Help with PA hotels

[Bowen9475]

We are heading to PA after the kids get out of school. We will be visiting both Sesame Place and Hershey Park. Can anyone recommend good hotels near either/both of these parks? Thanks!

ETA - We know they are quite a distance apart. We will be spending a few days at one then travelling to the other and spending a few days there.

 

[scanne]

Sesame Place and Hershey Park are SO far apart! Sesame Place is in Langhorne, PA - about 40 minutes outside of Philadelphia. Hershey is near Lancaster, PA.

I would do a search for both on google and see what kind of hotels are nearby.

I know Hershey has a posh hotel called the Hershey Hotel. $$$.


Good luck.

 

[gigi1313]

our family's FAVORITE hotel in the lancaster area (hershey/dutch wonderland area) is Willow Valley Resort... it's GREAT!! awesome place, awesome staff, great pools, small water park, golf, petting barn, duck pond, excellent buffet restaurants... can't say enough great stuff about the place! LOVE IT!!

for sesame place, my only advice is BE CAREFUL! stay on "the strip" of hotels right near the entrance... we made the mistake of staying a few miles away a few years ago and totally regretted it (it was a days inn i think... very poor quality and not so nice neighborhood)... oh, and definitely go for the character breakfast... we loved it [also, a lot of people do not realize but sesame place has a LOT of water rides... be prepared w/bathing suits... it's more a water park than an amusement park, imo]

ENJOY

 

[smep013]

There is a Sheraton (very nice) right across the street from Sesame and a Red Roof Inn (I've never been inside) right down the road. There are other smaller hotels that I cannot comment on, because, again, I've never been inside them. But there is a Ramada in a nearby town called Bristol, as well as a Comfort Inn. Both are about 15 minutes from Sesame. I think if you look on the Seame website, it will list suggestions.

The Hershey Hotel is REALLY nice, but there are plenty of chain hotels there too. I think I stayed at a nice and clean Best Western there.

Hope that Helps!

 

[G8RFAN]

We stayed at the Sheraton Bucks County last year. It was very close to Sesame Place but really not a safe walk across a pretty busy street. Fortunately, they have a very convenient shuttle that goes back and forth about every 30 minutes if I remember correctly. The hotel was pretty old but clean. The walk through the hotel "dungeon" to their parking garage was a bit erie and not stroller friendly. The bed was nice with a feather pillowtop and a nice down duvet/comforter. If I were to go back to Sesame Place, I would key in on shuttle service with hotel choices. We witnessed traffic backups in the parking lot at park closing that reminded me of leaving concerts or football games. One thing that did happen in check-in that freaked us out was 30 minutes after we checked in, another family walked right on in. Apparently a new girl assigned someone else our room. They immediately apologized while I demanded that they rekey our room keys to something else. The same girl had screwed up our bill, as I had prepaid for the room and they charged me for the stay again. Otherwise, I was pretty happy with the stay and particularly with the shuttle service, but I would probably explore other hotel options before I chose to stay there again.

 

[jrmasm]

oh, and definitely go for the character breakfast... we loved it

Gotta disagree. The food is beyond awful and there are no character handlers. Picture a "lady" coming up to our table and handing me her camera so that I could take her picture after she stuck herself between my children and Elmo.

Prepare yourself for the fact that Sesame Place is not in the same class as Disney and you might be ok.


Sorry for the derailment.

 

[WDWNicole]

I second the vote for Willow Valley though it is a 30-40 drive to Hershey Park from there. We've also stayed in the Holiday Inn Express near Hershey. It was approximately 10 minutes away, clean and included continental breakfast. There is also the Hershey Lodge, but that is pretty expensive during the summer.

 

[skunkvette]

We live between Sesame and Hershey.

There are some nice hotels off the PA Turnpike (which links the two parks), in Exton and Reading PA which lie between the twp parks.

A nice hotel at Hershey, which we use every year, is the Springhill Suites on Museum Drive, just outside the park. 717-583-2222.

