Disneyland Hotel reviews are getting bad

[5forMickey]

I But broken ACs, broken refrigerators, broken tvs, dingy finishes, mousekeeping skipping your room, and wildlife crawling out from under your bed--all of which (except for the broken tv), we experienced last month at GCH, is more than enough to dampen a Disney vacation--especially considering the price of on-property rooms.As I see it, your hotel, should at the very least be as well-maintained as your home.

WOW, that is some bad luck right there --- did you give them a chance to make it right? That would frustrate any of us I'm sure.......once I was furious when we came back to the GC and our room had not had service, and then I looked at my parents "do not disturb" sign on their door - your correct I wanted to kill someone, unfortunately it wasn't the maid!

For us that would be impossible to expect any hotel to compare with our living conditions as we are fortunate to have wonderful living accommodations but i do agree you should expect things to be in good working condition and clean at ANY hotel! I stopped trusting trip reports of others when we booked The Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood one year. They have some great reviews. We walked in, walked out and didn't even ask for our money back I just wanted far away from that place. I found it DISGUSTING but boy do other people like staying there.

I think any given Hotel/Motel has their share of unfortunate experiences but I don't think the Disney properties are any worse than others, I actually think they do a pretty good job and try and make it up to guest when there are issues. I think most of the frustrations come from the high prices paid and people expecting perfection because of that price. I also believe all the Hotels/Motels surrounding Disneyland are overpriced and wouldn't get away charging what they do anywhere else. I think the Marriott Brands are about $125.00 more around DL than in most other cities we have stayed in.

 

[5forMickey]

I had a room at the PPH many years ago, with a drawer that kept opening by itself! No matter what I did to close it, it slowly opened on its own -- which meant that, inevitably, someone banged into it.

Did you pick up a "hitch hiker" from HM?

 

[preschoolmom]

I love Trip Advisor. I check it before each and every trip - no matter where we are going. I read the reviews for an overwhelming feel. There are always going to be some very unhappy people, but if MOST people are satisfied, I assume it will be fine.

 

[Aspoonfullofsugar]

We've stayed in the DLH a couple of times this year. Absolutely the only thing we had that didn't work well was the wireless, both times. Rooms were great and they were clean. I definatley will stay there again.

 

[pattyduke34]

I just got back, stayed 3 nights at DLH. It was great! Clean room, house keeping was great, I loved the beds and pillows. The pool area was crowded, hard to find a place to sit,,,but the temps were over 100 everyday I was there so I expected that!

 

[bumbershoot]

It is about the same distance as Fairfield, maybe less. It is a 7-8 min walk (not speed walking) from the Sorcerer's Hat to bag check. (It is .25 mi, so if you walk a 20 min mile, it is 5 mins, I do a 25 mi mile, so 7-8 mins.) I don't consider it a major walk.

I always measure to the center of the esplanade, and with mapmyrun from the Hat I got .44 mile the last time I did that.

HoJo from sidewalk to center of esplanade on the hotel side of Harbor: .48

HoJo from sidewalk to center of esplanade on the Disney side of Harbor: .46


Frontier Tower through grounds through DTD to center of esplanade: .55

Frontier Tower back behind/side over to Grand and through Grand to c of e: .55


PPH (center of hotel like from elevators) to center of esplanade following their signs: .63

PPH (from same as above) to center of esplanade going through the Grand: .47


And from our super-annoying, nearly as far as you can get, room at the Grand to the center of the esplanade: .38 It involved backtracking. I hate backtracking.

I had a room at the PPH many years ago, with a drawer that kept opening by itself! No matter what I did to close it, it slowly opened on its own -- which meant that, inevitably, someone banged into it.

So glad you brought that up, I was thinking of your experience when I read that! Spooky.

 

[Malcon10t]

I usually only time to the bag check, simply because bag check can't be timed. Sometimes we breeze through, but I've also been there when it took 10 mins to get through bag check.

Using gmap-pedometer, it shows it at .38, so a little further than my 1/4 mile estimate. But people always say you are walking through the magic so it doesn't count I don't fall for that. Actually, I prefer the walk to/from Candy Cane.

 

[grnflash]

One thing I always look at is when there is an issue, how do they handle...

Totally agree. We've stayed at DLH many times. They've all been wonderful stays except once a couple years ago. I spoke with a manager the next morning and without any ado, other than his sincere apologies, he went into our reservation and comped all 3 of our SoCal AP's which we had paid for at the time of booking. I was shocked frankly since we were only there one night that trip - the price of the tix far exceeded to price of the room.

