I've stayed at PVI several times... Twice in 2013, and twice in 2015 (possibly 3 times in 2015). It tends to be our go-to hotel.
Some of the many benefits of PVI, compared to PPH:
--Closer to the main gates of DL/DCA
--Large rooms
--Usually several hundred dollars cheaper over the length of the vacation (that's a lot of extra Dole Whips and Churros!)
--Recently remodeled (2013-2015)
--Hot breakfast (we've had scrambled eggs, pancakes, biscuits and gravy, waffles, fried potatoes, bacon, sausage, cereal, fruit, yogurt, toast, etc)
--Small hotel footprint (so you won't see the front of the motel and still have a heck of a hike to get to your room)
--Cheaper drinks through the vending machine ($1.75 at PVI vs $3.25 at DL/DCA for a 20-oz soda)
--Only 2 stories, so no waiting for an elevator to go up and down a ton
--Swimming pool and hot tub are clean, and rarely busy
--Offer a "returning guest" discount when you call to book (which takes off a fair amount--last time, about $30/night over the online price)
--10% off at Cold Stone Creamery (ahhh, so nice at the end of a tiring Disney day to get an ice cream on the way to my room!)
It seems like there's fewer benefits (as I see it, at least) for staying at PPH:
--Extra Magic Hour each morning
--The "Disney Bubble" (which, it seems, would likely break as you are crossing the street to PPH anyway?)
I hesitated the first time I had a ressie at PVI. A frequent poster here had an experience with bed bugs at PVI, and the management didn't deal well with it. But, they had the set up we needed (specifically, a separate sleeping area, as DD will not sleep with anyone else in the same room), so we crossed our fingers and prayed that it would be okay... And we found an amazing suite, newly renovated, with an electric fireplace, a stocked kitchenette, amazingly comfortable beds, and fluffy towels that cover our ample rear-ends. They called nightly to make sure everything was okay with our stay, and when I realized I had left my wedding ring on the counter after check-out, they unlocked our room for us, and then looked for the ring with us (and they found it! Yay!). When we stayed a few months later, there was a minor billing issue--namely, my dad was trying to call to pay a night of our stay as a wedding gift, and they wouldn't let him "alter" our reservation. Once I got him on the phone, and handed my phone over to the worker, explaining what my dad wanted to do, they took the information, charged him correctly, and took the amount off our bill. Easy peasy. Our room wasn't updated for our second stay in 2013 (it was the Jacuzzi room)--I've since seen updated pictures of that suite, and it's been fully remodeled. My third stay was a solo trip for me--as always, it was a quick check-in, I had a great discount, great customer service. My 2-queen room was upstairs; not my favorite, but I have bad knees, so the stairs were tough at the end of the day--that being said, I had checked in late, so I knew that I might not get a "great" room location). Again, it was freshly updated. Our most recent stay--in June 2015--we had another updated suite that was very nice.
I have some pictures of the rooms if you want to see them, but, honestly, the pictures they show on the website are surprisingly accurate!
