Need Advice -- HoJo or DoubleTree?

[gritz]

We are going to Disneyland for 2 days the week of Christmas. There will be 4 adults (parents and grandparents) and 2 young kids (3.5 yo and 1.5 yo). We will have a car. I'm trying to decide if we should stay at the DoubleTree or at HoJo. The cost is about the same for both hotels since we would stay in a 2-room suite (ie. separate living and bedroom) regardless of which hotel we stay at. My family would be in one room and the grandparents would be in a separate one (just to note that we aren't all staying in the same room!) The price for each hotel is similar, about $170 per night per room. The price seems a bit high to me for HoJo, but then again, it is the week of Christmas, it's a suite, and they are walking distance to Disney so I'm not really surprised.

The only reason I want to stay at HoJo is that it's walking distance to Disney. I know it's a popular hotel and it's also a Good Neighbor hotel, but I have read some bad reviews about it online. I use to travel 90% of the time for my job (everything was on the company's dime), so I'm used to hotels like The Westin.

Any advice on which hotel I should stay at??

 

[Funball]

I Will tell you what hotel to go with if you tell me how to get the dang swelling in my sprained toe down..deal?

 

[amamax2]

I haven't stayed at the Doubletree, so cannot speak to it's desirability.

HOJOs, of course, will not be like a Westin hotel, but this is why I would say HOJOs: the walking distance.

We used to always stay at Embassy Suites; really loved it. But I can tell you, the driving to the parking structure, waiting for, then taking the tram, having to wait for the tram to get back to the structure, driving back to the hotel, etc etc really gets old. You're tired, then you stand waiting, then sit, and for me, it makes me even more tired. Somehow it was easier to walk back to the hotel (to just keep walking, if you know what I mean) and a much shorter time than the driving. Plus the parking structure fee on top of everything else....

We recently stayed at Candy Cane Inn and absolutley LOVED being able to walk to the parks and walk back when we were ready to leave. I don't think we'll ever stay someplace again where we have to drive to the parks.

We are booked at HOJOs for our next two trips in Sept and Dec.

Just my two cents.

 

[gritz]

Thank you very very much amamax2! Your message was quite helpful to me.

I haven't been to Disneyland before but was thinking that there would be a big benefit to just walking into the park instead of parking, taking a tram, etc. I have been leaning towards staying at HoJo, but was just concerned about the "cleanliness" of the hotel (based on some reviews I read). I don't expect Westin-like quality, but just want a clean hotel, especially since I have little ones that like to roll all over the ground and touch everything they aren't really supposed to. A 2-room suite is a MUST for us because our kids are light sleepers and will wake up to noise easy (just imagine trying to pack quietly, in the dark, the night before while the kids are snoozing!) Other than HoJo, is there any other walking-distance hotel that would be a good option too?

 

[GrandBob]

Gritz, twice now you've reference bad reviews for HoJo. I'd like to know where the heck you're finding bad reviews? HoJo's is one of the DISers' all-time favorite hotels. It's mine, too. I can tell you that they have extremely comfortable beds, large rooms, are very clean, and have the best customer service you'll find at any hotel anywhere. I can't make the decision for you, but rest assured, you won't be disappointed with HoJo!

-Bob

 

[gatorfreud]

We love the Hojo. We always stay there if we are not onsite. We stayed the week before Xmas last year in the kids' suite and it was great. Everything is new and wonderful. We have actually stayed at every room type at the Hojo and have been pleased with them all. I have never seen any cleanliness issues. And their customer service is #1.

I think you should stay at Hojo instead of driving. I can't imagine having to pack up my two little kids, strollers and all, get in the car, get out, get on the tram, get out... what a pain! AND think about the night - say they fall asleep in the stroller? Would you rather: walk to tram, unload sleeping kids, carry sleeping kids + strollers to car, strap in car seats, drive to hotel, get out, carry sleeping kids into hotel room, put into bed.

OR... wheel kids out to hotel, straight to the elevator to your room, transfer happy sleeping kids to comfy bed.

