Disneyland Paris - October 2015 - Trip Report - Hotel Santa Fe

Welcome to our room!

I'm very lucky to say that on previous trips to Disneyland Paris I have stayed at the Sequoia Lodge many times and also the Hotel New York and Newport Bay Club both on one occasion. It's safe to say that the Sequoia Lodge is a favourite of mine, but I love the other two hotels as well. When booking our October trip, we went for something different and decided to stay at the Hotel Santa Fe. I knew the Hotel Santa Fe is considered as one of Disney's lower budget hotels, but I was more than happy to give it a try, having never stayed there before. In all honesty, I was really looking forward to staying at the hotel. 

Welcome to the Hotel Santa Fe!

As part of our holiday package, we booked the Disney Express service, which allowed us to send our bags to the hotel and then head straight into the parks. After arriving early in the afternoon, we sent our bags on their way to the Hotel Santa Fe and spent a couple of hours in both parks then headed into Disney Village to get something to eat at the La Grange buffet above Billy Bob's. We enjoyed our meal and decided to head back into the Disneyland Park to watch Dreams. After Dreams, we finally decided to head to the hotel. We enjoyed a walk through Disney Village and down the Rio Grande river to the Hotel Santa Fe. Having never stayed at the hotel before, it was very easy to find. First impressions were very good. Many people say the theming is very lacklustre at the Hotel Santa Fe, but I totally disagree. This is no ordinary budget hotel! The hotel is themed around New Mexico with many references to the famous Route 66. The hotel has very recently had a big refurbishment and has been slightly re-themed to add some references to the 'Cars' film series. We checked into the reception area at not lone after 10pm. We then picked up our suitcases and made our way to our room. We were in one of the 'Sally' blocks. Considering some of the negativity about the hotel, I couldn't believe how lovely the room was. Waiting for me was a message saying "Welcome Mr Michael Lambert" and I thought 'thank you very much, it's good to be back home!' The rooms feature some references to the 'Cars' films. I particularly loved the traffic cone lights above the beds, thought they were a really nice touch. After inspecting the room and finally settling down for our first sleep, I thought to myself how wrong some people are about this hotel. Yes, the other hotels might have slightly better theming, but this hotel is by no means, a lower quality alternative. 

Follow the sign!

I didn't sleep particularly well the first night, but I put that down to the excitement of my first full day in Disneyland Paris! The first day provided us with our first trip to La Cantina, the Hotel Santa Fe's buffet restaurant. We made our way to La Cantina at 7am in the morning for breakfast. I quite liked the theming inside the restaurant, it was a bit like being in an American highway gas station. 7am might sound like a crazy time to be up on holiday, but we wanted to eat nice and early and be at the parks for the Extra Magic Hours opening at 8am, one of the best perks about staying at a Disney hotel! The breakfast was continental, but a very nice selection. I stuffed myself away with cheese filled rolls, very tasty! We made sure to fill ourselves up each morning at breakfast as we would not be eating again until the evenings. 

I'd never seen so many bread rolls and croissants in my life!

Other than breakfast each morning, we returned to La Cantina two more times for dinner. The first time we had dinner at La Cantina was the second night of our stay. With the standard half board dining plan, we had the choice of many different buffets, including our own hotel's buffet. We decided to give La Cantina a try as we liked the layout from breakfast and also thought the Tex-Mex food selection was very tempting. After enjoying our first full day in the park, we came back to the room to change for the evening, then headed over to La Cantina for 6pm. That was opening time for dinner service and there wasn't many people waiting for it to open, but then again, it wasn't really crowded anywhere in the whole Disneyland Paris complex. At La Cantina, you order your drinks, then pick them up at the bar. Then you can choose to sit at a table of your choice. We went up in turns to pick our food from the buffet. We were both really impressed with the food on offer. I love making wraps, so was delighted to find some wraps and hot spicy chicken, that was me sorted! Much to my delight they also had a lovely hot cheese sauce, just like what you get in America, so I was in heaven with that all poured over some nachos! The dessert choice was also very impressive. They had cakes of all sorts, ice creams, mousses, so many different things to choose from. Overall, we were quite honestly, pleasantly surprised! We loved it so much that we decided to eat there again on our last night in Disneyland Paris. Both evening meals at La Cantina were very enjoyable!

Cheesy nachos, I'm in heaven!

As with every other Disneyland Paris hotel, Hotel Santa Fe has it's very own bar, the Rio Grande Bar. We only visited this on the first night of our stay because we were so tired that we just wanted to check into our room and relax in the bar with a nice cold drink. I would probably say in terms of theming, the Rio Grande Bar isn't the most extravagant when you compare it to, say, the Redwood Bar at the Sequoia Lodge, or Cafe Fantasia at the Disneyland Hotel. Still, we enjoyed a bit of relaxation which was much needed on our first night! 

Have a quiet drink at the Rio Grande Bar.

As I mentioned earlier, we liked to get up early each morning for breakfast so we could get to the parks for 8am. What I enjoyed most about walking to the parks early in the morning was the fact that we had a nice little walk past the river and through Disney Village before getting to the parks. At that early time, not many people were around, so I managed to get quite a few photos of Disney Village without too many people around. 

Up bright and early and off to the parks!

I'll be writing a full report about the cast members on our trip, but I will say now, that all the cast members we encountered at the Hotel Santa Fe were very lovely and courteous. We were made very welcome when we arrived late at the hotel on our first night. Being an English speaker, I always make an attempt to speak a little bit of French, and the staff at the hotel really seemed to appreciate it. The most notable staff at the hotel (I honestly cannot remember their names) were definitely the two people that helped me check in and also sort out our room keycard, as it didn't work the first time we used it. 

Thank you to all the wonderful reception staff!

I can honestly say that the Hotel Santa Fe highly succeeded my expectations. As much as I love the other hotels I've already stayed at previously, I would definitely stay at the Hotel Santa Fe on my next visit. I loved pretty much everything about it. Our room was amazing, the buffet was brilliant, and staff exceptional. Brilliant hotel!

Goodbye Hotel Santa Fe, but don't worry, we'll be back!