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

[NancyIL]

My late checkout requests have typically been given as 1 PM also. I ask for 4, but usually get 1. I'm gold also, but going to be regular, whatever that is, starting in Feb, not enough stays I guess I will miss the gold.

Had I not cut my December trip short by 3 nights, I would've requalified for gold in 2011. I like getting extra points by not having housekeeping come every day.

 

[TaraPA]

Speaking of points...have you all signed up on spg.com for the Weekend Getaway Promo they have through March? Double points for stays & an extra 500 for Fri, Sat & Sun stays. S/D ARE included in the participating hotels.

We went from Platinum down to Gold & now just Preferred - even with my March & April stays we won't have enough nights to get back up to Gold unless DH starts traveling more for work again. Preferred used to get you an upgrade if one was available, it stinks that they now limit that to Gold and above. But hey, they still give great service & I'm glad they have a rewards program at all!

 

[NancyIL]

Speaking of points...have you all signed up on spg.com for the Weekend Getaway Promo they have through March? Double points for stays & an extra 500 for Fri, Sat & Sun stays. S/D ARE included in the participating hotels.

I registered for the Great Weeks, Great Weekends promotion (https://www.spgpromos.com/greatweeks/index.cfm?language=en_us&IM=Q111_Eng_SPG.com_Text), but the Swan and Dolphin are excluded.

 

[Dan Murphy]

https://www.spgpromos.com/greatweeks/nonparticipating.cfm?language=en_us&IM=Q111_Eng_SPGcom_Text

 

[blondietink]

I just want to make sure you know the "late check-out" is also subject to availability. It depends on how booked they are and how soon they'll need the room you're vacating. They will always grant a later check-out, but it may not be 4pm. My last stay, "1pm" was the latest check-out Dolphin was able to give me (I'm spg Gold). I'll take whatever I can get!

Also don't know if you booked with cash or points through SPG. If you booked with points, the type of room you booked is not guaranteed at all. We booked with points for a stay in August (2 queen beds with balcony)and were not given the room we booked. It was a nightmare for the 4 of us trying to squeeze into the room they gave us. Hotel was very nice otherwise.

 

[RachelTori]

Also don't know if you booked with cash or points through SPG. If you booked with points, the type of room you booked is not guaranteed at all. We booked with points for a stay in August (2 queen beds with balcony)and were not given the room we booked. It was a nightmare for the 4 of us trying to squeeze into the room they gave us. Hotel was very nice otherwise.

That's a shame. Was the hotel unable/unwilling to give you a different room?

I have never stayed on points -- the fact that I've always gotten a room for under $200/night versus parting with 10,000 of my hard-earned points per night..... I'd rather part with the cash!

 

[TaraPA]

I registered for the Great Weeks, Great Weekends promotion (https://www.spgpromos.com/greatweeks/index.cfm?language=en_us&IM=Q111_Eng_SPG.com_Text), but the Swan and Dolphin are excluded.

Glad you set me straight - here I thought it said "Hotels participating"....it says "Hotels not participating"!! I guess I need to get better glasses!

Sorry for the misinformation. And darn it - I was about to rack up some nice points in March!

 

[NancyIL]

Glad you set me straight - here I thought it said "Hotels participating"....it says "Hotels not participating"!! I guess I need to get better glasses!

Sorry for the misinformation. And darn it - I was about to rack up some nice points in March!

I would've, too - had the S/D been participating!

 

[vicb]

Hi. I posted this question as a separate thread then saw this thread and thought maybe I should be asking here...

I just found out my DS's band will be performing at Disney during Easter week of 2012 (I know Easter yikes!). I want to book a room for DH and myself at S/D but won't know the exact dates for quite a while. Being that it will be Easter I was thinking I should book a room soon for the whole week. I will probably only stay 4 or 5 days.

So my question is... can you make a week long ressie then drop a few days at the beginning or end of that ressie? I have not stayed at S/D before so am unfamiliar with their policies.

Thanks for helping.

 

[LexiC123]

Hi. I posted this question as a separate thread then saw this thread and thought maybe I should be asking here...

I just found out my DS's band will be performing at Disney during Easter week of 2012 (I know Easter yikes!). I want to book a room for DH and myself at S/D but won't know the exact dates for quite a while. Being that it will be Easter I was thinking I should book a room soon for the whole week. I will probably only stay 4 or 5 days.

So my question is... can you make a week long ressie then drop a few days at the beginning or end of that ressie? I have not stayed at S/D before so am unfamiliar with their policies.

Thanks for helping.

Hi...welcome to the thread.

Good idea to book as far in advance as possible for a holiday week. As long as you don't book a pre-paid package you can cancel/make changes up to 5 days prior to your arrival. However, changing the days may also result in a rate change. Then again, the price may change significantly between now and next Easter, so you might want to re-book if a good deal comes along.

