Swan - Observations from our Nov 2017 trip

[Shellyred8]

As I was researching the Swan for our Nov 2017 trip, there were a couple of things that I came across that seemed to cause confusion/concern for people, so I thought I would share my findings/experience from our recent trip.

1. The resort fee is $28 per night. You also have to pay taxes on the resort fee, so the total ends up being 31.50 per night. Totally obnoxious, but there's not much you can do about it.

2. The carpet in the hallways has an "interesting" pattern to it. It looks like it is worn in the middle (there probably is some wear), but it is actually a "wave" pattern in the carpet. If you stand at the end of the hallway and look down to the other end, you will see a pretty distinct pattern.

3. The Pikabu restaurant was a fantastic find. We had breakfast and dinner there and both were very good. Better than most of the food I've had at the Disney hotel quick serves.

4. The frozen yogurt at Fuel is better than the soft serve at the Fountain. At least I thought the chocolate was.

5. We took Uber to and from the airport. At the Swan, when I asked at the valet/bell desk outside, if they had a separate spot for the Uber pick-ups, the guy was super nice and said nope, just right here in front wherever there is room for them to pull in. I've gotten the impression that some of the Disney Hotels relegate the Uber drivers to a different area and aren't as nice about it.

Overall, it was a nice stay and I wouldn't hesitate to stay there again.

 

[Lvdisfan]

But I thought you got 2 bottles of water for your resort fee? and free Internet access! lol

 

[Shellyred8]

But I thought you got 2 bottles of water for your resort fee? and free Internet access! lol

Oh!! And don't forget the "free" s'mores kits that you get every night. I forgot to mention that in my list. These were the worst s'mores I've ever had. The graham crackers were fine but the marshmallow and chocolate were horrible. How do you mess up a marshmallow and a piece of chocolate?!?! We did them the first night and they were so bad we didn't go back after that.

 

[loves to dive]

I stay at the Swan/Dolphin a lot lately, I love the Epcot resorts but sometimes it's just so much less to stay there that it makes sense. I drive so I have to factor in parking as well. Most of the time, even factoring in the resort fee and parking, I come out better or even with a moderate. I do wish they would just bundle it all in the price but it's pretty standard for Westin/Sheraton to separate it out. By the way, most others of that brand that I stay at don't even offer the free bottles of water so there is that.

 

[SwanVT2]

As I was researching the Swan for our Nov 2017 trip, there were a couple of things that I came across that seemed to cause confusion/concern for people, so I thought I would share my findings/experience from our recent trip.

1. The resort fee is $28 per night. You also have to pay taxes on the resort fee, so the total ends up being 31.50 per night. Totally obnoxious, but there's not much you can do about it.

2. The carpet in the hallways has an "interesting" pattern to it. It looks like it is worn in the middle (there probably is some wear), but it is actually a "wave" pattern in the carpet. If you stand at the end of the hallway and look down to the other end, you will see a pretty distinct pattern.

3. The Pikabu restaurant was a fantastic find. We had breakfast and dinner there and both were very good. Better than most of the food I've had at the Disney hotel quick serves.

4. The frozen yogurt at Fuel is better than the soft serve at the Fountain. At least I thought the chocolate was.

5. We took Uber to and from the airport. At the Swan, when I asked at the valet/bell desk outside, if they had a separate spot for the Uber pick-ups, the guy was super nice and said nope, just right here in front wherever there is room for them to pull in. I've gotten the impression that some of the Disney Hotels relegate the Uber drivers to a different area and aren't as nice about it.

Overall, it was a nice stay and I wouldn't hesitate to stay there again.

How much did uber cost? We had planned in using meats for me dh and DD age 5. Thx

 

[buzznina]

Thanks for the feedback, we keep checking them out but have yet to find the right deal. On all our trips we always price out all 3 levels of resorts with discounts as well as S&D. Once we add in the resort and parking fee (we drive) they are usually comparable or sometimes less then a discounted deluxe resort, but still a good bit more than a discounted Mod room.

