Disneys Dolphin Hotel

My husband , daughter and I vacationed at the Swan in August 0f 2003 and had an amazing stay. The hotel is absolutely gorgeous and in mint condition. From the minute we arrived, the staff was very curteous and helpful. At check in the staff member discovered that my travel agent accidentaly booked our room for the wrong dates. I started to panic, but the lady quickly fixed the error and even upgraded us free of charge to a balcony room. That was just the beginning of one of the best vacations we ever took. The rooms were so comfortable with those Dream beds-very luxurious. My husband is still talking about the bed and how great it was to come back and sleep in after those exhausting walks in the parks all day. Our view of the Dolphin hotel and lake was beautiful especially at night. I also thought the sage green, ivory and terracotta color theme in our room gave it a soothing tropical feel. Our room was always immaculate since they cleaned it 2-3 times a day. We also loved eating at the character dinners in Gullivers Grill. Again, the staff was very attentive and friendly. The food was pretty good for the price and they had a great selection. My daughter loved it- the characters always made a big fuss over her! Another perk at the Swan is the huge grotto style pool and water slide. Since it is pretty secluded form the hotel, you really feel like you are on a tropical island. Last but not least, the conveniece of the the parks were great.We will definetely come back to the Swan!

My husband and I just returned from a stay at the Dolphin and were extremely pleased with the hotel. Maybe they have changed the beds recently but the beds in our room were amazing! They were very soft and had a big fluffy comforter on top! My husband was there for a business conference and was extrememly pleased with the hospitality of the facility. I enjoyed laying by the pool(s) as there are several of them. There is a kiddy pool, a pool with a slide and a waterfall, another 3 foot pool, and a lap pool. If you do not want to be around the kids simply lay or swim in the lap pool! There are also lounge chairs on the sand beach. Of course food is expensive there! You are in a Disney resort... what do you expect? The staff there were more than pleasant and very helpful! I would definately return to the Dolphin resort.

My family and I spent 3 nights at the Swan, from 9/3 to 9/6. We got a special rate using the Entertainment Card. The hotel was beautiful and the room was great. The "heavenly beds" gave us a better night's sleep than we get at home! The pool that is used by both Swan and Dolphin guests is wonderful - it goes under little bridges and has a waterfall and a slide built into a grotto. We really enjoyed the location - it was a short boat ride to Epcot and MGM. The shuttle buses to the Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom came right on schedule - we never had to use our car. We also walked over to the Boardwalk area in the evening to shop, eat, and play games. The only thing we didn't like was the $10 daily fee that covered the USA Today, and use of the gym. My husband did use the gym facilities, but if you don't use it I can't see why you should have to pay $10 a day. Who cares if Mickey and Minnie aren't walking around 24/7? There is a character meal in the evening, which we were not there for. The restaurant prices seemed a bit expensive, but again we didn't have a chance to eat there as we were at the parks. We think this is a great place to stay that is a little away from the action, but certainly close enough to all of the Disney parks to make it enjoyable. I would definately return.

We just returned from a four night stay at the Swan hotel. We got a wonderful nightly rate of $99 which we thought was quite a deal. We thought it to be a beautiful place and felt very disney to us. I would definitely stay there again and I would recommend it however be sure to check your confirmation carefully as we were supposed to have a one level upgrade and free 4pm checkout, since they never send me another confirmation after I changed our reservation from the dolphin to the swan they could not upgrade us and didn't want to give us the 4pm checkout time. We did manage to get the late checkout free of charge. I was not happy with the whole check in situation or the attitude of the employee who checked us in. Overall though we thought this hotel a first class place to stay. All rooms are renovated with heavenly beds being the highlight. We felt the "magic" of disney just as we do when we stay in the disney hotels.

I stayed in Swan between August 26th and 31st 2003. At first, we found human hair in the bed and called front desk and have them changed the sheets. They offered $15 discount for that. Although the A/C works with motion sensors, I did not have any problem with the heat. I had to turn off the A/C at night, since it was blowing to the bed. I booked my vacation through Expedia. During the check out, they charged $10 per day for amenities like, Internet connection, coffee etc. I asked them that I never asked for those services and never used any of them. They claimed that it is being charged everybody that have reservation through Expedia. Although I talked the manager, they still charged me half of the $50. So beware of $10 surcharge. Staff was OK. Rooms and hallways showed the age of the hotel. Final verdict; Location is great. But that is all about it. I would never stay in this hotel again. Look for other Disney hotels. You can better deals for the money.

