Been to Anaheim HoJo's?

[Lynn-Marie]

Our family is used to staying at the Paradise Pier Hotel whenever we go to DLR. This time, however, we are thinking about saving some significant money and staying at HoJo's (across the street.) Paradise Pier has started to raise their prices pretty significantly and that's what is pushing us to change. (Yoikes!)

We are interested in hearing ANY feedback about this HoJo's. We're particularly interested in hearing about things like the level of noise there, cleanliness, definite do's/don'ts when making reservations, your best/worst moments there as a guest.

Thanks for all input!

--LM

 

[daannzzz]

I love staying at the Disney Hotels but can not afford it every time. My favorite "other" properties are the Candy Cane Inn and HoJo'
Howard Johnson's is a series of buildings so you have to walk outside on the walkways until you get to your building and then they are interior corridors. Most rooms have balconies. The rooms are a nice size and there is a fridge and coffee maker in each room. The rooms were remodeled a couple years ago and while clean cofortable and new, are a bit bland. The hotel backs up against Freeway 5 and there are four two story buildings. One four story building anf a seven story tower. half the tower rooms face the freeway. The one I had was still fairly quiet. Some of the rooms in the four story building are very close to the freeway and though there is a hallway to help cusion the noise you could still hear it somewhat and definately feel it come through the floor when the big trucks hit the seems of the road.
The top floors of all the buildings, except the four story tower, have barrel vaulted ceilings with skylights in either end. I loved my room there.
There is a store, an arcade, two pools ( one under consturction untill June) and the employees have all been pretty nice.
The walk to the parks is 7 - 10 minutes.

 

[ADisneyPrincess]

I stayed at HoJo last month and had no complaints. We were in building 2 overlooking the 2nd pool. We had a home office suite room which was very spacious and had a refrigerator and microwave. It was clean and quiet. We didn't hear any freeway noise (had requested a room away from the freeway) and found it quiet at night as well. The pool was pretty empty most of the time we were there, two or three people at most. The night we went swimming we were the only ones in the pool. The water was very warm, like bath water. One night there was a youth group of some kind in the pool and it was pretty noisy, but they were out by 10pm (pool closes at 10pm). We walked to the park each day, it was about a 10 minute walk. I really liked that we were so close to Mimi's Restaurant. I loved this place! We ate there three times and if it had been up to me alone I'd have eaten all my meals there. They have great muffins and we would buy them the night before and then eat them for breakfast in the room. I would definately stay here again.

 

[Lynn-Marie]

Originally posted by daannzzz
I love staying at the Disney Hotels but can not afford it every time. My favorite "other" properties are the Candy Cane Inn and HoJo'

Daannzzz,

Which hotel do you prefer? Any tips on how to get the best price at either? I looked at the Candy Cane Inn and was very interested - but I think it's a bit more expensive.

Thanks for the info!

--LM

 

[Lynn-Marie]

Originally posted by ADisneyPrincess
We had a home office suite room...

ADisneyPrincess,

Do you recall if you had to request that kind of room? Just curious. Also, do you recall if they have a continental breakfast or anything like that?

Thanks for the info!

--LM

 

[daannzzz]

Which hotel do you prefer? Any tips on how to get the best price at either? I looked at the Candy Cane Inn and was very interested - but I think it's a bit more expensive.

Thanks for the info!

--LM [/B]

I like both of them alot but it is hard to compare. The Candy Cane has more atmosphere and a tiny bit of a theme and feels like one of the MNoderate resorts at WDW. It is prettier than the HoJo and has a great free breakfast. It usually is more expensive but sometimes you can find a deal on their own site. It has exterior corridors.www.candycaneinn.net.
HoJo has bigger rooms and balconies which I like and lkoads of pine trees on the property which makes it feel like it isn't in the city.
Both are convenient and good and I go back and forth between them.

 

[ADisneyPrincess]

Originally posted by Lynn-Marie
ADisneyPrincess,

Do you recall if you had to request that kind of room? Just curious. Also, do you recall if they have a continental breakfast or anything like that?
--LM

We emailed a request for a room away from the freeway, they responded back that they were giving us the home office suite.

