Need some opinions about the Dolphin

[diskids2]

We have stayed at the Dolphin before in an Epcot balcony room.....without a long story....we loved it....no complaints.

We are preparing for our March '08 trip and I again booked the Dolphin. At this point (Week before Easter), the government rate is not available, so I do not think we will be able to do the Epcot balcony room.

Here is my concern: I have read three reviews....all recent...month of July....from another website....that are terrible. The main issue is the cleanliness of the rooms. I know everyone has different standards, but one review even said rats were in the ice machine room.

I need to know if anyone out there has stayed at the Dolphin recently and if so, what did you think..... possibly it is a certain floor or wing.....of which ....I'd like to avoid. It's really alarming to me since our last stay....I think East Wing....again we had the Epcot fireworks balcony view....was very very very very very clean.

Thanks so much!

 

[Rhonda]

We love the Dolphin! Stayed there many times, and our rooms have always been very clean, and the hotel is in beautiful shape! I would not believe for a second the story about rats in the ice room.

 

[diskids2]

I dont want to believe it either but when three different people took the time to write a review about room cleanliness....you have to question it. I am really hoping it might be just a certain part of the hotel because I LOVE the Dolphin.

 

[DisneyFans4]

Well I don't stay at the Dolphin but I do at the Swan and they are connected and run by the same people and I have to say the Swan is always immaculate. I have never heard such a story before so maybe this was an isolated incident.

I wouldn't let this one story stop you from staying there.

 

[Robert P]

Was just at the Dolphin 2nd week of July, for 3 nights. This was my 3rd stay there. This time was East wing, lake view.
I looked around the room very well, and I could not find anything unclean, or any other problems with the room. It was fine.
Aside from some newspaper blowing into the pool(s) when the daily afternoon thunderstorm came through, I saw no problems, maintenance issues, or general uncleanliness on that property.

I, too, must seriously doubt the part about the rats!!

 

[DisneyFans4]

I have to agree

I have been inside the Dolphin many times, and the place is always clean so I don't understand this rat story either

 

[diskids2]

I dont necessarily believe the rat story either....it's more three separate reviews the month of July with issues with cleanliness....but it makes me feel better to know you had a clean room in the East wing.

Has anyone had any recent experience in any of the other wings????

Thanks!

 

[swilphil]

Maybe it just looked liked a rat but was really a mouse. As in Mickey Mouse. And people say the Dolphin doesn't have enough Disney magic!

Seriously, we've always found the Swan and Dolphin to be cleaner than most resorts, even the Disney Deluxes.

About that govt. rate over Easter. Check the DU website at: www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com.

They are showing a govt. rate of $199/standard view and $299/balcony view. For some reason it doesn't show up on the swandolphin website. Personally, I don't think that little balcony is worth $100 per night. We've always had great views at the Swan and Dolphin. If you are a Starwood member they usually bump you up to at least a water view.

 

[MissionMouse]

If you store, serve or dispose of food or food related products they will come, so you have to manage rodents...its a fact of life. I would not doubt the rat report, but would believe it is a very rare situation....more like a rare situation where a door was opened for a period of time (food delivery, conference, reception, etc.) and Remy ran into the resort to check out the interesting smells Then wanted to get out of there and could not find the way back outside.

 

[diskids2]

Maybe it just looked liked a rat but was really a mouse. As in Mickey Mouse. And people say the Dolphin doesn't have enough Disney magic!

Seriously, we've always found the Swan and Dolphin to be cleaner than most resorts, even the Disney Deluxes.

About that govt. rate over Easter. Check the DU website at: www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com.

They are showing a govt. rate of $199/standard view and $299/balcony view. For some reason it doesn't show up on the swandolphin website. Personally, I don't think that little balcony is worth $100 per night. We've always had great views at the Swan and Dolphin. If you are a Starwood member they usually bump you up to at least a water view.

Thanks for that information.....I called the reservation in to the hotel directly and they told me no gov't rate....I did get a rate of $214.50 for Resort View and I am a member of Starwood so I'm hoping for an upgrade. I remember the Epcot view from the balcony being really nice.....although we aren't in our room much....I also remember it was forever and a day to walk to the elevator and then to get to Tubbi's (ok ok not Tubbi's anymore!). The truth is the view doesn't matter to my family much is more where the room is located in proximity to transportation, food, pool....etc. Any thoughts from anyone on the "best" wing. I also like the idea of those patio rooms, but I don't know how to get one.

 

[MickeyNicki]

We were in the Swan in Feb and loved it so much! It was super clean and just awesome. We tried the Dolphin in April and it was just ok...the room was very clean but the building is too busy for us with all the conventions going on. I would stay there again but Swan is our first choice.

