HOJO or Paradise Pier for extra $300

[marvel]

Hoping that anyone that has stayed at both or either of these properties can help make my decisions a bit easier. For our 8 night stay in Sept, the price diff between PP and HOJO is $300. That is for a standard room at PP vs a Premium Disney Facing (2Queens) room at HOJO. This is after all the new specials have been factored in with PP. The hojo rate is from the website.

I know people love HOJO, but just a little concerned about noise. Paradise Pier seems nice, and we do like Disney properties, but have never stayed at either of these hotels, and $300 is a lot of cash, so really not sure which would be best.

What are the standard rooms at PP likely to face? Carpark? High level Disney facing rooms at PP are an extra $500 which is out of the question.

Any advise/comments would be great.

 

[bigskyernurse]

Hoping that anyone that has stayed at both or either of these properties can help make my decisions a bit easier. For our 8 night stay in Sept, the price diff between PP and HOJO is $300. That is for a standard room at PP vs a Premium Disney Facing (2Queens) room at HOJO. This is after all the new specials have been factored in with PP. The hojo rate is from the website.

I know people love HOJO, but just a little concerned about noise. Paradise Pier seems nice, and we do like Disney properties, but have never stayed at either of these hotels, and $300 is a lot of cash, so really not sure which would be best.

What are the standard rooms at PP likely to face? Carpark? High level Disney facing rooms at PP are an extra $500 which is out of the question.

Any advise/comments would be great.

Well...I've never had noise at Hojo, and I would think with a Disney facing room you definitely wouldn't have noise as you would be away from the freeway.

About the rate, you may be able to do even better than the hojo rate on the website. Call the hotel directly instead of going through the 800 number, ask for in-house reservations. You can get a discount just for saying you are a DIS member, and if you have an entertainment card, you can get 50% off if the entertainment rates are available on your travel dates, which would definiltey be better than the DIS discount. Your disney facing premium room would be $79.99/night with the ent discount.

That being said, on-site or off-site at DLR to me boils down to distance and preferences. Of course I would stay at GCH every time if I could, but PP is about the same distance to the gates as Hojo. If you have an AP, and want early entry, then staying onsite will bring that benefit. If you are buying multi-day hoppers, you can get ee at Hojo too. Cost alone, I would say definitely Hojo, especially with the ent rate.

HTH!

 

[bluegrizzlies1]

This depends on what kind of person you are.

Are you the type that goes and stays in the park all day open to close if you are stay hojo if not then you have your answer.

 

[blackjackdelta]

Well...I've never had noise at Hojo, and I would think with a Disney facing room you definitely wouldn't have noise as you would be away from the freeway.

About the rate, you may be able to do even better than the hojo rate on the website. Call the hotel directly instead of going through the 800 number, ask for in-house reservations. You can get a discount just for saying you are a DIS member, and if you have an entertainment card, you can get 50% off if the entertainment rates are available on your travel dates, which would definiltey be better than the DIS discount. Your disney facing premium room would be $79.99/night with the ent discount.

That being said, on-site or off-site at DLR to me boils down to distance and preferences. Of course I would stay at GCH every time if I could, but PP is about the same distance to the gates as Hojo. If you have an AP, and want early entry, then staying onsite will bring that benefit. If you are buying multi-day hoppers, you can get ee at Hojo too. Cost alone, I would say definitely Hojo, especially with the ent rate.

HTH!

Are they still offering additional magic mornings if you are staying on site?

Jack

 

[victorandbellasmom]

It really does depend on what kind of person you are. PPH is great. My kids enjoyed the slide, but the pool and hot tub are pretty basic. We did like having Lilo & Stitch's breakfast downstairs, but we never did use the package drop off. For us, the biggest advantage to staying at PPH is the extra MM available to you as a guest of a DLR hotel, especially since you'll be there for 9 nights.

Now that hojo's has that great kiddie pool area I might just choose hojo's though. The rooms are spacious and the staff is wonderful. The premium rooms have microwaves and fridges and it would cut down the food budget. My kids also enjoyed stopping by mcDonalds on the way back to the hotel for french fries and ice cream at reasonable prices. We also love Mimi's across the street. I'd use the $300 in savings and do something special like a character meal or a tour.

