How do you decide where to stay?

[rsleleux]

We are returning to Disneyland in October. The last time we were there we stayed at the Hojo, which was fine but I would like something different. It was close enough but after a long day, you just dont want to walk anymore especially carrying a child! It seems the hotels that are closer are not as nice as the ones that are further. However it seems that closeness has some value to it too!
I can't make a decision, I'm back and forth.. Do I want to stay at the Sheraton Park cause that is the kind of hotel I would like to OR do we stay at the Carousel cause it's really really close?? How do you decided?

 

[PinkBudgie]

Try Candy Cane Inn. It is close and they have their own free shuttle you can use. I love the big fancy hotels but it is nice to be walking distance. I'm not interested in ART. You can see pics and info on CCI on the link in sig.

 

[kjs1976]

We've never been to DLR other than for the day staying in Long Beach. So for us I headed here and on tripadvisor.com to check out location versus luxury. We were not going to do any big trips this year, but when we got airfare to SNA for $250 with decent flight times, I couldn't pass up a quick 5 day trip. That being said, our two big hotel determiners are price and location. So we chose the Park Vue Inn. Most people comment that it is exactly six min from doorstep to doorstep/entrance. Believe me when I say I have read EVERY review out there and check back on tripadvisor almost daily for new ones. Although we like to stay in nicer hotels vs. motels, I think the DLR layout is unique and I feel that location is most important. We do not want to be dragging ourselves back to the motel/hotel with a tired four year old every time no do we want to wait for possibly undependable or full shuttles or busses. My parents and brother will be traveling with us as well and if someone wants to come later, leave early, or go back later, then they can very easily. We also found that this is one of the very few places that doesn't charge for parking or a resort fee, which is important for us. We also needed a suite type set up, as my bro is sort of the third wheel and will need a bed in one of our rooms, which makes him odd man out. We were able to get a 3 queen suite to accommodate this at the Park Vue. We have stayed at nicer and I know we have stayed at worse, so since we will be spending most of our time at DLR, I believe Park Vue will suit put needs just fine.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

We stay close. I don't like ART either.

We used to be more tolerant of trying places based on price, but nowadays I pretty much won't stay anywhere but Hojo and Candy Cane. Of course, if I had a lot of money to burn, I might consider the Disneyland Hotel.

 

[saradela]

I had to decide between the Candy Cane or the Carousel Inn, so I decided that I am going to stay on the Carousel inn because:

1.-its very close to the Disneyland entrance, I dont have small children , but I have a teen DD, sometimes she gets moody, so this way she can cross the street and go straigh to the hotel .

2.- I have a bad back, and it seems that the Carousel has the Divine Sleep Experience with pillow-top queen bed and Luxurious white duvets.
I really need my sleep.

3.- I got the Mice Chat rate, and it is 150 less than the Candy Cane. That gives me a few breakfast at Mimi's

4.-The Carousel has a frige and a microwave on the standard rooms. There are microwave oven at the Primium rooms at Candy Cane, but those rooms are more expensive , like 300 bucks more of what I am paying for the Carousel. (there goes dinner)

5-The parking in the Carousel is free for the Mice chat rate.

6.- The wiifi is not free, but I would pay 2 or 3 days tops.

7.-Free breakfast, I only need a coffe to start my day. The Danish is a plus..

If I hadn't get the Mice Chat rate, I would definitely stayed at Candy Cane inn, because Candy Cane inn is the No.2 Hotel in Tripadvisor, and won a family award this year. Carousel Inn is number 46 I belive.

 

[janatmovies]

I book a hotel based on whats important to me. Comfort, cleanliness, and free breakfast is important to me! I decided on the Hampton Inn 1 mile down the road from Disneyland. I was able to get a room for 103/night. That includes free breakfast. I swear by their free breakfast. To me its Dennys quality except you serve yourself. They have hot and cold items, eggs, bacon, breakfast potatoes, cereal, yogurt, muffins, juice...the list goes on! I have a good history with Hampton Inns, (can't ya tell) lol, they are always clean and have great customer service. I like the HHonors program too, which allows me to build points and get free stays.
Yes I have to take a 4 dollar per day shuttle, but they run every half an hour, and the receptionist told me its a 5-7 minute ride. No parking fees. It may or may not be ART but it IS a dedicated resort bus. Checks and balance right?
Granted, I have not stayed in this Hampton Inn yet. BUT it has good reviews on Tripadvisor. I will post back to let everyone know how it is!

