Swan recommendation

[ww52]

Actually, new teacher rate is $144, not $169.

I went back over my notes from when I first made the reservation. Teacher rates were $129 for a standard room, $154 for a lake view; $164 for a resort view (no balcony), $174 for a resort view with a balcony, and $199 for CL. So in my mind I guess I found myself figuring each choice was incrementally better.

Now it's my understanding that the CL floors are either "front of the building" - which is a standard view, or on the other side, which I'm told is is a resort view - but I guess the same price either way. There doesn't seem to be any information on the Swan threads as to how those views compare. I wonder now if when the reservationist said she could give me an MGM view, if the views on the other side was actually better. Since they charge a premium for resort views on other floors, one would think so.

Anyway, the incremental seems to be less than $70 if you give some value to the being on the top floor. Yet presumably you can get a high non-CL floor for $129 with almost the same "front of building" view that allows for seeing MGM and Fantasmic. Of course not guaranteed, so I guess I ought to be placing some premium on the view and consider the CL differential to be less than $70.

 

[jmcross]

It was me that posted the $45 difference between regular and club level. I could have paid $199 for the Dolphin but I wanted the Swan to be sure to get a renovated room and I also read such nice things about the people that work in the CL lounge.
We are going during a peak week in February so we expected to pay a little higher. As many people have stated, these teacher rates are still considerably lower for a deluxe than any other on Disney property. I am very happy with CL at $214 a night!

 

[RAV]

We stayed on the CL level at the Swan. Yes, technically the view is the front of the hotel but because you are up high and there are a lot of trees it is not as if you are looking at a parking lot. If we looked to our left we could actually see the ball float across the water for Illuminations. We had a lovely view of the canal leading to MGM. You can see the TOT and some of the Fantasmic Fireworks. THat being said, you can stand outside of the hotel or on the boardwalk and see the high fireworks from Illuminations every evening. I used to get upset about views and balconies but realized we often paid for the view and never really got much out of it. We always paid for water view at the Yacht Club and were often disappointed. We had rooms that faced the lake but had huge trees blocking any view. One year we were just above SAB and through the trees could see the leg of a lounge chair at the pool. We knew the pool was there from the noise but couldn't see a thing. The club level at the YC was nice because we were up above the overgrown trees and things. I too was concerned about no balcony on the club level at the Swan but being up that high gives you a really new perspective and vast view. We never missed the balcony.

 

[jmcross]

It's so nice to hear a couple of people give some positive news regarding the Swan and the CL. Not that I don't appreciate even the negative responses because I do.

 

[#1hockeymom]

You're going to love your trip! I wish I were going back with you! Going back to the Swan after a long day at the parks was so quiet and relaxing! One more thing, don't let the pool times bother you. While the water falls and the slide might be off/closed, we were in the pools at all hours of the nights with no problems at all.

Debbie

 

[magicaddict]

I have to agree with #1hockeymom. The convenience of grabbing a quick bite was wonderful. There were a few occassions both in the am and pm that I was the only one up and about so I'd go to CL and grab food for everyone and take it back to the room. We also had a cheap styrofoam cooler in our room that we filled with ice from the machine so we could throw our water bottles, sodas and extra milk cartons in to stay chilled. Mama T would ask how many bottles of water we wanted in the am and she would always bring us chilled ones. When we knew we wouldn't be able to come in the evening we'd grab something extra to drink or nibble on for later. Usually we'd grab our cookies to go during the pm so we'd have them when we returned to our room. My kids drink milk at all meals and Thabo was great at retrieving milk for them for the evening. He always asked how things were going and wanted to make sure we were having a wonderful time. On some other threads regarding concierge at the Disney resorts that type of service doesn't seem to be evident. We were lucky and had CL comped to us but I was prepared to use my points to upgrade and in the future would do so just for the convenience.
Only toward the end of our stay did CL become crowded and I think it was due to a large group coming in. Otherwise we were able to find a place to sit down if not when we arrived, by the time we fixed our plates.

