Is HOJO's really the fav off site hotel?

[mickey+minnie91]

What do you like about this hotel?

 

[BillyFan]

I have stayed at many of the walking-distance motels in the area over the years, and Hojo's is by far our favorite. All others are now complete dives in comparison, IMO. We discovered it just last year, stayed there in Nov and Feb, and will be back next week.

 

[DizMe]

What do you like about this hotel?

The entertainment card rate--$59!

 

[pixiewings71]

Yup, the staff is great, the room is great, the Ent Rate is amazing and the walk is very doable. I always try the HoJo first and then go to CCI and move my way forward from there...Altho this year all our trips will be done with timeshare points so no HoJo for me, until those points are gone.

 

[avalon451]

I have seen a few people on here say, "Eh, HoJo, what's the big deal? It wasn't that great." And I can see that side of things, depending on what you are expecting, and how much your expectations have been built up by reading these boards.

HoJo, like all the other Harbor hotels, is older. The ceilings in the inside hallways are low, like you always find in older hotels. The water pressure in the shower is pretty much like a watering can. You can get a view room in building one of the parks, but it's fairly likely to be blocked by the huge ponderosa pines that are planted along the front-- I believe they're actually protected trees and have historical value, so they're not coming down any time soon. If you stay in the back, you might find the freeway noise very loud. Those are the negatives you're likely to hear.

However, the positives are pretty compelling, too. The biggest attraction is the Ent rate, which is phenomenal. If you can plan your vacation to catch the Ent rate, you can get a superior room at a walking-distance, nice hotel for $79 a night. Or $59 or $69 for a standard or deluxe. Without bidding blind on priceline, staying farther away and taking shuttles in, or staying in not-so-nice place on Harbor, that is really the best deal you can get.

The staffing has been really outstanding to the members of this board, too. Lorealle is a regular poster here; she and Jennifer, in In House Reservations, will bend over backwards to help you get the rooms and rates you need for your stay. They are so very kind, friendly and accommodating. I have found the staff on the desk to be very kind and helpful, too. From taking delivery of my groceries and putting them up in our refrigerator while we were at the parks, to calling us another cab when ours was late, and then offering to call our dinner reservations and tell them we were running a little late... to getting us a new modem in our room within half an hour of calling first... checking us out and holding our luggage for us on our last day while we played in the parks-- "Go on and go, we'll put these in the holding room for you!" They were just really kind and helpful. Housekeeping was completely unobtrusive, and always had our room done early and very clean. The only time we ever heard from them was on our afternoon break, when a supervisor stopped by to ask if our room had been cleaned to our satisfaction, and was there anything else we needed?

HoJo is a little bit of a hike up the street. At the end of the day, you come out of the entrance drive and look waaayyy up there at the stoplight and sigh... but really, it's only 4 minutes' more than those people who crossed on the other side of the drive and stayed at BWPPI. And it seriously didn't feel any farther to me than when we stayed at GCH-- came out of the gates and looked waaayyyyy down there at Sephora, where the DTD entrance is.

Beds are incredibly comfy. 4 different-firmness pillows on each bed. Rooms are renovated, clean and nicely decorated. Microwave and mini fridge in the deluxe rooms. Free internet access and free parking. Little convenience store on-site with just about anything you need crammed into it. The Castaway Cove water play area is very fun (DD13 even played in it!) and right next to the hot tub.

What's not to like? Especially at the Ent rate, it's simply the nicest hotel on Harbor at that price, and walking distance.

 

[Gisele]

Very good points made, Avalon!

 

[lntsmom]

They were amazing. We checked in just as the Magic repositioning cruise folks were checking in, and they kindly moved me to a better room...one where it would be quieter and where I wouldn't have to haul luggage for three up and down the stairs...without my asking!

They knew I was going to need transportation back to the airport and arranged for Jag Transportation to pick us up. For the same price as riding in a cramped smelly cab we rode back in a brand new van!

