DLH or Carousel Inn?

[yipee]

Hey again!

I know these types of questions have been asked alot, but... here goes!

Would you recommend the DLH or the Carousel Inn? The DHL will cost about $1000 more for the week that we are going. (Through GetAwayToday). Is the pool and the "Magic" of staying on property worth it?
Thanks again!
Denise

 

[utahkennedys]

I have not stayed at either, but on our last trip we were at HoJo's with our best friends, and her brother and family were at DLH. They invited us to swim at the pool and I have to say I wasn't that "wowed" at all. Yes, it was cute, but not $1k cute to me!!! Their room wasn't too impressive either - it was smaller than our one at HoJo's and our room had a fridge and microwave, plus a table area and large balcony. I felt like their DLH room was SO dated but the decor was cute - tinkerbell/Peter Pan theme. I will only ever stay on property if I get a steal of a deal. My friend's brother couldn't believe we only paid $30/night for Hojo and he was paying over $200 night! He said next time he'll stay somewhere else...

 

[DisneyMom&Fan]

No choice for me -- DLH by far. We have stayed there several times over the years. The pool is fun -- there is a small water slide. But more than that, it is basically the "magic" of it all. The grounds are just beautiful, the statues in the lobby are so nice, and the Sorcerer's hat on the way to Downtown Disney is just cool. Plus, you have Goofy's Kitchen right there for a character meal! We have a trip coming up in April and we are staying at the Carousel Inn. My DS is not very happy that he is not staying at the DLH - little does he know that I'm not very happy about it either!

So, if you can swing it, definitely stay at DLH.

 

[hlbtimes2]

Depends on your budget. Would the $1000 be better spent on something else? Would you rather have the nicer hotel or more souvenirs and more snacks? Could the savings buy an extra day or two of vacation time? Is there another hotel other then the carousel that you might consider? Some of the reviews for it are not the best.

For me, I would go with the cheaper hotel. But, we dont have a lot of money so we dont typically have it in our budget to splurge. We stayed at PP in Oct. We went all out- Conc. level, theme park view. It was nice, but bottom line, we dont spend much time in our room and it wasnt worth the added expense.

 

[cmhighto]

I would stay at the Carousel Inn. The DLH is really out dated. We stayed at the Grand Californian a few years ago. The DLH overbooked and so we got bumped. When I was trying to check into the DLH, I thought this is nothing specail. It looks like an old Holiday Inn. The rooms were average hotel rooms. Defiantley not worth 300+ per night. The location of the Grand Californain is great but the DLH is just as far as the Carousel Inn. We are staying at the Carousel Inn in May. I heard it was recently renovated. I'd rather spend that $1,000 on the eating and having a good time.

 

[familyoffiveAZ]

I've read such mixed reviews of DLH that I'd not spend too much more than other places just to stay there. $1000 is a LOT of money which could be better spent imo: character meal, souvenirs, sit-down restaurant, DTD, etc.

I will say this: if pool and atmosphere are high on your list of priorities, don't do Carousel. For a bit more try HOJOs or Candy Cane Inn. Not too far a walk (CCI has a free shuttle or you can walk), nice grounds, nice pools.

 

[yipee]

Thanks everyone! I think I agree I would rather spend the $1000 somewhere else! I'm looking forward to our stay at the Carousel. Last year we stayed at the BWPPI, and were pretty underwhelmed. We have no problem with motels, but we just found the Park Place Inn to be dark, and we didn't like the location of the pool. Thanks for your input! I had a moment of insecurity regarding whether or not we should be springing for the DLH, but your posts have helped reassure me that it's probably not worth that much extra money!

Denise

 

[Alex2kMommy]

We are going to stay in the DLH for our first trip in April. I heard rave reviews about the legendary Disney 'magic' by all CMs, even the room staff, from a customer service public speaker. Also figured it would be easier to be so close to the resort with small children; we will come back to the room for naps and anytime the park gets to be overwhelming for 2 little boys. (When we took our then-2yo to the ocean, we spent almost all the time in our hotel room because he didn't like the wind! Who knew?!) With a younger brother (now nearly 2), we thought it better to get a nice room close to the resort.

Probably when the kids are older and more on the go (and more skeptical of the 'magic') we'll stay offsite and spend the $$ on other things.

 

[goofy370]

We stayed at the Carousel Inn in Nov. We really liked it. The breakfast room has the most amazing views of Disney. The free continental breakfast was really good compared to others that I have had. It had alot of choices. You can also see the fireworks from the hotel, not the best view, but we stood and watched them the night we arrived. The rooms were clean, really close for walking to the parks. We really liked it. My DS10, DS7, and DS5 had a good time and never complained. We did eat at some character meals at the hotels, and I was kinda disappointed in the hotels theming. It certainly is not WDW in the over theming and feeling like you are at Disney.