Tropicana Inn vs Hojos?

[jemimabean]

I went to Disneyland three times in 2011, and all three times stayed at the Tropicana Inn. I love the location (right next to BWPPI), and the hotel itself is decent.
I have a trip coming up in about five weeks with my best friend, and am considering Hojos. The price is great and I like the look of the property a lot, but I'm wondering about the walk.

I've looked at maps, but don't have a good sense of how much further it is than say the BWPPI or the Tropicana. Is it a safe walk for two women to do?

What would your vote be? Tropicana for a lot more money but super close to the gate, or Hojos for less and perhaps nicer property, but maybe also considerably further walk?

 

[skiingfast]

It may be a very cheap alternative if you can get the AP or Ent rate.

http://www.boards.hojoanaheim.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=14


It's almost twice as far,7-9 minutes to the gates and you might notice it since you've been closer a few times, but it still is not far away and the walk is just as safe.

Hojo doesn't offer breakfast but does have free parking.

 

[isisisme]

I have not stayed at Hojo's before but stayed at Tropicanna many times. we stayed at Camelot last year for our trip because we got a 4th night free. I have to say that coming back to the hotel after park closing, that couple of mins walking difference was definitely noticed. Camelot is next door to the Tropicanna, and we did stay at the end of the main building. Yes, we were very tired, but coming back, we missed being at the Tropicanna.

 

[pixiewings71]

I've stayed at both and feel that the HoJo is a much nicer hotel. Rooms and staff at HoJo are amazing, rooms and staff at Trop are OK. Trop also charges for parking and HoJo does not. The extra walk really isn't that big a deal for me but sometimes at night after walking all day I wish briefly we'd stayed at the Trop. lol it's short lived tho, we spent a lot less at the HoJo than the Trop, bottom line I will always try the HoJo first.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

I've stayed at both and feel that the HoJo is a much nicer hotel. Rooms and staff at HoJo are amazing, rooms and staff at Trop are OK. Trop also charges for parking and HoJo does not. The extra walk really isn't that big a deal for me but sometimes at night after walking all day I wish briefly we'd stayed at the Trop. lol it's short lived tho, we spent a lot less at the HoJo than the Trop, bottom line I will always try the HoJo first.

Well put. Totally agree.

 

[jemimabean]

Thanks so much for the posts! It's been really helpful. I am leaning heavily towards Hojos at this point. The additional few minutes of walking isn't going to hurt us, and I like the look of the property more.

Thanks!

 

[Chumpson]

This is interesting. I am looking at July and HOJO is one of the highest on Harbor and no breakfast with the longest walk? I think there are other options for those types of situations. Seems like every situation "depends".

 

[jory29]

Pixiewings has summed it up very well. I feel the same way... For the extra benefits Hojo's offers (the cleanliness of the rooms, the COMFY beds that I could live in if I had a chance, the fact that it is a hotel not a motel, the Keurig cofee machines, the great pool areas, the fact that Mimi's Cafe is across the street, (take out or dine in), McD's is the half way point between Disneyland and Hojo's, (breakfast, late night snack, lunch, etc.), free in-room safe, free parking, great arcade room (a DISboard member just won an ipad 2 on one machine!), a convenience store that has EVERYTHING you could need, excellent customer service, excellent rates, they are great with working with the VONS orders for groceries.... Friendly housekeeping who go the extra mile in keeping things VERY clean. The wifi is always reliable as well. The fridge and the microwave are great! If I forget anything I will post it. It is an 8 minute walk, and I am 'Pooh sized.' (Used to be tinkerbell sized!! ) I have no intent of ever staying anywhere else, and we have completed the walk to and from Hojo's and Disneyland Parks 2 times per day when we go for a week at a time, annually. sometimes 3 times per day we have completed that walk. Hojo's feels like a second home to us. And this is very important to our family.

 

[jory29]

This is interesting. I am looking at July and HOJO is one of the highest on Harbor and no breakfast with the longest walk? I think there are other options for those types of situations. Seems like every situation "depends".

Years ago, we stayed at the BWPPI... Although not bad, (beds were not so comfy though, and the interior of the rooms was very dimly lit, yuck) the so-called 'free breakfast' was literally of no merit to us -the eggs that were sitting there, hard boiled, had me worried they could be old - or not have been cold enough for as long as needed, so we chose not to eat them - toast and bread, pastry, etc. was very stale. Juice was watered down. Cereal was GENERIC which sometimes can be ok but in this case was pretty bad. The place (upstairs, Captain Kidd's) was hideously dirty (carpet, tables), and FULL of people all the time. You had to wait for plates, and for seats as well.

