HOJO or Desert Inn

[avalon451]

The deluxe rooms at HoJo, in Building 1, are the recently renovated ones, with new pillowtop mattresses, microwaves, and refrigerators, as well as a balcony with a park view. Some people have had problems with freeway noise, especially at upper levels. Others report it to be quiet. Guess it depends on your location (we bring a white noise machine or a fan, so outside noise generally doesn't bother us). I believe HoJo is in the continuing process of upgrading the other rooms, as well, and some of the deluxe rooms are located in Building 2, overlooking the garden pool.

As far as distance and the best route to walk to the parks, Bumbershoot did a great pictoral report on the route on her trip report here, post #122: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1766695&page=9

Also, a staff writer at MousePlanet did a great report on the exact distances in feet (!) from all the local hotels to the very center of the Esplanade. http://www.mouseplanet.com/articles.php?art=mm060329as It's surprising to note that many of the hotels on Harbor are actually closer than DLH or PP. It shows that PP is a distance of 2,454 feet, while the closer rooms at HoJo are 2,648 feet. This is a really interesting article to look at, with lots of links that show you the routes. The HoJo link does show you the exact route with the shortcut (which is where you cross Harbor there at Manchester, and walk down the other side of Harbor away from all the crowds, and go into DL dropoff area near the taxi stands). It cuts a few minutes off your walk, plus it's much less crowded with people and strollers, as Bumbershoot's pictures illustrate!

HTH!

 

[camouseketeer]

Avalon, thanks for the links. I knew I had read about an easier way to walk to Hojo. I forgot about Bumber's pictures too. That will make the walk simple to figure out.

Now I just need to cross my fingers and hope for an Entertainment rate discount for my dates. That will make my decision oh so much easier!

 

[auntyjenn]

I too was deciding between hojo and DI. I decided on DI because it's closer (My sisters are all coming and some may need to go nap in the afternoons with their small children) and we're getting the C2 family suite (At the hojo we would have had to add a roll-a-way bed and two rooms for everyone to have their own bed.)

I've stayed at both places and the refrigerators at DI are very large for mini fridges, which is good for me because I like to get a lot of our own food. The pool is going to be a bit of a bummer, but I don't usually leave lots of room in the itinerary for swimming. That's not why I'm there.

I'm not really picky about the niceness of the place, but some are, and hojo was definitely nicer. DI was clean and perfectly fine for us though.

 

[camouseketeer]

Wow! Thanks for your input (and finding a buried thread!)

Hojo posted entertainment card rates for our stay so we are getting the discount.

That plus the opening of the water play area made the decision easy.

We will be taking afternoon breaks and I really wanted a nice pool. The water play area is a super bonus!

So we'll (or I'll) walk the extra few minutes. It's worth it!