Just returned from 10 days at the Swan highlights,lowlights,any ??'s

[gm]

Hi,

I just got back Thursday night from a wonderful 10 day stay at the SWAN!!.

First I want to say that I have stayed at the Swan several times before when it was in need of improvement and also when I payed regular prices including club level.

I got this for $69 a night on Priceline in early Jan/Feb. I didnt really request any special rooms with balcony or such. I just wanted a room with 2 beds non smoking. At check in, I presented my Gold Starwood Card and they were going to upgrade me to a balcony room which I refused(I know those are great)but because I have a very active 5 year old and so I prefered no balcony so they told me that they will put me in the room that was originally assigned to me.

All I can say is WOW!!to the bellman "is this my standard room?"
he said yes!! It was huge with half the room made of glass windows. One side faced MGM and the other side faced Epcot and the Boardwalk pool. I could not believe my view. At night we watched the Epcot fireworks in full view from our bed!!. We could also see the MGM Fantasmic show fireworks and the Disney pleasure island fireworks in full view. This was a corner room. This is the best Standard room I have been in. I am so glad we didnt choose balcony.

The beds are so heavenly. I have stayed at Beach Club, BWV, Poly and these are the best to say the least.

We were there from June 6 for 10 days and the first days we hit the grotto pool and since Gaydays was still going on, There was certain things going on(kissin in the pool/drinking) that I did not want my kids to see so we went to the quiet pool at the swan.(I did see a lot of them at the Swan at night near the lounge in the Swan so maybe there was a venue for them there also.

The room was very clean and kept very clean. Everything was clean and perfect in the room. The heavenly beds were so relaxing after a long day at the parks. Sometimes we did not want to leave the room because of our great view and bed.

There was a huge conference when we were there and the Grotto pool was closed after 6 pm. So everybody just moved to the quiet pool at the Swan. There were a lot of pool parties at the pool for different conferences. Lot of set ups for huge parties going on. I didnt swim every day so I do not know if the pool was closed for those days but I did see the set up of huge kiosks.

I did use the laundry facility at the Dolphin. TIP: do not do your laundry after the parks, that is when it is packed the most between 9pm and 11 pm. Do laundry either daytime or between 5 and 7.

I did have enough points to upgrade to club level but didnt because I am saving the points for another great trip. We walked over to the Dolphin a couple of times and the lobby was crowded from all the conference people having a good time.

We loved the grotto pool!!It is so beautiful and fun. The only thing that I suggest they do is add lifeguards since there are no lifeguards on duty like the Disney resorts. For one disney pool like the boardwalk there are at least 4 to 5 lifeguards and more for the beach club pool but for the size of the grotto pool-no lifeguards?? doesnt make sense. Yest there is a guard sitting near the slide but she cannot watch the huge grotto pool. There is a sign saying "swim at your own risk. No lifeguard on duty"posted.

Another thing that really should not be happening is There were people walking over from the beach club in their swimwear heading to the grotto with the whole family in tow. Another family got on the boat with their wet swimsuits still on and got off at the beach club once when we were going to Epcot. I feel if they have bands put on at Beach club to swim then they should have bands put on at the Grotto too. Just because they pay premium price at the Beach club should not give them access to the Grotto and if they should then it should be the other way around too. Hey we need Pool police for the Grotto now LOL

The service at the Swan has really improved for the best. I called for some extra pillows and housekeeping sent them up right away and called me back to make sure I received them and am satisfied. This too at almost midnight!! WOW that is service I never received at a disney resort.

Swan is really heading to be one of the top resorts that we will soon see on the Conde Nast as a top travel destination with Excellent Customer Service. I received a JD Powers survey last time and hopefully I will get one this time so I can rave about the hotel.

We also ate at Tubby's-there chicken sandwiches are the best and so is the service. Just watch the dates on the milk cartons though. I was about to buy one with an expired date and caught it on time (had expired 3 days earlier)and they said they will get new milk in the morning.

I also went to see Mama T one morning on Club level to say hi from my previous stays there but they were renovating the whole club level room so they moved the club level to a couple of rooms on the same floor. Mama T is still the most wonderful and just as friendly as ever.

Loved the walk to the Boardwalk at night for dining and ice cream.
We at at so many disney restaurants and did so much there including hitting the outlets, Universal etc. I will post a trip report soon. I got a very bad cold my last couple of days there and am still recovering.

I will post as i remember stuff since we were there for 10 days. If you have any ??"s please feel free to ask.

 

[Mrs.A]

Sounds wonderful, we will be there in Aug. for 8 nights at club level. Very excited, this is our first stay at the Swan.

 

[luckytso]

I am glad you had a great time.

We were there in May for 6 nights (first time ever) at the club level and really liked it. The service was excellent from everyone and the room was great. Mama T was as wonderful as always. We will be there for 10 nights starting on Xmas Eve. Can't wait.

It does feel more like a conference hotel though with all the conferences going around, unlike BC/YC or BWI. Some of the nights when we were there, Swan/Dolphin were completely sold out because of multiple conferences. But it is definitely a great hotel/resort.

I did laundry a few times, either first thing in the morning or in the mid-afternoon while the kids were sleepting. Very few people there.

 

[hookedup]

Hello,
Thanks for writing such a detailed review - I really enjoyed reading it! We will be going to the Swan in August and I am really looking forward to it. We have never stayed at an Epcot area resort. DH is a teacher and the rate was great for us!
We have a 3 year old ds and I too am not interested in balcony room so I was very interested in hearing about the room you liked so much. Was it a king room or doubles?

