Swan and Dolphin - Compared to Beach Club

[sha9]

Originally Posted by AliceCooper9

Definitely a no brainer decision if there is no free Disney dining available. It is a better resort than POFQ. Good to see you have the fee included. Just had a quick look and the fee is around $30+ daily.

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Yes Travel Republic give you the option of adding it at booking. It’s a bit of an unknown with the exchange rate but I’d rather it was accounted for before we go.

[POR34]

I've stayed at both but wouldn't stay at the Dolphin again - absolutely love the Swan however.

Swan - great location and the rooms are excellent. It also has Il Mulino if you fancy a table service restaurant. It's smaller than the Dolphin and we found the service to be better.

Dolphin - very impressive lobby and a great selection of restaurants both table service and quick service. We stayed over Christmas and found the service a little lacking plus away from the lobby area somewhat shabby in appearance especially in the corridors.

Both hotels however are excellent value for money.

[Buzz242]

Does anyone know if the Resort Fee at Swan and Dolphin includes the parking or is that extra. We are thinking of booking for May next year as we love the location.

[AliceCooper9]

Originally Posted by Buzz242

Does anyone know if the Resort Fee at Swan and Dolphin includes the parking or is that extra. We are thinking of booking for May next year as we love the location.

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expedia/Orlando-Ho...el-Information

Fees
You'll be asked to pay the following charges at the property:

Resort fee: USD 33.75 per accommodation, per night
The resort fee includes:
Pool access
Health club access
Fitness centre access
Internet access
Phone calls
We have included all charges provided to us by the property. However, charges can vary, for example, based on length of stay or the room you book.

Optional extras
The following fees and deposits are charged by the property at the time of service, check-in or check-out.

Fee for in-room wireless Internet: USD 13.95 per night (rates may vary)
Self-parking fee: USD 27 per night (in/out privileges)
Valet parking fee: USD 37 per night (in/out privileges)
Late check-out is available for a fee (subject to availability, amount varies)
Rollaway bed fee: USD 25.0 per night
The above list may not be comprehensive. Fees and deposits may not include tax and are subject to change.

[Buzz242]

Thank you, that’s quite a lot of extra fees for a 2 week stay 😬

[YorkshireT]

Hotels.com is good on swan and includes the resort fee. You only have to pay 1 night deposit, cancellable 12 days before.
Just be aware if you book via a website like Hotels.com, Expedia etc, they may give you their reference and not the hotel booking reference.
You need the hotels booking reference to link to MDE. I used the chat function with Hotels.com and they gave me the hotel reference straight away. It took around 12 hours for MDE to recognise the Swan booking reference.

[AliceCooper9]

Originally Posted by Buzz242

Thank you, that’s quite a lot of extra fees for a 2 week stay 😬

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yes to quote Touring Plans

' They’ll also nickel-and-dime you to death. For example, both tack on a $35-per-day resort fee and another $25 per day for self-parking. Even more shocking is the price the Dolphin’s gift shop charges for sundries: We paid almost $10 for a pint of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream—roughly $3 more than Disney charges in its gift shops (and twice as much as Publix). Whatever rate you’re quoted at the Swan and the Dolphin, temper your expectations by adding another $50 per day in miscellaneous costs.'

Also GardenGrocer.com do not deliver to S+D.

BUT I checked prices for 2 weeks(2A+2C) for next year and it is £600 cheaper than a Disney Moderate and £4.5K cheaper than Deluxe.

So even with the issues it is no brainer to book S+D if there is no Disney free dining.

[Rebelrebel]

I've stayed at them all. There can be some good deals at the S&D, they are a conference hotel so when it is quiet in the 'conference world', Easter, August and Christmas there can be good offers. You do have to jostle with all the 'bods' first thing in the morning and in the evenings but during the day the pool can be quiet. Unfortunately though they just don't seem to have the 'Disney feel' of the other Epcot resorts and seem more 'aloof'. The extra charges are bad though so you really need to do your sums first to avoid nasty little surprises. I have booked with them in the past and then found Disney have brought out deals via their US site and cancelled and move to a Disney resort as I know exactly what I am paying. If the deal is really good though I'd go for it, to me this is the best location to stay in WDW .

[lynnieleigh]

We’ve stayed at the Dolphin 5 times. (06/09/12/14/18)

We’ve always loved it there. We’ve not stayed at a Disney hotel so cannot compare.

We always booked the hotel through Virgin holidays as a package or hotel only. They had deals including the resort fee and free self parking. So really good deals. Plus a resort booklet with money off lots of items.

Last time we stayed in 2018 the resort fee Included:

In room High-Speed Internet Access
Unlimited local calls and domestic (US mainland) long distance calls are now included.
Unlimited access to the Resort's health club facilities; including 24 hour access to Dolphin Health Club
Two bottles of WDW Swan and Dolphin Resort water daily (provided in the room)
Complimentary daily scheduled fitness classes
Complimentary daily scheduled recreational resort and pool activities
$25 off spa services of $100 or more during each day of your visit at Mandara Spa
Complimentary Swan Paddle Boat rentals
Complimentary S'mores Fun Kit each day of your stay to be used at the evening Campfire & S'mores event.


We’d love to stay at BC but it’s out of our price range and never had any issues at The Dolphin.

[sha9]

Originally Posted by lynnieleigh

We’ve stayed at the Dolphin 5 times. (06/09/12/14/18)

We’ve always loved it there. We’ve not stayed at a Disney hotel so cannot compare.

We always booked the hotel through Virgin holidays as a package or hotel only. They had deals including the resort fee and free self parking. So really good deals. Plus a resort booklet with money off lots of items.

Last time we stayed in 2018 the resort fee Included:

In room High-Speed Internet Access
Unlimited local calls and domestic (US mainland) long distance calls are now included.
Unlimited access to the Resort's health club facilities; including 24 hour access to Dolphin Health Club
Two bottles of WDW Swan and Dolphin Resort water daily (provided in the room)
Complimentary daily scheduled fitness classes
Complimentary daily scheduled recreational resort and pool activities
$25 off spa services of $100 or more during each day of your visit at Mandara Spa
Complimentary Swan Paddle Boat rentals
Complimentary S'mores Fun Kit each day of your stay to be used at the evening Campfire & S'mores event.


We’d love to stay at BC but it’s out of our price range and never had any issues at The Dolphin.

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I looked at VH because it includes resort fee and parking but it was £700 more than TR with resort fee included.