Portofino Suites & BW Stovall reviews please

[NancyHawaii]

Hi all,

Will be taking 2 of my nieces & 1 nephew to Disneyland in a few weeks. I've stayed at Best Western Park Place Inn, but since i have the 3 of them, I'm looking at Portofino - kids suite (king bed / bunk bed, sofa bed in a different room).

Some reviews were good, but others were awful. I'm starting to have 2nd thoughts.

I'm also looking at BW Stovall because they have a special right now (buy 3 nites, get 1 nite free).

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[lilsprstr]

We stayed at Portofino last week. It was good. I'll post a review a little later.

 

[LuLusApple]

I have stays at both and would choose the portofino over stovalls. Portofino is more of a hotel and the walk to the park is not a big deal although I will say the walk back is a bit too far for tired feet. We took the ART back each night. It was first stop so it was a quick ride. We did have the kids suite too and it was a nice room. The walls did seem a little thin we could hear our neighbors and kids roaming the hall, more than I have at other hotels

Stovalls has been remodeled and while nice, is too far for me to walk even taking the back way thru the Grand and DTD. We ended up taking the ART in and out of the park. Speaking of the remodel; I want to say the beds new, counters (were granite) bathroom were all very nice but there was still a little amiss, that reminded me it was a motel. The airconditioner was nasty and made a horrible noise, it looked like something an old motorhome would have the door
jam looked like they had to bust the door open with a crow bar, there was also a considerable gap between the door and the floor. The windows had old aluminum frames (a window in the bathroom) and were difficult to open, like they were uneven.
Kinda like they gussied up the pig lol

Stovalls has great DCA views but is a motel with exterior walkways. We didn't partake of the free brekki, but those arnt our thing anyway.

 

[lilsprstr]

Here is my review of Portofino:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2458199

 

[spacemermaid]

I've never stayed at the Portofino, so I can't compare, but Stovall's is my favorite Park-area hotel. I love that I can wait for the ART bus right in front of the hotel and then get dropped off right next to the Park gates with minimal walking. Sure, you can stay directly across the street from the main entrance, but I'd rather have a more comfortable room (Stovall's rooms are newly remodeled and the beds as SOOOO comfortable ) for a lower price and take the ART bus. (Chronic pain issues- so much fun! NOT! )

If you don't want to take the ART bus, you can take a shortcut down Disneyland Drive and through the Grand Californian lobby to get to the Park. It's a nice, shaded walk, and in my experience there have always been lots of others walking to/from the Park that way, so it's not scary/isolated.

I love the Stovall's pool area- 2 large pools, one heated, one not (which is surprisingly nice in the middle of a hot summer day!), 2 above-average-sized hot tubs, and a kiddie pool. All surrounded by topiary trees shaped like animals, so it's about the closest you can get to swimming through the it's a small world canal . Here's some pics:

The comfy beds & newly remodeled room.

Nice sink/vanity area (sorry, didn't get the fridge & microwave in the pic)

Pool area.

A few of the topiary trees by the pool.

Stovall's also has a free breakfast. It's nothing fancy (ie: no waffles, bacon, etc) but it's definitely enough to get one started in the morning: biscuits & gravy, a few different kinds of cold cereal, fruit, hard boiled eggs, pastries, coffee, hot chocolate, milk, and a couple of different types of fruit juice.

Whatever you decide, have fun on your trip!