Paradise Pier Hotel VS. Disneyland Hotel (And Other First-Timer Questions)

[PrincessForLife]

Hi Everyone!

My DH and I are planning our FIRST Disneyland vacation EVER!!! Woohooo!! We are both frequent visitors to WDW as well as DCL but we decided to make the trip over to the west coast to visit the original "Happiest Place on Earth."

We are looking into the hotels and we are a bit stuck on which one we should stay at. We definitely want to stay at a property hotel. I'm not liking what I see with the Grand Californian Hotel but the Paradise Pier Hotel and Disneyland Hotel are the ones we are stuck between. With our budgeted amount, we can afford to stay at Paradise Pier in a park view concierge room OR an upper level resort/pool view (non-concierge) at the Disneyland Hotel. I love to stay concierge and the view at Paradise Pier looks spectacular!! However, I love the elegant and historic theme at the Disneyland Hotel!

We are planning on staying 5 nights and doing everything from 2 days in each park to a night in the Downtown Disney District. Can I get some opinions and insight for a first time Disneyland couple with no kids? Thank you!

 

[stlm]

I really like DLH even without concierge I think is a better property than PP

 

[crystal1313]

My family LOVES the PPH! We've never done concierge, but would love too. The view rooms are incredible!

That being said, I would love to stay at the DLH too!

I think you should ask yourselves how often you would be using the concierge lounge at the PPH. Are you all day park people or do you come back for breaks at the hotel? If you're at the parks all day, I don't see the benefit of concierge. If you like to take breaks, then I think it's totally worth it!

Check out this thread for photos of the concierge lounge:

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2181963&highlight=pph+concierge&page=9

 

[kaoden39]

We have stayed at both PPH and DLH. Our preference is the DLH. It is much more magical to us.

 

[Malcon10t]

Done both, DLH is my preference.

 

[larina]

We've stayed at both and my family prefers PPH by far! The view is incredible and we might the lighter rooms. The DLH is too dark for us.

 

[94bruin]

I've stayed at the PPH concierge/park view room once. I didn't think the concierge was all that spectacular. Don't get me wrong, it was a nice, but nothing really special in my mind. We did like seeing WOC from our room since we have young ones that wouldn't be able to stay up that late.

Our go-to hotel is now the DLH. Even without a view or the concierge, we prefer it over the PPH. It just has the little special touches from the vintage map (which we have a copy of in our home) and vintage photographs to the lighted headboards to the awesome pool.

 

[LilPiratesMommy]

Hi! I'm so excited for you! I've stayed at all 3 a few times each. I would go with DLH. The rooms are newer and nicer than the others. The pools is very nice. We love to have a drink at Traders or an appetizer. What I do like about the Grand is the lobby/fireplace/lounge area but you don't have to be a guest there to enjoy it. We go there and take a break sometimes before heading your room at the dl hotel. Please feel free to ask me any questions we go every month. Not that we stay on site each time.
Have fun! When are you going?

 

[DZLVR]

The GCH is amazing but the price always shuts it down for us. (although we have stayed there twice) We loved the DLH it is a closer walk to the parks then PPH. We are looking at PPH for our next visit as we have never been and the price while still 2x as much as neighboring hotels (ok maybe not the fancy ones) but still hundreads less then the GCH makes it appealing. and I too would like the WOC view for a change from the ground. As for concierge not worth it. I'd look into spending your money on the dessert seating for Fantasmic or dinner seating for WOC.

 

[Kristina4109]

I've stayed at all 3 of the on-site hotels (as well as several off site) and I think the edge goes to DLH on this one.

We just stayed at the PPH in October. We had a good time. We paid for a standard view room but wound up with a FANTASTIC theme park view room. Unfortunately, we visited on one of the strongest Santa Ana wind days of the season. So WOC was not showing. :-( Bummer, because we could have seen it from our room and listened to the soundtrack piped in. This was a one night stay so we didn't have time to check out the pool. We had a late breakfast at PCH Grill which was a wonderful way to break up our day. The Surfside Lounge was fine for a grab and go breakfast on our way to early entry into the park.

In June, we stayed at the DLH. We stayed for 3 days and 2 nights and spent the entire first day at the hotel. The decor is lovely! It's like blowing a kiss to Disneyland on opening day. Photos of Walt are everywhere. So is Mary Blair inspired It's A Small World artwork. There are scale models of the Disney Cruise Line ships scattered throughout the lobby. The wallpaper in the bathrooms of the Fantasy Tower lobby have Fantasyland attractions on them!

Where else can you sit in a tea cup while waiting for the rest of your party to check in to the hotel? As we were sitting in comfy chairs watching Disney cartoons, Goofy sauntered over and sat next to us. There is a huge map of Disneyland with light effects in it on the wall.

