This wasn't just the first time at Disneyland Paris for 12 years, it was also the first trip abroad since the start of the pandemic. To say we were excited for a well-needed holiday and some Disney magic was an understatement!
The Room
We stayed in an empire state club room. Those rooms (and suites) are located on the 6th floor of the hotel. We were in room 6203. The room was very spacious, and as I'm a fan of black and red interior design (and being a Marvel fan as well), the look of these rooms really appealed to me. There are nice touches throughout with the cushions, chairs, and lighting designs. The Marvel theming isn't in your face (in the rooms themselves) and is generally quite subtle (aside from the prints on the walls). The TV is located behind a mirror - which is a little bizarre at first - but it gives a nice "futuristic" touch, even if the glare makes it largely unusable. There are plenty of Disney-quality touches here, like Marvel-themed bottled water, Marvel-themed shower gel bottles in the bathroom, which helps make it stand out from the generic feel I hope Disney distance themselves from. There's a great selection of charging ports, including UK plugs in the wall! It's still worth taking a French adapter though.
The bathroom is spacious, bright, and clean. Nothing to fault in the bathroom, but the inclusion of a steam-proof mirror would have been nice.
The only negative to say about the room itself was the temperature. One evening (our second evening at the hotel) the temperature of the hotel was very high and quite uncomfortable. We would be walking through the hotel lobby and it felt like we were in a sauna. We went up to our room and put on the air-conditioning (which the hotel advertises it has) to the lowest setting of 16 degrees. It was doing nothing to cool the room. I called down to the Empire State club to ask to get it looked at (which by the way the very friendly cast member picked up immediately and greeted me by name) and they said they'll look into what they can do on their end. About 20 minutes later two guys came up and took the paneling off the ceiling and were talking to each other, and one pointed a laser thermometer at the air vent, it said 20 degrees. He asked me, "Is this not good?" I said, no... it's very warm in here, isn't it? We would like the room cooled. He then fiddles with the air-con system in the ceiling, and the other guy points at the air vent again and it said 18 degrees. I replied saying that was much better, thank you, but I also said I set the thermostat to 16 and that would be ideal, he quickly replied "non, non, non, impossiblé !!!" which made me laugh but he wouldn't/couldn't explain why. Either way, they left and while the room cooled a little, it was still a little uncomfortable that night.
Overall it's a very nice, clean, and well themed room. It has super comfy large beds and we were generally very happy with our stay in regards to the room itself.
(Click any of the images to zoom in and tap the left/right sides to tap through the photos)
Empire State Club
If you stay in an Empire State Club room, you do get some extras! The room itself (pictured above) has a few extra decal pieces here and there. For example, in the empire rooms there are grey paneling behind the bed, in the standard rooms is just a plain beige wall area. You get also get breakfast and afternoon tea included (which we'll get to), black magic pass cards, robes, turn down service in the evening (where we were left little Thanos sweet treats each night), and access to the Empire State Lounge. The Empire State Lounge is where you get your afternoon tea and breakfast, and throughout the day you can pop in and get some free soft drinks.
You also have a dedicated check-in reception. When we arrived at the hotel, we headed to the reception to check-in. We were greeted by a friendly cast member who looked at our reservation and said "no no sir, you have a special place to check-in" and was escorted out the queue and to the Empire State Club reception. There we met a very excited cast member who gave us our Magic Pass cards, checked us in, and told us our rooms will be later in the afternoon. He took our luggage there and then and said they'll be delivered to our room when it's ready. On the last day, you can also just leave your luggage in your room, head the parks, and when it's time to leave, it'll be waiting downstairs in the luggage area for you.
Empire State Club Afternoon Tea & Breakfast
Staying in a Empire State Club room, you can enjoy a cooked breakfast buffet and afternoon tea. The afternoon tea happens between 4 and 6 pm. You head to the Empire State Club lounge where you are seated, and then can help yourself to the buffet and soft drinks. There was a good selection of Marvel-theme foods, as well as some French favourites.
Next up we have the breakfast. The breakfast was absolutely stunning. Our food experience in general at Disneyland Paris wasn't anything to write home about, but the breakfast at the hotel was amazing. They offer tea, coffee, juices and soft drinks, and then a whole host of different food options. From fruits and yogurts, cooked items, continental, and more. On the table waiting for you is a basket of fresh breads and preserves. I can't emphasise enough how good this breakfast was each morning!
We paid around £300 (£150 each) more for the 3 nights to upgrade to an Empire State Club room over a standard room. With all the benefits listed above, we think it was well worth the cost. Which at £50/night each, breakfast makes up a chunk of that itself!
Restaurant & Skyline Bar
We couldn't get a reservation for the Manhattan restaurant, but we did manage to get one for dinner at the Downtown Restaurant. It's pricey at €40 each excluding a drink, but the food was of good quality and there was plenty to choose from. With not a huge amount of quality restaurants at Disneyland Paris, it's no surprise this one fills up fast.
We were really looking forward to the Skyline Bar. It's a pleasant lounge with a relaxing atmosphere. Watching the Skyline screens and seeing Spidey and Iron Man fly by randomly gave it a unique touch. The drinks were also good and well made, the GREEN SMASH was delicious. Sadly - as I explained earlier - the hotel heating was on super high that night, and we just couldn't stay long. I don't know how other guests stayed there for so long (although the bar was only half full), with a few of them visibly warm and sweating. We'd love to have stayed for more but it got way too uncomfortable after a while. If it's some ploy to sell more drinks, it failed miserably.
The Hotel
Having not visited this hotel before the Marvel re-theming, I can't say how it compares to the generic "New York" theming that was there before. In general though, the hotel has a really nice feel to it, and the artwork and props from select Marvel movies dotted around the place gives you plenty to see and admire.
Summary
Disney's Hotel New York - The Art Of Marvel is a beautiful hotel that feels like effort went into it. It feels genuine, and not like some quick and cheap feeling re-skin. For Marvel fans, there's plenty to love, and the colour scheme and decor around the hotel are something to see. The hotel is super close to the parks with just a few minutes' walk. I would absolutely stay here again and would recommend upgrading to Empire Club level if it's within your budget, the service and amenities (and that breakfast) are really great.
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