HoJo discount rates - BIG CHANGES!!

[chrissiecutie]

This.

I've stayed at the HOJO so many times through the years....basically if we're not staying onsite at one of the Disney hotels then we're at the HOJO. And we really like the HOJO. BUT....yes, their bathrooms are all kind of gross. The fans/vents are especially nasty in every room.

Although, we've also had rusty fixtures (rusty light fixtures and shower heads), cracked toilet tank lids, black mold growing in the crease where the bathroom walls joins with the ceiling, scum build-up on and around shower heads and faucets, ect.

Most of the bathroom issues we've shrugged off over the years. When it comes to the yucky vents/fans, we just don't look and avert our eyes completely because it's just.....ick!

But we like that their rooms are light and bright with large windows. We love their garden pool - really wish they had a hottub over there though - who wants to soak in a hottub and try to relax in the middle of a noisy kiddie water playground?

I remember them announcing the addition of a new hottub over by the garden pool a few years back, but it never happened.

We also think they have a beautiful property (pretty landscaping, well kept grounds, twinkle lights, ect).

I don't mind if they're changing the "way" they offer a decent discount. I'm just afraid that any decent discount will be offered even less than it was before, which was already few and far between.

The HOJO's regular rates are getting a bit steep though. It's kind of depressing to happen when the economy is still in such sad shape, but it is what it is.

I've never really shopped around for other hotels, but I'm not opposed to it. We always wanted to try the Candy Cane Inn and also the Shereton Anaheim. I think both of those hotels also have their own private shuttle, which is pretty cool.

Ah yes...How can the bathrooms have appeared to miss the "remodel" year after year? I think perhaps HoJo's has averted their eyes too! But when folks are paying upwards of $150/night...the spotlight will be shining & it will be focused on those horrid bathrooms!

Frankly- if HoJo's doesn't make some more drastic changes in their property to go along with the drastic pricing changes, they will most likely be offering refunds to unhappy & unsatisfied customers. Which would entirely defeat the purpose of everything they are doing with the pricing changes, kwim?

Folks expect that at $59-79/night (the typical ET rates) that the hotel & rooms would not be perfect. I think it's safe to say, that we acknowledge we won't be getting a free breakfast & that their will be some rusty toilets or fridges that don't really stay very cold (which BTW- is an issue at HoJo's) or that I have to pry Keurig coffee pods from the smiling & reluctant front desk employees...but when paying the much higher prices that HoJo's has been offering as of late...frankly, I expect near perfection.

I don't remember hearing about the addition of a hot tub by the garden pool. But boy, that would make sense! Personally, I never use the hot tub. It's just not conducive to relaxing while being near all those happy, screaming kids- mine included! Plus it's too small.

And I agree with you...I don't mind that they have chosen to change the way they advertise their discounted rates. But don't feed me a line of BS & tell me it's so they can connect with loyal guests better Tell it like it is...your loyal guests already knew how to find out the info that they needed in regards to your hotel. This email list just puts the ball in HoJo's court, rather then in the guests.

And really...how is this going to work exactly? Most DISers are avid planners. I typically plan 4-6 months out. Is the HoJo going to be emailing 4-6 months out with their "super family" rates?? I doubt it...so most likely I will be looking elsewhere for deals. As DS would say- Epic Fail Hojo's, Epic Fail.

 

[disney-super-mom]

I don't remember hearing about the addition of a hot tub by the garden pool. But boy, that would make sense! Personally, I never use the hot tub. It's just not conducive to relaxing while being near all those happy, screaming kids- mine included! Plus it's too small.

