Faithfully stay at Red Lion if not staying onsite, but thinking about HoJo due to proximity...

[LizzyS]

So I just priced a stay at the end of February 2016 for both Red Lion, where we usually stay when we go to DLR, and the HoJo, which is much closer to the gates. The price difference seems to be nearly negligible for the standard sort of room, so I'm sort of torn.

We really like the Red Lion and don't mind walking those couple of long blocks, but if we wanted to rest or whatnot in the middle of a longer day, it would be so much more convenient.

Is the HoJo parking lot secure? I saw that they have free parking, which Red Lion doesn't, BUT you have to have a ticket to get in and out of Red Lion's lot and I've never seen anyone loitering there when we've been guests.

Is the HoJo clean and fairly quiet?

Any opinions would be appreciated. I'm prone to stick with what I know and already like, but sometimes I need to get out of my comfort zone, I think.

 

[Zbugz]

I have stayed at the HoJo four times. I love their beds and have found the parking to be safe, although not secure in the sense that anyone can walk onto the lot. The rooms are quiet, except certain ones in which you can feel/hear the rumbling of I-5. You should be able to avoid those by making special requests by phone. The staff is wonderful about helping you get the right room.

 

[LizzyS]

Thanks for the info!

Is there plenty of parking at the hotel? We wouldn't be arriving late, but I've heard some of the hotels on Harbor don't have adequate parking at times.

 

[LizzyS]

Hmmm, ya know, I was just looking at the map and the Hojo is a little farther from the Esplanade than I remembered.

 

[Zbugz]

It's a 10 min. walk tops. There are lots of parking spaces. I like that it is near Mimi's Café, which is a favorite.

 

[GenGen22]

I have stayed at both hotels & the hojo IMO is a nicer hotel. The beds are softer, they have a keurig coffee maker & the room to me just looked cleaner/newer. I did not use the pool at Redlion but did use the hot tub at hojo. If you have kids what's nice about hojo is the hot tub is near the kids water play area so, parents can relax in the hot tub while watching their kids play. To me that's a really nice touch. I can't comment on the parking as I didn't have a car on these two trips. I think hojo is closer too. We walked when at hojo. When at Redlion we walked to the toy story parking & rode the shuttle over. The walk was about 10 minutes.

 

[kirstie101]

We've always found the Hojo to be clean and quiet and its where we always stay if not staying onsite. If you're in a room by the pool you might get some pool noise but thats about it. They do have plenty of parking spaces. We've never had trouble finding a spot after moving our car. To park there you have to keep the card they give you on your dash so its not like people use it as a DL parking lot or anything.

 

[GatorChris]

The cheapest level of rooms at HoJo will get you in the Building 1 tower on the freeway side. I've heard it can be noisy. Last time we spent a little more and got park side of the tower and it was really nice. It's a pretty short walk to the parks, plus the water park is great for little ones. Plenty of parking, but it's not secured by a gate or guard all day long. I do remember the beds and pillows being easy to sleep on.

 

[SMD]

I've walked to both HoJo and Toy Story from the esplanade and other than crossing an additional street I don't remember TS seeming that much longer. I also don't remember a parking gate at HoJo for the surface lot, I just had a permit for the window. I didn't stay there, I was there for a meeting. There was underground parking, so that may be secure. You could call the hotel to confirm. It's a pretty big lot, I didn't have an issue finding a spot, and it's not right off the street, so I wasn't worried. If the hotel isn't going to make or break your trip, then why not try HoJo one time to satisfy the curiosity. If I were happy with a hotel and got some favorable amount of loyalty points then I'd probably go back year after year, but otherwise I'd probably try to switch things up if there were aspects of another hotel I thought I'd like more.

 

[LizzyS]

Thanks for the info, everyone!

 

[LizzyS]

I ultimately decided to stay at the Red Lion again after talking to DH about the Hojo due to the pricing not being much different and that fact that we *know* we like the Red Lion. I think we'll actually utilize the TS parking lot to go back to the hotel at the end of the day on this trip, too. I was totally confused as to where the entrance was and was thinking of the cast member parking lot, lol.

 

[2boysmom1998]

We always stay at the Fairfield. It's a shorter walk to the Esplande than the HoJo's, it's right next to McDonald's and it's a little cheaper than the HoJo's.

 

[LizzyS]

We always stay at the Fairfield. It's a shorter walk to the Esplande than the HoJo's, it's right next to McDonald's and it's a little cheaper than the HoJo's.

I've heard lots of good things on this board about that hotel, too.