Hi Guys!

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

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

Ahoy pals!

So I'm not long back from my Halloween trip and I thought rather than jumping straight in to another 5 day trip report I'd cover off some other things first, and one i really wanted to give it's own spotlight to, was the hotel I stayed in for most of my trip, the Newport Bay club has been somewhere Duffy and I have been dying to try, and we thought it would be nice to share my thoughts on this amazing hotel!


So I checked into the Newport bay early in the morning on the 28th of October, it was around 8:15 am by the time we had checked out of the Kyriad and got an Uber to Newport Bay so our rooms weren't ready but we were able to complete most of the check in process, get our Hotel Easy pass and leave our bags for the day so that we could get back to the park.

One of our first stops was actually the hotel shop and it had a really great range of stuff, a lot was generic parks merchandise which you could get in any of the stores, they they sell some more specific hotel stuff (toiletries etc) and they had some mugs which I think were exclusive to the Newport Bay hotel! The shop was really open and bright and beautifully decorated, it had quite a good selection of items and had a separate photo pass counter too which was great for getting your photo passes sorted when you're not in the parks early in the morning on late in the evening, I guess it also gives you the chance to check all your photos are there before you check out to go home which is super handy!

Each morning there's also one of Mickey's pals, or sometimes Mickey himself in the hotel lobby waiting to meet you and have photos, the queues can get quite long, but it's a great way to get your favourites in their traditional outfits, the queue runs along the side of the shop in the lobby, and when it's your turn you are taken through to a little room at the back of the shop for a private little meet, which is super cute!

We went to the park for a few hours and came back in the afternoon to have a rest as the room was ready from 3pm. For our first night we had a ground floor room in the west wing (or as I call it the only wing ;) ) and although it was quite a walk from reception, I mean I was honestly surprised the rooms even went round that far, the room itself was beautiful and so worth the walk.


We went for a standard room rather than a compass club one, but still our room key card allowed us to have 4 free hot drinks per day from the vending machines, there is supposed to be one on every floor, the ground floor one for the west wing took us ages to find, its actually at the pool, after we eventually did find it, it was out of order so we popped up to the second floor, which had a much more visible machine and were able to get our free drinks there, which were actually really nice!


For the first night I shared with Sophie and Sophie and Katie Snow, they then moved to the Disneyland hotel for the rest of their stay, and I moved into a new room at the Newport Bay, I must point out here that there was nothing at all wrong with our room,we had lovely doors that opened out, a view of the outdoor pool, and despite being a bit of a walk from reception, it was perfect. The reason I changed was that I had made a separate booking for the last 3 days of my stay and this was in a Lake side room, so I really wanted to take advantage of that. My room wasn't ready until 3pm again but this wasn't an issue and I was able to use the hotel luggage storage again for free, this is really handy.


I went back around 8pm on Sunday evening after our meal at Bistrot Chez Remy in the Studios park and was able to get my room with no problems, this time I was on the 3rd floor in the East wing, my room was just as lovely and even had a little sofa pull out bed on top of the two doubles, more than enough for little old me and the baby bears.

My lake view was actually really lovely, in an ideal world I would have liked to have been situated more centrally in the building so that my view was directly towards the hotel New York, but my view from the East wing was just as nice over the lake and across towards the sequoia, unfortunately because of the way the windows open, it was quite difficult to get a nice picture of the view which was the only disappointment with the whole room.


Unfortunately there were a few things I didn't get time to do during my stay, I didn't find the time or energy to use the fitness and swimming facilities, however everything looked really clean, and the staff at the pool were super friendly and helpful when we asked about the drinks machine. The bar was actually closed during my stay due to unforeseen issues, and that was a little disappointing as that's now 13 trips to DLP and I still haven't tried the famous Glowtini, again from what I could see the facilities looked really nice, and it's on my list to go back and try again. Finally I didn't try eating at the restaurant, I had such a short stay with so much to fit in and a tight budget that saw me mostly eating fast food there just wasn't an opportunity on this trip sadly.

Over all though I loved everything the Newport Bay club has to offer, the location the theme the beautiful rooms. I personally can not wait to book another stay here!


Hope this insight into the hotel has be interesting and if you have any questions I’d be happy to try and help just drop them in the comments!

Hoodsie xxx

I think it's safe to say, every hotel in Disneyland Paris is pretty special in its own way, and of course everyone is going to have a favourite, this post is about my favourite DLP hotel, Santa Fe and the reason for this is that I've been hearing a lot of people say bad things about it recently, so it's time for me to stand up for something I love.

The Santa Fe is one of Disneyland Paris' 2 key or 2 star rated hotels and is just across the river from the Hotel Cheyenne, if you don't want to drive to and from the parks each day, these 2 key hotels are the budget hotels you've been looking for, its about a 15 min walk from the hotel to the park or if you prefer a free shuttle is provided. The hotel has approximately 1000 rooms and these are split into a range of 1, 2 and 3 story blocks, to help navigation of these blocks there are 4 main sections. The hotel also has a large restaurant with a bar, a shop, an arcade, luggage storage and laundry facilities.



My first trip to the Santa Fe was May 2010, it was my first visit to Disneyland Paris and I traveled with 2 of my close friends, when we booked our trip none of us had ever been before, but my 2 friends were both on a budget, we didn't want to drive which ruled out Dave Crockett Ranch for us, so Santa Fe was the next cheapest hotel, we figured we wouldn't be spending much time in our room and it was saving us money we could spend elsewhere on food and merchandise so this was a compromise we were happy to make.

