Need some info about the Holiday Inn

[lonegungal17]

Has anyone stayed at the Holiday Inn at Disneyland Paris, did you like it? Were there any hidden costs? Is breakfast included if not how much did it cost? Which bus do you have to take to get to it? Anything else I should know about it?

I have the choice of staying there or at the Santa Fee for another £100, which would you choose? We will be staying 4 nights over the Halloween period.

Mel

 

[sam_rogers]

I've stayed in the HI 4 times and I've always found it very nice. If you book on their website breakfast isn't included and i can't remember off the top of my head how much it is (we normally take our own cereal bars etc to save money). The rooms are a good size and always clean and each room has a safe in the wardrobe which is free to use. There's also a pool and gym which are both free as well.

To get between the hotel and the parks you need the number 54 pink bus (the bendy bus as we like to call it ), which, if you're coming out of the parks and looking on to the bus stops, is the first stop on the right hand side.

I would definitely recommend the HI but i've never stayed in the santa fe so i can't compare the two. One thing to be aware of is that the shuttle bus is for the holiday inn, explorers, kyriad and dream castle hotel, so with 4 hotels using one bus it gets very very crowded so be prepared to be in a bit of a scrum, particularly at park closing time at that time of the year when it's going to be busy!

 

[kevankiki]

We stayed at the HI last Christmas, and have booked again for this Christmas, we preferred it to the Kyriad. Sorry I have not stayed at the Sante Fe so I can't compare the two. Keep in mind that with the SF you would definitely have breakfast included, plus you would be entitled to EMH.

You can book rooms with breakfast included on their site I'm sure, but I've read on here that it's not worth it, so we don't bother. We are AP holders anyway, so prefer to get up, head straight to the park for EMH, then buy breakfast out since we get discount on food anyway.

 

[marcus.ka]

We stayed on both hotels and I like them both.

But I would prefer the Santa Fee although this is only a 2* while the Holiday Inn is a 4* because Santa Fee is on Disney property. You have characters in the hotel and you can use the EMH. And the bus runs more often and you can also walk (15 minutes). If you want to walk from the HI it is about 30 minutes.

If you book the Holiday Inn via their website you can choose between 2 options. "Breakfast included" or "Breakfast not included" I would not pay extra for the breakfast if it is not included because it is not that good.

 

[lonegungal17]

Thanks everyone. The Holiday Inn sounds good so far. We are ap holders as well so we get into EMHs anyway. I think I will book it and just pack some breakfast foods for the morning.

Mel

 

[A Small World]

we've stayed at both as well and liked both but think I would stay on site if possible. I wasnt too keen on HI theming - didnt seem to exist really.
Again we booked without breakfast there so we could get into the parks early as we had AP

 

[lizpat]

hi, not sure if you have seen, but if you go onto the holiday inn website and click on the autumn offers page, you may find that you get a leisure saver rate. This is cheaper than the rack rate and also includes breakfast. This is a really good rate if you have ap's. I checked on the price for disney hi the othe day and it was coming up around 130euros for a kidsuite. (we stayed in one of these last year, and they are lovely rooms!!) Even thought the offer states up to med december, the leisure saver runs all year under different titles, and the price i looked at the other day was for jan! Children eat and stay free as well.

 

[sam_rogers]

If you want to walk from the HI it is about 30 minutes.

i definitely wouldn't recommend walking it! Its great having EMH hours staying at the HI, we were getting the bus to get to the park at 8 and it was almost completely empty at that time of the morning (and randomly turned from pink to beige?!?!) The buses run from the hotel every 15 minutes, on the hour, quarter past, half past and quarter to.

 

[kevankiki]

The buses run from the hotel every 15 minutes, on the hour, quarter past, half past and quarter to.

I didn't realise they had set times so thanks for that, we've always just got ready, then gone and stood outside like Muppets waiting for the next one

 

[miffy7]

I really love the Holiday Inn.
It has an excellent playground out back with views and walking trails around the lake. you can walk to the other val de france hotels - so - for example - go to the soft play in explorers.
The pool is a 'proper' rectangle which is usually reasonably warm. There is also a nice shallow kids pool. Unlike most,towels are free and entry is with a card so you don't have to fill out your room number. it's also open until 10pm.
Its closed from some time in november though.
the gym is card-entry too. it has cross-trainers, treadmills, bikes, mats and weights.
i LOVED the theming!! the old-time circus vibe with old photos with funny captions etc.
ds1 calls it the dumbo hotel - this is a clever trick as he thinks explorers is a pirate hotel and dream castle is a prince caspian hotel - he thinks we always stay in a disney one.
he is 3 btw.
it wouldn;t work on a 9-year-old.

