Are you the type of traveler that would like a little more space when you travel? If you aren’t a Disney Vacation Club owner like me, you do have some options at the hotels of the Disneyland Resort. One of these options is the one-bedroom suites at the Paradise Pier Hotel. Sleeping up to 6 people, they allow families a spacious place to get away from the parks and enjoy your downtime. We tested this with 4 adults and 2 kids, so come along while I tell you about our stay!
When looking into this hotel, you have to keep in mind that this hotel (originally the Pan Pacific) was purchased as an existing facility and pretty much just “redecorated” by Disney. It doesn’t have those custom-built design touches that the Disney-originals do, but it does work fairly well as an on-property hotel.
As you can tell by my opening photo, you enter the room and find the living and dining area. The room is bright and airy, thanks to the hotel’s large windows. The corner sofa system is extremely comfortable and folds out into a queen bed. The large television armoire, to the right, contains a dorm-sized refrigerator and plenty of drawers for clothing. The mirror on the wall above the dining set really did a lot to make the room feel even more spacious, which it already was.
I liked the fact that when the bed pulled out, it was flush with the rest of the sofa cushions. It was perfect for kids, since they really couldn’t fall off the bed if they rolled in that direction. I actually slept on it with them for part of the night and it wasn’t uncomfortable. It wasn’t the same level of comfort as the bed mattresses, but that is to be expected. In addition, all of the bedding can be found in the foyer closet.
Let’s continue our tour. The suite actually has two bathrooms. There is a three quarter/guest bath as you enter the room and a full master bath off the bedroom. Each bathroom was good sized. The guest bath, shown here, contained a shower. I really loved the fact that each bathroom had really clean design, carrying on the nautical/pier theme of the hotel.
There is plenty of extra storage in the vanity, and having this extra bath really came in handy for us. The extra shower (which is big enough for two) made it easy for everyone to get ready in the morning and the benefit of the second toilet is completely obvious!
Heading into the master bedroom reveals two extremely cushy beds. While not exactly “pier-like” or consistent with the rest of the room in theme, the simple palm tree design in the bedding aims for the “paradise” part of the resort. The beadboard headboards were simple and homey and the room was bright and comfortable.
Remember how I said that this was not a Disney-built property? Well one of the things that Disney had to work with was the fact that the master bedroom was not constructed with a closet. Therefore, the room had a rather large armoire with plenty of large drawers…
and just enough room for hanging a few critical items.
They certainly tried to put all of the usual “closet amenities” into the armoire. Unfortunately, if you bring a dress along for the trip, the only place to hang it is in the hall closet.
Now to look at the master bath – it’s huge. Really huge. So huge I had to take two photos to get it all in.
Double sinks, with plenty of storage and a full tub with shower head. It should be noted that both bathrooms also contained a nice touch – wicker laundry baskets for dirty towels or clothes. It’s touches like the basket that make it feel much more like a temporary home than a hotel. Interestingly enough, there is no place, except the bathroom counter, for them to stash the traditional coffee maker. Thankfully, the counter is large enough to handle it.
Of course, no room tour would be complete without the obligatory toiletries photo…
What else can I say, but the cute little Mickey bottles hold the traditional products. They are pretty decent, though they don’t have evidence of the H2O brand labeling. The bottles are definitely worth it – and the perfect travel size!
The best thing about the suites is that you get a premium view room – right across the street from Paradise Bay and World of Color. While we didn’t watch the show from the room, the view of the lights on Mickey’s Fun Wheel brightened our evening return.
While our room was on the lower side, we definitely could have seen the fountains reaching their amazing heights. I imagine the higher floors would have even better views! Our stay was short, due to the cost of the room, but it was definitely worth spending the time in it. Granted, it ran about the same as the cost of getting a pair of connecting regular rooms at the Disneyland Hotel, and you might have had about the same amount of space, but the convenience of all being together was nice. Perhaps on another visit, we might take advantage of the pool, the Pier Side Adventures, or even have the West Coast version of the Kitchen Sink ice cream sundae at the PCH Grill. But, those are stories for another time!
Photos by N. Johnson
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