A new garden pool hot tub was announced on their discussion board a few years back - in 2008 or 2009 I think.. I even remember seeing a picture of what it was supposed to look like (with a waterfall feature). I'm not sure where the threads went, but I did find this thread still on their discussion board.

http://www.boards.hojoanaheim.com/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=682


A new hot tub in the garden pool area is also mentioned in one of their videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkreiG8bfd8&feature=channel&list=UL

 

[JadeDarkstar]

i didn't say anihime plaza inn had breakfast that's one that didn't have breakfast. and ya i read about one bed bug registry but hay grand had 6 so ya im not gona worry to bad about it from one complaint. But we will be going to watch and report back. still 69 a night isn't bad and hojo's is gona lose ppl if they don't fix everything some there fan's are saying they need too.

 

[chrissiecutie]

A new garden pool hot tub was announced on their discussion board a few years back - in 2008 or 2009 I think.. I even remember seeing a picture of what it was supposed to look like (with a waterfall feature). I'm not sure where the threads went, but I did find this thread still on their discussion board.

http://www.boards.hojoanaheim.com/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=682


A new hot tub in the garden pool area is also mentioned in one of their videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkreiG8bfd8&feature=channel&list=UL

Looks like 2009 from those links you provided. It's too bad they never put this in, but perhaps this might be one of the amenities they will add now that they are charging more?

If you look back at the old pics on TripAdvisor, you can see what the Castaway Cove area looked like before it became the kids water park. It was here that they had the hot tub, so when they did the remodel, they just kept it. Which makes sense to me. But when they remodeled the garden pool, why not add a hot tub here too?? Especially with the amount of people they have staying at their hotel- 2 hot tubs is really a necessity. And one in a quieter area would really be the way to go!

 

[jory29]

Well, we knew there would be a lot of questions about the changes to our discount programs, so here are the facts…

Why change the discount programs?
We realize these discount programs were extremely popular with our Hojo and Disneyland fans. In fact, the discount codes were so popular that they ended up on all sorts of discount pages around the internet. We needed a way to connect directly with our loyal fans, and to reward them with special deals. Our subscription email lists allow us to connect with our fans and offer the right information to the right folks at the right time.

Why do we offer discounts?
Discounts are used for various reasons. Sometimes, we allow deep discounts early to build a small base of business for a day. Other times, it is to fill up the last remaining rooms for a day. Mostly, these deep discounts are viewed as a reward to those who are repeat customers, such as AP holders. Much like a loyalty program with retailers, our new “Super Family” discounts are targeted to Disney Fans who stay with us often. Using our email list allows us to communicate directly to those folks. Registered users can “opt-in” to receive only specific updates (AP holders, last-minute deals, etc), and we will not bombard users with unwanted updates. We are working with the Howard Johnson reservations system to hopefully offer the “Super Family” rate more often, but with a limited number of rooms, on a first-come-first-served basis. So, you can see the email notifications will be the quickest way to get your notifications.

Entertainment Discount
It seemed silly to us to require folks to buy an Entertainment Book (even on EBay) in order to get a discount. We recommend subscribing to our email program to get notified of other discounts. We will now offer the “Super Family” 50% off rate, along with length of stay discounts up to 30% which don’t require a “membership” or Disney AP.

What else is changing at Hojo’s?
We are re-investing in big ways, right now. We are installing 275 37” LED flatscreen televisions for our guest rooms, in addition to HD service with more family programming. We have completed renovations in about half of the 94 Pavilion building rooms (Standard Double rooms) so far. They are receiving new carpet, bright and fresh paint, Mary Blair Small World artwork, and updated lighting and bathrooms. They are actually some of our best looking rooms, now! We’ll post new photos on our blog page soon.

I believe that our product, including great service, premium beds, premium coffee, new larger HD televisions, Castaway Cove and pools, Main St. Market convenience store, new gameroom, Mimi’s Café, etc. is a great value and experience (even at our regular rates) compared to our neighboring hotels, and is a “Super” bargain when you can get it at all at 30%- 50% off!

Jonathan
GM

Your explanation to the DISboard members is thorough. Thanks! (It is nice when a manager of a hotel actively posts on the DISboards, as you consistently do, Jonathan.) I am happy to have signed up for the email promotions, and look forward to reading all of my emails from Hojo's.

