Thinking about Desert Palms

[GatorChris]

Right now, we're booked at the HoJo. It has a nice little water park ( that the kids are probably about to outgrow) and we're getting a decent price there. Looked at Courtyard Waterpark prices (looks awesome there) and it would be $650 more for 7 nights....for that much, I might be able to get an AP rate at PPH.

So I'm looking at Desert Palms. It would be about $350 more. But I like the idea of having a separate room from the kids rather than all being thrown into two queens and a roll-away. Plus, DP has a breakfast, though I'm reading it can be madness there in the mornings. It's also about another 1000 feet of walking to the main gates. I'm looking for some thoughts on it: good and bad. Would it be worth it over the a Superior Room (park view) at the HoJo?

 

[bumbershoot]

Breakfast is madness, but the waffles were tasty.

Are you getting a TRUE suite with a real extra room? Our room just had a half divider.

 

[GatorChris]

We're looking at the real suite. The other "suite" isn't one at all. Just a big room with lots of beds.

 

[bumbershoot]

Good good.

We liked the place, though the hallways are weird. You might understand when you see them.

They have a very full giftshop with TONS of little things in there. If you have kids who like bright shiny objects, keep them away or up the souvenir budget.

 

[arichau]

I have never stayed at HoJo but I have stayed at Desert Palms with a suite. The extra room (we had one with an actual door to shut which we needed because we had nappers and young kids who went to bed early) was very small but it was an extra room and that's what we needed. The suite itself was small. Not much room to walk around beds, etc. But that wasn't a big deal to us.

We get to the parks fairly early so the breakfast at the hotel was never too busy but I can see it getting crowded. It's a free breakfast - so not very good but I have absolutely seen worse! The walk was not a big deal at all to us. It's very close. The pool (unless they have changed it in the last few years - which they could have) is very basic. Nothing for young kids, no shallow areas for kids. So nothing like the photos I have seen for HoJos.

I have also heard you can see the fireworks from the pool at HoJos - maybe someone can confirm this - which is not an option at Desert Palms.

Overall we were happy with Desert Palms. It was really nice to walk to the parks, have that extra room, free breakfast, parking, wifi, etc. It's not fancy by any means but just a place to crash. There's also a Subway across the street that we would run to when adults needed food after the kiddos went to sleep

I hope you have a great trip!