bamagirl@hrt
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 2, 2004
We just returned from our first trip to Southern California, which included a stay at the DLH June 22-26. I've always wanted to stay concierge level at a Disney hotel, but our much longer trips to WDW have always made it cost prohibitive. This four night trip was the perfect opportunity to try it. At booking, my husband was skeptical and didn't understand the big deal. His mind was changed...
First of all - the room was PERFECT! We were on the 10th floor, room 2845, with a view of DTD and the parks. The first night we watched the fireworks from our room. We could also see the parts of WOC, but didn't have the music in the room for that. Still, a beautiful view. And the moon was full while we were there, making the night sky even prettier!
The room itself was much larger than I was expecting. We had 2 queen beds and the sofa daybed. That was great, because even though there were only 4 of us, the kids didn't have to share a bed. We had double sinks in the bathroom. It was also nice that the toilet closed off from the rest of the bath.
I'd read from others that the lounge offerings aren't great at DLH. However, we found them to be adequate. I knew upon booking that we would use the lounge for breakfast. We made a point to be there when the lounge opened at 6:30 for a quick breakfast before heading out to the park for early entry. There was always fruit, cheese, deli meats, boiled eggs, pastries, oatmeal, bagels, and cereals for breakfast. I quickly fell in love with the expresso machine!
We also found that, unlike WDW where our main meal is usually dinner, we prefer our main meal to be lunch at DLR. We hit the park at 7am and played hard until early to mid afternoon, having lunch at the park. Then we would come back to the hotel to rest by the pool. We would clean up, grab "dinner" in the lounge, and head back to the parks around 6:30 when the temps started cooling off again. The lounge had veggie sticks and dip, fruit, cheese & crackers, and 3 hot appetizers each evening. PB&J uncrustables were always available too. One of our four nights, we were there for dessert.
We found ourselves very spoiled by how easy it was to run up one floor to the lounge to grab some bottled water, fruit, soda, etc... When we continued on to San Diego after DLR, the first thing we all said was that we missed concierge!
The desk staff in the lounge was also helpful in rearranging some of our dining reservations after we found that our preferred dining time was different here than at WDW. And the wait staff there was always friendly and eager to get whatever we requested, such as water bottles or milk cartons that were not in the fridge.
Oh, and my son told me to be sure not to forget the turndown service with chocolates on our pillows at night.
And for any WDW vets who are hesitant to stay here because of it being the farthest hotel from the parks - don't hesitate! I timed it the first morning. We walk at a moderate pace, and it took us 7 minutes from when we left the hotel to be in line at DCA! That is NOTHING in WDW terms! It can take that long to walk to the bus stop, not counting the time waiting for a bus, the time on the bus, and the time walking to the park entrance from the bus. We also took the monorail to/from DL to DTD a few times, which saved a few steps.
I'm happy to answer any questions, if I can. We had a fabulous visit!
First of all - the room was PERFECT! We were on the 10th floor, room 2845, with a view of DTD and the parks. The first night we watched the fireworks from our room. We could also see the parts of WOC, but didn't have the music in the room for that. Still, a beautiful view. And the moon was full while we were there, making the night sky even prettier!
The room itself was much larger than I was expecting. We had 2 queen beds and the sofa daybed. That was great, because even though there were only 4 of us, the kids didn't have to share a bed. We had double sinks in the bathroom. It was also nice that the toilet closed off from the rest of the bath.
I'd read from others that the lounge offerings aren't great at DLH. However, we found them to be adequate. I knew upon booking that we would use the lounge for breakfast. We made a point to be there when the lounge opened at 6:30 for a quick breakfast before heading out to the park for early entry. There was always fruit, cheese, deli meats, boiled eggs, pastries, oatmeal, bagels, and cereals for breakfast. I quickly fell in love with the expresso machine!
We also found that, unlike WDW where our main meal is usually dinner, we prefer our main meal to be lunch at DLR. We hit the park at 7am and played hard until early to mid afternoon, having lunch at the park. Then we would come back to the hotel to rest by the pool. We would clean up, grab "dinner" in the lounge, and head back to the parks around 6:30 when the temps started cooling off again. The lounge had veggie sticks and dip, fruit, cheese & crackers, and 3 hot appetizers each evening. PB&J uncrustables were always available too. One of our four nights, we were there for dessert.
We found ourselves very spoiled by how easy it was to run up one floor to the lounge to grab some bottled water, fruit, soda, etc... When we continued on to San Diego after DLR, the first thing we all said was that we missed concierge!
The desk staff in the lounge was also helpful in rearranging some of our dining reservations after we found that our preferred dining time was different here than at WDW. And the wait staff there was always friendly and eager to get whatever we requested, such as water bottles or milk cartons that were not in the fridge.
Oh, and my son told me to be sure not to forget the turndown service with chocolates on our pillows at night.
And for any WDW vets who are hesitant to stay here because of it being the farthest hotel from the parks - don't hesitate! I timed it the first morning. We walk at a moderate pace, and it took us 7 minutes from when we left the hotel to be in line at DCA! That is NOTHING in WDW terms! It can take that long to walk to the bus stop, not counting the time waiting for a bus, the time on the bus, and the time walking to the park entrance from the bus. We also took the monorail to/from DL to DTD a few times, which saved a few steps.
I'm happy to answer any questions, if I can. We had a fabulous visit!
