Disclosure: This Dolphin Hotel rooms page contains affiliate links. Read full Disclosure Policy.
Comfortable, functional, and sophisticated would be the top three words to describe the rooms at the Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel. While there is an essence of the conventional hotel feel, there is still enough theming to give you that Disney vacation touch.
At the Dolphin Hotel, this mostly comes across in the color palette – a bold blue, silver, and white combination that gives the hotel a sophisticated and updated look.
The Disney Dolphin Hotel has four categories of rooms – Traditional, Deluxe, Family, and Suites. When you are booking, be sure to pay close attention to the differences, both in price and in layout, as sometimes there isn’t a large difference. In these categories, the rooms also split into Resort View and No View. This simply means that, with the first, you’ll get to see the resort from your room, and with the second you will have a slightly obstructed scene of the resort, or be looking out over the parking lot.
We’ll help you navigate the differences between the accommodation choices, and have you settling in to the right selection for you in no time!
RELATED: Compare the Dolphin rooms to the Swan rooms.
Table of Contents
Traditional Rooms at the Dolphin Hotel
The majority of the rooms at the Disney Dolphin Hotel are going to fall into this category. About 360 square feet, you can get three different layouts – two queen beds, one king bed, or one king bed with a sleeper sofa. If you’re travelling as a couple, I highly suggest going for the single king bed, as you’ll have a bit more space and a nice sitting area in place of the extra bed.
All the rooms have the same basic amenities:
- In-room Safe
- Iron & Ironing Board
- Coffee Makers
- In-Room Mini Refrigerators
- Flat Screen TV with Hulu, Netflix, YouTube, HBO, Showtime, Pandora included
In addition to a comfortable bed and living space, the split bathroom is an ideal setup for getting out the door in the morning. The shower and toilet have a door to close it off from the sink area, so someone can use the sink while another person is in the shower. Next to the bathroom is also a sizable closet, perfect for hanging your clothes for a night out or putting your wet ponchos after the afternoon rains.
From a décor perspective, the Dolphin went through a renovation in 2017 to bring the overall look of the hotel up to date. Rather than the older, darker look, bright white bedding serves as the central focus with dark blue and silver accents. Of course, the ocean and island life still serves as a central theme, but in a more subtle way that fits with the luxury hotel feeling that they were seeking.
Disney Dolphin Hotel Deluxe Rooms
The main difference between a deluxe room and a traditional room, besides the price, is the addition of a balcony. Traditional rooms lack this amenity, and sometimes are closer to the ground level. Meanwhile, deluxe rooms have the balcony lookout; although that does not guarantee that they are in the Resort View section.
Aside from the balcony feature, all other aspects of traditional rooms and deluxe rooms are the same. All your layout choices, bathroom setup, and even the square footage is the same. With that in mind, if you’re looking for more room, you might want to consider a family room or suite.
Family Rooms
For those looking for a bit more room, especially with littles, you want one of the family rooms at the Dolphin Hotel. On the booking portion of the Dolphin’s website, it indicates that these are Larger Guest Rooms, which definitely fits with what you get out of them. At 480-500 square feet, you get almost a third more space than a traditional or deluxe room.
There are two layouts with these larger family-sized rooms – Alcove and Premium.
Alcove Larger Guest Room
Alcove rooms are a bit cheaper, and still connect the living and sleeping areas into one large space.
The main advantage to this booking is the bigger room, and the privacy of a desk in an alcove next to the bed.
You can get two double beds, one king bed, or a king and a sleeper sofa, although the bookings indicate only the king option at this time.
I would also recommend the king and sleeper for young families, as it gives you more space to spread out as an adult and establishes a separate child’s sleeping area.
Premium Larger Guest Room
Premium family rooms have the advantage of separating the living area (thus the sleeper sofa) from the main bedroom by a partition wall.
