Another "which hotel" question -- HoJo, Fairfield Inn, Tropicana

[mel2014]

Traveling for Valentine's (11th-14th) weekend, two families of 4, kids are 7, 11, 13, 13, staying in two rooms. Currently have reservations at all three and having trouble deciding which to keep. My family of 4 has no problem with walking (we stayed at King's Inn and Home2 Suites for our last two trips) but our travelling companions are more sedentary. Taking cabs too and from the airport, so parking isn't a factor. Arriving at night on Friday and leaving at night on Monday, no park time Friday night but would be there in time to see the fireworks. I'm planning midday breaks on Saturday and Sunday and we will need to go back to the hotel the last day to catch a ride to the airport. Since none of them include breakfast, I anticipate bringing/buying some breakfast food and we may also eat dinner at the hotel at the end of our break Saturday or Sunday rather in the parks.

Tropicana ($580/room for 3 nights):
Pros: Location, location, location
In-room microwaves
Sink located away from toilet/shower so multiple people can use at once
Easy access to Cove store
Large hot tub
Possible firework view

Cons: More "motel", exterior corridor, possibly louder
No eating space in the room (no table or desk and chairs)
Most expensive
Have to walk north or south to off-site restaurants, which undercuts some of the convenience of proximity

Fairfield Inn (2 Queens, $550/room for 3 nights)
Pros: Can put a kid on the sleeper chair for 3 sleeping surfaces
Three close restaurants
Sink is separate from toilet/shower

Cons: Since we booked 3rd party at a low rate, will likely get a lower floor room, could get a room at the back overlooking Home2suites/service entrance
No in-room microwave, have to use common area one on the 3rd floor
Small rooms -- reported as 228 square feet vs. 356 for Hojo
Exterior corridor
Only one desk chair for eating

Hojo (Deluxe 2 Queen in Building 2, $550/room for 3 nights):
Pros: Newly renovated, nicest of the three (I've previously stayed in Building 1 post-renovation and was very impressed)
Larger rooms
Best pool (kids may want to swim even if it's cold, obviously a little old for the water park; con is that the hot tub is away from the garden pool)
Balcony, can maybe look out at the pool and kids playing from the room.
More eating space in room
Interior corridor, Building 2 is at the back so likely less noisy.

Cons:
Farthest walk
Sink is in with toilet and shower but does have two sinks
Assume it is hard to view fireworks from this part of the property since it's a low-rise building
Pool reservations required, which limits flexibility to decide when to take a break.

 

[sweethannah]

I love the Hojo and would not hesitate to stay again. Customer service is excellent. As far as the longest walk, it's a 7 minute walk to the esplanade. Google maps shows 11, but we timed it. Maybe we walk fast lol. I got an email from Hojo recently offering a family discount, not sure if it will help or work with your dates but here:

Dates Currently Open: 2022: January 17 - 31 February 1 - 6 10 - 17 21 - 28 March 1 - 5 How To Book: Use this link which will automatically apply your discount: BOOK HERE OR Call 1-800-422-4228 and mention corporate code: 1000038114 Anaheim In-House Reservations Hours (PST): Monday - Friday: 9AM - 2PM Saturday and Sunday: Closed Rules and Restrictions: Dates posted on 3rd party sites are not valid and will not be honored. Parking is $20 + 17% tax per night for one car per room valid until 12:00pm on the day of check out Pool reservations are required, please see below for details. Check out time is: 11:00am Check in time is: 4:00pm

 

[DharmaLou]

HoJo has a promo for 20% off the 2 double bed rooms thru March 5th with code 1000038114
If you're a MK you can get 20% off any time with code 1000025935
Otherwise here's a code for 15% off any time 1000022077

It's my favorite of all 3 of those hotels.

https://bit.ly/3qJKHza (bit.ly/3qJKHza if that doesn't open)

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

Hojo is absolutely my choice. We have stayed there dozens of times. They have excellent customer service. Interior corridors are also a big plus to me. Building 2 is the most recently renovated. It was undergoing renovations during the pandemic closure. We stayed in a building 2 room back in June and found it pleasantly updated similar in style to what they did with Building 1.

 

[mel2014]

I love the Hojo and would not hesitate to stay again. Customer service is excellent. As far as the longest walk, it's a 7 minute walk to the esplanade. Google maps shows 11, but we timed it. Maybe we walk fast lol. I got an email from Hojo recently offering a family discount, not sure if it will help or work with your dates but here:

Dates Currently Open: 2022: January 17 - 31 February 1 - 6 10 - 17 21 - 28 March 1 - 5 How To Book: Use this link which will automatically apply your discount: BOOK HERE OR Call 1-800-422-4228 and mention corporate code: 1000038114 Anaheim In-House Reservations Hours (PST): Monday - Friday: 9AM - 2PM Saturday and Sunday: Closed Rules and Restrictions: Dates posted on 3rd party sites are not valid and will not be honored. Parking is $20 + 17% tax per night for one car per room valid until 12:00pm on the day of check out Pool reservations are required, please see below for details. Check out time is: 11:00am Check in time is: 4:00pm

Thanks, that's actually how I got such a good rate and added them to the list for consideration. Normally I exclude them from consideration due to cost (our last stay there we got a screaming good rate of $99/night for January dates and ended up with a theme park review). I'm just a little worried about the distance for our travelling friends.

