Originally Posted By fkurucz Anyone stayed there lately? We stayed there in 2000, so its been awhile (it was OK back then). The place has good rates this yearm but the reviews on Trip Advisor range from awful to great. As long as the rooms are clean (especially the carpeting) and the beds comfy then I'm satisfied.
Originally Posted By mykidsmom I stayed here for 6 days in 2004. While I loved the pool area (beautiful) and the common areas, I was not impressed with the room. It was o.k., but ours smelled a bit like mildew (from carpeting). It was clean, however, and as I said the pool and jacuzzi area was fantastic. Also was able to see Disneyland's fireworks from pool area and upper floors.
Originally Posted By fkurucz Thanks, I went ahead and reserved the rooms ($57 per night, prepaid), so I feel a little better. $57 is tough to beat. HoJo's is asking for $113+ (with LP discounts!)
Originally Posted By myers how far of a walk is holiday inn? thanks I'm getting ready to book my package this weekend, and I'm really having a hard time deciding where to stay!! would like to stay as close as possible, continental breakfast would be nice, and inexpensive of course!!! thanks again
Originally Posted By fkurucz Its a hefty walk (think of walking from Paradise Pier to ToonTown), and involves crossing I5 via a very big overpass, which might too lonely at night for comfort. For some reason its much cheaper than the other places, which is why I asked others for their more recent experiences. It does not have a complimentary continental breakfast, but kids (12 and under) eat free at the hotel restaurant (from a special menu). <a href="http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/hi/1/en/c/2/content/dec/teaser/hi/1/en/lp/kids.html" target="_blank">http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h /d/hi/1/en/c/2/content/dec/teaser/hi/1/en/lp/kids.html</a>
Originally Posted By fkurucz ^^^By much cheaper I mean that I was able to book a room in March for $57 a night. No one else even came close. Even places like Days Inn and Econolodge are more expensive (around $70). Hojo's was asking $113!!
Originally Posted By roberts1398 I stayed here in 2002, and had a mixed experience. Restaurant was AWFUL with a capital A. Staff was mostly rude and inefficient. Pool area was great, lobby area beautiful. Our room was fine -- nothing special, but clean with comfy beds and pillows. I would NOT plan to walk unless you are serious walkers. Walking Harbor along the main hotels is fine -- all tourists. But this is past them and over the overpass. Just trying to get across the street to the Taco Bell one night was an experience. However, ART shuttle stops in its driveway and is quick. At least at the time, it seemed to be one of the less busy routes, and we never had problem getting seated on the first bus to come along. I do think it's worth $57. I stayed there on a WDTC package, but talked to people in the pool one night who had paid about $50 for a room at the hotel's website. So, it's not like it's a drop in price. Try to get one of the Courtyard facing rooms, high up, if there are going to be fireworks during your stay. It looks toward ToonTown from behind, so you get a "backwards" view of the fireworks from the balcony on the upper level.
Originally Posted By mareed Any idea what the difference between a room designated "courtyard" and one not? I'm guessing courtyard may face the pool area. Is this also the side that faces the highway? There is a pretty good Entertainment rate for our trip dates, but I'm not sure which type of room to go for.
Originally Posted By fkurucz ^^^The restaurant was fair in 2000 (we only ate breakfast there). But that was ages ago. It was off season (Nov 2000) and the hotel was fairly empty then.
Originally Posted By fkurucz >>Any idea what the difference between a room designated "courtyard" and one not? I'm guessing courtyard may face the pool area. Is this also the side that faces the highway?<< The "courtyard" rooms face the pool and DL. They also face I5, with is much louder than either Harbor or Ball Rd. Most hotels close the pool around 10:00 for noise reasons. At this hotel that point is moot, as the freeway always provides more noise than the pool. Its true that these rooms offer a view of the DL fireworks, but one can simply go the the (exterior) hallways on those areas, or just watch from the pool area.
Originally Posted By roberts1398 Only thing about the two sides -- first night, they put us in an old room on the Harbor side. HIDEOUS. It's close to the street and was 10x louder than the room we later had on the courtyard (I-5) side. We were never bothered by noise in our room facing the pool. The pool was QUITE noisy, however, with I-5 behind and below it. But the room never bothered us. I've been considering this place for our April trip, as we could get two rooms for less than one room at HoJo's...
Originally Posted By fkurucz ^^We had no problem with our Harbor side Room (it was a few floors up). Harbor is noisy, but as soon as we closed the door it was fine. I remember the area (pool) facing the freeway being super loud. But from your account those rooms are quiet, so I will request one of those!
Originally Posted By roberts1398 You know, fk, like a lot of places in DL, it may depend on the room. Some may have been upgraded with better soundproofing in BOTH areas, while others haven't. We stayed in a Harbor room the first night because they were supposedly going to upgrade us to a kids' suite the next day, and it was the only room available early. It was filthy -- dusty, outlets falling out of the wall, generally looked like it hadn't been stayed in in a LOOOOONG time. So maybe that room wasn't characteristic of the majority of the Harbor rooms. But, I did enjoy our courtyard room a lot. We were up on one of the upper floors. The only complaint I had about the room was not enough lighting, but that's true with many hotel rooms these days!
