Questions about the Dolphin

[Tasha+Scott]

Okay, I stayed at the Dolphin in 1992, but that was a long time ago. I don't remember a lot about it other than I liked the pools and we could see fireworks from the pools while we were swimming. My DH would like to stay one night there next June just to enjoy the hotel (not going to the parks at all that day). So, of course, I have a lot of questions, so bear with me.

1.) First of all, what are the pros and cons of this resort? I would like to hear the positive side AND the negative side. It helps keep things in perspective and keeps me from having a major disappointment later.

2.) What is the lowest rate you have paid for a room there in June? What type of room was it? What type of discount did you use to get this rate?

3.) Rooms w/the best views? Extras in the rooms?

4.) What color are the bedspreads, if you can remember? On the WDW site, they look lovely, and they are white. However, I also saw red somewhere and somewhere else I saw red striped. This is not a deciding factor, but I am curious.

5.) What are the extra activities besides the pools? (We do not have kids, so any kiddie activities are of no concern to us.)

Also if any of you know of any links that have pictures besides the WDW one I would really like to have it. The more pictures, the better. Thank you so much!

 

[fam4jc]

Hi. We stayed there two nights in June and loved it. We got a standard room for 149 with the gov't discount. The colors are all pastels. The hallways are very pretty also. We had view of Wishes. Far away, but we could see it plain as day!

The pool is great. A little crowded. There is a nice white sand beach with boat rentals volleyball nets, etc. There is a health spa, arcade, some shops, great restaurants and a couple of nice bars, I think.

The cons: I thought the tub was pretty small, but plenty of hot water. service is slow. Had to call three times for extra pillows. No balcony.

There was a cash bar, small TV (although bigger than the one in the Poly), coffe maker with bottled water, safe, bathrobes and data ports.

All in all a very nice room in a SUPER location. A short walk to the boardwalk, boat ride to MGM and Epcot.

You should go the the swan/dolphin official web site. There are pics and room layouts ect on that.

Have agreat time!

shellie

 

[swilphil]

We love the Dolphin. We paid $129 in June 2003, but $149 in July 2004. The Dolphin has just been renovated and I think that is why the prices are higher. The colors are pastels with white bedspreads. The coral striped bedspreads were in the old rooms. We had the govt/teacher/nurse discount for a standard room with a view of the Boardwalk, Swan and Tower of Terror. Our room did not have a balcony, but many standard rooms do. You can get AAA discounts and some great prices ($70) on priceline and hotwire.

We love the location to the Boardwalk, Epcot and MGM. I don't think I would stay there for just one day if I wasn't going to the parks although you can walk to the Boardwalk. Dolphin is great for days that you want to do MGM and Epcot. There are some great adult type restaurants at the Dolphin: Fresh, Bluezoo and Shula's. In your situation, I would probably do AKL or WL.

 

[Tasha+Scott]

Originally posted by swilphil
I don't think I would stay there for just one day if I wasn't going to the parks although you can walk to the Boardwalk. Dolphin is great for days that you want to do MGM and Epcot. There are some great adult type restaurants at the Dolphin: Fresh, Bluezoo and Shula's. In your situation, I would probably do AKL or WL.

Funny you should say that! DH and I have decided if we can find really good rates (such as the ones you've received) that we may stay 2-3 days. We don't want to spend that much money though w/o at least spending one day just enjoying the hotel. We plan to stay at a value or a moderate the rest of our stay. We are not sure we are going to do MGM or Epcot this time. We are debating about this. We mainly want to do MK. We want to take it a little easier than we did this past time. We want to relax more. Last time we ran around a lot from park to park. We do like the location of the Dolphin b/c we also enjoy the Boardwalk. That we will definitely go to either way. We also like seeing everything lit up by the water at night. Thanks for all of the great advice!

 

[swilphil]

Dolphin would be a great place to stay to enjoy the Boardwalk, and a 2-3 day stay would be wonderful. We always take an afternoon break to enjoy the pool, but we go in the summer and have little ones. The grotto pool is relaxing with a waterfall, lots of lounge chairs, and a beach with a hammocks.

 

[webray]

We love the dolphin..and it has only gotten better since you have stayed...they just rennovated the rooms. Put in heavenly beds..new bedding, just beautiful.

