Wow. Big changes in amenities at Park Vue Inn!

[Disneylovers2000]

We stayed at the Park Vue last July (2011) and they didn't offer free water bottles then. They said - after we got there - that they were no longer offering this. It was the least of my concerns at that point and didn't even think about not staying there because of this. I have always had great customer service and they always answered my emails - I sent many as I am an over planner! That said, for people on a budget and who were counting on the perks, I could see why they would be concerned. There are a few - very few - hotels/motels in walking distance that offer ALL of the amenities that Park Vue was offering. I guess one needs to determine what is most important to their family and choose accordingly. We would like more room for our extended stay therefore, next time (2013!!! ) we will be staying at the Residence Inn Maingate on Clementine.

 

[smiley_face2]

We've stayed there at least 5 times in the last few years. In my experience, the doors can be propped open for short periods of time while people are loading or unloading. But that's temporary. They've always been closed after that, and locked (requiring room key access) after hours.

-Bob

That has not been our experience at all in our many stays, I think we have stayed a total of about 70 nights at Hojo's! and our last trip was just this past December where once again, the main doors at both ends of the building were propped open until late at night. Having said that, I still feel it's a very safe place, even though we had our mickey antenna topper taken in the parking lot, and they warned us that vehichles were being broken into so to not leave ANYTHING in our car. That was not this last December though. (I have also had at least 2 of my antenna toppers taken here in my hometown!) I have never ever felt "unsafe" in any of our stays at any of the hotels in the area, even the ones with outside corridors.
We like a lot of the hotels in the area for different reasons, and stay at different ones depending on whether it's just hubby and myself travelling, or if it's with the kids and grandkids. I will say we have stayed at Hojo's more than any of the other places though, and if you can get the annual passholder or entertainment rate, that just can not be beat!!

 

[smiley_face2]

Im curious when these bad visits to BWPPI were? Because we have stayed there for years. Just last summer even. They keep it super clean wonderful cushy beds and comforters. We love that place.

We stayed last summer, and yes it was nice and clean, and yes the bed was comfortable. My problem was that when I booked the room, I asked for a room on the second floor at the front of the building because I was just finished my chemo and I was very weak so was looking to walk as little as possible, and very tired and needed a lot of naps. They put us on the bottom floor at the very back of the property and could not move us because they were full. For some reason our room never got cleaned one day, I had to phone and request it be cleaned the next day. I never was able to get the wifi working even after numerous calls about it. Because we were on the ground floor, we were unlucky enough to get a herd of elephants in the room above us so any sleeping I did was always interupted. I never got any sort of apology for not being able to fulfill my room requests. At that time the food they offered for breakfast was truly horrible IMHO and we only tried it once. I was suprised they did not make more of an effort to accomodate a room request based on health reasons, so would not take a chance on staying there again unless I really didn't care about that. All the many many hotels I have dealt with have always been so accomodating (especially Hojo's) about specific room requests.

 

[SomeDude78]

That is interesting that you think the Fairfield Inn is nicer than Hojos. I found Hojos to be definitely a step up from the Fairfield Inn--mostly because Hojos has interior hallways (makes for a much quieter stay--you don't have the kids running up and down the concrete halls, maids carts, security issues, etc) and the pool area is nicer, too. They are similar, but not really equal. I do think it depends what building/room you get at Hojos, though. The deluxe and superior rooms are woth the extra cost.

Many of the hotels/motels that are directly across from the park just are very shabby and motel-ish. If you know what you are getting, then you won't be that disappointed--but it takes some attitude adjustment.

Our last trip we had a great experience with the Doubletree Suites on South Harbor. My husband gets points there. I also saw that there was a Marriott very close by to our Hilton--and it looked very nice like the Doubletree. They are both right on the ART bus line, and it is like a 5 minute ride down Harbor and they let you off at the front gate. That Marriott probably is more what you are use to as far as Marriott standards (rather than the FFI)--and I'll bet they provide a buffet breakfast, too. Maybe check it out?

