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

[LexiC123]

Just booked our room at the Dolphin Oct 4-8 (teach Discount) for F&W festival!!! We are excited about this trip. It is our 1st trip without the kiddo's and our 1st stay at S/D. Quick question...I booked a room with a king bed and resort view, considering that we are SPG members (new) and AAA members, any chance we could get free upgrade to room with balcony and better view? should we ask at check-in? I can't see it being very crowded during our stay considering we are there during the week.

That's terrific...you're going to love the S/D!

Re: your question...upgrades aren't guaranteed with SPG membership (unless you're at the Gold or Platinum level, and even then it's based on availability), but it never hurts to ask when checking in. They've been very accommodating to us on our two previous trips, upgrading us to better rooms/views both times.

Also, besides the Epcot F&W Festival, the S/D have their own mini F&W Classic while you're there, October 7th and 8th. More info here: http://swandolphinfoodandwineclassic.com/

Hope you have a great trip!

 

[kiminal]

I have started a thread with the following question, but thought I might should put it the Swan/Dolphin thread too.
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???

Thanks a bunch for all your help
Kim

 

[4orm]

Don't forget about the 5 nights for the points of 4 promotion they always have. You'll need enough points for 7 nights instead of 8

 

[cleophus12]

I was hoping to have a gift delivered to our room on Father's Day from Disney florist and gifts. However, they told me they are not allowed in the Dolphin rooms to set up a gift. They recommended I check with the conceirge staff to see if they would assist. So I called, and the only help they offered was to have the box delivered to the room. They would not go with the deliverer so they can set up the gift. Anyone ever had a gift delivered, and if so, how did you go about it. I understand this is one of the disadvantages of not being in a Disney hotel, but I would think there is something that can be done--any ideas?

 

[lovingthemouse]

The one time we had a fruit basket delivered, it was waiting in the room for us - no one delivered it while we were there. Could be there is a privacy issue allowing deliveries directly to the room from outside vendors!

Personally I would not want someone in my room without assistance from the Dolphin, but then, consider how busy the Dolphin staff might be to accompany them.

Hope you have other responses here to help you out.

 

[scotty s]

Another question...Does a standard guest room w/BALCONEY (which is higher rate that standard room /resort view) automatically give you a better view than the rooms without a balcony??

 

[LexiC123]

Another question...Does a standard guest room w/BALCONEY (which is higher rate that standard room /resort view) automatically give you a better view than the rooms without a balcony??

Not always. I've seen (from the outside) that the views from some of the lower floor balcony rooms are blocked by trees.

Another thing about the lower floor balcony rooms...a couple of years ago, we were upgraded to an Epcot-view room with a balcony on the 2nd floor of the Dolphin. Unfortunately, I found our balcony to be a bit 'buggy', which kind of ruined the whole relaxing-with-a-drink-on-the-balcony vibe.

 

[LexiC123]

I was hoping to have a gift delivered to our room on Father's Day from Disney florist and gifts. However, they told me they are not allowed in the Dolphin rooms to set up a gift. They recommended I check with the conceirge staff to see if they would assist. So I called, and the only help they offered was to have the box delivered to the room. They would not go with the deliverer so they can set up the gift. Anyone ever had a gift delivered, and if so, how did you go about it. I understand this is one of the disadvantages of not being in a Disney hotel, but I would think there is something that can be done--any ideas?

I can't give you a personal recommendation, but I have read (here on the DIS) about services that provide gifts, gift baskets and room decorations.

Try googling or doing a DIS search for "Gifts of a Lifetime" and "Memories by Betsy". From what I can recall, the feedback on both services was pretty positive.

Good luck!

 

[abw]

For those looking to collect a lot of SPG points. Note that they are deposited at varying times.

 

[abw]

My question is for those collecting SPG points. If you eat at a Dolphin or Swan hotel while staying somewhere else, have you been able to give them your SPG number to collect points on that spend? (I'm not asking about whether you've used an SPG Amex, but just about regular points.) I know you can do this if staying there because you can bill to room, but I'm uncertain about what happens when you're staying at a different hotel.

Thanks in advance for advice on this.

 

[simonmunro]

What is the difference between executive and grand suites? We've stayed at the Dolphin since 1994 but haven't been in several years. The suite that was always called executive in years past is now called grand suite. I have looked carefully at the floorplan and pictures links on website but still am confused. Does anyone have recent pictures of any suite type? If I could see a couple types I will know the type I want. Thanks so much.

 

[TaraPA]

I don't know the difference but if you go back to page 71 of this thread, post #1057 has pics of the 2BR Executive Suite we had at The Swan in March. Maybe that will help you figure it out!

 

[thebs19]

Going back a few pages..did I see a report of $9 domestic beers at the Pool Bar?

Was this including like a 3 dollar tip, or is the posted Cabana menu that misleading? I see beers ranging from 6-7.25 on the menu, and bucket deals for pretty decent savings.

http://swandolphinmeetings.com/menus/restaurant_menus/cabana/

 

[Dan Murphy]

I would think that included a tip. The menu seems pretty clear to me.

 

[vicki_c]

We just booked a stay at the Swan through Orbitz for November, so I was reading the FAQ post at the top of the thread. I notice it says $10/day resort fee. My confirmation says $36 for 3 nights, so that is $12/day - they either raised it or my Orbitz reservation is different.

I have to go dig up my Starwood card - but do you know if I will be able to connect my membership # with my reservation on arrival? Since I booked thru Orbitz, I guess it's like a typical TA thing where I don't really have control of my reservation at this point.

 

[jnfr2424]

The resort fee was recently increased to $12
When I booked the Executive Suite I was told the difference was a Murphy bed in the Executive parlor versus a dining set in the Grand suite hope that helps

 

[simonmunro]

Thanks so much for the explaination and pictures.

 

[mikegood2]

When I booked the Executive Suite I was told the difference was a Murphy bed in the Executive parlor versus a dining set in the Grand suite hope that helps

That is also what I have been told and it also appears that way in the diagrams on the s/d website. If you look at the photos from taraPA March visit, her executive suite in the Swan had a Murphy bed in it. Makes me wonder if part of the reason that they don't show photos of the executive suites is because they have numerous configurations. I'll post photos of our Dolphin executive suite after our June visit.

 

[mikegood2]

Hey Dan, how was your trip? Hope you enjoyed your visit.

 

[TaraPA]

That is also what I have been told and it also appears that way in the diagrams on the s/d website. If you look at the photos from taraPA March visit, her executive suite in the Swan had a Murphy bed in it. Makes me wonder if part of the reason that they don't show photos of the executive suites is because they have numerous configurations. I'll post photos of our Dolphin executive suite after our June visit.

Could be right there Mike, because I was told over the phone that only The Dolphin's Executive Suites had the Murphy Bed, that the parlor area of Swan Executive Suites only had the sleeper sofa. Imagine my surprise when we walked in & there was the sleeper sofa AND the murphy bed! It was a nice surprise, as we were contemplating renting a rollaway for the trip, and we didn't need it afterall.