Just back from first stay at Dolphin! (It won't be the last!)

[time101]

We had a great stay at the Dolphin last week (Nov 16-22). We stayed at a Howire rate of $81 per night. I had a AAA SPG card. The CM who checked us in probably took at least 10 minutes working to find us the best available room. We requested a renovated room with a nice view. She gave us a room on the 4th floor looking out at the boat dock. We were elated. We had 2 rooms for our party of 4 adults. We couldn't have been any happier with the Dolphin. The renovated rooms are fantastic. The Heavenly beds are unbelievably comfortable. The shower was great. The shower curtain "bows" out to give you what feels like a couple of extra feet of space in the shower. You don't get that effect of the shower curtain blowing in to stick to your skin while showering.

If you stay at Swan or Dolphin, you've gotta have breakfast at Fresh! The best breakfast of the week. We used to love the breakfast at Spoodles when it was a buffet. If you were a lover of that kind of food, you will be even more satisfied with Fresh. It features breakfast with a Meditteranean (sp) flair. But the big thing is that everything is made fresh for you (thus the name!) when you go up to the buffet line.

I only have two complaints. One of our 2 renovated rooms had a distinct and very strong mold/mildew smell. It was room 4047. We called the front desk about it, and they said they did something about it during our stay, but it was hard to tell. It wasn't just a figment of our imagination because all 4 of us smelled it.

The second complaint is the hallway. The carpeting is very worn and has lots of big wrinkles in it. It looked BAD. I can't understand why they are not renovating the hallways as they work their way up the hotel. Maybe they are planning to renovate the hallways after they finish the rooms? Does anybody know? It just seemed odd to have such a spectacular room and such a shabby hallway.

But, I wouldn't change a thing about our choice of hotel--especially at $81 per night! We'll be back, even if we have to pay a little more!

 

[Trekker]

Glad you enjoyed your stay - we love the S&D. I bet they do the halls after the rooms are done!

 

[redfieldmjr]

I recently returned from a wonderful stay at the Swan. It was an adult trip to the Food and Wine Festival. Jersey week was happeneing and crowds were moderately heavy. It was so peaceful at the Swan after fighting park crowds each day, I decided it was the perfect hotel for an adult vacation. Their Italian buffet at Gulliver's was also spectacular. But, to get to the point, our hallways were showing signs of wear as well. Bumpy carpet etc. I figured the halls would eventually see an overhaul as well, but, was happy to have the great room. Had booked a standard and was given a beautiful water view room, could see the pools and lagon/lake. Maybe that was a standard view, I'm not sure. I certainly agree, I would go back in a second, with or without an updated hallway.

 

[dreamflight99]

Originally posted by time101

The second complaint is the hallway. The carpeting is very worn and has lots of big wrinkles in it. It looked BAD. I can't understand why they are not renovating the hallways as they work their way up the hotel. Maybe they are planning to renovate the hallways after they finish the rooms? Does anybody know? It just seemed odd to have such a spectacular room and such a shabby hallway.

They are renovating the HALLWAYS as soon as the rooms are completed. This will include all HALL CARPET, WALLPAPER and LIGHTING. With workers treading up and down the halls carrying (dragging) machines and equipment, not to mention furniture...the HALLWAYS are (and should be) the LAST/FINAL area of the renovation. Glad you enjoyed your stay.

 

[bugbugmom]

So, glad you had a nice stay at the Dolphin My family will staying there for the 1st time at the Dolphin June 2004. Does anyone know when the renovations will be complete including the hallways etc. TIA

 

[time101]

One more thing about our stay...a problem...but it did get resolved. On the last day of our stay, we got our bills. As I mentioned, we had two rooms. One bill was fine. The other bill showed a $25.00 charge from Shula's Steakhouse and an $8 charge for the minibar. We did not ever set foot in Shula's and nobody took anything from the minibar. The minibar charge was taken off when I brought it to the attention of the front desk. They researched the Shula's charge and found that a man named Tony (mine's Tim) with the same last name made the charge and did not put down his room number on the charge slip. So the staff guessed...incorrectly of course. This was also taken off the bill. The staff were very courteous in handling this matter.

 

[Kapp]

My wife and I both commented on and loved the "bowed" shower curtain rod! Wonder why no one has ever thought of that before?!??!

 

[treehugger]

They are renovating the HALLWAYS as soon as the rooms are completed. This will include all HALL CARPET, WALLPAPER and LIGHTING. With workers treading up and down the halls carrying (dragging) machines and equipment, not to mention furniture...the HALLWAYS are (and should be) the LAST/FINAL area of the renovation. Glad you enjoyed your stay

Dreamflight, aren't the Swan's renovations just recently completed? The reason I ask this is because redfieldmjr stated that their hallways at the Swan were showing wear as well or maybe they'll be done when the Dolphin's are?

 

[3for Me]

It's funny you should mention the halls. This was going on when we were there in late October on the 5th floor (renovated room) at the dolphin.

It was soooooo bad that they fixed it while we were there, because (I think) it could have been a tripping hazard. The gentelman who was fixing it was saying this was the second time, they had evidently been having problems with it.

I don't know if maybe it was a bad installation job, or what but they did take care of it while we were there and it looked great when we left.

I agree - I LOVED the Dolphin and thought the staff was TERRIFIC!!!

 

[sarahsmom73]

I just can't wait to head for the Dolphin on 4/7!!!!!

 

[mjks]

We were at the Dolphin from 11/23-11/27 and we had a great time!When we were checking in,we were being told about the additional fees etc. I mentioned that we were Not going to be using the internet,could she do something for us.SHE TOOK $5.00 off each day for that!When we got to our room (CL) as they call it,it reeked of smoke!!We HATE CIGARETTES!!!The bellman called downstairs and we were moved to a RENOVATED ROOM W/BALCONY!!It was a bit of a trek to get to CL every morning but it was WONDERFUL!!!CL stands for Club Level.I would stay at the Dolphin again,great place!!

 

[Mickeygirl]

Is this a good place to stay with kids? We will have a 5yo and a 7yo with us and wnat it to be a fun place to stay for them

 

[sm4987]

Glad you had a wonderful time. We are looking forward to trying the Dolphin on one of our trips real soon. Welcome back!

 

[swilphil]

Originally posted by Mickeygirl
Is this a good place to stay with kids? We will have a 5yo and a 7yo with us and wnat it to be a fun place to stay for them

I think the Dolphin is a great place for kids. Mine loved it. It has an arcade, great pool with a beach and playground, an ice cream parlor, and a really cool lobby. It also has a laundry room and a 24 hour food court.

 

[darlene walker]

We just returned from our first stay at the Dolphin. Our kids are 5,6 and 18. We all loved this hotel! The location was wonderful and the boat to MGM and Epcot is great. The Christmas tree in the lobby is sooo beautiful. The best display I've seen in a very long time.
Hats off to the Dolphin!
Darlene

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

Glad to hear you had a good time! I'm amazed that you got the room so cheap! Off to look at Hotwire now!

 

[mjks]

The Dolphin is GREAT for kids!!!Ours are 8 & 11 and they met some friends at the pool. The arcade is fun for them too!You will have a GREAT time!!!Enjoy!!