Walking Distance Hotel List w/ discussion & details of hotels

[Malcon10t]

Just a wee little bump...

This a great thread for comparing prices/distances for the various hotels.

Right now we're back to looking hard at the Anabella, but the room reviews on Trip Advisor have me a little spooked.

The hotel is old and is showing its age. But, the rooms are clean and basic. And it is close. My kids stay there when they are down for "commando" mode. They are only in the room to sleep and shower. The pool is very large.

If you are looking at a hotel room for a getaway, where you will be spending a significant amount of time in the room, then you might want to look elsewhere.

 

[kaffinito]

Thanks for the bump. I decided to add some the missing information in the OP. The Anabella was one that I fixed. It has a lot of hidden fees.

You're welcome and thanks for updating the listing for it.

The hotel is old and is showing its age. But, the rooms are clean and basic. And it is close. My kids stay there when they are down for "commando" mode. They are only in the room to sleep and shower. The pool is very large.

If you are looking at a hotel room for a getaway, where you will be spending a significant amount of time in the room, then you might want to look elsewhere.

Thanks for the info about it - my friend really liked the place last time she stayed there, so that's the one she wants this time.

I have a feeling my friend the DL vet isn't going to let me relax for very long. Especially when we sort of have to go commando in order to do anything over NYE. I never do that at WDW, (where I'm all about the resort) but I can see the necessity of it during such a busy time of year.

 

[Hootch]

for putting this together. We are spending a couple of nights next summer. I had put together something similar for the three Disney hotels and four of the seemingly more popular hotels. I did not have nearly the number of amenities outlined.

The discussion on room size is also very helpful. We will be staying at 11 different hotels on this trip and larger rooms are important.

I will bookmark this thread for my wife to read when we are ready to make a decision.

 

[cegreenf]

Hi! Does anyone have any information about the Anaheim Fairfield Inn? Thank you!

 

[Malcon10t]

Hi! Does anyone have any information about the Anaheim Fairfield Inn? Thank you!

We like it, Stay here frequently. Beds are comfy. Rooms clean. Pizza hut on 3rd floor.

 

[OnTheRoadAgain]

Hi! Does anyone have any information about the Anaheim Fairfield Inn? Thank you!

It's nice. Great beds. A large McDonalds is at the front of the parking lot, so you can pick up breakfast or a snack easily.

 

[Hoku]

Good thread!

We just got back from a trip to Disneyland trip where we stayed at the Quality Inn and Suites for 6-nights. The trip before that, 2-years ago, we stayed at Stovall's Inn (6-nights, also). The following is our experience and perspective on the differences:

I don't remember exactly, but we only paid about $10 more per night at Stovall's. We went with QI&S this time because it was the cheapest.

QI&S is a little closer to the park, but, honestly, it felt like the same distance. This may have been partly because they're not really THAT much different. More than that though, when going to Stovall's, you get to walk through DTD, GCH and then walk along a quiet, winding, tree-lined street. So Stovall's has a significantly nicer walk from start to finish which "eases" you out of the Disney experience much better. Also, if you don't want to walk, you can take the bus from Stovall's. No busses go to or from QI&S.

When we stayed at Stovall's, we had a pretty large room with 2-queen sized beds. QI&S had one double sized bed and a twin sized sofa sleeper. The Sofa sleeper was SOOO uncomfortable we took the mattress off the couch and slept with the springy, extremely uncofortable mattress on the floor. Not a good experience. I ended up using pillows and cushions on the floor to sleep on instead of the mattress.

The room at QI&S seemed clean enough, but the bathtub had some damage to it that made me hesitate using it. I'm sure all tubs aren't damaged, though.

The only thing I didn't like about Stovall's was that the rooms were very dark. Dark furniture, beds, walls. QI&S was much more bright and cheery and had nice landscaping. It also had friendly staff.

Next time, we're just going to be sure we have enough money to stay at the DLH.

 

[It'sKim]

Just an update for you on the Park Vue, they DO have free wi-fi. It was a strong fairly fast connection too which was nice.

Also for those with negative experiences, I recommend posting your review on tripadvisor.com. The guest relations manager has been responding to virtually every post on there and seems to be correcting some issues people had. For example someone complained about the cribs, and he posted that they went and bought new cribs now and are working on better maintenance. They really do want to be the best hotel there and are trying to make sure people are happy.

