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Walt Disney World Swan
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Reviewer's Name: |
Jasmine |
Reviewer's Email Address: |
gsoohoo@mosaic.org |
Date(s) of Stay: |
July 21 to August 4 |
Disney Resort: |
Walt Disney World (Florida) |
Location: |
Non-Disney (but on-site) |
Ease of Disney Park Access: |
Easily accessible from major highways |
Complimentary Park Shuttle Available? |
Yes |
Park Shuttle Comments: |
Disney buses ran very frequently to the Magic Kingdom and
to Animal Kingdom. Our wait times were 15 minutes at most. The
Disney bus system seemed much improved from our impressions
from previous trips. |
Address: |
1200 Epcot Resort Boulevard, Lake Buena Vista FL
32830 |
Phone Number: |
(407) 934-3000 |
Facility Type: |
Resort |
Accommodation Used: |
Standard Room / Studio |
Accommodations Review: |
This was our second stay at the Swan and we were initially
very disappointed in the condition of the room. Although we
requested and were given a room with a small balcony, the room
itself was not very clean (food left over in the mini-fridge
from the previous guest, obvious cobwebs on the ceiling,
stained arm chair, musty smelling room). The housekeeping job
was not up to par with our expectation of a Westin hotel. We
also purchased milk and stored it in our mini-fridge, but
housekeeping staff threw it all out by the second day
(apparently in response to our complaint that the previous
guest's food was still left in the unit upon our arrival).
Very frustrating for us, but the hotel manager gave us a 50%
room discount for that one night and paid for replacement
milk. On the plus side, when we filed our complaints,
management staff tried to be responsive and addressed the
concerns as best as they could and the housekeeping manager
informed us that the Swan and Dolphin were budgeted for a $45
million room make over next year. The remainder of our 14
night stay was uneventful. Each room at the Swan had an
in-room key safe, coffee maker, USA Today newspaper delivered
to your room daily, hair dryer, and stocked mini-fridge. Some
rooms have a small balcony which can be pleasant and, if you
are fortunate, a view towards Epcot to view the Illuminations
fireworks. |
Rate/Night (for your stay): |
$129 special rate |
# of Restaurants/Lounges: |
3 |
Restaurant/Lounge Review: |
(1) Garden Grove Cafe Character Breakfast - breakfast
buffet was just OK with nothing cooked to order. One character
came out at a time (Goofy and Pluto) and was probably the same
cast member. (2) Tubbi's Buffeteria for breakfast (at the
Dolphin Hotel) - awful cafeteria style food with high prices.
You might as well dine in the restaurant for the same price
and probably slightly better food. |
Amenities / Facilities / Activities Available: |
Sundries Shop, Pool, Hot Tub, Health Club/Spa, Sauna/Steamroom,
Beach, Boating, Lake,
Playground, Tennis, Hair Dryer,
Laundry, In-room Safe, Babysitting/Kid's Programs,
Concierge, Room Service, Non-Smoking Rooms
Available, Smoke Detectors, Fire Sprinklers, |
Pool Description/Comments: |
Swan and Dolphin each have their own Olympic sized pools
and both share the Grotto Pool - very lovely to look at and
the water was usually warm. There is a short slide in the pool
and a nice waterfall. Pool depth ranged from 3 feet to 5 feet,
with lifeguards on duty. There is also a circular "spring
pool" for children (3 foot depth) and a small wading pool
nearby. The Grotto Pool also gets very crowded mid-day and
finding a lounge chair might become a challenge. Our children
enjoyed using all of the pools. There are some umbrellas,
rental and sundries shop, complimentary towel service and
food/drink service available at both hotel pools. There is
also a white sand beach along the lagoon (but no swimming into
the lagoon itself). |
Other Comments: |
Between the Swan and Dolphin, I would still choose the
Swan for (1) special price offers, (2) close location to
Epcot, the Boardwalk and MGM (we used the boat shuttle and
also can now walk to MGM via a newly installed pathway which
only took 20 minutes), (3) double queen beds for a family of
four (as opposed to just two "full" sized beds in the Dolphin),
(4) public areas are very pretty and unique in their design,
(5) you are still "on-site" to WDW and can therefore take
advantage of good Disney bus or boat transportation, (6)
walking access to the Fantasia miniature golf course across
the street, (7) management staff tried to respond to our
initial complaints. The negatives: room decor is getting
"tired" and is in need of replacements or updating, our
housekeeper was probably not one of the most stellar
performers in the hotel, both hotels cater to lots of BIG
conventions making the place seem more hectic (more so at the
Dolphin since it has more rooms). Since the Swan and Dolphin
are managed by Westin, you lose some of the special perks that
only a Disney-run hotel offers, but the $129 price we paid and
the great access to Epcot/MGM were the trade-offs. In spite of
the housekeeping mishaps, we would consider staying at the
Swan again.
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