The gal in the gift shop was wonderful, too. BTW...you can buy things like a single styrofoam bowl or a single plastic spoon there. If you're on a budget, those things are very nice! Plus, I was able to get fresh fruit, yogurt, and milk in their gift shop.

Finally, it was clean, quiet, and amazingly inexpensive. I dawdled and missed out on the $55 room...but I only ended up paying $65 a night. You pay more than that for a Motel 6 in the middle of Kansas!

When we go back to Disneyland, you'll find us at HoJos!

 

[Casey's Mommie]

I'm really tempted to stay there, but I'm afraid at the end of the day the walk will be too long for me with a 2 year old! I like staying at Desert Inn because it's right at the cross walk!

maybe someday

 

[DizMe]

They knew I was going to need transportation back to the airport and arranged for Jag Transportation to pick us up. For the same price as riding in a cramped smelly cab we rode back in a brand new van!

When we go back to Disneyland, you'll find us at HoJos!

If you don't mind my asking, how much did that cost?

ETA: I'm assuming you mean SNA?

 

[avalon451]

I'm really tempted to stay there, but I'm afraid at the end of the day the walk will be too long for me with a 2 year old! I like staying at Desert Inn because it's right at the cross walk!

maybe someday

If your 2 year old is in a stroller (and she should be! Nobody should have to carry a 2 year old back to a hotel after a day at the parks! Ouch!) the walk is literally 4 more minutes. By the time you get out to Harbor and across the crosswalk, that's the difference. For 4 more minutes' walk, you get a nicer hotel, plus the baby pool and water slide playground at HoJo.

 

[bumbershoot]

If your 2 year old is in a stroller (and she should be! Nobody should have to carry a 2 year old back to a hotel after a day at the parks! Ouch!) the walk is literally 4 more minutes. By the time you get out to Harbor and across the crosswalk, that's the difference. For 4 more minutes' walk, you get a nicer hotel, plus the baby pool and water slide playground at HoJo.

Oh Gail does my back hear you! I made the huge mistake of listening to the hubby last December..."checking the stroller will be too difficult, let's just rent a stroller in the parks and I'm sure it will be fine walking to and from the hotel." Yeah, worked out for HIM! DS doesn't like being carried by hubby and will beg and beg and beg until I can't take it anymore (plus it's not easy for hubby to carry DS, especially then when hubby had 20 more pounds of belly than he does now so I would have to put up with hubby's complaining too!) so it was all me all the time. To the Anabella! For 5 days! Ouch.

And yep, it's about 5ish more minutes, if you walk on the busy side of the street (less if you take the shortcut out through the tram area and walk up the empty side of the street), to the parking lot from any of the immediately across the crosswalk motels.


Oh, and the biggest thing for me? HoJo is a hotel, not a motel. No outside corridors wondering who is watching you and seeing if you're staying alone or anything creepy like I felt at Carousel and other motels....

 

[mickey+minnie91]

Oh Gail does my back hear you! I made the huge mistake of listening to the hubby last December..."checking the stroller will be too difficult, let's just rent a stroller in the parks and I'm sure it will be fine walking to and from the hotel." Yeah, worked out for HIM! DS doesn't like being carried by hubby and will beg and beg and beg until I can't take it anymore (plus it's not easy for hubby to carry DS, especially then when hubby had 20 more pounds of belly than he does now so I would have to put up with hubby's complaining too!) so it was all me all the time. To the Anabella! For 5 days! Ouch.

And yep, it's about 5ish more minutes, if you walk on the busy side of the street (less if you take the shortcut out through the tram area and walk up the empty side of the street), to the parking lot from any of the immediately across the crosswalk motels.


Oh, and the biggest thing for me? HoJo is a hotel, not a motel. No outside corridors wondering who is watching you and seeing if you're staying alone or anything creepy like I felt at Carousel and other motels....

Oh this is good. I wanted to know aobut the outside corridors vs inside corridors. I feel better with them being inside.

