dreeger
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Dec 10, 2012
Just back from a quick holiday weekend trip. We are AP holders and usually stay offsite. I have also stayed at DLH and GCH, but this was our first stay at PPH and I wanted to put down my thoughts in case others are considering a stay there.
The Trip:
Me, SO, 4 teenage boys (DS17, DS17, DS15, and friend 17 - because two prior trips with the 3 DS made us realize that 3 really isn't the best number to travel with. maybe it's the age, but it always seemed to be 2 on 1 with someone having a meltdown, so we hoped having a friend to round out the number would help. Thankfully, it did.
We booked a 1bd suite at PPH for the 6 of us a few weeks in advance because it was the only option available at the time. We called 2 times before arrival to try to book another room and were told that none were available.
The Magic:
Some Disney magic! Upon arrival, 3 hours late due to heinous weather delaying flights, we finally checked in at 10p Friday 2/17. We asked again if there was another room available, and after some really great service and detective work by Sinead at the front desk, we were able to get the 1bd suite and an adjacent premium view room. Rooms 1322 (suite) and room 1326 (adjacent 2 queen room) with the most amazing view of DCA. The 4 boys had the suite with SO and I taking the adjacent room. It was heavenly to have our own room and bathroom. We would have made it work in the suite with 6 of us, but thank you so much to Sinead for providing us some Disney magic!
The Good:
THE VIEW. Watching WoC with the music in the room was fantastic.
Room service at 11p with cocktail service because we were in DCA until close and way too tired to go sit down and eat somewhere while the teens were closing down DL on a Saturday night. The service was quick and the food was awesome.
The walk. I have to admit I was hesitant about not being able to cut through GCH, but really the walk was no big deal. It was maybe a few hundred more steps than staying at DLH and the new security gates are so much easier to get through than the previous one at the esplanade.
The beds were super comfy.
Loved having the Surfside lounge for a quick breakfast or afternoon snack when we had late dinner reservations!
The wish list (nit-picky, so bear with me):
For the price of the Disney hotels, it would be nice to have a better coffee maker in the rooms. The 1bd suite had a Keurig, which I love, but the adjacent room did not, which was disappointing. For the price, I would hope all rooms would include a nicer coffee service
The size of the pool - just blah
The hours for the pool/hot tub - would be nice to be open later than 8p, because there's nothing like a soak in the hot tub after a long day of walking. Have stayed at 2 different offsite hotels where the hot tub was open until 10 or 11p and this would be a nice addition here as well.
It would be nice if they had Disney movies on demand. We wanted to watch a movie after a day in the parks and only had the direct TV in room and couldn't find any Disney movies, which was a little disappointing.
Overall:
I loved PPH and would stay again. DLH is my favorite of the 3, but I would stay at PPH for the premium view room if the price is comparable to DLH standard view.
The Trip:
Me, SO, 4 teenage boys (DS17, DS17, DS15, and friend 17 - because two prior trips with the 3 DS made us realize that 3 really isn't the best number to travel with. maybe it's the age, but it always seemed to be 2 on 1 with someone having a meltdown, so we hoped having a friend to round out the number would help. Thankfully, it did.
We booked a 1bd suite at PPH for the 6 of us a few weeks in advance because it was the only option available at the time. We called 2 times before arrival to try to book another room and were told that none were available.
The Magic:
Some Disney magic! Upon arrival, 3 hours late due to heinous weather delaying flights, we finally checked in at 10p Friday 2/17. We asked again if there was another room available, and after some really great service and detective work by Sinead at the front desk, we were able to get the 1bd suite and an adjacent premium view room. Rooms 1322 (suite) and room 1326 (adjacent 2 queen room) with the most amazing view of DCA. The 4 boys had the suite with SO and I taking the adjacent room. It was heavenly to have our own room and bathroom. We would have made it work in the suite with 6 of us, but thank you so much to Sinead for providing us some Disney magic!
The Good:
THE VIEW. Watching WoC with the music in the room was fantastic.
Room service at 11p with cocktail service because we were in DCA until close and way too tired to go sit down and eat somewhere while the teens were closing down DL on a Saturday night. The service was quick and the food was awesome.
The walk. I have to admit I was hesitant about not being able to cut through GCH, but really the walk was no big deal. It was maybe a few hundred more steps than staying at DLH and the new security gates are so much easier to get through than the previous one at the esplanade.
The beds were super comfy.
Loved having the Surfside lounge for a quick breakfast or afternoon snack when we had late dinner reservations!
The wish list (nit-picky, so bear with me):
For the price of the Disney hotels, it would be nice to have a better coffee maker in the rooms. The 1bd suite had a Keurig, which I love, but the adjacent room did not, which was disappointing. For the price, I would hope all rooms would include a nicer coffee service
The size of the pool - just blah
The hours for the pool/hot tub - would be nice to be open later than 8p, because there's nothing like a soak in the hot tub after a long day of walking. Have stayed at 2 different offsite hotels where the hot tub was open until 10 or 11p and this would be a nice addition here as well.
It would be nice if they had Disney movies on demand. We wanted to watch a movie after a day in the parks and only had the direct TV in room and couldn't find any Disney movies, which was a little disappointing.
Overall:
I loved PPH and would stay again. DLH is my favorite of the 3, but I would stay at PPH for the premium view room if the price is comparable to DLH standard view.
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