In the end, Mimi's breakfast or McD's (when we stay at Hojo's) suits us just fine - there was no monetary value, we felt, to that 'free breakfast.' I once tried eggs, cheese slices, and english muffins in-room at Hojo's, from a Vons delivery, but in the end, Mimi's and McD's won out -they both provided us with far more energy (AKA FAT LOL) while in the parks, which for our kids, is a huge 'plus.' Half of a Churros snack before lunch, then a light lunch, and it all worked for us.

Every situation does depend, but the truth is, it would be less than a 2 min. walk from Tropicana to Hojo's, so I would think the difference in walking to Hojo's from the Tropicana is almost negligible to consider, (someone, please, correct me if I am wrong, I don't think I am, it isn't more than 2 min. I don't think?) and for us, peace of mind is the best thing we can ask for when we stay at Hojo's. The consistency of the hotel (both customer service, and quality/cleanliness/features) is superb, and I would never stay anywhere else after our super experiences there.

I don't even think we would have gone to DL as often as we have in the past few years (annually, if we can) had we not found Hojo's - the right hotel is important, and we are so glad we tried it once, for a week -and then 6 times since then. Planning on a 7th time in 2012.

Edited to add: Re: Safety - with 2 women, great, no problem at all! I walked it at night with my DD, 8 years old, and myself... (DH and DS were at an Angels game. Angels won, of course. ) We walked on Harbor Blvd. and felt very safe, it is very well lit at night time. We felt very safe then, and any other time walking it with my family.

 

[kirstie101]

I went to Disneyland three times in 2011, and all three times stayed at the Tropicana Inn. I love the location (right next to BWPPI), and the hotel itself is decent.
I have a trip coming up in about five weeks with my best friend, and am considering Hojos. The price is great and I like the look of the property a lot, but I'm wondering about the walk.

I've looked at maps, but don't have a good sense of how much further it is than say the BWPPI or the Tropicana. Is it a safe walk for two women to do?

What would your vote be? Tropicana for a lot more money but super close to the gate, or Hojos for less and perhaps nicer property, but maybe also considerably further walk?

We usually stay at DI&S and have stayed at BWPPI. So I know how wonderful that super super short walk is! And thats the main reason we stayed at those properties. That being said, we stayed at the Hojo for the first time in December and I was suprised how short the walk seemed. It was honestly not bad at all. We did cross at Manchester and walked on the Disneyland side of the street and this saved a bit of time as you werent walking across driveways and such. If its a big cost savings for you, stay at the Hojo. The walk is really not that much farther IMO. It was never longer than 8 minutes for us. And part of that walking time was spent waiting at the stop light to cross the street.

ETA: And yes I felt perfectly safe walking back at night. It was me, my mom and my two kids under 5yrs.

 

[Hojoanaheim]

Thank you everyone for speaking so highly of our hotel! We try our best to make each our guest’s stays as pleasant as possible. Jemimabean, if you are worried about the walk, Anaheim Resort Transit (ART) shuttle bus does run from our hotel to Disneyland and back. It is run by Anaheim, so you do need a ticket for it; a ticket is $4 for an adult and $1 for a child ages 3-9. It runs every 20 minutes or so, and you can ride the ART shuttle unlimited amount of times throughout the day.

Hope this helps!
-Kriss =)

 

[jemimabean]

Thanks, Kriss! We may buy the bus pass just for those late nights when we're wiped out, but the walk seems really doable.

Just booked and got the entertainment rate. Wow, y'all aren't kidding when you say that it's great! I was blown away. I reserved a standard double room, but I think that I may bump that up to the two queen room, as the beds look more fancy.

36 more days!
Thanks to everyone who weighed in, and I can so that so far my experience with Hojos has been fabulous.

 

[jemimabean]

Wait, one last stupid question about the entertainment rate: do I have to specifically have the Anaheim Entertainment book, or will the one specific to my city work just fine?

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

Wait, one last stupid question about the entertainment rate: do I have to specifically have the Anaheim Entertainment book, or will the one specific to my city work just fine?

The one for your city is fine. You don't need to bring the whole book with you, just the card. They will ask to see the card at check-in.

 

[jory29]

OP, you have made the right choice, for sure! You will be thrilled with your stay at Hojo's. Please if you get a chance -check out prices for the ART at Getawaytoday.com - the prices have always been excellent whenever I have looked.

That being said, you may not even wish to use the ART at all - with the walk being around 8 min. from Disney's entrance tp the Hojo, (including crosswalk waits) you may find it worth it to just walk right out of the parks, until you get to Hojo's at the end of the night, (rather than waiting for the ART which could be crowded, etc.) I suspect few people from Hojo's have taken the ART once they see how close it is. You can also look at the google earth maps, and see that there are very few buildings/distance from say, the Tropicana to Hojo's.

Have a great trip! Enjoy your stay at Hojo's!