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

[thessaly]

Hi folks. Sorry to start another new S/D thread, but this seems to be "the" Swan/Dolphin forum.

After lurking here for a few weeks (and reading a bunch of the 70+ page S/D threads), I'm thinking I might actually take the plunge and try one of these "non-Disney" resorts for an upcoming trip in September.

I'm still waffling over *which* though. It's a bit unsettling, the amazing range of reviews (positive and negative) about each resort.

My worst dilemma is coming down to the following: I want to stay in a renovated room (guaranteed, it seems, at Swan), but I also want the larger Dolphin rooms (not necessarily renovated yet). My significant other felt that the WL rooms were small, and they were the same approx. square footage as the Swan (340 square feet) so I'd really like to get above that.

Has anyone stayed at a renovated Dolphin room? Is the decor identical to the Swan's?

Anyone care to venture a guess about how much of the Dolphin might be renovated by mid-September?

Also, another detail that concerns me: One of the prominent, recent Swan reviews on Deb Wills' site mentions some sort of climate control system that shuts off when there is no movement in the room. Can anyone comment on this? Is it the same in both resorts? If this is the case, there is no way I'll be able to stay there because I'm a light sleeper and it will wake me up every time the A/C shuts off. I also like the room to be cold at night. If it works the way the reviewer describes (A/C stops working when you are not in the room or not moving, e.g., in bed), it sounds *really* irritating.

Thanks for any input.

 

[holidaybarb]

Sorry I can't help with the Dolphin questions.

I read about the Swan temp things too but recently returned and must say we had NO trouble with AC. It was easy to keep the room chilly at night - the way we like it. There is an individual adjustable thermostat that worked just fine. It was never warm in the room even when we returned from a long day at the parks.

I have read also that AC automatically shuts off when balcony door is not securely shut. This may be true and seems reasonable. We spent some time on balcony but obviously not enough to affect room temp very much.

Hope this helps with one part of your question.

 

[swilphil]

We just returned from our stay at the Dolphin. We did not stay in a renovated room, but I saw them. They are very nice with soft pink and white striped walls. I don't think the decor is exactly like the Swan, but they are to have the heavenly beds. Our in-laws were at the Swan, and the bedding, bed spread, etc., were exactly like the Heavenly Beds room we stayed in at another Westin hotel. I would assume they would be the same at the Dolphin.

We were able to control our room temp at the Dolphin, and the a/c actually got quite chilly at night. I know that housekeeping does set the temp. a little higher when they come in to clean, but that is understandable. The rooms cool off pretty fast. I do like that they are a little bigger than the Swan, plus they have a little sit down vanity area that they didn't have at the Swan.

I don't see why you couldn't request a renovated room at the Dolphin and get it. You may not be able to get one with balcony, a certain view or wing, but the staff is very accomodating at the Dolphin. I also liked the pool access and the lobby better at the Dolphin. The Epcot/Mgm location can't be beat!!

 

[Claudia Kellenberger]

I was at The Swan this past December, and I will be there also this December. One time I returned to my room and the room was hot and stuffy. I could not get the thermostat to work. I called ( the front desk ? ) and I asked about my air conditioner not working. They told me to just open the patio door, then slam it gently. The air turned on right away. I don't recall if it was a problem overnight.

 

[~Sparkly~Zoe]

For 2 people I would think that the rooms would be big enough, wouldn't they? How much time do you spend in the room anyways? I figure the most that we'd be there is to change, sleep and shower. If we are there more than that, then fine, but it's only going to be the two of us, so I think we'll have plenty of room!

 

[magicaddict]

We were at the Swan the end of June and experienced some of the strange air related issues. Once we realized how the system operated it really wasn't a problem. We did go out once and thought the slider was shut tight but apparently it wasn't so the air stopped. It didn't take long for the room to cool down once we realized the problem. I never had a problem with the air waking me at night except when I forgot to set it low enough and got hot during the night.
The room size didn't seem to be a problem (2 adults, 2 kids). The only space that was crowded was the bathroom and area right outside the bath.

 

[diskids2]

I just got off the phone with the Executive Office at the Dolphin and was told that they are almost done with the fifth floor and are moving up.

 

[Princess Dot]

Thanks diskids2 for the update! I tried to inquire about the renovations when I made my ressie, but the clerk kind of cut me off and said "Would you like to request a renovated room?" I said yes, of course but I never did learn how far they'd gotten on the work.

Can't wait to see how we make out on our trip!

 

[thessaly]

Just want to thank everyone for the informative responses so far. Still hoping to hear from someone who has stayed in a renovated Dolphin room, too.

I'm leaning towards the Swan at this point, although the news that an entire floor at the Dolphin is completed is heartening. When you say "fifth floor and moving up.." does that mean that the guest rooms *start* on the fifth floor, at least in the "main" building?

As for my concern about room sizes/renovation... DBF and I live in Florida and have been to Disney many times... We had a really bad year, only got past it a few months ago, and we are really looking to *relax* this trip. We will be there for 7 days, but probably only going to get the Florida Res 4-day hoppers. So planning on spending a lot of time at the resort, so I'm more focussed on getting a nice room than I would be otherwise. =)

 

[swilphil]

They have renovated rooms on floors 1 through 5. I know for sure they have guest rooms on the 1st floor--those open up to ground level patios. The only floor I'm not sure if they have guest rooms are on the 2nd floor, but I assume they do.

