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

[Gretchen]

I am currently booked with free dining at POR for 9 nights. Yes, I got a great deal, but the more I think about it, the more I want to go back to the Dolphin! I have enough Starwood points for 2 5-day stays with the 1/2 off rack rate. It just isn't available yet past January. Anybody know when it will become available? I hope it will be a smidge less than the teacher rate and then I would be happy.

Does anybody have any other ideas for discounts?

I'm interested in people's experience with staying with points--how's this work? I've got the Starwood amex-got the 10k point deal-how many do I need to get an upgrade/$ off the room?
Thanks

 

[jnfr2424]

I'm interested in people's experience with staying with points--how's this work? I've got the Starwood amex-got the 10k point deal-how many do I need to get an upgrade/$ off the room?
Thanks

For a free night on points you would have to redeem 20000 points per night

The best way to figure out how much points you need - go to www.spg.com and do a starpoint tracker. It would count how many points you have and how many you would need to obtain.

 

[NancyIL]

For a free night on points you would have to redeem 20000 points per night

The best way to figure out how much points you need - go to www.spg.com and do a starpoint tracker. It would count how many points you have and how many you would need to obtain.

Unless something recently changed, a free night at the Swan/Dolphin requires 10,000 points. Stay 4 nights on points and the 5th night is free.

**I just checked, and it's still 10k per night. You can sometimes use a combination of cash and points for a free night - usually $60 + 4000 points/night for the S/D. Upgrades require additional points.

 

[NJMermaid]

less than 2 weeks for my trip to Disney and Dolphin

how are those pools?

 

[Tess]

less than 2 weeks for my trip to Disney and Dolphin

how are those pools?

We were there in early October and I have to say I was SHOCKED at how cold the pools were then (Swan and BC). Of course, we had a couple of nights that went down to 58º. It was cooler than we were used to for that time of year. This weekend the high is predicted to be 68º, at least according to our paper. Real temperatures could be different. . .you know how forecasts go.

 

[blondietink]

I'm interested in people's experience with staying with points--how's this work? I've got the Starwood amex-got the 10k point deal-how many do I need to get an upgrade/$ off the room?
Thanks

We stayed at the Swan on points for 2 nights in August. The usual rate is 10,000 points per night, but we spent 11,000 points per night to get a balcony and 2 queen beds. However, upon check-in, there was not a room available in that configuration. We had to settle hours later for a balcony king room with single sofa bed and rollaway. The fact that we were Starwood members didn't seem to matter in getting us a room, as there were literally 35-40 people checking in and getting their rooms who paid cash while we waited for a room to become available for us. We declined the rollaway finally as it wouldn't fit in the room anywhere. So, we had 4 adult sized people crammed into a room. Not until after we returned home did I find out that room categories booked on points are NOT GUARANTEED!. If I had known this, we would not have used the extra points for a balcony. If you have a car, you are required to pay for parking daily and there is a hotel fee of $10.00 per day per room that is also required that covers internet service, local calls, pool towels, etc. You cannot use points to pay for those fees.

The resort is very nice in a good location and has a great pool complex. We did not use any of the restaurants. We will go back again and use points, but will definitely lower our expections of what our room will be like.

 

[NeilD]

Staying in the Dolphin for 3 nights in February. Transferring Amex point to Starwoods points. 10,000 Amex points = 3,300 Starwoods points. Will probably cash in 30,000 points, giving me a free night. 10,000 Amex points will get you a $50.00 Amex gift Card. Figure I couldn't get a room for $150.00. Still have some extra SPG points from earlier stays for upgrades.

 

[rie'smom]

Oh my! Now I'm second guessing my decision of the executive suite. I booked a king 1 bedroom suite for me, DH and two teenage girls. It has a king sized sisco bed that I thought the girls could share. I'm wondering now if I should book two connecting rooms instead? Would they be more comfortable? Of course, we MUST have two bathrooms. We'd never make rope drop without them.

My daughter and her guest sleep on the sisco bed and they have never had a complaint. The executive suite does have 2 bathrooms. I don't remember if I posted a picture of the layout. It is the living room with either the king bedroom or the 2 double beds. The living room also has a queen sofa sleeper if the girls don't want to share.

 

[LBYC-19]

Hi everyone! Thanks to college tuitions and my son's deployments, we haven’t been to Disney for 8 years and just returned from a memorable time at the Dolphin. As always, the entire staff couldn’t have been nicer or more accommodating. My sister and I spent a few days at AKL (her DVC) and the Dolphin for 3 nights. AKL transferred our luggage uneventfully. Most people seem to request the higher floors for the view, but our family has always preferred ground level close to the pool. Knowing this was an upgrade I did not specifically request this and hoped we would get a room somewhere in the vicinity and asked for “lowest level possible closest to pool exits on the west side”. Upon check-in they offered an upgrade for $20 extra- (we were paying $149 rate) the room we’ve always stayed in (#1175). We were thrilled. The third night was on SPG points, so the upgrade fee was complimentary for this night.

