Which Disneyland Paris Hotel Is the Best?
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A mum rang me a while back, completely stuck between three Disneyland Paris hotels. She’d stayed at Disney Hotel New York – The Art of Marvel the year before, at club level, and loved it. This year, she was debating staying there again or trying out the Golden Forest Club at Disney’s Sequoia Lodge instead, because it was cheaper and still close to the parks. As we chatted about the pros and cons, she threw in a curveball too. The Disneyland Hotel was only £500 more than the others.
We spent an hour on the phone. I went through every comparison I had, from the rooms and the club perks to what I’d seen on my own stays, and every few minutes she came back to the same question: is it worth the extra £500?
There are plenty of lists out there that will tell you which Disneyland Paris hotel is the best based on features, vibes, even value for money. And if you’ve found this post, you’ve probably read most of them already. I’m not going to regurgitate all that again, because by the end of that call it was clear that more comparisons weren’t what she needed. And they’re not what you need either.
If you’d rather skip juggling quotes across different devices, and cross-referencing them like a military operation, the Pixie Dust Planner app has a full breakdown of every Disneyland Paris hotel and helps you narrow them down based on what matters to your group.
Why choosing a Disneyland Paris hotel feels impossible
By the time most people ask me about hotels, they’ve already read the reviews, watched the room tours, and compared the prices. They have all the facts but still can’t make a decision.
The on-site hotels are similar enough that a list of features rarely settles it. Each one has something the others don’t, and each one costs a different amount for a different kind of trip. So you just end up going round in circles, opening more tabs, and asking the same question in three different Facebook groups, hoping someone will say something that finally makes it click.
What usually helps more than another comparison is working out what each hotel on your shortlist actually means to you.
Which Disneyland Paris hotel is the best? It depends which one you keep coming back to
When I’m helping someone choose, their shortlist nearly always splits the same way, and once you see it, you’ll probably spot it in your own. There tend to be three branches: the one you know, the cheaper one nearby, and the one you actually want.
Each one pulls at you for a different reason. It might be because they feel safe and familiar, sensible, or like the treat you desperately want but feel like you’re not allowed to have. None of those feelings are wrong, but they’re the reason a features list never quite settles it, because you’re not really weighing up pools and lounges. You’re weighing up what matters most to you on this trip, and that looks slightly different for everyone.
My caller’s hotel choices fell into those three without her planning it that way, but if you’re still building your own shortlist, you can do it on purpose.
All you need to do is pick a hotel for each category: somewhere you know (or that friends rave about, if it’s your first trip), somewhere cheaper but still close to the parks, and your dream bucket-list hotel, even if it feels out of reach. Then look at what each would really give you, starting with the hotel you’re most familiar with.
The one you know: Disney Hotel New York – The Art of Marvel
For my Disney mum, that was the Marvel Hotel. She’d stayed there the year before and absolutely loved it, which counts for a lot when you’re paying a premium for one trip. There’s a real comfort in already knowing the rooms, the walk to the parks, and where you’ll get a decent dinner, especially if what’s really worrying you is booking somewhere new and being disappointed.
It’s an easy hotel to love, too. It’s slick and it feels very New York, a little bit bougie, with Marvel art throughout the building. The art styles vary depending on floor and room too, so there’s always something new to discover. It’s a no-brainer for Marvel fans who want to immerse themselves in part of a city that celebrates their heroes by displaying their shields, weapons, and suits. It was also the first Disney hotel to be overhauled in Disneyland Paris’s big renovation programme, reopening in 2021, setting the standard that the other hotel renovations have followed since.
The restaurants are hailed as some of the best in the resort too, with reservations regularly being snapped up as soon as bookings open. Having great food within minutes of your hotel room matters more than people expect when everyone’s tired and hungry at the end of a long park day, and nobody wants to trek somewhere else to eat.
The Art of Marvel also has its own club level, the Empire State Club. If you’ve not come across club level before, it’s an upgrade on a standard room that comes with extras to make you feel like a VIP. Most club levels at Disneyland Paris include similar things that take a lot of the small stresses out of the trip:
- Private check-in, so you’re not stood in the main queue with tired kids and all your bags on arrival day
- A concierge to help with bookings and questions
- Breakfast and afternoon snacks in the lounge, so your mornings are calmer and there’s somewhere to recharge later on
- Better room locations
If you like things a little bit bougie, this is the hotel where club level feels like the full upgrade, and that’s down to everything around it. Hotel New York is the closest hotel to the parks aside from the Disneyland Hotel, and just a stone’s throw from Disney Village. Although it reopened back in 2021, the renovation was done to such a high standard that everything still feels fresh and polished, giving you that slick, Marvel feel the whole way through your stay. She’d stayed there the year before, so it’s easy to see why it was on her shortlist again.
The catch with the one you know is that it can quietly become the default, booked because it’s safe rather than because it’s what you want this time. That’s worth being honest with yourself about when making your own shortlist.
The cheaper one nearby: Disney’s Sequoia Lodge
For my Disney mum, the cheaper one nearby was Sequoia Lodge. It was on her list because it cost less while still being relatively close to the parks, which is a pull for most people who look at it. It’s the sensible choice that will save you from doing mental maths every time you buy a drink. You might even have something earmarked for the money you save, such as a character meal or an extra park day.
