Just back from BCV and the Swan

[chrissyk]

We just got back from 5 nights at the BCV and 2 nights at the Swan last night. It was pretty hot last week, so we mostly spend the days at a pool and some nights at the parks. Stormalong Bay was WAY crowded and we did not find that to be a relaxing experience. The BCV pool was also packed, so we ended up doing some pool-hopping. We discovered that Coronado Springs has a really nice, large pool and we enjoyed swimming there. We'd never seen that resort before, and we were surprized by how nice it looked We want to stay there in the future now Also, just to warn anyone who might want a quiet studio on the 5th floor of the BCV...stay away from studio 560!! It was RIGHT next to an elevator that ran like every 10 seconds all night long. We ended up moving our room the next night (to 550, which was pretty quiet). Our one night in 560 was pretty noisy, though.

We LOVED the Swan...our room was fantastic and I think that the Grotto pool is the best pool at WDW now We'd gotten the Swan for $59/night on Priceline, which was an excellent value for this resort IMHO. We're Starwood Preferred Gold, which really helped us out. We requested a corner king on a high floor with an EPCOT/Illuminations view. We ended up with room 627, which the CM who checked us in told us is usually saved for Gold or Platinum Starwood Preferred guests. This room had an AWESOME view! We were able to add club privledges for 1250 Starwood points/night, and there was no problem with us being on the 6th floor and having club privledges Also, they waived the $10/night fee no problem when we asked. We weren't interested in using any of the amenities that the fee covered, so we figured that it didn't hurt to ask to have it removed. Overall, we had a fantastic stay at the Swan, and we hope to stay there again someday!

 

[luckytso]

chrissy,

We will be there on Friday? So did you get a corner king room? Does it have a pull-out sofa? Thanks

 

[chrissyk]

Yes, our room had a pull-out sofa The room was larger than our studio at the BCV!! Our room number was 627, which is not actually the corner room. 629 would have been the corner room...they both had fantastic views, though!! We requested a "corner king" with an EPCOT/Illuminations view on a high floor. It worked out GREAT! I loved our room Good luck with your request...I hope that you get lucky with your view too!!

 

[bigsis1970]

for posting about waiving the resort fee.. ( I won't be using any of the service either ) glad to also see you were not treated any differently because you used priceline ( I used hotwire ) Thanks again.. Was the Grotto pool crowded ?? Thanks Michelle

 

[chrissyk]

Originally posted by bigsis1970
for posting about waiving the resort fee.. ( I won't be using any of the service either ) glad to also see you were not treated any differently because you used priceline ( I used hotwire ) Thanks again.. Was the Grotto pool crowded ?? Thanks Michelle

We were treated GREAT! My DH was impressed that we got such value for $59/night plus tax Definitely ask about waving the resort fee...they had no problems doing it for us, so if one rep. tells you it's not possible, go back later and ask another. I know some people have had trouble getting the fee waved...I totally believe that it depends on the rep. that you happen to get!

There were a lot of people at the Grotto pool, but it didn't feel crowded at all We LOVED this pool! Also, we had no trouble finding chairs to sit on...there seemed to be lots of available chairs every time we went there We liked this pool WAY better than SAB. SAB felt very crowded to us, but the Grotto pool didn't. Also, if you want a REALLY quiet pool, there was hardly anybody at the lap-pool, and also hardly anybody at the cresent-shaped pool near the large bar at the Grotto. Have a great trip!!!

 

[Mouseteacher]

Swan/Dolphin...The best kept secret in WDW!

 

[gm]

Hi,

thank you for your report.

I was just wondering: isn't the $10 also waived if you get club level privileges? I thought that is what I had heard but i am not sure?


Also, when did you request the corner king and how? did you email, phone them or was it at checking?

thanks

 

[chrissyk]

Originally posted by gm
Hi,

thank you for your report.

I was just wondering: isn't the $10 also waived if you get club level privileges? I thought that is what I had heard but i am not sure?


Also, when did you request the corner king and how? did you email, phone them or was it at checking?

thanks

Mouseteacher, I totally agree!!

GM, I don't think that the fee is automatically waved if you get Club Level privledges, because they were going to charge us the fee before we asked to have it waived. We had CL privledges, so getting it waived definitely wasn't automatic as a part of being Club Level.

We requested a corner king about 5 days before our check-in date. We were actually at the BCV at that point, so we walked over to the Swan check-in desk and asked there. If we were at home, we would have done it by fax When we went to check in, they had us in a king room, but it was not a corner king and it was on the 3rd floor (so much for our 1st try at requesting the corner king). All we had to do was show that we were SPG and say that we wanted a corner king on a high floor, and the rep. said that she would try to find us what we were looking for. The room was not ready yet, so they told us to check back at 3PM, and at that point we found out that we had gotten our request Also, we had requested the Club Level upgrade with points when we visited the Swan 5 days before check-in, and this was noted by the rep. When we went to check in, they already had it in the system that we would be using points to upgrade to Club Level. This cost 1250 points/night.

 

[luckytso]

thanks for this wonderful report. I just received an e-mail reply from Melissa saying that my request has been entered into the system. I will report back to see what that meant after we get back.

Can't wait!!!

