Mixed reviews for the Paradise Pier Hotel

[cloudconnected1039]

My last trip was my first time staying at PPH and I thought it was awesome!! I'm really quite easy to please though We didn't have any sort of treats given to us, but I wasn't expecting them either. The room was perfectly clean and nicely sized for 3 of us.

My only complaint is that one of the elevators broke our first day there, and apparently in turn the rest of the elevators stopped It was strange but it involved an ECV and impatient guests. I told a CM at the front desk as there was a huge wait for the elevators eventually and he didn't seem too concerned with the fact that they weren't working. And then we had decided to find stairs to get up to our room (which was on the 8th floor, by the way) but we could only find some that led to the 2nd floor. It was a pretty frustrating experience, but we also found a service elevator that was still operational and used that. The elevators were fixed by the next day, but it was still a weird experience!!

 

[JillyBean77]

We just got back from our first Disney vacation -- checked out of the PPH today and I saw this thread -- I had to chime in because it's so similar to our thoughts on the property.
We stayed the first two nights of our trip at the Park Vue and our intent was to have a Grand Finale WOW by staying two nights at the PPH (ok, I know the GCH would have been the best route for WOW factor, but PPH was in the budget)
The Park Vue greeted us with a very enthusiastic staff; convenient parking right by our room; a gift basket including wine, water bottles and snacks; free parking, wifi, breakfast & dinner; and a quick walk directly across the street from the DLR Harbor entrance. We thought it was great, but couldn't wait to switch to the "special" on-site hotel. We finally made it there, and....
The overall vibe we got from the PPH was that we were lucky that they let us stay on-site. As the OP said, it was a lukewarm, run-of-the-mill hotel reception (not the Disney WOW that we were kinda hoping for). The surf-board rice krispy treats are delicious and appreciated, but not much compared to the welcome basket we got at Park Vue. The parking at PPH is very cumbersome, especially if you have a lot of luggage or forget anything in your car and have to make the daunting journey to retrieve it The elevators have their mellow moments and their nightmare moments -- it's usually when you're in the biggest hurry to get to the parks (like everyone else!) that you'll run into the biggest headache. And it will not be fun.
It was so nice to have a full breakfast and dinner spread included in the stay at the Park Vue -- I honestly was not expecting much from either one, but was overwhelmed with the quality and variety. And the in-room coffee was fantastic, real half & half and all! (Can. Not. Function. Without. GOOD. Coffee.) PPH has.... the worst thing ever calling itself coffee that I have ever put into my mouth. With fake powdered creamer.
Getting to the Parks was another pain, in comparison to Park Vue. Some pp's mention that contact with the "real world" may lessen the experience, which may be true. However, during our stay, the "real world" interactions included masses of other enthusiastic Disney visitors excited to cross the street and a couple of dudes with parrots that were pretty entertaining. On the PPH side, it's a long line to get into DCA through the GCH entrance, but they do open it at 9:15 instead of 9:30 (you have to go through Downtown Disney to get directly to DL by opening time). The trek to and from the PPH seemed to take a lot more time and effort than the jaunt across the street to the Park Vue. Our MM was during the PV stay, so it was a snap to rush across the street after breakfast, but we found the morning journey to DL to be much longer from PPH, especially taking the elevators into consideration. (After disgusting morning coffee!)

On the other side of the coin, the Park Vue is a motel, located on a very busy street. So it has that motel-y feel. You can tell that they do their best to overcome it -- the bedding is very nice, the coffee & condiments are excellent, the gift basket is wonderful, the staff is fantastic -- but it's an old motel property and will never have the "luxury" feel. However, you can totally feel the "heart"! On the other hand, PPH had the "luxury" feel with nice bedding and toiletries and hotel essence, but it totally lacked the "heart" when it came to the little details of making you feel welcome. It was basically more money for less convenience, in my opinion.

I wouldn't say that the PPH is awful -- if we didn't know anything else, we would have probably loved it. But compared to our experience at Park Vue, it seemed like the PPH was more money for less convenience.

 

[corkevem]

I am so glad you posted your review. I have a week scheduled at Park Vue for March, but have been thinking of PPH instead. It's nice to see a comparison of the two. While to PPH is more luxurious and is a Disney hotel, I think maybe I'll just stick with the Park Vue. I had been considering stretching the budget for the concierge lounge, but from the pictures I've seen, the breakfast is mostly pastries, and while the desserts look scrumptious, I cannot justify the extra cost. Especially since we tend to stay in parks most of the day with maybe one quick return to the motel. So we really wouldn't get our moneys worth out of the lounge. Appreciate reading all the reviews from everyone, also!

