Santa Fe v's Cheyenne

[Hipster Meg]

We're almost ready to book our holiday for February next year and are debating about whether to go for the Santa Fe or the Cheyenne; they're both coming up at the same price so that's not an issue. Had a quick look in the hotel FAQ's and there doesn't seem to be any recent reviews of either of them so I'm hoping people who've been there recently will be able to help.

At the moment I'm leaning more towards the Cheyenne as DS has decided that bunkbeds are much cooler than staying somewhere Cars themed but I seem to remember reading somewhere that the SF was being refurbed at the moment. Is there anyone who could confirm this? Thanks!

 

[DLPdaft]

If bunk beds suit you better than 2 double beds in your room, go with the Cheyenne, as bunk beds are standard in their hotel rooms.

The Santa Fe has been refurbed, but everyone agrees that the external theme of the Cheyenne beats it (and almost every other Disney hotel) hands down .

 

[Hipster Meg]

Having looked at some of the photo's I'm inclined to agree - the Wild West theming looks fab. Only thing that's worrying me about is after staying at DLH and the SL will we be let down by going to the lower priced hotels? Also I've heard horror stories of the breakfast time chaos although I suppose this could be mitigated by getting breakfast in the park. So many decisions to make!

 

[DLPdaft]

if you go for breakfast before 7.30 at either the Cheyenne or the Santa Fe, you'll be fine, plenty of seats and plenty of choice on the buffet .

 

[aliscrapper]

Having looked at some of the photo's I'm inclined to agree - the Wild West theming looks fab. Only thing that's worrying me about is after staying at DLH and the SL will we be let down by going to the lower priced hotels? Also I've heard horror stories of the breakfast time chaos although I suppose this could be mitigated by getting breakfast in the park. So many decisions to make!

We stayed in the Sequoia Lodge for our honeymoon in 2010 and then stayed at the Cheyenne last year and next week we are staying at the Santa Fe.

It was a bit of come down from the SL to the Cheyenne last year - the breakfast was nowhere near as good - but we saved £200 staying at the Cheyenne and it was fine for the small amount of time we spent there. The £200 we saved meant we could pay for a character breakfast at Cafe Mickey which was amazing and IMO better than the SL!

 

[Hipster Meg]

Thanks for the advice, think we'll probably go for the Cheyenne with the hope of upgrading in a flash sale. If we do then yay! if we don't then we'll just be happy to be at Disney. Must admit that I'd be really tempted to go to the DLH for one of their mega breakfast.

 

[aliscrapper]

Thanks for the advice, think we'll probably go for the Cheyenne with the hope of upgrading in a flash sale. If we do then yay! if we don't then we'll just be happy to be at Disney. Must admit that I'd be really tempted to go to the DLH for one of their mega breakfast.

I'd definitely stay at the Cheyenne again - the Santa Fe was just a fair amount cheaper when we booked our stay in September. But looking forward to trying a hotel we've not stayed at.

Money permitting we hope to try the DLH breakfast too!

 

[Donzy84]

we're debating the same thing, think we're swaying more to Cheyenne for the theme.

I wondered whether its worth upgrading to Rio Grande though as we could still be at the opposite end to the park?

Does anyone know whether they take requests for location?

 

[DLPdaft]

Don't pay extra to upgrade to Rio Grande rooms, they allocate those rooms out anyway without paying extra.

Yes, you can ask for rooms near locations etc, which floor you'd like etc, at all the onsite hotels.

 

[Happy Tappy]

I mentioned in another thread that I have a similar decision to make but I've included SL.

Options:

Hotel: Santa Fe
Price: £267 (normal room)
Pros: My son likes Cars
Cons: I'm not a fan of the hotel, the exterior is boring and I think the interior looks a bit cheap.

Hotel: Cheyenne
Price: £267 (normal room)
Pros: I love the hotel! The theme is great.
Cons: We nearly always stay at the Cheyenne and I fancy something different.

Hotel: Sequoia Lodge
Price: £380 (Lodge room)
Pros: New refurbished rooms, slightly closer to the park, more civil breakfast
Cons: More expensive! I'm not a fan of the lodges.

All are for 4 nights in December, 1 adult 2 x children (1 under-3). I have an AP so will add myself to the booking on arrival.

Normally I'm really good at this but I'm a bit thrown by the new rooms at the Sequoia and my sons new found love for Lightning McQueen (or ca-chow as he calls him!)

Someone decide for me!