Of course, the convenience to the parks and all the restaurant choices, and if you get hungry in the middle of the night..Tubbi's is open..lol. We love Tubbi's..lol.

You will pay the $10 resort fee on top of any rate you are quoted.

Not all rooms have balconies, and balcony rooms do cost more.


Enjoy!

 

[Blondie]

1.) First of all, what are the pros and cons of this resort? I would like to hear the positive side AND the negative side. It helps keep things in perspective and keeps me from having a major disappointment later.

Pros: Beautiful large hotel in an excellent location with a 3 acre free form pool complete with waterfall and slide.

Cons: None that I can think of. We've always been treated exceptionally well at both the Dolphin and Swan. Someone might consider not having Mickey in your face 24/7 a con, but we don't. My boys are 13 and 14 and don't necessarily need nor want a Mickey wake up call, Mickey soap or a Mickey shaped waffle!

2.) What is the lowest rate you have paid for a room there in June? What type of room was it? What type of discount did you use to get this rate?

We qualify for the Gov't. rate and have always been upgraded to a room with a balcony and a beautiful view!!

3.) Rooms w/the best views? Extras in the rooms?

I don't have a layout of the resort, but asking for an Epcot or MGM view really adds to the magic and you might get a view of Fantasmic or the fireworks from Illuminations! As far as extras, their soap and lotion is a step up from what the WDW resorts offer, there is internet access, a stocked mini bar, and cable TV with HBO!

4.) What color are the bedspreads, if you can remember? On the WDW site, they look lovely, and they are white. However, I also saw red somewhere and somewhere else I saw red striped. This is not a deciding factor, but I am curious.

Our room at the Dolphin in August '03 had been renovated with the fluffy white comforters and a heavenly bed. You really do feel like you are sleeping on a cloud!

5.) What are the extra activities besides the pools? (We do not have kids, so any kiddie activities are of no concern to us.)

Could you be more specific in what you are interested in? I know the CM's will start up a game of water volleyball and there is a basketball court. You can also rent a Swan paddleboat and paddle your way around Crescent Lake.

 

[Tasha+Scott]

Thanks Blondie! I think that you covered the activities pretty well. The Dolphin sounds even better than I remember it!
I do have 2 more questions:

1.) Does anyone know what the AAA rate would be during June? Or do they accept Entertainment discounts? I don't think we would qualify for a gov't rate...unless they don't really check to see if you qualify. Someone let me know about that please.

2.) My mother swears up and down that in 1992 while we were there that the MK monorail passed right through the resort. I don't remember this and know it is not there now. Does anyone else remember a monorail passing through the Dolphin??

Thanks!

 

[Tasha+Scott]

Oh, yeah! I forgot to ask this earlier. I know that the Dolphin is not owned by Disney but that they still offer a lot of Disney perks such as EMH. Do they also offer e-Nights? We are not planning to do the parks during the day while we stay there. We will do that while we stay at a cheaper hotel w/less to offer. But we may be interested in doing e-Nights while we are at the Dolphin. I know that is the one thing we absolutely loved about our last trip. I thought I had read that e-Nights is offered through the Dolphin, but I am not 100% sure. Thanks!

 

[Muffy]

Yes, e nights are offered at the S/D. The monorail does not pass through the Dolphin. The monorail goes through the Comptemporary Resort.

 

[hightown]

Just wanted to add that after 7 trips to Disney hotels we tried Dolphin out this past May for 8 nights. I was really very impressed with the facilities, staff, everything.

I was really amazed at how much drawer space there was! With stuff for 9 days/ 8 nights (I refused to do laundry) I think we still had a couple of drawers left over.

With the resort fee, you get all the coffee supplies you could want in your room.

The staff was all friendly and always said hi. Maids were singing. Front desk very nice at check in and if they have availability, I think they are much more generous than Disney with upgrading room/views.

As it was DD10, her friend and I we didn't do the nicer restaurants or bar but we did like tubbys and the girls loved the fountain (ice cream)

You do get EE and E ride nights if there are any. Parks will do package delivery. The ONLY thing I did miss from being in a Disney resort was being able to charge to room in the parks. Can't do that since Swan Dolphin are not Disney owned but that's the only thing I did miss.