We've always loved opening up the slider and sitting out on the balcony in the afternoon enjoying the activity at the beach and the swan boats on the lake. The room was SO quiet my sister asked me to turn on a fan for “white noise” to help her sleep. It is such a handy location- right around the corner from the casual restaurants, (convenient to refill mugs) and a quick walk to the park boats and busses. We took the 5:10 a.m. Mears shuttle to the airport, and thanks to the heavenly beds we almost missed this shuttle and left the room at 5:10-still made it because the escalator to the busses was right down the hall. We opted to "go green" for the 500 SPG points in lieu of housekeeping services, but they still delivered the bottled water and coffee (included in the $10 daily resort fee). When the kids were younger, we would have needed the change of towels, trash emptying, etc. On day two I called for one packet of coffee for the morning (hoping to receive it that evening), and a big bag of coffee was delivered within 5 minutes by a smiling staff member. This room was updated from our last stay, and we loved all of the user-friendly touches, such as electrical outlets built into the lamps (great for recharging), the makeup mirror attached to the bathroom wall (perfect for two people getting ready when one is at the sink). I lost my prescription sunglasses on the property and thought surely it would be easier finding a needle in a haystack the Dolphin is so huge. I called Lost and Found a few times; they couldn’t have been more helpful or empathetic. A kind soul turned them in and while at the airport I received a phone message from security that they could ship them home to me. Customer service touches like this is what reminded me of why we are so fond of the Dolphin.

The Food and Wine Festival at Epcot was wonderful and lots of fun! The Christmas decorations were complete in the Studios, and we saw a preview of the Osborne Spectacle of Dancing Lights at the Studio (a must do!). The other parks had started decorating as well. I apologize I have no pictures (I couldn’t hold a candle to Blondie, TaraPA and others beautiful pictures), but I’ll be happy to answer any questions if I can (sorry this is so long!). Joanne

 

[Dan Murphy]

Not sure if these Christmas Season rates have been posted here yet......

http://www.santasfavoriteresort.com/dis.html

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

Not sure if these Christmas Season rates have been posted here yet......

http://www.santasfavoriteresort.com/dis.html

thanks Dan, I just showed my 5 yr old son the attachment and he is very excited to see Santa in his beach clothes
We are staying Dec 3-5 on points (but I wish we can stay for the rest of the trip here...unavailable to get rooms from Dec 5-11...I have been trying for months)

 

[Dan Murphy]

Here is link for a few more pictures. Make sure to click the few links in the green area too......

http://www.santasfavoriteresort.com/

 

[teacher31]

We were so excited to get free dining for this May at POR, especially since we have 3 teenagers. We've been planning where we would like to eat, saw the May calendar and it started dawning on us that we would be forced to commit so early simply due to having to eat a TS everyday. Typically we eat a mix of CS, with a TS thrown in every couple of days. Although the kids, especially my son, were looking forward to trying the dining plan, they finally came to the conclusion that they would miss the Dolphin too much! So, I am booking the Dolphin for 10 nights in May, cancelling my reservation during FD, will be paying out of pocket for food and couldn't be happier about it.

Does anybody know if the Dolphin still takes AAA at Picabu?

 

[Dan Murphy]

AAA at non signature (including Picabu), TiW at signature locations.

 

[RachelTori]

We were so excited to get free dining for this May at POR, especially since we have 3 teenagers. We've been planning where we would like to eat, saw the May calendar and it started dawning on us that we would be forced to commit so early simply due to having to eat a TS everyday. Typically we eat a mix of CS, with a TS thrown in every couple of days. Although the kids, especially my son, were looking forward to trying the dining plan, they finally came to the conclusion that they would miss the Dolphin too much! So, I am booking the Dolphin for 10 nights in May, cancelling my reservation during FD, will be paying out of pocket for food and couldn't be happier about it.

Does anybody know if the Dolphin still takes AAA at Picabu?

Congrats on your wise decision! Having just returned from the Dolphin, I have to again say what a wonderful resort it is. As with every other stay I've had at the Dolphin and Swan, the CMs are among the best anywhere!

AAA at non signature (including Picabu), TiW at signature locations.

 

[lissiesmum]

We were there in early October and I have to say I was SHOCKED at how cold the pools were then (Swan and BC). Of course, we had a couple of nights that went down to 58º. It was cooler than we were used to for that time of year. This weekend the high is predicted to be 68º, at least according to our paper. Real temperatures could be different. . .you know how forecasts go.

Uh oh...Cold pools in October??? Are the pools always cold? We'll be there the end of April and definitely need warm pools...are the Dolphin pools kept colder than those on WDW property?

 

[mydisneyobsession]

Uh oh...Cold pools in October??? Are the pools always cold? We'll be there the end of April and definitely need warm pools...are the Dolphin pools kept colder than those on WDW property?

I'm wondering about this, too. We were hoping to get some pool time in November, but cold pools don't seem like much fun!

 

[SingingMom]

Hi everyone! Thanks to college tuitions and my son's deployments, we haven’t been to Disney for 8 years and just returned from a memorable time at the Dolphin. As always, the entire staff couldn’t have been nicer or more accommodating. I apologize I have no pictures (I couldn’t hold a candle to Blondie, TaraPA and others beautiful pictures), but I’ll be happy to answer any questions if I can (sorry this is so long!). Joanne

Great recap, Joanne! Glad you had a great time!

Uh oh...Cold pools in October??? Are the pools always cold? We'll be there the end of April and definitely need warm pools...are the Dolphin pools kept colder than those on WDW property?

I can only speak for June. Pools are very warm in June. LOL

 

[jlcd]

AAA at non signature (including Picabu), TiW at signature locations.

How much is the AAA discount? Is there a list of places that accept it? TIA!!

 

[paras4ri]

Uh oh...Cold pools in October??? Are the pools always cold? We'll be there the end of April and definitely need warm pools...are the Dolphin pools kept colder than those on WDW property?

I think it may be harder to keep the Grotto pool heated to a consistent level because it's so large. It's actually 3 pools that connect and the waterfall also keeps the water moving in the main section.