 

[OnTheRoadAgain]

I've done some updates to the OP.

I'm wondering why this thread doesn't show up when I do a search for "hotels"? I wish there was a way, under my preferences, to stick it to the top.

 

[mydisneymoney]

Does anyone have any personal input on the Desert Palm on Katella and Harbour? It looks good on the website but I really do not see anyone making comments about it on DIS.

 

[alicia1506]

thanks for doing up this post... it mirrors some of my pre-trip report gnashings about staying on site vs staying off site but walking distance vs staying off site but shuttle distance.

as we are travelling from Australia, and we'll be catching the disney bus from the airport, we figured on either on site, or on site within walking distance, and ended up settling on DI&S. I know there have been a few negative reviews about it, but after contacting the manager, he put my mind at ease about some of our concerns/policies/questions we had so that now we know exactly what we are getting into.

also, DI&S is one of the few places that actually has large suites for families, so $179.00/night for 4 x queen sized beds in a 2 x room suite seems like a lot, but a 2 x room suite only has one nightly rate, which means only one lot of tax. our alternative was to book 2 or 3 rooms at the PVI next door (or another along harbor) and pay 2 or 3 nightly rates with the applicable tax and resort fees per room attached, which grossly exaggerated the price.

as we won't be driving, we won't have the car parking fee added, but when comparing room prices, please keep an eye out for resort fees, wifi fees, parking fees etc as these can actually make a cheaper room rate more expensive than some of the others.

one thing we did like about DI&S is that wifi is free in the lobby, so if you need wifi to do things like checkin for flights online etc, you're better off using the free wifi in the lobby than paying $10.00 to use the wifi for 10 mins in your room to check in online.

 

[jsoren11]

Hotel Manage is over I-5 north on Harbor. It gets mixed reviews though. It's a hip place for the young and partying. Not great for quiet families.Some people don't like the noise of the 24 hour pools and the music played there most of the day that gives it a party atmosphere. Or of I-5 running behind it.

Others love the hip, boutique style hotel that it is.

Im just wondering if you've ever stayed here. We are definately not a "quiet, young, or partying" family. We loved it, quiet, calm, relaxing, great grounds.
I actually thought the hotels we have stayed at further south on Harbour were noisier than this one.
The Hotel Menage is located on I-5 and Harbour, so there is a rumble of traffic in the background while you are at the pool or hot tub. The music at the pool bar is off at 10:30, but it is not intrusive when you are not at the pool area.
We found the service, location, and price extremely underrated. There are some bad reviews on this place, (just like everywhere), but they always seem to come from the same crowd, you know, the party of 23 that cant figure out why they couldn't get a table for dinner fast enough...
If you factor in the 80 bucks a night price, Its a killer deal.
The walk is approx. 10 minutes, two routes of the ART pick up and drop off at this resort, so the shuttle service is great for this location.
I recommend at least trying this place.

 

[starshine514]

thanks for doing up this post... it mirrors some of my pre-trip report gnashings about staying on site vs staying off site but walking distance vs staying off site but shuttle distance.

as we are travelling from Australia, and we'll be catching the disney bus from the airport, we figured on either on site, or on site within walking distance, and ended up settling on DI&S. I know there have been a few negative reviews about it, but after contacting the manager, he put my mind at ease about some of our concerns/policies/questions we had so that now we know exactly what we are getting into.

also, DI&S is one of the few places that actually has large suites for families, so $179.00/night for 4 x queen sized beds in a 2 x room suite seems like a lot, but a 2 x room suite only has one nightly rate, which means only one lot of tax. our alternative was to book 2 or 3 rooms at the PVI next door (or another along harbor) and pay 2 or 3 nightly rates with the applicable tax and resort fees per room attached, which grossly exaggerated the price.

as we won't be driving, we won't have the car parking fee added, but when comparing room prices, please keep an eye out for resort fees, wifi fees, parking fees etc as these can actually make a cheaper room rate more expensive than some of the others.

one thing we did like about DI&S is that wifi is free in the lobby, so if you need wifi to do things like checkin for flights online etc, you're better off using the free wifi in the lobby than paying $10.00 to use the wifi for 10 mins in your room to check in online.

When did DI&S start charging for Wi-fi? It was free when we stayed there in May.

