KNRG

My personal opinion is "no" but here's the breakdown for the Unofficial Guide to WDW (which I happen to freelance for).

Swan-

Rm Quality: B
Value: B
Check In: A
Quietness: B
Shuttle: B
Pool: B
Overall: B

Dolphin-

Rm Quality: A-
Value: A
Check In: D
Quietness: A-
Shuttle: B
Pool: A
Overall: B

You can see they both have their weaknesses and strengths. Those grades are based on reader polls from 2006 (I don't have the latest copy of the guide handy, so they may have changed).

If you want a nicer pool and can handle the check-in being slow or annoying, then you're fine at the Dolphin. Want a better front desk and more uniform service across the board? Swan.

jgold

Our room at the Swan was on the 7th Floor and looked to, I believe, the Dolphin. General assessment of hotel:

Very convenient to Epcot (about 20 mn walk) and Boardwalk (about 5 - 10 mn walk). Decent gym, although limited hours (6 AM - 9 PM, I think). We went to to the breakfast a couple of times at the Dolphin, which was pretty good, though not great. The after-hours room service menu is very, very limited. All in all, good bang for the buck (room rate was $159/n.), but it felt more like a convention center than a Disney resort.

Somewhere Over the Atlantic

Can you tell if you received any kind of upgrade?

jgold

I know I need to change my profile, because I was recently demoted to Gold. I did NOT receive a Gold upgrade.

ImprovGal

I stayed at the Dolphin for a couple of nights to kick off Labor Day weekend. Resort occupancy there seemed a bit low and I got a very nice upgrade as a gold (probably helped that I've had several stays at the Swolphin this year and that I was only staying there for 2 nights). I got a bedroom lockoff portion of a suite -- bathroom seemed normal size but the rest of the room itself was more spacious.
I think I've gotten some sort of upgrade every stay this year at either resort, but usually it was just a view upgrade (but I've never tried requesting a balcony).

I did notice one change that must have happened sometime in August: the $10 daily resort fee includes 2 bottles of water. Previously, these were 25.3 oz bottles of Acqua Panna left daily in the room. Now they've been swapped for 16.9 oz bottles of (hopefully) purified tap water from Tampa with a customized "Swan & Dolphin" label.

el_tigre

Having stayed at both properties many times, I wanted to clear up a couple of inaccuracies listed above. The Swan and Dolphin share the same pool, so I don't see why the grades would be different here (except that the main pool is closest to the Dolphin).

There is no way that the Dolphin is quieter than the Swan. It has more than twice as many rooms, many more bars and restaurants and houses the resorts' main convention center. The public areas in the Dolphin are almost always loud and crowded. The Swan is much more tranquil in comparison.

And I don't think the check-in experience is signifacantly worse at the Dolphin to base your decision to stay elsewhere.

But no, I don't think it is worth switching resorts. The amenities are basically the same and it is only about a three minute walk between the two, just a little different atmosphere. I prefer the Swan, but I am always happy to stay at the Dolphin when it is unavailable.

leandrorar

I called SPG Platinum Call Center. Asked them to contact both properties to find out which one would upgrade me as a Platinum to a Suite.

Swan said they do not upgrade to suites anymore; they only upgrade to deluxe rooms.

Dolphin said, with lots of caution, they would upgrade a Platinum to a suite (in fact, two connecting rooms) if there's availability at time of check-in.

Any experience?

LR

AZ Travels the World

Yes, a couple of weeks ago. As a Platinum member, I was given one the largest, nicest suite upgrades I've received anywhere in the world. A traveling companion, also a Platinum member, received the same.

You can read the details in my stay report in The Walt Disney World Swan Master Thread.

I had occasion to speak to the front office manager. He said they do their best to upgrade Platinum members to suites, beyond the 'select, standard' category, whenever possible. I truly doubt that they've changed their approach in the past couple of weeks.

troyintn

The key here is short stays. The hotel has a lot of conventions, but I often get suites, but I normally stay one or two nights during the slow time.

superbobx2

Had a two day stay at the Disney Swan for an anniversary and got a wonderful two bedroom grand suite with a view of the EPCOT fireworks and the boardwalk! They even sent up a spread of chocolate covered strawberries, which was really nice. It's a nice property, and the suite is basically a middle 'suite' area (dining table, bar area- fridge but no sink, couch/TV, extra full bathroom) connected to two regular balcony rooms (king in one with a sofa, two queens in the other, all had flat screen TV's) that were left open (I assume they would lock off one if you were assigned to a one bedroom suite). There were a total of four balconies for this unit!

Other than that, there's not that much to say- the facilities were nice, but we didn't use the pools and there's a lot of children running around, as you might expect. Nice to have the flavored waters/lemonade in the lobby, as per Westin standard, and there's a Disney store and ticket stand there also. Transportation to and from EPCOT was easy and pleasant, on the boat, and we didn't go anywhere else (although we saw the Disney bus out front to go to other locations). Parking is $9/day for self park (a decent walk away though) or I think 13-15 for valet? I don't think there's in and out privileges for valet, though. The FD manager introduced herself to me when we checked in (the agent called her over), shook my hand, and gave me her card and said to let her know if we needed anything during our stay, which was a nice touch.

hotelfanatic

Was the suite an upgrade or did you booked the suite? And was the stay with points or a paid stay? I have visited this hotel once using points and rec'd a suite upgrade. And I am planning for another stay this summer.

superbobx2

It was actually upgraded on a paid Florida resident discounted rate, and I booked a standard room.

gowarty

I am going to Orlando with my wife and two kids (ages 7 and 3) and was planning on staying at the Swam or Dolphin - I did a search and most things were several years old so I thought I'd ask the experts a few questions:

- Any success in getting an upgrade as a SPG platinum member?

- I don't think the lounges are there any more, are they any other benefits Plats get like breakfast? I did see the thread someone wasn't given breakfast after previously getting it.

- Any preferences between the two resorts? I read the Dolphin is bigger and louder

Thanks in advance.

KENNECTED

Please read the master thread, which can be found in The SPG Forum FAQ & Hotel Master Thread List thread.

Disney Orlando: Dolphin or Swan? 2007-present [Master Thread]

The Report Your Platinum Upgrade Successes thread is another thread you should read.

Hope that helps.

PG

Any updates? I have read this thread and the threads on the individual hotels.

I am planning to be there this Thanksgiving and there is availability at both properties for an award reservation. I don't have gold or platinum status and the chances of a room upgrade are close to zero.

The quality of the room and the bath is important, so it would seem from the post that the Dolphin is the better hotel. They both require the same number of points, but for paid stays the Swan is more expensive.