Sounds easy to me! Plus, easy to take an afternoon break!

FYI - the kids suites are on the freeway side, which is a bit noisy... I found it great like a white noise and we all slept great, but just so you know.

Kim

 

[tkitty]

I'm trying HOJO for the first time in a few weeks.
I agree that walking staight to the room apeals to me. I hate waiting for a bus after the park closes.
I read lots of good things about HOJO, so we'll give it a try!

 

[Funball]

i love the hojo! its nice

 

[bumbershoot]

Gritz, twice now you've reference bad reviews for HoJo. I'd like to know where the heck you're finding bad reviews?

Someone mentioned tripadvisor. I'm looking at it, and they have a 4/5 traveler rating, with 90% of reviewers showing thumbs up...that's hard to beat!

I'm reading some of the "terrible" reviews...the ones that seem reasonable were actually responded to by the manager, and the others, well, yeah...some of those people needed to actually look at a map to SEE where they were going to be instead of just believing the marketing that ALL the offsite hotels do (across the street from Disneyland! well, the Matterhorn, where you can't get in, but still, it's right there).

And most of the "terrible" ones are ancient.

LOL..."this is not a hotel"...hotel refers to indoor corridors, not minibar or restaurant... "motor hotel" is the alternative, with outdoor corridors.



Anyway OP we've liked our stays. I highly recommend a garden view room vs "view" rooms. Once the pool in the garden courtyard closes, it's nice and quiet! And don't get one of the rooms with the HIGH ceilings unless you LIKE sun streaming in your face. And stay in a building WITH an elevator if you need an elevator.

There, most of the problems are solved that were brought up on tripadvisor...

 

[BELLEDOZER]

When booking our first trip to DL Feb/09 I took in the reviews from Trip Advisor, and reviews of HOJO's on this board, and made the decision to book HOJO's. It was the best decision we ever made. We loved HOJO's! The rooms are large enough for a family of 4 to easily roam in, the entire hotel is kept sparkly clean, the staff is friendly and ready to help you with any requests, and the pirates play area my kids loved. The best way to judge a hotel is by the rate of return customers. I will be staying there for my solo Oct trip to the mouse, and while I'm down there will be booking our stay there for our surprise Feb/11 trip to the mouse. My kids loved this hotel, and are asking on a regular basis to book this hotel when we go back for our family trip.

 

[DorkyDisneyMom]

I would also stay at Hojo. If you are going during Chritmas week the crowds will be big. It will be much easier to take breaks if you need them. No way would I want to schlepp my kids and all the stuff and the grandparents and the carseats and try to mess with parking and trams and little ones at the busiest time of the year if I didn't have to.

 

[FoodLover]

I love the HoJo and happily stay there on a regular basis. That said, it is not at all like a Westin. (I stay in a lot of Westins as well.) HoJo is a very well-maintained 1960s property. The decor is retro and the hotel is more of a 3-star (Westin is a 4-star). There is no restaurant at HoJo, for instance, though Mimi's is right next door.

I find HoJo fun, and I love the easy walk to DL, but it's not a Westin type of place.

The Doubletree (I have stayed there) is much more in the Westin style. It is new, shiny and sleek and has all the usual 4-star hotel amenities, including on-site restaurants and bars. The furnishings are upscale and generically modern. You don't have to drive from the DoubleTree and hassle with parking. (I wouldn't - why pay that huge parking fee?) You can use the ART shuttle for a small daily fee.

I like both hotels very much. I just wanted to present a balanced comparison, because if you're expecting Westin-level accommodations at HoJo, you will be disappointed.

Mary

 

[aristocat65]

I haven't stayed at the Doubletree, so cannot speak to it's desirability.

HOJOs, of course, will not be like a Westin hotel, but this is why I would say HOJOs: the walking distance.

