Desert Inn and Suites-hows it looking

[Kindermouse]

I booked a room at the DI&S for an upcoming trip, since I stayed there before and it was fine and inexpensive but then I got to thinking..its been a while since we have been there...hows the place holding up.

I am super excited to be back to Disney since we had a 2018/2019 hiatus and we did WDW last in October of 2017. We used to be AP's but I let it expire in 2017 since we were going to the other Disney that year and doing a long expensive trip so it would be our only trip of the year. Then they discontinued the AP that we used to get which left us with only options that would cost a lot more, and I felt really cranky about that so we took a break. I am thrilled to be going back!

But...That means that I haven't been to the DI&S in a few years, and it was getting shabby when we were last there. I'm a little nervous that its had a few years to get shabbier. I looked a bit and didnt seen any mention of it having had any refurbs since we were there last. Has anyone been more recently-hows it doing? Has it slipped from passable into stay away territory?

 

[goofy4tink]

I was there in June '16. It was fine. Dh didn't like it because we ended up in rooms way in the back and it was very dark. I'm heading west again in Sept and figured I would try DI&S again, but it wasn't available.

 

[Cal-Pie]

I was there in March, and it's been freshened up a bit. I thought it looked better than when we were there in 2014. New furniture, carpet, and bedding. Beds were still hard, it's still nothing fancy, but very clean.

 

[Kindermouse]

Cal Pie you make me feel so much better. I originally booked Park Vue Inn-but then I looked and saw how much cheaper it was for the same dates at DI&S (300 cheaper for 3 nights) and I just had to book it instead since we are are "just sleep there" park visitors.

 

[DizMe]

The rooms are fine. The main thing that annoyed us was that they will not hold your bags for you. Fortunately, we had a car so we left them in the trunk, but this is just inexcusable in my opinion.

 

[lalasmama]

I was there in 2014, and again 2 weeks ago. Somewhere on their website out saidthat they had updated. If that's "updated" they need a new designer! However, it passed our white sock test, so that's an improvement! Rooms are still dark. Noise isn't any better. Still has those dang window blinds that don't block out the light. Beds are still hard. For what it's worth, our bed in 331 this Feb was much firmer (in a bad way) than our beds in 120 two weeks ago. I habe heard the beds are nicer the closer you get to upfront. But the rooms are quieter toward the back.

I'd willingly stay there again if we didn't find a better deal. (But we found a better deal formy upcoming trip, so out may be another 2 years before we stay there again.)

 

[22Tink]

The rooms are fine. The main thing that annoyed us was that they will not hold your bags for you. Fortunately, we had a car so we left them in the trunk, but this is just inexcusable in my opinion.

They will hold your bags, it’s just a pain the way they do it. Small bags have to go in a locker and big bags go in a big locked room. The locker room is accessible all the time but because the the luggage room isn’t near the front desk, they have to call housekeeping to meet you and unlock the room for you.

 

[22Tink]

I booked a room at the DI&S for an upcoming trip, since I stayed there before and it was fine and inexpensive but then I got to thinking..its been a while since we have been there...hows the place hold up.

I am super excited to be back to Disney since we had a 2018/2019 hiatus and we did WDW last in the October of 2017. We used to be AP's but I let it expire in 2017 since we were going to the other Disney that year and doing a long expensive trip. Then they discontinued the AP that used to get which left us with only option that would cost a lot more, and felt really cranky about that so we took a break. I am thrilled to be going back!

But...That means that I haven't been to the DI&S in a few years, and it was getting shabby when we were last there. I'm a little nervous that its had a few years to get shabbier. I looked a bit and didnt seen any mention of it having had any refurbs since we were there last. Has anyone been more recently-hows it doing? Has it slipped from passable into stay away territory?

We were there in November. It was clean and the breakfast was minimal but adequate. My biggest complaint is the lack of room darkening curtains in the rooms. They had wooden shutters instead. We like a dark room so I had to tuck the bedspread into the shutters to block the light. I could see as we passed other rooms that we weren’t the only ones to do this.

 

[DizMe]

They will hold your bags, it’s just a pain the way they do it. Small bags have to go in a locker and big bags go in a big locked room. The locker room is accessible all the time but because the the luggage room isn’t near the front desk, they have to call housekeeping to meet you and unlock the room for you.

When we were there in November, they refused to hold our bags. They did mention the lockers (which have a fee), but we were 4 women and the lockers were already taken, plus some of our bags were probably too large. I've stayed there 3 or so times before and they did hold my bags, but we were told this time that they no longer do that. Maybe there has been a change since November?

 

[Laurieloo1414]

We stayed there two weeks ago and the room (deluxe room - 516) was great. The carpet felt clean and there was, what appeared to be, new bedding. They had lockers for luggage storage near the elevators at the back of the hotel but we never used them.

 

[tlcdoula]

We are staying there in a few weeks for the first time, we normally stay at their sister hotel Del Sol next door but the price was cheaper so we have decided to give it a go. The luggage storage is the only thing that makes me a big nervous because we arrive early so we won't be able to check in right then. Then when we check out our flights are not till the evening. I sure hope there are some lockers open when we need them.

Does anyone remember how much they were?

 

[mich311e]

We stayed there in April. Got one of the bigger rooms (maybe deluxe? It was like $20 more a night for more room). It was toward the back of the property, which we did not mind. It was absolutely fine for us. Felt clean and safe. I don't recall the beds being uncomfortable. You can see the fireworks from the pool deck.

We did not, however, utilize eat the breakfast. It was crowded and not appealing. I think my son got a danish one morning.

Good value and very close to the crosswalk!

 

[22Tink]

When we were there in November, they refused to hold our bags. They did mention the lockers (which have a fee), but we were 4 women and the lockers were already taken, plus some of our bags were probably too large. I've stayed there 3 or so times before and they did hold my bags, but we were told this time that they no longer do that. Maybe there has been a change since November?

That’s so weird! We were also there in November (Nov 25-Dec 1) and they had no problems holding my large suitcase in the locked room. Maybe it depends who’s at the front desk? I hate inconsistencies like that.

 

[disneychrista]

It’s been a few years for me but this has been my go to motel. I agree the beds are hard and the breakfast not great but I bring a foam topper for the bed and can eat elsewhere.