no free breakfast, further away...why hojo?

[ado121]

just curious why hojo is so popular? we have never stayed there. stayed at bwppi but thats when we only had 3 kids. now we have 4 so if we stay at hojo we need 2 rooms. but i like a nice breakfast in the morning.ok, i like a free breakfast in the morning. hojo doesn't offer that. so yes if i get the entertainment rate on 2 rooms, its still more than to stay somewhere else like desert in where i would need only 1 room and get a free breakfast.

just curious?

 

[bumbershoot]

Comfy beds (same style as Westin's Heavenly Beds), fun waterplay area in a pirate theme, lovely pool in the "garden". Kid's suite that looks really cool (and I believe is eligible for its own entertainment rate). Very responsive management who is active on these boards and sponsors other disney message boards and gives discounts to disney fans and are Disney fans themselves.


I stayed at the Carousel, and their free breakfast was vile to me; even the fruit looked bad. And it opened just in time to make me later than I wanted to be to get to the gates. I haven't stayed at Desert Inn, but that was my experience with free breakfast. Since then, I'd rather snag a granola bar in the early morning, get to the gates, get a coffee or tea, have fun for a couple hours, then get b'fast in the parks.


As for its distance...it's literally only a couple more minutes walking away, and if you walk along the disneyland side, you avoid the hotel-side crowds.

 

[Kayla's Mom]

We stay there primarily for the entertainment rate. We have never stayed anywhere else because we always go when the ent rate is available. With that being said, the grounds are lovely, they have interior corridors, rooms are CLEAN, staff are accommodating and friendly. Too us, the walk isn't bad at all. We always bring our own breakfast.

 

[DisneyMomma81]

Comfy beds (same style as Westin's Heavenly Beds), fun waterplay area in a pirate theme, lovely pool in the "garden". Kid's suite that looks really cool (and I believe is eligible for its own entertainment rate). Very responsive management who is active on these boards and sponsors other disney message boards and gives discounts to disney fans and are Disney fans themselves.


I stayed at the Carousel, and their free breakfast was vile to me; even the fruit looked bad. And it opened just in time to make me later than I wanted to be to get to the gates. I haven't stayed at Desert Inn, but that was my experience with free breakfast. Since then, I'd rather snag a granola bar in the early morning, get to the gates, get a coffee or tea, have fun for a couple hours, then get b'fast in the parks.


As for its distance...it's literally only a couple more minutes walking away, and if you walk along the disneyland side, you avoid the hotel-side crowds.

What she said

 

[BELLEDOZER]

I liked that the staff was always friendly, the grounds were kept immaculate, the rooms were comfortable and so were the beds. The pirate play area the kids loved, and in the same area is a play area for the smaller kids, as well as a large hot tub for the parents to sit in and soak while watching the kids play. Am planning 2 trips to DL next year, and will be staying at HOJO's both times. Need I say more?

 

[deejdigsdis]

I also liked having the little store right there on the ground floor of Building 1. We brought our own cereal and were able to go down and get milk whenever we needed it. And the Kids' Suite is a bargain for $99/night (Entertainment Rate).

 

[HydroGuy]

As for its distance...it's literally only a couple more minutes walking away, and if you walk along the disneyland side, you avoid the hotel-side crowds.

We have stayed at both HoJos and BWPPI and have walked both and I think, in general, it is more than a couple minutes - especially with young children.

According to MousePlanet http://www.mouseplanet.com/7280/How_Far_Is_It the extra walking distance is 800-1750 feet. For the walk back at night after a long day you can double that.

At 20 minutes per mile (a reasonable pace for children or maybe someone pushing a stroller) that is 3-7 minutes. That is consistent with what I remember.

To the OPs question, I think HoJos is easily the nicest of the walking distance Harbor hotels. The pools and grounds are nicer. The BWPPI pool is very small and it does not have any grounds. Many folks around here are willing to trade-off the slightly longer walk for a better hotel which is usually at a comparable price.

