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

[CyndiLouWho]

We were always told it was waived due to our status - we essentially lived in SPG and Marriott hotels maxing out status at both year after year.

Yes maybe for Plat. We have never been plat and always paid the fee.

 

[patty57]

I don't have gold or platinum status, and never will, but I love the Swan & Dolphin. I love the grown-up vibe, the pool, Cabanas, and the fantastic restaurant choices. I'm not loving the price increases since Marriott took over, and will be sad if their prices increase to the point where they no longer entice me away from the BW, BC & YC.
I've mentioned this before, but I can't see any upside since the Marriott takeover.

 

[GoofyDad_4427]

So this is a new one.

Trying to book a 2 queen room at the Swan on points from 8/20-8/25 for 2 adults and 2 children
It is showing online that I have extra person fees of $250 ($50 per day)
I call Marriott and they tell me that this is new, that all Swan rooms are now standard at 2 people and anything more requires a fee of $25 per person, per day

Can this possibly be correct? Sure hoping I just spoke with someone that didn't know what they were talking about.

I called the Swolphin number directly. They are promising me that they will not make the charge for the extra person, regardless of what the website booking says.

 

[SteveH]

Just returned from a trip and there are definitely changes since Marriott took over. Staying on points, they used to waive the resort fee but this time made a big deal about it being discounted (so $23 instead of I think $28). We also used to have parking waived but were charged $23 for that as well. Taxes on both of these charges. In addition, breakfast used to be free for everyone in each of our rooms (ie - when we took my husbands family and had 8 people and 3 rooms, we received free continental breakfast for all...

One thing I've seen under Marriott is more consistency between hotels, not always good but they tend to follow the posted rules a bit more. I do miss the Starwood attitude and individuality between the hotels. They did clamp down on the free meals that were given out big time.

The desk person told us that since Marriott took over, free drink coupons were no longer available. Not a big deal I guess but it was a nice customer appreciation touch.

I can only assume that the owners of the S/D are ok with all these changes, honestly many of them seem like they could have a negative impact on the long term loyalty. Just the points devaluation has been enough to make me think twice.

I'm not loving the price increases since Marriott took over, and will be sad if their prices increase to the point where they no longer entice me away from the BW, BC & YC.
I've mentioned this before, but I can't see any upside since the Marriott takeover.

I'm inclined to agree, so far I haven't come away with its a big improvement overall. The only plus is that I can now earn points at a lot more hotels as Starwood was pretty limited in my area and the addition of Marriott properties gave me a lot more flexibility. But the lack of deal and the hike in point value has pushed me to staying on property for our next WDW visit, unless we find an amazing deal to stay at S/D.

I called the Swolphin number directly. They are promising me that they will not make the charge for the extra person, regardless of what the website booking says.

That's good! I hope you got the name of the person you spoke with, maybe even some type of written comment about that offer.

 

[Avery&Todd]

Can anyone tell me if at the Swan there is a customer service desk where I can add Park Hoppers to my already purchased tickets or should I do that at a park? We're staying for the Swan for the first time and I wasn't sure if they had a ticket desk who could assist.

thanks!

 

[SteveH]

Can anyone tell me if at the Swan there is a customer service desk where I can add Park Hoppers to my already purchased tickets

Yes there is one near the Swan elevators. Check the hours when you check in though. They were very helpful.

 

[shoreward]

Can anyone tell me if at the Swan there is a customer service desk where I can add Park Hoppers to my already purchased tickets or should I do that at a park? We're staying for the Swan for the first time and I wasn't sure if they had a ticket desk who could assist.

Yes there is one near the Swan elevators. Check the hours when you check in though. They were very helpful.

thanks!

My understanding is that it is staffed by Disney CMs. You will not be able to charge any tickets or upgrades to your Swan/Dolphin guest room.

 

[Avery&Todd]

My understanding is that it is staffed by Disney CMs. You will not be able to charge any tickets or upgrades to your Swan/Dolphin guest room.

Great!! thanks for the information!!

I'm totally prepared to not charge any non-hotel expenses to the room or my magic band...which is totally going to be weird..

I figured I'll have a stash of Disney gift cards for our food - planning on $1k for 4 days for the 2 of us...

oh, and can I add on only 3 days of hoppers to our 4 day tickets? I won't need hoppers for day #4 - that's only a half day in the parks since our flight leaves at 3:40pm.

Thanks!

 

[shoreward]

Great!! thanks for the information!!

I'm totally prepared to not charge any non-hotel expenses to the room or my magic band...which is totally going to be weird..

I figured I'll have a stash of Disney gift cards for our food - planning on $1k for 4 days for the 2 of us...

oh, and can I add on only 3 days of hoppers to our 4 day tickets? I won't need hoppers for day #4 - that's only a half day in the parks since our flight leaves at 3:40pm.

Thanks!

You should be able to use Disney GCs for the ticket upgrade.

Since I have an AP, I'm not that familiar with PHs - especially since the major ticket changes this year.

An excellent thread on ticket questions is:
https://www.disboards.com/threads/all-about-tickets-upgrades.3570721
/page-309

You will receive a prompt and very accurate response to your inquiry.

 

[Avery&Todd]

You should be able to use Disney GCs for the ticket upgrade.

Since I have an AP, I'm not that familiar with PHs - especially since the major ticket changes this year.

An excellent thread on ticket questions is:
https://www.disboards.com/threads/all-about-tickets-upgrades.3570721
/page-309

You will receive a prompt and very accurate response to your inquiry.

PERFECT!! thanks!!

 

[Dan Murphy]

Yes there is one near the Swan elevators. Check the hours when you check in though. They were very helpful.

