Westin Walt Disney World Swan Hotel...

[Harborside]

Has anyone stayed there? I'm thinking of going there February of 2013. They estimate the starpoints to be 8,000 per night. Any good or bad experiences at that hotel? Any advice? Are there better options? I also have a floating week at Harborside, Atlantis... Maybe I could trade with someone with a Disney property? Kinda paralyzed right now, not knowing option to pursue... Thanks in advance for any replies...

Joe

 

[glypnirsgirl]

I love the Swan. The location is fabulous, the rooms are nice and roomy. If I were to make a hotel reservation in Orlando, the Swan, the Dolphin and Hyatt Grand Cypress would be my favorites, in that order.

elaine

 

[BluEyezNSC]

I love both the Swan and Dolphin but prefer the Swan because of the sink area outside of the actual bathroom and because it is slightly smaller and just seems less busy than the Dolphin. I agree with glypnirsgirl - that area between Epcot and Disney Studios is the best!!

Just so you know, it is currently a Category 4 property which requires 10,000points per night. Or maybe you are using the "Fifth Night Free" Award which averages out to 8,000/nt with the 5th night free?

 

[DeniseM]

Has anyone stayed there? I'm thinking of going there February of 2013. They estimate the starpoints to be 8,000 per night. Any good or bad experiences at that hotel? Any advice? Are there better options? I also have a floating week at Harborside, Atlantis... Maybe I could trade with someone with a Disney property? Kinda paralyzed right now, not knowing option to pursue... Thanks in advance for any replies...

Joe

I would rent the Harborside week (lots of demand for Harborside rentals) and then use the funds to rent in Orlando. A good Harborside rental should be worth twice what it costs to rent in Orlando at a nice resort like SVV or SVR, or more. You should get enough from a Harborside rental, to rent a week at DVC.

 

[siesta]

Grab an orlando unit on last call or getaways. Or rent wyndham bonnet creek from an owner. Its on disney property and enjoys free shuttle to the gates.

 

[Harborside]

Thanks for the replies...

BluEyezNSC: the website indicated 8,000 points per night when I put the dates in feb 14 2013 - feb 19 2013 http://www.starwoodhotels.com/westin/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=1018# . So then as you point out, I am probably getting the 5th night free for a 5 night stay?

Considering the positive reviews of the Swan, my wife and I are leaning towards using our starpoints for the hotel and renting out our harborside unit and using the funds to finance some other aspects of the trip (food, entertainment, cabs, trinkets, etc).

Joe

 

[MommaBear]

I loved staying at the Swan and being in walking distance to both Epcot and Hollywood studios. We look forward to doing it again in September. The drawback is that you cannot use the Magical Express from the airport and you have to pay for parking a rental car. You do get to take advantage of Extra Magic Hours and having packages sent back to your hotel from the parks.

 

[Harborside]

Mamabear thank you for the additional info....

Joe

 

[Henry M.]

We've stayed at the Dolphin and the Swan several times. They are well situated for us, since they are near Epcot. We don't have small kids anymore so we go more there.

Being SPG Platinum we usually get upgraded to a suite that consists of two large rooms. The Dolphin has a better bed configuration when they do that, but both properties are next to each other and are convenient to all the attractions. We usually go for just a few days at a time so we don't need all the timeshare amenities (washer/dryer & kitchen). The convenience of being inside Disney property outweighs staying at the SVO timeshares for us. If we were staying longer we might prefer to stay at a Disney timeshare. We typically don't drive around much so we just take a shuttle from the airport. We also have family in Tampa so they come to get us when we're done with Disney.

 

[heathpack]

I'm pretty sure you'd be successful in organizing a private trade with a DVC owner for Harborside should you decide to go that route.

The Swan is definately a "nice" hotel. Great location. Nice pool area. Not heavily "themed" like the DVC resorts, but I would personally happily stay there.

The main differences between a DVC stay and a Swan stay are: hotel vs. TS (daily cleaning in hotel, bigger units in a 1BR or larger DVC unit). Some of the Disney resorts are more elaborate or themed than the Swan would be- we love the Animal Kingdom Lodge and have been thinking or trying the Wilderness Lodge.

If it is just you & wife and a hotel room is fine, your rental idea is a good one. However, if it is more than the two of you or if one likes to get up earlier/stay up later, the extra space can be really nice in the timeshare units (likewise the kitchen if you want to eat in at all).

H

 

[Harborside]

Thanks for the perspectives...

Joe

 

[YYJMSP]

we don't need all the timeshare amenities (washer/dryer & kitchen)

There is a coin-op laundry (actually, it takes Mickey tokens) in the basement at Dolphin, next to the cafeteria restaurant...