With our family of six HoJos does not work as well as the BWPPI's mini-suite with 2 queens and a rollout queen, plus the fridge and microwave.

Since my kids are all teens I am thinking about Residence Inn this summer with a full kitchen and comfortable sleeping for 6. The 3/4 mile distance gives me pause though. We may not have the whole crew this trip and if we are 5 or less I may splurge for the GCH which we have never been able to do with 6 of us.

 

[bumbershoot]

Remember my '08 trip where I took pictures along the walk? I then noted the time stamps of each picture. That was also the trip where I had severely damaged my feet by walking in "cute" shoes from Hojo to PPH for a DVC presentation (and to meet Toocherie), the night before our trip started (dang blockout Saturday), so I was injured-o-rama while doing the walking pictures.

From those, and wihtout actually looking it up, I do remember it was not much difference at all. The main delays were caused in the driveways while walking on the hotel-side...all those cars, pedestrians doing crazy things, etc, really delay the walk. And the crosswalk is insane!

 

[HydroGuy]

Remember my '08 trip where I took pictures along the walk? I then noted the time stamps of each picture. That was also the trip where I had severely damaged my feet by walking in "cute" shoes from Hojo to PPH for a DVC presentation (and to meet Toocherie), the night before our trip started (dang blockout Saturday), so I was injured-o-rama while doing the walking pictures.

From those, and wihtout actually looking it up, I do remember it was not much difference at all. The main delays were caused in the driveways while walking on the hotel-side...all those cars, pedestrians doing crazy things, etc, really delay the walk. And the crosswalk is insane!

Molly, I saw those pix. You were wearing running shoes, weren't you?

In any case, I think the OP gets the point. It is a little further to Hojos. People stay there because it is nicer and do not mind walking a little further. If they are wearing appropriate shoes.

 

[DizNee Luver]

We're planning on staying at the HoJo this summer for the first time after it was highly recommended here on the DIS. I looked at their website & it doesn't look anything like the other motels on Harbor across from Disneyland. Very beautiful grounds & the water play area & toddler pool will be a real bonus for my large family!

We have stayed at the Desert Inn & Suites. Nothing fancy here.....good price & great if you don't really plan on spending much time at the motel. The pool is very small & inside. If you're going during a busier time....the pool is packed & not much fun. As for the breakfast.....nothing fancy here. Fruit, cereal, juice, coffee & toast? If you're into a filling breakfast, you won't get it here.

The other thing to take into consideration with the Desert Inn & Suites is the parking......not much of it & if you have a larger vehicle...parking it here is almost impossible during busy season.

I think the decision comes down to what you really want & need from your hotel/motel.
There are lots of great places on Harbor, you just need to pick the one that fits your needs!!

Good luck!!!

 

[jennilouwho]

I have stayed at Desert Inn and Hojo's. I loved Hojos. It just had a much nicer feel to it and I really didn't feel like the walk was that bad, walking on the Disneyland side. We even went back for naps with our little ones. That said, we drive from Utah, so we have a way to get to the grocery store for inexpensive breakfast food. I'm not sure I'd want to stay at Hojos without a vehicle.

 

[wdwfan22]

I have picked HoJos for my upcoming Nov trip. I choose it because it was by far the lowest rate I could find, at a well reviewed hotel/motel. For $59/nt it seems like a bargain. For the same nts, BWPPI is $109. We could eat a very nice breakfast out for that difference, but will just eat stuff in our room to save time and $. My main goal was walking distance and the least expensive. I would stay at a closer property if they could match HoJo's price.

Plus, from everything I've read, their customer service sounds great. I love watching all the videos on their site, and feel good about seeing the property in such detail before I book. Lorealle & Willy as so cute!!

 

[Eeyore's Wife]

When we stayed at Hojo over Christmas time we had a family suite. It had beds for five (king bed, bunk beds, twin pull out couch) we asked at the front desk and were told that we could add a roll away bed for an additional $10 per night.

