We stayed here for two nights in between stays at Disney Villas. The location is convenient to the parks and transportation. We got a great price online, and we were very pleased with our rooms. (We had three.) We have stayed here before, and we will again! The beds are extremely comfortable! The pool is great!

We stayed at the Swan from July 3 to July 5, 2009. This was our second stay here and we will defiantly be back! We are starwood members and like earning points.
The extra charges are that they charge for parking and valet. There is also a $10 per day charge for the resort (even if you don’t plan on using anything on the property, i.e.: gym, pool, etc). Also the magic Disney bus does not drop off at the Swan, so you would have to take a taxi, rent a car or take the Mears bus from the airport (which my husband did last year with no problems).
We decided to valet park the car because we were being lazy. Check in was easy, but we arrived before the mad rush showed up. They had about three people for check in process. Also for check out if you don’t have a problem or question with your bill; you can just have it charged to your credit card for easy check out.
Our room was on the 4th floor facing the dolphin. We had a balcony room with a king size heavenly bed with a pull out sofa. The room had a refrigerator and small one cup coffee maker. The room also had the typical items such as a safe, blow dryer, soaps, towels, iron & iron board. We had to request a toiletry kit because my husband forgot his razor at no extra charge. Flat screen TV and internet hook up. Two chairs and a table were on the balcony. The bathroom had a bathtub and two vanities, one in the bathroom and one on the outside. The room has a closet and a dresser with plenty of room. Ice machine is across from the elevators.
Now for the resort, the swan has its own lap pool (dolphin has one too) and then in the center of both hotels was the larger fun pool, with a water fall and slide. Beach towels are available at the health club (for lap pool) and a booth at the fun pool. We enjoyed both pools, but did have a problem finding chairs at the fun pool around 11 a.m., but it was the 4th of July and a very hot muggy Florida day. There were also hot tubs, but we did not try any of them. The pool hours are from 9 to 9, which we thought was kind of early for a resort in Florida to close. No life guard on duty. The fun pool was loud and they were starting to deejay around noon. The lap pool played music, but not too loud.
We both had massages at the MANDARA SPA. Very pricey, but well worth it after being in the parks for two days, they offer all different kinds of treatments.
We ate at three of the restaurants on both properties. We had breakfast at the Garden Grove and Goofy and Pluto stopped by to say hi for pictures. You can either go ali-cart or do the buffet. For the price, I would suggest the buffet because after drinks, your breakfast will cost almost the same of the buffet. Typical buffet style breakfast and drinks are included.
We did stop by the Picabu at the Dolphin to pick up things for the refrigerator, but it was kind of pricey. They had drinks, snacks, sandwiches and more. If you are getting a refrigerator, then I would suggest picking up some stuff on the way (if you can do that).
For lunch one day we ate at Splash Terrace. The menu consists of burgers, sandwiches, salads and more. Good place to stop in for lunch because it is located at the lap pool at the Swan. There is also a full bar by the pool. The menu is pricey, but you are at Disney.
For dinner one night we went to the Dolphin’s Blue Zoo. We made reservations through the hotel website before our vacation. Great menu and wine list, but pricey. This place has a great ambiance and you should not be in a rush. Don’t forget to save room for one of their signature desserts.
The resort offers room service for breakfast, lunch, dinner and late night along with things from the bar available. We did not order anything, but almost did after getting home from one of the parks late.
Transportation to Epcot and Hollywood Studios is by boat. Both parks are in walking distance, but we prefer the boat (too tired after a day at the park). To go to the other parks, you have to take a bus. We did not go to Animal Kingdom or Magic Kingdom on this trip, so I can not comment on the bus system for those parks. But we did take the bus down to Downtown Disney and we stopped at all the Epcot Resorts except for the Caribbean. So if you have to be someplace at a certain time, make sure you plan accordingly. You also stop by the Water Park after you are picked up at Downtown Disney, but the Swan is the first hotel stop.
The hotel is located next to the Boardwalk Resort and there is also something going on at night on the Boardwalk (weather permitting).
The resort has something for everyone. We did hear the people next door (connecting doors) because it seemed that the man just yelled at the kids all weekend, but they were quiet at night. Did not really hear people in the hallway unless they were yelling, but you are at Disney and people are very excited.
We really love the Swan and will be back for the Epcot Food and Wine Festival this fall. We stayed at the Dolphin last year and prefer the Swan over the Dolphin. The Dolphin is much bigger and more people, plus that is where the conference center is located.

The Swan was the perfect hotel for our trip to Disney. The hotel itself was fine and the location is obviously great! I would have been somewhat disappointed if I had paid a high price but for the great rate I got, I am impressed.

The room was spacious enough for my family of four and very clean. We loved the pool areas and we took advantage of both the boat to Hollywood Studios and the extra magic hours. We like to play minigolf at Fantasia and it was just across the street. The best thing was that the room was ready at 9:30am!

If I had to be picky I'd say I didn't like the fake air freshener smell of the hotel (thank goodness our room didn't smell like that!) Also, I was somewhat annoyed by the resort fee on top of the parking fee - just add it in the price people. I can understand a parking fee at an inner city hotel but the Swan has plenty of space - they are just another chain jumping on the bandwagon that Orlando hotels have got on in the last few years! The resort fee is silly: I don't have a laptop to use their internet and I do have a cellphone so I didn't need their phone, so I paid $10 for 2 bottles of water. One day, we weren't able to get clean towels until 5pm! However, as a previous writer said, the use of extra magic hours offset that resort fee - I hadn't looked at it like that.

A great hotel in a wonderful place. Walking distance to Epcot. Great Restaurants. Helpful staff. Clean and courteous. We will be back