Desert Inn & Suites

[Samantha_Mommy]

Hi all,
Anyone stay at Desert Inn & Suites? What are the pros and cons? What do they serve as their cont. breakfast? How is the indoor pool? Thought the indoor pool might be good because if its raining, we could still go swimming. How was their rooftop for the fireworks? What restaurants are around? Is this a safe hotel? DL and Disney adventure is on the list, is there anything near by for a 4 yr old?
This trip is for myself and my 4 yr old, travelling in January. First time in California. Staying 4 nights prior to a Disney cruise!

Thanks for any info!

 

[sambycat]

hi - i'm sure someone will chime in with in depth info, but here is my 0.02 - we've stayed there before (great location! clean) and are probably going to stay there in 2 weeks on a spur of the moment trip we just planned, so price and all it can't be beat. now, we didn't use the pool and eat the breakfast, but, to my memory (and this was may before last?), it's a tiny tiny pool (i assume clean and all), not any kind of decor or whatnot we noticed if that matters at all and the breakfast area, well, i just remember kind of looking at it and groaning as we passed it by. like another tiny tiny area, kind of at the foot of the stairs everyone walks down, think opened lof of white bread in wrapper by a toaster, cold danish in the box?

again, we are staying there again, but it's kind of the whole crash pad thing. maybe i'm completely mistaken, but it would make an actual continental breakfast look pretty grand! again, NOT saying anything was dirty or bad or whatnot, just little effort i guess. i can't speak to the firework thing, but location is really good!

HTH

 

[wvnative]

The indoor pool is kind of small and we've never used it. I travel with teenagers and they don't want to waste trip time outside of the parks. lol We've done the breakfast once. If I remember correctly it was cereal, pastries, toast, milk and juice. Enough to get you by for a little while but nothing fancy. The location is great and safe and I wouldn't hesitate to stay there again or even have the girls stay there on their own. The rooms are clean and plenty big enough for the 4 of us.

I've never been on the roof either because, like I said, they like to optimize their park time.

There's a McDonalds a short distance away, a Mimi's and I can't remember if it's a Denny's or an IHOP. There's also a Tony Roma's. There's a little pizza place in the Ramada down the road that the girls liked. Ordering Round Table is also an option. I've been told to avoid the Captain Kidd's like the plague.

 

[OregonMickeyLover]

Hi!

We will be staying at DSI in about a month, so I will let you know how it went. We usually stay at a place that is clean, allows us to rest up for the next day, and is very close to the maingate. Two years ago we stayed at the Best Western Park Place Inn and thought it was fine. The only reason we aren't staying there again was because I was able to get a room at DSI for $65/nt verses $95/nt at BW. We ate at Captain Kids for probably 5 breakfasts, and didn't have any problems. I am horrified by what I read from other people though!!! Maybe it has gone down hill in two years? We were kind of glad the pool at DSI was indoors, because since we go at the end of Oct. and only swim when the parks have closed, it was too cold to swim at BWPPI. Sorry I can't help much now, but I will post after we return on Nov.
5th!

Traci

 

[RedRosie]

Just got back 2 hours ago from our second stay at Desert Inn. We love it. I don't think the pool is tiny tiny. It's not glamorously huge, but certainly more than plenty for a 4 year old. The shallow end of 3 feet, but the hot tub is big and when the jets are off, it could be a great little pool. They use a lot of chlorine so its very clean, but you may want to shower right afterwards to avoid the lingering smell. The continental breakfast is pastries (grocery store quality, not bakery quality), apples, white and wheat bread and toasters, cheerios and corn flakes, orange and apple juice, coffee (didn't try it), and milk. So nothing fancy but good to have the milk on hand since we bring our own cereal to eat in the room. The location is fabulous. After a long day in the parks, it is wonderful to cross the street and be "home". Last night I was so tired and my husband was carrying out 7-year old sleeping daughter, so I can't imagine walking as far as HoJo's. We feel it is very safe (my husband is a law enforcement type so that's a big issue for him and he has no concerns at all). The rooms are very clean and comfortable too. We watched fireworks from the roof, and while I thought it was nothing fancy (plastic chairs, lounges, and tables on the roof, not really a "sun deck"), my kids thought it was FABULOUS. Watching in pajamas with hot chocolate and popcorn...what could be better!

