Anyone recently stay at the Disneyland Hotel?

[BadRomance]

We stayed there a couple weekends ago and had a surprisingly negative experience. We have never had a bad one in all of the countless times staying there- so one out of many isn't too shabby I suppose.

What happened was we checked in early in the am and immediately received the text that our room was ready. The room was not ready. At all. So we called the front desk and told them we'd be at the pool so they could come clean it. After spending all day at the pool, we came back to shower and get ready for the angels game only to find the room hadn't been "turned over" and only the beds had been made up (same sheets as prior guest). This was bad because it made us late to the game because we had to wait for housekeeping to come and at least clean the bathroom so we could shower.

They credited us 100$ for the night, but no monetary amount could have made up for that mess. We were in bad moods the rest of the trip.

With that being said, the hotel didn't seem run down at all, customer service was still top notch and we had a nice room. I don't know if housekeeping has gone downhill or if it was just a one time miscommunication. I guess time will tell. We are still planning on staying there in the future.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

We stayed there a couple weekends ago and had a surprisingly negative experience. We have never had a bad one in all of the countless times staying there- so one out of many isn't too shabby I suppose.

What happened was we checked in early in the am and immediately received the text that our room was ready. The room was not ready. At all. So we called the front desk and told them we'd be at the pool so they could come clean it. After spending all day at the pool, we came back to shower and get ready for the angels game only to find the room hadn't been "turned over" and only the beds had been made up (same sheets as prior guest). This was bad because it made us late to the game because we had to wait for housekeeping to come and at least clean the bathroom so we could shower.

They credited us 100$ for the night, but no monetary amount could have made up for that mess. We were in bad moods the rest of the trip.

With that being said, the hotel didn't seem run down at all, customer service was still top notch and we had a nice room. I don't know if housekeeping has gone downhill or if it was just a one time miscommunication. I guess time will tell. We are still planning on staying there in the future.

Thanks for sharing your experience. Wow, talk about dropping the ball. I kind of don't think $100 is a very good comp that level of mess up. Especially when you're paying upward of $600/night on a room.

 

[BriannaRuth]

Totally agree, that kind of thing is worth a comped night at a minimum. I used to work in the hotel industry.

OP, our most recent stay was August 2016 and we have stayed several other times. There was nothing "run down" looking about the DLH or any of the rooms we've ever stayed in. Do the rooms look like your average $500 a night hotel? No. But they were not run down.

 

[Mysteryincorp]

We stayed a few weeks ago. Room was in perfect condition and really quiet!! We were very happy with our stay. I see you are going in the winter but the pool was amazing and we spent almost two full days there.

 

[wowsmom]

I stayed 1 night in early June (Fantasy tower) - we could see the fireworks from our room. The room was one that could become part of a multi-room suite, so our door was set back from the hall, which made it very peaceful.

I stayed 3 nights at the end of June (Adventure tower - free upgrade from standard view to pool view). This room was right next to the elevator - but we never heard it - and it was super convenient being next to elevators that most guests didn't seem to know about.

Both rooms were clean and looked nice (not worn out).

The people we encountered were all great. The drink service at the pool was a bit slow, but it was pretty busy there - although we had no problems getting loungers.

I loved going back to the room at night and having the headboard lit up.

 

[Malcon10t]

We just came back from a week at the DLH, housekeeping was great. They tucked my granddaughter's monkey in her bed. Always plenty of towels, plenty of shampoos and soaps. No problems checking in, bell hops are fantastic. Did a great job helping separating luggage, plenty of towels at the pool. We had a great time!

We are there usually there once every 6 weeks or so, but heading back down this weekend for Fantasmic!

 

[Geemo]

Thanks for sharing your experience. I'm glad you were able to switch rooms. Smoke? Yuck! Although we are hoping to use the pool, it will be November so it will be a little bit of a crap shoot with the weather, but hopefully they won't be too packed. Last weekend was extremely hot so I'm not surprised the pool was mobbed.

We live in the Pacific Northwest, my grandkids use the pool every time we go. Even when we go in Nov, Dec, Jan or Feb.

They love the pool area of the DLH. Since we generally go in the fall to winter months, the pool area isn't too busy.
The hot tub is so nice for my feet at the end of a day in the parks......

 

[3TinksAndAnEeyore]

I stayed there this past June in the Adventure Tower. The room and the resort were in fantastic shape. I do wish I had paid for a pool view instead of a DTD view. The pools were beautiful and DD11 had tons of fun with the water slides. The service was great from all the CMs with whom we interacted.

We are staying at the DLH again in October and I can't wait!

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

Well you all have made me feel a lot better about our upcoming Disneyland Hotel stay. I guess that teaches me to read Yelp reviews! I'm usually good about taking reviews with a grain of salt.

 

[peachiepie]

I completely agree with ParkHopper1 and others in this thread. I think that some (not all) people go in with completely unrealistic expectations (and maybe even a slightly negative attitude), solely based on what they are paying.

As a follow on from this... I tend to think that the only people who generally bother to write reviews are the people where something negative has happened. The 99% of other guests who had a great stay are less likely to go to the effort of writing an online review.

 

[Erikarate]

We were there last week and LOVED it. I am one of those people that notice EVERYTHING (can't help it, Type A personality, lol), and I found the Hotel to be impeccable. Clean, stylish, luxurious, welcoming....AWESOME! We are DVC but chose to stay at DLH vs the Grand Cal. because we liked the modern style of the DHL. The food at the pool and Tang. Terrace was great - fresh, healthy, delicious (try the lettuce wraps at the pool, and the teriyaki chicken bowl at Tangaroa Terrace). We also ate at Steakhouse 55 and had a fantastic meal (our waiter Oscar was amazing, filet perfect, chocolate cake was divine!) .