 

[munchkinsmom]

It really does depend on what kind of person you are. PPH is great. My kids enjoyed the slide, but the pool and hot tub are pretty basic. We did like having Lilo & Stitch's breakfast downstairs, but we never did use the package drop off. For us, the biggest advantage to staying at PPH is the extra MM available to you as a guest of a DLR hotel, especially since you'll be there for 9 nights.

Now that hojo's has that great kiddie pool area I might just choose hojo's though. The rooms are spacious and the staff is wonderful. The premium rooms have microwaves and fridges and it would cut down the food budget. My kids also enjoyed stopping by mcDonalds on the way back to the hotel for french fries and ice cream at reasonable prices. We also love Mimi's across the street. I'd use the $300 in savings and do something special like a character meal or a tour.

Having stayed in both hotels as well, I totally agree with the above info. The Magic Mornings perk, while nice, isn't enough for me to put the extra cash into the hotel. If I had a choice, I would use the $300 and use it on your family in the park.

 

[cruise cruise cruise]

Here are the answers I got when I asked the same question, but my price difference is a bit more ($480)

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2128587

 

[cccdisney]

I love staying at both these hotels, but usually stay at the HOJO because we can get the great Ent. Card rate. That being said we did just change our reservations for our next trip (see signature) because the entertainment card rate was not available for those nights so the price difference wasn't very much. We were able to ADD an extra night to our trip and switch to PPH for under $100! That was worth it for us because we will utilize the early entries. We usually have AP's (and will be upgrading while there), so we usually don't get to take advantage of those.

Also, not sure how many people are in your party but if you need a roll-away (as we do) in your room the HOJO charges $7 a night for that. The PPH rooms have 2 queens w/ a sofa sleeper included in the price. That is something to take into consideration, especially being there 9 nights.

Hope that helps!

 

[disheadz]

I love HOJO, no problems with the noise. I would think the room would be larger, which for an 8 day trip is nice. Have you tried the HOJO link on mousesavers.com to see if they have any of their discounts available for your trip? I have two rooms there in October at $67/night.

 

[bethy]

8 nights is a very long time and so I would opt for the nicer hotel with the Disney perks. Most especially if you are going at a very crowded time and with small children. Because IMHO the MM entries are absolutely worth $300 - they save so much time and aggravation. I HATE lines!

 

[victorandbellasmom]

I'm not sure when you are going but here is the available dates for the entertainment rate for the remainder of the year copied and pasted from hojos discussion forum:

March 2009:: 29th, 30th
April 2009:: 1st, 2nd, 5th, 6th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 27th
May 2009:: 7th, 18th, 19th, 24th, 26th, 28th
June 2009:: N/A
July 2009:: N/A
August 2009:: N/A
September 2009:: 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th
October 2009:: 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th ,19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th, 27th, 28th, 29th
November 2009:: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 29th, 30th
December 2009:: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th


If your travel dates fall within these dates, your savings could be more than $300. The entertainment rates for the premium room is $79/night. While I agree, it would be nice to stay in a DLR hotel for 8 nights, I think the convenience of a microwave and fridge would be more beneficial to me unless I was staying concierge onsite.

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

We always stay onsite when we can swing it. We find it well worth it. Last year we stayed at Hojo, in a Disney facing room, and found it quite noisey. We were all the way on the side by Manchester. Not only could we hear the freeway, but all the buses and traffic on that little road next to us. The view was okay, but not good enough to make up for the noise. I doubt we stay there again, but if we did, we'd stay in the other buildings.

 

[disheadz]

Stayed at HOJO recently, with the ent rates or 15% they offer in various ways the price difference may be even larger. Have you compared the square footage of the rooms? The HOJO rooms are fairly large which is nice for a long stay.

 

[marvel]

THanks everyone. I haven't called HOJO as yet, as I am in Australia so will have to find some time to call at the right hour. The entertainment rate isn't available for us as we will be there from the 19th - 27th.

The kids are 9 and 11, and I am swaying towards HOJO as closeness isn't an issue from what everyone says, and the pool sounds much nicer at HOJO. We will probably spend 4-5 days in DL so probably some time in the pool in between.