 

[alicia1506]

we will be going in november and one of the reasons we picked it (after months of extensive research) was the proximity to the parks, and the cleanliness.

for us, we're not picky or precious about food, so we figured since it's free, if we don't like it, it's not a big deal, however having a free breakfast will probably save us some hard earned cash, so yay

one of the other great things for us is their willingness to hold our bags (we're flying from australia, landing at 6am and they'll hold our bags all day til check in, and take them up to the room for us) so that we don't have to go back to the hotel at all until we're ready to leave disney

that kind of service and all the good reviews they have had, put my mind at ease.... but i also used trip advisor (www.tripadvisor.com) extensively in my research and used the 'customer photos' of the rooms to help me make up my mind, so that i knew which websites were being truthful in their advertising of their rooms, also.

hope this helps

 

[hellotoyou]

We have stayed here on our last 2 stays at Disneyland .... and will be here again in December. My thoughts:

.. our rooms have always been extremely clean
.. the continental breakfast is almost an embarrassment: it is such a tiny and crowded place ... that being said -- it is great for toast and fruit
.. there is a IHOP to the right of the building / a Denny's to the left
.. McDonalds is close
.. location (for my price) can NOT be beaten ... it is great to be able to walk back and forth to the room -- if need be
.. we LOVE the rooftop area ... yes, it is plastic chairs .. but wonderful to be able to watch the fireworks (and at times even hear the music) -- and then walk downstairs to your room
.. the times we have been the price has been sooooo reasonable --- hard to pass up
.. we have never used the pool, but it did seem busy with the happy young ones using it

 

[spiderdust]

I must be going about things the wrong way. Everyone is acting like DI&S is a cheap deal, and I can't find anything under $100/rm there. Any tips for me?

 

[Samantha_Mommy]

I must be going about things the wrong way. Everyone is acting like DI&S is a cheap deal, and I can't find anything under $100/rm there. Any tips for me?

I booked online maybe you are going at a premium time?

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

Yup depends when you book. My 2 room suite we booked for next year is only 129 the week before..but the week we're going it's 149. Then after that it goes up and up.

 

[spiderdust]

I've looked for January, December, and October. December, I can definitely understand... it's prime season. October is a popular time too. But January is after the holiday season when kids are back in school.

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

That is strange. Have you tried Del Sol?

 

[disneychrista]

I can't remember if it's a Denny's or an IHOP. .

.. there is a IHOP to the right of the building / a Denny's to the left

Yes there is both a Denny's & an IHop. Be warned though they are both more expensive then your hometown locations due to the proximity to the parks.

 

[OregonMickeyLover]

I made our reservation at the end of May for 10/28-11/4 and I am paying the AAA rate. The breakdown is: $443 room, $28 resort fee, tax $89.59, $56 parking (which we won't need) equals $616.73. After I deduct the parking and the tax on it, it is $551.23. That is for 7 nights which I thought was great! Maybe it's because we booked when we did??? Hope this helps!

Traci

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

I must be going about things the wrong way. Everyone is acting like DI&S is a cheap deal, and I can't find anything under $100/rm there. Any tips for me?

I've looked for January, December, and October. December, I can definitely understand... it's prime season. October is a popular time too. But January is after the holiday season when kids are back in school.

The convention center is down the street. Conventions are also an influence on hotel rates. One week's difference netted us a $70 room vs a $100 room the previous week. There was no real difference in the two weeks at as far as holidays or seasons go. Check multiple sources. Check the travel web sites. Check the hotel web sites, etc. There is no one way to book that is going to consistently give you the lowest price. And we've also found that no one hotel across Harbor near the gate consistently gives us the lowest price either. Sometimes it's one. Sometimes it's another. You just have to keep looking and then jump when you get a rate you can live with.

 

[kirstie101]

I've looked for January, December, and October. December, I can definitely understand... it's prime season. October is a popular time too. But January is after the holiday season when kids are back in school.

Book early! The suite I booked for our October trip is currently $50 more per night than it was back in Feb when I booked it. Also, prime season will always be higher. In December we're paying $99 for a room that you can often get for $69.

And as for the breakfast, the room they serve it in is very small. But they do provide trays that you can alway bring up to your room. Thats what we do so we can eat while everyone in our party gets ready for the day.

 

[alicia1506]

we had the same issue re: prices.

when i first started researching the trip, i was checking all the hotels on harbor blvd vs on site hotels for things like included breakfasts, charges for holding luggage, resort fees, room rates etc, and we did up a big chart with comparison rates.

as there is a group of us going, we ended up having to compare 2 room suites with 2 x separate rooms, and the additional taxes and resort fees that would include (i'm insanely anal when it comes to organising things).

we decided on the DI&S, however in the time it took us to do all our comparisons, the price per room increased from 129 to 179/night (for a 2 x bedroom c2 family suite). although as there is a group of us, when we break the rate down to a per person rate, it actually works out to be hugely reasonable

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

although as there is a group of us, when we break the rate down to a per person rate, it actually works out to be hugely reasonable

This. We're taking enough people that we either do two rooms at like 100 bucks..or one DI&S suite for 149. By the time we add in all the tax and parking and resort fees, DI&S won.