Sequoia Lodge - Disneyland Paris Hotel Review

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Hey guys!

So another Disney trip recently has meant an opportunity to stay in a new hotel I haven't tried before! I love staying in new hotels and seeing the different themes, but I'm always a bit apprehensive if I'm going to like it and if it will be up to the same standard of the other hotels. So that's why when I'm home I love to take the time to look back at the hotels, and hopefully share my thoughts and experiences that will help others decide where to stay!



This trip it was the turn of Sequoia Lodge, this on site 3 key/star hotel is based on a mountain retreat, it backs on to Lake Disney and is a short walk away from the parks and Disney Village. The hotel has around 990 rooms spread between the main building and several smaller lodges around the grounds, a variety of pricing options are available depending on how close you want to be to the main facilities, and if you want something extra special you can opt for a "Golden Forest" level room or suite, which boasts additional perks such as an exclusive lounge, and park fast passes! Sequoia Lodge also has 2 restaurants, a shop, Indoor and outdoor pool and a gym as well as complementary WiFi and a free shuttle bus to the parks if you don't want to take the walk around the lake.



We stayed for 4 nights in a standard room in the Big Sur Lodge, these rooms sleep up to 4 people and is one of the smaller separate lodges. It was actually the one right next to the pools and gym which ended up being really handy, it was also pretty much right next to the path to walk along the river towards the parks, so was really convenient! The room had 2 double beds a TV with a good selection of channels which were available in a few languages, a safe for your valuables, and a good size bath with overhead shower.



The room was Bambi themed which was really cute, and quite subtle compared to some of the other on site hotels. My only issue with the room was the lack of wall sockets, I think I counted 3 in total, one near the door, one in the corner for the lamp and one on the TV unit. I found that all 3 sockets turned off overnight when I was using a UK to EU adapter, however Sophie had an EU plug which did stay on overnight, so not sure entirely what caused that?



Check in was nice and easy, we were provided with a map of the hotel and our room keys and Easy pass. The easy pass is required to get into the parks for Extra Magic Time if you are not an annual pass holder, but also to use some of the hotel facilities, it also allows you to charge things to the room if you have set this up with reception and to have shopping sent back to your hotel, so it's worth putting in a safe place!

Opposite the check in desk is the concierge which you can use to make dining reservations for your stay as well as booking things like special activities, and the Eurostar luggage service if you don't have this already and want it for the return journey. I actually phoned the concierge using the phone in my room to book a restaurant reservation and it was so easy, a really good service if you haven't been able to make your reservations in advance.



Sequoia Lodge boasts 2 restaurants, Beaver Creek Tavern and Hunters Grill, from my understanding they are both buffet restaurants, with Hunters Grill being the primary one and Beaver Creek having more reduced operating hours. I ate at Hunters Grill on the 2nd night of our stay and was really impressed. I had a 7:30 pm reservation for myself and my niece who is 7, we were greeted at the front of the restaurant, confirmed our reservation time and size and were quickly seated, the waiter took our drinks orders, these are not included in the cost unless you are using a dining plan voucher, and we were then free to help ourselves to the buffet. The buffet had a really good selection, there were plenty of Meats, Fish and cheeses, as well as pasta, rice, nuggets potatoes and vegetarian options too.



As far a desert was concerned there was a huge range of cakes, jelly, fruit, sweets and even ice cream, which I can tell you made my niece very happy. The current price at the time of writing this is €34.99 for adults and €24.99 for children aged 3-11 (under 3's eat for free) and i honestly feel like I got my money's worth, having had around 4 plates of mains and 2 deserts and a bowl of fruit myself!



The restaurant theme was really nice and continued the american lodge feel that runs throughout the rest of the hotel, the tables were fairly spaced out and didn't feel cramped, the staff were really friendly and there were plenty of people around if you needed assistance. The buffet was kept fresh and full throughout the time we were there and empty/finished plates were collected promptly from the tables which helps to avoid the cramped and cluttered feeling. It was just a really nice, relaxing meal, which is perfect after a busy day in the park!



Not only did we make use of the dining facilities at the hotel, we used the shop a few times, this is located in the main building just past the bar, though it is small in size it had a great selection of items ranging from plushies, to clothing and pins, as well as a few personal essentials such as sun cream and deodorant etc in case you've forgotten to pack anything! We bought quite a few bits from the shop and every time we went in the staff were quick to greet us and offer us assistance and were always very polite and friendly, a real credit to the hotel.



