Post Photos of Hotels Here...DLH, HoJo, BWPPI, DI&S, CCI...etc.

[spacemermaid]

Pics from our holiday trip a couple of weeks ago; we stayed at Stovall's & it's still my favorite. Surprised that it's not more popular than it is...the free continental breakfast is great (and there are even hot, YUMMY biscuits & gravy!) & the pool area is huge, with 2 big pools, a small kiddie pool, and 2 Jacuzzis.

One of the hot tubs & the cool-looking spherical pool house.

As you can see, it was rather cold & grey during our trip. But the heated pool (Stovall's has 2 pools!) was super-warm bathwater temperature...we even went swimming the night that it rained!

The beds are sooooo comfortable, and the sheets/blanket were nice & soft (not scratchy, like many motel bedclothes can be!).

Obligatory picture of some of the topiary animals; the pool area is a bit like being able to swim through it's a small world, what with all the zoologically-shaped trees!

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

Thought I would bump this great thread for those looking for hotels photos of the DLR and surrounding area hotels/motels. It's in the FAQ sticky at the top of the page, btw...

 

[8timesblessed]

I just spent all morning looking at this thread! Somehow I missed it in the stickies and really appreciated all the time people took to post photos. Thought this might help others who missed it.

Now I really can't decide where to stay! I just wish it was easier to house 11 people and 8 of them are under the age of 11.

 

[disneyfan67]

Great thread and I'm subscribing.

 

[DangerMouse]

I just spent all morning looking at this thread! Somehow I missed it in the stickies and really appreciated all the time people took to post photos. Thought this might help others who missed it.

Now I really can't decide where to stay! I just wish it was easier to house 11 people and 8 of them are under the age of 11.

I still think your kids will go nuts over the Pirate Splash Playground at the HoJo. It's our family's favorite! And Mimi's right across the street is incredibly handy!

 

[deejdigsdis]

I noticed there were already pics of the HOJO Kids' Suites posted, but thought I'd post some anyway. Our closet situation was a bit different.

Our family of 5 stayed here in Nov. We have 3 boys, ages 9, 6, and 3 at the time. This set-up was perfect and we really enjoyed our stay. Before we went I had questions about the pirate theming as advertised. There were basically 5 or 6 pirate-themed pictures on the walls. I have since noticed that they no longer advertise the Kids' Suites as "pirate-themed" on the HOJO website.

This was one big pillow!

View out window. Freeway noise was not an issue for us at all. We were on the 6th floor, closest to the freeway. We thought it was noticeable when we first checked in, but we got used to it really fast. The kids didn't seem to notice at all.

Bathroom on the King Bed side

Bunkbed side

The small couch folds out into a twin size bed. Also, there is a nice sized oval-shaped coffee table in front of that little couch. It was a good spot for our 3 kids to sit on the floor and eat breakfast each morning while watching the Disney channel. It was also a good spot for lots of Lego building.

We loved the room and would definitely request the same one on a future trip.

 

[mareed]

I noticed there were already pics of the HOJO Kids' Suites posted, but thought I'd post some anyway. Our closet situation was a bit different.

Our family of 5 stayed here in Nov. We have 3 boys, ages 9, 6, and 3 at the time. This set-up was perfect and we really enjoyed our stay. Before we went I had questions about the pirate theming as advertised. There were basically 5 or 6 pirate-themed pictures on the walls. I have since noticed that they no longer advertise the Kids' Suites as "pirate-themed" on the HOJO website.

View out window. Freeway noise was not an issue for us at all. We were on the 6th floor, closest to the freeway. We thought it was noticeable when we first checked in, but we got used to it really fast. The kids didn't seem to notice at all.

I'm curious about the room location... We stayed on 5th floor kidsuite near the elevator in Dec, and the highway noise was pretty bad in the king room which was the end room on the building. It didn't seem as bad in the bunk bed room which wasn't on the end. I think from the pictures that you were on the other end of the building, which would be by the ice machine, right? I notice that there were trees outside the balcony which might also help absorb some of the sound from the highway. I don't recall there being trees near our balcony... We're going back to a kidsuite in March, and I think I may request the opposite end of the building...

Was either the king or bunkbed room the end of the building - i.e. the very last room on the hallway? If not, I imagine that also would help with noise because there would be just one wall getting the freeway noise instead of 2.

We always sleep with a white noise machine and had it with us as we always do when we travel, but the highway noise was pretty bothersome the first few nights until we finally got so exhausted that we could have slept through anything at that point!

 

[spacemermaid]

Thanks for sharing the pirate suite pics, deejdigsdis! I'd been wondering what they looked like! Very nice!

