We got the pleasure of staying at the Disneyland Hotel on our Honeymoon to Disneyland Paris. Everything about this hotel is fantastic. The look, the views, the location, the service, the Cast, all fantastic. The Disneyland Hotel is located at the front of Disneyland and actually makes up the gate of the park.  Some of the rooms, like the one we stayed in, have views over the Magic Kingdom. If you are looking for the ultimate in Disney magic make sure you stay here when you visit Disneyland Paris.  
Book your stay at the Disneyland Hotel or just get more info on Disneyland Paris at their website - Click here

Our first visit to Disneyland Paris we stayed on property at the Disneyland Hotel. That hotel was out of our budget this time so we had to find an alternative. We found the perfect one in the Dream Castle Hotel. The Dream Castle Hotel is located just outside the perimeter of Disneyland property.  If you look at the map below, the big circle is Disneyland property and the pin is the Dream Castle Hotel.

 This hotel offered great rates and an unbelievably close proximity to the parks. They also provided us with a pass for free parking at Disneyland. The staff was very friendly and helpful.  There are two restaurants at the hotel. San Souci serves a breakfast buffet from 7am to 11am and The Musketeer's restaurant serves  French and European cuisine. You also have the choice of room service. 
If you are exhausted from running around in the parks all day the visit the Asian Villa Spa at the hotel.   Guests enjoy access to the heated indoor pool, sauna, jacuzzi, steam bath and fitness room on the garden floor. In the Thai rooms and Asian Spa Villas full body massages, facials and other spa services are offered. They use SkinCeuticals products in their services. 

We had way more space in our room than two people could ever need!! It was great. If you've got kids, these bunk beds will be a hit. The bathrooms were spacious as well.  So, if you're looking for another option than the Disneyland Hotels make sure to check out The Dream Castle Hotel or it's sister hotel The Magic Circus located next door. Check out their website for more information. 

As you stumble back to your room in Brussels, too full of Belgian beer, Belgian chocolate, Belgian waffles and pomme frittes to hold up your own body weight.... you'll be thinking "thank goodness we stayed here".  Le Méridien Brussels is just a short walk away from Grand Place. This hotel has amazing views ranging from Spain Place to the famous Grand Place.  Our room was really nice and spacious. Our bathroom was huge and had a shower and a large tub. It was a very modern hotel that sat right next to history. The multi-lingual staff was very friendly and helpful and the hotel was very clean. If you don't receive a complementary breakfast with your room (dependent on your room type, status with Starwood hotels, etc) you may add on a breakfast package or just head down to the street. Within minutes you'll be at a waffle stand or waffle restaurant!

We were only in Brussels for a day so I can't tell you too many things about the city but I can tell you that Belgium was a pleasant surprise. We  also went to the cities of Brugge and Ghent and they were beautiful. I have to go back one day and spend some more time here. I need to do a lot of scientific research to find the best piece of chocolate in Belgium. These are the sacrifices I am willing to make to pass good information on to you!!

Visit the Le Méridien Brussels site and book your stay  here.


Here is a view from our hotel room of The Grand Place in Brussels - 

This is a 3 star hotel located within walking distance of the Eiffel Tower. The hotel has a breakfast buffet on site, and public parking located within 100 meters.  There was also a café located across the street. 
When we planned our second trip to Paris, my only requirement was that this time I wanted a view of the Eiffel Tower from my hotel room. My second requirement was NOT breaking the bank to get the view I wanted. Many hotels boast a view of the Tower and many require a pretty penny to make it happen. Thus began my search for the perfect combination of view, location, service and reasonable pricing. My search ended when I found Splendid Hôtel Tour Eiffel. When I found the hotel online, I remembered a friend of mine had stayed at a hotel with a view so I contacted her. Turns out it was the same hotel and she highly recommended it.  Each of the 48 rooms in the hotel offer views of the tower but as you can see in the picture, the rooms on the side of the hotel are at an angle so this may mean you have to go completely out on your balcony or do a little leaning to see if from your window. Several of the rooms however boast straight on views of the tower. These are the ones you see facing you in the picture to the left. 
When I booked our room I reserved a Superior Room.  This room was right in the middle on pricing, not the most expensive, not the least expensive. The picture of the Superior Room online showed a great view of the tower. Of course I wanted to make sure this was the room I was getting so I sent an email asking about it.  I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly the hotel staff responded. I sent the email before I went to bed and had a response from Emmanuel, the Co-Director of the hotel, the next morning. They were so polite and assured me I had booked the room properly. Our room was the one with the balcony on the 3rd floor. We had a breathtaking view of the Tower - morning, noon and twinkling at night.  Here's a view from our room.