Favorite Off-Site Hotel

[Amy&Dan]

I am on the hunt for the best room within walking distance! We just got home from a week at Anaheim Plaza and I thought it was terrible. My kids are 1 and 5 and the location was good because we were able to walk back in the afternoon for naps or swimming, but that was the only plus. Carpets were FILTHY, the staff was not friendly, the rooms smelled terribly bad. We will not be returning.

We are going back to DL in September and I'm considering the PPI or PVI. Sounds like Residence Inn Maingate gets pretty good reviews too..

I can vouch for the Hojo, which has a splash zone area for little kids your children would love. Also very nice, very clean oversized rooms and a nice convenience/gift shop that sells everything you would ever need. The walk is around 10 minutes.

We also like the Tropicana, its right at the cross walk, has a very minimal continental breakfast, okay pool area and very large hot tub, also has a gift shop that sells Disney themed stuff very cheap (but not nearly as many food, toiletry, baby and beverage items as the Hojo gift shop) anda the rooms were very clean for us. The walk is probably less than five minutes, can't beat that.

We also like the Best Western Park Place Inn. Its literally the closest, nice and clean rooms (we love the mini suites which have two queens and a double sofa bed in a large sized room, so not a true suite but very spacious), tiny pool but still a place to get wet and a decent enough continental breakfast.

The Hojo is our favorite, it feels the most like a resort/hotel but it can be the most expensive or you can snag a very good "retro" rate that can get you a room for as cheap as $59 a night, with your entertainment card.

I looked into that Anaheim Plaza once and it looked a bit weird to me!

Hope this helps!

 

[ryleeranger]

They also had very pricey internet IF you chose to pay for it. Not returned there again.

YEP!! We paid $50 to have low speed wireless internet for the week so my husband could do a little computer work. Such a rip off!!

 

[JDCLL]

I always use to stay within walking distance, BUT now I will stay anywhere that is on the ART or close to the ART. I find that riding the shuttle is so much better then walking especially after a full day at Disney. By the end of the day my feet hurt and my kids are tired and we're carrying them plus all their stuff, it's great to just sit on a bench and wait for a ride to our hotel. We have stayed at the Anaheim Marriott, Holiday Inn Anaheim Resort, HOJO, Best Western on Harbor, and a few others...Like I said it doesn't matter where they are as long as a ART shuttle stops somewhere close by.

 

[Magalex]

We are planning on our first DL trip next July 2013. We are now leaning towards HOJO's. Could someone tell me the avg rack rate(Premium 2 Queen facing DL) for the month of July. I rather have a avg rack rate in mind so if any offers pop up then that would be the greatest. We usually stay at a WDW moderate so we are custom to paying an avg of $180.

 

[kymom99]

Magalex:
We are paying $143 a night this July 10-13th for a double queen deluxe room at HoJo. Never stayed there before. I had considered Candy Cane and BW Park Place. It seemed like CC had small rooms that were more expennsive and BW charged to park so the free breakfast wasn't really worth the extra expense. I used the Mousesavers rate for HoJo and called the hotel directly. I also had someone from the hotel message me on here after I posted some questions and noted some requests on my reservation. The staff seems very nice and helpful. I'll let you know how it is in a couple weeks!

 

[philliplc]

any opinions on anaheim islander? they have unique 2 room setups with 3 or 4 queen beds for comparatively very reasonable rates, and seem to be above average on tripadviser. would be long walk but also near ART stop.

we need either 2 rooms or a 2-room suite, and seriously considering them as an alternative to residence inn/doubletree etc. breakfast not important.

 

[Keyser]

we need either 2 rooms or a 2-room suite, and seriously considering them as an alternative to residence inn/doubletree etc. breakfast not important.

One option if you haven't looked at it might be the Best Western Anaheim Inn. They have 2-room suites (not too expensive, either), though most beds are Double, as opposed to Queen (some of the suites have 1 King, and 2 Doubles, some have 3 Doubles). I haven't stayed there, so I can't give you a real review, but it seems to get decent reviews on tripadvisor and is close in terms of walking distance. We are considering staying there for our upcoming trip, since the suite is not much more than a regular room at other places (in fact, it's cheaper than a lot of places, including HoJo!).

 

[disney4cam]

We really liked the Park Vue Inn. I'm not sure why it hasn't been recommended on this thread. Hopefully nothing has changed since the last time we went. They have a hot breakfast - same old stuff - eggs, bagels, cheap waffles, etc., but edible. They also have a "dinner" hour. When we went it wasn't high quality, but it was a good holdover meal for the kids. They had enchiladas, mac n cheese...can't remember what else. The menu changed daily. The hotel is RIGHT across the street (next to BWPPI), so the walk is so quick.

We stayed in the one queen and bunk bed room for four nights and then switched to a two queen and bunk bed room because we added a night (couldn't leave!). The two queen room was newer and really nice and roomy, but in the back of the motel. The one queen room was older, kind of dumpy and small. Both were clean, but the two queen room was much nicer. The service was also great for our stay.

 

[philliplc]

One option if you haven't looked at it might be the Best Western Anaheim Inn. They have 2-room suites (not too expensive, either), though most beds are Double, as opposed to Queen (some of the suites have 1 King, and 2 Doubles, some have 3 Doubles). I haven't stayed there, so I can't give you a real review, but it seems to get decent reviews on tripadvisor and is close in terms of walking distance. We are considering staying there for our upcoming trip, since the suite is not much more than a regular room at other places (in fact, it's cheaper than a lot of places, including HoJo!).

thanks. i did not consider them because their website does not show any suites (unlike BWPPI). do they just not advertise them?

 

[Keyser]

thanks. i did not consider them because their website does not show any suites (unlike BWPPI). do they just not advertise them?

