best hotels across the street from DLR for family of 5 - and how best to book?

[ewasilau]

Hi all -

Thanks for the help in determining whether to visit DL during our spring break visit to California/San Diego. We are now 90% sure we will visit DL and DCA for 2 days with park hoppers, the Mon and Tues after Easter (hopefully we are not crazy - we will get there early!).

We are a family of 5 (kids will be 12, 9 and 8 at time of trip) and really want to stay in walking distance. Disney hotels are too $$$ though. What are the favorites among the "across the street" hotels? Is there much of a difference between them?

When booking, is it better to do a package through Disney? Or book the hotel independently through travelocity or similar? With Disney, I can get a room at the Fairfield for about $219/night as part of a package with 2-day park hoppers, and the room would have 2 queens and a pull out twin. On travelocity, I can get Tropicana or HoJo or a couple others for less than $200, but even when I put all 5 of us in the system, I'm getting rooms with only 2 doubles or queens and it says only a crib could be added. We are not above putting one kid on the floor, but we don't want to run into problems later when we check in. Also to consider - just in case we change our minds about DL or the trip in general, booking through travelocity gives us lots of time to cancel with no fees. Cancelling through Disney seems to be a hassle and carry fees.

Any advice? Our budget is under $250 for hotel, under $200 even better. We don't anticipate spending a lot of time in it. (But what would weather be like in March? Warm enough to swim outside?)

Thanks for any thoughts!!

 

[Girimama33]

Book on your own. I never have paid more than $180 for the Fairfield. Check out Trivago, Travelocity and Last Minute Travel.com for hotel rates. I also like Park Vue Inn, but you would need to book directly through them. You can call for better rates, and they have rooms with bunk beds.

 

[kirstie101]

I also recommend booking on your own. If you're interested in Hojo, call them directly and ask about the disboards discount rate. I think its 10%off. Also we've stayed in their rooms with 2 double beds and theres a rollaway in the closet that you can use (for a fee) so rollaway works there. Another one is Desert Inn and Suites. Its right across the street, rates are usually reasonable and they have quite a few different room and suite options that should work for you.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

Book directly. You will likely get a better rate. Of the across-the-street locations, we have tried Tropicana, Fairfield, and HOJO. HOJO, although the furthest of the three, is our favorite. The Fairfield is a favorite of my mother-in-law. Both locations are clean and within walking distance of the park.

The rooms at HOJO are good-sized which I think is probably important for a family of 5, and I know that rollaway beds are offered for an additional fee.

 

[ADLFAN]

Just an FYI, but we had to cancel through Disney once. A very sad day, but they made it very easy. My deposit was refunded really quickly and they were great to deal with.

Of course, it's easier to cancel with a hotel that never charged a deposit!

Have fun planning!

 

[Sagginit]

I stayed at the Camelot Inn and it was the biggest room we had in a 11 day roadtrip. We had a king and the couch I think was a pull out. If you can get a room there that will sleep 4, you would have enough room for an air mattress. We also had a mini-fridge, microwave, and parking for our rental car so we were quite happy. We booked one set of reservations with AAA and one set directly. Oddly enough because they block off rooms for different rates/sites, we couldn't get all four days on one site but we were able to stay in the same room with no problems.

 

[sherilaine]

The kids suites at the HOJO are perfect for a family of 5. But I honestly think they'd likely all be booked up at this late a date. You could always call the hotel directly as they do of course get cancellations. I'd also call any of the hotels you are considering if you feel the room you are being directed to by their reservation system does not fully accommodate 5 guests, as you said, you don't want to get there and find out they thought your 8 year old needed a crib. I would not book through Disney, as once you start with a package, as you said, cancellations can become tricky and I think there are better deals to be had when you book things separately anyway.

 

[DahliaRW]

The Desert Inn and Suites is nothing special, but it's clean and comfortable and usually very reasonable. You can get a "suite" there that is basically 2 hotel rooms, which is really nice when you have 5 (two bathrooms and 4 queen beds). They have a free continental breakfast, which is not much (pastries, hard boiled eggs), but it gets you through walking to DL, getting through the gates, and riding a couple of rides before you need a snack.

IME, booking separately is always cheaper. Most hotels you can cancel for free 24-48 hours in advance. Buy your tickets closer to when you're going, and you don't have to worry about having to cancel if plans change.

 

[az4boys]

If your plan is to be in the parks open to close and you'll only be there two days, I would stay as close as possible. Just start at the crosswalk on Harbor and find the cheapest one with enough beds. You'll find love/hate reviews about all of them. I've researched most of the motels along Harbor, and Desert Inn and Suites seems to have the most space for the cheapest price. We have stayed there twice. I think the beds are hard but the location and price were great. I've heard great things about Best Western Park Place Inn and it is even closer. I think they have a suite option with beds for 5. If you plan to hang out at the hotel then I'm not sure which one would be better. I think they are all basic motels. HOJO might be a little nicer. And a side note: if you are used to sleeping in a king size bed, a double might seem really small for two people. If you are used to a queen it might not seem so bad. Look on the hotel website first and if it shows no availability then try calling. Have fun!

