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

[Rustysmom]

Just curious, when reservations are made through Travelocity, can you check the confirmation number you get on the hotel's website? I tried to put the number in and it said reservation not found. I'm sure there will be no problem with it, but if there is, oh boy, my husband is going to be mad! Anybody ever have a problem with Travelocity reservations?

 

[kiminal]

Good Morning to all,

I am going repost this question as I am hoping someone can help me with an answer.. Thanks in advance for all your help


We are SPG Gold Members and have been for several years. We are planning a May 2012 trip for 8 nights and will be wanting to stay in a 1 bedroom executive suite for entire stay.. Here is my questions I hope you can help me with. When I make reservations now, I will only have enough points for right now for 3 free nights but I know this will change as we use our SPG for all expenses and pay off in full each month, therefore we will have alot more points by the time of our trip but I do not want to wait and not get a room. Will this be an issue?? Will it have to be 2 different ressies or can we just pay for the nights we dont have enough points for? Will we have to switch rooms???

 

[AggieTexan]

I just (finally remembered!) cancelled a King/Resort View/Balcony room at the Dolphin for June 21-25 if anybody's been looking for that type of room. I know the king rooms haven't been available for quite a while.

 

[kevallen]

Good Morning to all,

I am going repost this question as I am hoping someone can help me with an answer.. Thanks in advance for all your help


We are SPG Gold Members and have been for several years. We are planning a May 2012 trip for 8 nights and will be wanting to stay in a 1 bedroom executive suite for entire stay.. Here is my questions I hope you can help me with. When I make reservations now, I will only have enough points for right now for 3 free nights but I know this will change as we use our SPG for all expenses and pay off in full each month, therefore we will have alot more points by the time of our trip but I do not want to wait and not get a room. Will this be an issue?? Will it have to be 2 different ressies or can we just pay for the nights we dont have enough points for? Will we have to switch rooms???

I am also Gold level and I think you have to wait to have the points to put it on a reservation. (In other words you'll have two reservations and they usually do their best to keep you in the same room, but you may have to have your keys switched on day 4 or whenever, even for the same room). Also, SPG has no blackout dates so as long as there are rooms available you could use your points. So, you may want to make one reservation for the points you have now and a second one for the minimum number of points you think you will have so that they could cancel that one- and have a room available to for new points. Also, remember the nights and flights 2 deal. (The best SPG deal in my opinion, for 70,000 points you get 5 nights in a standard room plus 50,000 airline miles! Enough for 2 tickets.)

 

[NancyIL]

Good Morning to all,

I am going repost this question as I am hoping someone can help me with an answer.. Thanks in advance for all your help


We are SPG Gold Members and have been for several years. We are planning a May 2012 trip for 8 nights and will be wanting to stay in a 1 bedroom executive suite for entire stay.. Here is my questions I hope you can help me with. When I make reservations now, I will only have enough points for right now for 3 free nights but I know this will change as we use our SPG for all expenses and pay off in full each month, therefore we will have alot more points by the time of our trip but I do not want to wait and not get a room. Will this be an issue?? Will it have to be 2 different ressies or can we just pay for the nights we dont have enough points for? Will we have to switch rooms???

I would wait to book until you have at least 40,000 SPG points - in order to get the 5th night free. That's for a standard room, but I don't know how many more points you would need for the executive suite.

 

[kevallen]

Has anyone used SPG points to get other things (other than rooms) at the Swan and Dolphin? On the SPG site they mention "instant awards" for things like massages - so has anyone used any of their points for the Mandara Spa or for any of the restaurants?

 

[Rich_NY]

So you called the dolphin and they said to go ahead and book through Travelocity? Just want to clarify since I am in the same situation!! I originally booked through the dolphin website though. Did you originally book through Travelocity? Would love to get the savings! THANKS!

I called the Dolphin (who I originally booked through), told them I prepaid for the sensational savings, told them I saw the special from AMEX, they said book it, they noted my account, I booked through Travelocity (2nd time + bought tickets (first time)), they said when the travelocity reservation hits their system, they'll refund my original money...they were AWESOME!