The hotel at the time had a Mexican theme, with hints of route 66 painted across the front walls, pictures of mickey in a sombrero were on the hotel logo and the documents we received at check in, the restaurant was name la Cantina, the shop was the trading post and the games room was the pow-wow, the theme was fantastic, and the cast members were all dressed accordingly, at this time characters still met guests daily in the lobby/reception area and they had outfits in-keeping with the theme too, we were really impressed.


Overall our first trip to Santa Fe left us very impressed, the rooms were clean, tidy and had all the basic things you would expect, the theme from the hotel and the main building was carried through to the hotel rooms with themed furniture and bedding, the TV's were basic and had a few English channels but were more than sufficient for the amount of time we actually spent in the hotel, the bathroom was clean, complimentary toiletries were provided and replaced each day (because face it, soap with mickey mouse on it, who's not going put that in their bag to bring home!) and there was a hair dryer in the room, plenty of towels were provided in a number of sizes and the room was cleaned daily.

Yes breakfast was busy, but in a hotel with up to 1000 guests where breakfast is provided included in the price, I can't think why you would expect anything else, on check in we were asked to select a time slot for breakfast and given a card for each day with our time slot on in an effort to ease breakfast related congestion and over all this wasn't the horrific experience some people make it. Again same for the shuttle buses, they do get busy, there are a lot of people going to and from the parks each day, and its a quick, convenient free option, so it's well used, but we never experience issues with people getting pushed out the way or stood on or any of the other horror stories I've seen, of course I can only speak from my personal experience but over 4 stays at various different times of year, its not been something I've ever encountered.



When it came to my next DLP trip in October 2012, budget was again a factor for me and my partner at the time, again not feeling confident to drive in France DCR was out, and as I had no complaints from my previous stay, and felt more confident with something i already knew, Santa Fe was again our perfect option. Because I had stayed before and knew what I wanted, I don't remember doing any research into this trip, I didn't spend time looking at the hotel online or in the holiday brochure, so when we arrived to find the hotel being refurbished with a cars theme, I was pleasantly surprised!

Now it is no secret that I am a huge Pixar fan, and even less secret is cars is my favourite film, yes not my favourite Pixar film, or even my favourite Disney film, it's my favourite film, I have no shame in saying I've watched it in excess of 200 times, spend more money than I care to count over the years on merchandise and I live and breath for the world of cars.

So of course a re theme to cars was always going to go down well with me, what I can't praise enough though was just how well this was done, as a huge cars fan, the worry with something like this for me is that they won't do it justice, but i didn't have to worry, my 2012 stay fell mid refurb so there was plenty left to finish but i was still left impressed, when i returned in December 2014 the refurbishment was complete and I am so happy with the result.

From the moment you arrive at the top of the driveway to Santa Fe you are now greeted with a giant billboard of Lightning and sally looking out over carburetor county and this is above the walkway between the reception and the luggage hold, it sets the theme perfectly and it's the sight that makes me feel like I'm home, the route 66 painting still runs along the outside wall of the reception right the way round to the bus stop, and is one of the original features that fits perfectly with the new theme. The reception area is bright and welcoming and has framed cars pictures on the walls. Once checked in you'll be given a pack which includes a basic map of the hotel which is split into 4 groups of rooms you'll stay in either a Lightning, Sally, Mater or Luigi room and the signposts outside will feature these graphics as well as the number plaques on the doors of each hotel room.

 

In each hotel block there are road marking graphics on each entrance door and the carpets are fantastically themed with little caution cones and lighting bolts. However its once you step inside your room that the real magic happens, the best have cars themed covers again with caution cones, lightning bolts and road markings on, on the wall a frame cars print, and above each bed a cars themed light made up of 2 cones and a license plate. around the walls is a cars border with characters from the films, and on the chest of drawers there's a lamp made to look like a cone, and a shaped mirror with metal backing plate. The TVs have been upgraded to a flat screen and feature more English channels than previously, and all rooms now feature free Wi-Fi! The bathroom is also fantastic, a cars themed shower curtain complete with checkered flags is teamed with a giant mirror surrounded by lights and checkered wall tiles to complete the look.

 

What I like most about the changes? Of course any cars fan like myself is going to be massively impressed with the theme but it's not so in your face that you average Disney fan, or even your average holiday maker, is going to feel like it is too intrusive. The rooms are light and bright with just the right amount of themed items to give the cars feel. even though it is a budget hotel the rooms don't feel cheap or tacky and it provides just enough Disney magic touches to make you still feel part of the magic when you go back to your hotel to rest.

So what would I like to see next for the Hotel Santa Fe?

Evening entertainment in La Cantina would be a nice touch for the out of season trips when the park some times closes early into the evening, this would also bring across people from other hotels to visit the Santa Fe, and as someone who has never eaten there other than the included breakfast, may bring extra revenue in from the restaurant.



A cars character meet or photo op, like all the Disney hotels characters used to meet guests in the lobby each morning, however this was removed when the characters moved to the parks for extra magic hours. Currently there's nowhere in either park to get a photo op with the cars cast without standing in front of a fence which doesn't make the best photo, a photo location with lightning and mater would be great for cars enthusiasts, failing that, i'd love to see mickey and pals in the cars pit crew outfits, I can dream right?

A Disney pay per view service, now this one actually goes for all hotels not just Santa Fe, but seriously why when I go back to my hotel in the evening can I not pay a few euros to be able to watch my favourite Disney films in my hotel, would be easy money.

So that's my view of Hotel Santa Fe, i hope that inspires any of you who haven't been, or perhaps haven't visited since the refurbishment to check it out and maybe give it a try on your next trip? If you have any questions please leave them below and I'll be happy to try and answer as honestly as possible.