And some Starwood hotels charge an early departure fee, if you checkout early than expected. But as long as you inform them when checking in, that you will be checking out sooner than expected, there should be no problem. That happened to me on this last trip, and they were ok with it when I informed them of this information at check-in.

 

[WUVmyDISNEY]

Do WDW Resorts transfer luggage TO S/D for a split stay? I know S/D will transfer to a WDW Resort but wasn't sure on the reverse.

Tara, yes they do. I stayed at CR last month and had requested bell assistance. When the bellman came up he asked if he were headed to the airport and I told him we were needing a cab to get to Dolphin. He said, ok, we will send your luggage over for you. They tagged it and gave me a receipt and we were on our way. Within an hour of arriving to the Dolphin, bell services delivered our luggage to the room!

 

[blondietink]

That's a shame. Was the hotel unable/unwilling to give you a different room?

I have never stayed on points -- the fact that I've always gotten a room for under $200/night versus parting with 10,000 of my hard-earned points per night..... I'd rather part with the cash!

Yes, they finally gave us a room ... king bed with single pull-out couch. Not too good with 4 adult sized people and 2 wheelchairs. They were willing to give us a rollaway but there was literally no place to put it once it was opened.The room was so small after we opened the pull-out couch. So, mom (me) slept in the not very comfortable pull-out and the 3 guys slept in the king bed. And this was after waiting several hours after the official check-in time. Good thing we only stayed 2 nights as my back could not take that pull-out any more.

We have many points to use and we don't often go to a city where there is a Sheraton. We have more than enough to stay in Hawaii for like a month if we wanted. Hawaii is in the plans when we can get a good deal on airfare for 4. We are kind of waiting for the new DVC to open there so we can stay at both a Sheraton and DVC.

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

If you can get on spg.com and check the "government rate" for your dates, that should also be the Nurse and Teacher rate. I'm finding the discounts are not as generous as they used to be (percentage off rack-rate). $159 seems to be the most common discounted rate for the summer months. With tax and resort fee that would be about $190/night. There may be other "special offers" that would save you more. You can check those at http://www.swandolphin.com/offers/

HTHs!

thanks for the info

 

[TinkerBe11]

If you have a resort view with a balcony, you can't do much better. I really prefer the rooms with balconies. I wouldn't worry about height. The way the resort is set up, the floors with rooms are high enough such that any room listed as "resort view" should be just that. Can't hurt to ask for a room as high as possible once you arrive, or a couple of days ahead of time.

As for an upgrade, a basic SPG membership will not get you anything. Most of the people who stay are either Gold or Platinum. And even they are not guaranteed anything, especially if there is a conference when the resort is booked to 110% capacity. Frankly, every upgrade that I have gotten to a higher class room (as opposed to a higher class view) has resulted in a bigger room with less of a view (and no balcony). If you have a balcony and a view, my advice is to keep it.

Il Mulino is the best Italian restaurant on property, and with a restaurant.com discount, you can't beat it. And bluezoo is the best seafood restaurant ...and Shula's is the best steak restaurant...and Kimonos is the best sushi restaurant. (Noticing a theme??) You lose a few Disney perks when staying at the S/D, but you gain a lot in terms of culinary precision and swimming pools.

The balcony rooms only go up to the 9th floor right? I have a reservation for Shula's and I am trying to get the group to agree with me on Il Mulino. I have a large bunch that I am traveling with so we have differing opinions. Right now we have a reservtion for Via Napoli at Epcot and I think we should switch it out for Il Mulino. I have used restaurant.com in the past for a place close to hom, but there was a restriction on there that said 1 coupon per table. Are there restrictions like this on the S/D restaurants as well?

I also read that so today I did the online chat at the SPG website and was able to "upgrade" to the Preferred Plus program by providing the customer service rep with my AAA membership number.

I already have a reservation booked with the initial SPG membership I had gotten online, and the CSR told me it would automatically update in the system. Hope that is true.

According to the AAA website, the SPG Plus Program includes an instant updated to preferred room at check-in, 4 pm late checkout, 2 starpoints for every dollar spent. I haven't confirmed the Dolphin is included with this program, but am guessing it covers all SPG properties.

This is our first time staying at the Dolphin so I am trying to learn all I can. Hope that helps.

So all I have to do is call the Dolphin and have them link my AAA number to my SPG number and that will put me in the "plus" program?

 

[Mickey & Minnie Mom]

Actually, I went to spg.com and under customer service, used the online chat option.

I didn't contact The Dolphin directly so I am not sure if they can do it or not.

