The rooms here are what I would consider of average size. We had a corner room, so it provided windows and views from two different vantage points. We also had a balcony. In the evenings, you could sit on the balcony and see the fireworks from Epcot. The bathroom itself was small, but it had a sink outside the shower/toilet area, and that was quite helpful. The beds here were first-class. They had pillowtop matresses and down pillows. I was more comfortable here than at home, and it made it difficult to get out of bed in the mornings!

The greatest attribute of the Dolphin was the convenience. We walked to Epcot and MGM. It was just as fast for us to walk as it was to take the boat. By walking one direction around the lake, we got a closer look at the Yacht Club Resort and the Beach Club resort. If we went the other direction, we walked along the boardwalk. Both ways take the same amount of time. We tended to walk along the boardwalk in the evenings, because of the street performers and other nighttime activities going on there.

There is bus service to the parks you can't walk to. The bus picks up outside the hotel at the bus stop. There are a few benches you can sit on to wait, and there are a couple of TVs that play the Disney Channel while you wait. Once you get on the bus, get comfortable, because it can take awhile to get anywhere. The buses that pick up at the Dolphin also stop at the Swan, Yacht Club, and Beach Club before going anywhere else. One thing I found was when we were ready to leave the parks to go back to the hotel, there seemed to be fewer people trying to get onto our bus than the others.

The rooms at the Dolphin rage from $325-$500 a night. This is what is published on the Disney website. However, the Dolphin is not owned by Disney. Because of this, you can find deals on rooms on many travel websites. I booked through the Yahoo travel website and got our room for $150 a night! What a deal! You still get all the perks of staying with Disney, even though the hotel is not owned by them. This includes free transportation on the Disney buses/boats to all the parks, waterparks, Downtown Disney, and Pleasure Island.

All in all, I loved staying at the Dolphin and would definitely stay there again.

Decor
The rooms are decorated in a cabana style, with pastel tropical colors. The beds, this being a Westin, are extraordinarily comfortable. You may never wish to go home! The bathrooms are somewhat small, but there is a makeup area outside of the bathroom. The mini-bar selection seems quite extensive, but a warning that my co-workers were overcharged for their purchases. A cast member wrote down $22 instead of $2.

Location
The Swan and the Dolphin are conveniently located next to Disney's boardwalk, a shopping and food destination. You can also walk to a mini-golf course, Disney's Fantasia Gardens, or all the way to EPCOT. MGM Studios is right across the street, with the Tower of Terror visible from hotel suites. You can take a water taxi to MGM and EPCOT, and hop on a free bus to the Magic Kingdom and other parks. I talked to another visitor who said she always chooses the Swan and Dolphin because of their perfect locations.

Restaurants and Food
There are endless choices between the Swan and the Dolphin, and it would take a week to eat at them all. Their catering for our business function was excellent. One night we ate at the fifties-style cafe at the Dolphin, and another night, we chose Kimonos in the Swan for sushi and karaoke. One thing to note however is that the food is quite expensive on the property, with a continental breakfast of fruit, Danish, and juice costing US$12.

Recreation
The Swan and Dolphin together have the best pool I've seen. Each hotel has their own lap pool, along with a circular wading pool, and a long series of connected pools called The Grotto. The Grotto also includes a waterfall, great for a massage, and a waterslide. Hot tubs are tucked into quiet, tropical corners. Music piped out from well-disguised speakers adds to the tropical feel. There is also beach volleyball on the man-made lake that separates the two properties.

Unfortunately, their exercise gym did not live up to these high standards. The exercise room at the Swan was quite small, with just three cardio machines and some nautilus. However, all the equipment was in working condition!

Business Needs

This hotel has many conference rooms, and lots of outdoor garden space for breaks. It is perfect for a conference, which is why many are held here. Internet access is provided free in the rooms, but it isn't a direct connection. You first must route through their website, and it isn't always easy to get it to launch.

If you would like to visit their website, it is highly interactive with lots of pictures: Swan & Dolphin. It also offers online reservations.

The pool area at the Dolphin is impressive with several pools to cater to everyones needs. A lap pool, a large lagoon pool area with a waterslide and volleyball area, a white sand beach with swan boats and more. It's just such a nice area to stroll through. Very romantic. If you have kids with you (we have done both), you can walk across the street to play mini golf or catch a character meal at the swan.

The food is expensive here so a rent a car if you want to save money on meals. That would be the only reason you need to rent a car though. The Disney parks are all very easy to get to from here by bus or boat.

We have stayed here around Christmas as well and the main lobby is decorated with a giant poinsetta christmas tree with large motorized toy train circling it.

There is a cafeteria in on the ground floor which is great to get a quick snack or you can walk to the convenience store on the Boardwalk for milk or cereal.

The ROOMS at the Swan have recently been remodeled with "heavenly beds" and they are heavenly. Thick puffy mattresses and comforters, you feel lost when you climb inside. Many rooms, I think most rooms have balconies and most have views of something, the pools or the parks.

The pool area can be quite a walk from even a room at the Dolphin and the main pool area at the Dolphin is even further if you are staying at the Swan. Not great if you are traveling with kids, but also worth the walk.

The service is okay and there have been very public complaints by the staff at this resort about how they are treated. That seems to have settled down though. This is a great place to stay, especially for the pool areas and proximity to the parks.