Walt Disney World SWAN, DOLPHIN & SWAN RESERVE RESORTS Information & Questions

[CBMom01]

Ooops. Wrong board. I am sorry
I tend to get carried away when talking about travel.

Oh, I was joking! No worries

 

[luvallprincesses]

Thanks for the heads up on rechecking rates. Swan Reserve even for March (wondering if it will even be open by then, lol) for a week went down by 20,000 points. A quick call to Bonvoy and the points were instantly back in my account.

 

[magickingdomprincess]

Yeah recent stays at Marriott's have been like this for me - they are really taking advantage of COVID IMO to not clean room every day - and in general the cleanliness is lacking - there needs to be a deeper clean between stays IMO - too many dust bunnies etc... in general at Marriotts

Basically they clean the room every three days for "extended" stays - so for a three night stay dont expect to see anyone. So they did not bring water every day or towels. Not worth asking them as it takes hours for them to show up. So why am I paying a resort fee every day?

Still can't beat the price compared to Disney - especially as life time Titanium.

I used a suite night rewards for an upgrade - what else can you do with these things - they expire at the end of the year and it is rare they work - they are pretty cheap with upgrades these days though - I have always gotten a full suite at check in in the past - was annoying especially considering the hotel was pretty empty - but I was on my own so did not push it.

I got the upgraded room I booked - it has a partial view of the fireworks that they raved about on check-in - nothing special at all - just a preferred king room - 35% or so of the fireworks were blocked by the other wing.

Some small things from my recent stay at the Swan - the halls need a major referb - the carpets are worn to say the least.
The restaurant's are closed early in the week - they really need to make this clear on check-in.

I made the mistake of eating at Shula's on Sunday night on on Monday and Tuesday night almost everything was closed - so no Kimmono's and no Blue Zoo for example. Again why a resort fee for a resort that is mostly closed?

As elite you get a $20 credit for breakfast at the restaurant in the Swan - but its closed early in the week and restaurant in the Dophin would only give me a $10 credit towards their buffet. NDB - front desk fixed it - but its a PITA - and the buffet in the Dolphin is not very good compared to the menu at the Swan.

Also - although it is back now - during my stay there was no extra hours for Disney Deluxe Guests so that was also disappointing - but not the hotels fault.

I probably should have pushed to have the resort fee removed -but I got better things to do with my time.


One other issue - so it is no longer a shared Disney bus for Swan Dolphin - they each have their own bus and its a Mears bus - this goes to the TTC - so you then need the boat or monorail to get to the MK - was not happy with this at all. Simple solution get the bus to from Boardwalk or Yacht/Beach Club. Cant beat this location for HS and Epcot - especially for the price

We checked into the Swan on Mon and were told if we would like we could have housekeeping every day. We said yes, we would like daily housekeeping. So far they have cleaned our room every day, although they've come pretty late in the day (they were still cleaning when we e got back to our room one day). This included fresh towels and refilling the bottled waters.

 

[CBMom01]

Does anyone know if I can get a Disney cake and/or Disney floral delivered to Dolphin?

 

[tony67]

King rooms are almost impossible to get - but they will try to give you a better view if possible. But no, even as a Titanium it's rare to get any room other than the one you book.

For me, when I'm traveling solo, it doesn't matter as much. But when my DH travels with me, I'm more likely to book a more expensive room (Senior Discount usually has some options.) if I want a specific room (Like the King Deluxe with Balcony).

Oh. And I have never tried using "Suite Nights" at the Dolphin so not sure if that helps...

So: if room layout or view matters, book that. ALWAYS.

For the most part "Suite Nights" wont get you very much - at any Marriott - unless you are very lucky - even as Lifetime Titanium
That said - the best they had was King Deluxe with Balcony at S\D - and the day before checkin they did confirm - they try their best to sell those rooms before upgrading. Most hotels will offer a full two room suite with the Suite Nights rewards but YMMV.

In general success rate with "Suite Nights" is pretty low though - plenty of discussion on flyer talk (and folks I work with who are also Titanium and even one Ambassador level) seem to confirm this.

If I am going somewhere where I really want an upgrade I will email the hotel a week or so in advance and they will usually take care of me - tracking down those emails can be difficult though - Ive had much better luck with email than the awards

 

[tony67]

I’ve never had an issue linking a Marriott reservation, booked through Marriott, using the Marriott confirmation number and my last name through MDE. I just wait a day or two.