There was not a continental breakfast included. We did Mimi's for breakfast one day (huge portions) and picked up muffins from there the night before a couple of other days. There's a little store on site that sells juice, milk, etc.

 

[paulmc80]

I'm not sure if this was mentioned already, but figured I'd just mention it anyway.

If you're looking at the HOJO Anaheim check out the reviews and information at www.mouseinfo.com discussion board. It appears that the marketing manager for HOJO provides special rates and/or upgrades through that site. There are also some very nice photos in the reivew there.

I'm looking at staying from 5/25 - 5/31 and am not decided where to stay at yet. Del Sol has been (formerly Best Inn) has been refurbished and received some good reviews. HOHO has had some very good reviews. They approximately the same location.

I jsut can't decide! lol

 

[Lynn-Marie]

Thanks for the great feedback! I will definitely check out all of the links you all recommended. It's hard to decide when all you've done is DLR hotels. (Yuppy problems!)

We're pretty spoiled - but we really like the idea of saving money. Thanks for helping us do that!

--LM

 

[momoftwins]

I am completely at a loss as to what to do. This is our first visit to Anaheim and I had always wanted to stay at the CandyCane. We will be there 4/24 - 4/28. We (myself, DH and 6 yr old twins) got a rate of $119 per night, which I know is a great rate for their deluxe room.

But now, I've read some good reviews on the HoJo Anaheim (I also read the threads over at Mouseinfo and it looks like you can also get a discount). When I check out the rates, I see $79.00 night for this time frame, and if I emailed Willie at the HoJo he may be able to do better.

My husband would be thrilled to death to save more money. However, I want to make sure that we get a nice room.

Oh woe is me. What would you do???

 

[Snobrdgrl321]

Hi Lynn-Marie

I am interested in your thoughts about the Paradise Pier.
This will be our first DL vacation and we are staying at the PPH.
Can you tell me about it?

Thanks,
Snobrdgrl321

 

[Lynn-Marie]

Hi Snobrdgrl321!

What would you like to know, specifically, about Paradise Pier? I can tell you that we've only stayed in the park view rooms. We've been in standard rooms and once in a one BR concierge. I would give PP a high rating for cleanliness and fun - especially around the holidays. In fact, I probably wouldn't stay anywhere else BUT on property during the holidays. Concierge was very nice - but not necessary since Disney treats all guests like gold.

In our opinion, the lower level park view is just fine. We prefer the rooms directly over the California Adventure (there are two sections to PP - one looks directly at DCA and the other looks to the left of it as you look out the window.) It's a blast to come back to your room after closing and watch the lights twinkle on the rides (even though the park is closed they keep the lights on for another few hours.) It's also nice to wake up in the morning, throw open the curtains and look out right onto the park. It's neat to see them testing out the rides, too. Another benefit: if you travel with elderly people who might not be able to endure a full day in the park, a room with a park view is a great way to ensure they still enjoy the feeling of being at DLR. It's also great if you have kids who need naps mid-day - so you can look out the window and enjoy the view.

The bellhops are all great, too. If you see Donovan, tell him the Northern California family with the Passat says "hi!"

Are there any specific questions I can answer?

--LM

 

[mimimom]

just a little bit of info about del sol inn. on the www.mouseinfo.com discussion board there is a post from suzieQ who just got stayed there. it is not a very good review, as a matter of fact my son and i leave wednesday for DRL and we were staying there but after reading about it we are now staying at the HoJo. it might be a bit more of a walk but from what i hear it is clean and the staff is very friendly. and being short notice and all i was luckky i found a room at all.
on the plus side for hotels last year we stayed at the best wetern park place inn. it was clean and the staff was fine. it has continetal breakfast at the restaurant next door and is litterally across the street from disneyland. the light is right there to cross and walk onto disney property and affordable(it was all booked for my trip or i would have stayed there). hope this helps. amber (mimimoms daughter)