 

[spencersmama]

Will it be just you and your wife staying? My eyes about popped out of my head when I saw that someone said the rooms are large. I find them smaller than the average hotel, especially the average Orlando hotel. Disclaimer: I traveled with my family of four and I have been spoiled by having the space in timeshares!

The Swan and Dolphin share amenities. As told to me by a front desk person, the Swan is the equivalent of a Westin with two queen beds and the Dolphin is the equivalent of a Sheraton with two double beds. If you book a king, it's a moot point. It is a big resort area, and rather nice to walk around, IMO, but it is not very "disney-ish" at all. Even the character breakfast buffet at the restaurant is a Westin super food buffet with a few Disney characters walking around.

The access to EPCOT and Hollywood Studios by boat is very nice, especially for adult trips. The times I've stayed at the Swan have been during December. I love going to the Osbourne Family Spectacle of Lights display at Hollywood Studios. The ferry also drops you off at the back entrance of EPCOT,which is convenient if you are going to eat and Downtown Disney - also convenient for food and night life.

They do charge the resort and parking fee, even if you are using StarPoints, so that is an added expense.

I wish I could figure out how to post pictures. I have a great picture of a large colorful Christmas scene with Santa, all made entirely out of chocolate by the dessert chef of one of the restaurants at the Swan or Dolphin. It was over 3 million calories worth of chocolate! The sign said the chef was the only person in the world to win some famous chocolate sculpture competition twice. I can't remember the details, because the over 3 million calories sign was the only thing holding me back from jumping over the railing and taking a huge bite out of it. It smelled scrumptious. Move over gingerbread and make room for chocolate!

 

[J&JFamily]

We went to Orlando last summer and spend the first 5 days at the Swan (using starpoints) and the next 9 days at the Vistana Villages. We actually really liked staying at the Swan. If you have enough starpoints I suggest you spend the extra starpoints and request an "alcove"room. The alcove rooms are all corner rooms with nice views and are larger than the standard room (500 square feet vs. 340 square feet). Imagine a standard corner hotel room with an extra 160 square feet dedicated to a 4-person kitchen table and sitting area. Because they're in the corners these rooms have a unique triangle shape but they also have better views. The rooms have these interesting windows (look like portholes on a cruise ship) from which our kids enjoyed watching the fireworks at night).

Anyway, the alcove rooms are 11,500 starpoints per night vs. 10,000 starpoints for the standard room. If you stay in increments of 5 nights (5th night free) you would be using 46,000 starpoints instead of 40,000. For us the additional starpoints are well worth it (we spend WAY TOO MUCH $ on our SPG AMEX!!!). We have kids (8 and 10 when we went last summer) so the mini fridge and extra food prep area allowed us to bring breakfast (cereal, milk, etc.) and feed the kids breakfast prior to trekking out to the amusement parks, as well as the ability to store bottled water and soda and prepare sandwiches and other lunches for the parks.

We love the convenience of the timeshares, but for us, the novelty of being right in the middle of Disney World was better than the benefits of being in a timeshare. We must admit, when we are in Orlando (this past summer was the second trip - we live in California) we don't spend any time in the room - too busy going from park to park. With the larger room (and with the fridge and food prep area), we were still able to get everything ready for the "touring" in the parks.

My wife actually said that the next time we go back to Orlando she would just stay at the Swan and get an alcove room. This was quite surprising to me because she always really enjoys the space and convenience of our timeshares, however, for a family that is going to Orlando to "tour' the parks, the Swan would really be our choice, but only in one of the bigger alcove rooms.

Regardless, I hope you have a great time, wherever you stay!

 

[J&JFamily]

Oops, I forgot to add the comparison between the Swan and the Dolphin. As others have suggested, the Swan is smaller than the Dolphin but is much quieter. When I called (and inquired on Flyertalk), the Dolphin is more likely to be used for conventions, whereas the Swan tends to be more family oriented.

 

[Harborside]

YYJMSP - thanks for the info.. good to know...

spencersmom - it is my wife and I and our 11 year old daughter. My daughter is on the mature side, being an only child and mostly around adults... she most likely won't miss the disney character theme so much...

J&JFamily - Thank you for the lengthy insight. Are there also large windows or are there just small port type windows?

Joe

 

[heathpack]

If you have an 11 year old, I would seriously consider a private exchange into DVC. Check out the Animal Kingdom Lodge- its like staying in a safari camp. Consider as well Wilderness Lodge, which is reminiscent of a western US national park lodge. If she likes to swim, consider the Beach Club, it has an elaborate pool (which always seems too crowded to me, however).

Disney theming is only slightly about the mouse. It is more about picking a resort theme and sticking with it to the nth degree. It's neat for kids because everything seems so different from everyday life. If there's a child involved, I would lean towards DVC for sure.

