Without a doubt, the GF was worth it for us! Some of the happiest moments of our entire lives were spent in the concierge lounge there (we paid for a lagoon view room and were upgraded to a concierge honeymoon turret room, since we were getting married at WDW). We were sitting in the lounge, at a table for 2 with a view of the tip of the Castle, sipping wine and nibbling sushi, and my new huband! turned to me and said that if he could make this moment last forever, life would be perfect
That was the greatest thing, knowing how happy he was, and how happy I was. It was so relaxing and luxurious, to be sipping wine, with the most perfect view on earth, listening to the orchestra play. Ahhhh.... It really is unlike anything else on earth.
To me, the Swan is a pretty nice hotel, but it's still more like a "regular" hotel, than a magical, enchanted, luxurious palace like the GF The Swan smelled like smoke when we entered the lobby, just one of those small touches that you don't realize when you're in a Disney hotel that's smoke-free. And the deluxe hotels have those lovely private balconies that we really missed when we stayed at a moderate hotel.
We moved from the GF to the WL honeymoon room, and while the WL's completely private balconies were nice (for the honeymoon rooms anyway, don't know about the regular rooms), they just didn't live up to the absolute perfection of the GF But it's all about what you like. I thought the WL was totally "rootin', tootin' cowboy" compared to the splendor of the GF, but some people are uncomfortable at the GF. Go with what you think will be most magical for you - you'll remember it always!
Cheers!
Heather W