Hotel help/suggestions

[lalasmama]

ETA: This thread is a year old We stayed at Baymont Inn and Suites. Niece didn't come with us, unfortunately. But the suite was great!

While DH, DD12, and I have been to Disneyland many times over the past few years, we've only been to 3 hotels: Super 8 Katella, Desert Inn and Suites, Park Vue, and Tropicana. We have our favorites for mom-and-dad-only trips, for solo trips, and for family trips, and the one we will never stay in again (DI&S). However, next summer we're changing things up a bit....

Next summer, we're bringing my (by then) 15yo niece (let's call her DN15) for her first trip. So, we thought, "Of course we'll just stay at Park Vue in a suite like we do with DD12!" But, let's be fair... DD12 is a shrimp, but when you add on DN15, who is already as plus-sized as me, there's no way that they will be comfortable on the double-sized hide-a-bed at Park Vue. And there's no way they will sleep. Come to think of it, there will likely be no sleep anyway, LOL. But, play along with me, and assume eventually they will tucker out. DD12 usually sleeps in a different room on vacations, because she doesn't sleep well with others in the room. But, we're not willing to pay for a room for DH/me, and one for DD12, and one for DN15. That would be insane.

So, we're debating delving into new hotel/motel territory, and I'm looking for suggestions.

We need:

Room for 4 adults.

On Harbor, as that's my husband's preferred location.

Two bathrooms aren't "necessary" but would be a bonus. (Otherwise, kids shower at night, adults in the morning.)

Ideally under $300/night. (We'll have 3-4 nights in other hotels on this vacation as well, so we're going for semi-budget friendly.)

Willing to do connecting rooms, but not sure if these can be "guaranteed" to be connecting; if not, we wouldn't be able to stay, since we wouldn't be sending a 12yo and 15yo to their own hotel room away from ours!

No care about the pool, as we won't be there much to go into the pool anyway.

Random questions:

HoJo's Kids' Suites: Are the bunkbeds a full twin size? (That is, are they short twins, or regular length twins?)

How large are the Park Vue bunkbed rooms? Again, are the bunkbeds normal-length twins?

Help!

 

[ParkHopper1]

I have not stayed there yet but the new Courtyard on Harbor has rooms with twin bunk beds and dual queens or one king that is within your budget.

 

[Darkbeer1]

I would look at HoJo's, they do have some connecting rooms.

The Courtyard and Holiday Inn Express are new at the same corner.

You also have the new options at the corner of Harbor and Katella, the Hyatt House, SpringHill Suites and Residence Inn. All are new construction, so larger rooms, and some kitchen facilities.

 

[Imdboss]

We've stayed at DoubleTree Suites twice now and have been very happy both times. Once with 2 queen beds and a sleeper sofa and the other time was 1 King bed with a sleeper sofa. We paid $159-$210 (high end for last min July trip). I'd also look into the new Homewood Suites. Both are walking distance to DL or Toy Story lot if you want to use the shuttle, or you can use ART. Homewood is the closer of the two.

 

[Flickor]

Why wouldn't you stay at Desert inn and suites? It's seems to be very popular and in a good spot. (Location must be the best part?)

 

[lalasmama]

Why wouldn't you stay at Desert inn and suites? It's seems to be very popular and in a good spot. (Location must be the best part?)

I have many reasons... On the minor side of things, during my first stay there, I had an impressively firm bed. Like firm enough that I thought about sleeping on the floor, or going to Target up the street to get an air mattress. The towels are scratchy and too tiny for my big booty. The elevator is sloooooooooow (and the employees didn't scoot over for my party when we were attempting to get up to our room, so we had to wait for it again, which meant we waited nearly 5 minutes, which made me kind of cranky after 16 hours at Disneyland). We used the hot tub one day. There is a HUGE window in front of the hot tub and pool, so everyone looks in as they walk by. The pool room smelled heavily of chlorine. (A friend of mine used to clean pools, and said that there should never be an overwhelming chemical smell to it). So, even with the smell, I decided to get into the hot tub. After about 5 minutes, my skin was burning. I went right up to my room and showered... and was covered in little bumps from my thighs down. Doctor diagnosed folliculitis, which is common from hot tubs, especially when the chemicals aren't in proper alignment.

Then came the straw that broke the camel's back... Long story short, my father-in-law passed away 3 days before a trip. I didn't think to cancel reservations until about 36 hours, because -HELLO- my father-in-law had just DIED unexpectedly. We were dealing with grieving, the funeral home, the funeral plans, the church, etc. At any rate, they require 48 hours to get your money back if you cancel. They said if they could sell our room, they wouldn't charge us. The charges disappeared from our card, so we assumed they had been reversed. And then the charges came back. Anytime we tried calling, the manager wasn't available, and we were basically told "too bad." Manager called back 2 weeks or so later, and said there was nothing they could do. There was no way to prove or not prove that our room was sold, so we were SOL. That left a bad taste in our mouth. They are a small outfit--it's not like we're talking about a Marriott where a supervisor or manager may not have the ability to do much. And yet they weren't able to extend us a little grace in the wake of my father-in-law's passing.

