Resort Thread Walt Disney World SWAN, DOLPHIN & SWAN RESERVE Resorts

[SwanVT2]

I am not sure if it has been mentioned but SPG just did their annual raise the rates and lower the points value announcement. In all over 100 SPG properties went up a classification requiring more points than last year.

The SWAN has increased a Category to Category 5 which requires 12,000 SPG points per night
The DOLPHIN stayed a Category 4 property requiring 10,000 points a night.

The change started in March.

With the upcoming SPG / Marriott merger - Marriott buys a hotel, there is no telling what this property will be in the future.

Most people believe that SPG points will transfer to Marriott Rewards programs at a rate of 5 or 6 to 1.
Marriott will probably classify the properties as a 6 which will be 60,000 MRP per night.

Remember that Marriott points are worth about 5.5 SPG points thus the change when the Marriott buyout is finished.
Now if we could just find out what they are going to do with my Lifetime Platinum Status.

Does this mean that our current Starwood points would be worth less?

 

[OKW Lover]

Does this mean that our current Starwood points would be worth less?

Nobody knows since there has not been an announcement about what the conversion rate will be.

 

[SwanVT2]

I'm curious, if I were to book my vacation for next February at the Swan where it says only 10,500 Starwood points per night for a room, would I be able to lock that in?

 

[OKW Lover]

I'm curious, if I were to book my vacation for next February at the Swan where it says only 10,500 Starwood points per night for a room, would I be able to lock that in?

Good question. Nobody will be able to answer that until the actual merger happens (sometime this summer) and the new organization decides on things like conversion rates and hotel categories.

 

[mousegear]

I THOUGHT the Dolphin slept 5 if you paid the added fee for a roll-away. ?? I can't seem to be able to check prices (this is on the Dolphin official website) for our family of 5 (one under 17, the rest adults) in one room. I get a message saying something like "no availability for you party size". Now, a few months ago I COULD. Has there been a change? I thought there was a recent change in ownership. Could this be the reason?

I was able to have 5 people in Dolphin room last year. We paid for the roll-away cot which was $25/night and I have to say they were quit comfortable since my 15y/o niece did mention that it was good. Why don't you just call the hotel directly and ask?

 

[hsmamato2]

I think if you book at the points rate it's locked in,-i.e. they aren't going to ask for more points when you check in.... one reason why we're trying a short stay at the Swan soon.... I saw the change,and figured it's the last time we'll stay there with the points change....(booked at the cat. 4 level)

 

[crazymomof4]

I was able to have 5 people in Dolphin room last year. We paid for the roll-away cot which was $25/night and I have to say they were quit comfortable since my 15y/o niece did mention that it was good. Why don't you just call the hotel directly and ask?

Thanks I will call if it comes to that. BC is our 1st choice but if Free Dining is not released then Dolphin or CBR are our other options to free up some $ to pay for dining oop.

Must just be a website glitch. When I enter my dates into 3rd party sites like hotels.com it DOES allow me to have 5 in 1 room. Glad you posted that the rollaway was comfortable for your 15yo niece. Our DD will be just-turned 16 when we take the trip in Sept.....but honestly, she'd sleep on a bed of nails if it meant being at WDW!!!

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Just wondering...

1, Has anyone ever just done a walk up to Blue Zoo. I am on the fence about this place but I think dh and I would enjoy it but at this point I don't want to make an actual adr. We have walked past it a few times and it always looks practically empty.

2. Can anyone confirm if they actually do not have mickey waffles on the Garden Grove buffet anyone. They werent there in Dec.

3. Of course with my luck the Swan is sold out again for 3 days I want in May, so hopefully we can get them with dh ff miles. I am thinking of doing a split stay with the Yacht Club this time.

 

[patty57]

Just wondering...

1, Has anyone ever just done a walk up to Blue Zoo.

Did a walk up in bluezoo last Thursday evening after my son arrived, so it was around 10:00 pm. I don't think walk ups are difficult there. They also have bar and lounge seating. We did a walk up at Kimonos last night. That place was hopping!

 

[MouseMamaToMany]

Forgive me if this has been asked before, but can I have groceries delivered to my room at the Swan?

My son and I leave in 3 weeks for a surprise trip for his 12th birthday. When I stayed at the Swan solo last year I didn't worry about it, but 12yo boys eat A LOT! I'd love to have a few things in the fridge.

I'm planning to bring some non-perishable snacks, but milk/yogurt/cheese/lunch meat would be great to have!

 

[BlueFairy]

It has been reported here that S/D do not allow grocery delivery.

Here now!! We are having a lovely stay. We asked nicely and were given a complimentary upgrade to a renovated theme park view room in the Dolphin. It's lovely! We can see all of Illuminations and SITS. No balcony since we're so high up. Only the upper floors are complete.

For those who are similarly minded, I must point out that the double beds are a disappointment. We are 10 years older and a lot more tired than when we stayed in a king alcove room. These doubles do not compare favorably. The room is spacious, but there does not seem to be room on the new headboards for a conversion to queens. I also don't think these are new mattresses. In future we will stay at the Swan. I have to assume since our room is complete that the Dolphin will not be getting queen rooms.

The service has been fantastic. Pools are delightful. Weather is AMAZING right now. Rooms and halls are quiet even though the whole resort is hopping. Bus transportation was fine to AK.

We do have an iron and ironing board.

Still not sure we got our rate mixup straightened out. I'll relay that story if there's anything left to tell at checkout.

 

[dansdad]

Forgive me if this has been asked before, but can I have groceries delivered to my room at the Swan?

My son and I leave in 3 weeks for a surprise trip for his 12th birthday. When I stayed at the Swan solo last year I didn't worry about it, but 12yo boys eat A LOT! I'd love to have a few things in the fridge.