 

[DisneylandFan22]

Of those 3 I would probably pick the HOJO. But with that many people and the desire to use the pool, I would probably pick the Courtyard by Marriott Theme Park Entrance. Slightly closer than HOJO with water park, 2 showers in each room, and bunk beds. I didn't look at pricing for those dates though.

 

[mel2014]

Of those 3 I would probably pick the HOJO. But with that many people and the desire to use the pool, I would probably pick the Courtyard by Marriott Theme Park Entrance. Slightly closer than HOJO with water park, 2 showers in each room, and bunk beds. I didn't look at pricing for those dates though.

I'm a total cheapskate, so while the water park there looks nice and the proximity is great, every time I look at their rates I choke at how expensive it is. We would still need two rooms there and the price per room is twice as much as the other 3 options. For a party of six, it would probably be a great option for the multiple beds and double shower, but since we're a party of 8, it's not really workable.

 

[gelatoni fan]

You also don't have to eat dinner/breakfast at the hotel. There's Panera, McDonalds, IHOP, Denny's and Mimi's Cafe all right there across the street from Disneyland.

 

[vratiana]

We stayed at Hojo and Fairfield back-to-back last trip. Fairfield was fine, but we just really love Hojo. It has the magic for me.

 

[mel2014]

You also don't have to eat dinner/breakfast at the hotel. There's Panera, McDonalds, IHOP, Denny's and Mimi's Cafe all right there across the street from Disneyland.

We don't do indoor dining at this time, so we would be getting take out and either eating in the room or possibly the pool deck, unless we want to eat on the run while waiting for rope drop.

 

[mel2014]

We stayed at Hojo and Fairfield back-to-back last trip. Fairfield was fine, but we just really love Hojo. It has the magic for me.

Thanks, I think we've dropped the Fairfield out of consideration after reviewing the options again with my family -- my kids were unimpressed by the decor and didn't really have an interest in the sleeper chair, which I viewed as the main upside since they don't like to sleep together.

 

[StarSeven7]

Can I jump in on this and ask if people prefer building 1 or building 2 at the HoJo? It looks like building 1 is more expensive but it has a a theme park view. I'm not sure what we could see of the theme park?

 

[mel2014]

Can I jump in on this and ask if people prefer building 1 or building 2 at the HoJo? It looks like building 1 is more expensive but it has a a theme park view. I'm not sure what we could see of the theme park?

We've stayed at Hojo twice before, both times in Building 1.

I forget what floor we were on, but last time we stayed we were in a theme park view in Building 1 and had a great view of Space Mountain. Building 1 is also closer to the parks. I wouldn't stay in a City view room in Building 1 again though, as we could hear freeway noise and the view was of I-5. That was in 2011 in a king/bunk suite. Not sure if they upgraded the windows/sliding door as part of the refurb to minimize noise.

 

[StarSeven7]

We've stayed at Hojo twice before, both times in Building 1.

I forget what floor we were on, but last time we stayed we were in a theme park view in Building 1 and had a great view of Space Mountain. Building 1 is also closer to the parks. I wouldn't stay in a City view room in Building 1 again though, as we could hear freeway noise and the view was of I-5. That was in 2011 in a king/bunk suite. Not sure if they upgraded the windows/sliding door as part of the refurb to minimize noise.

Thanks for the feedback. That’s a great view!!

 

[ishbit92]

I'm going to agree with everyone else. For your family, it sounds like HOJO is the best option! Biggest rooms and an awesome pool can't be beat.

 

[DharmaLou]

Just circled back with HoJo - these are the current discounts with corporate code 1000038114:

20% off 2 double bed rooms
30% off renovated 2 queen beds
15% off all others

Dates:
January 21-31
February 1-6, 10-17, 21-28
March 1-5

https://bit.ly/3qJKHza

 

[beachdreamr1229]

I will always pick Hojo. It's like home to me. The people who work there are super friendly, the rooms are decently sized, and it's relatively quiet. Yes, it's a further walk, but only by like, a minute.

I have stayed at Fairfield. It's okay, but not my favorite. Exterior corridors so many flights up was just kind of sketchy (I'm afraid of heights) and it was much noisier.

I haven't stayed at Tropicana so I can's speak on that one. I've considered it, but always end up back at Hojo.

 

[Chickinvic]

That seems like an okay price for Hojo. Whenever I was looking into Hojo in recent years it had skyrocketed in price.

 

[mel2014]

That seems like an okay price for Hojo. Whenever I was looking into Hojo in recent years it had skyrocketed in price.

That's been our experience too, with the exception of these dead-of-winter periodic sales.

The prices I listed for each are with all the taxes, so the room price itself is only $150/night. For comparison, the other close motels/hotels that still have availability are significantly more: Park Vue $745, BWPPI $807. We've done DI&S and Del Sol several times but they just don't cut it for me anymore. We had originally booked Candy Cane Inn for this trip, but they cancelled when they got behind on the renovations.

 

[smeg3030]

I like the Hojo. It really isn't too far of a walk.