We ate lunch at the Tangaroa Terrace and spent the afternoon at the awesome monorail themed pool. We visited the other towers and saw the Jungle Cruise maquettes as well as the model of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Went shopping in the Fantasia shop.

The room was amazing. The light up headboards that play music are so enchanting - we left the headboards lit up all night as a "night light." Once again, we paid for a standard view and got a lovely view (from the Fantasy Tower) into the courtyard of the hotel. We had a great dinner at Goofy's Kitchen. The Coffee House was the perfect place for a grab and go breakfast before early entry into the parks. My daughter picked up the free It's A Small World trivia game and exchanged her answer sheet for a pin.

I've got to side with the DLH on this one. BUT - if budget is a concern and you wind up going with PPH, you will still have a good time - trust me on this.

 

[lucysmom]

If you are trying to stay in the Disney bubble, then choose the DLH. At PPH you cross the city street and walk through the GCH lobby to get to the park gates. That always puts a damper on it for me.

 

[AdamG2]

DLH over PPH for several reasons:
1) Disney theming at DLH gives more Disney "magic", as does the fact that it has a direct connection to DTD.
2) Better pools at DLH
3) Hate the elevators at PPH. They take waaay too long in the AM.

 

[dadofnicholas]

Can't help - we have stayed at PP and will be staying at DLH in a couple of weeks. But wanted to add, based on the dates we selected, the price of DLH was actually cheaper than PP.... albeit a few dollars. Not common but I guess it does happen.

 

[RuthieT]

We stayed at DLH once during the pool remodel but loved the headboards and Goofy's Kitchen! Also have stayed at GC very pretty but not worth the extra$$ to us.. I would enjoy trying PPH and have a view of the World of Color.. Might do that on our next trip for our last few nights.. Is it worth that extra cost for the view room?

 

[Laundress]

The last few years we have stayed DLH but have stayed at PPH a few years ago.
Love DLH for the immersion in Disney fun, close to DTD and the monorail. But this year we will be staying at PPH for the park view. Watching WOC from our room will be worth it all. We also like the concierge for the convenience.
For a first time visit though I would go with DLH. You are going to enjoy how close the parks are to each other too.

 

[Rockiedave]

We have stayed at both hotels and prefer the PP, especially if you go with the park view room. We are going in August and chose the Paradise Pier with concierge. My kids, 11 and 18, love the pool and slide as well. You really can't go wrong with either and you will have a great time no matter what!

 

[Malcon10t]

3) Hate the elevators at PPH. They take waaay too long in the AM.

^5... Try doing them while in an ECV. One morning I was trying to go UP from the ground floor. The elevator would come down, and people would unload, and the doors would close before I could move forward and get in. I was so frustrated after the third lost elevator. Not even talking about the times the elevator arrived on the second floor full and I couldn't get on one EITHER direction.

 

[Whistlebee]

Another vote for DLH! I've stayed at DLH and PP. The theme park view rooms from PP are AMAZING and I'm sure we will stay there again one day BUT the DLH is a beautiful resort hotel that is far more "Disney" and "magical" than PP. There are a ton of amenities and the pool is great. I like PP but you can't beat DLH, especially for a first visit. I loved using the monorail to exit the park. I couldn't believe how fast it was to get back to the hotel that way. Have fun! You will love either hotel that you pick!

 

[PrincessForLife]

Thank you everyone for the feedback!!

It looks like I have a landslide vote for DHL and I think that's the one we are leaning toward. We aren't possibly going until October 2015 (My DH is a pilot and requesting time off is an adventure all in itself!) We love being in the Disney bubble so DHL sounds great! The rooms also took my breath away looking at the pictures!

So, for everyone who has stayed at the DHL, is it worth getting an upper level room or are the standard views just as nice for less $$??

I'm sure I'll have plenty more questions in the future and I'm glad that I have such a great support system on here!

 

[redwing]

Thank you everyone for the feedback!! It looks like I have a landslide vote for DHL and I think that's the one we are leaning toward. We aren't possible going until October 2015 (My DH is a pilot and requesting time off is an adventure all in itself!) We love being in the Disney bubble so DHL sounds great! The rooms also took my breath away looking at the pictures! So, for everyone who has stayed at the DHL, is it worth getting an upper level room or are the standard views just as nice for less $$?? I'm sure I'll have plenty more questions in the future and I'm glad that I have such a great support system on here!

We go to DL only every 2-3 years, so when we do go, we make it an upper level premium room. We have always been in the Adventure Tower facing the pools--which is so pretty, especially at night. AND, we could watch the kids in the pool, if we weren't ready to go down just yet (11 & 12 yr olds). We will be there in July and again, I opted for the pool view, rather than the Downtown Disney view, but I imagine that would be great, too! Now, with all that being said, I have seen pictures of some of the deluxe view rooms and they are quite nice too. Think the only difference is the room's floor level?