 

[maxiesmom]

I have to disagree. I didn't think the carpet looked like it had a wave pattern at all. It looked worn out, not as if it had a pattern to it. If that is what they were going for, a wave, it failed miserably. The carpet just looks old.

 

[jcvalenti]

I've only stayed at the Swan once ... usually stay at Dolphin, though they're pretty similar. I never noticed the carpet before ... when were last at Dolphin (Oct 2016) we got a Theme Park view room that was just recently refurbished ... it (and the whole hallway) were spotless. I was really impressed !

As for the resort fees, that seems to be more and more common. I guess hotels think they can advertise lower rates that way on all the comparison sights. I just got back from 5 days at Vegas and stayed at 2 very high end hotels - both charged $35 resort fees. I gave rave feedback to one resort (The Wynn) and I swear the only bad comment I had from the whole stay was the resort fee that got tacked on to my stay. It's ludicrous, especially given that I was voluntarily hemorrhaging money all weekend at the resort restaurants, bars and gaming tables ... but for some reason having those stupid fees added on to my room charge ticked me off. Just charge what the darn room cost !

 

[JerseyJanice]

Thanks for the feedback, we keep checking them out but have yet to find the right deal. On all our trips we always price out all 3 levels of resorts with discounts as well as S&D. Once we add in the resort and parking fee (we drive) they are usually comparable or sometimes less then a discounted deluxe resort, but still a good bit more than a discounted Mod room.

A decent discount on a room at the Swan and Dolphin costs about the same as a Disney moderate.

Maybe not your case, but in others, S/D can be well worth it. For one thing, depending on your dates, a discounted moderate room may be hard to come by. For another, the Swan and Dolphin Resort is head-and-shoulders above any moderate. You can walk or boat to two parks, and you get a luxurious room with interior corridors. You won’t get those things at a moderate.

 

[buzznina]

A decent discount on a room at the Swan and Dolphin costs about the same as a Disney moderate.

Maybe not your case, but in others, S/D can be well worth it. For one thing, depending on your dates, a discounted moderate room may be hard to come by. For another, the Swan and Dolphin Resort is head-and-shoulders above any moderate. You can walk or boat to two parks, and you get a luxurious room with interior corridors. You won’t get those things at a moderate.

Like I said, we always compare. i.e. our next trip (leaving sunday), we are @ POFQ $169 S&D discounted rate was $230 plus the $50 fee/parking. At WDW we rather have our room open to the outside instead of a long hallway. We have stayed at resorts with transportation options(boat, monorail), it is a nice option but not a big deal for us. So it just depends what is important to that family. Like the OP, we also thought Picabu had great selections and the quality was very good and we also enjoyed eating at Shula's.

 

[maxiesmom]

A decent discount on a room at the Swan and Dolphin costs about the same as a Disney moderate.

Maybe not your case, but in others, S/D can be well worth it. For one thing, depending on your dates, a discounted moderate room may be hard to come by. For another, the Swan and Dolphin Resort is head-and-shoulders above any moderate. You can walk or boat to two parks, and you get a luxurious room with interior corridors. You won’t get those things at a moderate.

I didn't find the rooms "luxurious". In fact, they seem to lack a few things Disney has that I missed. A nice shelf space to store your stuff. A wide space to hang (the area at the Swan is small and half of it is double stacked, which only works for very short stuff), a curved shower curtain rod. After reading all the posts about how great the Swan and Dolphin are, I was very disappointed.

 

[JerseyJanice]

I didn't find the rooms "luxurious". In fact, they seem to lack a few things Disney has that I missed. A nice shelf space to store your stuff. A wide space to hang (the area at the Swan is small and half of it is double stacked, which only works for very short stuff), a curved shower curtain rod. After reading all the posts about how great the Swan and Dolphin are, I was very disappointed.

I think you didn’t get a great room.

The past two years, I traveled with extended family, and between us and the two trips, we had nine different resort rooms. Each room was clean, beautiful and luxurious. The closets varied from room to room; some were huge, but others were smaller with a shelf through middle for much of its width, and you obviously got one of those.

 

[maxiesmom]

I think you didn’t get a great room.