 

[JeriLee]

We always stay at the Tropicana and have often brought a blow up mattress when there were 5 of us. If you are only going to be there a few days you will be spending most of that time in the parks – only in the hotel for sleeping and showering. More space is always nice! But, if you want to save some $$, this will work just fine.

 

[Butterfly123]

There are 5 of us, and we like to stay right across the street the the Best Western Park Place Inn & Mini Suites. Their mini suites are 2 queens and a pull out sofa bed. The room is bigger than a two queen room, but smaller than a regular suite, as it is all in one big room. We like it for its proximity, and the fact that it's just the right size for us...and cheaper than a regular suite. Last summer with AAA discount it was $161, plus $10 parking.

 

[NiceOneSimba]

Another vote for the Desert Inn and Suites. It's absolutely nothing fancy, but the C2 suite (I think that's the one) is amazing. Four queens and a sleeper sofa and TWO BATHROOMS!!! And the price is definitely right if you book in advance. Their free breakfast is pretty terrible, but there's a fridge and microwave in the room. I didn't find the beds hard at all.

The BWPPI has free breakfast, too. It's pretty much as close as you can get to the crosswalk. I've stayed at the Tropicana, and thought the standard rooms were on the small size. I think they'd be too small for 5--but maybe we just got a smallish room.

 

[Indiana Scott]

We've stayed at just about all of the hotels across the street but have settled on either Best Western Park Place Inn or the Park View Inn over the last few years. They are the closest to Disney, are clean and modern and have great free breakfasts - which saves a ton in that area.

 

[Kiwigirls]

Another vote for BWPPI it has 2 Queens and pull out sofa bed that should work well for a family of 5. Reasonable amount of room, free breakfast & right at the crosswalk so really close. We were happy with it.

 

[lalasmama]

We love Park Vue (www.parkvueinn.com I think is the website). We do the 3-queen suite. It has 2 queens in one room, and a pull-out queen sofa in the other area, along with a kitchenette. Bad part is that there is only 1 bathroom in these suites. Call for their best prices; I don't think their website even lists the suite any more. They also have a bunk bed suite. You literally cannot get any closer to the pedestrian entrance. The crosswalk at the pedestrian entrance is in front of Park Vue. We usually pay $179-200/night for the 3-queen suite. I'm not sure what the normal cost is; we have a military discount and a return-guest discount.

 

[OregonMomToWDW]

I am another vote for Park Vue Inn. We have done the 2 queen and bunkbeds room. The breakfast is ok. It is not listed as a Good Neighbor hotel. We stayed somewhere else last trip and we wished we had been able to stay at Park Vue. There is a deposit of first night stay. However, they will refund if you cancel before 48 hours of your arrival date.

 

[gottalovepluto]

The only one I have experience with is Castle Inn & Suites. Our family of 5 stayed in a family suite there with a AAA discount for 1 night, I don't remember how much but it was less than $250 with tax. It had a king bed in one room with the bathroom and the other room had 2 queen beds and a sink (but had to enter the king room for the bathroom). It's more motel than hotel, but we liked the space. We didn't walk to the parks so I don't know exactly how long that walk is but we saw people doing it. I think it's a couple street lights away from the gates. Good luck! (And I get the best rates with hotels booking directly often with a AAA discount or on Orbitz with a promotion code.)

 

[gottalovepluto]

Oh- I missed the part about it being a 2 day trip (I'm still drinking my morning coffee lol) Here's another vote for whatever hotel is closest to the gate! With only 2 days you will want to spend as much time in the parks as possible, not being worn out from hiking to/from your hotel.

 

[goofy4tink]

The Desert Inn and Suites is nothing special, but it's clean and comfortable and usually very reasonable. You can get a "suite" there that is basically 2 hotel rooms, which is really nice when you have 5 (two bathrooms and 4 queen beds). They have a free continental breakfast, which is not much (pastries, hard boiled eggs), but it gets you through walking to DL, getting through the gates, and riding a couple of rides before you need a snack.

IME, booking separately is always cheaper. Most hotels you can cancel for free 24-48 hours in advance. Buy your tickets closer to when you're going, and you don't have to worry about having to cancel if plans change.

Nice to hear I've made a decent choice. Sh and I are taking my dd, 22, and her boyfriend to DL for four nights in May.....college graduation trip for her! So we have a suite booked...,2 rooms that each have 2 queen beds and a bathroom!! The two bathrooms is a huge plus!!
Is there anything special to be aware of with this hotel? The location looks good, we won't have a car and will take a shuttle from lax.

 

[Iceman93]

What are the room rates at the Paradise Pier for your nights?