So, with the entertainment rate for the room, it would be $109 for a very nice two room suite with two bathrooms.

There was plenty of room for a roll away bed in the "kids room."

Another reason our family likes Hojo is that they offer real cribs, not pack and plays, for our littlest one. They are slightly smaller than a standard crib, but much nicer than a pack and play usually found in hotels.

Add in excellent professional management and it is a wonderful option.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

We have stayed at CCI and HOJOs. My DH prefers the size of the room at HOJOs and the Entertainment Rate. We can bring in breakfast foods and eat in the room before we head to the park, so while the free breakfast is a nice perk, it wasn't worth the extra expense for us. As far as distance, it was about the same between CCI and HOJOs. I did miss the CCI shuttle at the end of the day though.

 

[wvnative]

Desert Inn was our preferred place to stay until we stayed at HOJO. We'll take HOJO anytime as long as we can get a better rate there.

We like HOJO better for several reasons. The beds are better, we think it's quieter, the parking is better and their staff is wonderful. We don't do the pool thing but I'm sure that hot tub would be nice at the end of the day. I don't like that DI&S's pool and hot tub are indoors. All that sound reverberates off the walls. It's loud outside so I can only imagine how loud it is inside. lol The walk from HOJO really isn't bad, especially on the DLR side. I have one ankle that acts up when I walk too much (so everytime we go to DL..lol) and although there was a night or two I wished we'd stayed closer, it wasn't too bad at all. Of course, we also drive so the breakfast isn't a problem either way as we normally bring breakfast stuff with us anyway.

 

[ukstitch]

1) Price - $59 entertainment / Annual Pass (the new AP rate matches the entertainment rate) rate is an absolute steal

2) All internal corridors is a real nice bonus coming from Europe.

 

[blackjackdelta]

We have stayed at both HoJos and BWPPI and have walked both and I think, in general, it is more than a couple minutes - especially with young children.

According to MousePlanet http://www.mouseplanet.com/7280/How_Far_Is_It the extra walking distance is 800-1750 feet. For the walk back at night after a long day you can double that.

At 20 minutes per mile (a reasonable pace for children or maybe someone pushing a stroller) that is 3-7 minutes. That is consistent with what I remember.

To the OPs question, I think HoJos is easily the nicest of the walking distance Harbor hotels. The pools and grounds are nicer. The BWPPI pool is very small and it does not have any grounds. Many folks around here are willing to trade-off the slightly longer walk for a better hotel which is usually at a comparable price.

With our family of six HoJos does not work as well as the BWPPI's mini-suite with 2 queens and a rollout queen, plus the fridge and microwave.

Since my kids are all teens I am thinking about Residence Inn this summer with a full kitchen and comfortable sleeping for 6. The 3/4 mile distance gives me pause though. We may not have the whole crew this trip and if we are 5 or less I may splurge for the GCH which we have never been able to do with 6 of us.

We are in the same boat. There will only be 4 of us, so Villas here we come. Finally got my confirmation letter today.

Jack

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

There are SO many reasons:

Clean
Comfortable
Great staff
Kids Suite - LOVE IT!!!
Entertainment rate
Little store
Kids water play area

Just a great hotel overall. I know there are closer hotels and we have stayed at several of them, none measure up to HOJO, even with a free breakfast.

 

[DangerMouse]

Hotel continental breakfasts are never all that great so I would never base my decision on a "free" offered breakfast. Everyone else has already stated the reasons why HoJo outshines the rest of the Harbor Blvd. lodging choices.

 

[mariners1999]

I am just so surprised that I see so few people use priceline. The last 3 times we have been to Disneyland we have used priceline and got GREAT hotels that are 3.5 to 4 star hotels. I stayed at the marriott with a beautiful pool and also stayed at the Crown Plaza which is right across the street from Target. Both offer a shuttle and with priceline fees and such we paid about $48 a night.

Mariners