The past two years, I traveled with extended family, and between us and the two trips, we had nine different resort rooms. Each room was clean, beautiful and luxurious. The closets varied from room to room; some were huge, but others were smaller with a shelf through middle for much of its width, and you obviously got one of those.

Ok, that makes sense. The view was great though, it was an end room with 2 sets of windows.

 

[maxiesmom]

So maybe some rooms are nicer, but I'm not sure if there is a way to make sure you get a nicer room and a not so nice room like what I had. I'm very disappointed now. Why are some rooms so much more upscale than others?

 

[JerseyJanice]

So maybe some rooms are nicer, but I'm not sure if there is a way to make sure you get a nicer room and a not so nice room like what I had. I'm very disappointed now. Why are some rooms so much more upscale than others?

IDK. I had an experience many years ago at the shore where we got a beautiful room in a motel and so booked the same place the following year, but that room was horrible. The furniture looked like it was left over from the War of 1812.

Came to realize that the room we had the previous year was the only nice one in the place. Something major like fire or flood must have happened in that room because it was the only “new” one in the building.

In 2016, we had a two-bedroom suite at the Swan. The bedrooms in the suites are really regular resort rooms. We also had three other resort rooms through the course of our stay. One was mine and my sister. Another was my brother’s, and another my other brother and his wife moved into after Hurricane Matthew because we stayed an extra night and had to give up the suite. So we had a total of 5 resort rooms on that trip.

This past September, we again had another 2 bedroom suite and 2 resort rooms, so 4 rooms on that trip.

Each of those 9 rooms was wonderful so I’m inclined to think most rooms at the Swan are super nice. We thought the suite we had in 2016 was awesome, but the one we got in 2017 was even better so there is variation from room to room.

 

[ImprovGal]

So maybe some rooms are nicer, but I'm not sure if there is a way to make sure you get a nicer room and a not so nice room like what I had. I'm very disappointed now. Why are some rooms so much more upscale than others?

There are many room types at the swan and dolphin. They vary depending on bedding config, view, presence or absence of balcony, and space. That may affect how the room is furnished, although there are variants within categories. If you have a specific wish, I'd call and book with the resort directly, bearing in mind that the room may not be available at the lowest price point.

 

[Shellyred8]

How much did uber cost? We had planned in using meats for me dh and DD age 5. Thx

It was about $32 from MCO to the Swan and about $22 from the Swan to MCO.

 

[shh]

Like I said, we always compare. i.e. our next trip (leaving sunday), we are @ POFQ $169 S&D discounted rate was $230 plus the $50 fee/parking. At WDW we rather have our room open to the outside instead of a long hallway. We have stayed at resorts with transportation options(boat, monorail), it is a nice option but not a big deal for us. So it just depends what is important to that family. Like the OP, we also thought Picabu had great selections and the quality was very good and we also enjoyed eating at Shula's.

Not to derail the thread, but what a great deal for POFQ...congrats. Sure wish we could have found that - all I saw when looking was either no rooms avail or once in a while, a 225+ rate/night. I searched under AP, Fl resident and public holiday discounts.

Was that an AP discount - and did you find it at MDE site?

 

[AngiTN]

We find Swan/Dolphin ok. Most of the time we can't find the good rates that make them cheaper than Swan/Dolphin so we rarely opt to stay there over Disney. I don't find any thing I like about them over Disney if they aren't cheaper.

5. We took Uber to and from the airport. At the Swan, when I asked at the valet/bell desk outside, if they had a separate spot for the Uber pick-ups, the guy was super nice and said nope, just right here in front wherever there is room for them to pull in. I've gotten the impression that some of the Disney Hotels relegate the Uber drivers to a different area and aren't as nice about it.

Overall, it was a nice stay and I wouldn't hesitate to stay there again.

Your impression was 100% incorrect. Uber drivers go the same exact place a private car goes. They are not treated any different and Disney is very nice to them. They go and pull in wherever there is space. At the resorts with multiple buildings, like POR, they can even come right to your building. Only one they can't is CSR

 

[StageTek]

How much did uber cost?

I recently found this site: https://www.uber.com/fare-estimate/

I've found it quite helpful.