 

[rramstad]

I think you see in the posts that folks have different priorities in picking a hotel, and that's totally OK.

Our next trip (coming up very soon now, less than a week) we decided that we really really really like being super close to the park and are willing to spend a bit more money on a hotel that might not be quite as nice in order to be close.

We also kind of flopped around and decided that having a great pool and free breakfast were worth staying in a hotel that is a little older and not as well maintained as some others.

There are MANY other ways to go -- particularly if you are budget conscious, want a kitchenette, need a suite, or are willing to walk longer and/or deal with dedicated shuttle and/or deal with ART -- and so only you can ultimately decide what you want, and why.

Tripadvisor can help with reviews... from my end this last time I made a short list of four or five places I was seriously considering, based on location, location, location, and pool and then read some reviews, and put them in order, and then asked here for some advice, and I think we'll be perfectly happy with our choice... I guess we'll know in another week!

 

[taniapacheco]

We had to base our decision on several things. We have 4 kids and my mom is coming plus my son's girlfriend. I needed something farily close, free wifi and some sort of breakfast. I can't do the disney hotels not with needing two rooms. I just decided what I needed and started crossing out what didn't fit.

 

[Escape2Disney]

I had to decide between the Candy Cane or the Carousel Inn, so I decided that I am going to stay on the Carousel inn because:

1.-its very close to the Disneyland entrance, I dont have small children , but I have a teen DD, sometimes she gets moody, so this way she can cross the street and go straigh to the hotel .

2.- I have a bad back, and it seems that the Carousel has the Divine Sleep Experience with pillow-top queen bed and Luxurious white duvets.
I really need my sleep.

3.- I got the Mice Chat rate, and it is 150 less than the Candy Cane. That gives me a few breakfast at Mimi's

4.-The Carousel has a frige and a microwave on the standard rooms. There are microwave oven at the Primium rooms at Candy Cane, but those rooms are more expensive , like 300 bucks more of what I am paying for the Carousel. (there goes dinner)

5-The parking in the Carousel is free for the Mice chat rate.

6.- The wiifi is not free, but I would pay 2 or 3 days tops.

7.-Free breakfast, I only need a coffe to start my day. The Danish is a plus..

If I hadn't get the Mice Chat rate, I would definitely stayed at Candy Cane inn, because Candy Cane inn is the No.2 Hotel in Tripadvisor, and won a family award this year. Carousel Inn is number 46 I belive.

WOW! I went through the exact same process - including my bad back and need for a good bed. We're also going to go with Carousel with the Micechat rate.

 

[mouseymommy]

Besides cleanliness and safety, our priority for DL is location. We like to stay right across the street at the BWPPI. We have stayed there several times and have been very happy with them. We are fine with the free breakfast offerings, we like the free wifi, the customer service has always been very good. We like the rooms, they are roomy enough for us. We don't like paying extra for parking and the parking lot is kinda tight. But on the plus side, they let us park in the lot before check in time, and we can stay in the parking lot until 3 on check out day. What we LOVE about BWPPI is the location. It's just so close and we love that!

 

[saradela]

WOW! I went through the exact same process - including my bad back and need for a good bed. We're also going to go with Carousel with the Micechat rate.

You must be a very intelligent person! Lol

 

[Susie63]

Well... my husband will only go to Disneyland if we stay at a resort hotel.While I loved staying at the DLH,this next trip is killing me budget wise.I would gladly stay on Harbour but no amount of hotel reviews or talking will change his mind.
I want to go back in Sept 2013 for my 50th and if he wants to come he is gonna have to relent ...or get a second job to pay for the hotel.

 

[Hootch]

at a number of reviews here and on trip adviser. I decided on Candy Cane Inn in part because of the proximity with a good deal of weight put on the shuttle. We are going to be in the parks one day only so I can see us easily staying 14+ hours. The shuttle could be a welcome option after a very long day.

I found this thread to be useful in comparing potential hotels. The top provides a quick summary and a number of posters have weighed in so personal reviews are included.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2796786&highlight=walking+distance+hotels

 

[nannyz]

I can't remember all the hotels I've stayed at over the last 30 years, but once we tried HoJo, we will not stay anywhere else.
The management at HoJo is much more professional and efficient.
And I will not do any hotel that does not have interior doors.