You still don’t have a door that closes off the king bed from the sleeper, but the wall goes a long way to set up distinct spaces within the room. Your kiddos will know that this is not their space, and you can also put them to bed before you’re ready to go down yourself.
Premium rooms also have an extended eating space with an eat-at bar, which is ideal for getting everyone fed and out the door in the morning.
Another upside to the family rooms is the extended bathroom and closet area. A walk-through closet leads to the first of two sink spaces, with the second sink actually in the shower and toilet part of the bathroom. It’s amazing what one extra sink can do for getting ready for your day, or even getting ready for bed! The addition of the closet is also nice for unpacking your gear for the week, whether you want to hang up nicer clothes or just want everything laid out.
Again, if you’re travelling with kids and you don’t want to do two rooms, this is the way to go. You have so much more space and breathing room, as well as ways to establish a solid vacation routine that better reflects what you do at home. If your kids are a bit older, or if you’re travelling as a larger group, family rooms do have the ability to connect to both traditional and deluxe rooms.
Walk through a Premium King Family Room with this video!
Suites
Between the three sections of the Swan and Dolphin resort area, there are nine different suite configurations. Over at the Dolphin Hotel, you can book three of these incredible rooms – the Grand Suite, the Governors Suite, and the Presidential Suite. Now, each of these suites comes at a cost – we’re talking thousands of dollars per night. Therefore, if you’re trying to book for a large group on a budget, going the multiple connecting rooms route might be a better option. However, if you’re trying to spring for opulence or keep your whole party in one place, you might be living that suite life!
Grand Suite
The smallest of the suites, the Grand Suite is a one-bedroom, two-bathroom set up. You can, however, turn this into a two-bedroom layout with a lock-off option to a traditional or deluxe room.
First Impressions
For the basic Grand Suite, you enter into a foyer-type space with a kitchenette on your right, which includes a coffee station and mini-fridge, as well as an eat-at bar.
To the left, a sink and closet space connect to a full bathroom, also with a sink. It’s this extra full bath that really sells the suite, as you now have more room for everyone in your party to get ready or to clean up after a park day.
Living Space
In the living room, a large dining table takes center stage. This is great for meetings if you’re traveling for corporate reasons, or just as a place to sit with your family and enjoy breakfast. Beyond the table is desk space, ideal again for working on the go or just to put your laptop. Also in this area is the lounging spaces, including the sleeper sofa and other comfy armchairs. A flat screen TV on the wall completes the scene.
If you’re doing the two-bedroom option, your traditional or deluxe room connects to this living space, as well as having their own entrance to the hallway. There are two doors to the lock-out, one in each room, so you can choose to shut and lock both at any time. When you’re travelling with multiple families, this might be a good idea if one group has early risers and the other doesn’t.
Bedroom
Beyond the living room is the master bedroom with attached full bath. You can get two double beds or a single king bed in this room, depending on the size of your party. You also have the option of doing a king bed and a sofa bed, which is ideal if you have younger kids you want to put in the room with you…or if you’re trying to cram eight people into a one suite! A walkthrough closet leads to another full bath with two sinks, which once more provides all the preparation space you could want.
Designed with You in Mind
Grand Suites are perfect for families or young adult groups. This suite has girls weekend or bachelor party written all over it! Don’t forget, it doesn’t have a full kitchen or even a microwave, but you could still bring food up from a quick service location and eat in your room. If you need to sleep a number of people and get out the door in a timely manner, you might want to consider the Grand Suite.
Check out this awesome inside look of a Grand Suite!
Governors Suite
First Impressions
The Dolphin has two Governors Suite layouts, two difference being the configuring of the bedrooms. The first has an alcove set up, and the second a partition wall between the bed and a sitting area. Think of the Governors Suites as those family rooms, or Larger Guest Rooms, with the addition of a living room from the Grand Suites.