It isn’t just the budget option, though. Set back from Lake Disney behind a row of redwood trees, it feels like you’ve stepped slightly out of theme park territory and into a cosy woodland cabin. It’s the kind of place you want to curl up in with a hot chocolate after a long day.
That calmer, cosier vibe is a big part of the appeal if you find the parks a lot by the evening and want somewhere to properly switch off. It also has a better pool than Hotel New York, which is handy if you’ve got kids who’ll want a swim before bed or after breakfast.
My Disney mum was looking at the Golden Forest Club, Sequoia Lodge’s club level, which comes with the same kind of extras as the Empire State Club: breakfast and afternoon tea in the lounge, drinks through the day, and your own check-in with help for your luggage. It’s a nice way to add a bit of comfort to a cosy hotel, but if you’re choosing Sequoia Lodge to save money, price up a standard room plus breakfast too, to see whether the club-exclusive benefits are worth it. While afternoon snacks can look good on paper, in reality they mean leaving the parks partway through the fun. That works for some people and ruins a trip for others.
The catch with Sequoia Lodge right now is timing. It’s in the middle of a renovation, with the first renovated rooms opening from 19 February 2027, which is also when the next big phase of work on the main building starts. The Redwood Bar and the Northwest Passage shop close from the same date, with a temporary spot in the lobby selling drinks, snacks, and souvenirs in the meantime, so if you’re booking for spring 2027, it’s worth factoring in.
The one you actually want: is the Disneyland Hotel worth it?
And then there’s the Disneyland Hotel, the one she kept coming back to every time she’d talked herself out of it. It was the main reason she rang me in the first place.
So many people feel guilty about considering this hotel. It’s usually the most expensive, and it can be hard to justify on paper when the other hotels are within walking distance of the parks too. But the Disneyland Hotel isn’t really competing with the others on rooms and perks.
I always describe it as an extension of the park, and that’s what the extra money pays for.
It reopened in January 2024 after its own renovation, following the standard Hotel New York set, and it’s now themed around Disney royalty throughout. Every aspect of this hotel sparkles, from the intricate decor and the instrumental Disney music playing in the lobby (and elsewhere in the hotel) to all the magical moments you might not expect, the ones that transform a holiday into a once-in-a-lifetime memory.
If you want to stay there, you need to want more than a bed to sleep in, and you need to give yourself time to actually enjoy the hotel, because there’s a lot going on:
- Characters in the lobby and outside the rotunda
- Someone sitting down at the piano and just playing
- Pluto turning up while you’re having dinner
- The pool and spa for hotel guests
- Character meets that only hotel guests get
- Royal makeovers and experiences
- A kids’ club full of fun while the adults relax elsewhere
- Rooms with magical details to light up your evenings
- The park entrance right on your doorstep, so you step outside and you’re there
That last one makes it the easiest hotel for building breaks into your day. Heading back for a nap, a swim, or a change of clothes doesn’t eat into your park time, and at the end of the night, there’s no long walk back with tired kids.
The catch with the one you actually want is that it only pays off if you use it. If you’re planning to be in the parks from opening until the fireworks every day, a lot of that will pass you by, and you’ll be paying for a hotel you only see at bedtime. If you plan to build in slower mornings, or head back for an afternoon by the pool, that’s where the extra money goes.
Not sure the Disneyland Hotel’s extras are worth it for your family?
Tell the Pixie Dust Planner app what matters most to you, and it’ll show you which hotels fit.
How to decide which Disneyland Paris hotel to book
After an hour, I stopped giving her comparisons, because she had all of them already. What she was looking for was permission, and it was obvious she was leaning towards the Disneyland Hotel. She asked me a few times, “Do I just say f*ck it, let’s do it?”
So I told her if you can do it, and the extra £500 isn’t going to hurt you, do it. My motto in life is that you don’t regret the things you say yes to, you regret the chances you decide not to take.
A few hours later, the ping of a DM delivered a screenshot of her Disneyland Paris booking. She’d gone for it: the Disneyland Hotel.
If you’re stuck in the same place, ask yourself which hotel you keep coming back to when nobody’s asking, because that’s usually your answer. Then look at the money honestly. If the difference would put pressure on the rest of the trip, the cheaper hotel is the right call, and you’ll have a brilliant time there too. If it wouldn’t, give yourself permission to book the one you actually want, without feeling guilty about it.
So, which Disneyland Paris hotel is the best?
Hotel New York is slick, familiar, and a safe bet if you’ve loved it before.
Sequoia Lodge is cosy, a bit calmer, and easier on the budget.
The Disneyland Hotel is for people who want the hotel to be part of the magic.
Which one’s best for you comes down to what you want from this trip, and whether the hotel is part of the holiday or just somewhere to sleep. And that’s the same for every hotel on-site.
Disneyland Paris hotel questions
Still torn? The Pixie Dust Planner app breaks down every hotel, helps you pick based on what matters to your group, and lets you compare quotes side by side. It’s free to dream, free to compare, and free to decide, and you only pay once you’re ready to plan the rest.
Related posts: Ultimate Disneyland Paris Hotels Guide · Hotel New York – The Art of Marvel: Is It Worth It? · Dining at Disneyland Paris
About the author
Sam Doyle is a Disney-loving mum of three and the creator of Pixie Dust Wanderlust — a go-to planning resource for Disneyland Paris trips. Known for her honest advice and magical practicality, Sam helps families and solo travellers simplify the planning process so they can actually enjoy their trip, not just survive it.