Offsite hotels...

[arielrocks]

Who has stayed in them? Any recommendations? Planning our next trip but want to see whether it’s worth staying offsite for the cost saving? Has anyone done this?

We’ve only ever stayed at sequoia lodge golden forest so needs to be a fair comparison.

[kk20]

Horses for courses. We have stopped is various places. It all depends on offers, number of guests, what you do for dining etc. For raw cost it depends on offers as you might be cheaper in santa fe for certain dates. If the offer is half board and you are a die hard picnic person then stopping offsite (possibly in val d europe) might be cheaper although park ticket prices can add up.

In short, it is possible so look into it, it depends what experience and what guests you have

[Peter H]

Yep you really have to do the maths. We have stayed at Hotel L’Eysee in Val D’Europe and Ibis Val D’Europe.
Val D’Europe is one stop away from DLP on the train. It has a big shopping centre and some restaurants. Both the hotels mentioned are very near the station. One is near the front entrance and one is near the back entrance.
As a rule we prefer on site. Being able to walk to your hotel is great.

[Iluvholidays]

personally I always find this a tricky question, I will start by saying that I have stayed in all the Disneyland Paris hotels including three at club level, empire state at hotel New York, golden forest at sequoia lodge and compass club at the Newport. I have also stayed several times off site, in various accommodations from the Marriott village to the dream castle. I honestly can say that all the hotels I have stayed have been clean with good service and I enjoy the off site hotels just as much I enjoy the onsite hotels. For me it comes down to the time of year and the amount of times you plan to pop back to the hotel during the day.

sometimes the bus to and from the hotels can be busy and slightly long winded as they share the bus system with the other hotels which is tiring after a long day, sometimes there is nothing better then being able to come and go as you please on foot.

I also think about whether a pool is important, my daughter loves swimming so I may consider an off site hotel for a good pool.

the train line in and out from val de Europe is probably quicker then the bus from the dream castle etc so hotel eylesse is a good choice.

when ever I have factored in how much I am saving, I generally always choose on site. if I had an annul pass and visited often I would stay off site if it was a lot cheaper however I tend to book a package and the prices are good when I factor in I have a ticket for every day of my stay and a meal plan.

my favourite hotel room so far is probably the Cheyenne as it has good aircon and feels bright and new.

[kk20]

One point to mention is that we nearly always book an offsite hotel to maximize our disneytime (in an onsite hotel). This year at christmas we have booked the residhotel as our val d europe hotel, that way we can spend full days in the park and not worry about flight times.

As previous poster said, the shared bus to explorers/kyriad/magic castle etc is a nightmare at peak times. That being said we often use explorers as our pre disney hotel as it has a decent pool and can use the bus outside of peak times for village access.

Val d europe is cheap to get to on the train but does technically have the peps bus (we have never used the bus as a train or even uber is cheaper)

[HFJohnson]

Having previously been a die-hard onsite fan I really enjoyed my stay at the Hotel L'Elysee in Val d'Europe in September and would definitely stay there again. It's a really smart hotel with nicely decorated rooms, lovely staff etc plus its just across the road from the RER and the shopping mall. Being close to the RER is a priority if staying offsite as trains go every 5-10 minutes and I don't have to deal with busy and infrequent buses.

I've also stayed in three other hotels nearby...

Ibis budget - near the RER but very basic - a one-night-only hotel for me
Sejours and Affairs - as above
Hipark - nicer than the other two but not as nice as the Elysee plus its a longish walk from the RER so you're reliant on buses or walking

[Buzz242]

We've stayed in several onsite hotels and love the freedom to go back and to during the day if we need to. At Easter we stayed at Hotel L'Elysee and was very impressed with it and would recommend it. There was a bus stop across the road and we never waited more than 10mins, the busses were slightly crowded at the end of the day but we only had to stAnd once.
We've also stayed at the Explorers hotel but the bus was extremely slow from there.

[arielrocks]

This is all very helpful, thanks guys.

I need to price it up and go from there. We’ve got 2 babies and once we are finished for the day we don’t tend to go back out again. We also usually stay out all day unless the weather is dreadful and we need a break. Might be worth trying off-site once.

[Privateer]

My wife and I have been to DLP three times and have gone from the one end of the spectrum to the other: We've done the following:

• Ibis Hotel, Marne la Vallée Val d'Europe (train)
• Ibis Hotel, Marne la Vallée Val d'Europe (drove via Eurotunnel)
• Disneyland Hotel, Castle Club (drove via Eurotunnel)

The Ibis Hotel is metres away from the train station and one stop from Disney Land. It's clean and cheap. You can either take the train or drive there and leave your car in the underground car park. You will need to be able to speak some form as french as not all of the staff (even those on reception) were fluent in English but if you have a smattering of French you should be OK.

Staying off-site allows you to see a bit more of France but staying on-site is easier, especially if you have a family. It depends on you whether the potential extra cost of a Disney hotel on site is worth it to you versus the extra hassle.

Regards,

[Gill H]

We have just stayed at the Ibis Val d’Europe. (Don’t look for Ibis Marne la Vallee as that is further away.). No frills but at £200 for 3 nights it was fine. Ask for extra pillows if you want them. Comfy bed, open hanging space for clothes. Bathroom small but fine.

No kettle so bring your own. We took a little travel kettle with 2 plastic mugs and spoons in. Bought the Kenco 2 in 1 sachets so no need for milk.

Oscar on reception was so lovely, really treated us well. In fact all the staff were friendly. The breakfast buffet is mostly cold items but you can make toast and boil eggs. I was surprised by the quality of the pastries, breads, cold meats and cheeses (my favourite kind of breakfast).

If you come out of Val d’Europe station at the far end, the hotel is literally right in front of you. So easy.

We were out all day in the parks so no need for a pool or other amenities.

We did find some great places to eat in the area. L’Interprete restaurant was a real gem, and Alfred Burger excellent too.