We used to always stay at Embassy Suites; really loved it. But I can tell you, the driving to the parking structure, waiting for, then taking the tram, having to wait for the tram to get back to the structure, driving back to the hotel, etc etc really gets old. You're tired, then you stand waiting, then sit, and for me, it makes me even more tired. Somehow it was easier to walk back to the hotel (to just keep walking, if you know what I mean) and a much shorter time than the driving. Plus the parking structure fee on top of everything else....

We recently stayed at Candy Cane Inn and absolutley LOVED being able to walk to the parks and walk back when we were ready to leave. I don't think we'll ever stay someplace again where we have to drive to the parks.

We are booked at HOJOs for our next two trips in Sept and Dec.

Just my two cents.

I agree with most of the above. We also have stayed at Embassy Suites 3 times now and love it, but honestly, next time we will go for walking distance. (Holding out for a GCH deal on dates we can go) The driving to the parking, etc is just too much, and I've heard it has gotten worse the last couple of years.

Considering you are going during Christmas time, you really want to be able to walk. It will make breaks for your little ones easier, and if you had to drive back to the parks after naptime, you may not even get into the parking sructure-they may be at capacity-it could be a nightmare.

I haven't stayed at Hojo's, everyone I know who did, loved it. I agree with Mary, that the Doubletree is a much more upscale hotel, but for only 2 days I think HoJo's is a really nice alternative.

 

[jenpace]

We've stayed at bot Jojo's and the Douletree and I would HANDS DOWN recommend Hojo's over DT. Aside from the fact that the Hojo is within walking distance to DL and has nicer rooms/grounds, the water play area and the regular pool area is so much fun for kids. DT has a pool but not much "fun" elements...plus, the few times we've stayed there there are never any towels so we end up calling the front desk a few times while we (and other shivering families) wait and wait.

The customer service at the Hojo is fantastic where at the DT you check in and really feel like you're just on your own for the duration of your stay.....

Can you tell we don't like the DT hotel?

Also, bumbershoot makes a great point when requesting your rooms at the Hojo:

...don't get one of the rooms with the HIGH ceilings unless you LIKE sun streaming in your face. And stay in a building WITH an elevator if you need an elevator.

 

[Rosanne]

Hi! We just got back from a stay at Hojo's in the Kid's Suite, Room #1702 to be exact. We LOVED it.

I was traveling with my DDs, 4 and 9 and my sister. We put my sis in the king bed in the "grown-ups" room and I slept in the upper bunk while my 9 year old slept on the pull out and my 4 year old slept on the lower bunk. Both of my girls are absolutely wild sleepers so I opted to stay in the room with them in case they hurt themselves.

Anyway, the room was super clean. We were on the seventh (top) floor and it was so cool. We were in a room with the skylights which we loved. We loved the high ceilings and the fact that a little sun helped us get moving in the a.m. Of course, it probably makes less of a difference at different times of the year. I don't recommend the bunks or the pull out sofa for adults because of the fact that they are not that comfortable but I survived. It was great having the microwave and fridge and since we had flown in and couldn't pack water I picked up waters from the store on the first floor and milk and I did pack pop-tarts and oatmeal and stuff like that for breakfast. We ate at Mimi's three times and still were bummed we didn't make breakfast. I had signed up for the email club thing (make sure you do it about 5-7 days before you get there... that way your coupon for a free breakfast won't be expired yet they'll have time to send you more coupons. It was a great deal and they were so nice there.

For myself and my girls it took between 7 and 10 minutes to get from Hojo's to Dis security/bag check, depending on how we hit the lights. I did have a stroller for my 4 year old to speed things along. My sister had a huge blister on her foot though so we did ride the ART (decent deal if you need it for several days) a few times. Seems we always timed it wrong though because no matter what time we tried to time it to not have to wait the full 20 minutes we always had to wait 15-22 minutes. It was much faster for us to walk but we wanted to save my sis's feet for the parks.

Anyway, I would totally recommend it. The only thing that bothered me is that they place these huge oversized orange throw pillows on top of the regular pillows with nothing protecting the regular pillows. I called to ask that they not replace the oversized pillows on the bed but they did it every morning anyway. I just think what's the point of washing the pillowcases if they are just going to put an unwashed pillow on top of it anyway? Yuck.