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

mareed, all the Hojos King rooms face the freeway, so even though I stayed in a regular King room, we also faced the freeway. We were in room 1605 in a room right next to the elevators and we didn't have problems with the freeway noise. However, with that said, we ran the A/C 24 hours so the white noise would help drown out the freeway noise, and we like white noise. I wonder if the problem is worse on the lower floors? The 5th floor is not that much lower than the 6th floor though, so I don't know...You can see what our balcony looked like in my review on page 23 of this thread. There was a tree on one side of the balcony and nothing on the other. HTH!

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

djdigsdis, thanks for posting your photos. It looks like they redid the tile in one of the rooms, so that's good!

 

[mareed]

mareed, all the Hojos King rooms face the freeway, so even though I stayed in a regular King room, we also faced the freeway. We were in room 1605 in a room right next to the elevators and we didn't have problems with the freeway noise. However, with that said, we ran the A/C 24 hours so the white noise would help drown out the freeway noise, and we like white noise. I wonder if the problem is worse on the lower floors? The 5th floor is not that much lower than the 6th floor though, so I don't know...You can see what our balcony looked like in my review on page 23 of this thread. There was a tree on one side of the balcony and nothing on the other. HTH!

Thanks for the info! So you were in the king room to the left of the elevator, right? I think the difference may be that we were in the room on the end of the building, so we got noise from 2 of the 4 walls of the room, instead of just the one with the balcony. It was much noisier in the king room than the bunk bed room. We also ran the AC 24 hours and added our sound machine turned up on high at night, and the freeway noise was still a bit bothersome in the king room that was at the end.

I still wonder if the kids suite on the other end (still on freeway side) that's by the ice machine instead of the elevator is on the end of the building.

I could tell from looking at the floorplan on the door that there used to be 3 king rooms on each end of the building, and they'd converted 2 on each end to the kidsuite and left one as a king room. I just couldn't tell at the ice machine end if the kidsuite was on the end or the single king room was. Does that make sense? I think it would only make sense to someone who's stayed in a kidsuite or king room in building one!

I have an upcoming reservation in a king room, and 2 more in the kidsuite, so I really appreciate the help in figuring out which rooms may be a bit quieter! At least I think we managed OK in what would have been one of the loudest, so I know we'll manage anywhere. For our king room, I'll ask to be by the elevator since that's not at the end of the building, so that's helpful info!

 

[deejdigsdis]

I'm curious about the room location... We stayed on 5th floor kidsuite near the elevator in Dec, and the highway noise was pretty bad in the king room which was the end room on the building. It didn't seem as bad in the bunk bed room which wasn't on the end. I think from the pictures that you were on the other end of the building, which would be by the ice machine, right? I notice that there were trees outside the balcony which might also help absorb some of the sound from the highway. I don't recall there being trees near our balcony... We're going back to a kidsuite in March, and I think I may request the opposite end of the building...

Was either the king or bunkbed room the end of the building - i.e. the very last room on the hallway? If not, I imagine that also would help with noise because there would be just one wall getting the freeway noise instead of 2.

We always sleep with a white noise machine and had it with us as we always do when we travel, but the highway noise was pretty bothersome the first few nights until we finally got so exhausted that we could have slept through anything at that point!

Yes, we were on the 6th floor by the ice machine. And yes, we were the last room at that end of the hallway. The King bed side of the room was at the very end, with the bunkbed side being closest to the ice machine. We didn't run any sort of machine -- A/C or otherwise -- to drown out noise. I was expecting the noise to be much worse from what I'd read beforehand. Like I said, we did notice the noise when we first got there but we got used to it. That might not be the case with a lot of people though. I thought it was strange that our older kids never said anything. It seems like something they would comment on if it was noticeable to them. Now -- when you open the doors to the balcony it's a different story. We didn't hang out on the blacony, just stepped out to see the view a couple of times, but it sure was loud.

Hope that helps!

 

[deejdigsdis]

Thanks for sharing the pirate suite pics, deejdigsdis! I'd been wondering what they looked like! Very nice!

You're welcome. I enjoyed seeing your pics of Stovall's. We stayed there a few times when I was younger and I loved those topiary animals. I remember thinking the office area was so space age and modern! And didn't that spherical thing used to be white?

djdigsdis, thanks for posting your photos. It looks like they redid the tile in one of the rooms, so that's good!

I have to say that one of the first things I did when we got into our room was check out the bathroom vents. At first I didn't see them, but then I noticed they were kind of tucked away under the big light fixtures. Not sure that they could be of any help in that location, but they looked fine. I forgot to pay special attention to the tile, though.