 

[NOLA_Tink]

Honestly, many of those reviewers are just writing with buyer's remorse for overspending during their trip.

 

[SteveMP]

Thats funny. We've stayed a few times before the refurb and a couple times after. We all actually liked it better before the refurb. I miss the waterfall area, and the "balconies", my kids miss the old arcade and rental boats and pool/grotto areas. But the new tiki bar is nice. The hotel is definitely not run down or dirty in any way. Its like that with reviews of anything where you wonder if the people are even reviewing the right place.

 

[Sherry E]

As a follow on from this... I tend to think that the only people who generally bother to write reviews are the people where something negative has happened. The 99% of other guests who had a great stay are less likely to go to the effort of writing an online review.

Yes. I completely agree. It's not that those folks who have had good experiences are intentionally keeping quiet or purposely don't want to spread the word of their positive experiences, but... people are busy. They get wrapped up with real life and other things. It happens to all of us. So they don't get around to going to a place such as Yelp to write a favorable review.

However, the negative experiences -- even if some of them might be a tad blown out of proportion or embellished in some the travelers' minds -- are what light the fire under them to write something. They're motivated by frustration. I would bet that a lot of people write their negative reviews in the heat of the moment, when they are at their peak of being upset about the situation and are finding fault with everything that happened on the trip -- but then, six months later, when they look back on the experience it might not seem quite as terrible to them anymore, or perhaps Disney compensated them in some way to take the edge off a bit. Unfortunately, most people who are no longer angry about their trips will also probably not come back to Yelp or wherever to revise their review and update it to reflect a not-so-negative experience.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

Yes. I completely agree. It's not that those folks who have had good experiences are intentionally keeping quiet or purposely don't want to spread the word of their positive experiences, but... people are busy. They get wrapped up with real life and other things. It happens to all of us. So they don't get around to going to a place such as Yelp to write a favorable review.

However, the negative experiences -- even if some of them might be a tad blown out of proportion or embellished in some the travelers' minds -- are what light the fire under them to write something. They're motivated by frustration. I would bet that a lot of people write their negative reviews in the heat of the moment, when they are at their peak of being upset about the situation and are finding fault with everything that happened on the trip -- but then, six months later, when they look back on the experience it might not seem quite as terrible to them anymore, or perhaps Disney compensated them in some way to take the edge off a bit. Unfortunately, most people who are no longer angry about their trips will also probably not come back to Yelp or wherever to revise their review and update it to reflect a not-so-negative experience.

Totally agree with you here. To be fair, there are positive reviews too. The first 10-15 reviews are split 50/50 between 4/5 star glowing reviews and 1/2 star negative reviews. You're always going to see a complainer or two but it just seemed like a higher proportion than I was expecting. Of course if like you said lots of very happy people aren't taking the time to review than they could explain the higher percentage of negative reviews.

 

[Sherry E]

Totally agree with you here. To be fair, there are positive reviews too. The first 10-15 reviews are split 50/50 between 4/5 star glowing reviews and 1/2 star negative reviews. You're always going to see a complainer or two but it just seemed like a higher proportion than I was expecting. Of course if like you said lots of very happy people aren't taking the time to review than they could explain the higher percentage of negative reviews.

I always think it's amazing when I go to Yelp and read mostly favorable reviews about any business/service! I think I kind of expect most people to be criticizing and only pointing out the things they were unhappy with, so when I see mostly good reviews for anything it is surprising.

What's funny -- especially on Yelp -- is when you get to a page with almost all negative reviews... but then there is that one lone review that is detailed, and exceedingly, unrealistically, positive! It's so obvious when some extra-glowing reviews are placed on various pages just to kind of offset all of the bad reviews. They're usually SO favorable that they are not even believable. I remember reading the reviews of a property management company on Yelp, and they were 98% negative. In the sea of negative comments (and I agreed with most of them, as my experience with this PM company had been bad as well), there was one review that made it sound as though this company walked on water. I think the reviewer even said something along the lines of (and I am paraphrasing), "Never mind the fact that they turned down my application at this building and wouldn't let me live there... this is a great place to live and I would live in one of their buildings any time!"

 

[KunjaQueen]

We just left a week ago. It was perfectly clean and maintained. In fact it was even quieter than we expected.

 

[Nonsuch]

Kids will be 4 and almost 3. Three of the adults are Disney crazy (the women folk) and the men are indulging us.
When does Christmas usually start? We will be there November 5-7 and Christmas wasn't even on my radar actually!

Perfect timing for the Fall Dapper Day, and great onsite rates:

 

[farmfresh]

We've stayed at DLH many times and will be back in early December. As the OPs have noted, it's a very comfortable hotel, (the beds are great!) but you are paying a premium for location. So whilst there is no flying carpet or Mickey jig, there are touches which will make it special for you, like the light up headboard. I haven't stayed at the refurbed GCH yet, so not sure whether the pool there has changed, but should the weather be ok, the DLH pool will suit the ages of your kids well. It can be busy, but that's really a summer problem.
As far as cleanliness etc, we haven't struck any issues. The rooms have been in a good state, and since the refurb, well maintained. Service has always been excellent, in particular their room service. We often order an early inroom breakfast before hitting the parks. Room service can be a trial at some hotels, but at DLH it's always on time and good quality.
So well run, clean and comfortable, with good customer service. Ive no doubt that every once in while something doesn't go right...but I'm sure you will have a great time.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

We just left a week ago. It was perfectly clean and maintained. In fact it was even quieter than we expected.

Thank you for the report! Makes my heart happy!