HoJo or On Site??

[ltl engine]

I need a little advice from the pro's....we have stayed at WDW and loved it! We have also stayed at the Nick Hotel in Orlando--from reading reviews we knew what to expect...the kids loved the slime, hotel was OK.

I suggested HoJo to DH based on some of the reviews. He is not really sure since most HoJo's we are familar with rank along with the Nick Hotel in Orlando? Does anyone have experience with Nick and the HoJo at DL? Similar, better???? Any comments would be appreciated!

We will need to take afternoon breaks with 2yr old DS...how long of a walk is it from DL/DCA to HoJo? How is the pool/water area at HoJo vs GC? Any other comments would be appreciated! TIA

 

[Abbeys_mom]

We usually do Hojo in the summer for the pool alone (book a lower room if daylight is a nap time issue). During the winter, we do GCH to be close and splurge a little, it just seems cozier to us. I usually seek out AP rates at both, and mentally prepare that I get what I pay for. I love staying on property, dd loves the pool. Happy compromise if we go 2x per year!

 

[skiingfast]

If the Nickalodeon Suites didn't have that water park, it would be really crappy, the water park is its saving grace.

At Hojo it is semi nice. No modern but the rooms do get updates and are clean. The water park is very small, so don't tell the kids they will be dissapointed compared to thier other experience. What's nice is the hotel is much smaller and their water park doesn't get crazy crowded. It's about 7 minutes to the gates.

You may want to try the Disneyland Hotel. Is has a big pool are with a small splash play area and a few slides. No huge slides just medium and one for toddlers. It's about 12 minutes to the gates but will cost 2 or 3 times as much.

Grand Californian is less fun than the DLH. More subtle themeing but super close built against California Adventure so about 2-5 minutes to the gates depending on your room location. It has a typical Disney pool are like you saw at the BLT. Pricewise it's in the 3times Hojo range.

If you happen to be going this Summer the onsite perks may make a big difference.

 

[jory29]

We feel we can never justify the extra expense of staying onsite because the extra cost alone more than covers our food and souvenirs.

Hojo's is around an 8 minute walk, with restaurants nicely spaced along the way. Next door to Hojo's is Mimi's restaurant, an excellent family restaurant. McDonald's is halfway between Hojo's and Disneyland, and is great for breakfasts or late night snacks on the way back to the park. Considering how much a person walks during a day throughout the parks, the 8 min. walk is negligible. I am pooh sized, and the walk is fine for me. My DD has done the walk starting when she was 4 years old, and we do walk back to the hotel for a mid day break. There are so many pros for Hojo's, here they are:

clean rooms, hotel style inner corridor to the rooms

free in-room large safe

pillow top mattresses

kids suite - if available - has 2 bathrooms; a great big room for the kids, with a bunk bed and foldaway sofa bed. Adults room has the big comfy king bed
The pillows are super comfy, a couple of different ones I think

Keurig coffee machines in room (more sanitary than other ones plus taste great! They include cups with lids to go, for walking to the park, etc.

Terrific gift shop - it has everything in it! All sorts of food, beverages, souvenirs, first aid, laundry, toiletries, etc.

Game room in building 1. Someone from the DISboards won an ipad2 on one of the games!

Splash pool area for kids, with hot tub for adults to relax in
Nice large garden pool for those who want to swim

If we order Vons groceries (during a week long stay, it's worth it), the staff is so helpful about helping us with the food order.


This place to us, feels like HOME away from home. We love it! One thing that really impresses me is the long term house-keeping staff that they have there... we have seen the same ladies working there year after year, and that speaks volumes about Hojo's and their staff. One time we left our safe wide open. Lots of stuff inside... electronics, cash, passports. It was un-touched of course.

 

[mooshka1]

Hojo is great because of the pool. They have a little area that your 2yo could sit/wade in right next to the Pirate slides and watersplash play area for the older kids. Look it up on their website. As for the rooms, they are o.k, not the greatest, not the worst. I know some of the rooms are being renovated, so depending on when you're going, ask for the newly renovated rooms. The main reason we booked there again was for the pool, and they had absolutely wonderful service. They also have a convenience store. As for the walk, it isn't the closest hotel to the park, took my DD6 and I about 10 minutes. But it was a pleasant walk. When she was tired, we used the ART bus that stopped in front of the hotel. Look at their website. Maybe do an on-site hotel for when your 2yo is a little older.