I don't think the MM will be that big a deal for us, as the kids are nearly past Fantasyland for the most part. Not sure if the $300 is worth it for MM.

Are the standard rooms at PP likely to views of the carpark or loading area of some nature??

- JenDisneylandlver : which building were you in with the noise issue?

 

[QueenDoOver]

We have had standard rooms that look over the pool, and then also been upgraded to park view two times. It doesn't seem like there would be an ugly view, except that the parking garage is beyond the pool area, but beyond that is DLH, etc. I thought it was okay. My kids like the pool better at PPH, and it is nicer walking, through GCH to park, or DTD, rather than along Harbor. We have stayed at HOJO and enjoyed it, but for $300 for 8 days I would absolutely stay at PPH, especially if you are spending time at pool. The pirate play area is perfect for ages 2-8, but much past that and it will be hit or miss.

 

[munchkinsmom]

Are the standard rooms at PP likely to views of the carpark or loading area of some nature??

- JenDisneylandlver : which building were you in with the noise issue?

I'm sure there are standard-sized rooms with the view of DCA versus the parking lot, but it may be a question of having to pay a little more for the view of the park. When we stayed at Paradise Pier, our one bedroom suite was located on the side with the view of the parking lot. We were a bit disappointed, but we didn't specify when we made reservations that we wanted a view of DCA.

The Hojo's Disney Views/premium rooms are in Building One. With regards to the noise levels, I think it's all about how sensitive you are. We've stayed on both sides (park-facing AND freeway facing) and whatever sounds that came from the outside didn't bother us a bit. My kids were usually so wiped out by the end of the day, they didn't care about any noise. They even slept through the fireworks that went off every evening, LOL!

 

[marvel]

Thanks a lot, QueenDoOver and Munchkinsmom, I am a bit torn now. The disneyview rooms at PPH are an extra $500 which is too much for us on this trip, we never planned to travel to the US this year at all, so trying to keep costs down if possible.

I like the idea of staying onsite and figure that the quality of the rooms at PPH might be better than the HOJO overall, and possibly in terms of noise from adjoining rooms, would that be right?

The kids can sleep through anything, but we kind of like to be able to get a decent sleep without garbage trucks etc early in the morning after a late night. Which i have heard can happen with some car park view rooms, which makes me hesitate.

I would put a hold on both, but dreamsunlimited and other travel companies charge $100 if you cancel the booking at any time.

 

[munchkinsmom]

I like the idea of staying onsite and figure that the quality of the rooms at PPH might be better than the HOJO overall, and possibly in terms of noise from adjoining rooms, would that be right?

The kids can sleep through anything, but we kind of like to be able to get a decent sleep without garbage trucks etc early in the morning after a late night. Which i have heard can happen with some car park view rooms, which makes me hesitate.

IMHO, the quality of the "premium rooms" and "King Suite" in Building One at the Hojo is as nice as the suite we stayed at PPH with the exception of PPH's sofabed, which was very, very comfy. Hojo's sofabed is average.

We didn't find any noise issues from adjoining rooms or in the AM at both hotels. We were facing the parking lot/garage at the PPH and had a Disney View at Hojo, facing Harbor Blvd.

The difference between PPH and Hojo is that you get the Disney theming at PPH and the perks that come w/ staying on-site, but it does come at a price. Good luck with your decision.

 

[marvel]

How was the king suite compared to the premium rooms at HOJO? Was the noise in the king suite alot greater, I think they are all highway side? The king suite is $150 more than the premium room for our stay.

Thanks for the detailed response, it is great to hear direct from someone that has stayed at both.

 

[sgtfirstwife]

We just returned from PP for a three day stay. While the hotel was nice, I am not sure that we would return. It did not seem to have the Disney magic that I was expecting.
The hotel also was not any closer than some of the other hotels. Even with the cut thru at the Grand it was quite a hike for my twins, one year old and even my daughter.
The other thing was that there was really no where to get food at the hotel in the middle of the day. We did order from the grill, but it was not that great.
The pool was small and nothing special.
Well that my two cents and only my humble opinion. We got AP passes so we will probably only be doing one day trips for awhile, but if we ever stay near Disney again we would stay at HOJO or somewhere else close by. We stayed at Paradise Pier because we got the military rate.