 

[alicia1506]

as we haven't yet visited DI&S, I was quoting a friend who travelled there last year...

however if they don't charge for WiFi, I am all for that I'll email the manager and request clarification

 

[alicia1506]

so i had heard from a friends who stayed at DI&S that they charged for wifi, so i posted this here earlier... I contacted the Manager, Teo Huerta, who happily set me straight, as per below:

[do you offer wifi in the rooms, and if so, is there a charge for this service? ]
We do have WiFi service in the rooms.

[if there is a charge in the rooms, do you also offer wifi for free in the lobby?]
No, currently it's free of charge and we also have WiFi in the lobby as well as a computer with printing capabilities available.

Thank you, Teo Huerta


so glad to be proven wrong

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

You do not have the Del Sol Inn on your list, but we just stayed there and would definitly stay there again. Easy walking distance-closer than the Ramada maingate, but it is tucked back in there right next to Desert Inn Suites...It was very affordable, large rooms, good pool, and was quiet while we were there over labor day weekend. The mini fridge is actually quite large, and the coffee maker was not one of those single cup jobs...We did not have a car, and there is minimal parking and a fee for those who would have a car. We used the airport shutle, and it was very convenient. Overall, I liked this hotel quite a bit. Location was great! Price was great! If you want fancy, this is not it- but it certainly works as a roomy place to stay close to the parks! FYI- I have this hotel booked again for a Dec trip at $57 a night! Can't beat that!

Just to add to this, I've stayed at the Del Sol as well. It's often easy to miss behind Denny's. The pool is rather small. But keep in mind too, the hotel itself is rather small too. It was never all that crowded when we were there. When we were there, the Spa was non-functional. The Laundry room had 1 washer and 1 dryer in it. But the dry was only 25 cents for a full cycle. Overall, the laundry was kind of a dump. But the price was right. So we didn't really care. The Parking lot is very small. There really aren't any views of Disneyland or anything else worth looking at. But the rooms were large and clean. I don't know whether that rule is still there, but there was no smoking. And if you got caught doing it, there was a $200 charge per violation added to your bill. They provided some danishes and fruit in a small room for breakfast. But nothing special. There weren't all that many people hitting it either again because it's a smaller facility. If it is the same rate as the other places, I probably would go elsewhere. But we can often get a significantly better rate there.

 

[starshine514]

so i had heard from a friends who stayed at DI&S that they charged for wifi, so i posted this here earlier... I contacted the Manager, Teo Huerta, who happily set me straight, as per below:

[do you offer wifi in the rooms, and if so, is there a charge for this service? ]
We do have WiFi service in the rooms.

[if there is a charge in the rooms, do you also offer wifi for free in the lobby?]
No, currently it's free of charge and we also have WiFi in the lobby as well as a computer with printing capabilities available.

Thank you, Teo Huerta


so glad to be proven wrong

Policies change over time. I'm glad to hear that this one was a change from charging for something to giving it to you for free! I hate it when it changes in the opposite direction!

 

[momrek06]

DH and I decided to take a quick trip to DL! DH loves checking on different hotel websites for the best deal whenever we travel and he was able to secure the Desert Palms Inn & Suites on Katella for $65.00 + taxes = $82.00 (for Wed night).
We had a King suite! It was lovely! 425 sq ft of space! Plenty of room for 2 people! I requested a top floor when we checked in and the clerk obliged us and we were in room 442!
Free wifi, free parking, free breakfast, free fridge, free microwave!
The breakfast was plentiful with many choices both hot and cold!

Our only complaint was that at 6am we were both awaken to a loud generator type noise. I kept thinking it would stop. It didn't. DH turned the a/c up loudly to drown out the noise. It was annoying. Upon check out I asked the clerk if she knew what that noise might have been as we were in 442. She did not know at all.

While we really loved the hotel (esp the price) with all its amenities including the easy walk to both Disneyland and Garden Walk .... that noise was annoying.

 

[ATGMom]

I am supposed to stay at CCI in 2 weeks but now I am nervous after looking at that bedbug registry site and seeing a report from September. The last thing I want to deal with on vacation are bed bugs.
The problem is a lot of the hotels are all booked up for my dates that are in walking distance.

 

[Scribble Kitty]

Just booked Desert Palms Hotel and Suites for late January. They're having a sale right now, $99 for 2 queen room. Also, resort fee has increased to $7.

It seems a good deal and a nice looking hotel. Any opinions on it?