mini bar fridge at the Dolphin

[kimberlym4]

I understand that the Dolphin rooms come with a stocked mini bar fridge. I was told two different things about them by two different CMs. One said you are not to remove the items in the fridge but must rent an empty one for a daily fee if you want to keep your own items cold. The other said you can remove or move around the items to fit a few of your own things.

What has your recent, actual experience been with this?

Thanks for your help.

 

[geokeim]

If you remove an item, it bills your room. There is room for a couple of bottles of water tops. (we just too a foldable small ice chest and filled it every morning)
The other alternative is to rent a small frig for $12 p/d.
On a related note, the 2 bottles of water left in your room each day are paid for as part of the "resort fee" of $10., so be sure you take em!

 

[Robert P]

This is a picture of the mini bar fridge at the Dolphin, last visit.
Just for info purposes.... it was pretty small, not much room to add anything of ours to it.

 

[geokeim]

Now THAT is a great answer!

 

[kimberlym4]

Great picture - thanks for that.

So you can't just remove (but not consume) some of the soda or water or liquor bottles and put it back at the end of your stay? I hate to sound so cheap but $12 p/d is a lot to rent the fridge. You would have paid enough to buy your own mini-fridge by the end of your stay!

I'm going to get flamed arent' I?

 

[Robert P]

I've heard about it being done different ways, in past posts and other forums. They (staff) do come around and check the mini bar daily, and I would assume that they restock right then, and charge the missing items to the room account. If so, it would be tough to take out items, then place them back, if they had restocked during that period. See that little red light on the fridge, it shows them that it has been opened.

I have heard you have to rent one, that you can pay a one time 'clean out' fee and just use it afterward, and that you can just clear out yourself and use it. When I looked at how small it was, and the layout of the shelves, we decided to just make use of our small collapsible roll along cooler, and kept ice in there (b/c half gallons of o.j. wouldn't fit in that tiny fridge anyhow). Between that and the ice bucket, we made out okay.

 

[Sugardimples]

Think of it this way - this is a mini-bar, not a rented refrigerator. It is in your room to sell you the contents, not to give you a place to put your stuff.

 

[mom-2-3]

while we're on the subject, does anyone know if I could put my son's Rx in there that needs to be refridgerated (it's a pretty small bottle) or would I need to rent one for that? I know at Disney resorts we have gotten one for free in the past.

thanks

 

[kimberlym4]

Well, I just called and asked them about it again and was told that you are charged for removing items. She also said that the unit only "cools" the items - that it isn't designed to keep the stuff cold like a real fridge. If that is true then meds may not work well in there. However, she also said you could pay $20 for them to just remove all the items - but if it doesn't really stay that cold for dairy, deli, or medications, what would be the point?

 

[geokeim]

Well, I just called and asked them about it again and was told that you are charged for removing items. She also said that the unit only "cools" the items - that it isn't designed to keep the stuff cold like a real fridge. If that is true then meds may not work well in there. However, she also said you could pay $20 for them to just remove all the items - but if it doesn't really stay that cold for dairy, deli, or medications, what would be the point?

When you can rent one for less, or BUY a foldable ice chest for that and keep it forever. When you consider how much less you are paying for the room in comparison to "other" deluxe resorts, you are still getting an excellent value, even with the added expense of a cooler IMO.