If available, they will have AAA, Entertainment Card, Annual Pass, Senior and Government discounts. I found the best rate thru Dreams Unlimited.

Have fun! Sharon

 

[3redheads]

We're staying one night then transferring to Poly for our land/sea excursion. Will they transfer our luggage to Poly?

Thanks
Kim

 

[hookedup]

Our best rates at the Dolphin have been with the teacher/govt discount. Now that the rennovations are wrappping up the rates have gone up from last summer. We have also gotten some good rates at the Swan from the recipe club you can join online at swandolphin.com.

The monorail does not go through the resorts at Epcot but I have seen a dubbed photo that has a picture of the monorail going through the dark area in the middle of the Dolphin - that looked pretty cool - but alas it is not real.

We really enjoy the Boardwalk area - it is a short stroll over the bridge and such a great area to walk around and enjoy.

I love the location of the S/D!

 

[hookedup]

Originally posted by 3redheads
We're staying one night then transferring to Poly for our land/sea excursion. Will they transfer our luggage to Poly?

Yes, the bell services at the S/D will do it - we have done it a couple of times when we split our stay at the GF. They usually take a load around in the afternoon and tell you your bags will be at the resort you are transferring to at 3:00 (last summer ours showed up about 4:00)

 

[Tasha+Scott]

Originally posted by hookedup
We have also gotten some good rates at the Swan from the recipe club you can join online at swandolphin.com.

I looked for the recipe club that you mentioned on swandolphin.com and I can't seem to find any info. on it anywhere. Could you tell me how to find this info. Is it free to join the recipe club?? Thanks again!

 

[chrissyk]

If you get the Starwood Amex, you can use points to stay at the Swan and Dolphin for free (or for $60 plus 4000 points/night if they are doing cash/points). Also, you can upgrade to SPG gold if you have their Amex. We've gotten automatically upgraded to concierge on our trips to the Swan because we are SPG gold They also gave us our choice of rooms once, and we got a really nice king room! I highly recommend getting the Starwood Amex if you like to stay at the Swan and Dolphin.

 

[mrspaha]

Somebody mentioned renting paddleboats here. Can you also rent those mouse boats here? Does anyone know how much it costs?

 

[zalansky]

Chrissyk -
I just got my Starwood Amex last week and had NO IDEA that I could get upgraded to the SPG goldcard! What great info. How did you go about getting that changed? Also, when you booked your room - what room did you book to get upgraded to concierge? Thank you!!

 

[chrissyk]

Originally posted by zalansky
Chrissyk -
I just got my Starwood Amex last week and had NO IDEA that I could get upgraded to the SPG goldcard! What great info. How did you go about getting that changed? Also, when you booked your room - what room did you book to get upgraded to concierge? Thank you!!

Loretta, you just have to call SPG and tell them that you have the AMEX and that you want to upgrade to SPG gold. They should do it while you're on the phone, and you'll get the card in the mail shortly. You can then call the Swan/Dolphin directly once you have a reservation there and add your SPG gold # to the reservation. The time that I did that, we were automatically upgraded to the Club Level (concierge).

One other time, we gave them our SPG gold # at the front desk and asked to add Club privledges. They supposedly charged us 1000 points a night for that, but they never bothered to deduct the points. That trip was great, because we got our choice of rooms on another floor AND we had Club privledges. When we were automatically upgraded to Club, we were also put on the Club floor. That was fine too

Now, if they would just put the S+D back on the cash/points list, I'd be one happy camper!

 

[hookedup]

Originally posted by Tasha+Scott
I looked for the recipe club that you mentioned on swandolphin.com and I can't seem to find any info. on it anywhere. Could you tell me how to find this info. Is it free to join the recipe club?? Thanks again!

On the Swan.dolphin.com website there is a link to "send a postcard - win a trip" when you register for the newsletter (register and sign in) and you can sign up and choose your preferences to receive newsletters - the recipe club is one of them. They send out e-postcards with recipes once a month or so, and SOMETIMES (not every month) there will be a special offer for recipe club members with a good rate. Last summer we got a $139 per night rate that also included a $50.00 per day food and beverage credit at the hotel. That was a GREAT rate and we booked it instead of the teacher rate at the Dolphin.
Here is a link to the page:http://www.swandolphin.com/postcards