So you may have seen previously that I've written up reviews of on property hotels I've been lucky enough to stay at while I've been at Disneyland Paris, as I'm sure you've guessed by the title, this post is no different!
In may 2018 I had my first visit to the Hotel New York, I was only there for 1 night so sadly couldn't enjoy all of the features on offer, but wanted to try and give my opinion on everything I was able to cram in to my stay.
Before I get started, in the importance of transparency I want to confirm that my stay was complimentary as part of the Insidears event held in the hotel, I did not pay for my stay and I did not pay for my breakfast, I was not asked or encouraged to provide a review of the hotel or facilities in receipt of this, nor was I paid to review the hotel.
We arrived at the hotel on Friday May 18th and this was the first time I have driven to an onsite hotel for my stay, once we pulled in we were asked to stop at the security barrier, show a confirmation of our stay, I used the E-mail on my phone for this, and were then asked to open up the boot to be checked. This was all very quick and straight forward, and it was nice to see a good level of security when entering the hotel. The car park is a great size and we had no trouble finding somewhere to park. We grabbed our bags and headed for check in and were required to put all of our bags through an airport type scanner on our way in, again giving me a real feeling of being secure!
Lucky for us our room was ready on arrival so we were able to take our bags straight up and drop them off before getting a little park time in before our event that evening, if your room is not ready on your arrival however there is a free luggage storage room where you can drop your things off while you go and enjoy the parks and village. Our room was in the right hand wing as you approach from the car park side, as we quickly learnt it was important to listen to what side your room is on, and check the free map, else you could end up using the wrong elevator and not being able to find your room, whoopsie!
I'm sure from the hotel name you've already guessed the main theme of the hotel, it is of course New York! This is all set to change however as the hotel will soon close for a full refurbishment over an 18 month period and will re open as the "Art of Marvel" hotel in 2020. I like the idea of the current theme, New York is a part of America that has always interested me and it is probably one of the better known locations from films and other media, several Disney films also have links to New York such as Oliver and Company. What's important to remember though is that these hotels were built and furnished in the late 80's and early 90's and such depict a very different view of New York than you might pick if you were furnishing the hotel today.
Hotel New York boasts 568 rooms and 27 suites as well as a conference centre, hotel shop and bar indoor and outdoor pools, Sauna, gym and a spa (the spa is an additional cost). It is a 4 key rated hotel, which brings it level with the Newport Bay Club, and rooms are split into standard, empire state club and then suites, each with varying view options. As this was a complimentary stay I was given a standard room for the night, but this was more than adequate for my needs and personally I am not sure the club level rooms have much additional value for me. Our standard room had 2 double beds, ample cupboard and drawer space, a TV with a selection of channels in English, French and a few other languages. We had tea and coffee making facilities in the room on arrival, an iron and ironing board were in the cupboard opposite the bathroom and there was also a safe in the room for storing valuables. Our room overlooked the car park, but due to the hotels greenery and trees this wasn't actually a bad view at all!
One the whole I liked the rooms at the New York, they were clean, tidy and had ample space, my favourite feature however was the lamp. Now I know what you're thinking, you went all the way to France to a hotel in Disneyland and your favourite thing was the lamp?! Well as you can see from the photo below, it's no ordinary lamp! I just thought the style was really clever and added a really special touch to the room you just don't get in other hotels. If you're a Disney lamp enthusiast, or just appreciate cool features like this, you should also check out the boot lamp in the hotel Cheyenne, and the cone lamp in hotel Santa Fe, I can't say I remember seeing anything like this in the Newport Bay or Sequoia lodge though.
The bathroom was really spacious and came with 2 sinks which ended up being really useful when Sophie and I were both trying to get ready that evening, and again in the morning. It's one of those features I'd never think about asking for or looking for when selecting a room, but when sharing or when in a family it's really useful and saves time in the mornings. The bath was a good size and had a shower over head, unlike some of the other on site hotels I found it really easy to get this one to the right temperature, though that could have been luck! The one thing I wasn't expecting was how big the step down from the bath to the floor was, so please be careful when getting out!
As I mentioned before, the reason for our trip was to attend the first Insidears event for digital ambassadors of Disneyland Paris, and this was actually held in the convention centre attached to the hotel! This was a great location, though it lacks the magic of other areas of the hotel it is a great sized space that provides all the necessary amenities for business meetings and social events. It was so handy to have everything all in one place and to be so close to our room. The night was brilliant and I felt truly very lucky to have been invited, we were given lots of information about the plans for the park over the next 12 months, had a lovely buffet dinner and got to meet some Disney pals!
After the event we went for drinks to end the evening in the hotel bar, the New York City bar was the first hotel bar I've ever used at Disneyland Paris so I don't have much to compare it to, but it was comfortable, nicely decorated, though a little on the dark side, and the staff couldn't have been more accommodating. The one thing I did find, is that the drinks were in some cases a fair bit more expensive than in some of the other hotels on property or the sports bar and billy bobs in the village, for example our glowtini cocktails were €15 each, compared to €11 at Santa Fe! This could be quite off putting especially if you're on a budget so is something to consider!
We only stayed the one night, but to make the most of our stay we had a hotel breakfast the next morning, this is a buffet breakfast which includes both hot and cold options and is held in the onsite restaurant. We went to lunch quite late, probably around 9:30, we weren't required to book a time when we checked in the night before, and when we got to breakfast there were only 1 or 2 families in front of us so we were seated very quickly! The buffet had a good selection, from the hot selection there was bacon, sausages, eggs both scrambled and hard boiled, pancakes and waffles. From the cold/continental selection there was a range of meats, cheese, fruit and yoghurts as well as bread rolls, sliced bread for toast and a selection of cereals. There are also coffee machines and fruit juice dispensers, everything is self service and is unlimited, so it's a great chance to fuel up for a day in the parks! I did enjoy the hotel breakfast, though for me personally I'm not sure I have the appetite to justify adding this on to every stay! I usually make do with snacks I've brought myself or a quick stop at the bake shop on Main Street, but for people with bigger appetites I can see why this appeals!
Sadly we didn't get time to use the hotel pools or gym and spa so I couldn't fairly comment on these, if we had more time it is something I would have liked to have used. We did visit the hotel gift shop, but found it to be very small compared to the other hotels, and sadly the hotel New York pin wasn't in stock at the time, still its nice to have it there for picking up Little bits on the way to your room.
Overall though I liked the hotel New York, I felt it was missing that Disney magic, the hotel feels very dated and the theme feels much more corporate to me than the other hotels. The rooms were spacious, clean and comfortable and of course this is the most important thing. But looking to the future, I'm excited for what this hotel could become. I feel that the change to the Art of Marvel will be a huge step for the hotel and will breathe new life into everything, though it will be sad to say goodbye to something that has been part of the resort since opening I do feel like it's time is well and truly up, and for me the re-theme is the only thing that would encourage me to book a return stay at this particular hotel!
Have you stayed at the hotel New York? What did you think? Drop me a comment below!
Hoodsie xx
0 comments:
Post a Comment