So in my experience, Disney has almost always gotten it right. But when they didn't, they sure made up for it.

 

[VicMom]

We just left there on the 18th. And we all loved, loved, loved it!

Everything was great (and I loved how quiet the room was-no footsteps overhead, no hearing the people nextdoor). The staff bent over backwards any time I had a question or needed some help. The maids saw DS's lovey and his new Tigger and set them on his made bed everyday when we got there (DS thought that Tigger and Ara had made the bed for him while we were out and needed a nap). I loved that everything was clean but didn't smell like chemicals (a major migraine trigger for me). The pool was clean and so much fun (and not very crowded considering how hot it was last week).

The best moment was one morning when we were leaving our room while walking to the elevator, DS took a deep breath in the hallway and said that "This smells like Disney!".

No issues with the walk. With a 3.5yr old it took 10-15min depending on how distracted he was at the time. And I loved the walk through the Downtown and everything that was going on in the evening on our way back (DS always found live music to stop and dance to). I loved that walk much better than when we've stayed off-site as I loved the music playing and there was always so much to look at to make the walk so much pleasant.

 

[Dot2Vegas]

I was considering staying at the DLH this December, especially because of my AP discount, but it seems that the Hotel has gone down in the Magic department. I have been reading TripAdvisor reviews (I always take these reviews with a grain of salt) but I cant help noticing a lot of disappointed guests. Anyone with recent stays have anything good to say?

I have not stayed on site so I cant share any experience in that area. I'd like to add that I think expectations play a huge part in online reviews. People pay top dollar to stay on property and have very high (and occasionally unreasonable) expectations. People also have in their minds that Disney as a whole should be delivering perfection in all areas at all times for the prices that they charge. While I totally get that, it is impossible for that to happen. Thats likely where the negative reviews come from. Its hard not to complain when something goes wrong and you are paying hundreds of dollars per night. But overall, I think Disney strives to please. And from what I hear they always try to make a situation right.
I would not let the reviews steer you away. As you said, take it with a grain of salt and remember there are hundreds, if not thousands, of good experiences happening every day that don't get posted!

 

[tarheelalum]

When Disney charges a lot of money for a room people's expectations naturally go up. But when they feel that it was not worth what they paid, they go to tripadvisor and tell the world about it. That goes for any hotel, anywhere. That's just human nature.

 

[sgtdisney]

We were there in early August and we loved it. We didn't have a very "magic" cast member at check-in, never recognized someone when we said it was their first visit, etc. Not bad, just very business like and not friendly. However, after that everything was great. We loved our room, location, etc. Granted the hotel is not cheap. It's pretty expensive. We lucked out and stayed on DVC points which helped us be able to swing a 5 night stay, out of 10 nights in Anaheim. I think you will find some people really had a bad stay, and I am expecting that is not really common. Others felt like the stay wasn't worth the expense and for some it may not be. Others will simply love it regardless of cost.

All things considered I loved the location, and the experience, and I wrote a glowing review on TripAdvisor about it, but it's buried now, back a number of pages. Can I swing it every time we go, I am not sure, but for what it was, we loved it, and honestly we were happy we went to the DLH for part 2 of our trip.

 

[SweetAlex]

We've stayed numerous times over the past year, and we have no complaints. Rooms are clean, housekeeping staff is wonderful, front desk is great, valet and bellmen have been over the top helpful.

The complaints I read were trivial. "No shade in self park" "Our room wasn't ready at 11am." "Pool closed at 10p" "There was a 15 min wait for a bellman."

This was the most recent complaint I could find too and I chuckled to myself upon reading it. Obviously this reviewer has never stayed in anything less than a 5+star luxury resort if that's all they have to complain about. 15 min wait unreasonable? Seriously? I think reviewer needs a reality check...

 

[Astylla]

I think perspective is a huge part of it. People assume more money = perfection.
Sorry that is just unrealistic. Every hotel has issues. Everything from Motel 6 to Ritz Carlton.

With that said we used to stay exclusively off site then we splurged back in June for the DLH..then again a few weeks ago..and now consider it our second home. We love everything about it , and while minor things can happen : Long wait for room service during peak hours , pools closing sometimes due to "accidents" , our drawer magically opening on it's own..LOL ; we loved coming back every night and on our latest trip saw all the fireworks our last night from our room while eating delicious take out from Tangora terrace.