 

[jmcross]

magicaddict--What room were you in? Were you on the 11th or 12th floor? I am looking to request a particular side or view, if possible.
Joanne
Thanks for the info!!

 

[magicaddict]

Joanne-
As our upgrade due to our Gold SPG status we had a balcony room. My husband didn't want to give that up to be on CL so we took room 720 (highest floor of balcony rooms). The room was in the east wing so it was just a short walk down the hall to the elevators and up to 12 and the lounge is right there. I didn't find it inconvenient at all. (Well, there were a few times when the elevators weren't working at full capacity.) Our view was of the Dolphin, lake, and the Grotto pool. It might have been nice to have seen the Epcot fireworks from our room but we would have needed to move across the hall.

 

[#1hockeymom]

We were in the same hallway, opposite side of the hall, very last room. We had the corner room which gave us two windows. One window faced the dolphin, and the balcony faced Epcot. We were in room 726. The Swan (maybe the Dolphin also?) runs their numbers in sequential order down one side of the hallway, then up the next side. It is the absolute furthest from the elevator and the walk was just fine! Another thing I really loved was the fact you NEVER heard your neighbors. I know there was someone across from us and next to us the entire trip. We never heard them, not even water running.

You're worrying like I did before we arrived! STOP! Think of it as "akuna matata land" with less toddlers, great service, a much much better bed, and a pool other people are dying to pool hop to!

Debbie

 

[Part of Your World]

Hi. Here's another perspective. We, too, used the govt/teacher/nurse rate of $129 at the Swan at Easter. I had requested a balcony room with resort view AND club access, if available. At check in, the first clerk told me I got the room requested, though it wasn't ready, but club access upgrades were only given to platinums. She offered it at $50 per night additional; I told her I would think about it, and give our answer when we returned. We got another desk clerk who, when I asked if we had Club access, offered it to us for $30 per night. We took it. Our room was in the WEST wing, VERY far from the elevators to the club. It was somewhat inconvenient, especially with a 2 and a 5 year old trailing behind. Our room on the 7th floor had a balcony with a view of the conference center, part of Crescent Lake, the lap pool, and, in the distance, the trees surrounding the fabulous grotto pool. I had heard the the club was terrific. I think that, even at $30 per night, the value wasn't exactly there. We used it for breakfast 3 out of 7 mornings, and made it back in time for snacks in the evening only twice. I thought it was a bit cheesy to charge for the adult beverages, too. I was very excited to meet Mama T., but never encountered her. So, my recommendation is to stay with the lowest rate, and request a corner balcony room, east facing, and politely, but persistently, ask for Club access at check in, especially from Chuck. You may be successful. Loved the Heavenly beds, but the airflow out of the vent blew right on us. Our west facing room got the full brunt of the hot afternoon sun. The A/C shuts off when you leave the room, so our room was SWELTERING (even in April) when we got back. The only solution was to crank the AC down, which created the horribly frigid draft right onto the heads of the beds. We ended up draping a towel over it to redirect.

Love the SWAN!! Enjoy your trip whatever you decide to do.

 

[jmcross]

Again, I appreciate everyone's opinions on this topic. I hate to beat a dead horse here but when I called to reserve CL for President's week, I was told that I got the second to last room at CL! I am afraid that I won't be allowed to have a complimentary upgrade to CL since it will be full. I would rather just pay for it up front and be sure to get it. I still look at it that it is considerably lower than AKL where I still also hold a reservation waiting for codes. (to possibly split our stay)
#1 HockeyMom is right that I am stressing way too much. I keep going back and forth on the balcony issue. I think I'm going to stay on the higher floors with no balcony and request the Epcot side so that we can see Illuminations.(Hopefully, with fingers crossed and lots of pixie dust!!)
Thanks again to everyone who responded.
Joanne