Reviews of Walt Disney World Swan (Deluxe Resort)
Reviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 05/21/2022
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
The bottom line is the Swan bell services lost our luggage and lied about it. My husband is a diabetic and had critical medicine he was without for almost 5 hours. I had to call the \"central\" phone number you are required to call six different times, only to be put on hold for 20-45 minutes each time by a representative who did not know how to solve the problem. The problem started on May 15 at around 7:30 AM when we were checking out and asked bell services to transfer our luggage to the Beach Club Resort. I filled out a card with my name, cell phone number and destination. Bells services person assured me he would call his service to deliver our luggage to the Beach Club resort, less than 1 mile away. When we checked into our Beach Club room around 5:30 my husband called for bell services to deliver to the room. Beach Club bell services did not have the luggage. When BC bell services called over to the Swan, they were told they could not provide BC any information about the luggage. I called Swan central number and was put on hold for 30 minutes then told it was being delivered now. 1 hr later, it had not been delivered. BC bell services and I called Swan several times and were told a variety of responses (luggage had been delivered and BC lost it, luggage was out for delivery, BC picked it up, and my favorite, we don't know where your luggage is). Thank heaven for the BC bell service person who drove her personal car, missed her dinner, and first went to the Swan, then started driving to all the Disney resorts looking for our luggage. The BC bell services finally found that it had been delivered to the Boardwalk resort. This was sometime between 9:30-10 PM. The tactic to put someone on hold because you don't want to help solve the problem only exasperates the frustration. Oh, and please take off the repeated message while on hold about how it is the Swan's goal to provide exceptional customer service. I am grateful that my husband did not end up in the hospital due to a medical emergency for not having his medication and to the Beach Club bell services employee, Julia, who went above and beyond to find our luggage.
Pros:
Great Location!Cons:
Terrible service from bell services and central phone contactReviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 12/05/2021
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
After staying at the Swan resort for a business meeting and upgrading rooms to a “balcony suite”- I came home with more than expected. Understanding that bed bugs are part of the hotel industry, getting in contact with the hotel to let them know of this unexpected and unfortunate experience, took over an hour. Once I was able to finally get in touch with a manager, I was told “housekeeping would be in contact”. I called to let them know about this terrific experience and was hopeful it would prevent future guests and families getting bed bugs. Instead, I have yet to when receive a call regarding this matter. After reading many reviews, this seems to be the manner management acts in and nothing is done until legal action is taken. Very disappointed in this establishment considering the cost of the resort- much less the costs of removing effected items and pest control at home.
Pros:
NoneCons:
Bed bugsReviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 06/06/2019
Rating: (2) Not Recommended
This hotel is overpriced for what you get and not get. I have had nicer rooms at other hotels with more to do.
Pros:
We got two bottles of water as part of the $30.00 per night resort fee you pay, plus tax. The room was clean.Cons:
The pool was closed. There was no place to get snacks. If you wanted the pool or snacks you needed to walk over to the Dolphin Hotel. It also costs you $25.00 plus tax a night to self park your vehicle.Reviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 09/19/2021
Rating: (4) Not Recommended
I like the location but...
Pros:
location, comfortable bedsCons:
Rude staff, not Disney transportation, extra feesReviewed by ImWhyTheRumIsGone Review Date: 09/07/2021
Rating: (5) Not Recommended
I stayed here for a work conference. The resort is very nice, comfy bed, great location...that said, I would never stay here for a vacation because it definitely lacks the magic of other resorts. This resort is used a lot for conferences and you can feel that energy. When I stayed, the buses were also shared with the Dolphin, Boardwalk, and Beach Club (ugh.)...I thought that was bad. Now they no longer use Disney buses. They use Mears. Not a big deal, right? Well, now you get dropped off at TTC if you're going to Magic Kingdom. So you wait for a bus to take you to TTC, then you wait for a boat, monorail or bus at TTC to take you to MK. No, thank you. In addition, there's a resort fee. I can rent DVC at Boardwalk for cheaper, be closer to both Epcot and Hollywood Studios and I can remain in the "Disney bubble."
Pros:
location, walkable to Epcot and Hollywood StudiosCons:
bus transportation is sub-par, resort fee, not "magical," feels like a conference resort with very non-magical people (because it is)Reviewed by Samwaite Review Date: 10/16/2016
Rating: (5) Recommended
The hotel is very nice, as one would expect at this price point. You'd also expect the rooms to be mechanically correct at this price point, but not necessarily. Ours had 2 issues - a toilet that gurgled loudly and belched up water from the bowl onto the floor several times a night; and about half the electrical outlets didn't work.
Another issue is additional costs. The quoted rates don't include the mandatory resort fees, parking and the taxes imposed on those charges. You'll end up paying $80 - 100 more per night, depending on the room rate you're paying (maybe more for the highest rates).
