The **New** Swan and Dolphin Resort thread ~ September 2010 ~ Please read post #1

[sewer]

Mears is the same price if booked in advance or booked the same day. There is a Mears kiosk there you can use to book directly if you'd like, I've done that before when I wasn't sure what I was doing until I got there (for the ride to MCO).

You can also book at their website now if you'd like.

Yep, they do provide a great service for a reasonable price....

 

[Chrissyb8885]

ok ive spent WAY too long searching for this....I am trying to figure out what kind of room i would like to request at the dolphin. Is there a thread someone can refer me to that has specific room numbers and pros/cons of the east/west wing??? I know we definitely want a balcony. Is there an extra charge for the rooms with 2 balconies???

thanks in advance!
-Chrissy

bump....anyone???

 

[sewer]

bump....anyone???

I've looked into this several times and have never found anything. Personally I'd call the hotel directly to make your reservation, then you could explain what you'd prefer in a room.

 

[Dan Murphy]

bump....anyone???

For the Dolphin, if my directions are correct, east would give you a Boardwalk.Epcot view, if on the north side. West would give you Grotto beach and swim area view, also possibly The Studios and ToT.

 

[TaraPA]

bump....anyone???

The rooms with 2 balconies are the Deluxe Alcoves & suites - you cannot request them, you'd have to book & pay for that category.

I don't know if you can request a balcony or not if booking a standard room. I think the balcony is a paid category, so be sure to see what's available at booking & choose from that. When booking standard in the past (when not receiving a comp upgrade), we've never had a balcony. We have had balconies when booking the higher categories, and suites.

 

[pgianna]

Mears is the same price if booked in advance or booked the same day. There is a Mears kiosk there you can use to book directly if you'd like, I've done that before when I wasn't sure what I was doing until I got there (for the ride to MCO).

You can also book at their website now if you'd like.

I was referring that Mears is more expensive in general. Somebody mentioned that mears was 165 round trip, that is too expensive. Other car services charge around 125 round trip for a town car.

 

[TaraPA]

Call the dolphin and ask. They were very nice in giving me transportation options. I ended up paying $165 for round trip town car service for 6 people.

I was referring that Mears is more expensive in general. Somebody mentioned that mears was 165 round trip, that is too expensive. Other car services charge around 125 round trip for a town car.

The top quote is the person that said the town car service was $165, it wasn't Mears shuttle that was $165. Mears shuttle is a van service that charges a per person fee, about $35 round trip. Mears is the most reasonable choice if you have 3 people or less (sometimes eben with 4-5 people if some are at the kids rate which is less).

 

[TwiddleDeeTwiddleDum]

Thanks for the replies I'm now considering not using ME into our WDW resort & going with a private towncar roundtrip IF the one way is 2/3 or more the cost of a round trip, I'm thinking I may as well use it going in so we can stop at the grocery & pick up some snacks & beer Then I'll have my return out of Dolphin set up in advance - I like having plans in place

 

[denvergirl]

I wasn't aware that S/D had any prefeered service for airport transportation. I'd be interested to hear who that is too.

I've used cabs (whatever was waiting outside) $65 one way to MCO, the Mears shuttle ($19 appx one way per person) or a town car service ($100 one way to MCO).

Here's a link to a thread talking about the best limo companies. . .

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2374690&highlight=airport+limo+service

 

[olive]

Booked the Superbowl promotion for late January, but since there are no discounts yet for that time of year, the rates were pretty high. We are paying about $70 more per night WITH the discount than we did this past spring in late May-early June. I assume that late January usually has pretty good offers, so we will likely ending up switching to something else down the line. Does anyone know around when discounts that include January are generally published? Looks like just about everything is for 2012 (except the Superbowl rate) for now.

Thanks!

 

[Music City Mama]

Posting this for anyone who may be able to advantage of this:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Leap into Summer Savings!

In honor of the 366th day in leap year we're offering two night stays in a Deluxe Alcove suite for only $366 when you book a reservation in August or September by March 2, 2012.
That's a savings of over 50%!

Visit swandolphin.com/offers or call
888-828-8850 and ask for rate code: LEAPYEAR

Offer subject to availability, see our special offers page for complete terms & conditions.

 

[cookpr]

Seems to be some good deals going on right now for very early summer stays.

We booked 6/1 - 6/8, 2 adults, 2 kids for $1180 (7 nights) - with $100 resort credit, free upgrade and waived resort fees. In all, about $168 per night. Was some "sunsational" promo.

We had a hard time finding another Disney resort (that wasnt a value resort) for anywhere near that price, much less in such an ideal location.

 

[olive]

Posting this for anyone who may be able to advantage of this:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Leap into Summer Savings!

In honor of the 366th day in leap year we're offering two night stays in a Deluxe Alcove suite for only $366 when you book a reservation in August or September by March 2, 2012.
That's a savings of over 50%!

Visit swandolphin.com/offers or call
888-828-8850 and ask for rate code: LEAPYEAR

Offer subject to availability, see our special offers page for complete terms & conditions.