So, I'm one of the rare people that doesn't sing the praises of DI&S.

 

[Flickor]

I have many reasons... On the minor side of things, during my first stay there, I had an impressively firm bed. Like firm enough that I thought about sleeping on the floor, or going to Target up the street to get an air mattress. The towels are scratchy and too tiny for my big booty. The elevator is sloooooooooow (and the employees didn't scoot over for my party when we were attempting to get up to our room, so we had to wait for it again, which meant we waited nearly 5 minutes, which made me kind of cranky after 16 hours at Disneyland). We used the hot tub one day. There is a HUGE window in front of the hot tub and pool, so everyone looks in as they walk by. The pool room smelled heavily of chlorine. (A friend of mine used to clean pools, and said that there should never be an overwhelming chemical smell to it). So, even with the smell, I decided to get into the hot tub. After about 5 minutes, my skin was burning. I went right up to my room and showered... and was covered in little bumps from my thighs down. Doctor diagnosed folliculitis, which is common from hot tubs, especially when the chemicals aren't in proper alignment.

Then came the straw that broke the camel's back... Long story short, my father-in-law passed away 3 days before a trip. I didn't think to cancel reservations until about 36 hours, because -HELLO- my father-in-law had just DIED unexpectedly. We were dealing with grieving, the funeral home, the funeral plans, the church, etc. At any rate, they require 48 hours to get your money back if you cancel. They said if they could sell our room, they wouldn't charge us. The charges disappeared from our card, so we assumed they had been reversed. And then the charges came back. Anytime we tried calling, the manager wasn't available, and we were basically told "too bad." Manager called back 2 weeks or so later, and said there was nothing they could do. There was no way to prove or not prove that our room was sold, so we were SOL. That left a bad taste in our mouth. They are a small outfit--it's not like we're talking about a Marriott where a supervisor or manager may not have the ability to do much. And yet they weren't able to extend us a little grace in the wake of my father-in-law's passing.

So, I'm one of the rare people that doesn't sing the praises of DI&S.

Thanks for the response and sorry about your experience. I'm trying to gather as much info from real experiences so I know which places to stay and where not to and I'll cross desert inn off. (My faves have been Carousel and Ayres Anaheim) I just need a good walking distance hotel to replace Carousel

 

[lalasmama]

Thanks for the response and sorry about your experience. I'm trying to gather as much info from real experiences so I know which places to stay and where not to and I'll cross desert inn off. (My faves have been Carousel and Ayres Anaheim) I just need a good walking distance hotel to replace Carousel

Everyone has their favorite places, of course, and for my bad experiences with DI&S, plenty of people have had good ones as well.

It reminds me of a few years ago here on the disboards--a frequent poster, well-respected and completely knowledgeable, had a run in with bed bugs at Park Vue Inn ("PVI") that summer and reported that PVI didn't do anything about it. I already had my reservations coming up at PVI for the following spring, as we needed a separate room for my (then) DD9 who wouldn't sleep if anyone else was in the room, and we had a screaming good deal ($180 for 2 queens + hide-a-bed + kitchenette + electric fireplace). Of course, I was wary, and went overboard looking for signs of bedbugs at check-in, ready to raise a ruckus. I was in a newly renovated suite with no signs of any little hitchhiking bugs. The front desk called every evening to see if we needed anything. When I lost my engagement ring, but didn't realize it until after check-out, a maintenance man opened the room back up, and helped my husband search for it... and it was the maintenance man who found my ring. So, they earned great reviews from me and my hubby. But I know a lot of people said they would be staying away from PVI because of one poster's bed bug experience there.

 

[hanna-nana]

Camelot has a two room suit for $229 usually. 2 queens in one room, a king and a sleeper sofa in another.

 

[Darkbeer1]

Everyone has their favorite places, of course, and for my bad experiences with DI&S, plenty of people have had good ones as well.

It reminds me of a few years ago here on the disboards--a frequent poster, well-respected and completely knowledgeable, had a run in with bed bugs at Park Vue Inn ("PVI") that summer and reported that PVI didn't do anything about it. I already had my reservations coming up at PVI for the following spring, as we needed a separate room for my (then) DD9 who wouldn't sleep if anyone else was in the room, and we had a screaming good deal ($180 for 2 queens + hide-a-bed + kitchenette + electric fireplace). Of course, I was wary, and went overboard looking for signs of bedbugs at check-in, ready to raise a ruckus. I was in a newly renovated suite with no signs of any little hitchhiking bugs. The front desk called every evening to see if we needed anything. When I lost my engagement ring, but didn't realize it until after check-out, a maintenance man opened the room back up, and helped my husband search for it... and it was the maintenance man who found my ring. So, they earned great reviews from me and my hubby. But I know a lot of people said they would be staying away from PVI because of one poster's bed bug experience there.

