Disneyland Hotel or Hotel New York Empire State Club?

[aussietravellers]

We are going to DLRP in December for the first time and had decided on Disneyland Hotel but we are now thinking about the New York in an Empire State Club room and really are having a terrible time deciding. We have decided on everything else (halfboard, eurostar, tickets, daytrips), just not the accommodation.

We originally decided on Disneyland hotel (undecided about castle club or standard) for several reasons mainly the location, we live in the tropics so we are not going to be used to the cold temperatures in Europe, so thought being close to our hotel with a short walk to everything (train station, parks, disney village) would be a good idea. Then with the character dining in the hotel and the characters making an appearance during the day. We were thinking about castle club but not completely sure as we can not seem to find prices for that so can not get a decide if the cost of a standard room and castle club will be worth it.

We have now read about the Empire State Club at Hotel New York and thought about staying there with the ice skating rink might be nice. But I have a few question that I was hoping someone could help me with.

Is New York that far away from the parks and train station? I know it will be very cold in mid december so it does concern me about walking that far in the cold and rain (if it's raining). I have read 10 minutes and also 5 minutes so really don't know how far it is to walk (in the cold, possible rain with a tired child).

I know there is not character dining at New York, but do they have the characters around the hotel like they do at Disneyland hotel and are there as many characters?

I have heard that the rooms at New York are needing a bit of a revovation, does anyone know if the Empire State club rooms have been renovated?

Do they have the afternoon tea at the Empire State club like they do at Casle club?

Has anyone stayed at the Empire State Club?

I have heard that Hotel New York is not as good for kids as Disneyland Hotel, is this true?

We would really appreciate any advise from anyone who has stayed at the two hotels or especailly someone who has stayed at Empire State Club.

Thank you so much

 

[marcus.ka]

I have stayed at both hotels and I would go for the DLH (location, location, location).
The HNY is more adultstyle (but also a very great hotel) but children expecially girls would like the pink hotel much more.

If you are 2 adults and walk fast then it will be 5 minutes from the park to HNY if you have (tired) children with you and it is raining than it can be easily 10 minutes.

I would go for the DLH because there you can see the castle from your breakfast table and you can see the castle in the eavening lit up.

But on the other side if you stay at the Empires floor of the HNY you will have lake view and this is also a very nice view.

Why don't you have a look at my trip report from the DLH June 2008

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1887351

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1889600

and my HNY trip report with lake view photos (summer) here:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1547542
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1549192
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1566847

And here is my album with pictures from the HNY view in January:

http://pp.mousekingdom.com/thumbnails.php?album=230

 

[marcus.ka]

During our 2 stays at the HNY we had 2 times the same room. Back than the Empire Floor didn't exist. Nowadays our room is one of the Empire Floor rooms.

 

[wideeyes]

I stayed at the HNY and DLH and we like both hotels. The DLH is better for characters however there is characters at the HNY in the morning for photos and sometimes in the evening in the lobby. Obviously the DLH has the best location which may be the best bet for you with your concern about the cold as you can quickly go back to the hotel to warm up. Castle Club would also be great in winter, having some where to have a hot drink and something to eat away from the cold and quick access back to your room. We stayed in CC in March and they was a hail storm and we got back to our room from frontierland in 5 minutes, it would not have been a pleasant walk back to HNY in that storm!

 

[Emergency Kitten]

I'd go for the DLH. Have stayed at both, and tbh there was little material difference in the standard of the two hotels. We are DLH veterans so on our 'budget' (ha ha) trip in Feb this year we tried the HNY instead.

The walk from the HNY to the parks isn't a long one, but if it is cold and wet you will probably find that you're disinclined to go back there during the day, whereas if you were at the DLH it is easy to pop back. Walking through the village is nice, but not having to walk through it every morning is even better! At the DLH - from hotel to park gate - approx three seconds - can't be beaten.

Given that you're likely to want to go back to your room in the event of it being cold and wet, and/or being tired and wanting a rest, the DLH is the better choice here.

As I said above I found little material difference in the quality of the rooms/bathrooms in the two hotels. they were pretty much the same, except in the HNY it was a little smaller; not tiny or cramped - not by a long chalk - just smaller. Similar furniture; different in style, but similar quality and provision. Our room had one double bed and a sofa/coffee table, plus desk and chair, and enormous great wooden unit thing that had drawers and also the telly and minibar in it. DLH similar things - just pastel coloured not dark wood - bigger floor space though! (And a balcony if you're lucky).

Bathrooms were pretty much identical, just different styling. Bath with good shower over, twin basins, WC. I can't remember if the HNY gave us bathrobes and slippers, but this is something we're very fond of at the DLH.

The public areas in the HNY weren't really to my taste. lots of shiny floors and hard surfaces. It seemed rather echoey and noisy. I prefer the rather more plush/carpeted/cosy atmosphere of the DLH. We didn't try the bar in the HNY, so can't comment. the bar/public sitting-about-areas in the DLH are far more comfortable. The Fantasia Bar is fabulous (if expensive!). The HNY just didn't really seem all that 'Disney' whereas the DLH does. In spades.

We didn't like the restaurant in the HNY where we had breakfast, it seemed rather cheap/plasticky and a bit shouty loud. In the DLH we have had breakfast in both Inventions and the CG; same food, just different seating areas. The food in the HNY was fine but we much prefer the breakfast experience in the DLH. Proper napery and silverware goes a long way towards setting you up for the day! Also I like it that in the DLH they come to your table to pour coffee/tea and juice for you, which they didn't in the HNY.

we are not bothered about characters (I know, I know, shock horror) but it was nice to see all the kids with the characters at breakfast outside the restaurants.

So our assessment is that the on-cost/margin of staying at the DLH over the HNY is worth it. The HNY is perfectly nice and good quality but we just prefer the extra magic at the DLH. And you just cannot, CANNOT, beat that location. With children I imagine it would be even more beneficial - if you need a quick change for any reason, or for naps, etc.

I haven't stayed at the CC so don't know, but the extra cost was to us prohibitive for what seemed like not a huge return - you get a very similar experience in the standard rooms (although the VIP fastpass may be worth it....we usually manage to blag one of these by sweet talking the checkin desk!)

If your reasoning for maybe choosing the HNY includes the Village and the ice rink - well, we've always managed to 'experience' these whilst staying at the DLH, and once you've been on/seen an ice rink that's about it in terms of value, isn't it? You can go to see it/skate on it, without having to stay at the hotel. And the village is only a short walk from the DLH, we usually go over there 2 out of 3 nights we are at the DLH anyway, so you won't 'miss out' on anything if you don't want to.

I think the kids provision (club/games etc) is better at the DLH, but not certain as never had to try it. They have a gym and spa now, which we propose to use when we are there in Nov.

In short, for us, the extra cost of the DLH brings with it advantages that you can't put a price on, so its absolutely worth it.

So there's my assessment. Hope it helps.

EK