We stayed at the Disney Swan for 1 week, August 23rd - 30th. My husband and I go on nice vacations every year and we were a bit disappointed with this Hotel. It is a nice Hotel...don't get me wrong, but it is very much a convention Hotel. They charge you for every little thing...even a USA Today newspaper that is left at your door every morning. There is also a $10 "surprise" fee that you will get at the end of your stay and that is, $10 per day on top of what you already paid for the room. The color schemes were VERY outdated and obnoxious! The rooms were okay but not very roomy. We were disappointed that no balcony rooms were available during the entire week. This Hotel seems to be more of a convention Hotel and not a Disney Hotel. On the positive side, the resort does offer very nice ammenities. The pool is beautiful and very big. The fitness room is quite nice. My husband and I used it a few times and were very pleased. It is also convenient to the ferry which takes you to MGM Studios and also to Epcot. Otherwise, you can catch a free bus out front to all other Disney Parks. It is also conveniently located to the Boardwalk, which was a lot of fun. Overall, i do think it is a nice Hotel, but am not certain that I would stay there again. If you like the very "convention feeling" hotel, then this is for you. If you are looking for an awesome Disney resort, i would not recommend this place for all the prices they charge!

We just got back from a couple of weeks in Orlando. We spent the last 5 days at the Swan, using that as a base for our park days at Disney. The Swan is a nice hotel, but it does not compare to the other Epcot resorts around the lagoon. The first thing we noticed when we entered was that it felt like a convention hotel with a lot of space devoted to ballrooms, etc. When we got to our room, which was nothing special, we immediately noticed an unpleasant damp odor. After being switched to a second room, a similar odor, but not as bad. They told us the odor was due to the rainy weather combined with the heat. Sounded right and they did try to make it right. Still, we've never experienced this odor before in any other resort in Florida, even during rainy season. The room was cool and we did not experience any of the air conditioning problems mentioned in other reviews. They also forgot our turndown service every night. They were apologetic about this. The resort is convenient and the pool is very nice--but not nearly as wonderful as the Beach and Yacht pools, where we usually stay. Given all the great hotels in Orlando, we would not stay here again.

We often travel the two hours to Orlando for weekend get-a-ways. We had been to the Dolphin to just see it before and since we could get a Floirda Resident Discount which made the rooms under $100.00 so we decided to try the Dolphin. Our experience was just average. The service was exceptional; however, the room was average and in need of repair. The walk to the room was unbearable and one I wasn't willing to take very often. We had a lake view of the boats, boardwak and Epcot which was nice but the walk was not worth it. The pool was what seemed miles away. The beds were awful. I had a bachache from just two nights. the convience of the boat to Disney was a nice touch. The restaurant offered an exceptional buffet breakfast but was very pricy (15.00). We had dinner at Schulla's which was said to be one of the best steakhouses in Florida. Not so. 90.00 for two of us and that was without drinks. Outside of the service is was just so so. Very overrated and expensive. The other choices were not much better for what they had to offer. The cafeteria "Tubby's" has good food but it was too much like hearding cattle through the lines and was self service and overpriced! ($2.50 for a carton of milk). One restaurant was closed completly. The pool area was great (once you got there) but there were so many young children diving, jumping, and splashing that it was not comfortable for us. It's a good value for around the $80-$100 price range but there are so many that are so much better for the published rack rate. Over $100.00 a night and I'd keep looking.

Stayed in the Dolphin May 31st through June3rd when we switched to a different hotel. Even for a hotel on Disney's property this is way overpriced and they charge extra for every little thing. eg $8/day for a 50 cent USA Today paper (which most hotels give free). The only thing they didn't charge extra for was the mold. The base room rate was $230 and the value wasn't close to that price range, even on Disney's property. The carpeting was worn & stained & everything needed updating. I wouldn't recommend this one. There are better places in Disney.

We've been staying at the Dolphin almost every year for the past 10 years. Last year, June 2002, I thought the hotel rooms were looking a little shabby and are in need of renovation. We had problems with house keeping not showing up in a timely manner with additonal linens; it took 2 additonal phone calls and they showed up one hour later. We're schedule to return to Disney World in July 2003 and I checked around at the other 4 & 5 star Disney operated properties (Dolphin is operated by Shearton and the Swam is operated by Westin; both Starwood properties) and was amazed what great rates the Dolphin offered, especailly when you utilize an Entertainment Card. I was informed that the Dolphin is scheduled for room renovation, but will not be completed during our stay (it's sister hotel the Swam should be completely renovated by Summer 2003). Since we are booking a Jr. Suite, which the Swan does not offer, we are giving the Dolpin another chance, especially since the Jr. Suite is only 292.00 per nite comapred to the Disney operated properties (Yacht Club, Beach Club and Boardwalk Villas) where the rack rate starts around $500.00 per nite for a Jr. Suite or 1 bedroom condo.