So, I'm kind of interested in CD-i runs in general, but I'm a bit lost as to which one to use (to say nothing of actually trying to get ahold of the console itslef).

Is there one generally accepted for Hotel Mario/CD-i runs in general?

While we recently have just gained access to a wonderful load remover to make runs less hardware dependant and more competititve, patches to Total War: Warhammer 3 can very well disable the functionality of the load remover and there is never a guarantee on when a fix will be made, only that it will be up to the developer's discretion and availability, and cannot be rushed.

If the load remover isn't working for you, I highly recommended first checking our guide on using it, and if it still isn't working, join our Discord server to see if it's working for everyone or you've missed a step in using it.