 

[jcarwash]

IMHO the question is more about the price point. If money is no object to you, then I would say stay at one of the three Disney hotels. They are all supposed to be excellent.

Otherwise the Disney hotel rates are way above the non-Disney hotels -- really expensive -- so then you need to start looking at huge list of options.

In the research I've done for my upcoming trips, HoJo Anaheim consistently ranks among people's favorites, along with Candy Cane Inn and Best Western Park Place Inn.

 

[ltl engine]

Thanks for all your input...Skiingfast...you nailed the description of the Nick Hotel. How about the other guests at HoJo? I felt the crowd at the Nick Hotel was kind of unruly and definitely partied well into the night. We are not against having fun...but I do set some limits for my kids and getting a good night's rest on vacation prevents certain melt downs along the way (I mean DH not the the kids!)...I am getting really excited about DL/DCA...

 

[skiingfast]

While noise and rambuntious free roaming kids is a problem at Orlando, not at the Anaheim Hojo. The only problem is if your room faces the parks, the fireworks can wake you up, though won't you want to be in DL anyway to see them?

 

[jory29]

While noise and rambuntious free roaming kids is a problem at Orlando, not at the Anaheim Hojo. The only problem is if your room faces the parks, the fireworks can wake you up, though won't you want to be in DL anyway to see them?

Yep, totally agree.... Skiingfast is right, Hojo's is very family oriented; we have never had any problem with hearing any noise from other families when in our rooms at Hojo's. We have been in our rooms to hear/see the fireworks, and it is awesome that way, too, but really, the kids are sooo tired, nothing is going to wake them up after a day in the park.

 

[BayAreaMom]

We love HoJos. Never an issue with noise. The kids pool is great for younger kids (ours are 2 & 5). We have stayed there 3 times since Sept 2011 and are heading there TOMORROW

I would agree though the price points are VERY different for HoJos and the onsite hotels. Certainly if you can afford/want to stay onsite go for it- it will add to the magic. I would love to stay in the GCH, but not the DL or PP hotels since they actually seem (not 100% positive) like a LONGER walk than HoJos to DL (not CA, since you can cut through the GCH to get there).

At HoJos, we stay in the kids suite and usually pay $129-142 with our AP discount. I don't even know how much a similar suite would be onsite but I am sure its crazy expensive! We love how affordable HoJos is because we can go 4-5x/year!

 

[tzeitel]

We loved the HoJo and for the price it was a steal (went on the retro rate)! We did not use the pool since it was kinda cold but I can tell you about noise etc. It was very quiet in the hallways - other places in the area do not have the indoor corridors so they are pretty noisy - we had ppl next door but never knew until we saw them one day as we were leaving for the park and they were checking out. We did not even hear the fireworks - we faced the highway but did not hear that either

It might not be the most "modern" hotel but it was clean, felt safe, the employees were very nice and the walk was super short

 

[HydroGuy]

We stayed at HoJo's once when our kids were a bit younger and I agree with everything said so far.

However, we definitely had hotel envy on that walk to DLR and especially, especially on the walk back. You have to walk past maybe 6 other hotels closer to the gates. It does bother some people and did bother us. After that we chose to stay closer.

When our kids were smaller money was tighter and there was just no way we were going to pay the big bucks for the Disney hotels. Things were more complicated for us because with four kids that made us too big for the Disney hotel rooms which could handle five.

In any case, now money is not as tight and kids are older so we stay more often onsite. The GCH rocks but it is $teep.

What should you do? If you feel pinched on Disney hotel prices then stay off-site. HoJo's is a fine choice and really a bit nicer than what you would think of a typical HoJo's. The other hotels along Harbor are quite decent as well. Candy Cane Inn is a delightful little hotel with a shuttle that runs every 30 minutes. There are other nearby, more upscale hotels - some with shuttles, some close enough to walk but still a bit far.

I never stayed at the Nick but think HoJo's will work just fine for you.