even a short stay there in concierge just to meet her! She's got a gift for making people feel welcome, special, that I just don't have myself! LOL
BREAKFAST - I'm really not sure what time breakfast ends here - I know it begins at 6:30 a.m. There were coffees, teas, hot cocoa, and flavored syrups to put in the beverages; water - plastic bottles to take with, and glass still and sparkling water for use there; orange juice; apple juice; juice boxes; assorted cold cereals; several types of bagels; about 4 types of muffins - corn, blueberry, grain, and I'm not sure of the other .. maybe chocolate chip?; cheese, apple, blueberry danishes; chocolate chip, oatmeal, GREAT peanut butter and also chocolate chocolate chip cookies; assorted fruit - blackberries, raspberries, honeydew, cantaloupe, red and green grapes, pineapple, oranges, apples. I think that's it ..
Evening Snacks - I believe these started at 5, though again, I don't know when they ended. I only went up there myself once, so I may be forgetting some things, but ... there were assorted crackers; cheeses - pepperjack, swiss, cheddar; fruits - same as breakfast for the most part; one hot appetizer, and that night, it was jalepeno poppers; the same cookies as breakfast ... that's all I can remember.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Overall Impressions ~
(*just a note before I begin this - I say "I personally" a lot in this review, because these were just MY experiences, and I don't want people to think that things are this way all the time, or that they will find it the same. Everyone's different ... )
This was our first stay at the Swan. Like I said in my 1st day's TR, it *was* a very strange feeling for me to be there, instead of the Grand, or another Disney resort. I think that the 'camp' is divided on this issue - whether or not it's "important" to someone to stay at a "Disney" hotel. I'm ... pretty darned sure that, for ME personally, it *is* rather important to do that. This may sound silly, but ... somehow, it just wasn't the same 'feeling' I get, being in the Swan, as opposed to being in the Grand, or AKL, or BWI, etc. *I* felt like I wasn't really even at WDW, at least, not until I walked down the path and got onto the boardwalk.. maybe that would've been different had we had an Epcot view, I don't know. But as it was, we didn't. And this 'lack of Disney feeling' had nothing to do with the fact that there are conventions going on at the Swan - heck, there've been many a convention going on at the Grand & Contemporary on assorted stays! It's just that those little, small 'Disney touches' weren't there .. you know, the things that you probably don't even think about .. until they are missing.
For one thing, I personally found the Swan's housekeeping to be pretty lacking - a few examples are .. empty, dirty concierge plates that were consistently not taken away; one concierge plate a member of our party left in the DR with a couple strawberries on it sat there for 3 days, and actually began to get mold on it! My husband shaved the first morning we were there, and when he shook the towel with the hairs on it into the trash, a few hairs fell on the floor. I didn't pick them up (hey, I am on vacation! and I don't "do" cleaning then <g>) and darned if they didn't stay there the ENTIRE trip. Yeah .. I *could* have picked them up .. but frankly, I thought I'd do a test.. And it wasn't 2 hairs either - it was a small pile. Unless they have blind housekeepers, I don't know how these could've been missed! LOL Also, another morning, I was in a hurry to get out of there, and inadvertantly left my robe (the robe provided by the hotel) on the floor under the sink outside the bathroom. When we came back that afternoon to change for dinner, AND when we came back that evening after dinner, it was still there. When I picked it up to put it on, I found a pile of dirty towels under it! My husband also found a lid to a water on the floor when we got there that never did get picked up. I think the worst of what happened though, was .. I'd ordered some flowers & truffles to be delivered to our suite before leaving home, from an outside florist. I specified the date - day after we arrived. I called twice that day, and once a day on subsequent days, and was told .. nope, nothing here under your name, or under the name the suite was registered in. Hmm. I couldn't do anything about it at the time, because .. like a dummy, I hadn't THINK I had saved the confirmation email, and had no clue how to get a hold of them. As it turns out, when I got home, I found I DID have the email .. and when I checked with Fedex, I found that yes indeed, someone at the hotel DID sign for the delivery - it just never made it to ME!
The good things were the close enough proximity to Epcot, which, imho, is such a plus for the Festival. Also, one CM named Rosalinda was a doll, and managed to get us into one of the rennovated suites, with those wonderful Heavenly beds!
The atmosphere of the hotel was good too - nice fountain in the lobby <g>, and nice employees too.
I know - all of this makes no sense huh? LOL I saved a LOT .. a whole lot! LOL of $$ choosing the Swan. This trip, the price/deal we got for the Swan couldn't be beat (much as it pains me to say this <g>, it's true...). Thanks to the generosity of a friend, we were all able to have this big 2 BR suite for an amazing rate, that we could not have gotten on our own. The location was good too - though the BWI was my original choice. But, the type of room/suite I wanted there was not available, so .... I am NOT, not in ANY WAY, putting down the Swan, don't get me wrong! And I'm not saying I wouldn't choose it again possibly, if the situation arose as it did this year. What I *am* saying is that I really missed my entire "Disney Immersion" experience! LOL It's simply a matter
of personal preference I guess.
