Why would you pick Disneyland Hotel over Paradise Pier?

[Susie63]

I need some help from those of you who have stayed at these hotels. Aside from the obvious $300 difference ,what makes one hotel more special than the other. I don't need fancy...but it must be clean.

[MammaSilva]

I've never stayed at the PP but we have stayed at the DLH several times. Our rooms have always been clean, the hotel is a few steps closer to the monorail station, the Neverland pool is nicely themed but really a pool is a pool. I don't really know that it's $300 dollars nicer to stay at. You get all the same perks like extra magic mornings and stuff regardless of which of the 3 you stay at.

[Teddi]

Honestly, the grounds and experience for DLH are pretty cool, IMO. I should clarify, I've never stayed at the PP, but when we go in Dec we are going to be staying 4 nights in DLH and then 4 nights in PP.

The grounds @ DLH are what make the "resort" to me. There's more stuff to do there at the actual hotel. There's two shops there, there's the Neverland pool which kids really like w/several waterslides (including some small ones that are great for little kids who wouldn't like the one big one at PP). There's disney stuff all around. My son likes to play in the arcade (it's not huge but it's something to do), and there's the boats that are fun to do. There's also the watershow (nothing overly spectacular)/waterfalls/koi pond to check out. There's more restaurants too. I think it really gives you almost like a feeling you have your own private piece of the park (IMO) when you're there and the kids are in the Big pool and then there's a restaurant you can grab a snack at right there, and then they can play w/the boats and stuff... just a nice ambiance.

What I also really like is that there are two more smaller pools (the Cove pools) that usually are much quieter. If you had little kids who wanted to pretend they were at a beach, there's a sandy area right near by.

The last stay I had was in 2006, so not the most recent. I would say that even at that time, the hotel room we had was showing wear and tear. IMO, the rooms are not big. In recent trips the Holiday Inn, Red Lion, etc had bigger and ... "nicer" rooms. Other's can speak up, but the DL is doing room renovations that are already started, and yes, definitely needed! That said, staff was always really friendly (but I think people consistently say that about PP staff too) and housekeeping was fine, and the room was clean.

Keep in mind that the DL hotel has just under 1000 guest room. The PP just under 500. The DL will feel "busy" at times.

[Teddi]

I wanted to add...

What are you wanting out of your total experience? I would say that is a big factor. How long are you staying? Will you be in the parks from the time you get up and come back only for bed? If you really aren't going to have the downtime to enjoy what the hotels offer, then maybe your best bet is saving $300 towards your park time/budget but like Mamma said, still get your early time in the park.

I really like staying at DLH, but have had a stay where it wasn't "worth it" because we were just in at night, crash out to bed and then up in the morning. If that would be your type of trip, I'd say save the money.

[Mark Mywords]

Both hotels are very nice. The Disneyland Hotel has more of that Disney magic to it, IMHO. The pool, the rooms, the atmosphere are all wonderful. It has way more whimsy. It's the small things like the Disney music playing in the lobby when you come back from a long day at the parks, the theme park concept art throughout the hotel, etc.

Paradise Pier is really nice, but you can still tell that it was not originally built as a Disney owned property. For me, there's just not as much atmosphere.

We don't get to stay at the Disney resort hotels very often (our stay this October at the Disneyland Hotel will be the first in about 2 or 3 years). All of the Disneyland resort hotels are way overpriced. We'd rather do several trips a year (staying at less expensive hotels) than spending lots of money on one trip staying at a Disney hotel. The only thing that I feel that PP has going for it is that it's less pricey than DLH or the California Grand. I usually skip over considering the PP as an option because, if I'm looking to save money on a Disneyland trip, then usually I go all out and just either get a room at the Candy Cane, Hojo or just bid a priceline room (usually the Hilton or Hyatt).

[The Evil Queen]

I totally agree with Teddi. We've stayed at all three hotels and I prefer the Disneyland Hotel. There's something to be said for staying at the "original" albeit, the remodeled version .

For us, being just that much closer make a huge difference. We know that once we see ESPN Zone, we pretty much home free.

Have a GREAT trip!

[sierranevada]

I do agree with the other posters that DLH is more magical and makes me feel more immersed in all things Disney. But, having said that, I have stayed at the PPH and they have really done a good job on more "disney theme" although it is more of a beach type. We were there one Christmas and the tree has beach and sea type ornaments and Santa was in a Hawaiian shirt. The rooms at PPH are slightly larger and if you get a DCA view, it is very pretty at night. Cutting through the GCH saves some time on your way to the parks. The pool at PPH is just a pool but the slide is nice. All the other amenities are the same at each hotel, Magic Mornings, package delivery, in park charging, etc.

[minniemouse28]

I also agree with Teddi's comments. My daughter has fond memories of both of the DH pools and can't wait to swim there again. The grounds are beautiful and my kids loved the chance to help feed the koi (I believe it was on a Thursday morning). Our rooms were clean and fit the bill as we were mainly in the rooms for sleeping.

[DizMe]

I agree with the others, but wanted to add that the cost is usually very close between the two at the times I go ($10/night more at DLH, and sometimes the same price), which makes DLH an obvious choice to me. With Expedia's recent deal of PPH for $100/night, that would make it a very tempting choice if you were staying a while, but I can rarely stay 4 nights these days so I can't take advantage of that. I have to look for good AP deals or the Fall Getaway kind of rates.

[Susie63]

Thank you.. Thank you...Thank you.
That was just the info I needed. This will be our first trip to Disney and I am so grateful to all of you and your wisdom.
I am hoping for a little better deal as the price tag for eight nights is at $2600for DL. Add on airfare for 3 from Canada and 6 day PH tickets......well you get the picture. I just wanted to make sure that the extra $$$ was going to be worth it. It will be.
My 8 yr old girl is all about swimming so I think DL is the better option for that, and we are only going to do 6-7 hrs.a day in the parks so it is nice to have a few other options in the hotel.
She has no idea what is coming and I am so excited I can hardly sleep at night....and were not going till Feb.

Thanks again everyone .
You guys rock!!!!!
Susie

[minniemouse28]

Thank My 8 yr old girl is all about swimming so I think DL is the better option for that, and we are only going to do 6-7 hrs.a day in the parks so it is nice to have a few other options in the hotel.

As someone mentioned above, there are two pool areas, the Neverland and the Cove. Our first visit to DH was last year and the Neverland pool was packed when we first arrived. We ran into a CM who gave us directions to the Cove pool. There was almost no one there. There isn't much of a Disney theme and there aren't any slides, like with the Neverland pool, but it was perfect for us. We hit the Neverland pool the other days we were there, so my kids got their fix.