 

[Rich_NY]

Just curious, when reservations are made through Travelocity, can you check the confirmation number you get on the hotel's website? I tried to put the number in and it said reservation not found. I'm sure there will be no problem with it, but if there is, oh boy, my husband is going to be mad! Anybody ever have a problem with Travelocity reservations?

call hotel, it takes them 2-3 days to get it in their system, they just got mine.....hotel doesn't have Travelocity number.

 

[Bluemoon71]

Just came across a really good discount code for the folks who are planning to travel between May 17, 2011 and August 31, 2011: LINK HERE

The discount is on Travelocity...save 20% using Promo Code AMEX20H. It's good on all Travelocity "GoodBuy" hotels, which includes the Swan and Dolphin, as well as all of the Disney-owned resorts.

Here are the terms:

~Must be booked by May 31, 2011
~Qualifying purchase must be made with a valid American Express Card.
~Qualifying purchase means a three-night or longer GoodBuy Hotel stay which is offered on the Site during the Promotion Period.
~GoodBuy Hotel purchase requires a minimum spend of $800.​

Unfortunately, I can't take advantage of the promo, since I'm traveling in October, but just for fun, I priced out some August dates. Travelocity is offering the same Sunsational rates offered on the S/D site...6th night free + $100 food & beverage credit. With the additional 20% savings, a 6-night stay works out to $112/night! *This is inclusive of taxes, but not including the $12 per night resort fee.*

Here's the math:
Room: Traditional Room with 2 Double Beds Non Smoking (2 Adults)
6 Nights:
Sat, Aug 20.....$149.00
Sun, Aug 21.....$149.00
Mon, Aug 22.....$149.00
Tue, Aug 23.....$149.00
Wed, Aug 24.....$149.00
Thu, Aug 25.....FREE

Sum of Nightly Rates:.........................$745.00
Tax Recovery Charge & Service Fees:..+ $95.00

Total Before Savings:.........................$840.00
Less Promotional Code Savings............$168.00

Total for 1 Room:..............................$672.00

PS - just want to point out that this is a pre-paid, non-refundable rate. And in reading the Travelocity fine print, it's noted that "GoodBuy reservations are generally ineligible for hotel award points or airline mileage."

Still, it's an awesome rate. Hope someone can take advantage of it!

Ok, where are we seeing that this in non-refundable? All I see is that you are subject to the cancelation fees set by the hotel, which when I booked directly through the Dolphin, the penalty was only the cost of one night. Where do I find exact cancellation fees? Just want to make sure I know what I'm getting into

 

[NancyIL]

Has anyone used SPG points to get other things (other than rooms) at the Swan and Dolphin? On the SPG site they mention "instant awards" for things like massages - so has anyone used any of their points for the Mandara Spa or for any of the restaurants?

I have transferred SPG points to my American Airlines frequent-flyer account. When you transfer 20,000 SPG points, Starwood gives you a 5,000-point bonus - which equals 25,000 AA miles. It helps to have the Starwood American Express card to earn more points.

 

[LexiC123]

Ok, where are we seeing that this in non-refundable? All I see is that you are subject to the cancelation fees set by the hotel, which when I booked directly through the Dolphin, the penalty was only the cost of one night. Where do I find exact cancellation fees? Just want to make sure I know what I'm getting into

Sorry...I misread the policy. There is a one-night penalty for cancellation up until 3 days before arrival. After that the forfeiture amount is 100%.

From the Terms and Conditions of the Sunsational Savings rate on the Westin/Swan reservations page (I plugged in my arrival date, October 22nd):

If you cancel, the forfeiture amount will be a 1 night penalty. If you cancel after 4:00 PM hotel time on 10/19/2011, the forfeiture amount will be 100 percent. There may be additional applicable charges and taxes.​

Sorry for the confusion.

 

[Bluemoon71]

Sorry...I misread the policy. There is a one-night penalty for cancellation up until 3 days before arrival. After that the forfeiture amount is 100%.

