Walt Disney World Swan Hotel

Recently spent the night at the Swan because I had a dinner engagement in Orlando and didn’t want to drive home that evening. Got a pretty good deal with my SPG membership, and it turned out to be an even better deal since other friends who decided to stay at a different location ran into issues with their room.

The room I got was a king bed, and I had no problems with it. The staff were courteous, and check-in went like a breeze. Really no issues in any of those regards.

However, the hotel has seen better days, and there are parts of it that need some refurbishment. The hallways leading to the rooms need to be updated with new carpet, and some brighter lighting, as the carpeting is showing a lot of wear and it is just dark in the hallways. While there aren’t any holes in the carpeting, you can definitely see where the maid carts have been going up and down the halls over the years.

Add to this the fact that you now have to pay for parking to stay at the hotel, at more than $20 a day for parking! Way to go, Disney, in pushing away your more local people who just want to stay at one of your hotels for a night or three! You have managed to turn a hotel that was $150 a night into one that is about $200 now. There are significantly less expensive hotels that have a higher quality level that are as close or even closer to some of the parks as this one, so I feel they are simply shooting themselves in the foot with the new parking fees that they have instituted.

Kill the parking fees, and I will be happy to come back… otherwise, forget it.