Hojo is killing me!

[mamaofthree]

After stalking the HoJo boards for months, and no sign of retro rates appearing, I booked a Paradise Pier package thru Costco for four nights. This morning I noticed ALL of those nights are now available at the retro rate (of course they could be gone by the time I post this in which case this all won't matter lol). So now I can't decide whether to save a ton of money and stay there, or stick with paradise pier. We could stay in a regular room and save a ton, or even do a kids suite if its available and have the luxury of two rooms. With 4 nights and 3 kids that might be best. And still a lot cheaper. Ugh. We've never stayed on site. And it's a Christmas present and surprise for the kids. But the bargain shopper in me is cringing now. We don't have a ton of extra money. Disneyland is what we save for all year. What would you do?

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

Id probably do Hojos and use some of the money saved for an extra splurge or two. Though if I could swing onsite that'd be hard to give up.

 

[Butterfly123]

I agree with Shannon. I figure that money I save on one trip just means more money I can put aside for the next trip!

 

[inluvwithbuzz]

Are you able to cancel your package through Costco without penalty? I agree with previous poster as well. Go with the hojo if you dates are still available for the retro rate. In my opinion expensive hotel rooms are not worth it when I find I dont spend a lot of time in my hotel room. I am just there to sleep and shower when I go to disneyland.

 

[jdb in AZ]

The problem with staying onsite is that it spoils you -- once you stay onsite you won't want to go back to a nice non-Disney hotel. (Ask me how I know this!) If you stay with HoJo now, it will keep you from becoming a hotel snob.

 

[jenpace]

I'll go against the grain and say stay with PPH. There are many people who love Hojo and there are many people who do not. If you're looking for a magical holiday Disney experience you'll feel like you're getting that at PPH. There's a beautiful Christmas tree in the lobby and they have carolers in full period costume singing Christmas songs at certain times during the day and unless they changed something, Santa visits and sits with kids at the big Christmas tree during the day too. It's pretty great

 

[princesszelda]

I would stay at PPH. We ahve stayed a few times. Let me just say after staying on property and then going off after. It is really hard to do.

 

[rentayenta]

PPH.

 

[taaren]

Less $$ and more room for the kids suite? HoJo's hands down.

Love staying on-site, we try to every time we can .... but that value has a ceiling for me. When we run out of DVC points and can't find a good deal to rent points for DLH we're okay with going back to the Marriotts since I can't stomach on-site pricing. With three kids, I'd definitely go for the kids suite, take half the money you save and put it towards the next trip and the other half into a splurge on your trip.

 

[haydeecm]

No question, I would stay at HOJOs, but then again I may not know what Im missing. I love HOJOs, and if I had extra money for a vacation, would rather splurge on food and souvenirs.

Now if we were talking about GCH I may have to think about it.

 

[kirstie101]

Having never stayed at either (yet!) and being very budget minded this is a hard one for me. It would probably depend on the amount of money that would be saved by switching. If the amount wasn't pretty significant I would probably keep the PPH reservation since you already budgeted for it. And I also think Christmas time (if thats when you're traveling) would be a really neat time to stay in one of the Disney properties. If you're traveling after Christmas time, then I'd probably be more willing to change hotels and save the money. You could use the money on character meals or a tour or reserved seating for something!

 

[Crazy4Disney06]

I would stay at PPH with the Costco package. The bonus gift card and free character meal, and extra magic hours are with it to me!! We stayed at PPH with a Costco package and loved it!! The character meal alone can be in the rage of $30 per person. You can use it for a character meal at any of the 3 DLR hotels.

 

[Gisele]

What are you really and truly interested in doing the most?

 

[LisainCalifornia]

I can say this with confidence since I have stayed at both:

Stay with the PPH. To me, the extra money to stay on property is so worth it. I am not the type to buy lots of useless stuff, though (we don't buy lots of souveniors)--and the experience of staying at one of the DLR hotels is worth a lot.

Hojos is okay, but nothing compared to staying at the DLR.

 

[NancyIL]

Having booked a Disneyland package before, there will be a fee to cancel the package. Figure that into your calculations, as well as the value of the Paradise Pier package extras.

 

[mamaofthree]

Having booked a Disneyland package before, there will be a fee to cancel the package. Figure that into your calculations, as well as the value of the Paradise Pier package extras.

No fee, I have only paid my deposit and am still outside of the 30 day window. We are booked for January.

Thanks for all the input. I talked to SIL, who is meeting us there, and we both decided to stick with PPH. I possibly could have been swayed to HoJo's kids suite, but I know those are hard to get, and I remembered when I was checking their site last month at the regular rates it wasn't even available for all my nights. It has always been a dream to stay on site, and the trip is a Christmas present for the kids, so I'm sticking with the splurge. I couldn't (wouldn't) ever pay rack rates, so I was thrilled to see their winter offer made staying at PPH affordable for us. I'm actually really curious to see whether I fall in love with it and make it a priority to save longer between trips so we can stay on site, or whether I feel its just not worth it .

 

[smiles33]

Glad to see an update! I think your decision makes sense, as it is a special Christmas surprise. I'm a huge fan of HoJo and its Kid Suite, yet I think Christmastime decor at the hotels and the special pricing makes this a smart splurge.

Have fun!