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

Thanks for the info! So you were in the king room to the left of the elevator, right? I think the difference may be that we were in the room on the end of the building, so we got noise from 2 of the 4 walls of the room, instead of just the one with the balcony. It was much noisier in the king room than the bunk bed room. We also ran the AC 24 hours and added our sound machine turned up on high at night, and the freeway noise was still a bit bothersome in the king room that was at the end.

Yes, our room was right next to the elevator. When you get off the elevator, you'd make a right, then another right would take you to our room 1605. I think you're probably correct in your thinking about 2 of the 4 walls carrying the vibration/noise from the freeway. It makes sense...

 

[HappieMommie]

We just got home last night from a 7 night stay in the Kids Suite at the Hojo and I noticed the freeway noise, but it didn't really bug me, you know? We were in 1-402, the suite at the far south end (I think, but don't quote me, I got us lost on the way to Disney by going south sooooo far on harbour...oops!). Our suite was the reverse to yours, and looked almost the same. I also thought about the photo I saw on here (the vent in the bathroom!) but I didn't look for it. Our bathroom still had the "retro" tile, and I kinda liked it!

I think this was the BEST hotel stay I have ever had. It used to be the Loew's Portofino one in Orlando, but our stay in the Hojo was PERFECT for us. Affordable, clean, COMFY (oh, how I miss thee, King sized Hojo bed!) and FUN FUN FUN!

Our comfy bed!

My kids being cute, and this photo shows the subtle nature of the decor. Really fun!

This is the pull out bed. It should give you an idea of the size.

The bunk beds! There have been reports of a jiggly railing, but it didn't bother my kids at all. It jigglies if you rattle it, but otherwise it was not an issue at all.

Me taking a photo of a really fun mirror, or what the world looks like to me after a couple of spins on the teacups.

I totally recommend this hotel. The staff are so friendly and helpful, and this place is CLEAN! I was waiting for my dh to come down one morning and I witnessed the cleaning staff actually sweeping stuff up in the parking lot and wiping down the outside of the garbage can!! The pool area is awesome, and the kids loved it almost more than the parks! (What can I say, they are easy to please!)

 

[spacemermaid]

You're welcome. I enjoyed seeing your pics of Stovall's. We stayed there a few times when I was younger and I loved those topiary animals. I remember thinking the office area was so space age and modern! And didn't that spherical thing used to be white?



I have to say that one of the first things I did when we got into our room was check out the bathroom vents. At first I didn't see them, but then I noticed they were kind of tucked away under the big light fixtures. Not sure that they could be of any help in that location, but they looked fine. I forgot to pay special attention to the tile, though.

Aww, thanks. It (and the other Stovall's "space" hotel) was where my family used to stay for our Disney trips when I was little, too! I miss the theming, but love that they still have the topiary animals, and the round pool house. It did used to be white:

And the one at the hotel a little bit further away from the Park was a silver geodesic dome. Pretty cool!

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

I have to say that one of the first things I did when we got into our room was check out the bathroom vents. At first I didn't see them, but then I noticed they were kind of tucked away under the big light fixtures. Not sure that they could be of any help in that location, but they looked fine. I forgot to pay special attention to the tile, though.

It's good to know that they've followed up and cleaned the rooms like they said they would. IIRC, in the room I stayed in, the vent in our room was right above the sink; I promise I am not OCD! I'm so glad that you enjoyed your stay there and had a great time!

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

Aww, thanks. It (and the other Stovall's "space" hotel) was where my family used to stay for our Disney trips when I was little, too! I miss the theming, but love that they still have the topiary animals, and the round pool house. It did used to be white:

And the one at the hotel a little bit further away from the Park was a silver geodesic dome. Pretty cool!

spacermaid, was this hotel the only hotel that had topiaries on the grounds? If so, I have pictures of my sister at the same hotel when she was a little kid. I didn't get to go that year.

 

[deejdigsdis]

Aww, thanks. It (and the other Stovall's "space" hotel) was where my family used to stay for our Disney trips when I was little, too! I miss the theming, but love that they still have the topiary animals, and the round pool house. It did used to be white:

And the one at the hotel a little bit further away from the Park was a silver geodesic dome. Pretty cool!

Thanks for the picture! It really took me back.

 

[spacemermaid]

spacermaid, was this hotel the only hotel that had topiaries on the grounds? If so, I have pictures of my sister at the same hotel when she was a little kid. I didn't get to go that year.

One of the other Stovall's Anaheim hotels also had a topiary garden; IIRC, it was the Apollo Inn, which is no longer there.

deejdigsdis: You're very welcome! I collect images of the Stovall's "space" hotels (actual postcards & links to images online); always happy to share them