Anabella to be demolished

[Cal-Pie]

I think affordable rooms within walking distance are going to get harder and harder to find.

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/hotel-696747-anaheim-city.html

 

[ClaraOswald]

Wow! The only hotels I've stayed at are the Anabella, Anaheim Plaza, and Desert Inn and Suites. I see in that article that the Anaheim Plaza is being demolished too! Crazy. I hope the Desert Inn sticks around a while and stays affordable! Though I fear that within 10 years, there will be almost no affordable hotels on Katella or Harbor.

 

[aristocat65]

I never stayed at Anabella, but I stayed at the Magic Carpet in 1976 when I was a kid and we all drove down for our first visit to Disneyland!
I am happy that there are more higher end hotels opening that are walking distance to the parks. We used to stay in Garden Grove because we preferred the security of interior corridors at hotels. It would also be nice if more upscale hotels available would put pressure on Disney to lower the room rates on the DL hotels. I can always dream, right?

 

[bumbershoot]

I'm stunned, and am now really sad that I cancelled Anabella for a slightly cheaper room at Desert Palsm with included breakfast.

We love anabella. It's beautiful, it doesn't feel like a typical motel at all. The customer service is great. And it FEELS like California to me.

What on earth do they need luxury motels for? Big boxes where you don't know where you are once you're inside? Ugh.

I'm truly sad about this. I truly despise developers, I really really do. They do what they can, to make money, without any concept of what is right.

 

[ParkHopper1]

There have been rumors for a while of either third DL Hotel tower and/or another resort hotel to be built in the bus turn around area. I am surprised with the high occupancy of the resort hotels and park demands that a new resort hotel hasn't come to fruition sooner. Seems the more high end hotels that pop up adjacent to the park the less feasible a new resort hotel would be economically.

 

[texasgingerbread]

I'm on the flip side. I'd love to see a luxury hotel that is below Grand California pricing but close to park. It's past time to tear some of those down or at least upgrade them. Yikes!

 

[sdchickie]

Just got back from a stay at Eden Roc hotel right down the street from GC hotel. They recently updated the rooms and they are really nice. I even got to watch the fireworks from my bed one night. Rates are around $100 night.

 

[lvdis]

I wonder how soon it will happen?

 

[DizMe]

Last time I stayed at Carousel (Sept), I asked to see a manager that had really gone above and beyond for me and was told she'd been moved to their sister property, the Anabella. Since Disney owns Carousel, does that mean that Disney also owns Anabella?

 

[MommyLove]

I'm on the flip side. I'd love to see a luxury hotel that is below Grand California pricing but close to park. It's past time to tear some of those down or at least upgrade them. Yikes!

Totally agree. We haven't stayed at Anabella, but we stayed at the Anaheim Plaza once and I was happy when I heard it was going to be town down and re-developed. I'm THANKFUL for the developers because the plans for that property sound awesome! I think there's definitely a market for rooms in nice hotels within walking distance that have interior corridors that are just as nice as the DLH or GC but don't cost quite as much.

 

[todzwife]

Although many of these desperately need renovations, I'm afraid that we're going to be priced out of going soon. We stay at Desert Inn right now because we have 4 kids and need a suite- if they end up jacking the price up I'm not sure where we'll stay!

 

[ClaraOswald]

I'm stunned, and am now really sad that I cancelled Anabella for a slightly cheaper room at Desert Palsm with included breakfast.

We love anabella. It's beautiful, it doesn't feel like a typical motel at all. The customer service is great. And it FEELS like California to me.

What on earth do they need luxury motels for? Big boxes where you don't know where you are once you're inside? Ugh.

I'm truly sad about this. I truly despise developers, I really really do. They do what they can, to make money, without any concept of what is right.

I agree that the Anabella is really pretty. My entire family stayed there when they flew into town for our wedding a decade ago. We had so much fun there.

I think that luxury hotels for a Disney vacation are pointless. To me, at least. I don't care to spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars on a room I'm only in to sleep and shower.

Although many of these desperately need renovations, I'm afraid that we're going to be priced out of going soon. We stay at Desert Inn right now because we have 4 kids and need a suite- if they end up jacking the price up I'm not sure where we'll stay!

