Review of Disney’s Hotel New York: The Art of Marvel.

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Both Niels and I (Eric) recently stayed at Disney’s Hotel New York: The Art of Marvel in Paris. So unlike Niels trip, ours was not really planned in advance. We booked the Disney’s Hotel New York: The Art of Marvel spontaneously. To be precise we booked it one day before arriving. We originally planned to stay at the B&B partner hotel near Disneyland Paris. However, my hubby knew I was desperate to check out the new hotel and found a decent last minute deal over Expedia (which ended up being a disaster, more on that later). We booked two nights at the Disney’s Hotel New York, so from Sunday to Tuesday and slept one night at the B&B before driving home. The reason we did that was that Disney’s Hotel New York was fully booked by some company starting Wednesday and they only had large (and very expensive) suites available. So we ended up paying 345 EUR per night, for a “standard” superior room. Over the official site the same room cost about a hundred EUR more per night. (Park tickets and breakfast were not included in either those prices I might add).

Driving to Disneyland Paris

We arrived by car, which was very exciting for us because it was our first time driving to Disneyland Paris. Parking at the hotel was easy, we just had to show our reservation and security opened the gates. Parking is included in the booking price, so you don’t need to worry about extra charges. Now we saw online they had destination charging available for electric vehicles. Which we were really looking forward to since we drive an electric car. Happy to report charging couldn’t be easier. They have eight parking spaces reserved for electric vehicles, those eight spaces share four charging stations. Each station can power at least two cars from what I could tell. Now four of the eight spots were occupied and this was on a weekday so these might fill up on weekends. The chargers charge the vehicle with a max of 7 kWh so don’t expect any fast charging here. The chargers will get you a full battery over night which is what really matters at a hotel.

The Check-In

Honestly, checking in was a nightmare. We booked over Expedia and they still have some kinks to work out. I’ll start at the beginning. We managed to snag a restaurant reservation at Downtown Restaurant for 18:15 (6:15 PM). We arrived at the hotel at 17:00 (5:00 PM) and after unloading our bags, began check in at 17:15. So we thought great, plenty of time to check-in and drop our bags off in our room before heading to the restaurant. Wrong! So it started with, that they couldn’t find our reservation. The cast member was friendly and apologetic and asked us to forward the Expedia confirmation email. Which we did. Then he went backstage, to figure out what was going on. While my husband and I stood at the check in desk. By the way people were getting checked-in left and right and everything was going smoothly. Niels (who booked directly over the official site) also had a super smooth check in.

We were the only ones with an issue. We waited… and waited… and by this time its 17:45 and the cast member returns and apologizes for the delay. After which he runs back stage again to try and figure out how they are going to check us in. By 18:10 we start getting nervous and we’ve seen the LED-video walls loop behind the check in desk around 50 times. So I feel pretty confident that I know how to draw a Marvel comic by now (I don’t). Anyway, I head to the concierge (I love that they have one) to ask if they can’t work some magic and push our reservation back a bit. The cast member informs me that the reservation is held for 20 minutes after the given time. So I head back to the desk and at 6:20 our receptionist returns to let us know they will be needing a while longer and to come back at a later time. At this point I’m a little desperate, however he informed us we could drop our bags off at the luggage point and pick them back up after check in. Long story short, we hurried over to Downtown Restaurant. Had a nice dinner and headed back for our second try at check in. Which worked flawlessly and our bags were even brought directly to our room. Great service on that front!

The Room

We originally booked a standard room (a.k.a. a Superior Room) and were upgraded to a terrace room with one large bed and two bunk beds (which we didn’t need but… hey why not). Our room was also accessible, which meant that the restroom was massive and had enough space for hotel guests in wheelchairs to navigate around in. The artwork was nice, we had three pieces in total. One large Ant Man inspired print by the entrance and two smaller pieces next to the bed. Our room was also an adjoining room. Those are two guest rooms, located next to each other that are connected by a locked door. We did hear noise from the neighbor’s, specifically it was television noise and it all came through that locked door element. Honestly, I don’t even think they were watching TV that loudly. However the hidden TV behind the mirror seems to project its sound backwards. There are no real openings to let the sound through to the room directly. So you have to turn it up a bit to even hear it properly in your room. Which means that the neighbors are getting a full blast which is an unfortunate design choice. A small, front facing sound slit would have solved that issue.

