Help....Paradise Pier or Fairfield??

[Zoemakes5]

We have been quoted close to the same price for Paradise Pier and Fairfield...what would you recommend?? Why??
We're finally (thanks for all the input!) down to these two and I need to decide which one we're going with.
Each has "perks", I know, for example, that the Fairfield has fridges and microwaves (small ones, but they're there!) The pool at Paradise is supposed to be much better. Paradise is "on site", but isn't it further away??
Sorry for all the questions, you'd think I was performing brain surgery here, it's just that it's a big chunk of $$ for us and we'd really like to make the best possible choice. Thanks again!

 

[Blackunicorn]

Well, first, you can see pictures of the Paradise Pier pool and rooms here .

While I don't know where the Fairfield is, it's entirely possible that it's closer to the main gate than Paradise Pier--the Disney hotels are separated from the main gates by DTD. GC, of course, has a private entrance to DCA .

You're not going to get an unbiased opinion from me--I love staying at the Paradise Pier. I love the theme, I like the CM's, I like the PCH Grill, I like the water slide. The pool is just a rectangle, but a nice size. I like that there's a wading pool for very young kids. I like the cartoon-viewing room off the lobby. I like the glass elevator. I think that it's as close to the parks as the other two hotels, and I've never had any trouble using the GC private entrance to get into DCA. The beach theme just makes me feel all sunny and happy (whereas the GC makes me feel like I'm looking at another tourist trap down the street from home) and I think the rooms are much larger than the average hotel. I feel like, when I leave the parks at night, I'm still "in" Disney, that I'm not going back to just another hotel. BTW, I've always had a fridge and an in-room safe at PPH. No microwave, though, sorry. If I was going to be paying approximately the same price, I'd choose PPH, hands down. Last year, I offered to book a stay at a good neighbor hotel to save money, and my family nearly lynched me.

 

[two-foxes]

We originally had our reservation for our upcoming Aug trip at the Fairfield through AAA. All the reviews at tripadvisor.com looked good for it. However, we decided to pay the $200 difference to stay at PPH. I have stayed at PPH in the past and LOVED it, plus the unlimited fastpass is the extra bonus of staying on site and booking through AAA. Even without the fastpass perk, I would choose PPH over Fairfield, but I am comfortable with the whole "staying with Disney" kinda thing!

 

[Amy&Dan]

The Fairfield Inn is next door to the Howard Johnson's on Harbor. I would say the walk would be about the same to both hotels. I have not stayed at the Fairfield Inn but have stayed at PP and to me the ONLY reason to ever stay offsite is if you can save a sizeable amount of money. Since that doesn't seem to be the case I would definitely go with PP! I agree with others, the feeling of being onsite just keeps the magic going for us. Also the walk to PP is much more pleasant since you are walking up Downtown Disney as opposed to a busy city street. The rooms at PP are very large and have a very comfortable daybed. PP has fun theming and lots of nice Disney touches that you won't find offsite. The Fairfield Inn has exterior hallways and since it is located on a very busy street near a highway I would wonder about noise. Whenever we have stayed offsite, we might have found the accomodations to be fine or better but just hated the feeling of leaving Disney behind each evening as we trudged up Harbor with the sounds of traffic all around us!