I'm not sure what the deal is with the suites and why they are not advertised - maybe they don't have very many? I only learned of them when I went to the main Best Western page (not the hotel's own page) to try to check on rates, and they popped up. I was confused at first by this, but called the hotel and found out they do indeed have these (and there are the two different types). I get the impression that they are more like connecting rooms than traditionl suites, but I'm not entirely sure. If you read the tripadvisor reviews, there are one or two that mention the suites (but most don't).

 

[smiley_face2]

Magalex:
We are paying $143 a night this July 10-13th for a double queen deluxe room at HoJo. Never stayed there before. I had considered Candy Cane and BW Park Place. It seemed like CC had small rooms that were more expennsive and BW charged to park so the free breakfast wasn't really worth the extra expense. I used the Mousesavers rate for HoJo and called the hotel directly. I also had someone from the hotel message me on here after I posted some questions and noted some requests on my reservation. The staff seems very nice and helpful. I'll let you know how it is in a couple weeks!

We have stayed in all 3 and you made a good choice in my humble opinion. Candy Cane inn is very nice too, but yes the rooms are smaller than Hojo's. We only had the breakfast at BWPPI once, it was not a good one.

 

[AZwldcats]

We really liked the Park Vue Inn. I'm not sure why it hasn't been recommended on this thread. Hopefully nothing has changed since the last time we went. They have a hot breakfast - same old stuff - eggs, bagels, cheap waffles, etc., but edible. They also have a "dinner" hour. When we went it wasn't high quality, but it was a good holdover meal for the kids. They had enchiladas, mac n cheese...can't remember what else. The menu changed daily. The hotel is RIGHT across the street (next to BWPPI), so the walk is so quick.

We stayed in the one queen and bunk bed room for four nights and then switched to a two queen and bunk bed room because we added a night (couldn't leave!). The two queen room was newer and really nice and roomy, but in the back of the motel. The one queen room was older, kind of dumpy and small. Both were clean, but the two queen room was much nicer. The service was also great for our stay.

Dinner hour is gone! At least it will be on 7/1.

 

[rsleleux]

We are planning on our first DL trip next July 2013. We are now leaning towards HOJO's. Could someone tell me the avg rack rate(Premium 2 Queen facing DL) for the month of July. I rather have a avg rack rate in mind so if any offers pop up then that would be the greatest. We usually stay at a WDW moderate so we are custom to paying an avg of $180.

We usually stay at moderate hotels at WDW (for the past 14 years every Mardi Gras) and we went to DL for the first time in May and stayed at the HOJO and we will not stay there when we go in the Fall. It was clean and it was fine but just not a real "have to stay there" hotel for me. The price was so much cheaper than the moderate hotels at WDW and Mimis restaurant was so good we ate there twice. My point is, it will do and you will have a great trip regardless because you are at DL BUT comparing it to the moderate hotels at WDW you might be dissapointed? It's not that I didn't like it, I just didn't LOVE it!

 

[squirrel]

We have stayed in all 3 and you made a good choice in my humble opinion. Candy Cane inn is very nice too, but yes the rooms are smaller than Hojo's. We only had the breakfast at BWPPI once, it was not a good one.

I thought the breakfast at BWPPI was good in 2007. Now it's supose to be even better as they have added a few hot items-sausages, scrambled egg patties and waffles.

In 2007, I brought in Lactose free milk so my niece could have cereal. Staff there were very friendly and helpful.

 

[Magalex]

We usually stay at moderate hotels at WDW (for the past 14 years every Mardi Gras) and we went to DL for the first time in May and stayed at the HOJO and we will not stay there when we go in the Fall. It was clean and it was fine but just not a real "have to stay there" hotel for me. The price was so much cheaper than the moderate hotels at WDW and Mimis restaurant was so good we ate there twice. My point is, it will do and you will have a great trip regardless because you are at DL BUT comparing it to the moderate hotels at WDW you might be dissapointed? It's not that I didn't like it, I just didn't LOVE it!

Thank you for the info. Oh I know that any good neighbor motels at DL is no way like anything on site at WDW resorts. I was just comparing the cost. That is great the DL good neighbor motels are much cheaper than the moderates at WDW. I like the idea of the balcony at HOJO's too. Just a little more space with the option of stepping outside. I like their photos of the trees & their flowers nestled around the buildings. Mimi's looks awesome. I like the idea of a restaurant right there & McDonald's on the walk to the gates.

 

[bumbershoot]

I like them to feel clean and newer. I would like there to be a pool that the kids can enjoy but it's not a breaking point. Obviously any food included would be awesome and the option to upgrade to a suite or concierge service would be welcome as well.

Anabella. All the way. Not *new* (but there aren't really NEW hotels/motels around there), but gorgeous. California Mission style, lush-looking grounds, really nice.

Various levels of suites, some with concierge. There's a restaurant onsite, and you can get deals with breakfast included even without going concierge.

It's a little walk; it's past the Paradise Pier Hotel all the way down on Katella, but unless you are carrying a 3 year old whose legs hurt or who is going slower than your impatient self wants to go (because your husband, who wasn't even traveling with you said "taking a stroller is such a pain in the airport, just rent one at the parks) (grr), it's a perfectly fine walk.

Also, beautiful. Also, you'll be walking on half of a HUGE "hidden" Mickey as you go from Katella towards the Grand.

You end up walking into the front of the Grand, which isn't a bad way to start your Disney day.

You should look into this. Unless you are talking about the GHC, a lot of the "off-property" motels are closer or just as close than the Disney hotels. So "distance" becomes just another factor you should consider.

And even with the Grand, if your room is poorly placed, it can be LONGER to get from park to room than if you'd gotten a room at, say, the Tropicana. Not that I dealt with that or anything. (just one other room that would have been a LONGER walk)