 

[diskids2]

Your Welcome, Princess Dot. You'll have to let me know how it was when you get back. Our first visit to the Dolphin will be Easter 2004. Oh and I just noticed, Hey Neighbor!

 

[Princess Dot]

Hey neighbor! I promise to post when we're back.

We did stay at the Swan before and they were really great about my requests. In fact, the front desk person pulled out her floor plan chart to show me the available rooms and was able to put us all (3 rooms) in balcony rooms. This was during President's week, I was not a Starwood member, and I had the govt rate of I think $119! Talk about customer service! I am hoping that the Dolphin staff will be as helpful. I would really love a balcony and a new room too, while I'm asking LOL!

I hope we can get some more first hand reports from those recently back about the status of the renovations and if someone has stayed in a renovated room. Hoping the beds will be as "heavenly" as those in the Swan!

 

[thessaly]

Another poster in the main S/D thread just reported the same problems with the air conditioning not working at night unless you got up and move around. I'm really getting concerned about this, I'm days away from making my reservations and I don't want to spend a week in a "deluxe" hotel room with A/C that shuts off all night while you're sleeping. I'm really interested in hearing more comments on this. I'm surprised more people are not concerned about it.

 

[csmommy]

We stayed at the Swan in May & definately had climate control problems. DH & I woke up every night feeling uncomfortable with the warnth, DD & DS did not. The housekeepers (yes & by the last day I tested the door before we left the room)kept leaving our sliding door slightly ajar so our room was never cool when we came back after being hot at the parks.

I have to say DH will never consider non-disney again. And I could go on & on about the problems we had there after staying split stay between Disney & non.

 

[Tinkbell]

Many of the Disney Deluxe resorts have the same cooling system in their rooms. This seems to be the new trend.

 

[thessaly]

Thanks, csmommy, I'll definitely take your comments into consideration...

I've never seen the same issue complained about at any Disney resorts, though, and I've been lurking at this site for quite some time as well as reading rec.arts.disney.parks since about 1997. (Not to mention having stayed onsite many many times). I have, however, seen the Swan A/C issue mentioned here, on wdwig.com, and on epinions.com... in rooms with and without balconies and it's looking like it's going to be a dealbrekar for me... I live in Florida and I am no longer amused by the heat at all, especially at night when I am trying to sleep.

 

[ww52]

I'm bumping this to the top in hopes that people who have recently stayed at the Swan can shed some light on this issue. The way I understand it - the sensor-controlled air conditioner will shut off without movement. It seems likely that will happen during the night, unless it detects people turning in bed. The temperature in Florida this time of year I assume stays in the 80s for much of the night.

So is it as bad as it sounds? Or will it kick on easily without the heat waking us up. I have to say this concerns me too. It's been while since I stayed at GF or BC, but I know that never happened there. My wife is a light sleeper and I know this will create discomfort for her.

Is there a "trick"? Keep it very cold before retiring and then be prepared to take off covers and sheets as the night goes on? Makes sense, yet when you think about it, that defeats some of the purpose of the climate control. I understand their desire to control A/C expenses - and I'm sure this helps a lot so they don't cool empty rooms in the height of the day's heat. I wonder if they could eventually modify it so the detectors aren't an issue say after midnight and before 8:00am.

Any thoughts?

 

[needabreak]

i was at the swan last week-had 2 adjoining rooms on the 12th floor--i must admit there is definitely an a/c problem and the swan is well aware of it--we Always had the doors open between the two rooms--We arrived at the Swan after a wonderful stay at the Portofino over the 4th and it was very hot! As soon as we walked into our room at the Swan my dh complained how hot it was--temp was 76 in there-the connecting room was at 70---After we were in our room a little bit it went down to only about 74 while other room went to about 68---i had never mentioned what i had read here to dh about ac--We left after about an hour at the hotel and came back that pm and room was stuffy again although adjoining room was much cooler--My dh called the front desk and they said they would send up an engineer--He did come up, checked to make sure thermostat was as low as it would go and then told us there was nothing else he could do---He was unable to overide the system. They did offer to change our rooms but we really didnt want to bother at that point.In the morning before we left we made sure the drapes were pulled closed to avoid any additional heat from the sun, only to return to find that the cm's had pulled them wide open when cleaning the room!We really weren't in the room all that often and usually were returning well after midnight completely exhausted and it cooled enough for me-also i don't think noise was really a factor-the system itself is very quiet, just not cool enough!

 

[dreamflight99]

Hello!

I'm posting FROM the WDW Dolphin. The A/C system is NEW...and much better than the "motion sensors" at the WDW resorts. Our room is currently maintained at a crisp/cool 67 degrees. The temp bottoms-out at 65...but can easily be over-ridden with a phone call. It never shuts off at night, and runs continuously. In fact, ours does not even reset/change when we leave the room for the parks. It's always nice/cool when we return.

The renovations are nearly completed on the entire 5th floor. WOW! They will be completely done (projected) by September.
Everything is FAB here....as always! Hope this helps.

TTFN....

 

[swilphil]

It sounds like the a/c problem is just a Swan thing. We had no problems at the Dolphin. I like the Dolphin better anyway. The rooms are actually a little bigger, plus you have the cool Lobby, Tubbi's and close pool access. When the renovations are done, I don't know why I would pick the Swan over the Dolphin.