From the Terms and Conditions of the Sunsational Savings rate on the Westin/Swan reservations page (I plugged in my arrival date, October 22nd):

If you cancel, the forfeiture amount will be a 1 night penalty. If you cancel after 4:00 PM hotel time on 10/19/2011, the forfeiture amount will be 100 percent. There may be additional applicable charges and taxes.​

Sorry for the confusion.

Thanks so much! I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything. Has anyone booked through travelocity before? Just saw another thread about the fact that travelocity charges more for rooms that "include EMH," but EMH is free with S/D. Someone suggested that maybe you would not be guaranteed the S/D if you didn't pay the higher price? Any experience with this? Seems like a scam to me!

 

[Rich_NY]

Thanks so much! I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything. Has anyone booked through travelocity before? Just saw another thread about the fact that travelocity charges more for rooms that "include EMH," but EMH is free with S/D. Someone suggested that maybe you would not be guaranteed the S/D if you didn't pay the higher price? Any experience with this? Seems like a scam to me!

Dont worry, I just did it, its legit whats emh?......the total was as stated and the Dolphin cnfd its legit.I just saved $500 between hotel and tkts!!

 

[Bluemoon71]

Dont worry, I just did it, its legit whats emh?......the total was as stated and the Dolphin cnfd its legit.I just saved $500 between hotel and tkts!!

EMH is extra magic hours. It just seems strange that travelocity would charge more for rooms that "include extra magic hours" when that is actually included with all the rooms at the swan/dolphin.

 

[Rustysmom]

I posted on the other thread but what I'm hoping it means is that the ones without listing EMH are "sunsational savings" package that Dolphin offers on their website. You have to prepay the whole thing and I'm not sure about the cancellation fee. I know there was one but I don't remember how much. I was going to do that on Dolphin's website, where they also offer the $100 food credit and 6th night free too. Then I read about the code.

So on the others that aren't in that package and don't give you all that free, they list the EMH.

At least that's what I hope it means, I emailed them to ask.

 

[Rustysmom]

Sorry...I misread the policy. There is a one-night penalty for cancellation up until 3 days before arrival. After that the forfeiture amount is 100%.

From the Terms and Conditions of the Sunsational Savings rate on the Westin/Swan reservations page (I plugged in my arrival date, October 22nd):

If you cancel, the forfeiture amount will be a 1 night penalty. If you cancel after 4:00 PM hotel time on 10/19/2011, the forfeiture amount will be 100 percent. There may be additional applicable charges and taxes.​

Sorry for the confusion.

Really? Are you sure because I do think it's nonrefundable. I tried to cancel on Travelocity just to see what it would say and it told me I would be refunded $0!

 

[Rustysmom]

call hotel, it takes them 2-3 days to get it in their system, they just got mine.....hotel doesn't have Travelocity number.

Thank you. I'll call them next week. They seem to be very nice there.

 

[tuckerkeys]

Ok 2 questions here...

When I originally booked the Dolphin I put it under my husbands name assuming he was coming with us....well he is BUT not until 3 days later. So, will I have a problem checking in under his name or should I call to change the res. to my name?? The stay is pre paid btw, and I used my cc.

Also

Does anyone know if the alcove rooms in the dolphin have 2 beds in them? Even 1 bed and 1 murphy bed?? The last alcove room I stayed in ( awesome! ) had 1 double and 1 pull out couch. I THOUGHT there were alcove rooms that had 2 beds in them?? 3 more days till my dolphin stay! The weather looks gorgeous too!

 

[Rich_NY]

EMH is extra magic hours. It just seems strange that travelocity would charge more for rooms that "include extra magic hours" when that is actually included with all the rooms at the swan/dolphin.

They charge more??? I didn't see that?

 

[Rich_NY]

Really? Are you sure because I do think it's nonrefundable. I tried to cancel on Travelocity just to see what it would say and it told me I would be refunded $0!

Look we're all in the same boat, we are going, so just book it, if something unfortunate happens I'm sure with the proper documentation you get your money back. That's what the Dolphin told me when I prepaid for the 'sunsational' package. If someone gets sick, or something happens, they cant keep your money. They're not trying to trick you, they want you happy...it's Travelocity and AMEX, it's not Bobs travel agency.