We stayed at the Tropicana in February of 2006. It was a wonderful stay and is our favorite offsite place to stay near
Disneyland (have also stayed at the Hojo, BWPPI and Camelot). The room was spacious, we had two beds and there was room to leave our rollaway out at all times. It had a small frig and microwave. It was spotlessly clean, and you could tell it had been redone very recently. The bathroom was like new. The pool area was small, but very well maintained. They had plenty of chairs, a few tables and towels available as well. The hottub was huge. There were some nice landscaping touches (trees, bushes, flower pots) around the place which helped detract from the motel, parking lot feel. The staff was great and very helpful. And the location, being literally two minutes to the parks cannot be beat. I generally prefer to stay onsite, but when I stay offsite the Tropicana is my favorite. They also have a free, minimal but adequate continental breakfast which helps save money on food.
The Hojo is very nice as well. However the walk is longer, but still very doable. However, I must say, since I have stayed closer, I haven't been back to the Hojo! I realize that given how much you walk at Disneyland, that extra 5-7 minutes up to the Hojo don't seem like much, and really it isn't. But then again, being closer is nice too! The grounds at the Hojo are lovely, very well kept and lush. The pool itself is basic, however, they do have a kiddie pool (very nice with little kids) and a spray jet area. So this pool is great for toddlers. There is another pool, its also nice but doesn't have the spray jets. The main pool also has a nice hottub. The rooms at the Hojo are very spacious, some of them have skylights so if you need a dark room for naps or sleeping in, that might be a problem. We enjoyed the natural light. The staff is wonderful. There is a Mimi's right next door, great food, huge portions at good prices. They serve all three meals and you can do take out to your room. Some of the rooms at the Hojo are literally right next to the freeway, so be sure and ask for a non freeway side room. Paying for a theme park view (not a large upgrade fee) will save you worrying over that one. There is no free breakfast.
The Tropicana wins for location and having the free breakfast is nice. And their pool is nice, my older kids (10 and 12) loved that pool since it had a deep end. However, for smaller kids, the Hojo pool would be better. The location wouldn't, so if I stayed there with small kids, I would make sure I brought my own stroller. For me, I love the location factor more and our room at the Tropicana was in better shape and cleaner than the Hojo one. So while we had a great stay at the Hojo, having now stayed at the Tropicana, we probably will just stick with that. I also like having a free breakfast, it isn't fancy (far from it) but its nice to have.
You cannot go wrong with either, I think it just hinges on which means more, the pool or the location!