 

[Michael623]

I remember reading that Cheyenne was the second best reviewed hotel at DLP after DLH if that makes any difference. Honestly if you squeeze your budget to stay at SL I'd go for that but Cheyenne has legions of fans on this board.

 

[Hipster Meg]

I mentioned in another thread that I have a similar decision to make but I've included SL.

Options:

Hotel: Santa Fe
Price: £267 (normal room)
Pros: My son likes Cars
Cons: I'm not a fan of the hotel, the exterior is boring and I think the interior looks a bit cheap.

Hotel: Cheyenne
Price: £267 (normal room)
Pros: I love the hotel! The theme is great.
Cons: We nearly always stay at the Cheyenne and I fancy something different.

Hotel: Sequoia Lodge
Price: £380 (Lodge room)
Pros: New refurbished rooms, slightly closer to the park, more civil breakfast
Cons: More expensive! I'm not a fan of the lodges.

All are for 4 nights in December, 1 adult 2 x children (1 under-3). I have an AP so will add myself to the booking on arrival.

Normally I'm really good at this but I'm a bit thrown by the new rooms at the Sequoia and my sons new found love for Lightning McQueen (or ca-chow as he calls him!)

Someone decide for me!

That's a hard one but personally with that much of a price difference I'd go for the cheaper hotel and hope for a flash sale closer to the time. £100 would easily pay for a couple of nice meals.

 

[HFJohnson]

We stayed at the Cheyenne last week and thought it was great. Last year we stayed at the DLH so I was also worried that I wouldn't like a "lesser" hotel but it was absolutely fine and I didn't miss the DLH at all. The theming at the Cheyenne is brilliant, the room was fine and it was nice for the children to have their own bunk beds rather than having to share doubles.

When we went for breakfast at 7.45 it was busy but not hideous (although we weren't there in holiday time) and the food was basic but fine. When we went at 7am it was really quiet. We'd booked for 7am each day but they didn't seem to mind when we were late. We did have breakfast at the DLH one morning though and that was a real treat and something I'd do again.

We were in Running Bear and I'd definitely recommend requesting a room here as it is the closest block to the park and the walk in wasn't a problem, in fact I liked the stroll along the Rio Grande towards the village. I'm glad we took the buggy though for our 4 year old - I think it made life a lot easier when walking to and from the parks.

We used the bus a couple of times too and it was just fine, although again we didn't use it at peak times.

So I say go for it! I'd go back for our next trip if I didn't want to try out the SL first.

 

[otwidalepda]

Just to say that the Santa Fe is still currently under going a refurb as the exterior is being changed. It will have a different colour scheme with Cars characters on the walls of the buildings.

Images: InsideDLPairs

 

[nicola]

we have been having a similiar dilemma but have now decided to stick with DLH and pay the extra....staying at DLH just makes the trip that bit more special if you can afford it

 

[Happy Tappy]

Just to say that the Santa Fe is still currently under going a refurb as the exterior is being changed. It will have a different colour scheme with Cars characters on the walls of the buildings.

Images: InsideDLPairs

I don't like the look of that at all.

 

[Took]

I have to say, we wish we had stayed at one of the nicer hotels on our recent visit. We stayed at Cheyenne and must have gotten a non-refurbished room or something, as our room looked very, very worn out (as did our whole building). The breakfast was fairly bleh (cheese cubes? in France?!) and the grounds were fairly barren. We were not impressed at all. The hotel is located near the parks (only a short bus ride) and the staff was friendly.

 

[zavandor]

Cheyenne is my hotel of choice for my staying during the winter. If going in the summer having a pool and air conditioning in the rooms can make a difference (and in that case I would prefere SL), but in the winter Cheyenne cannot be beaten: cheap, nice rooms, excellent theming, decent breakfast, reasonably walkable.
However...

Only thing that's worrying me about is after staying at DLH and the SL will we be let down by going to the lower priced hotels?

Cheyenne is very nice, but Disneyland hotel is a completely different thing. Especially in the winter. It can be freezing cold in Paris and being able to be in your hotel room in just 1 minute after exiting the park cannot be beaten.
I will never spend that much money for their rooms, but if one can afford it I think it would make the trip much better.

 

[ukool]

Having stayed at both, id go for the Cheyenne, its much prettyer and is just a nicer hotel - this was 7 years ago, but im sure its still just as nice lol

 

[Jonjo]

We choose to go with the Santa Fe for our next trip as we wanted to experiance the Cars refurbishment, plus we had not stayed their since 2005.

We have two favouriate on-site hotels. The Cheyenne for spring / summer trips and the Sequoia Lodge for winter trips.