Use your SPG points to get your flights instead.

H

 

[YYJMSP]

YYJMSP - thanks for the info.. good to know...

spencersmom - it is my wife and I and our 11 year old daughter. My daughter is on the mature side, being an only child and mostly around adults... she most likely won't miss the disney character theme so much...

J&JFamily - Thank you for the lengthy insight. Are there also large windows or are there just small port type windows?

Joe

We've stayed at Dolphin with our daughter, and our friends stayed at Swan with their two daughters.

Our Dolphin room was massive (we got bumped up to one of the suites), so our daughter loved having the living room area to herself, with her own TV directly in front of the sofa bed, her own full bathroom, and easy access to the wet-bar/fridge area for refreshments. We had the separated bedroom, king bed, bathroom with huge shower and jetted tub, etc.

We liked that there were a good selection of restaurants right downstairs in the building. We did the cafeteria-style place, the Italian? restaurant, the breakfast buffet, and we especially enjoyed blueZoo. There's also an ice cream shop.

We selected Dolphin because when we contaced them directly, they appeared to be more amenible to pre-upgrading our room a few days prior to arrival, which is exactly what they did. Of course, there is no guarantee of this happening. And of the other ameneties (like the laundry, a little arcade, etc) that were directly in the building.

Our friend's Swan room was just a standard hotel room, 2 queen beds, etc. They did get a bit of a view though, where we essentially looked across the swimming pool at the other property.

There are couple of restaurants in that building. We did one of them, some kind of dinner buffet if I remember right. I recall seeing an Oriental? place.

We're heading back again this summer for a few days, and have booked one of the Alcove rooms at Swan. Neither seemed as gung-ho about pre-upgrades this time around, so we made sure we got a bigger room, and hope that we get bumped up again.

 

[Harborside]

Thanks for all the replies... I booked the Deluxe Alcove for 5 nights for 46,000 points. I can cancel up to a week before arrival without penalties. We don't expect to spend a ton of time in our room, but I know it makes my wife happier to be in a little larger room. As was pointed out earlier, the Alcove is 500 sqft versus the regular rooms which are 340 sqft. I'm sure it will work out for us. The upgrade has a mini-fridge which can come in handy for breakfast and snacks/sandwiches for the road...

Joe

 

[Sea Six]

I got a really nice room at the Dolphin a few years back. Two balconies - one overlooking the Fantasmic show at Hollywood studios, and one facing the Boardwalk. Only problem was that the place is so HUGE, it was a LONG WALK from the elevator to our room! We actually prefer the Swan now because of that. Also enjoy being able to ride the Disney buses from the hotels.

 

[amycurl]

We really enjoyed our stay at the Swan in Dec. 2010--I agree about the chocolate sculpture in the lobby!

It was the first time I had ever stayed on property in Disney World, and it was very convenient for us with our then four year old. I think we were in a standard room, but it, too, had a mini-fridge and we were able to do the breakfast/snack thing easily. The resort was not at all full at that time of year (it was the first weekend in Dec., I think,) and I loved the relaxed, resort-style pace compared to the parks.

We tried to go to the cafeteria-style restaurant in the Dolphin, and I was overwhelmed by the crowd. The lines were *huge* and there were teenage girls *everywhere.* I think we figured out that there was some kind modeling-scam-convention-audition thing going on. It's definitely much bigger, and while I might stay at the Swan again, I certainly would never book the Dolphin.

(Also, we could see some of the fireworks from our window. Definitely a bonus!)

 

[Harborside]

Thanks again for the replies... we are looking forward to it!

 

[LJT]

swan hotel

You will love it! My DH and I have taken all our nieces, nephews, friends and relatives to Disney. (19 trips in 20 years) and stayed at most of the Disney properties before becoming Starwood owners and now stay at the Swan or Dolphin each time. Swan always seems less crowded. We love walking to the parks and our favorite is walking thru the world at Epcot before it is open - it seems magical to us! None of the kids minded the walk over to the monorail to go to the other parks. We do love AKL but since we aren't DVC members have only stayed there a few times and it is a bus-ride everywhere else. We get a car to pick us up at the airport and ask them to make a stop at the grocery on the way there. we get breakfast food, snacks and drinks for our little fridge in room. You all will have a great time!

 

[Harborside]

Thanks LJT!

 

[pianodinosaur]

Has anyone stayed there? I'm thinking of going there February of 2013. They estimate the starpoints to be 8,000 per night. Any good or bad experiences at that hotel? Any advice? Are there better options? I also have a floating week at Harborside, Atlantis... Maybe I could trade with someone with a Disney property? Kinda paralyzed right now, not knowing option to pursue... Thanks in advance for any replies...

Joe

I attended a conference there several years ago. The convention facilities and the rooms are very nice.