HoJo Kids Suites:: What do YOU want?

[bretherite]

These sound so exciting! I would love a fridge, and an area in the room for hte kids (or parents) to get away from each other. I would love to see a variaety of rooms - Mickey, Donald, Minnie, Tink, etc.

We have reservations for October 2009 and December 2009. Any chance they may be done by then? If so I want to reserve mine now.

[jMom]

this is such a great idea!

Our kids are soon to be (like within 3 months): 4 (boy) and 6 (girl). We'd love to see some of these things in a family suite:
* fridge (we can live with a mini)
* microwave
* coffee maker
* step stool in childrens' bathroom; this would be great because it could also potentially be used as a booster seat, depending on the step type.
* TV in both rooms ... tough because I don't like them watching a lot of TV, but I know my husband and I will want a break!
* Maybe a CD player/clock in the kids' room? Gives them an alternative from the TV so they can do a little singing and dancing
* Optional: white noise machine
* Theme ideas for childrens' room: Jungle Book, Dumbo, Pooh & Friends, Toy Story, Bugs' Life, and Muppets. Pirates, princesses, and fairies would also be fun. Our kids love animals and songs from all those the movies.
* Please oh please make sure you have a LOT of AVAILABLE outlets in both rooms! That was the only frustrating thing my last visit to your hotel with our family -- lack of outlets. The kids had a portable CD player, a night light, & white noise machine. We had laptops, as well as cell phone and camera rechargers. We needed 8 outlets and I think we found 3 available ones (including the bathroom). And we had to hunt on hands & knees.
* I like the idea child-sized tables and chairs, but even better would be a sofa & coffee table somewhere, where the kids could curl up & play, read, or eat some food. A sofa/daybed is also hand for storing toys, etc. for the kids.

Thanks for asking -- we look forward to seeing those rooms!

ETA: Another yes to a more neutral theme for the parents. Maybe the same colour palette, but muted for us Big Kids? And another yes for a DVD player in the kids' room.

[ImTempest]

Something fantasy for the kids, but not too scary - don't want the little one wanting to sleep in our room because he's too afraid to sleep in his! Love the 2-room suite idea - you can never have too many toilets with boys (adult & junior sized). Also really like the more whimsical decor for the kids, but calmer for the adults. One more addition - if you could please add Cartoon Network and Nick to the TV selections, that would be great!

[HeatherC130]

I can't tell you how excited I am about you doing this!

Here's my *wishlist*. Thanks for asking for our input!

1. A fridge larger than a mini, so that we can have a decent sized freezer. Also, bottles of water and tea take up a lot of space.
2. Microwave and Sink in a 'kitchen' area with seating for eating meals in the room.
3. Babyproof the room as much as possible. Built in outlet covers, safety latches on doors and drawers.
4. Kids area by itself without the front door and bathroom attached. I want to be able to put the kids down for a nap, close the door, and not bother them until they wake up.
5. 3 tv's. One in the 'kitchen', and one in each sleeping area.
6. Sleep sofa sounds great.
7. I think theming would be great. I like the idea of pirates, mickey, and princesses. Try to make it look upscale though. Disneyland hotel just opened character themed rooms, but they look really bad design wise. Cheap looking furniture, colors don't match, and the comforters look like they are from the clearance rack at Kmart. I think a themed room tastefully done would be great!
8. White noise machine in the sleeping areas.
9. Child size toilet in the bathroom.
10. Larger garden soaking tub.
11. Counter space that can double as a changing table.
12. Lots of storage, to help keep the room neat and organized during the stay.

Thanks again!
Heather

ETA-Can you give us any idea of the timeline for this project? Can we expect them by the end of the year? decade? millienium? You get the idea!

[HoJo Helper]

Hello Everybody!

I have some new details on the Kids Suites for you!

We still don't have an exact timeline, because we are still busily putting together the design elements of the room- but I can tell you that we've decided to go ahead with a fun, pirate theme!

The Kids Suites will be able to sleep up to six people maximum, with two in the Parents' Room where there is one King-sized bed, and four in the Kids' Room where there is a bunk bed, and a double sofa-sleeper. There are two bathrooms, one in the Parents' Room and one in the Kids', and this Suite will have a fridge [not full-sized, but larger than the dorm-style fridge in our other rooms] as well as a microwave.

While we continue to solidify the plans, I will continue to keep you all updated as I get new information- including a timeline, when one becomes available!

We're so excited to be able to offer this to you, and just want to thank you again, because your input has been invaluable to us in the planning!

Pirates!
Lorealle

[HeatherC130]

Sounds great Lorealle! I can't wait to hear more about these plans.

One question, will the new kids suites have the new beds in them?

Pirates sounds great, and fits in with the theming of your hotel so well. It would be really cool if you could find retro pirates, but that might be asking for a little much! The larger sized fridge sounds great also. Yay!

Thanks for updating us!

Heather

[danceaddict]

All sounds fantastic. Pirates theme is perfect.
Oh how nice the 2 bathrooms would have been.
Cant wait to hear more progress on these rooms

[Gidget]

Lorealle,

Pirates sounds great! Perhaps Tinkerbell or mermaids thrown into the mixture to satisfy the little girls?

Thanks for the larger fridge - with a family with small children that will come in handy.

Adding to the previous question about beds ... will all beds (including the King, bunks and sofa beds) have new premium mattresses?

If these rooms are the old King rooms in Building 1, will they face the highway and if so, how noisy will they be?

Final question, approximately how much will they cost? The 2 suites are $60 more than the standard room costs ... will the Kids Suites be the same?

Thanks
Gidget

[Carina]

Please don't put in mini toilets as some have asked for, nor any other age/size limiting thing. Not all kids that stay there will be "little" and they all manage with normal toilets at home!

[HeatherC130]

Good Questions Gidget! It would be nice if the bunk beds had the nice matress also. I never even thought about price! Shame on me!

Carina, do you just not like the looks of the little toilets? Because obviously there would be a bigger one in there also. (I don't think HOJO's would expect us grownups to crouch down that low. ) I was just thinking it would help make the room more special to the little ones that they could 'go' on their own, and prevent me from having to lug one more thing out (such as a portable potty seat, insert for the toilet, etc.) Honestly though, I doubt they do it becuase that would require major reworking of the plumbing system.