 

[prettyprincessbelle]

Oh this is good. I wanted to know aobut the outside corridors vs inside corridors. I feel better with them being inside.

Me too. My parents and I had a terrible terrible experience with outside corridors when we stayed at the Red Roof Inn in Buena Park a couple years ago. I'm scared now and I don't like outside corridors too much.

The staff at the Hojo is fantastic. I have spoken to Jennifer twice over the phone and she has been super friendly and very helpful. I'm excited to stay there next month.

 

[ColoradoMom!!]

We stayed in Building 1 and paid the ET rate of $74 for 4 nights, then $109 for our Friday night stay. I can't tell you how pleased we were! The room was a great size, enough to fit a roll away, which was great since my 14 year old doesn't want to share with his 10 year old brother anymore.

I really don't know if the walk out of the park, to the tram and to your car would be any shorter if you were to park in the big garage.

Comfy beds, loved the sink outside the tub area - beautiful grounds, and the kids' pool area is wonderful. My hubby said he couldn't figure out why people would pay over $100 a night more to be at the DLH. It made me feel like we could not sweat the food prices at DL so much knowing we had a great rate on the room.

Mimi's was great for dinner and we also had breakfast there on the morning we flew home.

Lorealle is what makes the place - she is very patient with all our questions and requests.

Have fun!

 

[JennCa]

Another vote for Hojo's. I think for family's it offers tremendous value.

I've stayed there as well as several other places. If I could have gotten the entertainment rate I would have stayed there last weekend also.

Jenn

 

[WendyT]

Yet another vote for Hojos.
If I can't stay at DLH then Hojos it is. I usually travel without my husband and the indoor hallways are a must for me. The staff is always helpful and just downright nice. If the walk is too much at the end of a marathon day - I hop on ART and save myself a few steps.

 

[50sjayne]

I haven't even been there yet and it's my favorite hotel in the world...I remember years ago when were staying at the Aladdin- I met a lady at the crosswalk who told me they always stayed at the HOJO. Then I found this board 10 years later Enjoying well trained, professional, and seemingly happy staff is a plus-- even if I haven't been there yet I also love the looks of it, the price, and proximity to the land. I enjoy the history of it too, y'know it was built by the same person who built the Disneyland Hotel.

 

[RENThead09]

What is the parking like. I usually stay at the Super 8 over by Garden Walk because you can get it for $50 a night.

This trip I will be leaving Vegas at 5pm on Sunday, Dec. 14th, so I won't get to Disneyland until 10 pm or so. I was also looking at the Desert Inn, but am worried about parking at night.

THanks for any thoughts.

 

[Casey's Mommie]

I think you guys have convinced me to stay there for our May Trip.

 

[bumbershoot]

What is the parking like. I usually stay at the Super 8 over by Garden Walk because you can get it for $50 a night.

This trip I will be leaving Vegas at 5pm on Sunday, Dec. 14th, so I won't get to Disneyland until 10 pm or so. I was also looking at the Desert Inn, but am worried about parking at night.

THanks for any thoughts.

There seems to be lots of parking overall, but it's not all necessarily right up close to the rooms. That's the problem with it being an inside corridor place; you can't park right outside your room!

Are you traveling alone or with someone? If you're with someone, I would have the person pull up close to an entrance to the building you're in, and have the other person unload so you're not lugging things all the way across the lot.

But there seems to be plenty of parking, just not right up to the door.


What's that Super8 like? We had an AWFUL Super8 experience last year in Oregon and even though I used to like the brand I'm just scared of it now (interestingly they are all part of the same hotel rewards program, the rewards program that got me my free Amtrak Surfliner trip from San Diego!).

We have a one-night stay where, so far, HoJo is still at 140+ even with the AP discount, so right now we have Motel6 reserved, but we have an early morning walk (no cab b/c no carseat on this trip!) over to PPH to pre-check-in before MM, so being just a little bit closer to PPH would be good!