When you drive into the driveway, if you choose to self-park, you might think you can briefly park outside the marked valet area and unload your luggage and check in. You'll be confronted rudely by the valet staff and their supervisors if you do. I tried parking well outside the marked area (nearly to the end of the driveway), and had a very unpleasant encounter with the valets. I tried explaining that I just wanted to take my bags in and then park in the parking lot, but they would have nothing of it. Be warned and bring your muscles, because you'll have to carry your bags from the very far away self parking lot. They claimed it was for traffic control, but I saw large trucks and buses parked in the same area for long periods, and there was no issue. Just be aware that the hotel lets these guys run their own hustle out front. If the entire driveway is valet only, then they should mark it that way and avoid these confrontations. I've traveled all over the country and never had an issue briefly parking out front to check in. Just be forewarned.
Pros:
Location, transportation optionsCons:
additional costs, rude valets, mechanical problems in roomReviewed by bringouttheredhead Review Date: 10/04/2021
Rating: (6) Not Recommended
Reviewing this hotel is difficult and I wish I could give it two different ratings. As a Marriott brand hotel, it is very nice. The hotel is beautiful, the rooms are clean, if not a bit boring, the beds were nice. I would would say a solid 8. However, if you are looking for some Disney magic, it is sorely lacking. I would say a 4. There was no transportation from the airport, which we don't use anyways. Transportation to the parks and Disney springs is spotty at best. You cannot use your magic band to charge in the parks. Employees seemed to lack the cast member spark and weren't very friendly. It is very close to Epcot and Hollywood Studios, but not much different in price from the Boardwalk, Beach or Yacht Club. If you want Disney, I would suggest staying in one of those.
Pros:
Close to Epcot and Hollywood Studios Clean You can use Marriott PointsCons:
No Disney Magic Unhappy employees TransportationReviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 04/11/2022
Rating: (7) Recommended
I stayed at the Swan last trip. The Swan and Dolphin do charge a resort fee, but even with the resort fee they are at least $300 cheaper a night than the cheapest standard rooms at Yacht, Beach, and Boardwalk. You are still eligible for early morning and deluxe evening hours as well as booking your restaurants 60 days in advance. The location is great being able to walk to Epcot and HS, or take the boat. I personally walked to avoid crowds. Some complain about the buses for AK and MK because they don't drop you off at the entrance like the rest of the Disney resorts. I didn't have an issue with this. I found the Swan and Dolphin buses to be minimally crowded. I never had to worry about standing-room only like I have in past years with the Disney buses. I didn't mind being dropped off at TTC for MK and having to take the boat over if it meant a less-crowded bus.
The staff I didn't find to be as nice as at an actual Disney resort. We had an issue with our bathroom fan not working the entire week of our stay. I texted the resort twice and was told engineering would like at it, and they obviously never did. I complained upon check-out and they refused to do anything for me. I wrote a letter to management and it took 3 months to get a response back from a manager finally who is offering me a $150 credit to use towards our next stay (we are staying at the Dolphin 1/2 the week and Yacht Club the other 1/2 of the week next trip because Swan & Dolphin was already fully booked for the week we're going).
I do hear online of others saying that the management and staff aren't the greatest at the Swan and Dolphin, which is a shame because the location is fantastic and it's so much cheaper than Yacht, Beach, and Boardwalk.
Magic-bands do not work at the Swan and Dolphin. They will give you a room key. And for some reason if you book a package MDE will not let you add your park ticket #'s until you check-in. Both years my travel agent had to call Disney for me to add a temporary generic park pass to my account on MDE so I'm able to book restaurants ahead of time 60 days out.
I do wish when the Dining plan returns that Swan and Dolphin resort guests were eligible, but they are not.
Pros:
Cheaper than Yacht, Beach, and Boardwalk ; walking distance to Epcot and HSCons:
Not dining plan eligible ; magic-bands do not work to open rooms - you'll get a room key ; you cannot link your Disney tickets to MDE until check-in ; staff and management are not as accommodating as at an actual Disney hotelReviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 12/19/2021
Rating: (7) Not Recommended
I stayed at the swan around the holidays. One thing was it was not very decorated with hardly any lights and wasn’t very festive They had Santa and some very unorganized activity’s. Staff is pissed off. Lacked Christmas spirt. Food menus are tiny/overpriced food and not very tasty.good transportation to parks and back. Pretty nice hotel well taken care off. Looks nice from the outside.There is really like 2 pools not 5. And they are all average with good pool side service. I didn’t feel like a Disney hotel tho, a little Disney shop and that’s about it lacked Disney/ Christmas spirt
Pros:
Good transporting to and from parks early access to Disney parksCons:
Not decorated for Christmas/ Disney themed Bad restaurantsReviewed by GrammaMagicto5 Review Date: 05/17/2022
Rating: (8) Recommended
We stayed at the Swan at the end of April. The rooms were very comfortable, standard hotel rooms. The location to Epcot and Hollywood Studios was perfect.They are both within walking distance or boat taxi. We loved the beautiful pool area. Our family enjoyed unwinding in the pool after we dined at one of the Dolphin restaurants. It was very refreshing.
