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Jim Dear and Darling
06-05-2007, 11:16 AM
Hello!

My boyfriend and I usually stay at the Disneyland Hotel but we are thinking of trying the Howard Johnson's hotel this year, because we've heard so many good things about it. I visited the hotel review section here, and it looks like everybody really likes it a lot.

I just had a couple questions. I was wondering if the pool gets really crowded, and also how big the rooms are? It looks like a pretty easy walk, do you need to use the shuttle?

Thanks!

~ Peachy

CharmingsWoman
06-05-2007, 11:47 AM
Hello!

My boyfriend and I usually stay at the Disneyland Hotel but we are thinking of trying the Howard Johnson's hotel this year, because we've heard so many good things about it. I visited the hotel review section here, and it looks like everybody really likes it a lot.

I just had a couple questions. I was wondering if the pool gets really crowded, and also how big the rooms are? It looks like a pretty easy walk, do you need to use the shuttle?

Thanks!

~ Peachy

I haven't stayed there, but at the Quality Inn and Suites behind it, and you don't need the shuttle. My fiancee and I timed it to be about a 8 minute walk to the bag check area, and it's not bead even when you stay all day. The HoJo is closer than the QI&S, so you should be ok walking.

stan4d_steph
06-05-2007, 11:51 AM
Unless you have mobility issues, you shouldn't need the shuttle. It's not a long walk and there are sidewalks the whole way.

MrJims
06-05-2007, 12:38 PM
First thing to remember too is that it is Hojo, not the D-Land hotel. The people that are expecting 5 star quality are in for a shocker. My family loves the Hojo...room sizes are decent (there are different styles too, so you can get bigger), the garden pool was usually empty (never stayed in summer though), and the walk is about 10 minutes. Going for a dip when the fireworks are on though in the main pool is an experience. Make use of the crosswalk infront of the hotel too...save yourself the aggrevation with the large crossing crowds at the main crosswalk. I give it 5 stars for the quality you get for the price, and recommend it to family and friends looking for a good "good neighbour hotel".

jeffthechef
06-05-2007, 01:27 PM
We had been staying at Paradise Pier on our last 3 visits, but this year it became too expensive. I will say that HoJo's was not that much different! The room was a litle bigger. There is a table that four people can sit at one time. I recomend the rooms facing the park as they have a balcony that you can watch fireworks from. Ours stared right at The Matterhorn:D

Anyway, the entire property is very well maintained. The rooms are clean and the beds comfy. They also sell beer and ice cream (for those end-of-the-day cravings), as well as other things in the main lobby.

The walk is ABOUT 20% shorter than PP-- about 10 minutes. Hope this helps:fez:

Jim Dear and Darling
06-05-2007, 02:37 PM
Thanks for the quick responses! I know it won't be the Disneyland Hotel, but I think I'll go for it, and give it a try!!

emmah
06-05-2007, 03:38 PM
I have stayed at Hojos a couple of times and it's great for a mid-quality hotel, location is great and the set-out is good. and it's really pretty inexpensive. But I can't stay there anymore - the beds are so firm that they hurt my back and the noise from the road really started to bother me. My last few trips i have stayed at the sheraton and the DLH - nice beds and even better location wise!

adriennek
06-05-2007, 04:06 PM
First thing to remember too is that it is Hojo, not the D-Land hotel. The people that are expecting 5 star quality are in for a shocker.


We had been staying at Paradise Pier on our last 3 visits, but this year it became too expensive. I will say that HoJo's was not that much different!

I don't think there are any 5 star hotels anywhere walking distance to DLR. I'm guessing that GCH is considered 4 star but are there any other 4 star hotels left? Marriott used to be but I think it's down to 3.

I've stayed at PPH and DLH and my experience at Hojos was the same or better. Maybe my expectations at Hojos are lower and my expectations of on-property hotels are too high. :eek: But the room size is similar (although the "office" rooms at Hojos may be bigger!), the amenities are similar (Ok, Hojos doesn't have logo'd Disney soaps and shampoos,) and I've had experiences of less than clean rooms on-property but not at Hojos.

It's a decent motel for a reasonable price while I've generally found Disney properties to be overpriced for the size and quality.

