Desert Inn?? Feedback please...

[Zoemakes5]

I just got a great deal for a whirlpool suite at the Desert Inn for our stay in March. I love the idea of being able to have a door that closes between us and the kids, or some of the other kids if some are sleeping.
When I did a search, I got such mixed reviews, but they seem to be a bit outdated, so I wanted to see what people thought now.
Honestly, the breakfast things doesn't bother me, since the first day we're going to a character breakfast and the other days I'll have to see. My kids are BIG breakfast eaters, so a continental breakfast isn't likely to be much use to me.

 

[PattiPB]

This is our "regular" hotel---we were just there last month. It's older, but clean and reliable.

You will have a fridge and microwave (and coffee maker). I bring cereal and disposable bowls, so my kids have a decent breakfast. They are big breakfast eaters, and I get the milk, fruit and a few danishes from the cont. breakfast.

What is your rate and date? They were high for our trip in early March, but I scored a good AAA rate at Carousel Inn.

 

[Zoemakes5]

What is your rate and date? They were high for our trip in early March, but I scored a good AAA rate at Carousel Inn.

Our dates are 3/28-3/31. The rate I got is $139, sleeps 6.

I don't see Carousel on the AAA website as available when we'll be there.

 

[PattiPB]

The AAA website wasn't in alphabetic order, and the Carousel showed up on page 3 or 4 .

You won't beat $139 for the parlor suite sleeping 6. Virtually anywhere else walking distance you'll need two rooms, and even the $74 I got at Carousel puts you over. Of course, you'd have the second bathroom...

 

[MATTERHORN]

Yep, Desert Inn is our offsite hotel of choice as you can see by my signature!! It is clean, comfy and usually priced great, although I notice the further out I book at that one, the better. I usually book about 5-6 months out and the prices have only gone up as I get closer. We will be there in about 2 weeks and the parlor suites are great!


Andrea

 

[wendithepooh]

We stayed there in Oct.and enjoyed it.It isn't a luxury hotel but for the price you can't expect it.Go for location and a clean room rather than price.

We will be staying there when we go back in June.

Not to hi-jack the thread but Zoemakes5 I see you have a child with Aspergers.My DS12 also has it.It can make life interesting can't it?Have fun and enjoy yourself.If you have any questions or want to talk-pm me.Not exactly sure how to do it myself-computer iliterate.

 

[lkohawaii]

We love the location. The danishes have to go. What we did was buy some frozen waffles and toasted them down in their toaster for B fast. We love the seperate parlor. They are often sold out so I tell them I'm coming in late if I'm expected in late. The maids don't speak English very well but it was never a problem for us. It's no Hilton but for the price we like it..no car driving up to your front door like some of the nearby hotels.

On our like 3rd time staying at the hotel we had a problem with a clogged sink. The problem is my DH tried to help the maintanance man by trying to plunge the sink. Gosh, the smell that came out of that sink for the rest of the night was horrid. After talking to the manager the next mornign he comped that night for us. We're going back next March. Just waiiting for them to open up their rates.

 

[Mom2micayla]

We've stayed there before and are staying there again in 2 weeks. It's not the nicest hotel, but it's generally clean (although carpets need to be replaced IMO!) and the staff is friendly. And the location cannot be beat. It's about a 5 minute walk to the entrance of DLR.

One word of advice- check their website often. They are constantly changing their prices. I booked for our upcoming trip about 2 weeks ago and got an A Parlor Suite for $69. It's now listed on their site as $139 for the same days. So it pays to really watch their site. If you see a cheap rate, book it! If the rate later drops, just rebook and cancel your original reservation. I've done that in the past too with no problems. They give you up to 48 hours prior to your check in to cancel without being charged. Can't hardly find that anywhere else.

 

[jocotter]

We've stayed many times, the last in November 2005. It seemed to me that they were updating the rooms and furniture during that trip. We had fresh paint and carpet in our room and I saw several deliveries of new furniture. It's not luxurious, but it's very clean and convenient. I am very picky about cleanliness and our room was always spotless. Having the suite is one reason we go there. The pool is indoor if that matters.

If we only need a single room, we sometimes pick Candy Cane due to it being a little more upscale (but again, not luxurious). However, when we have grandchildren with us, the location and suites are perfect.

One problem people seem to complain about (but we've never found it to be a problem) is that if you get a suite, they still only give you one parking space. Parking is limited, but we have always found a space. Usually we park the car and leave it for days anyway.

 

[MATTERHORN]

One problem people seem to complain about (but we've never found it to be a problem) is that if you get a suite, they still only give you one parking space. Parking is limited, but we have always found a space. Usually we park the car and leave it for days anyway.

