Kayla F.
We did not enjoy our experience at the Dolphin Resort, and would not stay here again unless we absolutely had to. The location is great, it is within walking distance to Disney's Boardwalk and Epcot which was really nice! We definitely liked the location. However, there were quite a few things we didn't enjoy that made it to where we won't be back. First, we booked this room for one night to allow us to come into Disney one day earlier. We enjoyed that this hotel got the Disney Magic Hours and wasn't crazy expensive like most of the other hotels that offer this, or so I thought it was cheaper. We got there and there wasn't any parking nearby, so we had to park the car with valet. The valet guy was great, took our keys and parked our car. I went in and got us checked in and found out that on top of the $55 I just paid to park my car for one day; I was also going to have to pay a daily resort fee which put me in for over an additional $100 by time parking and fees were added. This made the room almost equivalent to staying at an actual Disney moderate resort. We made our way to the room, and it was spacious. The windows were so dirty that our great view was hardly a view, and we couldn't take any photos out of the window- that is how dirty it was with handprints on the inside and grime on the outside. That night, our room was so incredibly humid that we couldn't hardly sleep. The bed was very comfy, but the sheets are so noisy that every time you moved you were waking someone up in the room. We did not get much sleep as guests were also very noisy and seemingly drunk all night long going down the hallways. We got breakfast in the cafe, and while it had the longest line, it did seem to move quickly. We waited forever for our coffee to be ready, and when it was ready the order was wrong. Stood there for several minutes for them to correct the order, to no avail and finally walked off. We checked out and tipped Valet. By time we got to our next resort, I realized they only gave me back the key fob, and all of my other keys from my key ring were missing. Called valet as there were several important keys on my key ring, and they said they did not have it. This was very frustrating as I lost every single key to my office, safe, house, family's homes, etc. While the resort itself is very pretty, and the location great- this was a never again hotel for us! Definitely not worth the money, and the experience was very poor all the way around.
Mike Mulkewycz
We stayed 9 nights. The hotel is centrally located in a great location. Our room was clean and common areas were clean and well-kept. We had a balcony room 5019 - 5th floor facing Epcot. The view of the lake with water taxis passing by and Boardwalk sign is beautiful! At night, we were able to view the Epcot fireworks! The pool area had a bar and restaurant and pools were clean and not crowded when we went (Nov 1-9). They had an area to rent Swan peddle boats to ride on the lake, a legit beach area with lots of sand and a playground for small kids. They had a decent sized laundry room with washer/dryers, and a game room. We did not have to deal with parking. We took Uber to/from airport. On night one, we ordered snacks and water thru an app that delivered to the hotel. We took a bus to Disney Springs and walked to Yacht Club to take their bus to Magic Kingdom because it drops you off right at the MK entrance. Housekeeping came every day. Restaurants were good, but fairly pricey. The lobby is large and welcoming. Overall, this hotel has a great vibe! We would definitely return to this resort again.
Mariya Gluzman
The hotel is gorgeous. The staff very friendly and helpful. However, some of the front-of-the-house staff did not know some things that we asked them, like how to access some of the places around the hotel (restaurants, parks, etc ). To their credit, they went and tried to find this information for us. The rooms are beautiful, as well. Clean and spacious. Since the resort caters to families, it would be a good idea to provide another chair or two, so kiddos could eat at the table in the room. It would also be helpful to have more drawers or shelves to keep stuff organized and out of the way. The hotel grounds are immense. Folks with young kids or people who have mobility problems have a hard time getting around. Especially getting from the rooms all the way out to the pools or the ferry landing. I don't know what the solution for this is. Maybe little mobility scooters, courtesy golf carts, or something like that could help.
Corie Stadick
All of the staff is friendly! I got lost a lot and they told me directions. We did laundry while we were here and that was easy. We could pay by card or coins, and had soap for sale. The water taxi to hollywood and epcot was super convenient. We even took the swan boats out on the water! The hotel itself is clean and decorated nicely. We would stay again.
Matthew Tower
Extremely Disappointing Stay – Serious Food Safety & Service Issues Despite Titanium Status
I’m a Titanium Elite Bonvoy member with 114 nights year-to-date, and I chose the Dolphin for a stay with my family. Unfortunately, this was one of the most disappointing experiences I’ve had at any Marriott Bonvoy property.
Upon arrival, I was told I had been upgraded to a Grand Suite, but it took the front desk almost 30 minutes to figure out how to confirm the upgrade. When we entered the suite, the carpet was still wet from cleaning and the room smelled strongly of chemicals. I returned to the desk, and Manager Andrew—who was genuinely kind and helpful—moved us to a standard room with two beds.
From there, the issues continued:
• When we arrived at the pool, the hair-braiding attendant had just closed, even though we were told she was still open from hotel staff
• I then suggested a family movie night in our room and the TV in our room didn’t work. We were moved rooms again by Elana.
• The next room had a refrigerator with a failing compressor, and the in-room phone also didn’t work.
• Breakfast from Fuel was the most concerning: my egg and cheese breakfast sandwich had parchment paper inside of it that was microwaved and melted into the sandwich. I actually swallowed 2 bites of paper before realizing it. The Cream Cheese provided to us with the bagel had green mold inside of the container.
The Guest Service Manager, Matthew, apologized when I called him over the phone to explain the situation but he declined to come look at the sandwich in person. When I asked him if the Hotel Manager was on property, he told me no, they take vacation this time of year. He told me the Food & Beverage manager would meet me in the lobby outside of Fuel—I waited over 30 minutes with family and no one ever came.
I later received a call from the Fuel Manager, Lafayette, who explained that it is “normal” for them to find mold in their cream cheese due to the way it is delivered. He also said it is “normal” for paper to be stuck inside of their egg sandwiches because of the packaging and microwave process. He apologized and asked if I wanted to speak with the Safety team.
Hearing a manager describe both mold in food and paper in sandwiches as “normal” was alarming. This raises serious food safety concerns, especially for a resort serving children, families, and convention guests.
Overall, the Dolphin operates far below Marriott standards. Staff members were individually polite, but the property’s operations, food handling, room readiness, and follow-through were consistently lacking. With so many options in the Orlando area—both for personal travel and for hosting large conventions—I unfortunately cannot recommend this hotel.
#Bonvoy #Marriott #Disney
My Booking
