Is it really a Dolphin?

[Eloise@the Plaza]

Micheal Graves the architect of both the Swan and Dolphin, used the "dolphins" you see on the hotel, because they are the mythelogical signs of water.
He the Dolphin to convey the water theme, thus the funny looking "dolphins".
If you look are the resort, you see blue tiles here and there throught the lobby and convention areas, "wavey lines" suggesting water on throughout the entire resort-this was part of his architectural theming.