 

[Music City Mama]

Hi I'm hoping to stay at the dolphin for 2wks in the summer and I'm having some trouble using their website to get an idea of prices before phoning. Iknow they offer special rates for nurses but does it have to be in the US? Any guide as to what they normally charge per night at this time of year would be very welcome. Many thanks for any help

If you can get on spg.com and check the "government rate" for your dates, that should also be the Nurse and Teacher rate. I'm finding the discounts are not as generous as they used to be (percentage off rack-rate). $159 seems to be the most common discounted rate for the summer months. With tax and resort fee that would be about $190/night. There may be other "special offers" that would save you more. You can check those at http://www.swandolphin.com/offers/

HTHs!

They have some good rates shown right now on their website for 2011. It was acting kind of wonky a couple of weeks ago (giving me a price of $400/night, etc. ), but it's working now.

I'm staying in June on the AAA rate for $152/night (which brings the total w/ resort fees and taxes to $181/night -- and I will have a car so really around $193/night). Since I'm staying at least 5 nights, I'm also getting the $50 resort credit (as shown on that specials page in the AAA section).

Pretty good deal, IMO, given the location and amenities of the resort.

 

[chicagoshannon]

Do I need to ask for a crib in advance or just tell them when we check in?

 

[JimmyV]

The balcony rooms only go up to the 9th floor right?

That is correct. The balconies are in the side wings (east and west elevators). The central triangular tower does not have balconies that face the parks. I have been on every floor from 5-9 and they are all fine if you have an Epcot facing balcony.

Right now we have a reservtion for Via Napoli at Epcot and I think we should switch it out for Il Mulino.

I would. Two different experiences, really.

Are there restrictions like this on the S/D restaurants as well?

Yes, but they usually involve number of entrees, like, "must order two or more entrees". For your group, this would not be a problem.

 

[kerryk74]

Hello!

Just wanted to give a report from our recent stay during Christmas week! It was our very first stay at the Swan, and I simply booked it because of the fabulous special I was able to book (I *think* it was the buy one night get the next 50% off, w/ 100.00 room credit). Anyway, we booked a king w/sofa sleeper and a deluxe view w/balcony. We have three kiddos, but even though I told them that at booking, they allowed us (I've heard the max is supposed to be 4).

We arrived on December 26th around 3:30, but our room was not ready. Unfortunately, ALL of our winter coats, hats, gloves, etc...were in our suitcases, and we didn't want o go digging in the hotel hallway!
So, we decided to just wait around and check out the hotel. It was really beautiful! Loved all the decorations and the chocolate sculpture!

We tried again at 4:00, but they said the room would not be ready until 4:30, but they would give us a 75.00 room credit for the inconvenience! Wow! We thought that was really nice. After killing some more time (in the mini-van w/movies), we went back at close to 5:00, and our room was ready!

The room was really nice, but it smelled heavily of smoke. The whole family noticed it. We decided to go to the parks, and we hoped it might be better upon return. However, when we got back at 9:30, it was the same. The room smelled so badly, and I knew I did not want 6 nights with it. So, I called and politely told them. They were super apologetic, and offered to move us. They did not have our room view/balcony available, but I told them that was no problem. They put me on hold for a moment and came back to tell us we were upgraded to an executive suite!!! Seriously, we were NOT expecting that!!!

The room was incredible! We had so much space for the 5 of us. The views were spectacular, and we could see MK fireworks from the room! It really was such a wonderful week!

On the 30th, I took my girls to have dinner at CRT, and my poor little 4 year old threw up all over the table AND her brand new dress which we had just bought that day (luckily AFTER we had met all the princesses)!!! She was devastated, and even though I was able to clean up the dress, there was nothing to be done about the smell. I knew if we didn't get it cleaned quickly, the smell would never leave. So, I sent it to the dry cleaners at the Swan and attached a note with what happened. I told them that my little girl was broken hearted, and I would be happy with anything they could do about the smell. We arrived back at the room, later that day, to find the dress lying on the bed in pristine condition (NO smell) with "No Charge" written on the receipt!!! It made me cry that someone was so caring.

I was really overwhelmed by the amount of kindness shown to our family at the Swan! We had a really wonderful holiday there, and I caanot say enough good things about the hotel, staff, and our overall experience! I made sure to leave a really nice comment card with all of these things listed, and I called to tell a manager before we left, as well!

 

[NancyIL]

The room was really nice, but it smelled heavily of smoke. The whole family noticed it. We decided to go to the parks, and we hoped it might be better upon return. However, when we got back at 9:30, it was the same. The room smelled so badly, and I knew I did not want 6 nights with it. So, I called and politely told them. They were super apologetic, and offered to move us. They did not have our room view/balcony available, but I told them that was no problem. They put me on hold for a moment and came back to tell us we were upgraded to an executive suite!!! Seriously, we were NOT expecting that!!!

The Swan has been a non-smoking hotel (as have all Westins) for several years, so that's pretty surprising. Hopefully the prior occupants were fined $250 for smoking in the room. That's great that the Swan moved you to an executive suite!