Covert me....

[lana772]

As much as I hate "best hotel" threads I'm actually going to start one ....

Ok.... I am a self proclaimed Hotel Snob. My hotel of choice is the GCH and when budgeting we do PPH (several times a year). We are PAP holders. I was just looking at booking our July trip and out of curiosity I looked up Good Neighbor prices. We have only stayed off site twice (Hilton and Holiday Inn) and hated both of those.

Here is my question... Best Western Park Place Inn has been proclaimed by other DISers to be closer than PPH and DLH. I know you have to give up the coveted EE by not staying on site, but does anything else warrant the price difference? I guess what I'm asking is, would I be totally disappointed by staying at BWPPI instead of PPH? By the way BWPPI is almost half the price of PPH for the nights I'm looking at.

Lana

 

[awdsmama]

As much as I hate "best hotel" threads I'm actually going to start one ....

Ok.... I am a self proclaimed Hotel Snob. My hotel of choice is the GCH and when budgeting we do PPH (several times a year). We are PAP holders. I was just looking at booking our July trip and out of curiosity I looked up Good Neighbor prices. We have only stayed off site twice (Hilton and Holiday Inn) and hated both of those.

Here is my question... Best Western Park Place Inn has been proclaimed by other DISers to be closer than PPH and DLH. I know you have to give up the coveted EE by not staying on site, but does anything else warrant the price difference? I guess what I'm asking is, would I be totally disappointed by staying at BWPPI instead of PPH? By the way BWPPI is almost half the price of PPH for the nights I'm looking at.

Lana

You TROUBLEMAKER!! Instigator!! Pot stirrer!
It depends -- what would disappoint you? Obviously BWPPI isn't "themed" so you won't have that. At HOJO they did have a small (7"?) plush Mickey in the room as a welcome gift to my son, not sure if all hotels do that or not. I thought that was nice, and unexpected.

You won't be able to charge to your room key if that is something you are used to. But to me that isn't a big deal to pay upfront.

The walk WILL be shorter to the main gates. Some will say they use the monorail entrance from on-site, but you also have to wait for it and take your chances of their being room etc.

And, do you care if you save that money? Some people have that $$ to burn, some do not. It's worth it to some, not to others.

You can always give it a try once and then you'll know for next time if you can do it again or not.

 

[lana772]

Haha... seriously I'm not trying to stir the pot.
Yes I do use the key to charge to the room and the package delivery services, but they are not deal breakers.
You may be right. I may just need to try it. I don't need to save the money, but I'm not against using it on something else either. I don't burn my money if I don't have to.

Lana

 

[awdsmama]

Haha... seriously I'm not trying to stir the pot.
Yes I do use the key to charge to the room and the package delivery services, but they are not deal breakers.
You may be right. I may just need to try it. I don't need to save the money, but I'm not against using it on something else either. I don't burn my money if I don't have to.

Lana

Although IMO maybe do Hojo instead so not quite a culture shock LOL. Still have a nice pool area for the kids for example. It's still a close walk, especially if you go across the street at Mimi's so you are walking to DL on the DL side, not hotel side - not nearly as much foot traffic plus you're not stopping at all the hotel driveways for traffic ;-)


Not sure how many days you are going for but you could (cancellation policy depending of course) book both hotels, BWPPI for the whole time and PPH for nights 3-5 for example. Then after the first night at BWPPI if you don't like it, suck it up there for 1 more night (if 24hr policy) and changeover to the PPH, cancelling the remainder of the bwppi. If you end up liking BWPPI after one night, cancel PPH.
Kind of a headache, but at least there is a backup plan if needed ;-)

Or just do a split stay right off the bat. Commit to a few nts offsite at first, end the trip onsite. You'll be able to compare pros/cons right away!

 

[lana772]

Our July trip will probably only be 4 nights to avoid the weekend. We go several times a year so there us no need to make it a long trip.

Lana

 

[crystal1313]

Hi! We always used to stay at PPH.......until the prices got crazy. We were sad not to be able to stay there. We stayed at the Ramada Maingate. It was still an awesome trip and the room was great for motel standards. But, it was no PPH. It's our favorite off site hotel, but if we could afford to stay the the PPH every time, we would. We go multiple times a year, so spending the extra money for one hotel stay would mean we would go less. I'd prefer to go more and stay in a place that isn't my first choice. I refuse to pay over $250-300 a night for the PPH. While I love it, it just isn't worth the crazy prices to me. If you are used to staying at PPH and GCH I think it will be a big adjustment to change to a "motel".

I'm considering staying at the Hyatt OC next trip. The rooms look huge and the prices are great for a suite. And I love they have their own shuttle, no ART! Everyone on here seems to love it too. =)

 

[Astylla]

Hi! We always used to stay at PPH.......until the prices got crazy. We were sad not to be able to stay there. We stayed at the Ramada Maingate. It was still an awesome trip and the room was great for motel standards. But, it was no PPH. It's our favorite off site hotel, but if we could afford to stay the the PPH every time, we would. We go multiple times a year, so spending the extra money for one hotel stay would mean we would go less. I'd prefer to go more and stay in a place that isn't my first choice. I refuse to pay over $250-300 a night for the PPH. While I love it, it just isn't worth the crazy prices to me. If you are used to staying at PPH and GCH I think it will be a big adjustment to change to a "motel". I'm considering staying at the Hyatt OC next trip. The rooms look huge and the prices are great for a suite. And I love they have their own shuttle, no ART! Everyone on here seems to love it too. =)

I really want to emphazise the bolded part. I have never stayed on site , frankly the prices are too high to justify for what I feel I get back.