 

[disneydreamer74]

As mentioned before, everyone's needs are different in a hotel. For us it is, Cleanliness, lack of "Bate's Motel" feel , and location. We are fine with giving up breakfast because DD5 is so picky, ( okay fine, so am I ) so we purchase breakfast foods for the room then eat breakfast in the parks some days. Either way, we would not eat the free breakfast often so we don't include this in our need list. Dbf used to want to stay onsite only, then one year I dragged him kicking and screaming to FFI. It is a brand we have used in the past so I had expectations. We both loved it. It is clean, updated, and meets our needs perfectly. The big bonus is being so close to the parks and having extra money to spend in the parks. This has been our go-to hotel ever since. I would be willing to try some of the other hotels on Harbor but we typically use FFI for the reward points!

 

[rsleleux]

I do appreciate everyone is different and that is why I asked what makes you decide where because it is truly hard for me to decide which hotel. Breakfast, Parking are not really an issue but location and cleanliness are important to us! I really want to stay at the Sheraton Park BUT I want it to be located across the street where we can walk! I know that is not my option. I can't spend $300+ on a disney hotel because I am paying that for plane tickets x3. The total price difference between the Sheraton Park and Carousel Inn is less than $100 more so it's not a huge issue for 4 nights but if I'm miserable waiting for the ART or walking it in the morning is not even possible then it's not worth it? If I stay at the Carousel, I have more option to go back to the Park. We are going in October when the Halloween Parties are going on and so we will go back to hotel early that night and just chill at resort, at that time I may have preferred the Sheraton?
I have debated this with my husband back and forth and we can't come up with a reason that makes our decision, so thank you everyone for your opinions.. it is needed and appreciated!
Also the price difference between the Fairfield Inn and Sheraton is less than $30 for the 4 nights, is that a better option?

 

[rsleleux]

I think you see in the posts that folks have different priorities in picking a hotel, and that's totally OK.

Our next trip (coming up very soon now, less than a week) we decided that we really really really like being super close to the park and are willing to spend a bit more money on a hotel that might not be quite as nice in order to be close.

We also kind of flopped around and decided that having a great pool and free breakfast were worth staying in a hotel that is a little older and not as well maintained as some others.

There are MANY other ways to go -- particularly if you are budget conscious, want a kitchenette, need a suite, or are willing to walk longer and/or deal with dedicated shuttle and/or deal with ART -- and so only you can ultimately decide what you want, and why.

Tripadvisor can help with reviews... from my end this last time I made a short list of four or five places I was seriously considering, based on location, location, location, and pool and then read some reviews, and put them in order, and then asked here for some advice, and I think we'll be perfectly happy with our choice... I guess we'll know in another week!

Please let me know in another week when you decide because your situation sounds very similar to ours! We have 5-6 hotel options the ones that are closer are not as luxurious as the ones that are further but convenience is a plus and the hotels that are close are not so bad!

 

[rsleleux]

As mentioned before, everyone's needs are different in a hotel. For us it is, Cleanliness, lack of "Bate's Motel" feel , and location. We are fine with giving up breakfast because DD5 is so picky, ( okay fine, so am I ) so we purchase breakfast foods for the room then eat breakfast in the parks some days. Either way, we would not eat the free breakfast often so we don't include this in our need list. Dbf used to want to stay onsite only, then one year I dragged him kicking and screaming to FFI. It is a brand we have used in the past so I had expectations. We both loved it. It is clean, updated, and meets our needs perfectly. The big bonus is being so close to the parks and having extra money to spend in the parks. This has been our go-to hotel ever since. I would be willing to try some of the other hotels on Harbor but we typically use FFI for the reward points!

We are considering the FFI also

 

[rsleleux]

I can't remember all the hotels I've stayed at over the last 30 years, but once we tried HoJo, we will not stay anywhere else.
The management at HoJo is much more professional and efficient.
And I will not do any hotel that does not have interior doors.

We stayed at the Hojo last year and while it was nice, my husband was complaining at the end of a long day walking back to the hotel carrying my 5 year old son who couldn't go anymore was too far for him, so that is why we are trying to find closer options but we may just have to suck it up?

 

[Carolynleanne]

We always go for a hotel that has suites of some kind - separate bedrooms, living space and a full kitchen. We also like places with full free breakfasts of we can find them.

Over the last 10 years we have always stayed at Staybridge suites On Manchester ave as it meets all of the requirements. We don't mind takig the ART if it means better use of our money,

Next time however we plan to stay at grand Californian to experience some Disney style perks. My family are time share owners so we have access there.