I made a few observations last week during our stay at the Dolphin, but wanted to give an overall report now that we are home and I have had a chance to reflect. We stayed Sunday Oct 11-Sunday Oct 18 in a Double/Double alcove room - Room 17114. We were one of those 850 people checking out Sunday. I had a car so did not have to rely on the buses, which changed without any notice while we were there. The parking lot was PACKED last Sat and Sun.
First the positives. Person checking us in was very nice. The size of the larger room was perfect for me and 3 teens. The location of the room was great; there were only 2 rooms at our end of the short hall in the pyramid: our room and one across from it. So no other rooms on either side of us. (and we never heard anyone across the hall so it was likely empty the entire time). We asked for extra towels and no feathers and they accommodated both requests before we checked in. I really liked the lobby area, which was always clean. We ate our take out food there a couple of evenings. The kids (ages 12-17) and I both enjoyed the pool. The location to DHS and Epcot is awesome. They said we would only have housekeeping every 4 days, but we got more. We received housekeeping after our first night. On our 3rd day, I texted and requested more towels and toiletries and trash pick up; they ended up providing full housekeeping which was a nice surprise.
Now the not so great things. While I initially reported that the room was clean when we checked in, I had not seen the mold in the toilet. The mold was still there after housekeeping came twice. During this pandemic when they are promising increased cleaning and sanitization, leaving mold in the toilet makes one wonder how great they are cleaning anything else. (I Clorox wiped every surface upon our arrival so I wasn't actually concerned about health/safety.) I had to go to the front desk and ask to have it cleaned the following day while we were at the parks. Speaking of sanitization, they do not provide any sanitizing wipes as advertised in their Covid brochure, nor do they do anything to mark/seal the room as "cleaned" as some hotels are doing. As I mentioned previously, my mattress was hard as a rock and uncomfortable. The other bed was much softer and comfortable. (If I had realized that sooner, I would have made the kid switch with me.) The bathroom in the Double/Double alcove does not have 2 sinks or a rain head shower as depicted in all the pictures. In fact, the toilet/tub area is tiny! Smaller than most 3 star hotels I have stayed in. There is literally just enough room for the door to open without hitting the tub. The carpet in the room had a huge stain in the entry area and the carpet in the hall was so filthy it was literally black. I happened to shut the walk in closet door while I was in there changing and the area behind the door was absolutely disgusting. It had months or maybe even years of dust/dirt behind it. The towel attendant at the pool acted like he hated his job and he had the attitude of someone who wished he was anywhere else on earth. He didn't greet me any of the times I went up there and just silently handed me the towels.
All this being said, I will not stay at the Dolphin again. The location and pool are great so I might be willing to give the Swan a try in the future if the rates are lower than Disney properties.
At Swolphin, the best upgrade I’ve gotten is to a resort view from standard view with Gold status. If you book a second room, you will have to pay a resort fee on each room. But personally I think the Swan rooms are fine enough for 4 people, especially given that you’ll spend most of your time outside of the room presumably. My two kids are younger, but we’ve never had an issue, even with DH and I working from the room during a conference. Having the second vanity (one in the bathroom and one outside of the bathroom) helps with primping and getting ready. I would say it’s comparable in size to a Disney moderate room if that helps at all.