The elevators mentioned here are by the east bank of elevators, not the west. That would be right if coming from the buses or front desk, left if coming from the pool area, Dolphin or Friendship boat dock

 

[GoofyDad_4427]

Great!! thanks for the information!!

oh, and can I add on only 3 days of hoppers to our 4 day tickets? I won't need hoppers for day #4 - that's only a half day in the parks since our flight leaves at 3:40pm.

Thanks!

Whether you add one day or 4 days, the price for hoppers is the same. Once you buy it, it is good for the length of the ticket.

 

[martin33]

Good morning,
We are booked to stay at the dolphin for 8 night this March. I had initially booked a deluxe alcove, but I opted to upgrade to a "premium studio king". I was told they are generally 800 sq feet , but the reservation says 500 sq ft (similar to there deluxe alcove size). Anyone have any experience with these? Many thanks - we are excited for our first stay here.

 

[robinb]

The Swolphin upgrade gods smiled on us this year. Our room and view are spectacular!

 

[robinb]

We just left the Swan. Our room was wonderful as was our view. We really liked breakfast at the Garden Grove and Fresh. We had Mouseen (so?) as our waiter at Fresh and loved him.

We had two problems.

1) We had something delivered to the Swan on 12/31 at 9:00 am and were not notified until mid-afternoon on 1/2. My husband asked for the front desk to go find it on 1/1 and they did. They removed the $8 Business Center charge.

2) We went with the “Go Green” where the housekeeper does not service our room. We were told that our sheets would be changed on the 3rd day and they were not. On the 2nd night I had used some Bengay on my legs and it started to burn so I washed it off. Unfortunately it got on my sheets so I slept on top of them. I called in the AM of the 3rd day to ensure that they were going to change my sheets. I came home to a made bed at 11:00 at night with the same sheets. Another night on top of the sheets. I asked again the next morning and came home at 4:00 pm to extra coffee (which is what they do when they don’t service your room). I walked down and spoke to the manager who promised that she would speak to the housekeeping manager. While we were on our balcony the door opened and housekeeping left more coffee. No! We went swimming and still no new sheets. I finally sent my DH down (the plat member) and they finally changed my sheets by the time we returned from dinner.

 

[ahutton]

Can't wait to get back to the Dolphin this year; booked for my family plus friends once school is out. We are in a "parlor suite" with the 2nd bedroom option plus an extra king bedroom. It sounds perfect for our two family trip - can't wait to take a relaxing stroll to Epcot!

 

[maxiesmom]

Any tips on how to make the sink area at the Dolphin more user friendly for 3 women? That was my major complaint with the Dolphin, the lack of bathroom space. I need ideas on how 3 women can keep their stuff accessible but not in the way. I didn't find those tiny glass shelves on the wall to be good for much.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Any tips on how to make the sink area at the Dolphin more user friendly for 3 women? That was my major complaint with the Dolphin, the lack of bathroom space. I need ideas on how 3 women can keep their stuff accessible but not in the way. I didn't find those tiny glass shelves on the wall to be good for much.

We often use one of these shoe organizers when traveling though I don’t know if bathroom doors at Dolphin have enough clearance at top

https://www.amazon.com/Simple-House...ocphy=9021551&hvtargid=pla-450465023969&psc=1

 

[SteveH]

I finally sent my DH down (the plat member) and they finally changed my sheets by the time we returned from dinner.

You know I've ready about a lot of house keeping issues both at S/D and Disney properties over the past month or so. I get the impression that none of the hotels were properly staffed or trained to handle the Christmas & New Year rush. I'm not sure what they can do, but something needs to improve. This is why they've made the push for the the "go green" option at Disney and to a lesser extent at S/D, at least Disney gives a $10/night credit.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Good morning,
We are booked to stay at the dolphin for 8 night this March. I had initially booked a deluxe alcove, but I opted to upgrade to a "premium studio king". I was told they are generally 800 sq feet , but the reservation says 500 sq ft (similar to there deluxe alcove size). Anyone have any experience with these? Many thanks - we are excited for our first stay here.

Great you are booked, enjoy!!! Can't help with your question though.

View attachment 372590 View attachment 372587 View attachment 372588 View attachment 372586 The Swolphin upgrade gods smiled on us this year. Our room and view are spectacular!

I agree, Robin. Beautiful!! Makes me homesick.

We just left the Swan. Our room was wonderful as was our view. We really liked breakfast at the Garden Grove and Fresh. We had Mouseen (so?) as our waiter at Fresh and loved him.

We had two problems.

1) We had something delivered to the Swan on 12/31 at 9:00 am and were not notified until mid-afternoon on 1/2. My husband asked for the front desk to go find it on 1/1 and they did. They removed the $8 Business Center charge.

2) We went with the “Go Green” where the housekeeper does not service our room. We were told that our sheets would be changed on the 3rd day and they were not. On the 2nd night I had used some Bengay on my legs and it started to burn so I washed it off. Unfortunately it got on my sheets so I slept on top of them. I called in the AM of the 3rd day to ensure that they were going to change my sheets. I came home to a made bed at 11:00 at night with the same sheets. Another night on top of the sheets. I asked again the next morning and came home at 4:00 pm to extra coffee (which is what they do when they don’t service your room). I walked down and spoke to the manager who promised that she would speak to the housekeeping manager. While we were on our balcony the door opened and housekeeping left more coffee. No! We went swimming and still no new sheets. I finally sent my DH down (the plat member) and they finally changed my sheets by the time we returned from dinner.

Welcome home, Robin, but sorry to hear about the problems, especially the housekeeping. Not good.

Can't wait to get back to the Dolphin this year; booked for my family plus friends once school is out. We are in a "parlor suite" with the 2nd bedroom option plus an extra king bedroom. It sounds perfect for our two family trip - can't wait to take a relaxing stroll to Epcot!

Enjoy, ahutton. Just like the 'old days'