We have found for us we actually would rather take fewer trips now and stay on site versus more tips off site. We never realized all the benefits we were missing out on and time it takes traveling to and from and how needed breaks are for us now. Little things can happen and people may expect nothing but "the best" but I think as long as you realize that everyone is a critic now , you will be okay. Look hard enough and you will find negative reviews for everywhere.

 

[frank430316]

We were there in early August and we loved it. We didn't have a very "magic" cast member at check-in, never recognized someone when we said it was their first visit, etc. Not bad, just very business like and not friendly. However, after that everything was great. We loved our room, location, etc. Granted the hotel is not cheap. It's pretty expensive. We lucked out and stayed on DVC points which helped us be able to swing a 5 night stay, out of 10 nights in Anaheim. I think you will find some people really had a bad stay, and I am expecting that is not really common. Others felt like the stay wasn't worth the expense and for some it may not be. Others will simply love it regardless of cost.

All things considered I loved the location, and the experience, and I wrote a glowing review on TripAdvisor about it, but it's buried now, back a number of pages. Can I swing it every time we go, I am not sure, but for what it was, we loved it, and honestly we were happy we went to the DLH for part 2 of our trip.

We were there a little over a year ago and had a great time - even the checkin was "magical". The clerk was very personable, giving lots of tips about what to see when, she spent so much time with us, that I was starting to feel guilty (there was a line behind us I had arranged a special surprise for my wife, and the clerk never let on until we were alone and she could talk freely! I was so impressed that I tracked down the manager's email address and told her how impressed we were. Doubt if she gets many "nice" letters.

 

[GeneralTso]

We stayed there last month. One room on Concierge level, the other a park view. Both were great. Not one complaint or problem.
Staff was outstanding and everything worked.

No issues and if there was something, I have no doubt it would have been handled quickly and professionally.

 

[hootey]

I will base my opinion on my experience with the DLH and staff; The wife and I travel all over North America on business. From Cancun Mexico to Vancouver Canada, we stay in some very nice hotels at times. The people that complain about the DLH costing too much, need to get out of town more often. Price hotel rooms in downtown Seattle, San Francisco, Dallas, Boston, or on the mall in Washington. We stayed at three of the "Good Stranger" hotels in the past and will not stay at another, thank you. You get what you pay for in this world. If you want cheap, that is what you will get. That goes for the room, as well as the staff. We use the DLH as the RESORT hotel it is. We utilize almost everything they have to offer and we always have a GREAT time. Lastly, The DLH CMs are the most professional, mannerly, and pleasant people to interact with of all the hotels we stay at(some cost a lot more than DLH). We have stayed at the DLH nearly a dozen times and all three towers. We L I K E it. Just my 2-cents worth, for what it is worth.

 

[hootey]

I will add one more statement to some it up, so to speak. If you want to pay Motel 6 rates, you better be expecting Motel 6.

 

[5forMickey]

I will base my opinion on my experience with the DLH and staff; The wife and I travel all over North America on business. From Cancun Mexico to Vancouver Canada, we stay in some very nice hotels at times. The people that complain about the DLH costing too much, need to get out of town more often. Price hotel rooms in downtown Seattle, San Francisco, Dallas, Boston, or on the mall in Washington. We stayed at three of the "Good Stranger" hotels in the past and will not stay at another, thank you. You get what you pay for in this world. If you want cheap, that is what you will get. That goes for the room, as well as the staff. We use the DLH as the RESORT hotel it is. We utilize almost everything they have to offer and we always have a GREAT time. Lastly, The DLH CMs are the most professional, mannerly, and pleasant people to interact with of all the hotels we stay at(some cost a lot more than DLH). We have stayed at the DLH nearly a dozen times and all three towers. We L I K E it. Just my 2-cents worth, for what it is worth.

I wish there was a LIKE button so I could like your response
I saw an article yesterday on our local news station where one could stay in a "luxury tent" in Moab, Utah for roughly $400.00 a night --- and I thought to myself "and they think the DLH is priced high"......

 

[elamarca]

We've stayed at various off-site hotels over the years and finally splurged and stayed at DLR last Christmas. It was FABULOUS! From check-in to check-out, everything was wonderful. The staff was excellent and the rooms were clean and well appointed. I really liked the Disney touches, though not over the top. Now I'm wondering how we'll ever stay anywhere else again - it was great.