 

[Mouseteacher]

We had CL as a comp upgrade (gold member spg) and the resort fee was not waived when I asked at check-in. I didn't push the issue b/c we received the comp upgrade for two rooms booked with the teacher rate. However, what I didn't do and should have done was see another CM at another time. There was no need for us to have a newspaper and coffee since we had CL and we used our cell phone not the room phone.

So, if you are refused the waiver/ wait and then see another CM... it might just work. S/D CMs are not consistent in their policy.

Grotto pool ---------- AWESOME!!!!

 

[DISNEYMOMx5]

ChrissyK--How did you go about getting the Swan on priceline? Was it just by chance? I've never done priceline or hotwire...I read the "cheat sheet" for hotwire, but what about priceline? Was it a 4-Star in the Disney World area or a resort? Sorry for all the questions, but I'm trying to get some nice accomodations for a weekend in July, but our family of 7 needs 2 rooms, & that adds up real quick, even with the teacher rate at the Swan or Dolphin. Thanks for any help or advice you can give!! BTW, glad you had a great trip. We own DVC pts & just stayed in a 2 BR villa at BCV over New Years--It was wonderful! I love the Epcot area!!

 

[chrissyk]

Originally posted by DISNEYMOMx5
ChrissyK--How did you go about getting the Swan on priceline? Was it just by chance? I've never done priceline or hotwire...I read the "cheat sheet" for hotwire, but what about priceline? Was it a 4-Star in the Disney World area or a resort? Sorry for all the questions, but I'm trying to get some nice accomodations for a weekend in July, but our family of 7 needs 2 rooms, & that adds up real quick, even with the teacher rate at the Swan or Dolphin. Thanks for any help or advice you can give!! BTW, glad you had a great trip. We own DVC pts & just stayed in a 2 BR villa at BCV over New Years--It was wonderful! I love the Epcot area!!

I researched my Priceline bid on the Orlando hotels board on www.biddingfortravel.com and my dates were coming up for the Swan and Dolphin (resort category, WDW area) pretty reliably at $59/night (this was back in Feb.). I made the bid and I got the Swan I was VERY happy with this, but I will absolutely not do it again. That is because you really don't KNOW with 100% certainty if you will get that particular hotel even if all the other people reporting on biddingfortravel have gotten it for certain dates at a certain price. On the Hotwire "cheat sheet" site that you talked about, you CAN be sure what hotel you are getting. I'd rather pay $10/night more for the Swan or Dolphin on Hotwire and know for sure what hotel I am getting in advance. Also, the Swan and Dolphin show up only periodically on Priceline and Hotwire, so keep your eye on that Hotwire site and biddingfortravel to see if you can catch it for your dates

 

[luckytso]

chrissy,

How was Swan CL while you were there? What did they offer? Thanks

 

[chrissyk]

Originally posted by luckytso
chrissy,

How was Swan CL while you were there? What did they offer? Thanks

I thought that the Club Level offerings were great. For breakfast, there was OJ, coffee (with flavorings if you wanted them), tea, milk, bottled water, pastries (many), fruit, cold cereal, bagels (cream cheeze, butter, etc.), english muffins, toast...I'm sure that I'm forgetting something, but that's most of it. This was from 7-10AM.

From 5-7PM, there were appetizers (one hot appetizer...I didn't try it, but I think that it was stuffed jalepenos the night that we went), sodas, bottled water, cheeze and crackers and cookies. From 7-9:30PM, there were cookies and beverages. The cookies were really good! DH and I think that they were smaller versions of the cookies served in the Dolphin Fountain ice cream place. Overall, the club offerings were really great

 

[simonmunro]

Chrissyk, you said you had a sleeper sofa in your room. Did you notice if it was roomy and comfy?? Hope so, for the kids sake!

 

[chrissyk]

Originally posted by simonmunro
Chrissyk, you said you had a sleeper sofa in your room. Did you notice if it was roomy and comfy?? Hope so, for the kids sake!

It was just DH and myself, so I never actually pulled it out. It was a pretty wide couch, though, so I think that it could sleep 2 kids comfortably. The room itself was VERY roomy to accomodate both the king-sized bed and this sleeper sofa comfortably I could swear that our room at the Swan was quite a bit bigger than our studio at the BCV!!

 

[bigsis1970]

ChrissyK , Thanks for soo much great information.. I can wait to get there ! Michelle

 

[DISNEYMOMx5]

ChrissyK--Thanks so much for the info! I'll check it out!!

 

[simonmunro]

Your posts have been so helpful for our next vacation. Thank you very much for all the answers and details! If anything else springs to mind please share.

 

[chrissyk]

Originally posted by simonmunro
Your posts have been so helpful for our next vacation. Thank you very much for all the answers and details! If anything else springs to mind please share.

One other thing did spring to my mind, LOL! There is an ice-cream shop in the Dolphin on the 1st floor called the "Dolphin Fountain". The lines at Beaches and Cream and the ice-cream shop at the BW hotel were SO long every evening, so DH and I explored the S+D looking for an ice-cream shop. This place did not disappoint The milkshakes were GREAT, and they were cheaper than B+C by nearly a dollar. If you want ice cream or milkshakes, give this place a try...it may save you a long wait in line at B+C!! Of course, we discovered the "Dolphin Fountain" on the LAST night of our trip Figures! Well, we'll know better next time I guess