I'm planning to bring some non-perishable snacks, but milk/yogurt/cheese/lunch meat would be great to have!

No, Swan and Dolphin do not allow grocery deliveries. They want you to use their Pantry Service. http://www.swandolphin.com/accommodations/pantry.html

 

[kayteekt]

SPG members/card holders, lend me your expertise We've never stayed at the S&D before, but after a recent trip at BWV (renting dvc points) saw that S&D would be just as convenient.

So...when the S&D was running their superbowl promo we booked a stay for june (3 nt anniversary trip) and october (4 nt beginning of a split stay family vacation).
Also, we just decided to do a few days at flower and garden so we're headed down next month.

Question #1
Applied and got the Spg amex card. It has a thing where you'll get 35,000 bonus points after the first 3 months if you spend so much. If I'm understanding correctly that should be about enough for 3 nights? I'm seeing its 10k to 12k per nt?

Question 2
Can i apply the points to one of the reservations i already have? Or do i have to re-book? This is more doable on our june trip, but in October my dates are locked in since it's the 1st part of a split stay and we booked dolphin bc we'll have 5 in the room.

Question 3
How do I effectively rack up more points? I think I saw on here somewhere about charging to room etc...

Last one...
I've also seen here about asking for a room upgrade nicely, what's that about?

Thank you all so much I've enjoyed browsing this thread and finding out more about the S&D, I think it will be a great fit!

 

[mousegear]

SPG members/card holders, lend me your expertise We've never stayed at the S&D before, but after a recent trip at BWV (renting dvc points) saw that S&D would be just as convenient.

So...when the S&D was running their superbowl promo we booked a stay for june (3 nt anniversary trip) and october (4 nt beginning of a split stay family vacation).
Also, we just decided to do a few days at flower and garden so we're headed down next month.

Question #1
Applied and got the Spg amex card. It has a thing where you'll get 35,000 bonus points after the first 3 months if you spend so much. If I'm understanding correctly that should be about enough for 3 nights? I'm seeing its 10k to 12k per nt?

Yes, as soon as they credit your account for those points you could use them. For Swan, it's 12000points / night and for Dolphin it's 10000 points/night currently.

Question 2
Can i apply the points to one of the reservations i already have? Or do i have to re-book? This is more doable on our june trip, but in October my dates are locked in since it's the 1st part of a split stay and we booked dolphin bc we'll have 5 in the room.

You will have to rebook. When you use points, they only have certain amount of room available vs. cash so rebook.

Question 3
How do I effectively rack up more points? I think I saw on here somewhere about charging to room etc...

Best way to rack up points is have SPG Amex card for credit card at the check-in and start charging to the room while eating/speding something at their property. Also, referring the card to friend helps if they open one.

Last one...
I've also seen here about asking for a room upgrade nicely, what's that about?

Usually at the check-in your reservation will be linked to your SPG account and when you give your SPG Amex card for charging incidentals, they will mention something. At the time you could say something like "Hey, by the way, do you have any upgrades available?" It's worth a shot. Worst is no.

Thank you all so much I've enjoyed browsing this thread and finding out more about the S&D, I think it will be a great fit!

 

[kayteekt]

Thank you!! I really appreciate you taking the time to reply!

I'm kind of worried about the re-booking thing...i def want to use the points on our june or october trip, we have APs this year but may not be back for a while after that. Concerned that by the time i get my points (should be 3 or 4 months) that there won't be availability. Pretty much assuming june trip will be out, may not even have points by then...then with october being f&w and needing specific dates since it's part of a split stay, nervous those dates won't be available when i can book on reward points in a few months :/ We shall see i suppose.

 

[mousegear]

Thank you!! I really appreciate you taking the time to reply!

I'm kind of worried about the re-booking thing...i def want to use the points on our june or october trip, we have APs this year but may not be back for a while after that. Concerned that by the time i get my points (should be 3 or 4 months) that there won't be availability. Pretty much assuming june trip will be out, may not even have points by then...then with october being f&w and needing specific dates since it's part of a split stay, nervous those dates won't be available when i can book on reward points in a few months :/ We shall see i suppose.

You never know.... I booked my trip with my SPG points only 3 weeks out for 3/19~3/24 which is Spring Break week. It's one of the most busiest time. However, I did notice that during Food and Wine Festival, Swan and Dolphin seems to sell out faster since they are part of Epcot resort.

 

[kayteekt]

You never know.... I booked my trip with my SPG points only 3 weeks out for 3/19~3/24 which is Spring Break week. It's one of the most busiest time. However, I did notice that during Food and Wine Festival, Swan and Dolphin seems to sell out faster since they are part of Epcot resort.

Great, sounds more possible then i thought!

 

[bobob1916]

Thank you!! I really appreciate you taking the time to reply!

I'm kind of worried about the re-booking thing.

This may sound like common sense but I will say it anyway. When it does come time to try and rebook make sure you call SPG directly. 1-888-625-4988 You don't have to cancel outright this way because they adjust it in their system. It is sometimes amazing what can happen when talking to an agent directly when the websites say there are no rooms available. Getting the right agent on the phone, being polite and chatty, some magical keystrokes and a lot of the times I get sold out rooms for points. I am a gold SPG member but it is worth a try nevertheless.

 

[Alabama Minnie]

What kind of coffee system is in the new Swan rooms now? Plan to take some extra for our upcoming trip. Thanks!

 

[patty57]

What kind of coffee system is in the new Swan rooms now? Plan to take some extra for our upcoming trip. Thanks!

I didn't notice the brand of coffee maker, but it used a coffee filter pack, not a K-cup.