 

[java]

At Hershey we have stayed at the Comfort Inn at the park(nice but expensive for a Comfort Inn I thought....looks nothing like what you would expect) We have stayed Hershey Hotel-fancy but not worth the $$ IMHO. The Hershey Lodge is old and if you don't smoke make sure you get NON-Smoking. But it is VERY kid friendly- free mini golf on site. Indoor-outdoor pool, and all the restaurants have extensive kids menus.(and my kids point out you get a free Hershey bar when you check in )
Sesame Place (YIKES!!!! on that one...) they have added 3 "rides" this year so there will actually be some rides but it is mostly a water park. Unless your kids are REALLY REALLY into Sesame Street I wouldn't put this at the top of my list. They have opened a bunch of new hotels right by the park now- although we have stayed at the one right across the street(I think it is a Radison- nothing great but close)
Other options depending on your kids ages- The Crayola Factory(my kids love it there) There is now a Great Wolf Lodge in the Poconos, Or our favorite local water park CamelBeach(right on Camelback Mountain!) Oh and amusement parks: There is Knoebels to the north of Hershey, Dutch Wonderland to the South East(for the under 12 set- but actually better than we expected) and Dorney Park!(if your kids are older but if you are thinking SP I doubt that.

 

[nybound]

Just as a point of clarification, Hershey is closer to Harrisburg than Lancaster.

From the Reading turnpike exit to Hersheypark is about 35-40 minutes (approximately 34 miles). I kind of know that first hand as I just did it on Memorial Day.

From the Exton turnpike exit add another 12 or 14 miles (I forget which).

I don't know how set you are in going to Sesame Place, but you may want to consider Dutch Wonderland which is located just outside Lancaster. Hersheypark and Dutch Wonderland have combo ticket deals.

If Sesame Place is definate, it's about two hours from Hershey.

As to where to stay, I'm not much help as I would normally stay with relatives who live close by to either destination.

 

[Brocktoon]

I live about a mile from Sesame Place so I know the area pretty well. Like others have said, I'd reccomend the Sheraton (across the street). The Red Roof Inn is a little dumpy, but there's a Holiday Inn Express next to it that I've heard isn't too bad. While all three hotels are very close, Sesame Place is smack in the middle of a huge shopping mall/strip mall/restaurant area so walking there isn't something I'd reccomend.

 

[G8RFAN]

Gotta disagree. The food is beyond awful and there are no character handlers.

We did the dinner the night before doing the breakfast. While the food quality was lacking for both, the breakfast was definitely more chaotic. For dinner, they assign a table to you, the characters were brought to each table. The breakfast was a free-for-all with seating and some characters stayed up front such as Big Bird while others weren't brought to all tables. Also, the breakfast quickly ran out of some things such as sausage and were not quickly replaced. In fact, I think I was still a little hungry afterwards. For what it's worth, the dinner was far more enjoyable with plenty of food and better character interaction. We have two of our most favorite pictures of our son with Cookie Monster and Big Bird from the dinner. And quite honestly, you aren't doing it for the food.

 

[Redwitch]

Lancaster is a daytrip from either Hershey or Langhorne. It is also a daytrip to Gettysburg or Baltimore. If you want to stay in one hotel for you entire trip, it is an option.

Dutch Wonderland is a small amusement park that was recently bought by Hershey. It caters to families with small children. I used to go when I was young and I took my daughter there as well.

We are quite a tourist area; there are tons of hotels.

 

[DisAddict]

The Sheraton has just been redone, there is a Marriott Courtyard, I think both of these offer shuttles to SP, general parking is $10, preferred is $13. There are a lot of water rides but there is plenty of dry attractions too. We've had season passes for the past three years and we enjoy it. I do have to say, that it can get quite busy in the summer. The kids here get out of school in the next two weeks. Add to that the buses NY down to VA and it can get busy. The new Elmo's World area is cute with three new rides if you have Elmo fans.