Please help us pick the right hotel.....

[donaldstemper]

We're heading for DL in the last half of June, and I need to pick a hotel soon, I think - HOJO's is already booked up.

We need quiet - DH has insomnia issues. We changed cancelled our trip last year because we couldn't find dates to work around work schedules and school that avoided Grad Nights. I do know all the usual tricks of being on the top floor, asking for a room not close to service areas, elevators, stairs, ice machines, etc - you do have to have good staff that will follow THRU with that request, though.

We need clean too and a fridge is good - our girls are lactose intolerant, so we'll probably do our own breakfasts in room to be safe. No point in going that far and starting the day with an unhappy stomach....esp if you're going on rides.

We will need to park a car for a day or two.

What of the close hotels/motels will best meet our needs?

Also, we have an errand in the LA area - DH thinks we should drive back and forth from our DL hotel, to avoid switching hotels. I think it might be easier with traffic to stay somewhere else in LA area the first night and get that out of the way. Thoughts on that?

Really, does he think we'd have cooperative kids if they see what's across the street BEFORE we need to do the errand?!?!?

 

[skiingfast]

We're heading for DL in the last half of June, and I need to pick a hotel soon, I think - HOJO's is already booked up.

We need quiet - DH has insomnia issues. We changed cancelled our trip last year because we couldn't find dates to work around work schedules and school that avoided Grad Nights. I do know all the usual tricks of being on the top floor, asking for a room not close to service areas, elevators, stairs, ice machines, etc - you do have to have good staff that will follow THRU with that request, though.

We need clean too and a fridge is good - our girls are lactose intolerant, so we'll probably do our own breakfasts in room to be safe. No point in going that far and starting the day with an unhappy stomach....esp if you're going on rides.

We will need to park a car for a day or two.

What of the close hotels/motels will best meet our needs?

Also, we have an errand in the LA area - DH thinks we should drive back and forth from our DL hotel, to avoid switching hotels. I think it might be easier with traffic to stay somewhere else in LA area the first night and get that out of the way. Thoughts on that?

Really, does he think we'd have cooperative kids if they see what's across the street BEFORE we need to do the errand?!?!?

Depending on the errand, you could visit DTD in the morning or night, leave for the day trying to avoid rush hours. Probably better than staying elsewhere and trying to get to the hotel and parks all in the same morning.

For Noise, avoid the hotels near the freeway. Also I would try to stick to the few places with indoor hallways. Simple because they will have carpet so you hear less of people walking past your room. That will really limit choices so maybe it would be better to aim for a room at the back of the hotel that has less rooms past it.

Parking won't be a big deal, figure the charge into the room cost. Only looking at places with free parking is an errant way to choose based on costs.

 

[donaldstemper]

Depending on the errand, you could visit DTD in the morning or night, leave for the day trying to avoid rush hours. Probably better than staying elsewhere and trying to get to the hotel and parks all in the same morning.

I hadn't thought of this, I'm debating and need to do more research. We'd be arriving the night of the 20th, and the 21st is the LAST day before blackout days start. Not sure if it's worth going in the early am or not, might still be too crazy.

For Noise, avoid the hotels near the freeway. Also I would try to stick to the few places with indoor hallways. Simple because they will have carpet so you hear less of people walking past your room. That will really limit choices so maybe it would be better to aim for a room at the back of the hotel that has less rooms past it.

Yep, that's why I'm not heartbroken over the HOJO being full. I guess I'm looking most at PVI, BWPPI, and CCI, sorta looking at the Desert Inn and Tropicana. Trip Advisor is not always a help - I swear some of those reviews are by people who have vested interests in making the hotel look good or bad. I know everybody has their issues, but most any hotel will have some complaints of noise or lack of cleanliness.

Parking won't be a big deal, figure the charge into the room cost. Only looking at places with free parking is an errant way to choose based on costs.

Yep, not worth too much worry for just one night or two. I'm hoping that we can drop the car somewhere close to the hotels without too much expense or fuss. I even wonder if we'd save by taking a shuttle to the hotel the first day, and doing a PU and drop off at the rental places close to DL. Seems like it often gets expensive to PU and drop off in different spots.

Off for more research...thanks!

 

[disneyfaninaz]

I always found the CCI to be a very quiet hotel. The only noise you would hear in your room is the fireworks show reverberating. The dedicated shuttle is always nice and they have fridges in their rooms as well as a free breakfast.

 

[DizNee Luver]

I have stayed at the Desert Inn & Suites, Tropicana Inn, Carousel Inn & HoJo's.......HoJo's was my favorite but my second choice would be the Carousel Inn & Suites. It has outside doorways, but we never once experienced any noise issues. The beds are as comfy as the HoJo's......which in our book is the most important thing after cleanliness.

The Tropicana was clean as well but the parking lot occassionally got noisy....but for the most part it was pretty quiet.

The Desert Inn & Suites was ok....nothing exciting, roomy but the beds were not comfy (at least in 2005 they weren't). I thought the pool area was disgusting.

If I remember correctly, parking at the Desert Inn & Tropicana were free & the Carousel is $8/day......valet only parking (very small lot).

All 3 offer a little something for breakfast.....I imagine you could take advantage of the fresh fruit & juices to add to your breakfast.

 

[wazski]

We will be arriving at the Tropicana tomorrow night and staying for 3 nights, so after that I can give a report. I'm a VERY light sleeper as well, already planning on ear plugs.

I do know Parking is free there, and they do have fridges in the room. They have a little breakfast which I've heard isn't so great, but honestly we'll probably just have that in our room anyway while we are getting ready for our day.

I couldn't find a ton of info on the Tropicana when I was deciding on here, so I plan to do a detailed report when I get back! OH and I also own a residential cleaning company, and usually can't find ANY place that is fully up to my standards. I've been known to fully scrub tubs and showers before getting in them in hotels! LOL Anyway, so I will also be able to give a GOOD detailed cleanliness report.


Chris

 

[donaldstemper]

waski, I look forward to hearing from you - hope you have a great trip!

I'd also be curious to know what your girls enjoyed the most - mine are 4 and 8.

I suspect that our 4 year old will hate the characters that aren't face characters. We went to a theme park in Belgium last year (Plopsaland), and she didn't even like the cartoon character statues there.....