Heck, even the Grand Californian has had bedbug issues, just look a the recent lawsuit in the news.

Things have greatly improved in the Hospitality Industry in regards to Bed Bugs.

First, they found they can train dogs to sniff them out.

Second, the easiest and fastest way to get rid of them, just cook them out. Heat the room to a high temperature for a few hours, and they are all dead (including eggs).

So the solutions are there as compared to a few years ago.

I wouldn't take a prior Bed Bug issue into consideration nowadays.

 

[lalasmama]

Heck, even the Grand Californian has had bedbug issues, just look a the recent lawsuit in the news.

Things have greatly improved in the Hospitality Industry in regards to Bed Bugs.

First, they found they can train dogs to sniff them out.

Second, the easiest and fastest way to get rid of them, just cook them out. Heat the room to a high temperature for a few hours, and they are all dead (including eggs).

So the solutions are there as compared to a few years ago.

I wouldn't take a prior Bed Bug issue into consideration nowadays.

Very true, which is why bed bug reports never keep me away. I'm just as likely (more likely, I wonder?) to get bed bugs when my luggage is fraternizing with all the other bags in the overhead bins or cargo hold...

And coming from the medical field, bed bugs seem to be the only "reasonable" explanation when you have bites that you notice in the morning... Not the fleas your pet has, or the fact that you were playing in the woods on a hike the day before, etc. it seems like it's "always" bed bugs (sarcasm ). And it's the same with hotel rooms. Bites = bed bugs, not folliculitis from the hot tub, or fleas from a previous guest, or sand fleas from the trip to the beach... It seems like people will freak about bed bugs without any proof, and will always blame bed bugs were "caught" at the hotel, despite any proof of bed bug contamination.

For everyone's clarity, I AM NOT saying I don't believe our poster who had a bad experience with PVI. I'm saying *in general* many people scream (and report) a bed bug infestation without clear evidence of them, which leads to hotels getting a bad rap for something that may not (or may so) be true.

 

[yupikgal]

Personally, as much as I hate the thought of bed bugs, I equally have a strong dislike for roaches. I have read several horror stories from Tropicana and a few other places on Harbor with the unwanted critters crawling up walls, etc. Can't they use the "roach motel" to get rid of them or whatever pesticides available in order to exterminate those "buggers"?? (pun intended)

 

[smartlabelprint]

Personally, as much as I hate the thought of bed bugs, I equally have a strong dislike for roaches. I have read several horror stories from Tropicana and a few other places on Harbor with the unwanted critters crawling up walls, etc. Can't they use the "roach motel" to get rid of them or whatever pesticides available in order to exterminate those "buggers"?? (pun intended)

Who were the bug reports from? Anyone with just a couple reviews I ignore.

 

[mpadilla89]

Everyone has their favorite places, of course, and for my bad experiences with DI&S, plenty of people have had good ones as well.

I do think that every hotel whether one star or five star has their issues. Some people never experience them and some do. I have read reviews that have lead me to not book certain hotels. And have also stayed at hotels that had bad reviews but our stay was wonderful and we keep going back. Everyone has a different expectation from what they need hotels to do and provide.

When we find a place we like we keep coming back even if others have had issues with it before(obviously it depends what kind of issues).

 

[yupikgal]

Who were the bug reports from? Anyone with just a couple reviews I ignore.

There were several on Yelp & TA. Reading reviews is one thing, but pictures say a 1000 words!

 

[smartlabelprint]

There were several on Yelp & TA. Reading reviews is one thing, but pictures say a 1000 words!

How can you be sure it's a pic from that hotel?

 

[yupikgal]

How can you be sure it's a pic from that hotel?

Why would people lie about where they stayed and post pictures of bugs from other hotels? All I know is that it makes me nervous to see and read about multiple experiences. I read multiple reviews, not just one. Thankfully, we have lots of choices!

 

[smartlabelprint]

Why would people lie about where they stayed and post pictures of bugs from other hotels? All I know is that it makes me nervous to see and read about multiple experiences. I read multiple reviews, not just one. Thankfully, we have lots of choices!

Competitors trying to get business.

 

[carnivalkid]

We stayed in the HoJo kids suite in July. I was also worried about the size of the bunks. They seen to be a little shorter than usual but my mother slept in one for 10 nights with no problem she is approx. 165inches tall.
It was a great room with so much space.... and the 2 bathrooms were great.

 

[Malcon10t]

she is approx. 165inches tall.

Dang she is tall...