Walt Disney World Swan Resort

The hotel has the best location to everything, its own transportation to the parks and if your driving you can go 3.5 miles down hotel plaza blvd and eat at a variety of places (cheaper than on property). Rooms are very clean and staff was always helpful. Grounds are well kept and you can walk to Fantasia gardens (putt putt golf) or walk to Epcot and Hollywood Studios or if you prefer take the boat. The buses to the other parks come every 15 mins give or take a few minutes. But they get you there fast. Negatives are the fees , there are so many extra fees it gets confusing. I paid extra $30 resort fee on top of the room rate, then you check in and they tell you there is another $30 fee for the extra resort supplies and activities they supply and its not optional and the self parking is $25 and valet is $35. They fee you out of all your finances. Otherwise the hotel itself is great and seems the fees are any resorts in Orlando. FYI we looked into the dolphin but the double beds in Dolphin are full not queen and Swan offers Queen , we almost booked not knowing this at the Dolphin, and in comparison the Swan is more intimate setting with less traffic versus the Dolphin which is more main stream and busy. For that the Swan is the better choice.

I have to say I’ve never been moved to write a bad review for anywhere but our experience at this hotel was so shockingly bad I felt I had to put this review on here as I wish someone had warned us before staying at the Swan. To start we were put in a room directly above works which were so loud guest services couldn’t hear us on the phone and the works would also vibrate the room so violently that everything would shake. At the same time we were told that on one day we would have to vacate the room from 7am-4.30pm for additional works to be carried out. We were appalled that the hotel would think it appropriate to a) our guests in a room immediately above schedules work and b) require guests to vacate their room for a whole day during their stay. We therefore called guest services to a) ask how long the vibration / loud work would be carried out for and query why we were being made to vacate our room for a whole day. We were told the works that were directly under us were scheduled for the next few weeks at least so we should expect noise / vibration everyday of our stay between 8am-5pm. After explaining that this and the required vacating of the room really wasn’t acceptable and querying why the hotel thought that was an acceptable way to treat guests the hotel offered to move us room. We therefore had to pack up all of our stuff, remove everything from the fridge etc to be check out one room and await a rechecking in of another room. This whole process involved us explaining to numerous people that we were advised to move room as there seems to be absolutely no communication between guest services, front desk and bell desk. The hotel moved our luggage for us and in the process broke one of our cases. We were moved in to a room with a better view but this whole palava took precious time out of our holiday and we would have far rather have remained in the one room for our stay without the noise and vibrations, the stress of repacking and with our case still in one piece! The icing on the cake though is that during the first 10 days of our stay our room wasn’t cleaned on 4/5 occasions. On each occasion we had the do not disturb sign on our room but it was removed no later that 11am /12noon everyday but if the cleaners went past your room (from 7am) and you had a do not disturb sign on the door there policy was it would not be cleaned that day. Our usual expectation is that if the room is vacated before noon then the cleaning team should recheck later that day to clean later....this is not the case at the swan! It got so bad that we had an inordinate amount of trash in the room, no toilet roll, no towels, no toiletries, no amenities...nothing! So on leaving the room at 11am one morning we spoke to a cleaner on our floor and requested our room to be cleaned one day. He told us he would ‘do his best’. Sure enough when we returned at 4pm our room wasn’t cleaned. We called guest services to note this and ask for amenities to be sent up. The chap on the phone told us the room wasn’t cleaned as ‘it is a big hotel’! Are they serious? He then said if we wanted our room cleaned we should schedule a cleaning time with him. So we scheduled a time for the next day. We did request emergency amenities which were brought by a lady who then dragged a cleaning lady to our room to clean. We asked to have 15 mins to get our stuff, use the loo and get out but we were told ‘no I have to clean now I have a schedule to stick to’. We were aghast! Oh and to top it all off after you pay your ridiculous amount for this hotel on check out you will be slapped with a $35 dollar a day ‘resort fee’ and $25 dollar a day parking fee. The parking we get but it is beyond me why you have to pay an additional $35 dollars a day when they can’t even clean their rooms! Our check out fee will be in the region of $1000! After what was already an expensive room rate I’m appalled at this additional charge when our whole experience has been nothing short of horrendous! I’ve stayed in plenty of youth hostels that far exceed this ridiculous hotel! We would advise others to consider the nearby Yacht and Beachclub hotel, Boardwalk, another of the Disney resorts or one of the hotels beside Disney Springs (we’ve stayed at the Holiday Inn there which is less than half the price and a million times better hotel).

I have stayed at the swan and dolphin a few times a year for the last 5+ years because my family and I are Disney fans and can stay here nearly free on points from work travel. The hotel has one of the best locations as you can walk to Hollywood and Epcot. I have seen over the years the hotel facilities being renovated, the Phins bar and lobby area are now great looking! The rooms are generally nice Westin rooms. The only complaints are they are loud, especially noise from connecting doors. Unfortunately, prices have been rising to match levels of well run luxury hotels which this one is not. There is never any guarantees on room selection. No matter what you request nothing is planned in advance. For the first time I was pre-upgraded to a suite last trip which I was appreciative of, but they put us in one with only one bed even though I booked two beds and emailed the resort ahead of time asking to make sure they keep my 2 beds. I asked to be put in a room with 2 beds but none were available. They told me to use the couch. Resort fees are ridiculous and not charged at any other property at Disney World. Even the cafeteria style restaurant has a "service charge" of about 15% on the food which is not disclosed until you check out. There is also no recognition of loyalty. In the past resort fees and some other charges were waived for those with hotel status. Staff always ask if this is my first time there which tells me there is no tracking of regulars. The pools are very large which is much nicer compared to most newer hotels. As of last trip they are starting to nitpick that as well with large signs limiting guest to one towel per day and verifying it with the room key. Hopefully the resort will start heading in the right direction again soon and focus on providing a great experience and not how to nickel and dime the patrons. Bottom line is I would still use this hotel if I can book it free on points or if the cost is about half of the nearby Disney hotels which is the case sometimes. Things that are good at the hotel: Il Mulinos, Shulas, Kimonos, Pool bar; avoid: Mandara spa (complete joke), Blue Zoo, Fuel/Picabu/java bar (these are for captive business travelers).

We had the best honeymoon here. First of all, major shoutout to Daisy and Yolitza. They were our maids for our hotel room, and truly went above and beyond to make our stay special. After a long day at the Disney parks, we came back excited to see what the surprise of the day was. It was awesome, we can’t speak highly enough of them! Also, definitely rent a cabana. That was well worth the money! Thank you Swan for an amazing honeymoon!

Room was very clean and comfortable. But I wish I made the reservations directly with Swan and not through a third party company. I was unable to upgrade my room. Besides that is was all good, we had an exceptional dinner at the Shullers steak house on the property... Fantastic!