Adrienne

alexandrasmom
06-05-2007, 05:36 PM
I have stayed at both Hojos and DLH and I actually prefer Hojos because of what you get for the money. I have stayed in a Disney View room twice at Hojos and both were very spacious, clean, and comfortable. The walk is not far at all, it actually feels shorter to me than from the DLH. We have used the pool mostly in the evening, and it has not been crowded at all. I have not seen the "grown-up quiet" pool, but I can't imagine it being more crowded than the family one! Got to love the free parking too- even for your guests- which is very unlike the DLH parking (super expensive!) I think the only drawback for me is the freeway noise, which from the view rooms is like a background swishing sound, but usually I'm so tired after a day in the parks that I fall asleep with no problem. You can't hear it at all if the a/c is on either.

awdfan
06-05-2007, 06:00 PM
I just stayed there last week! Honestly, I loved it. In the past I stayed at the Candy Cane Inn and I preferred Ho Jo's to CCI. I have bad feet (I've had 2 surgeries in the past 2 years on them) and the walk to/from the hotel was no problem at all. I didn't use the shuttle and don't think it's necessary. In fact, it felt like a shorter walk to Ho Jo's than to CCI. As far as the room size, we had 2 queen beds in our room and 3 adults and it felt spacious. It was comfortable. While I never visited the pool, our room overlooked the pool and it never got extremely crowded. The most crowded I ever saw it was in the mid-late afternoon, and even then it wasn't bad. Hope that helps!

Amy

MommyTo3Boys1Girl
06-05-2007, 07:45 PM
I have stayed at Hojos a couple of times and it's great for a mid-quality hotel, location is great and the set-out is good. and it's really pretty inexpensive. But I can't stay there anymore - the beds are so firm that they hurt my back and the noise from the road really started to bother me. My last few trips i have stayed at the sheraton and the DLH - nice beds and even better location wise!

We always stay in building 2, lower level near facing the garden pool, even get the same room every time we go, thanks to Willie, and we never hear road noise. I have heard others complain that stay in the tower, building 1, about road noise though.
We love HoJos. While it is not a 5 star resort, the rooms are spacious, clean, quiet, the grounds are nicely maintained, staff is very friendly, gift shop is well stocked and the price is great. We stay there 2-3 times a year and have always been pleased. The walk isn't bad either. We don't spend enough time in our room to pay for GCH or DLH.

Drince88
06-06-2007, 05:31 AM
My sister and I stayed at the HoJos each time on our last two trips. We aren't in the room enough to pay for a view- so the first time we were in the tower facing I-5 (I think that's I-5 it faces) and even with a double-door on the 'balcony' it was fairly noisy.

The second time we paid a smidgen more/night for a pool view in Building 2 and we didn't have any issues with the noise.

Mrs Mouse
06-06-2007, 08:38 AM
Can anyone give me some insight as to the room configurations at the HOJO?

I am very interested in staying there this coming July (although it may already be too late to book - any thoughts?) but others in our group are set on the Desert Inn & Suites. We've stayed at the DI before, and had no problems but I would like to try something new.

There will be 5 adults and two children (but one of the kids can share a bed with the adults and the other could use a crib). Are there any family-type rooms that would accomodate all of us, or would we need to book two seperate rooms? Any help would be great, thanks!

MelissaR
06-06-2007, 08:47 AM
We (myself, my husband, my daughter, my15 yr old sister and her friend) stayed at the HOJO in November of 05. We got two connected rooms and had plenty of space for the 5 of us. The staff was very nice and the rooms were clean and comfortable. My only complaint was that we were in a pool view rooms and the windows at the top of the slider have no coverings on them so the light comes in and the room cannot get dark. We have a hard time sleeping with any light so it was a problem for us. Other than that the hotel was great!

alexandrasmom
06-06-2007, 09:22 AM
Here is a link to the room configurations- it is on their website.

http://www.hojoanaheim.com/pdf/room_layouts.pdf

Hope this helps!

Mrs Mouse
06-06-2007, 09:32 AM
Here is a link to the room configurations- it is on their website.

http://www.hojoanaheim.com/pdf/room_layouts.pdf

Hope this helps!
Oh, perfect! Thanks so much!

hefferdude
06-06-2007, 11:39 AM
We are big NQQ2 fans - Nonsmoking - 2 queen beds - B2 - west wing second floor or above - don't like mini offices - no balcony and the angle makes the room small. Like to catche the morning sun for coffe and the paper out on the balcony. "Quiet" pool opens a little later as well.:)

kathynova
06-06-2007, 03:37 PM
I've stayed there three times and each time had a room in a different area of the hotel. One nice big room, one strange smallish room and one older and little dark. All the rooms were clean, but surprising that they were all so different, and I booked the same type of room each time. I liked the hotel, but the beds were a little firm (uncomfortable for me). I recently stayed at the BWPPI and the beds were surprisingly comfortable. I do like the Sheraton beds the best, but I prefer not to have to use the shuttle, so I like to be across the street from the Park. Good hotel if you can get a good rate.

leota's necklace
06-10-2007, 01:30 PM
Staying at the HoJo made me realize that I really like a little pampering after a day at Disney. Coming home to a dark, airless hallway that smelled of chlorine made me more than a little depressed.