This is a pain because me and another family like to book the suite that sleeps ten!! Since most cars don't fit the 9 of us, we can't all drive together, but we also cannot stay at this hotel because we have to drive to cars to CA. I think if the suite accomodates more than 8 (which a lot of vehicles can fit nowadays!) that they should give out two spaces. But they do not budge!
I know that spaces are limited, but it seems like if it can fit 10 people, you should be allowed 2 spaces!!

That has been my only problem there in many stays!

Andrea

 

[PattiPB]

If they can't accommodate a second car (we've actually had 2 cars there off-season with no problem), they will derect you to parking near the convention center that is $11 per night. It is a (long) walking distance from the hotel, but it is something!

It's still worth it to us, even paying to park my DSis car in the other lot. One trip we made with two separate rooms was unsatisfying---too far away because the regular rooms are in the back, and our parlor suite was a diff floor, about 10 rooms away.

 

[Welivefordisney]

We stayed at the Desert Inn in October 2006. Yes the parking lot was full, but cars seem to shuffle around alot. The rooms were Great! We had C1 family suite- basically 2 rooms that are attached. It had 1.5 bathrooms, 4 beds, 2 tvs, a sitting area, small table (only 2 chairs), refrigerator and microwave, as well as a coffee maker. The basic continental breakfast was enough for our family - danishes, toast, apples, oranges, juice, milk and coffee. The hot tub is nice after a long day!
I think the best feature is the easy walk to the parks!!!
When we go again, that is where we will stay. My sister has already booked her stay there for April-May 2007, same suite for $99/night for 8 people!!!

 

[MATTERHORN]

If they can't accommodate a second car (we've actually had 2 cars there off-season with no problem), they will derect you to parking near the convention center that is $11 per night. It is a (long) walking distance from the hotel, but it is something!

.

You know we knew we could park at the Hilton (but it's $15 per night), but with three kids each in car seats, there really would be no way for us to get back to the hotel without walking. Then if something happened like last time and I needed to run to Target that morning, if my car was all the way in the lot, I wouldn't be able to access it right away.

And for some reason, there is always stuff in the car that I forget and usually end up stopping at the car atleast once a day for something obscure that I didn't even know I needed~! That would be a lot of work if my car wasn't in the lot!! And vice versa since my other party has kids too!

Just too much of a pain! They did let us park two ONE time in 2005, and I made a big stink because when I made the reservation I had the guy note that we would have two cars and that I would cancel if they couldn't accomodate. He told me no problem at all, said he put it on my res. and then when we got there with two cars, they didn't want to do it. I noticed shortly after that trip that there is a huge warning at the bottom of the reservation page that wasn't there before, or certainly wasn't that BIG! I am sure it's because of me


Andrea

 

[MATTERHORN]

We stayed at the Desert Inn in October 2006. Yes the parking lot was full, but cars seem to shuffle around alot. The rooms were Great! We had C1 family suite- basically 2 rooms that are attached. It had 1.5 bathrooms, 4 beds, 2 tvs, a sitting area, small table (only 2 chairs), refrigerator and microwave, as well as a coffee maker. The basic continental breakfast was enough for our family - danishes, toast, apples, oranges, juice, milk and coffee. The hot tub is nice after a long day!
I think the best feature is the easy walk to the parks!!!
When we go again, that is where we will stay. My sister has already booked her stay there for April-May 2007, same suite for $99/night for 8 people!!!

We usually book that same room, we love it. We have gotten it as low as $89 a night sometimes!!


Andrea

 

[MommyWithDreams]

I know what you mean about the changing prices. We booked our stay for this march 11-17th for $59/night. I think that was with a AAA disc. Anyway...it said $69 on the site but when we called he said $59. Friday though was 109. This is only for the deluxe room with two queens but it's definitely more than enough for us. My sister got the parlour suite for 139. A few days after booking the site said 109 every night. We booked just in time. One more thing.........when my bf called to check the rates..they told us they were sold out of deluxe rooms for our dates.......then my sister called back and booked their parlor suite AND our deluxe room together and had no problem. That was a little annoying......jerk

 

[PoohPrincess76]

We just got back from there. It was great. We had the 2 bedroom suite with 2 queens in each room. The breakfast was nothing to write home about, but, it held us over until we got good stuff at the park. Parking was tight, we have a Tahoe and it was hard to fit into the space with a CR-V and X-Terra next to us, but, very nice at the end of the long day to have such a short walk. I will definately be staying there next time we go.