Walt Disney World SWAN, DOLPHIN & SWAN RESERVE RESORTS Information & Questions

Is the dining here like Disney dining, in that you have to make ADR’s so far in advance, or can you do “walk up” like at normal hotels lol? We are staying @ Swan in September. I was making our ADR’s for Disney restaurants and noticed the swan/dolphin eateries are on there too. For fun, on our “pool day” I tried breakfast at garden grove and there was nothing until 7pm ALL WEEK! Is it that in demand?! There aren’t even characters at breakfast during the week lol.

Also, do they have the Marriott, order breakfast the night before option and place it on your door?

We just returned from the Dolphin today and we also stayed there over President's Day weekend. We had no trouble getting same day reservations through opentable for bluezoo. We also showed up at 7 pm on Friday night and simply sat in the lounge without reservations and ordered from the dinner menu (and watched the Duke game - bonus!). We walked into Kimono's (which doesn't take reservations) around 7 pm one night and also walked up to Fresh for breakfast. Strangely, I could not get a reservation at Il Mulino through opentable or through hotel concierge for 7 pm last night so I walked over the to the restaurant and asked the hostess if she could get us in at 7 pm and she had plenty of availability. It is my understanding that Garden Grove is walk up only for breakfast. We didn't go there this trip, but it has been walk-up in the past.

Trick to getting my swan reservation to show up on MDE?

How did you book your trip? I typically call Marriott to book or book through Marriott's website and it takes about 24 hours for the reservation to show up in MDE.
 
We just returned from the Dolphin today and we also stayed there over President's Day weekend. We had no trouble getting same day reservations through opentable for bluezoo. We also showed up at 7 pm on Friday night and simply sat in the lounge without reservations and ordered from the dinner menu (and watched the Duke game - bonus!). We walked into Kimono's (which doesn't take reservations) around 7 pm one night and also walked up to Fresh for breakfast. Strangely, I could not get a reservation at Il Mulino through opentable or through hotel concierge for 7 pm last night so I walked over the to the restaurant and asked the hostess if she could get us in at 7 pm and she had plenty of availability. It is my understanding that Garden Grove is walk up only for breakfast. We didn't go there this trip, but it has been walk-up in the past.



How did you book your trip? I typically call Marriott to book or book through Marriott's website and it takes about 24 hours for the reservation to show up in MDE.

Thank you! I was wondering about garden grove for breakfast (not the weekend character one). Just seems like an easy place to eat for a pool day since it’s right there but wasn’t able to get a reservation so that explains it haha.

I booked through Marriott. It’s been just over 24 hours so I guess I’ll just be patient for another day lol.
 
Congrats! Was this upgrade done automatically or did you have to pay for it?
We checked in at 7:30pm, so I figured all upgrades would be gone and didn’t bother asking. Was pleasantly surprised when the woman checking us in said “You have a Resort View room, is that ok?” Found out it was a balcony when we got to the room. I did not pay for an upgrade and am only Marriott Gold.
 


Is there a club level lounge that is accessible by Marriott platinum members at the Dolphin? I have reservations, but not on the club level; at other properties we still have access to the club lounge. I have spent a crazy amount looking for the answer to this question and decided to go to the experts. Thank you!
 
Is there a club level lounge that is accessible by Marriott platinum members at the Dolphin? I have reservations, but not on the club level; at other properties we still have access to the club lounge. I have spent a crazy amount looking for the answer to this question and decided to go to the experts. Thank you!

No club/executive lounges at S/D. Free breakfast coupons or points. Small fee to upgrade to full buffet breakfast.
 


Does anyone know if The Cove will have a concierge lounge? IIRC it's a JW Marriott branded property so it should, right?
 
Does anyone know if The Cove will have a concierge lounge? IIRC it's a JW Marriott branded property so it should, right?
It's unknown at this time, the hotel will not open until 2021 so plenty of time to find out as things progress. From what I've read it will really focus on being a hotel for business travelers, with meeting spaces and business suites, I think half the rooms will be business suites. So that lends itself to having a concierge lounge, but that's just my guess.
 
Does anyone know if The Cove will have a concierge lounge? IIRC it's a JW Marriott branded property so it should, right?

I did not know this was to be a JW Marriott? I know the JW Marriott Bonnet Creek opening is tentatively set for January 2020.
 
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Sorry, I did not see anything in the article about this being a JW branded Marriott? It would really surprise me if it were. Then again, the way theY are building there nothing is too shocking.

With Grand Lakes and the new Bonnet Creek JW, another would be huge for a brand with less than 100 worldwide.

Sorry, didn't realize JW Marriott was not the same as Marriott.
 
Sorry, didn't realize JW Marriott was not the same as Marriott.

Thanks, I think many are unaware of the brand. Higher end more like Conrad. I did not think Grand Lakes lived up to the brand and worry Bonnet Creek will be more of the same much like Waldorf. I don’t think the area can support what these brands really need to charge to truly represent what the brand standards of service are.
 
Thanks, I think many are unaware of the brand. Higher end more like Conrad. I did not think Grand Lakes lived up to the brand and worry Bonnet Creek will be more of the same much like Waldorf. I don’t think the area can support what these brands really need to charge to truly represent what the brand standards of service are.

I’m sorry to report that I think the Four Seasons has the corner on that portion of the market. I am glad to see the JW coming to Bonnet Creek and personally would like to see St. Regis and Ritz Carlton enter the WDW foray as well, but am not sure my AP will live long enough to see it.

Cynical Pepper still finds the regular ol’ Hilton Bonnet Creek, Swan, and Dolphin to top most Disney run properties, however. Give me super friendly service and very comfortable bedding and I can forgive a variety of sins happily. Our stay at the Dolphin in November was one of the best stays/service/resort experiences I’ve ever had at WDW and we've checked off a lot of Deluxes.
 
I’m sorry to report that I think the Four Seasons has the corner on that portion of the market. I am glad to see the JW coming to Bonnet Creek and personally would like to see St. Regis and Ritz Carlton enter the WDW foray as well, but am not sure my AP will live long enough to see it.

Cynical Pepper still finds the regular ol’ Hilton Bonnet Creek, Swan, and Dolphin to top most Disney run properties, however. Give me super friendly service and very comfortable bedding and I can forgive a variety of sins happily. Our stay at the Dolphin in November was one of the best stays/service/resort experiences I’ve ever had at WDW and we've checked off a lot of Deluxes.

Four Seasons is vastly superior in service but location is still not as desirable for some trips.

After taking a break after some bad experiences with Swan/Dolphin we have had 4 recent stays that were wonderful. They fixed most of our maintenance related problems and have definitely fixed the service attitude of the employees. We had a minor issue that they fixed and really overcompensated us. Have had good experiences with HBC but have had several abysmal experiences with Waldorf.
 
I can't find where I read that the Cove would be a JW Marriott. Maybe I'm misremembering. It would probably make more sense if it was branded under Four Points.

I agree the normal branding standards don't seem to apply to Orlando area hotels. The Swan is nice but it's not like other Westins I've stayed in.

I'll ask at the desk when I'm at the Swan next month.
 

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