recent reviews/thoughts of santa fe?

[Donald Ducks wife]

had a look on the santa fe thread, but there isnt much recent from the cars refurb.
so any thoughts or reviews of santa fe? we are going there in september. as its all we can afford next year (boo i love hotel new york so much)

 

[ShimmerTinks]

Its Not recent recent for me! I stayed there the last time i went which was 2009! for 4 nights.
Ive always previously stayed in SL, I love it there, was a bit Boo Like you But when in there i thought It was great for the money you pay! Our room was clean/tidy! Not much different from SL Just the decor!
Breakfast was Different, only because at the SL you were shown to a tabel for breakfast! where SF you just found your own table, I went in March my slots were 8 . 8.30 time! So was busy. I did find a tabel everytime thou.
Food was great and same as SL. Everything was full and fresh.
I enjoyed the walk to from the hotel! we were nr the river. Plus was an easy little walk to the Garage for a few snacks

 

[Disneyfoo]

We stayed here in Feb this year for one night before moving on, we were both really impressed with the newly refurbished cars themed room we had. It was really nice and clean and we would have been happy to stay on for longer. We stayed here back for our first trip in 2005 and the room was much improved. I do miss the old sign above the main building but other than that a marked improvement! The breakfast was a little chaotic, however the food was fine and we enjoyed the croissants and jam

 

[DLPfirst]

I stayed at Santa Fe with my son for a full week in September (2011) and really rated it. The cost difference between Santa Fe and other on site hotels was significant when staying for 7 nights, so it was an economic decision, but one we didn't regret.

Refurbished room near the river and pathway to parks, making it an easy and pleasant walk. Our room was smart and my son really liked the theming (we have more photos of the 'cars' beds than the castle.) In particular the shower was amazing, the beds and pillows extremely comfortable, big (for me!) flat screen TV, and the housekeeping service was excellent. The corridoors are worn but it really didn't matter as we only passed through momentarily, and it sometimes took a few attempts to get the door card to work, which again didn't bother us because we always got in.

We took kettle, mugs, tea towel, tea spoon, and picnic cutlery and plates, none of which are provided. Shopped around for everything from tea bags to roast chicken and bread, and had a couple of delicious cheap meals in our room at times when we just wanted to chill out and recover for a couple of hours. Our housekeeper kindly cleaned around our 'kitchen' area every day.

Unexpected bonuses were the acres of storage space - two of us with generous amounts of baggage didn't touch the sides of what's available, the very nice coffee at breakfast (best I found on the holiday, so I made the most of it!), and the in-room safe, which really made a difference to my feeling that our important things were secure. My son took gadgets that we would have been gutted to lose, and staying a week meant we had large amounts of cash and various cards with us. The safe really put my mind at rest.

Personal bonuses were the lack of fragrances in the hotel (my son suffers migraines triggered by chemical perfume smells) and the quietness - no piped music anywhere near the rooms.

The amenity block - restaurant, shop etc - wasn't as impressive as the five star hotels, but we didn't use it much anyway. With so much choice on site you really don't have to, although we did take advantage of the bar to end some of our long days with a few cocktails - much cheaper than other hotels even though exactly the same.

If you're looking to make the most of your budget I think Santa Fe is ideal, particularly with the garage shop so handy for odds and ends at up to one third of park prices. We had decided to book the cheapest hotel so that we had more to spend on doing things during the daytime - shows, trips, meals etc - and for us it worked perfectly. I'd definitely stay here again.

Hope that's useful!

 

[jillrobinson]

Will let you know after our trip in February.

It's 8 years since our last stay there and I didn't have a problem with it then. New York is also my favourite hotel but hoping that my nephew will be so thrilled with the the Cars theme at Santa Fe that it will make up for any disappointment we might have with the hotel.

 

[Donald Ducks wife]

Will let you know after our trip in February.

It's 8 years since our last stay there and I didn't have a problem with it then. New York is also my favourite hotel but hoping that my nephew will be so thrilled with the the Cars theme at Santa Fe that it will make up for any disappointment we might have with the hotel.

well my wee one is cars mad, so thats more of the reason while we're staying there, plus its cheaper for those amount of days. Plus its only somewhere to sleep really at the end of the day.

 

[Donald Ducks wife]

I stayed at Santa Fe with my son for a full week in September (2011) and really rated it. The cost difference between Santa Fe and other on site hotels was significant when staying for 7 nights, so it was an economic decision, but one we didn't regret.

Refurbished room near the river and pathway to parks, making it an easy and pleasant walk. Our room was smart and my son really liked the theming (we have more photos of the 'cars' beds than the castle.) In particular the shower was amazing, the beds and pillows extremely comfortable, big (for me!) flat screen TV, and the housekeeping service was excellent. The corridoors are worn but it really didn't matter as we only passed through momentarily, and it sometimes took a few attempts to get the door card to work, which again didn't bother us because we always got in.

We took kettle, mugs, tea towel, tea spoon, and picnic cutlery and plates, none of which are provided. Shopped around for everything from tea bags to roast chicken and bread, and had a couple of delicious cheap meals in our room at times when we just wanted to chill out and recover for a couple of hours. Our housekeeper kindly cleaned around our 'kitchen' area every day.

Unexpected bonuses were the acres of storage space - two of us with generous amounts of baggage didn't touch the sides of what's available, the very nice coffee at breakfast (best I found on the holiday, so I made the most of it!), and the in-room safe, which really made a difference to my feeling that our important things were secure. My son took gadgets that we would have been gutted to lose, and staying a week meant we had large amounts of cash and various cards with us. The safe really put my mind at rest.

Personal bonuses were the lack of fragrances in the hotel (my son suffers migraines triggered by chemical perfume smells) and the quietness - no piped music anywhere near the rooms.

The amenity block - restaurant, shop etc - wasn't as impressive as the five star hotels, but we didn't use it much anyway. With so much choice on site you really don't have to, although we did take advantage of the bar to end some of our long days with a few cocktails - much cheaper than other hotels even though exactly the same.

If you're looking to make the most of your budget I think Santa Fe is ideal, particularly with the garage shop so handy for odds and ends at up to one third of park prices. We had decided to book the cheapest hotel so that we had more to spend on doing things during the daytime - shows, trips, meals etc - and for us it worked perfectly. I'd definitely stay here again.

Hope that's useful!

thanks. you've given me some good ideas. will try to pick up a travel kettle for some cupa soups for super time saves money on a mcdonalds for super lol

 

[DLPdaft]

very informative review DLPfirst - I've added a copy of it to the Santa Fe hotel review thread.

 

[Serenlas]

I went with my 2 daughters in March 2011, and it was absolutely fine. I must admit that when I looked at the photos in the guide book my heart sank a little and I was worried that it would be grim, but I couldn't really fault it. It doesn't look much on the outside and as has already been said the corridors were a bit shabby, but the rooms themselves were comfortable and clean. We didn't eat at the restaurant, other than for breakfast which was VERY busy but the food was nice! It took about 20-25 minutes to walk to the park at a 4 year old's pace and it's a very pleasant walk along the riverside. I'd definitely book again if it meant I could go to DLP again!