Other than that we really liked the room. It’s sleek and modern. Subtly but nicely themed for sure. There is carpeting in the bed area. I would have preferred a complete solid type floor for hygienic reasons. The carpet looks great now but for how long? I do hope they keep it maintained. One small gripe I do have for a room at this price point is that they had paper cups instead of glass by the sink and coffee machine, as well as the lack of any slippers or bathrobes. They are small gripes for sure but a room that costs more than 300 EUR per night should be serving a certain standard. The style the Imagineers were going for is urban minimalist and Disney achieved it. By the way if you want to bring one of those chic “Marvel lights” home with you. They are by Artemide, model CADMO LED, designed by Karim Rashid (and they are expensive). 

The Superhero “Selfie” Station

Again, because we booked over Expedia, we never received the Disneyland Paris booking confirmation code that you need to make a reservation in the app. We called Expedia a day beforehand to request it, but the customer service agent had no idea what we were talking about. The Expedia booking number didn’t work in the Disney app (of course) and the agent gave us an internal booking number. Which according to him was the only other one associated with our reservation. It didn’t Work either. After we checked in successfully we asked the desk for our booking number and the cast member said we didn’t have one, but that we could make a reservation at the Superhero Station directly. Which we tried, and the cast member at the superhero station told us they cant make reservations. Typical Disneyland Paris, nobody knows what the procedures are sometimes.

We asked if we could visit without a booking number spontaneously and were able to go in that same evening. However, there was no character. Definitely book the hotel over the official site (for now) if the Superhero Station is a high priority. At least until they work out the kinks. The photo stations were even more fun than we expected. With small fact sheets beside each photo spot, that recommend a best practice pose. Social distancing and hygiene guidelines were in full force, so you had to wear a mask even when taking pictures. 

The Pool

We liked the pool, and went in the evenings. There were only three other hotel guests in the pool area with us. Theres an indoor and outdoor pool, however, the outdoor pool closes at 20:00 (8 PM) while the indoor section is open until 22:00 (10 PM). We went at 21:00 (9 PM) so we weren’t able to make use of the neat connection between the outdoor and indoor pool. There’s also a hot tub, which was sealed off as well as a kiddie pool. The pool itself was surprisingly deep. With my 182 cm (5,9 feet) height, my head barely cleared the surface. Two lifeguards were also on duty and there was a PMR access. Special lifting chairs for guests with reduced mobility. We saw other hotel guests with bath robes when entering the pool area, and I asked the cast member where we could get some. Apparently they are only for guests staying in one of the suites. That’s a bummer, especially considering the price point of the “standard” superior room.

The Food

We didn’t have breakfast but we also visited the Downtown Restaurant. I completely agree with Niels review of the place so check out our Patreon exclusive review of Downtown Restaurant if you want to learn more about that. All in all, I give the whole experience in terms of value and food quality, 3 out of 5 stars. Now, a small tip… If you ask nicely your server will get you a clean placemat after your dinner. Which is a fun little free souvenir to take home with you. The placemat has a nice black and white Marvel artwork on it. Also check out our review of the Manhattan Restaurant here.

Unexpected Surprises

The day after check in, we were having a great time in Disneyland Park and Expedia sent us an e-mail asking how check in went… and well we responded honestly. (not great) After returning to our room that evening we were pleasantly surprised to find a box of marvel macaroons as well as a handwritten apology note from the reception in our room. That is basically unheard of at Disneyland Paris, at least based on my past experience at the resort. We ain’t got no Disney World customer service mmmmkay… The macaroons were very yummy and the handwritten apology note explained (in french) that were was a computer communications issue between Disneyland Paris and Expedia. 

Now the other unexpected thing that happened was that… even though the room had AC it was very stuffy. So we opened the glass door to the terrace every once in a while. Anyway I woke up at 6 am and had to use the little designers room. After which I noticed the room was pretty stuff so I went to the door to open it a bit to let some air in, pulled the curtain back in place and headed back to bead. So I fall back asleep, when all of a sudden I wake up after hearing some rustling in our room. This joult me out of my sleep real quick and I look up to find some strangers kid wandering around in our room. All I could think to say in that moment is Shooo! To the child (my husband is blissfully asleep beside me). The kid pulled open the curtain and ran back out of our room. Sleep after that event was impossible for me so I decided to get up and take some photos of the hotel. These french hotel doors regrettably cant be tilted like the german ones can. Bummer! Because its a great way to let a bit of air in without inviting the whole neighbourhood into your room. 

Last Takeaways

I would stay there again, but not at full price. The value proposition is just not quite were it needs to be at that price point. However it is very conveniently located next to Disney Village and the closes hotel to the parks (currently). At least until the flagship Disneyland Hotel opens back up.