The *cleanliness* and reliability at Hojo's is something we can personally vouch for - on 6 different week-long stays at your hotel over the past 6 years, it is what has sent us back over and over, (as well as the other great amenities.)

Sometimes on our visits we've received a 15% DISboard discount, other times, either a full or blended rate of the DISboard discount and the retro/entertainment rate.

For our peace of mind, knowing exactly what we will get at Hojo's, (this means no surprises, due to a consistent superior level of cleanliness and customer service) we will stay at Hojo's every time we are in the area. Flying in from Canada means we usually make reservations months in advance, and I think it's incredible that you offer and allow changes in rates if the rates do go down in price.

We also personally like the in-room safe (free) to store our passports and other electronic valuables. The building may be 'older', but history has it's charm, and it is very well kept. We personally love the inner hallways as well. As far as the bathrooms go, they might be 'older', but they have always been very clean.

The spaciousness of the kids suites in particular have been a blessing for us with a teen who needs his 'own space' after a long day in the Disney Parks. The renovations Hojo's made on the new sound proofed patio doors in the freeway facing rooms is amazing! The rooms are very quiet.

I have also always appreciated being able to place a Von's order online, and having the very friendly staff help us to cheerfully bring it up to our room. If we forgot something in our order, then off to the Hojo's Market we go, to find exactly what we need, whether it be blister bandaids, or a sympathetic smile from the friendly staff.

I feel like this new method of alerting Hojo's guests as to promotions and deals is going to be a positive change - I prefer being informed by email each time a promotion is on, so I feel this change is beneficial.

 

[disneegrl4eva]

i didn't say anihime plaza inn had breakfast that's one that didn't have breakfast. and ya i read about one bed bug registry but hay grand had 6 so ya im not gona worry to bad about it from one complaint. But we will be going to watch and report back. still 69 a night isn't bad and hojo's is gona lose ppl if they don't fix everything some there fan's are saying they need too.

Jade I dont think you are looking at the bed bug registry correctly...ALL the hotels are listed on there but just because they are listed doesnt mean they have reports from bed bugs...in fact, GC has none...you have to click on the name of the hotel to see the number of reports...

the GC has none...
http://bedbugregistry.com/hotel/CA/Anaheim/Disney's-Grand-Californian

Quality has 3
http://bedbugregistry.com/hotel/CA/Anaheim/Quality-Inn-%26amp;-Suites-Anaheim-Resort

 

[disney-super-mom]

As far as the bathrooms go, they might be 'older', but they have always been very clean.

I feel like this new method of alerting Hojo's guests as to promotions and deals is going to be a positive change - I prefer being informed by email each time a promotion is on, so I feel this change is beneficial.

I'm hoping this change will be positive as well. We'll see as time goes on, but in the meantime I'm crossing fingers and remaining hopefull.

As for their cleanliness, I agree the rooms are always clean, and I love that they're so bright and cheerful!

But honestly I have had a few issues with their bathrooms. I don't mind the bathrooms being older per se, and I've not had a problem with basic bathroom cleanliness there. We've mainly experienced problems with the more detailed cleaning that takes place on a long-term rotation, and apparently I've been put in a few rooms over the years at the top of the detailing rotation schedule but hadn't been done yet - haha.

For example, like this room. This is a premium queen/queen disney view room (yes, this is my own picture). The black mold went all the way around the entire ceiling/walls of the bathroom, and I have to say it was worse in person than the picture shows. Is it a big deal and did it ruin our trip? No, of course not. I mean obviously a housekeeper can't clean around the ceiling perimeter of the bathroom between guests. They don't have time. Like I said, it's something that is done on a rotation. But it was still icky to see, if you know what I mean.

I have other pictures from different trips showing other issues we've had like bad calcium build up on shower heads and faucets, but you get the idea.