I have stayed at multiple motels and hotels over the years and admittedly am not picky as long as it has a bed and tv

On that note - I love Best Westerns however in your particular case I do feel you may be dissapointed after such a drastic change in accomodations. This isn't to say there is anything wrong with BWPPI but when you are accustomed to one thing , it can be hard to not expect the same.

There are other hotels in the area such as Anaheim Marriott , Hyatt OC that may not be as close but offer more of a hotel and resort feel though being farther may defeat the purpose of you moving at all. I would go with your instincts here

 

[lana772]

Thank you all for your replies.
I'm not willing to go further away. The time we stayed at the Hilton one of my issues was that it was too far.
I guess I was expecting everyone to say that it wasn't all that different, but it seems like you are mostly saying the opposite. It's hard not knowing. I almost feel like I should stay there, but have very low expectations for the trip. Then I would know the difference first hand and appreciate what I normally get.
Uhggg... I feel like I'm arguing with myself.

Lana

 

[julm26]

I think you wanted us to "convert" you not "covert" you...

Sorry i'm an English Major with a red pen in my head at all times....

 

[lana772]

I think you wanted us to "convert" you not "covert" you...

Sorry i'm an English Major with a red pen in my head at all times....

Hahaha... very funny. I just saw that. Maybe I'm looking for a spy.

Lana

 

[awdsmama]

I think you wanted us to "convert" you not "covert" you...

Sorry i'm an English Major with a red pen in my head at all times....

When I first read the thread title only I thought "convert" or "cover" like "cover me, i'm going in..." LOL

 

[awdsmama]

Lana tell me this...


What is your reason for wanting to stay off site? Is it to save money? To see what the hoola is about re BWPPI? Just for something different?

Those are all valid reasons to give it a try.

But yeah you'll be going from one extreme part way down the ladder. Not all the way to the bottom of course But don't go in expecting PPH/Disney level.

We stayed at HOJO and I don't feel we missed out on anything by doing so. I've stayed at DLH and GCH myself when I was a travel agent and yes they are very nice properties. But, I'm hard to be convinced the extra $$$ is worth it.


Here is the hotel distance link if you wanted to look at it
http://www.mouseplanet.com/7280/How_Far_Is_It

 

[lana772]

Lana tell me this...

What is your reason for wanting to stay off site? Is it to save money? To see what the hoola is about re BWPPI? Just for something different?

Those are all valid reasons to give it a try.

But yeah you'll be going from one extreme part way down the ladder. Not all the way to the bottom of course But don't go in expecting PPH/Disney level.

We stayed at HOJO and I don't feel we missed out on anything by doing so. I've stayed at DLH and GCH myself when I was a travel agent and yes they are very nice properties. But, I'm hard to be convinced the extra $$$ is worth it.

Here is the hotel distance link if you wanted to look at it
http://www.mouseplanet.com/7280/How_Far_Is_It

I think it's more out of curiosity than anything. I've read so many threads on here where people really argued that "their" hotel is better than another. Since I don't want to be further away (or outside the bubble as so many put it), I only thought of BWPPI. I think what I am hearing from people is that there really is a difference and that is why Disney charges so much more. If the extra charge is not a problem then go for the Disney.

Lana

 

[lana772]

When I first read the thread title only I thought "convert" or "cover" like "cover me, i'm going in..." LOL

Hey!.... we could have fun with this and change it up to spy on CMs or something.

Lana

 

[awdsmama]

Hey!.... we could have fun with this and change it up to spy on CMs or something.

Lana

I admit, I coupled "cover me I'm going in" with the first sentence of your post something about starting a hotel thread and thought you MAY have been calling for reinforcements on a post on the main board LOL!!!

 

[lana772]

This may be more interesting than a hotel thread....

So who wants to sneak around DL with me and spy on people?

Lana

 

[awdsmama]

This may be more interesting than a hotel thread....

So who wants to sneak around DL with me and spy on people?

Lana

The song "secret ageeeeennnnt man" just came into my head.

It could be our theme song.

 

[lana772]

We have the makings of an indie film here... notice I didn't call it a good one ... or an authorized one. :/

Lana

 

[awdsmama]

We have the makings of an indie film here... notice I didn't call it a good one ... or an authorized one. :/

Lana

Now for a title.

Full Monty-christo? (please tell me you're old enough to know the 90s reference LOL)

 

[lana772]

Now for a title.

Full Monty-christo? (please tell me you're old enough to know the 90s reference LOL)

Bahahaha... are you kidding me?! I loved that movie! I haven't heard that in years.

Can I leave my hat on?

Lana

Adding.... It would be a whole new world for Disney.