As requested, a review of our 4 night stay.
We were lucky enough to stay at the renovated Disneyland Hotel. After all these years walking under it, we finally stayed in it.
First, the renovation works overall are beautiful. I didn’t really see the previous version and was worried it would be too “princessified” but they’ve done a good job. There were a few issues (elevator controls wobble, outside fountain still not working, shower drain needed unblocking) but overall it’s impressive. We booked 2 “standard” rooms with a quiet top floor request which we got - and one had a balcony:
decor was tasteful. We had the usual amenities; robes, slippers, coffee machine, kettle, free water and soft drinks in the fridge, safe, big TV behind the mirror as is the fashion. Nice bathrooms with separate toilet, no bath but wonderful showers with monsoon heads. Concierge and desk staff were very helpful - little touches like loading your luggage when departing. Beds were HUGE and comfortable. Multiple Euro and UK plug sockets, USBs (which didn’t work) and there is lighting everywhere. Daft things were nice like a solid door, real blackout curtains and soundproofed French doors blocking out Fantasia Gardens noises (geeky note- the BGM goes from quiet to loud at 730am when I was down there videoing!) Cast were all very friendly, from reception to restaurants, bar, pool and the shop. Quick mention of the pool - nice but quite small, and unlike the other pool resorts no outdoor section. Nice whirlpool though! Edit; having watched some videos of the interior and rooms pre refurb, we much prefer it now.
Buffet breakfast was good, if busy not long after opening. We noticed things like eggs were less runny than other hotels. Croissants were bigger. And so on. Mickeys Royal Banquet for lunch is the most expensive Disney buffet anywhere. The choice wasn’t as vast as other buffets on property but there was more than enough to stuff ourselves. Being a character buffet we got Mickey and Minnie, Pluto and Goofy. Some have complained of not seeing all of them, but maybe due it being mid afternoon we couldn’t get rid of them! All 4 came around 6 times and even came back to say goodbye. They may have been bored. Table de Lumiere is the posh evening restaurant. Food was nice, we got plenty of time with 3 pairs of characters who were bang on theme, and I have to say our waitress Afrika was wonderful. Again, very pricey per person. Worth it? If you like princesses and princes then probably. For the banquet buffet, maybe. We felt we got our moneys worth with the amount we ate, the setting, location and the character interactions, but it is expensive. Similarly, coffee in the bar is the most we’ve paid for a coffee with milk or latte, but service was great and where else do you have coffee on a balcony overlooking Fantasia Gardens? Like most other things, the fantastic location is a big part of the pricing.
The letdowns - Michelle’s keycard failed 3 times in a row. Eventually a very nice CM came up to the room to make sure it finally worked and save another trip to the desk. The free water in the room is limited to only 2 bottles per trip. Despite pre checkin we still had to join the usual queues. One room was ready at 3pm as stated, the other 8pm. We kept having to chase coffee and milk restocking. And the outside popcorn lighting already looks worse than ever; we hope there’s legal discussions with the supplier. Thankfully though the reported issues with luggage retrieval didn’t happen; all the bags were in the first room at 3pm, and on departure all were brought outside to us (one set having been brought down from the room for us when requested)
And so - is it worth it? The location is unbeatable. We really felt we were in an extension of the park. It’s a nice hotel. Everyone’s different of course but would we save and save to stay again? Not necessarily. It was a great experience and we’re lucky to have done it, but I don’t think the price is really worth the overall package. A lottery win and we’d stay there every time but we could have as nice a time -albeit with a longer walk - at Sequoia or Newport. Don’t get me wrong though. We did enjoy it. A lot.
We were lucky enough to stay at the renovated Disneyland Hotel. After all these years walking under it, we finally stayed in it.
First, the renovation works overall are beautiful. I didn’t really see the previous version and was worried it would be too “princessified” but they’ve done a good job. There were a few issues (elevator controls wobble, outside fountain still not working, shower drain needed unblocking) but overall it’s impressive. We booked 2 “standard” rooms with a quiet top floor request which we got - and one had a balcony:
decor was tasteful. We had the usual amenities; robes, slippers, coffee machine, kettle, free water and soft drinks in the fridge, safe, big TV behind the mirror as is the fashion. Nice bathrooms with separate toilet, no bath but wonderful showers with monsoon heads. Concierge and desk staff were very helpful - little touches like loading your luggage when departing. Beds were HUGE and comfortable. Multiple Euro and UK plug sockets, USBs (which didn’t work) and there is lighting everywhere. Daft things were nice like a solid door, real blackout curtains and soundproofed French doors blocking out Fantasia Gardens noises (geeky note- the BGM goes from quiet to loud at 730am when I was down there videoing!) Cast were all very friendly, from reception to restaurants, bar, pool and the shop. Quick mention of the pool - nice but quite small, and unlike the other pool resorts no outdoor section. Nice whirlpool though! Edit; having watched some videos of the interior and rooms pre refurb, we much prefer it now.
Buffet breakfast was good, if busy not long after opening. We noticed things like eggs were less runny than other hotels. Croissants were bigger. And so on. Mickeys Royal Banquet for lunch is the most expensive Disney buffet anywhere. The choice wasn’t as vast as other buffets on property but there was more than enough to stuff ourselves. Being a character buffet we got Mickey and Minnie, Pluto and Goofy. Some have complained of not seeing all of them, but maybe due it being mid afternoon we couldn’t get rid of them! All 4 came around 6 times and even came back to say goodbye. They may have been bored. Table de Lumiere is the posh evening restaurant. Food was nice, we got plenty of time with 3 pairs of characters who were bang on theme, and I have to say our waitress Afrika was wonderful. Again, very pricey per person. Worth it? If you like princesses and princes then probably. For the banquet buffet, maybe. We felt we got our moneys worth with the amount we ate, the setting, location and the character interactions, but it is expensive. Similarly, coffee in the bar is the most we’ve paid for a coffee with milk or latte, but service was great and where else do you have coffee on a balcony overlooking Fantasia Gardens? Like most other things, the fantastic location is a big part of the pricing.
The letdowns - Michelle’s keycard failed 3 times in a row. Eventually a very nice CM came up to the room to make sure it finally worked and save another trip to the desk. The free water in the room is limited to only 2 bottles per trip. Despite pre checkin we still had to join the usual queues. One room was ready at 3pm as stated, the other 8pm. We kept having to chase coffee and milk restocking. And the outside popcorn lighting already looks worse than ever; we hope there’s legal discussions with the supplier. Thankfully though the reported issues with luggage retrieval didn’t happen; all the bags were in the first room at 3pm, and on departure all were brought outside to us (one set having been brought down from the room for us when requested)
And so - is it worth it? The location is unbeatable. We really felt we were in an extension of the park. It’s a nice hotel. Everyone’s different of course but would we save and save to stay again? Not necessarily. It was a great experience and we’re lucky to have done it, but I don’t think the price is really worth the overall package. A lottery win and we’d stay there every time but we could have as nice a time -albeit with a longer walk - at Sequoia or Newport. Don’t get me wrong though. We did enjoy it. A lot.
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but it did mean we had the most wonderful back to the room arrival with just the balcony lights illuminating it. Very cosy:
