What's the deal with HOJO's?

[Meemoo]

I have heard Hojo's mentioned so much around this forum. We are thinking Grand Cal next year on DVC points, but the low cost of staying at Hojo's is tempting, as I can then use my points for a relaxing time at Aulani on the way home if I do this! Ok, the Grand Cal does looks awesome, super convenient and the EE is probably the biggest reason for staying here! So tell me Hojo experts, should I consider to try Hojo's out? I've read mixed reviews on trip adviser, people saying the rooms are old, dated, smelly, and noisy are some of the bad ones (amongst many good!) So what rooms do you look at for someone who likes more modern, updated, and newer, less road noise?

 

[losfp]

It's great value. The pool facilities are fantastic, especially for kids. The onsite shop has pretty much what you need. There's free parking. All the staff I encountered were brilliant and only too happy to help organise excursions and transport etc. The location is pretty good, just 10-12 min walk to the main concourse of DLR.

Having said that, yes, the room we were in was a bit older, but still very comfortable and clean. The building we were in was right next to the freeway so there was some noise and vibrations, but not too noticable if you had the air conditioner on.

The adage of you get what you paid for mostly applies. I thought the HoJo was great considering the price.

We are looking to stay at VGC next year (not because we were dissatisfied with HoJo, just looking to try something different and getting something as close as possible to accommodate the young kids), so maybe we can compare value with deluxe after that

 

[Meemoo]

I'm thinking if we truly believe that we will use the EE then its probably worth to stay at the Grand Cal, as I have heard you can conquer a lot before the park opens to the public. But I couldn't help but wonder about the Hojo, since I hear about it so much on here!

 

[aussie shaz]

How many days are you planning on visiting Disneyland? If its only about 3, then I'd stay at Grand Cal and use the early entry. If you have more, you could just use the one early entry on your ticket, and you'd have enough time at the parks that you wouldn't need early entry every day.
We stayed at Hojo last year in the Kids Suite. It was very nice, fairly new I'd say. It was on the freeway side, but we heard nothing unless we opened the balcony doors.
We have chosen both times we've visited to stay at a cheaper accommodation than on property and have been happy saving that money.

 

[zanzibar138]

Honestly, if you like newer, more modern rooms, the HoJo probably isn't for you. We enjoyed it, but we're pretty easy-going when it comes to hotels and as long as it's clean and convenient we're happy.

If you want to save money though, there are other newer options around. Check out the Hotel Indigo - used to be the Holiday Inn I believe and was completely renovated with the brand change only last year I think. I was very tempted, but it was just a little over budget for me. There is a brand new Residence Inn (I think) due to open in November that is apparently within walking distance of the parks. Also, one of the Ramadas (I'm thinking Maingate, but could be wrong) has a brand new tower currently being constructed.

The fancy hotel chains like the Hilton, Sheraton etc are too far away in my opinion. One of the best things about DLR is that everything is within walking distance. Seems a waste then to have to rely on the bus.

If you're there for a while and want to get your EMH at DCA (the PP is correct that you will already get one MM good for DL with your 3+ day tickets), you could always look at doing a split stay. Are you morning people? Do you usually get to the parks for rope drop? If so, it's probably worth considering. If not, I wouldn't bother. It's not the big rush that it used to be trying to get onto RSR. These days you can still pull a FP mid-late morning.

 

[SnowWhite09]

Hojos is a nice hotel, but not anything like Grand Cal. The water play area is great for kids probably up to about 12 or so. It is an older hotel, but the rooms are functional and clean and if you get a room in Building 2 with a pool view it is not noisy. The beds are fantastic. I think it is Building 1 that gets noise from the freeway (please feel free to correct me if I am wrong anyone). When we stayed there it was back when they had the discounted rates on a more regular basis and we paid $69 per night plus tax. This was excellent value and at that rate I would definitely stay there again. However, at their full rate of close to $200 a night I don't think it is worth it. Others will probably disagree though

 

[Meemoo]

It's a tough decision. It is very tempting to try it, but since we don't get to Disneyland often enough I might stay onsite. I am a morning person and I think I would make good use of the EE, but gee, the savings, I know I could buy a lot of goodies with over $1000! But, I don't want to have any regret when I go there and have always wanted to stay at the Grand Cal. I recently heard they are planning renos for 2015 though, I hope nothing too major. Our family has set a trend for planning our vacations when hotels are renovating!

 

[Meemoo]

Honestly, if you like newer, more modern rooms, the HoJo probably isn't for you. We enjoyed it, but we're pretty easy-going when it comes to hotels and as long as it's clean and convenient we're happy.

If you want to save money though, there are other newer options around. Check out the Hotel Indigo - used to be the Holiday Inn I believe and was completely renovated with the brand change only last year I think. I was very tempted, but it was just a little over budget for me. There is a brand new Residence Inn (I think) due to open in November that is apparently within walking distance of the parks. Also, one of the Ramadas (I'm thinking Maingate, but could be wrong) has a brand new tower currently being constructed.

The fancy hotel chains like the Hilton, Sheraton etc are too far away in my opinion. One of the best things about DLR is that everything is within walking distance. Seems a waste then to have to rely on the bus.

If you're there for a while and want to get your EMH at DCA (the PP is correct that you will already get one MM good for DL with your 3+ day tickets), you could always look at doing a split stay. Are you morning people? Do you usually get to the parks for rope drop? If so, it's probably worth considering. If not, I wouldn't bother. It's not the big rush that it used to be trying to get onto RSR. These days you can still pull a FP mid-late morning.

Thanks for the insight on all the 'new' hotel buildings going up Ramada looks quite nice, the decision is getting harder!

 

[cola]

'Like' the Ramada on facebook, they always have facebook discounts.