if you are looking for a room with a queen and bunk beds, ask for room 209.
it is on the mezzanine with a lift that goes straight to the pool so you dont have to wander through reception in trunks or whatever. but it is also close to the reception lift.
but my favourite thing about it is the balcony. we used a long cord to connect a toaster and it made our breakfast a lot easier and quicker.

it also works as an overnight fridge for cans.

i have never stayed at santa fe but it seems like a no-brainer to go for the facilities at holiday inn - a pool makes me feel like paying for a hotel is worthwhile.
ive stayed at cheyenne which is a similar standard and due to extra magic hours we always missed the characters.
there are characters in the disneyland hotel and it's lovely and civilised to sit there for a bit while tigger chases your kids around. also, hotel new york posts times for their characters - from 8am to 1pm usually - and who it's going to be. if you drive from HI and use annual passes to park there this is a bonus.

 

[miffy7]

oh - sorry - i missed something -
for some reason at HI you pay the taxe de sejour at the end so you actually physically have to check out.

 

[sam_rogers]

if you are looking for a room with a queen and bunk beds, ask for room 209.
it is on the mezzanine with a lift that goes straight to the pool so you dont have to wander through reception in trunks or whatever. but it is also close to the reception lift.
.

i think i had that room in july

I didn't realise they had set times so thanks for that, we've always just got ready, then gone and stood outside like Muppets waiting for the next one

hehe i did that for the first couple of days the first time i went! i figured it out in the end and felt a bit less like a muppet lol

 

[britchic4]

We're booked to stay here in December, but I have read bad reports about it recently on TripAdvisor, seems it has a change of ownership?
Anyone know anything about it recently? I'm hoping any glitches will be sorted out by december, and we'll hardly be there anyway.

 

[sam_rogers]

oh no i hope its all ok! The only problem i've ever really had with the HI is check in can be very slow and even when there was a queue the staff let one group of people cut in and be seen first!

 

[kevankiki]

hehe i did that for the first couple of days the first time i went! i figured it out in the end and felt a bit less like a muppet lol

Last time we were only there for 2 nights, this time we will be there for three, plus this is useful information for our October stay at MTE

We're booked to stay here in December, but I have read bad reports about it recently on TripAdvisor, seems it has a change of ownership?
Anyone know anything about it recently? I'm hoping any glitches will be sorted out by december, and we'll hardly be there anyway.

That's worrying, would be useful to hear from someone on here who has stayed there recently.

 

[ghockley1981]

I stayed there a week ago and everything at the HI was great, the breakfast was ok, bacon, potatoes and sausage nice. Wouldn't go near the beans or egg though. They had lots of pastries and bread there with jams too and overall it was quite nice.

I also had the evening buffet there once ( when it was free due to the chunnel incident )

The nuggets and lasagne was very nice but not worth the 29 euros they charged, you could never eat enough to make it worth that. makes more sense to eat in the village for that price

The room was nice and cleaned everyday with fresh towels and a made bed. we were checked in fine and have nothing to grumble about.

The pink 54 bus comes every 5 minutes in the morning up to 11, then every 15 minutes until the park closes when it goes to 5 minutes again for 2 hours. then for the rest of the night the bus picks you up every 25.

its the the first station on the other side of the bus bank as you come back from disney, you can never miss the pink bendy bus!!!

I've never been to Santa Fee so can't comment but the HI was fine for us and the bus journey was only 5 minutes, never had trouble getting on it, although it was sometimes crowded.

Bit of a long walk though, i wouldn't reccommend it and i like walking.

I'd go back again definately

 

[DLPdaft]

I have the 54 timetable for the Explorers (got it in June this year) - its scheduled for every 20 minutes between all the associated hotels and the parks, and the return journey, all through the day from 6am until well into the late evening.

 

[sam_rogers]

The pink 54 bus comes every 5 minutes in the morning up to 11, then every 15 minutes until the park closes when it goes to 5 minutes again for 2 hours. then for the rest of the night the bus picks you up every 25.

ooo i've never seen tham come that frequently before, when we checked in they told us they came every 15 mins starting at 6am (i think lol) and i've missed the bus before 11 and had to wait 15 mins for the next one. thats good news if they're running more often now.

 

[britchic4]

Good to hear a pleasant recent experience! Thanks!

 

[Jukeboxs]

We are staying at the Holiday Inn for the first time next Wednesday for 5 nights. We booked through Expedia, which meant no breakfast included, but we phoned the hotel and they confirmed breakfast can be paid for at the hotel - €5 per adult, free for children, for each day. Previously we have stayed at Explorers and Dream Castle (of which I would rate DC higher). Looking forward to Holiday Inn's pool though, it looks fab from their site.

Enjoy your trip when it comes!!

Wednesday can't come soon enough for me!