 

[ter-moo]

Ah, the place where (Oct '09) a fork sat in the middle of the hallway floor half the day, and then when I picked it up and put it on a table to the side of the hallway, it sat there the rest of the day and overnight.

We stayed here in August, and had a similar thing happen. When we checked IN, there was a room service tray outside our room with dirty dishes. I immediately called maid service to get it taken care of. 24 hours later, it was still there--We left before IT did! When we checked out, I informed a hotel manager about it, and he said he'd "make a note."

I thought this was a little "UnDisney" since I kept seeing people cleaning rooms around ours, and never saw the tray leave!

 

[bondgirl007]

We are here at the PPH right now and I regret not spending the extra $ for the DLH. We stayed there last summer and it was AWESOME! We are completely underwhelmed with the service here at PPH We wanted the complete Disney experience again. PPH has not given us that. We won't stay here again.

 

[Sherry E]

Wow! It's so interesting to me to see waves of good reviews of a specific hotel or restaurant and then suddenly a bunch of negatve ones. Everything goes in cycles!

As Jack said earlier, every hotel will have bad reviews and good ones, and so will every restaurant. Personally, I cannot stand the size of the rooms at the GCH and would prefer a PPH room any day! I also don't like the beds in the GCH rooms. Other people, however, think that the GCH is the best!

There are things I like about staying at each DLR hotel, but I have stayed at the PPH a bunch of times (even with the old decor and no beach ball pillows in the room) and I am totally fine with it! I have no problem staying there on every trip if the other 2 hotels are too expensive.

I am about to head off to the PPH tomorrow for a 4-night stay (one totally free night and then $99 for each additional night, which makes it even better!). I couldn't be happier!

I have had chilly receptions/service from the CM's at PPH - and have also had great, attentive, extra-friendly service where they go that extra mile. Sometimes they acknowledge birthdays and special events; sometimes they don't. Sometimes they have given me free pins and buttons and photos and shopping bags - sometimes they have given me nothing. But it's fine. I don't mind. I have had chilly receptions from the CM's at the GCH too. Really, that kind of thing can happen at any hotel, any time. Sometimes you get a CM who is super-friendly and outgoing and sometimes you get one who is a little cold.

Just as far as color scheme goes, the PPH Christmas tree is my favorite of the trees in all the hotels. (The GCH tree, however, fits the best in its surroundings and the theme/context of the hotel - it definitely wins for 'best overall setting.')

Keep in mind - people have different ideas in their minds about what to expect, and everyone also has different preferences. So the overall reviews will be largely based on those. My friend was telling me the other day that she stayed at the PPH once (many years ago) and thought it was "horrid." Knowing that she is a bit on the dramatic side and a bit of a snob, I said, "Really? Horrid? That's a bit strong. Or was it just not to your liking?" (Obviously it wasn't that horrid because she is staying there again in a couple of days! If I had stayed somewhere that was truly horrid, I would not be booking another room there!)

Now, although I like the PPH and have had mostly good experiences there overall, I have gone on record as saying there is no way it's worth the insane rack rates (non-discounted) of $300 and above per night. That is just crazy business.

As for the Rice Krispies treats - I have heard of people getting them at the DLH too. I think it's another hit or miss thing - sometimes they leave them; sometimes they don't give you anything. The treats at the PPH are now the surfboard shapes, I think.

 

[tallpkb]

It sounds like we were in the minority, but actually, I think this thread has deteriorated into a complain about PP. That being said, we went there two years ago this month. We had booked a standard room with conceirge, and upon arrival, found that they gave us a complimentary upgrade to a suite with theme park view! WOC wasn't open yet, but we enjoyed the nightly tests We found the staff extremely pleasant and had absolutely no complaints (unless you want to count the family that staked out the chocolate dipped strawberries in the concierge lounge, and took the entire tray to their room! Tacky!). We enjoyed watching the fireworks, with piped in music, while sipping hot chocolate, on the pool deck. Our whole trip couldn't be topped! We went to GC 10/10, and were completely unimpressed! We guessed because we are always walking through it, no matter where we stay. We're waiting for the DH remodel to be completed, then we'll give that one a try, so we can say we've stayed at all three DL property hotels.