As far as I know, the State of FL has passed a law prohibiting smoking in all public areas that goes into effect on July 1st. I'm guessing this will be similar to California's policy and I for one can't wait for it to take effect. I'd check with the hotel for more information about their smoking policies prior to you stay.
We just returned from a 4 night stay at the Dolphin and walking thru the lobby was disgusting, to say the least. I'm a non-smoker from CA and the smell of the lobby, with all the cigar smokers, was enough to gag a maggot. I can take the occassional cigarette smoker, but cigar smoke is just too much to handle. We had looked forward to this visit and really expected to be 'wowed' by the Dolphin. Instead we were constantly trying to find a way to avoid the lobby, the restaurants, etc. The worst times were during the evening when the bars were full and Shula's was packed. At least our room was on a non-smoking floor (West Tower, rm 11171) and once we were able to get rid of the mildew smell it was nice. Unfortunately this experience wasn't quite what I would have expected from a Deluxe Resort and if we had paid the full rack rate for our room, I would have been seriously disappointed. I guess our one night at the Marriott World Center spoiled us in terms for room quality. I must say that the customer service at the Dolphin was far superior to MWC in every way though.
