This October we decided to have a family trip to Disneyland Paris. I was thinking that this might be the last time I explored Mickey Mouse’s realm as my youngest grandson is now 17 and for the last 51 years (since my son was born) we have been fairly regular visitors to a Disney Park (be it Florida, LA or Paris). I think I can honestly say I am pretty much Disney-ed out! So this review is not about Disneyland Paris, it is about the accommodation we stayed in during this trip. In the past we have stayed at a number of places near Disneyland but this one, Disney’s Newport Bay Club, was by far and large the best one I have ever stayed in. It is an enormous hotel (1,097 rooms) on the shores of Lake Disney. It is just a 15 minute walk to the Park but there is also a shuttle bus which runs very frequently (although this probably takes longer than the walk because of the route it has to take. We only used this once, on our last day as we had our suitcases to carry).
The Hotel has a nautical theme (1920’s New England Chic, they like to call it) with a lighthouse as it’s central point. Check in was fast and efficient and we were instructed how to reach our room. (If you have mobility problems you might like to ensure you get a room near the lifts. Our rooms were a long way from the lift and consisted of numerous left and right turns which was a little confusing, however by the day we were leaving we had worked out the route fairly efficiently!). The rooms all have a nautical theme with Mickey and other characters looking down at you from “portholes” high on the walls. There are two large beds in each room and for my three grandsons there was also a very comfortable sofa bed in the room. The bathrooms have a little “dressing area” in front of them so there is somewhere to put your case and hang your clothes. The showers were really good, jet powered and you are supplied with Disney toiletries (complete with tops that have Mickey Mouse ears!)
The buffet breakfast was amazing. Being France, the vegetarian options in the restaurants are usually very limited but the staff were happy to get one of my grandsons vegan croissants and other veggie options. There is a whole array of food, not just the continental breakfast range we usually associate with our stays in France. There is a multitude of staff, clearing plates and helping guests and although it was fairly crowded everything went extremely smoothly each morning.
After a long day of queuing for rides in the Park we returned to the Hotel to make use of their swimming pool, sauna and fitness room. There is an outdoor and indoor pool but, obviously in October, only the indoor pool was open. There is a nautical theme to this as well and the hotel supply towels and toiletries in the showers and free lockers to put your belongings in. It isn’t the largest pool in the world but, during our stay, it wasn’t very busy.
There are three restaurants but we didn’t use any of them (but the menu’s did look tempting). They are the Yacht Club, Cape Cod and The Captain’s Quarter Bay. I think they were rather pricey but, having said that, even a fast food meal in the Park itself was a lot more expensive than we expected.
On our day of departure the concierge took our bags and kept them whilst we had one more visit to Mickey and friends. We thought this might be a slow process but despite the number of people checking out it was, like everything else in this hotel, done with efficiency and by very courteous staff.
So if you are taking the kids or grandkids to visit Mickey this might be a place to consider staying. In our experience it was definitely the nicest Hotel we have ever used in that area. Now I think I might put my Disney trips on hold (until I get Great Grandchildren that is!)