The final on site facility we made sure to use was the pool, swimming was something I've not made time for on a Disney trip before so I was determined to change that! Sequoia lodge boasts both an indoor and outdoor pool, however the evening we decided to swim only the indoor one was open, which was more than enough. The pool is themed along side the rest of the hotel, has a slide and a hot tub. For younger or less confident swimmers arm bands are provided poolside, my only issue was that there was no shallow end for younger swimmers, the pool is around 4 foot 7 deep so not great for younger guests. The pool has a good sized changing rooms with free lockers, showers and a sauna, free towels are also provided to guests upon production of a valid hotel easy pass.

Overall I really enjoyed our time at Sequoia lodge, the theme and the grounds of the hotel were lovely, it was a great location and the perfect mix of being close to everything but also having the nice walk between the parks and the hotel in the mornings and evenings. The facilities were a great addition but I'm not sure I would use things like the gym and pool every trip, it did make a nice change though. My only disappointment with the hotel was the lack of shallow area or children's area within the pool, but it made very little impact on our stay and we still managed to enjoy it. I'm lucky enough to be booked in to return to the sequoia lodge in just a few weeks and honestly I cannot wait to go back!

Have you stayed at sequoia lodge before? Would you consider it now? Is there anything I haven't covered that you'd like to know? Drop me a comment below!

Hoodsie xx

11 comments:

  1. Sounds like you enjoyed your stay, Sequoia Lodge was always one of the hotels which appealed to me most at Disneyland Paris as well as Newport Bay Club, unfortunately I haven't had chance to experience either of these hotels before! The issue you found with the plug sockets I think is the same in quite a few Disney hotels, I had it when we stayed at Cheyenne too! The pool is definitely a nice touch but I don't think I'd get to use it as I'd want to spend as much time as possible in the park but if it's open later than the parks then that's good! Great review hun you've made me want to stay here even more now!

    Jess // foundationsandfairytales.wordpress.com
    xx

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  2. Glad you enjoyed it! I hope you get to try sequoia yourself one day. As for the pool it’s not something I’ve ever made time for before. But the parks were hot all week (25 degrees plus) and it was French half term so relatively busy, it was so nice to take a few hours out to relax and cool down! It also helped to wind my niece down after a busy few days, we all slept well that night!

    Thanks for reading =D xx

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  3. Yeah when we went it was August and we had a heatwave it was so hot so it definitely would have been a good idea then! Glad you had a good trip!xx

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  4. Thanks for the review! We are going during the Marvel season, staying on the 6th of Aug for 4 nights at the Sequoia Lodge, Golden Forest :) I’ll remember to bring a scart lead for extra sockets and pray it doesn’t turn off at night. Such a pain when you want to use your phone through the day taking photos etc. Also thanks for the tip on the pool! x

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  5. So glad this was helpful to people! It’s such a lovely hotel I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Might be worth investing in a power bank in case charging over night doesn’t work. I would recommend the anker brand from amazon!

    Please come back if you have any more questions!

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  6. Oh my gosh this looks amazing - I love the bambi theme! I'm going to Disney (Orlando) for the first time in June - any Disney tips? and I'm sure I'll want to go to Paris too! Char // https://lunarchar.com/ xx

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  7. I’ve not been to Florida yet but make sure you’ve done your dining reservations and fast passes, try not to force fun, you’ll find it on your own! Stay hydrated and pack sensible shoes, Disney is so so much walking! Deffo get an autograph book it’s a great keepsake and makes meeting characters easier!

    Have a great time and thanks for reading! Xx

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  8. We haven't done dining reservations as we have the quick service dining plan - that's ok isn't it? And thank you! I'll have a wheelchair as I'm disabled but an autograph book is a great plan I hadn't thought of. Thank you xx

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  9. Ah yeh I think If you’re not doing sit down table service type meals you should be fine. Yeh autograph books are great, I take coloured sharpie pens so the character can sign in a colour that represents them, I have a whole post of tips for meeting characters from a few months back on here too!

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  10. ooo I'll have a look in a minute! Thank you xx

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  11. […] out best for us in terms of value for money vs hassle of airport parking etc, and we stayed at the Sequoia Lodge for the first time, which if you’ve seen my review already, you’ll know we […]

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