I've never taken a picture of the bathroom vents before. The vents almost look like they're built (embedded) into the bathroom wall, allowing no way to get inside of them to clean out the grime, but I'm not sure.

But don't get me wrong. We've always had very pleasant stays and experiences with the HOJO and hope to in the future. We have reservations there for this coming October and can't wait!

And I hope they put a hot tub in the quiet pool area soon. Just had to get that in there.

 

[chrissiecutie]

I'm hoping this change will be positive as well. We'll see as time goes on, but in the meantime I'm crossing fingers and remaining hopefull.

As for their cleanliness, I agree the rooms are always clean, and I love that they're so bright and cheerful!

But honestly I have had a few issues with their bathrooms. I don't mind the bathrooms being older per se, and I've not had a problem with basic bathroom cleanliness there. We've mainly experienced problems with the more detailed cleaning that takes place on a long-term rotation, and apparently I've been put in a few rooms over the years at the top of the detailing rotation schedule but hadn't been done yet - haha.

For example, like this room. This is a deluxe queen/queen disney view room (yes, this is my own picture). The black mold went all the way around the entire ceiling/walls of the bathroom, and I have to say it was worse in person than the picture shows. Is it a big deal and did it ruin our trip? No, of course not. I mean obviously a housekeeper can't clean around the ceiling perimeter of the bathroom between guests. They don't have time. Like I said, it's something that is done on a rotation. But it was still icky to see, if you know what I mean.

I have other pictures from different trips showing other issues we've had like bad calcium build up on shower heads and faucets, but you get the idea.

I've never taken a picture of the bathroom vents before. The vents almost look like they're built (embedded) into the bathroom wall, allowing no way to get inside of them to clean out the grime, but I'm not sure.

But don't get me wrong. We've always had very pleasant stays and experiences with the HOJO and hope to in the future. We have reservations there for this coming October and can't wait!

And I hope they put a hot tub in the quiet pool area soon. Just had to get that in there.

Thank you for posting this picture! I think the black "rim" around the top of the shower is actually not nearly as bad as some of the bathrooms I've seen/stayed in. And I fully agree- most of these issues are most likely just due to age. The surfaces have always been clean. It's the deep cleans & routine maint. that is lacking. Sometimes you hit a wall- where no matter how much you clean, how many times you apply new caulking, replace the facet heads, etc- the only thing that will truly fix it, is a complete overhaul. Kwim?

Personally- I find the bathrooms in the deluxe rooms to be better then those in the pavillion rooms (is that what we are calling the double doubles??) But they are still gross. And the vents....why those are a horror all their own! It's best not to look that beast head on!

We have always had great stays here and our room has always been clean. There are some true dives out there & I'm happy to say that Hojo's is NOT one of them! I think we can all agree on that...but the reality is that it IS an old building and many areas still need work. I think even HoJo themselves would have to agree with that one!

The real issue here is that with HoJo changing their pricing structure & increasing rates while at the same time decreasing the discounts- they also need to do some improvement. I'm happy to hear from Jonathan about the changes they will be making to the pavillion rooms. New carpet, paint, artwork & yes- even those awful bathrooms...sounds good to me! But Jonathan- don't forget the other bathrooms too!

 

[JadeDarkstar]

like a month ago there was a post about bed bugs and it showed a link and it showed grand had more then some would have thought. and every one was suprised with how much cash you shell out for it that it had so many

 

[JadeDarkstar]

http://bedbugregistry.com/hotel/CA/Anaheim/Disneys-Grand-Californian-Hotel 7- 2 this year see told you so

 

[Girimama33]

All three Disneyland Hotels have had reports of bed bugs on the bed bug registry...GCH has the most.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

i didnt mean to be like nanana i was right lol just ya i saw that same site last month and was shocked how bad gch was yes quality inn had two this year but hay i also read over 40 reviews from this year saying was a fine stay no bedbugs and good enough for cheap stay, also many hotels have bed bugs from what ive read.

