Tina,
Here's the mini review I posted for the Swan.
Just a small review....
We were there from Aug 21 to 30, stayed in 6184, a 2 double bed resort view room in the West wing.
For the most part, we were very happy with the resort. We got a great deal (paid about $1200 total for the 9 nights) because we jumped on the Super Bowl special when our state's team won (buy 2 nights get the 3rd free if your state makes it to the SB, plus an upgrade for the winning state). I also joined the SPG rewards program and signed up for the Amex card - this resulted in over 30,000 points which made me look like a big customer...so we were also given a free rollaway for my friend's DD (who is a thrasher, lol). Those 30,000 points are also good for 3 free nights in the future.
The staff was extremely friendly and attentive, our room was clean and well stocked with towels and such, and our location was very convenient to breakfast (Picabu), laundry and the boat and bus.
We ate most mornings at Picabu. If you have a
AAA card, you get a 20% discount (I believe at all the counter service locations, but definitely at Picabu). We all ordered the kids breakfast (tons of food - eggs, toast, bacon and potatoes) and it cost about $22 per day for the 4 of us!
I saw the posts about the condition of the Grotto pool. We only went to the pool one day, early on in the trip. Maybe the 23rd or 24th. The pool LOOKED fine at that point. The staff got our girls involved in a water volleyball game and they had a great time. The wait staff was very attentive and my friend and I very much enjoyed our poolside drinks.
OK...on to a few things that were less than ideal.
We wanted to go to the morning EMH for AK. We were at the bus stop at 7:10 am. This should have been plenty of time to not only get there before the open, but be AT the rope.
We waited and waited and waited and....etc. I spoke to other drivers and they radioed in several times. I then used the house phone and was eventually patched through to Disney transport. I was told by one driver that the bus would arrive in 4 minutes. Twenty minutes later, I was told by Disney transport that the bus would arrive soon... It seems that the AK busses were filling to capacity at the Swan and, therefore, bypassing the Dolphin completely. At about 8:15 am an empty "floater" bus finally arrived and took us to AK. We weren't in the park until about 8:40. I stopped into guest services to let them know about the issue. They did of course give us FP's for 2 rides to make up for all the EMH time we lost, and I appreciated that.... But, my favorite thing to do at AK is to grab my FP for the Safari and then walk through Pangani before anyone else is interested in it. I love having those trails to myself. Needless to say, by the time we got there, the trails were packed full of people. So, my advice - when going to EMH, if you are staying at the Dolphin, walk over to the Swan for the bus! The rest of the trip, busses and boats were fine....
Another issue was the smell by the 6th floor elevators. We thought it was a dirty diaper that a guest had been kind enough to dispose of in the garbage/ashtray by the elevators. We reported it to guest services....but the smell never entirely went away during our nine days there! Just glad my room wasn't near it!
Finally, we had lunch ADRs for Fresh Mediterranean Market. We made sure we were back at the resort in time for it. We arrived at the restaurant only to be told that they weren't open for lunch and that we should eat at the Fountain.
I was assured that the Fountain also accepts TIW. Well, the Fountain was fine, no biggie, but when the check came I was informed that they do not, in fact accept TIW. The waitress got the manager for me and she extended the discount anyway, so it all worked out. But how strange that they would allow you to make an ADR and give you a confirmation number for a restaurant that isn't open.
In summary, the hotel is beautiful, the pool is beautiful (and will hopefully be fixed soon), the staff is very friendly, the location is great and most issues were dealt with satisfactorily. We are DVC and also have an offsite timeshare, but if I ever found myself out of points/weeks again,
I would not hesitate to stay at the Dolphin again - in fact, I may have to make an extra trip to use my points for free nights!