The coffee and coffeemaker were decent also and had I not brought my own International Delights ind. flavored creamers they had a nice selection of them in the little store... for 25 cents each... well, if you are desperate

Oh, and the extra cool thing about our particular room was that it was between the stairwell and the elevator so we didn't hear any neighbor noise We did have minor freeway noise (major when the doors to the balcony were open) but it was pretty much white noise to me as it was pretty constant. Of course, we knew about the freeway noise beforehand and arrived around noon so were able to make a request and fortunately that particular room opened up that day. (we got it around 4)

Personally, I'd have the grandparents in a premium Disney view room. That's the only thing that bummed us out about the Kid's suite was that we couldn't see the fireworks from our room.

I don't know anything about the other hotels or any of the other rooms at Hojo's but we would come back in a heartbeat to that same room.

Hope that helps!

 

[dnamertz]

I hear a lot of good things about HoJo, and with the possible low entertainment card rate, I decided to investigate the terrible reviews on TripAdvisor (as I do with all the motels I'm considering). The one constant complaint I've read in the "terrible" reviews was the freeway noise (and I will note, that the "terrible" reviews were few...only 17 out of 1,077 reviews were "terrible").

The people complaining about this said that if your room is on the freeway side, the noise is unbearable (there was even one photo of the freeway from the room's window, and it is very close). I've seen a map of the layout, but can't tell how much of the property faces the freeway.

Anyone had an issue with freeway noise at HoJo?

 

[DorkyDisneyMom]

I hear a lot of good things about HoJo, and with the possible low entertainment card rate, I decided to investigate the terrible reviews on TripAdvisor (as I do with all the motels I'm considering). The one constant complaint I've read in the "terrible" reviews was the freeway noise (and I will note, that the "terrible" reviews were few...only 17 out of 1,077 reviews were "terrible").

The people complaining about this said that if your room is on the freeway side, the noise is unbearable (there was even one photo of the freeway from the room's window, and it is very close). I've seen a map of the layout, but can't tell how much of the property faces the freeway.

Anyone had an issue with freeway noise at HoJo?

I live where it's very quiet. I mean so quiet I can hear my husband's truck about 1/4 mile away. I can hear the cows in the field that are about a mile away. Quiet.

I did have trouble with freeway noise but that is because I am not used to it at all. I am pretty hyped up on a Disney trip so I don't sleep well anyway but the noise was a bit of a bother in the middle of the night.

It didn't keep me up. It was noticeable but not unbearable. I think if I were used to car noise or if my husband would have let me turn on the AC I wouldn't have noticed it as much as I did.

 

[dnamertz]

I live where it's very quiet. I mean so quiet I can hear my husband's truck about 1/4 mile away. I can hear the cows in the field that are about a mile away. Quiet.

I did have trouble with freeway noise but that is because I am not used to it at all. I am pretty hyped up on a Disney trip so I don't sleep well anyway but the noise was a bit of a bother in the middle of the night.

It didn't keep me up. It was noticeable but not unbearable. I think if I were used to car noise or if my husband would have let me turn on the AC I wouldn't have noticed it as much as I did.

Did you have a room facing the freeway?

 

[Rachael Q]

In 2008 we had a room facing the freeway. We didn't notice the noise during the morning while showering and getting ready, or in the evening when getting ready for bed - probably because we were making so much noise ourselves.

Once we were in bed, we could hear some traffic, so we plugged an ipod into some external speakers and played white noise. Hubby was asleep within minutes. I was the last to sleep but I didn't really find the noise unbearable.

The rooms and hallways were clean and the staff were friendly. HoJo kept our bags for us, after checkout, and called the shuttle for us to head back to the airport.

I have not stayed at the Doubletree so can't compare. When we travel for work we also stay at Sheraton, Westin, Hyatt for 2-3 nights. When we travel for us, we stay at the HoJo for a week at a time.

You can always request a room away from the freeway.

Enjoy your trip.