Hey there fellow Bay Area resident! I've stayed at the various room types at Hojo and just like FFI better. Dunno why but it's the impression it leaves The actual rooms are pretty much on par IMO although Hojo does offer more flexibility as far as floor plan. I stay a lot on points racked up from business travel though so a lot of times the decision just makes itself... Part of it probably a difference in criteria. I don't factor in the interior corridors at Hojo as the doors are unlocked most of the time anyway and noise doesn't bother me.

I agree completely that really all of the walking distance properties on Harbor are motels. I'm a self-admitted hotel snob but I don't think you need to be one to agree... Doesn't stop me from staying at them, but just calling it how I see it.

The Anaheim in Garden Grove you're referring to is the Anaheim Marriott Suites. Same plaza as Joe's Crab Shack and across from Target. Their rooms are spacious and it's nicer than FFI for sure. Another good budget option if a short drive is okay would be the Residence Inn in La Mirada/Buena Park. It doesn't look like much from the outside but they just underwent a full refurb and the interior is pretty nice. You get a ton of space, full kitchen, full sized fridge, good breakfast, etc. etc. Not much in the area except an In N Out and some office buildings but it usually comes in around the same price as Anaheim Marriott Suites and you get a lot more amenities.

P.S.
As a hotel snob with little chance of recovery, I honestly typically don't go for either Fairfield Inns or Residence Inns are those are Marriott's lower end brands. Usually it's Courtyards and up only ... but for DLR I'm okay with whatever. And honestly that Residence Inn in La Mirada is the best one I've stayed at, the others have all been pretty ghetto IMO haha. So don't get me wrong, not saying FFI is way better than Hojo, both are in the "acceptable for DLR" category for me

 

[LisainCalifornia]

Hello to you fellow bay area resident! We are in Moraga (just outside of Orinda).

Yes, I think the Marriott I was talking about is the one across from the Target. We took ART from our recent Doubletree Suites stay--and we drove past it. It looked very similar to the hotel we stayed at, so I thought I would mention it. But you would need to take ART to get to the parks. This is it:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Re...riott_Anaheim-Anaheim_California.html#REVIEWS

 

[SomeDude78]

Hello to you fellow bay area resident! We are in Moraga (just outside of Orinda).

Yes, I think the Marriott I was talking about is the one across from the Target. We took ART from our recent Doubletree Suites stay--and we drove past it. It looked very similar to the hotel we stayed at, so I thought I would mention it. But you would need to take ART to get to the parks. This is it:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Re...riott_Anaheim-Anaheim_California.html#REVIEWS

Oooh Orinda, now that's a part of the Bay I haven't heard for a while Nice area, I used to have a friend who lived out that way and we loved hiking up there. It's pretty much in the middle of the east bay but interesting because it's sort of tucked away too. They've since moved out to the new mass of housing near Dublin, still nice but not as unique or rustic. I'm in SJ, so basically your standard SF Bay suburban fare...

The Marriott you're talking about may actually be better for DIS'ers, it's closer than the one I was thinking of. I've done conventions (for work, not Disney ) at "your" Marriott but have never stayed in their rooms. Might give it a try now that there's good word of mouth about "your" Marriott though! "My" Marriott (haha) by was the one down farther on Harbor:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Re...t_Anaheim_Suites-Garden_Grove_California.html

I'm married to my car so I don't know if they have a Disney shuttle, though.

I'll shaddup and step out of the way of people looking for info on PVI now haha

 

[smiley_face2]

I did get a personal reply from Argenis Porras, guest relations manager and she confirmed these things will not be offered, however it is because they want to continue to make upgrades to the rooms as per customer requests, and as these features were not utilised by people very much, they have discontinued them to save the money for the room upgrades.

 

[ExcitedSam]

I was thinking that exact thing myself,that it seems a lot of people are not that fussed on the evening meal or fruit basket, water...yes I would use that, but if over time people are not utilizing these things why would you continue to pay for them?

I hope they do continue with the room upgrades. We are going in Sept and I'm not changing my booking. Not having been anywhere there before it's a gamble wherever you go.