Did you receive this notification via email? If so, how can I sign up to receive similar notices? Usually I just check the special offers page, these boards or call the hotel every now and again to see if there is a better rate available than what I have booked. Oh, and I also get the mousesavers newsletters, but I don't read them every month.

Thanks!

 

[LexiC123]

Did you receive this notification via email? If so, how can I sign up to receive similar notices? Usually I just check the special offers page, these boards or call the hotel every now and again to see if there is a better rate available than what I have booked. Oh, and I also get the mousesavers newsletters, but I don't read them every month.

Thanks!

On the right side of the S/D offers page, you can sign up to receive their newsletters. The Leap Year discount was sent out as part of the monthly recipe email.

The Swan/Dolphin and Starwood Hotels Facebook pages also frequently have information on specials and promotions, such as the Starpicks rates, which are released every Tuesday.

 

[LexiC123]

Wow when are you going in October? I have $179 with AAA and the reservationist ( who struggled to figure out how to get the quote) quoted me $269 for the superbowl promo. Even with the 3rd nights free the AAA seems to be better for me.

Autumn

Sorry I missed this earlier...

We're going Oct 13th to 19th. Looks like the Super Bowl free night promotion was based on the lowest standard rate, which fluctuates almost daily (not sure why...maybe it's based on availability). Just so happens that the rate was $209/night when I booked on Feb. 3rd. I kept checking back, just in case the rate dropped, but instead it went up to $229 and then $249 and finally the $269 that you were quoted.

I guess it's just lucky that I booked when I did. Of course, knowing me, I'll still keep checking back for a better rate over the next 7 months, but something tells me that the rate I have is going to be as good as it gets.

That AAA $179 rate isn't bad for October, though, and it allows you flexibility that some of those other prepaid rates don't. When your trip is about 6 weeks away, you might want to check on the Starpicks rates, which sometimes go super low.

 

[Nik's Mom]

I noticed that there is a special for summer where you get the 6th night free, plus $100 food credit at the resort. When I priced everything out, it came to $1085.45 for Swan. Once I add park tickets, it comes to $2106. Right now, I have All Star Movies preferred, plus tickets for $1715. I'm thinking of switching over to Swan though.

If you have stayed at a value and Swan, can you give your opinion. Do you think it's worth it. The difference in price is just under $400, but we would get 2 queen beds and a better location. I've never stayed at Swan or Dolphin before. I have stayed at a few WDW deluxe resorts though.

 

[SRUAlmn]

I noticed that there is a special for summer where you get the 6th night free, plus $100 food credit at the resort. When I priced everything out, it came to $1085.45 for Swan. Once I add park tickets, it comes to $2106. Right now, I have All Star Movies preferred, plus tickets for $1715. I'm thinking of switching over to Swan though.

If you have stayed at a value and Swan, can you give your opinion. Do you think it's worth it. The difference in price is just under $400, but we would get 2 queen beds and a better location. I've never stayed at Swan or Dolphin before. I have stayed at a few WDW deluxe resorts though.

To me, that's a no brainer. I would definitely switch to the Swan The location alone is worth the extra $400. You'll have less busses to worry about, and all the amazing S&D amenities at your front door. My vote would be to switch, if you can financially handle that extra $400

 

[NancyIL]

I noticed that there is a special for summer where you get the 6th night free, plus $100 food credit at the resort. When I priced everything out, it came to $1085.45 for Swan. Once I add park tickets, it comes to $2106. Right now, I have All Star Movies preferred, plus tickets for $1715. I'm thinking of switching over to Swan though.

If you have stayed at a value and Swan, can you give your opinion. Do you think it's worth it. The difference in price is just under $400, but we would get 2 queen beds and a better location. I've never stayed at Swan or Dolphin before. I have stayed at a few WDW deluxe resorts though.

I usually stay at the Swan, but in January I stayed at All Star Music for a week (solo). I LOVE the Swan and I really didn't mind ASMusic - but I'll be back at the Swan in April. I end most park days at Epcot, and I love being able to walk back to the Swan, rather than having to walk out the front of Epcot to a BUS!

 

[Nik's Mom]

Thank you! I've only stayed at a value one time, and it didn't bother us at all. But, the queen beds alone might be worth the extra price. Plus, we get that $100 food credit, so it' really just $300 more.

 

[TwiddleDeeTwiddleDum]

I noticed that there is a special for summer where you get the 6th night free, plus $100 food credit at the resort. When I priced everything out, it came to $1085.45 for Swan. Once I add park tickets, it comes to $2106. Right now, I have All Star Movies preferred, plus tickets for $1715. I'm thinking of switching over to Swan though.

If you have stayed at a value and Swan, can you give your opinion. Do you think it's worth it. The difference in price is just under $400, but we would get 2 queen beds and a better location. I've never stayed at Swan or Dolphin before. I have stayed at a few WDW deluxe resorts though.

If you are flying in & was counting on using ME for free staying ASMovie, in comparing price do consider your additional expense to pay OOP for your airport transporation to/from Swan