WWYD -- hotel stay

[Pesky]

I'm already prepping the litany of information for my MIL for her and FIL's visit coming up. MIL initially said to stay on-site, thinking that would be the closest. But in doing my research on the on-site options, prices, etc., I have come to realize that DLR properties may not be the closest options versus certain good neighbor hotels. Given we are leaning towards booking points (so sooner than later) if staying onsite, we would likely decide by this Christmas where to stay. We will have a 6YO and 4.5YO at the time who may need a mid-day nap or downtime break and FIL may rest in the room a bit given his back (either at the hotel or perhaps sitting around DLR). We will ride with the ILs so likely have 2 cars.

DH travels and has accumulated a number of Hilton points. Soooooo, would you:
1. Stay at a good neighbor hotel nearby that is in easy walking distance for those breaks?
2. Stay at GCV?
3. Stay at a Hilton property like Hampton Inn or even Anaheim Hilton, likely for free and deal with either the parking fees or shuttle/ART?

I'm not sure breakfast will be a key component -- nice but not necessary as long as we have a fridge. Also, given December, the pool will not be a key factor. Mainly clean, decent (no lumpy beds) and NO. BUGS. Thanks!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

We've stayed on property (GCH) and had good experiences. But know that if you get a room in the back, it is FAR just to get to the lobby, much less to the parks. Point being, as you've discovered, being on property doesn't necessarily equate with shorter distance to the parks.
We've stayed at Good Neighbor hotels and had good experiences, too. The Candy Cane Inn is close, on the same side of Harbor as DLR, and has its own shuttle which runs on time. That might be good for getting back to the room for naps and for your FIL.
The Hilton is good, too (Starbucks in the lobby -- yay!), but it is cavernous (built for conventions) and a bit overwhelming at first. Unless you specify that you need to be close to the lobby, there may be a bit of walking involved with getting to your room.
Lastly, whatever you decide, if you get your tickets through AAA, the parking is included in the price. So you could stay further away on points (Embassy Suites GG, Hampton Inn, etc.) drive, and park without worrying about extra fees.

 

[scoker]

I think that one of the best things about DLR is that you can stay within waling distance. I would save those Hilton points for another vacation somewhere that you won't be trading that convenience for a free hotel. Even when I've had a car I've always stayed within walking distance and honestly not moved the car the entire trip.

I've stayed at the GCH and agree with previous poster that you can't beat the location but would suggest asking for a room as close to the main lobby as possible. I don't know how that works out for the villas. I know they are in their own wing. It worked out great for us and we loved walking directly into DCA and DTD and the walk to the monorail or DL main gate is just a few minutes.

There are also several Good Neighbor hotels that are very close and an easy walk. If you think you will be going to and from the room more than once a day I would recommend either staying at GCH on property or one of the closest hotels on Harbor Blvd. We will be staying at the Best Western Park Place Inn for our next trip. It is as close as you get to the gates of DL and DCA. I've stayed farther down on Harbor and it was fine but we weren't going back to the room mid-day.

Good luck with your planning.

 

[PrinceOfPeace]

We just stayed at the DLH....it was awesome! The pool and the tropical ambience was lovely. We have a 6mo, 2yr, and a 4yr old. The room was spacious enough and the night light headboard was great feature! We even stayed another day because we loved the pool so much.

 

[KalamityJane]

Prince, how was the walk from DLH to the parks?

 

[Cinderpamela]

In the past I have stayed both onsight and off, and while offsite can be a big money saver, with all the early entry perks of staying onsite currently happening I would stay onsite if you can swing it.

 

[mouseymommy]

We stay at BWPPI because for our Dl trips our priority is a short walk back to the room. We have always had great customer service and clean rooms. We have never had any problems with bugs. It is not a hotel, the doors open onto the parking lot. It does have a free breakfast, but we really just stay there for the location.

 

[sechelt]

My vote is for VGC, since you'd be staying on points. A lot of people say the villas are a bit of a walk but I don't think they're any farther than BWPPI's rooms. The hotel itself is the closest to DL and DCA of any on-site or good neighbour hotels. The views are pretty awesome, especialy the ones of Paradise Pier and, as a pp mentioned, there are perks for staying on-site. The down side might be parking. I know that one parking spot is included but you may have to pay for the second vehicle.