For me it linked no problem - but it kept de-linking almost every day

 

[SteveH]

Does anyone know if I can get a Disney cake and/or Disney floral delivered to Dolphin?

In the past there was an "in-house" option for things like this, though it was a sub-contractor. I am not finding anything on their website or about it now. I would use the SwanDolphin app and send them a text, they are good about getting right back to you when texting.

 

[Best Aunt]

Dude. Some of us aren’t even silver. Be cool.

I believe someone who posts in this thread sometimes refers to that as “tin foil level.”

(which would include me at this point)

 

[amalone1013]

Does anyone know if I can get a Disney cake and/or Disney floral delivered to Dolphin?

My husband got something delivered for our anniversary a couple years ago, I think he just called to ask.



ETA: He just ordered it through the Disney floral and gifts site, they deliver to Swolphin still according to website.

 

[Dan Murphy]

I have sent in house food items (milk and cookies, actually a really nice presentation) a number of times. Like Steve said above, it was on their website but apparently not now. I would give them a call.

 

[CBMom01]

My husband got something delivered for our anniversary a couple years ago, I think he just called to ask.



ETA: He just ordered it through the Disney floral and gifts site, they deliver to Swolphin still according to website.

Thanks for following up!

 

[jmcross]

I called today regarding my mid November Swan Reserve. They basically said that there's nothing they can do or say until they get official word that the hotel is delayed yet again. I'm kicking myself because I gave up a great AP rate at Dolphin. I'm just nervous that they'll just tell me to cancel and rebook and there will be nothing left at a decent rate.

 

[SteveH]

@jmcross from posts by others those that booked with cash and not points got an equivalent room at S/D - if you recall the rate at the Dolphin you might try to negotiate with them to reduce the price - the reality is the room rates are lower at the Dolphin. But you shouldn't have to rebook. It was only those that booked with points or other non-cash methods had to rebook.

 

[jmcross]

Thanks Steve! That’s great news!

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

I called today regarding my mid November Swan Reserve. They basically said that there's nothing they can do or say until they get official word that the hotel is delayed yet again. I'm kicking myself because I gave up a great AP rate at Dolphin. I'm just nervous that they'll just tell me to cancel and rebook and there will be nothing left at a decent rate.

Remind us of your dates? Did you get the impression that the opening was going to be delayed again but they just couldn't say so?

 

[jmcross]

11/10-11/15
I got nothing from them. Just was told that someone would contact me if my reservation was impacted.

 

[VickiVM]

Has anyone recently used the washer/dryers at the Dolphin? My husband and I both have c-pap's we're taking, plus he has an ankle support boot he's packing just in case, so I may need to make some edits to the clothes and shoes we're taking. We have one pool day scheduled, so we can do laundry then, but I don't want to get that dryer that hasn't had maintenance in a while and needs 3 cycles to fully dry our clothes.

 

[WeLuvWDWx5]

When staying at Disney resorts, I typically use Garden Grocer for delivery as they will deliver beer/wine in addition to food items. They do not appear to deliver to the Swan or Dolphin. Is there another option for delivery of these items at the Dolphin (I don't care if it isn't refrigerated upon delivery).

Thank you!

 

[jmcross]

Has anyone recently used the washer/dryers at the Dolphin?

It’s a well maintained laundry room. I’ve always been able to wash and dry using just one cycle.

 

[Chirple]

Has anyone recently used the washer/dryers at the Dolphin? My husband and I both have c-pap's we're taking, plus he has an ankle support boot he's packing just in case, so I may need to make some edits to the clothes and shoes we're taking. We have one pool day scheduled, so we can do laundry then, but I don't want to get that dryer that hasn't had maintenance in a while and needs 3 cycles to fully dry our clothes.

We were there in early September and used the laundry room twice. When facing the wall of dryers, the ones on the left side were fine. The second time we ran wash there was a man with no mask folding his laundry directly in front of them so I used the ones on the bottom right. Some of our clothes were slightly damp so I hung them in our closet to dry overnight.

It’s hard to determine which ones will do a thorough drying since those machines probably get used frequently.

ETA: Check the dryer filters since not everyone cleans them when done.