We were at the Desert Inn for our last trip and we really liked it. I hope it sticks around for a while! If all of the hotels within walking distance jack up their prices or become "luxury" hotels...we'll just have to start staying farther away. Kind of sucks.

Not all Disney fans are rich and able to fork over tens of thousands of dollars on vacation.

 

[egritz]

Interesting. Though with the bugs we had in our room (2014) and the lack of an air vent in the "extra" bedroom of our Casita suite (so we had to keep the door open so our daughter didn't freeze, negating the purpose of having a separate bedroom for her), I'd say at the very least it needs some updating. The lobby is cute, and the customer service was good there.

 

[lb2000]

I have stayed at the Anabella a few times and really like it. It is a nice hotel and we've gotten very reasonable rates. It's a shame it's going. It is in no way comparable to the Anaheim Plaza, where we have also stayed. Anaheim Plaza was a dump. I didn't even use the shower it was so gross, but for $69 a night on Expedia, it was a great place to just spend the night. Anabella rooms are nice, facility is nice, nice pool, etc. What a bummer to see it go.

 

[MillauFr]

I am surprised that many of the cheaper motels haven't already been demolished and reconstructed at 30 and 40 story high rise hotels. With the land costing $25 million an acre a two story motel just doesn't pencil out.

 

[lalasmama]

I am surprised that many of the cheaper motels haven't already been demolished and reconstructed at 30 and 40 story high rise hotels. With the land costing $25 million an acre a two story motel just doesn't pencil out.

However, many (most!) motels in the area have been there, in some incarnation, since land was a lot cheaper... So it's not like they are having to pay a multi-million dollar mortgage to keep their business, necessitating higher prices. When it's a place that's been in the family for a generation or two, or was bought when land was cheaper, then they can have lower prices. That being said, I'm sure there's some pretty "invitations" to sell for some shiny coins, which is impressive that many of them haven't give in!

 

[gottalovepluto]

As someone who recently grabbed a last minute family suite at Castle Inn a couple days ago at a great price I am sad to see these little places going the way of the dinosaur... But practically I get it. The land is a lot more valuable than the properties currently in place. And 2018 as a project start date is a long way out, let's be real!

I'm intrigued by the retail space they propose to add. After the ghost town that is the GardenWalk area beyond Cheesecake Factory and Bubba Gumps I would think Anaheim could take a hint that retail isn't going to bring in the money like hotel rooms do. (Admittedly I'm not exactly sure how much space 30,000 square feet would take up.)

 

[lildreamer101]

As someone who recently grabbed a last minute family suite at Castle Inn a couple days ago at a great price I am sad to see these little places going the way of the dinosaur... But practically I get it. The land is a lot more valuable than the properties currently in place. And 2018 as a project start date is a long way out, let's be real!

I'm intrigued by the retail space they propose to add. After the ghost town that is the GardenWalk area beyond Cheesecake Factory and Bubba Gumps I would think Anaheim could take a hint that retail isn't going to bring in the money like hotel rooms do. (Admittedly I'm not exactly sure how much space 30,000 square feet would take up.)

I went to the parks in January this year. Is the Garden Walk always that empty? I read on their site that they also closed down the movie theater in there as well. What a shame!

 

[ADLFAN]

I went to the parks in January this year. Is the Garden Walk always that empty? I read on their site that they also closed down the movie theater in there as well. What a shame!

Yeah, we noticed the lack of customers and many vacant stores in the Garden Walk complex, too. I did like the mix of indoor and outdoor spaces and thought the place had great potential! The movie theatre did close, but that spot is soon to be taken over by the House of Blues restaurant currently located in Downtown Disney. Apparently they'll have more space to host live music, which should liven things up at Gardenwalk.

 

[gottalovepluto]

I went to the parks in January this year. Is the Garden Walk always that empty? I read on their site that they also closed down the movie theater in there as well. What a shame!

We went to the theater trip before last, I quite liked it. It was my first time being in an assigned seat theater (small town here), was sad to see it go but I didn't see another patron there.