Your FIL could easily sit in the lobby to rest, keep cool and enjoy the surroundings. There are lots of comfy chairs, lots of people watching, and a grand piano that gets played sometimes. There's also the pool area and, if he's a smoker, there's a great place outside with a gigantic fireplace and rocking chairs to relax in. Or he could just head to his room. Also, the walk back is through DTD so there are places to rest along the way, if necessary.

For the kids, you can't beat being able to pop back to your room for naps or snacks and change of clothes. If you're in DCA, you can use the dedicated hotel entrance to get to your rooms. In the lobby there are miniature chairs around a tv that plays Disney cartoons, seemingly non-stop, and the pool has a couple of slides, one of them for smaller tykes. And don't forget the character breakfast at Storyteller's is right there and oh, so handy.

If the villas happen to be already booked, I'd go with a hotel that offers a shuttle. The shuttles take you closer than any of the hotels.

Enjoy!

 

[Mary09]

That Hilton is pretty cheap usually (~$80/night) and I've had a disappointing stay there, so I wouldn't spend points on it, if you can use them elsewhere. Noise and smells were our problems, so I'm sure most guests don't have problems. The place is ginormous and the ART isn't ideal for naps. The Starbucks line was always 10-20 people long every morning we were there.

Our best experience with nappers was the Tropicana, which is super close. It's a motel but it was fine for us. I think those close motels are 'hit or miss'. Desert Inn & Suites was another 'miss' for us.

 

[bumbershoot]

It's a good question.

We stayed at what I think of as "the second farthest away room" at the Grand, and it was literally the same distance to the center of the esplanade as if we had walked from the sidewalk outside HoJo. I don't know how far away the villas are, though. There's probably less backtracking than we had, though. (I hate backtracking, LOL)


We stayed at BW Park Place Inn, and again, got THE farthest away room in the place, but it was a cakewalk compared to that room at the Grand! It was also tremendously cheaper, which makes all things more easily dealt with.


KalamityJane, the walk from the DLH is going to be the longest, IMO. Especially if you get a room in the most distant tower. When we stayed there last we had concierge and could use their elevator which puts you out on the DTD side and is shortest to walk from, but you still have to go ALL the way through Downtown Disney to get to the bag check and esplanade. Sure, if the monorail is running you can take that, but that only helps if you're heading to Tomorrowland or ToonTown. We took it in one day to get to Fantasyland and felt like the walk from the station, past Nemo, and to the rides we wanted was really annoying, compared to just walking through DTD and to FL. And since we wanted to start with Peter Pan, we had to go all the way through FL to get there. (getting out of the station exit, going through Tomorrowland, and into the castle would probably have been longer, though it would have made me happier to not do what I felt was backtracking)



Honestly, it's just going to take you guys figuring out money vs points, more luxurious surroundings that MIGHT be further away vs simple surroundings that are a quick walk or shuttle ride away, etc. We just went through this getting our flights home, LOL. Miles or money (we went with money to get DH closer to the preferred status level), level of comfort vs free bags (with his status level). etc etc.

 

[bumbershoot]

Also, given December, the pool will not be a key factor.

I meant to mention that it might become a factor.

Our first year of big trips involved a September and a December. September was cold. December was HOT. Weather can be weird!

We also managed to go to WDW in 2010 in December, where it was literally below freezing some mornings. It was SO cold! We did, however, go swimming more than a few times. After all, the water is heated! It's just getting out that's a big bucket of misery.

But I haven't been that cold at DLR yet.

 

[juliebug1997]

I meant to mention that it might become a factor.

Our first year of big trips involved a September and a December. September was cold. December was HOT. Weather can be weird!

We also managed to go to WDW in 2010 in December, where it was literally below freezing some mornings. It was SO cold! We did, however, go swimming more than a few times. After all, the water is heated! It's just getting out that's a big bucket of misery.

But I haven't been that cold at DLR yet.

We were at WDW that December and, while it was cold, it helped add to the Christmas spirit. We never went near the pools though.