Swan... Dolphin... Renovations, Climate Control?

[ww52]

Thanks for the information. I'm going to call the Swan before we go to see how best to handle this, since it seems this problem is known to them.

Why they would put in a different (better) A/C system in the Dolphin is puzzling, unless they learned from their mistake.

Trying to stay positive about this trip - but this is the second disapointing aspect of the Swan I've learned of. (The first is the CL is not open all day - so the $70 a night difference we're paying is not the good deal I first thought it was.)

We had time to change our reservations and decided to hang in there; this A/C thing would have pushed us to another resort had we known in time. I read about it, but to be honest it seemed unlikely (especially given the extreme heat this time of year). Obviously it's true. I guess in an effort to keep costs down they've sacrificed guest comfort. Not a smart business decision.

 

[splashfamily]

From what I've been reading the a/c problem is only at the Swan. and the renovations are at the Dolphin. Please correct me if I am wrong. I am torn whether to stay at the Dolphin. We will be 5 in a room. Has anyone stayed in a jr. suite? Or done the 5 in a room. My kids are 13, 11 and 6. Any suggetions?

 

[thessaly]

Just wanted to confirm that although I've seen these complains in many places, they have only been about the Swan, not the Dolphin. I assumed that maybe the Swan had installed a newer "high tech" system that the Dolphin didn't have yet.

To give a little more backstory on my specific situation... The significant other and I are planning on a *relaxing* week, which will involve a lot of time at the resort. So we wanted a nice room. DBF looked at the pictures and wanted us to be guaranteed a renovated room (didn't like the old decor), so that was why we decided on the Swan and haven't really looked at the Dolphin. (I know I could "request" a renovated room, but with this situation, I don't feel like gambling).

All in all, with this A/C debate and Disney dragging their feet on releasing discounts for September, I ended up going and looking at the Universal resorts for the first time last night... Wow, *475* sq. ft. deluxe room for $149 with Florida Resident rate at Portofino Bay... (vs., what, 340ish sq feet for Swan?). I'm not a huge fan of the Universal parks, but with this trip's focus on relaxation over park-hopping, I'm starting to think I'm going to settle for driving over to Disney from I-Drive when the mood strikes.

Thanks for the additional comments... Still keeping an eye on this thread.

 

[Kaa]

We stayed at the Swan at the end of June and the bellman explained the trick to the AC. It will remain on without motion as long as the extra lock (the bolt type - not the top one) on the door is engaged. Also, the AC will go off if you open the door to the balcony. We made sure the balcony door was shut and whenever we were in the room the extra lock was engaged and we had no problems at all. The room was warmer after we came in from the parks, but it didn't take very long at all to cool off the room.

Hope this helps!

 

[leopardspot]

When we stayed at the SWAN we had the same a/c problems. I called the front desk and told them that I could NOT stay in a room with an a/c that was not on all the time. They simply did an override and the a/c never went off. It was very cool in the room after that. When we cam back from the parks the room was wonderfully cool with the a/c blowing hard.

 

[ww52]

leopardspot and Kaa -
That is great information. That cooled me down a bit - pardon the pun.

Thessaly: there have been many posts aobut the resort at Universal and the reviews are all very positive. It sounds like that would be a great option - or maybe a split stay?

 

[thessaly]

ww52: I've considered the split-stay thing... I've never done that before, but maybe it's time.

Didn't realize there was Portofino/Universal discussion here... I guess I must have mentally edited it out as being "not Disney", heh. Thanks, I'll go see if I can track down some commentary to read.

Edited to add: Wow, just found the whole *forum* here about Universal resorts! I was searching desperately for something like this last night, don't know why I didn't think to check here... Guess I thought it would be too off-topic. Thanks again! Off to obsess.

 

[dreamflight99]

Originally posted by thessaly
Just wanted to confirm that although I've seen these complains in many places, they have only been about the Swan, not the Dolphin. I assumed that maybe the Swan had installed a newer "high tech" system that the Dolphin didn't have yet.

To give a little more backstory on my specific situation... The significant other and I are planning on a *relaxing* week, which will involve a lot of time at the resort. So we wanted a nice room. DBF looked at the pictures and wanted us to be guaranteed a renovated room (didn't like the old decor), so that was why we decided on the Swan and haven't really looked at the Dolphin. (I know I could "request" a renovated room, but with this situation, I don't feel like gambling).

All in all, with this A/C debate and Disney dragging their feet on releasing discounts for September, I ended up going and looking at the Universal resorts for the first time last night... Wow, *475* sq. ft. deluxe room for $149 with Florida Resident rate at Portofino Bay... (vs., what, 340ish sq feet for Swan?). I'm not a huge fan of the Universal parks, but with this trip's focus on relaxation over park-hopping, I'm starting to think I'm going to settle for driving over to Disney from I-Drive when the mood strikes.

Thanks for the additional comments... Still keeping an eye on this thread.

We LOVED the PBH....and stay there each summer. If you have a chance....CALL the front desk prior to your visit. Tell them you would like to REGISTER your email with Loews, and receive the FREE SUITE UPGRADE certificate via mail. It should arrive prior to your stay. ENJOY!!!