Walt Disney World Swan
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Reviewer's Name:
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Jasmine |
Reviewer's Email Address:
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gsoohoo@mosaic.org |
Date(s) of Stay:
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July 21 to August 4 |
Disney Resort:
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Walt Disney World (Florida) |
Location:
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Non-Disney (but on-site) |
Ease of Disney Park Access:
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Easily accessible from major highways
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Complimentary Park Shuttle Available?
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Yes |
Park Shuttle Comments:
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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:
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1200 Epcot Resort Boulevard, Lake Buena Vista FL 32830 |
Phone Number:
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(407) 934-3000 |
Facility Type:
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Resort |
Accommodation Used:
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Standard Room / Studio |
Accommodations Review:
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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):
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$129 special rate |
# of Restaurants/Lounges:
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3 |
Restaurant/Lounge Review:
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(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:
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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,
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Pool Description/Comments:
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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:
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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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Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide
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