The only downside of the actual room was the balcony door (I was on the freeway side) that couldn't quite shut all the way; but highway noise doesn't bother me.

The room was SUPER clean, which was nice. I just realized that I missed good soap, quality towels, and some razmatazz, decor-wise...now I book accordingly.

IdahoMike
06-13-2007, 11:10 PM
For our last 4 trips, we have stayed at 4 different places
GCH
Hojos
Candy Cane
Desert Inn and Suites

Obviously GCH was the best (got it really, really cheap, otherwise we would have never stayed there)
For the money though, Hojos was excellent, we just stayed there June 2-12. Room was clean, no highway noise (room in building 2, 2nd floor overlooking garden pool.) Got a great rate from Willie, staff was super friendly each time we spoke with them, grounds were clean. The walls in the hallway could have used a little repair, but heck, I'm not sleeping in the hallway anyway. I would definitely do the Hojos again!
We loved the Candy Cane, but at double what we paid for Hojos, I'll have to pass on Candy Cane.
Desert Inn and Suites will not be on our list in the future. Room was fine, but the staff was clueless, parking was terrible, and the elevator was broken.

atrder9901
06-14-2007, 07:42 AM
We also are considering Howard Johnson for our stay in December. We usually stay at the Hilton Garden Inn (which we liked) but they are no longer a Disney Good Neighbor hotel. We checked into Howard Johnson (based on all of your reviews) and also Paradise Pier. As nice as it would be to stay at PP, it is $400 plus what we would pay for our stay at Howard Johnson:eek:!

Just a few quick questions:

At the Howard Johnson, are the bathrooms clean? I mean no visible mold in the grout along the tubs? Also, to get to the guest rooms, are the hallways indoors or are they outdoors? Last one, but on average how much extra is it to pay for a resort view or a pool view? We probably wont be in our room long, so I am trying to debate if it is even worth it.

Thanks in advance!:)

MommyTo3Boys1Girl
06-14-2007, 07:56 AM
We also are considering Howard Johnson for our stay in December. We usually stay at the Hilton Garden Inn (which we liked) but they are no longer a Disney Good Neighbor hotel. We checked into Howard Johnson (based on all of your reviews) and also Paradise Pier. As nice as it would be to stay at PP, it is $400 plus what we would pay for our stay at Howard Johnson:eek:!

Just a few quick questions:

At the Howard Johnson, are the bathrooms clean? I mean no visible mold in the grout along the tubs? Also, to get to the guest rooms, are the hallways indoors or are they outdoors? Last one, but on average how much extra is it to pay for a resort view or a pool view? We probably wont be in our room long, so I am trying to debate if it is even worth it.

Thanks in advance!:)

I found the bathrooms to be clean and saw no mold. We always get the same room, in building 2, so I know what to expect. I have never had any problems with anything there.
The doors to the rooms, the hallways are indoors.
We get the airline employee rate, which I think is the same as the MP rate, and it gives us a view of the quiet pool.

leota's necklace
06-17-2007, 12:14 AM
One thing I enjoyed about my stay at the HoJo was the impeccable cleanliness of the room. The place was SPOTLESS, bathroom included.

What's "Disney"?
06-17-2007, 07:32 AM
First thing to remember too is that it is Hojo, not the D-Land hotel. The people that are expecting 5 star quality are in for a shocker.

Well the Disneyland Hotel isn't five-star quality either. Disneyland Hotel is rated as a three star, and I believe at one time it was considered a two star hotel.

Pat-n-Eil
06-17-2007, 07:38 AM
... I've generally found Disney properties to be overpriced for the size and quality.

Adrienne

I have to agree 100% here with Adrienne.... but.. just like in the Real Estate business.. it's all about location, location, location.. I enjoy all of the Disney Properties. GCH has, for me, the ultimate location. Disneyland Hotel has a nice proximity to DTD and Paradise Pier used to be a little more convenient when it had it's own entrance, but for me it is the least convienient of the three Disney properties. It is, however often the least expensive of the three (though I've seen DLH go for cheaper from time to time). The quality of the accomodations at GCH are good, in my opinion. Not the biggest rooms ever, but very comfy beds.

In January my wife and I are coming down again after a cruise and will stay for one night somewhere.. not sure where. Wife would like a Disney Property but I'm really considering the Howard Johnson, so I'd be interested in seeing the replies. I think it is the nicest real full sized non-Disney hotel within my walking distance to the park.