 

[gm]

Hi,

You will have a great time!!

The room had 2 queen beds. The room is so beautifully decorated and looks so fresh and new.

It was a corner room on the 8th floor.

 

[dreamflight99]

gm~What a beautiful post! I feel the same way about these resorts. Having stayed at EVERY resort on property (w/exception to the values and the AKL), I still PREFER the Swan/Dolphin! IT'S the DIFFERENCES (between Swan/Dolphin & Disney resorts), which I LOVE SO MUCH:

*HEAVENLY BEDS/SWEET SLEEPERS

* 24/7 GROTTO POOL

*LATE CHECK-OUT

*FABULOUS RESTAURANTS

*SPG "POINTS" AND MEMBERSHIP

& ON...AND ON...AND ON!

Thanks again, for the very detailed/descriptive post. Soon...I'll be "home" at the WDW Dolphin again!

 

[ContemporaryGirl]

dreamflight99!!!

did I read right? Are you really going for 7+ weeks?!!! I had no idea had wonderful the swan and dolphin were!! Thanks for the tip!

Have a beautiful time!!

 

[chris1gill]

Thanks for the report GM!!! Can you tell me what your room number was? We'll be staying there at Thanksgiving time! I'll request your room #!!!

 

[workin4vacation]

Just wondering....

We leave Wednesday a.m.
I know I shouldn't bother, but I've been checking the weather forecast for Orlando for about a week now. I've never been in Florida in the summer. Hoping the t-storms will be brief!

How was your weather?

 

[dreamflight99]

Originally posted by ContemporaryGirl
dreamflight99!!!

did I read right? Are you really going for 7+ weeks?!!!
Have a beautiful time!!

Thank you! Yes....7+ weeks of WONDER & MAGIC!
Time is "ticking" away until we depart for the journey. Have a great summer!

 

[gm]

Hi,

I was in room 8144. It was a corner room on the 8th floor. Perfect.

I also wanted to add that I had rented a car at the airport on our first day and returned it at the dolphin. cost $32 including taxes.

I also rented a 5 days rental from the Dolphin returning at the Airport for $114 including all taxes.

Just so you know: You can now also return Alamo cars there too.

I have to say one thing for sure. Swan is really into customer service. They have the friendliest cm's and all want to make sure that our stay is the best and that we are satisfied from the front desk to the bellman to housekeeping to concierge. I was really impressed.

 

[jwfla422]

Hey GM
Thanks for that great post about the Swan. It's about time to hear some real nice things about the S/D. They have been our favorite resorts for some time now so it's good to hear that they're even better than before!! I sooo look forward to those heavenly beds for our stay in November. It'll be almost 2 years since we've stayed at the Swan. We've stayed at the Dolphin a lot in the past year (we love it there too!)

I must comment on the one thing you mentioned about the BCers coming over to use the Grotto pool. Talk about rude, I'm sorrry, but the BC/YC had to go to all that trouble to gate their pool and do the wristbands to keep everyone else out but their guests and those guests who have that priviledge of using that very pool had to go elsewhere! What kinda you know what is that! Sorry but that really irrks me!

If I were there I would have asked them if I could borrow their wristbands and ID to use the SOB pool- he he! I would hate to see them have to gate in the Grotto pool.

We've gotten used to conventions and all that stuff at the S/D. Since I used to be a convention goer myself it doesn't bother me at all. I have many conversations with convention goers, some of the nicest people I've met at WDW!

Although I must say I've seen a lot more events/conventions going on at the BC/YC and GF these days. I was even a little disturbed because the BC had some Disney characters dancing around on the beach... my dd wanted to go see them, they were right in plain view there but of course she wasn't allowed because it was a closed event. A bit of a tease especially since we were in Disney World. HP put that one on. I should have told them I'm one of their supportive customers & purchase lots of their products!! (LOL) Many of the Disney resorts hold lots of conventions these days. The S/D are just larger resorts so it's a little more noticeable.

Anyhow, thanks so much for that great report!!

 

[Blondie]

Welcome home!

We're heading to the Dolphin in August, and it can't come soon enough!

 

[gm]

The weather was okay when we were there. Yes it rained everyday except for one day. It really cooled the weather down. The last few days we were there it was rainy all day long. We left Orlando on the 19th. Our last 3 days were on an award stay at the Sheraton close to Universal for hitting the Universal Parks. It rained all day our last 2 days there.

The only damper on everything was the hours for MK and MGM. They usually closed at 8 pm so by the time the rain was gone, we only had 2 hours to do everything in the evening. They were talking on the news there that they expect a lot of rain thruout June.

JWLA- We also are used to the convention crowds since we stay at the Swan/Dolphin a lot. When we were there, the Beach club resort also had a huge convention and set up outside near the Marina. They really do not bother me at all. They are all a jolly, happy bunch of people.

Yes, I wish the Bc'ers would just hand over their bands to me. I would love to swim at their pools just like they come over to swin at the Grotto Pool. HE HE. But that sure tells you a lot about the grotto pool doesnt it? that they prefer to walk ALL the way to the grotto instead of using their own Stormalong Bay.

We are allready planning a trip back for December since I have ap's.

 

[workin4vacation]

gm ~ Thank you for the response!

I bought a mini umbrella & rain ponchos for everyone yesterday. Not gonna let some rain dampen our spirits!

Thanks again for all your informative posts!