 

[anbouk]

Thanks for that information.....I called the reservation in to the hotel directly and they told me no gov't rate....I did get a rate of $214.50 for Resort View and I am a member of Starwood so I'm hoping for an upgrade. I remember the Epcot view from the balcony being really nice.....although we aren't in our room much....I also remember it was forever and a day to walk to the elevator and then to get to Tubbi's (ok ok not Tubbi's anymore!). The truth is the view doesn't matter to my family much is more where the room is located in proximity to transportation, food, pool....etc. Any thoughts from anyone on the "best" wing. I also like the idea of those patio rooms, but I don't know how to get one.

RESORT VIEW....what is that, does it include a Balcony? Just curious, I always thought they just had STANDARD and BALCONY ROOMS (about $100 per nite more). Thanks!

 

[DisneyFans4]

I've never had a resort view but I'm thinking depending on which hotel your in your view will be the other resort. I've always had an Epcot view.

 

[diskids2]

RESORT VIEW....what is that, does it include a Balcony? Just curious, I always thought they just had STANDARD and BALCONY ROOMS (about $100 per nite more). Thanks!

http://www.swandolphin.com/accommodations/resortview.html

Here's the link....it's just a slight upgrade...overlooking grounds or the Swan.

 

[anbouk]

Thanks for that information.....I called the reservation in to the hotel directly and they told me no gov't rate....I did get a rate of $214.50 for Resort View and I am a member of Starwood so I'm hoping for an upgrade. I remember the Epcot view from the balcony being really nice.....although we aren't in our room much....I also remember it was forever and a day to walk to the elevator and then to get to Tubbi's (ok ok not Tubbi's anymore!). The truth is the view doesn't matter to my family much is more where the room is located in proximity to transportation, food, pool....etc. Any thoughts from anyone on the "best" wing. I also like the idea of those patio rooms, but I don't know how to get one.

How many points do you have thru Starwood (with only 2,000) you are eligible for one class upgrade. If you are Platnium or Gold, it's an auto upgrade! I also think it als has a big part on who you happen to land upon your check-in at the hotel. Sometimes you can get lucky with a real nice person handling your ressie and they will grant you an upgrade w/o even knowing about it...that is what we experienced with our first stay at the Swan! The patio view was just spectacular made you think you were in a fairytale hotel, just looking at your surroundings This is why I ALWAYS confirm our room with this extra special feature for us! We ENJOY it! Hope you have a Great Trip!

 

[NMAmy]

We've stayed at the Dolphin many times with our latest visit being last March. I've never had a room that was not immaculate. The location and the service and the fact that we earn points makes this our very favorite WDW hotel.

 

[madge]

Here is my concern: I have read three reviews....all recent...month of July....from another website....that are terrible. The main issue is the cleanliness of the rooms. I know everyone has different standards, but one review even said rats were in the ice machine room.

I take TripAdvisor reviews with a grain of salt. I find them to be a bit ... overdramatic ... sometimes. We've had yearly visits to the Swan/Dolphin since 1998, and I'll admit, it hasn't always been perfection (mostly with the housekeeping), we've never encountered problems like the recent reviews on TripAdvisor. In fact, in the same one about the rats? They also complain about the beds not being "Heavenly" and want fitted sheets - well, they were sleeping on Heavenly beds. Those beds aren't made with fitted sheets. They never have been. Loud housekeeping was another complaint. We have that issue most places we visit, not just WDW.

Having said all that, I do think the concerns with humidity and the air conditioner are valid. While we've never experienced mold or humidity issues during any of our stays, we don't love the A/C. We've gotten used to it, but it's sort of a pain. LOL.

 

[DisneyFans4]

I too have had many stays with the Swan and will be arriving there shortly and each visit has been excellent

I have never had an issue with cleanliness or issues with the room such as mold or mildew. The only issue I had last year was my tv which on a daily basis was deciding whether it wanted to work or not. I called the front desk and a repairman promptly replaced the tv with another one. I don't think I waited more than 10 mins.

The staff at the Swan are very professional and treat their guests with respect

 

[madge]

I too have had many stays with the Swan and will be arriving there shortly and each visit has been excellent

I have never had an issue with cleanliness or issues with the room such as mold or mildew. The only issue I had last year was my tv which on a daily basis was deciding whether it wanted to work or not. I called the front desk and a repairman promptly replaced the tv with another one. I don't think I waited more than 10 mins.

The staff at the Swan are very professional and treat their guests with respect

We always seem to have better luck with the staff at the Swan than the Dolphin. It's not that the Dolphin staff is bad ... it's just different. LOL.

 

[diskids2]

I have a little over 5000 points and I asked for the upgrade when I made the reservation, but they said they couldn't assign it yet. I am hoping for a balcony....I really liked the idea of those patio rooms though....Anyone have info on that?