Bedroom
In the bedroom you can have two double beds or king, depending on your preference. You also have the same closet and full bathroom space as the Grand Suites, which is great for longer stays. With the second of the two layouts, the bedroom has an L-shaped design, which separates the bedroom into a sleeping and sitting area. Both have their own TVs, meaning that there are three total TVS in the suite! This is also where the second sleeper sofa would be, having a specific sleeping space for your littles that is slightly separate from you.
Living Space
In the living room, you have the same large dining table and sofa area that we see in the Grand Suites, with the addition of a wet bar over by the dining table. The living room is also a bit bigger, designed with corporate uses in mind. A small serving table sits next to the dining table as well, so if you call for room service you can set up your meal there before eating. In the second layout, you also have a walk-in closet with the second full bathroom, giving everyone plenty of space to unpack.
Designed with You in Mind
Governors Suites definitely have more of a corporate design in mind, however you can still make excellent use of this room as a large family. Both parts of the room have direct access to the main hallway, so if you want to host a meeting your colleagues don’t have to walk through your bedroom to get to the space. This is also ideal if you want to go for an early morning workout…and not disturb your sleeping kiddos.
Presidential Suite
The pinnacle of luxury at the Disney Dolphin Hotel, this set of rooms will blow you away! Presidential Suites only have one bedroom; however, you can turn it into a two-bedroom set up with a connecting traditional or deluxe room.
First Impressions
As you approach the room from the hallway, you can tell something is special about the Presidential Suite right away. After all, most hotel rooms don’t have double doors! Once you enter, a small foyer opens into a grand living room, with tall ceilings and large windows. In the center of the room sits a baby grand piano, increasing the feeling of luxury and extravagance.
Living Space
There are two sitting areas, one with a small couch and armchairs, and the other with a larger sectional facing the TV. In between these two spaces are the piano and a dining table, which helps to make the whole room cohesive. There is a kitchen and wet bar space, although the kitchen is more intended for Cast Member use if you host a meal or event in the suite. It even has a particular service entrance!
Neither the small sofa nor the couch has a pullout bed, although you could sleep someone on the couch if need be. Since the suite has two bedrooms, the idea is to keep the living and sleeping spaces separate. A full bathroom connects to the living area, one of three full bathrooms in the suite!
Bedrooms
Again, the suite only has one official bedroom. You can get Presidential suites with one king bed (which I suggest) or two queen beds. In the master bedroom, you have a sitting area and a desk in addition to a flat screen TV. Like other suites, you can access the hallway without going through the living room, which is nice if you just want to get back into your bedroom or if you don’t want to wake your travelling companions. You also have plenty of storage, including a second closet right by your entrance to the main hallway.
You’ll know you’re in a Presidential Suite with this bathroom! Two sinks, a large glass-wall shower, and a bidet in addition to a regular toilet. You won’t have any trouble getting everyone ready to go with all this bathing space.
If you want a second bedroom, request a connecting room to get a traditional or deluxe room attached to your suite. This gives you either two more double beds, a king, or a king and a sleeper. I recommend going for the double bed option, which means you can add another family or put all the kids in one space. This also gives you the third full bathroom, essential if you’re trying to get a group of people out the door and off to Galaxy’s Edge.
Designed with You in Mind
Either you’re trying to make an impression, or you have a large group to house. This beautiful suite is great for splurging as well, if you’re coming for a honeymoon or a special occasion. However, a Presidential Suite isn’t necessarily going to be your standard stay in Disney.
Whether you’re just looking for a place to lay your head or you plan to spend time lounging around, there are plenty of choices at the Disney Dolphin Hotel, making it easy to find the rooms that fit your needs.
Grace Hoyos, Staff Writer
Grace is a life-long lover of all things Disney, particularly the parks at Walt Disney World. She is also an avid Disney Cruise Line enthusiast who regularly dreams of the white sands of Castaway Cay. Grace loves the fact that her Disney trips give her time to spend with her family, enjoy incredible food, and try new experiences.