Desert Inn, Del Sol or Tropicana?

[GMU MOM]

I am having a hard time choosing which resort to book for our Jan trip. The three hotels are similar in price. So which one is better?
We are 2 adts/2 kids so a room with 2 queen beds is more than enough for us.
The room has to be clean and the breakfast decent.

 

[thewritegirl]

I am having a hard time choosing which resort to book for our Jan trip. The three hotels are similar in price. So which one is better?
We are 2 adts/2 kids so a room with 2 queen beds is more than enough for us.
The room has to be clean and the breakfast decent.

For our upcoming trip i booked the Del Sol. The Del Sol has bunk beds, which was important to me so that my kids could be separated and (hopefully) get some restful sleep. I hear the rooms are clean but the free breakfast is pretty weak, though.

 

[HappyHaYN]

We stayed at the Tropicana in April of this year simply because it was a very short walk across the street from the entrance to the parks. The room we had on the first floor was clean and comfortable with the basic necessities as we didn't spend much time there. Parking can be challenging if you have a car, but their fee is reasonable for the convenience. As far as breakfast is concerned, they served fresh pastries and fruit and provided coffee and hot water for cocoa. Orange juice or water were the cold drink options. I believe they also had other items available, but for a fee.

If you don't mind being a bit further from the park yet within a 10-15 minute walking distance, the Desert Palms Hotel offers a complimentary breakfast buffet complete with waffle-making stations, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, hot and cold cereals, fresh fruit, bagels, pastries, as well as hot and cold beverages. We stayed there with a much bigger group in February of 2011 for about a week. Having the breakfast buffet option made our mornings a lot easier and pleasant as we geared up for each day's activities.

 

[starshine514]

I believe the Del Sol and the Desert Inn are owned by the same people. The breakfasts are very similar - pastries, fruit (red delicious apples or oranges - the Del Sol seems to always have both, while the Desert Inn has one or the other), cereal (a cheerios and a corn flakes - probably generic), bread/toast, OJ, milk, undrinkable coffee. I know the Desert Inn usually has raspberry lemonade and the Del Sol usually has muffins (but I'm not sure if both have both). I know the Del Sol (only) has toaster waffles. Both have the usual fixin's (butter, jelly, non-dairy creamer, sugar, Sweet & Low) to go with the items.

The Del Sol area seems smaller than the Desert Inn area and they don't provid trays to take food back to your room like they do at the Desert Inn.

The rooms at both are fine, nothing special. The walk to the park from both is awesome!

 

[Blue32]

I believe the Del Sol and the Desert Inn are owned by the same people. The breakfasts are very similar - pastries, fruit (red delicious apples or oranges - the Del Sol seems to always have both, while the Desert Inn has one or the other), cereal (a cheerios and a corn flakes - probably generic), bread/toast, OJ, milk, undrinkable coffee. I know the Desert Inn usually has raspberry lemonade and the Del Sol usually has muffins (but I'm not sure if both have both). I know the Del Sol (only) has toaster waffles. Both have the usual fixin's (butter, jelly, non-dairy creamer, sugar, Sweet & Low) to go with the items.

The Del Sol area seems smaller than the Desert Inn area and they don't provid trays to take food back to your room like they do at the Desert Inn.

The rooms at both are fine, nothing special. The walk to the park from both is awesome!

I've heard others say that the Del Sol beakfast area is quite small. Anyone have trouble getting a table there at breakfast time?
We are booked here at the end of the month!

 

[starshine514]

I've heard others say that the Del Sol beakfast area is quite small. Anyone have trouble getting a table there at breakfast time?
We are booked here at the end of the month!

We always take food back to the room (I suggest bringing the tray from under your ice bucket in your room to carry food back). There never seem to be tables free. The Desert Inn has similar seating issues

We'll be at the Del Sol the Sunday-Thursday after Thanksgiving.

 

[GMU MOM]

We always take food back to the room (I suggest bringing the tray from under your ice bucket in your room to carry food back). There never seem to be tables free. The Desert Inn has similar seating issues

We'll be at the Del Sol the Sunday-Thursday after Thanksgiving.

Please report back how it was. I hope you have a great trip!


It's really a tie between Del Sol and Desert Inn and Suites now. Desert Inn is slightly cheaper than Del Sol but I just can't decide.
We're not big breakfast eaters but just something to get us through the morning so we don't have to waste park time eating breakfast. We are going to be there for 3 full days so I want to maximize our time in the parks.

 

[starshine514]

Please report back how it was. I hope you have a great trip!

It's really a tie between Del Sol and Desert Inn and Suites now. Desert Inn is slightly cheaper than Del Sol but I just can't decide.
We're not big breakfast eaters but just something to get us through the morning so we don't have to waste park time eating breakfast. We are going to be there for 3 full days so I want to maximize our time in the parks.

We do both hotels, and for me it's pretty much whichever one is cheaper. My mom is usually with us when we stay there, and she prefers the Desert Inn. I would go ahead and reserve the one with the lower rate. You can easily call and cancel if you find a better rate later on, but I've never seen the Desert Inn rates fall. The Del Sol rates seem to fluctuate, but I haven't followed them as closely.

Oh, one more thing - the Desert Inn is multiple (I want to say 5) stories and has elevators, but they are slow. The Del Sol is only 2 stories and does not have elevators (since DH has to use an ECV, elevators are a big deal for us).

 

[GMU MOM]

We do both hotels, and for me it's pretty much whichever one is cheaper. My mom is usually with us when we stay there, and she prefers the Desert Inn. I would go ahead and reserve the one with the lower rate. You can easily call and cancel if you find a better rate later on, but I've never seen the Desert Inn rates fall. The Del Sol rates seem to fluctuate, but I haven't followed them as closely.

Oh, one more thing - the Desert Inn is multiple (I want to say 5) stories and has elevators, but they are slow. The Del Sol is only 2 stories and does not have elevators (since DH has to use an ECV, elevators are a big deal for us).

Thanks, that's very helpful. DH might need an ECV. We don't know yet because he is still recovering from a motorcycle crash. He used one earlier this month for our WDW trip and it was a lifesaver.

 

[starshine514]

Thanks, that's very helpful. DH might need an ECV. We don't know yet because he is still recovering from a motorcycle crash. He used one earlier this month for our WDW trip and it was a lifesaver.

I always make a note of the ECV in the comments section when I make the reservation. I request a first floor room at the Del Sol and just note it at the Desert Inn (not sure if they have inacessible rooms or not).

 

[starshine514]

Please report back how it was. I hope you have a great trip!


It's really a tie between Del Sol and Desert Inn and Suites now. Desert Inn is slightly cheaper than Del Sol but I just can't decide.
We're not big breakfast eaters but just something to get us through the morning so we don't have to waste park time eating breakfast. We are going to be there for 3 full days so I want to maximize our time in the parks.

Our trip to the Del Sol last week was fine. Room was clean (and they had shaped our towels into an elephant - never had that happen there before, but the girls loved it), parking lot wasn't full (so parking was fine, too). They did change their breakfast offerings. They now have boxed donuts instead of the pastries (this upset DD5) and also have crossaints (which weren't very good).