We just got back from the Dolphin. I was traveling with my two college age daughters, so we were looking for a little bit of extra space. I booked the "1 king bed, sofabed, premium deluxe suite, limited view" which ended up having an incredible view of Tower of Terror. There was plenty of space to spread out. In addition to the separate bedroom with a king size bed and desk, there was a large living area with a queen sofabed, chair, and dining table and chairs for 4. It was a beautiful room.
Video of the room:
I did the online check in through Marriott, but never got a text/key/alert, so I checked in through the regular line.
We walked to both Epcot and Hollywood Studios and park hopped to the Magic Kingdom. Returning from the MK, we took the bus to the Boardwalk and walked to the Dolphin. Since we had a car, we drove to Animal Kingdom to get there early. We did use Dolphin transportation to get to Disney Springs and it was a Mears bus that had seating like the Magical Express...very nice.
There was NO housekeeping service at all, but we asked for water bottles every day. I mean, if we're paying the resort fee, the least we can get was some water, right?
The night before we checked out, a very large group of teens, probably high school age, checked into the resort and made their presence known. I'm a high school teacher and have a very high tolerance to teenagers and children, in general, but this group was the most ill-behaved group I've ever experienced. (I've been at Disney/Dolphin with cheerleaders, dancers, band kids, and Brazilian chanting 15 year olds and they are angels compared to this brood.) The group was noisy, slamming doors and running up and down the hallways. Bless any regular guests in the hotel right now.
At 11:15, the fire alarm was pulled and an announcement was going off in the hotel about having to evacuate the building. The evacuation process was not good and the stairwells were full, complicated by the large number of children who thought the fire alarm was fun. I wonder how someone with mobility issues would leave the building in a fire emergency. We were on the west side, but walked around to the front of the building, thinking that it would be a better place to get information about when it was safe to re-enter the building. We were not outside for long, but no information was provided about the alarm, whether it was a false alarm, fire in a kitchen, etc...I really think that a mass text message or sign should have been posted to notify people about the situation.
In all, I love the Dolphin, but am looking forward to the return of housekeeping, especially for longer stays and am disappointed by the lack of communication during and after the building had to be evacuated.
