Well, I'm sad to say I had my first bad experience with the Dolphin.
However, it won't keep me from coming back because I just KNOW it had to be an anomaly.
First off, we checked in fine but got up to the room and none of the 4 keys we got worked, so I had to go back down and get more keys. Then, when we finally got in the room, I was IMMEDIATELY blown back by the level of humidity and mildew smell in the room. I thought it might be because the A/C was not turned down (cold) enough, so I cranked it to hopefully dry it off. I even used the AC override tips from this thread! We left and went down to dinner at Fresh (which was fantastic!) and when we returned to the room, around 10pm and there was NO improvement. At this point, we were all very tired, including my 5 year old, so we just got ready for bed.
I was in a deluxe room which had a pull-out couch and when we pulled it out, there were no sheets on the mattress, nor were there any in any closet, so we had to call housekeeping to bring some up, which they did. Twice.
When they came up, we asked if we could get a dehumidifier, but they said we'd have to call maintenance. By this time, it was already after 11pm and my child was asleep and I didn't want anymore interruptions.
As a result of this ridiculous humidity/mugginess in the room, I slept horribly. Mostly because I was just so mad and embarrassed (I had my sister and friend in the room with us) because I had talked up the quality of this hotel so much. And I needed my sleep, too, because I was running the Wine & Dine Half Marathon the next night, so rest was everything. I got up early the next morning and went downstairs to see if there was anything that could be done.
I explained that I typically don't complain - which is true - but this was just too much. I wanted to be moved to a room that didn't have this problem. The girl at the desk was PHENOMENAL and moved us to a newer, renovated room, with the only other difference that we had a king bed instead of two doubles. (And that was no problem since my DD liked sleeping with mommy & daddy!) We were told that they would move our things from the bad room to the new room, so we went out to start our day in a much better mood. First, we went on to ESPN WWoS so my daughter could run her Kid's Race, followed by a trip to Downtown Disney for lunch and a little shopping. Lastly, we went over to Shades of Green to buy tickets and items in the shoppette and went back to the Dolphin to rest up for the Half Marathon.
It was about 2pm and I went to the desk to see if our new room was ready. Sadly, I didn't get the same phenomenal front desk clerk, as she tersely told me the new room wasn't ready yet and we could wait in our old room until the new one was ready. We went back up there and it was too unbearable to stay so we went and sat in the lobby. Needless to say, this wasn't the restful way I wanted to spend my afternoon - I needed a NAP!!! I checked again with the front desk at 3pm and they told me the new room was finally ready and we went and moved our own things.
The newer room was MUCH better - NO humidity at all!! We had to call again for the sheets, only this time it took 3 phone calls for the sheets to actually make it up to the room. (At least it wasn't at 11pm!!) The rest of the stay was as expected - I just wish I had gotten this room to begin with.
Moral of the story - if they try to put me in 4042 again, I will politely slide the keys across the counter and say, "No thanks. Been there - done that!!" For the record, this was one of those 'award winning' views of the dumpsters/delivery area, but honestly, the view was of no significance to me. The view was a little better in the new room, but again, not an important issue for me.
I went ahead and booked another room for my 40th birthday weekend next month. I mentioned my birthday when I booked, but I plan to send a message ahead of time, just to ensure it's noted in my reservation.
