Starwood Preferred Guest - WDW Swan Dolphin vs Disney Deluxe Resorts

We stayed at the Swan last month for 4 nights and I'm going back to WDW for the weekend.

I've read from Disney specific forums that most people prefer the deluxe Disney resorts over the Swan / Dolphin. We really enjoyed our stay last time and got upgraded to a jr. suite due to my Plat status on a cash and points rate. We booked this weekend at the $99 labor day special rate by calling the hotel directly.

The only real Disney hotel we've stayed at in the past was the All Star Movie, and the Swan Dolphin was much better with only slightly higher rates.

A search didn't turn up any reviews in comparison to Disney deluxe resorts. Has anyone stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge or the Grand Floridian and can share their comparison? How much better can the Disney deluxe hotels be?

I recently stayed at the Contemporary in a Garden level room for ~$170/night. I was unimpressed.
I haven't stayed at the Swan, but I'd be willing to bet that it was much nicer than my room at the Contemporary.

Well, the Swan and Dolphin are superb. We have also stayed a lot at the Beach Club and Yacht Club. To me, the advantage of these is their even better proximity to the world showcase entry to epcot. There is one wing of the beach club where you can literally hear the british invasion band from your balcony and by exiting your room and walking down a set of stairs and out a door, you can be inside epcot within 90 seconds or so.

I have always stacked this up against the swan dolphin and usually stay at those places for spg benefiots + lower price (beach club usually runs 250-250 a night). But if money were no object, I'd do the beach club every time just for location sake.

I'd say the Swan/Dolphin are both excellent choices. Pros: Location (walk/boat to Epcot and Disney Studios), close access to the Boardwalk, Yacht and Beach Clubs, If you're using Starpoints (or any other Starwood benefit) are the way to go. Cons: Usual Starwood stuff. Elite benefits not always given.

Having said that, I think all of the Deluxe hotels are a step up, for various reasons. Mostly being theme, location, and amenities.

The Grand Floridian: Beautiful hotel, Disney’s flagship. Its pros are close proximity to the Magic Kingdom, monorail access MK and Epcot (who doesn't like the monorail?), beautiful rooms/views, and one of a kind restaurants. Cons are: Price, monorail (it is the last stop on the hotel loop, it can get crowded).

Animal Kingdom Lodge has a great theme. Pros: In the AK park, Bunk beds in some of the rooms (great for big families), if you book a savannah view, it can be a one of a kind experience. Cons: Busses to every other park other than AK, and the transit time can be fairly long.

It really depends on what you want out of the hotel portion of your stay and how much you are willing to pay for it.

A deluxe room (or suite) at the Grand Floridian, Yacht and Beach Club, Wilderness Lodge, Animal Kingdom Lodge or several of the Vacation Club properties can be hard to beat. Not just for location and sometimes additional transportation options (like Monorails), but for the entire immersion in the "Disney Experience" including what I believe are exceptional service levels by Disney hotel Cast Members.

All especially if you have kids in tow.

[This message has been edited by PremEx (edited 09-04-2003).]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by iflyjetz:
I recently stayed at the Contemporary in a Garden level room for ~$170/night. I was unimpressed.
I haven't stayed at the Swan, but I'd be willing to bet that it was much nicer than my room at the Contemporary.</font>

Main bulding rooms at the Contemporary are better. As one of oldest hotels at WDW, I like the 70's feel of it.

Here's a nice Disney info site, with hotel reviews: http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/resorts/resortmain.htm