 

[TheZue]

Paying to avoid bed bugs is silly. ALL hotels have them. And of course all the disney hotels have reports, DLH is three times the size of HOJO. In theory it should have three times the reports. Those are massive hotels that attract people who are going to have stopped at other hotels along the way. There are going to be bed bugs.

What I get concerned about is the response to them. For example we were thinking about staying at Motel 6s on the drive down to save a bit of money; but I found many reviews of many different Motel 6s talked about bed bugs. And they weren't minor infestations, it was people waking up covered in them sort of thing, and the front desk not caring. More importantly they had a similar theme of trying to talk to head office about it and head office was indifferent. When I see a few reports that head office is indifferent that's where there is a problem. Needless to say we aren't going with Motel 6, but honestly I'm kinda happy...they are so bare bones even if we are only there 10 hours at most.

 

[Mackie Mouse]

Just wanted to report that I just received a "Super Family Rate" e-mail from the HoJo offering a 50% discount with lots of dates - both last-minute and through January of next year. So everyone...time to calm down and start calling for those discounts!

 

[OctoberDisney]

Just wanted to report that I just received a "Super Family Rate" e-mail from the HoJo offering a 50% discount with lots of dates - both last-minute and through January of next year. So everyone...time to calm down and start calling for those discounts!

Really? I didn't get one and I should be on the email list.

 

[Girimama33]

Just wanted to report that I just received a "Super Family Rate" e-mail from the HoJo offering a 50% discount with lots of dates - both last-minute and through January of next year. So everyone...time to calm down and start calling for those discounts!

I received it too. I was hoping to add a day (10/21) to our reservation, but it is not available...only 10/22-23 which I already have.
For anyone wondering...here are the dates for the 50% off rate:

2012
July: 29, 31
Aug: 1-5, 18, 19, 24-30
Sep: 3-5, 17-19, 29
Oct: 3, 4, 19, 22, 23, 28-31
Nov: 1-8, 11-30
Dec: 10-24

2013
Jan: 6-10, 15-17, 21-23, 28-31
May have to open a thread about this....

 

[ZanderMan]

Just wanted to report that I just received a "Super Family Rate" e-mail from the HoJo offering a 50% discount with lots of dates - both last-minute and through January of next year. So everyone...time to calm down and start calling for those discounts!

Me Too!!!

 

[DisneyMomma81]

I received it too. I was hoping to add a day (10/21) to our reservation, but it is not available...only 10/22-23 which I already have.
For anyone wondering...here are the dates for the 50% off rate:

2012
July: 29, 31
Aug: 1-5, 18, 19, 24-30
Sep: 3-5, 17-19, 29
Oct: 3, 4, 19, 22, 23, 28-31
Nov: 1-8, 11-30
Dec: 10-24

2013
Jan: 6-10, 15-17, 21-23, 28-31
May have to open a thread about this....

Me too! I got it almost 30 minutes ago.

 

[DarthMole]

Just wanted to report that I just received a "Super Family Rate" e-mail from the HoJo offering a 50% discount with lots of dates - both last-minute and through January of next year. So everyone...time to calm down and start calling for those discounts!

Exactly. Heck, even smack dab in the middle of summer. 7/29 - 8/5. Yes, it's last minute (two days away) but anyone with a room already booked should be able to get in on this and get the lower rate while it's available.

 

[nsiordia]

I also received an email and called for a Date, August 18th, it was 84.50 for a standard room. Previously a standard room under retro rates was $59. It's gone up about $25. I definitely can get something cheaper on priceline. I did book 12.23-12/25 at $79. I will cancel if I find something cheaper. We really do love HOJO and are glad to hear that they are installing flat screens finally!! But I know I can get cheaper rooms on Priceline and have gotten really nice rooms for $45. The reason we booked HOJO was for the waterpark which is worth paying more if you have young kids. Our love it.