TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

I was here on business staying for four nights. While I was warmly welcomed at the front desk upon arrival, this is when things went downhill. First, I was assigned a twin room on the 7th floor which overlooked industrial-sized extractor fans and the loading dock for the hotel. The windows were not sound-proof so there was a constant sound flooding the room and every day I was awakened by trucks reversing into the loading dock at 4.45am. I had asked to for a different room but I was told quite abruptly that the hotel was full and there was nothing they could do. Service at the bar in the lobby was poor, there was a server there who was extremely rude, refused to make cocktails saying the options were either beers or wines. This despite folks sitting at the bar enjoying cocktails. The FUEL café was ok, but extremely overpriced for what you buy ($7.50 for overnight oats and $5 for a black coffee, plus taxes, plus tips etc). Despite me opting for daily housekeeping, my room was not serviced for the first 2 days of my stay. The worst part of my stay was the deplorable wifi. Both in the rooms and in the convention center. The only part of the hotel where wifi was ok was in the lobby but I couldn't make any Zoom calls for the sheer noise of the fountain. It would seem this property doesn't want you working in your room but out there spending your dollars on Disney stuff. The biggest racket is of course the daily $45 resort charge which is such a con. When I checked out, I was told "you're all set" to which I replied if I could see a print out copy of my room bill. The staff member at the front desk begrudgingly put some paper in a printer and then just passed me the bill. No thank you for staying, no appreciation of my Bonvoy status, no how was my stay, no offer to help me with cabs or my luggage. Nothing. This was far from service with a smile.

The front desk service was poor. The noise (hooting) of the water transportation as both annoying and unnecessary. The rooms were dated and the windows did not keep noise out. The resort fee at $40 pd was ridiculous as was the car parking fee of $33 pd. Crazy overpricing and arrogant staff who ion all honesty were not the brightest bunnies.

Although the price has doubled since Christmas 2018 and the “Santa” rate and breakfast coupons were “unavailable “ - we returned for 3 weeks in our 20th year in a row - except COVID-2021 - and were blessed with great daily maid service at 7085 by Estelle and her husband - greeted each day with como se va.

I just came back to Canada after spending 7 nights at the Dolphin. I am a repeat customer and here are the reasons why: I love everything about it (except that high resort fee). The rooms are clean, quiet and comfortable. The location is perfect for visiting the parks. The front desk receptionists Jose and Quinton were friendly and professional. I will definitely be back in 2024 and I can't wait. Thank you Dolphin.

We planned a last minute Disney trip after my mom just passed away. We always stay on property and usually at the Poly. We were not going to break the bank on this visit and I was too wiped out mentally to plan the way I usually do. Costco offered a really affordable package for a room at the Dolphin and park hoppers. We had said that when we came back to WDW that we wanted to stay in close proximity to Epcot and try that out vs the monorail. The Dolphin seemed to check all the boxes. Our stay here was a mixed bag. The resort is nice but it does have some significant shortcomings. My two biggest issues were with housekeeping and the availability of quick service food options. At check in I was asked if I wanted daily housekeeping or only upon request. I said daily. Day 2 our room still had not been serviced. Late that night I chatted to the front desk via the BonVoy app. I informed them that our trash was overflowing, we did not have towels, and that all our glassware was dirty. They promised to have our room done in the morning. We returned around 3pm the next day only to find our room exactly as we had left it. So I chatted to them again. This time, the person on the other end responded that I had opted for housekeeping upon request vs daily. I told them that was inaccurate, but in any case, they can see the previous messages from the night before where I notified that we had not received the expected service and was promised a visit in the morning. They did finally show up and made the beds, took the trash out, replaced the wet towels…but left all the dirty glasses. The next afternoon we returned once again to find our room had not been serviced. My brother and his family were in a room 4 doors down from us and their room was taken care of every morning while ours was constantly skipped. My other chief complaint was the availability of quick service food. They did have a little shop called Fuel where you could get snacks and sandwiches. The prices were reasonable and the sandwich I had was fantastic…it’s just that options are quite limited. We took midday breaks from the park and spent time at the pool. It was IMPOSSIBLE to get food there. They have what seems to be a great setup, if only it worked. There are tags on each lounger with a QR code and identifying number for your specific chair. On the first pool day, we were going to order drinks and maybe some food, but it said it was going to be 80minutes before they’d arrive. Needless to say, we did not order. The next day, at the pool again, and it was not as busy as the day before. The wait was only 30min but when I went to put my name and room number in, it kept saying it was incorrect. After multiple tries, I walked over to the host stand at the bar/restaurant to inquire if I could order there and just pick it up…no one was there. I waited and waited and no one ever returned. So, again, we did not order anything. My husband went to Fuel and got a sandwich to split bc clearly we were not getting anything at the pool. On the 3rd day, we knew better and brought our own drinks and snacks with us…despite the signs forbidding it. This whole ordeal trying to eat lunch by the pool was super annoying and has never been our experience at the other places we have stayed. The other issue with staying here is the buses are not a very efficient way to maneuver WDW. Getting back from Animal Kingdom took forever. We must have waited 30-40minutes for the bus to arrive. Also, getting to Magic Kingdom is not very easy. You take the bus to the TTC and then monorail or boat over. There are positives at the Dolphin, too….the lobby is beautiful. The view from our room was beautiful. The elevators were quick and we never had to wait for one. Th pool and beach area were nice. Comfy beds. Easy walk to Epcot. Very efficient boat ride to Epcot or Hollywood Studios. Our room was nice and quiet. Good water pressure and plenty of hot water. So, all in all because of service I can’t rate higher than a 3. Had service been better, I’d give it a 4 or maybe even a 4.5. I would consider staying here again but with reluctance. It definitely was not the same as staying at Disney properties but again that’s likely due to the poor service. We did save a couple thousand dollars and had an amazing trip despite the unnecessary headaches caused by the hotel.