Anaheim Desert Inn and Suites AWFUL!!

[Kimpossible1]

I believed the good reviews and shouldn’t have, it was awful. Stayed there last night with plans to stay for 3 days but checked out at 7 this morning. The worst issue was the smell of the room, very moldy, and musty smelling. I couldn’t sleep because it smelled so bad! I woke up with a super stuffy head, I guess I’m allergic to mold because it’s now 10am and we are napping in a new hotel and my nose is clear. The carpet was black in places so I didn’t want to walk on it with bare feet or in socks. There was no water pressure and the shower head is literally at 5’3”. There were a few other issues but I don’t want to seem too picky because I am not, I will put up with a lot, but couldn’t deal with the smell. I would not recommend staying there. Also it seemed cheaper than some other hotels with a rate was $149 night but till they added taxes and parking it was $196, so not so cheap in the end.

 

[SteveH]

When I looked at it for our July trip the Yelp reviews painted a similar picture and looking just now even more echo your review.

 

[StarlitNight05]

Sorry to hear about your experience. I have never stayed at Desert Inn & Suites, and will definitely take that off the table for any future visits. I've seen very mixed reviews about the place. DH is allergic to mold, so that definitely wouldn't work for us!

Where did you end up after moving? I hope that room is working out better for you!

 

[Malcon10t]

I've stayed here before, and while most people love it, I really won't do it anymore. We used to say it was fine when we were park storming, but even then the beds were too horrible so we quit. But, that is why there are so many varying hotels to stay at in the area.

 

[LizzyS]

I realize the location is fantastic, but I ruled this one out pretty quick when I was looking to book our next trip because it just looks awful all around. For that price, you can do a lot better and, even if you could get it for around $100, I would happily pay more to stay somewhere that's actually decent.

 

[Rose77]

Uh oh . . . we are planning to stay here on our upcoming trip in October. Is there anyone who has stayed there recently who had a better experience? The mold smell is very concerning since I have allergies. Unfortunately, the other hotels across the street from Disneyland are either booked or out of our price range at this point in time. I was able to snag a backup reservation at the Hilton Anaheim that would actually save us $200, but I was really looking forward to being able to just walk across the street to our hotel for an afternoon break.

 

[NannyBeBe]

I stayed there once a few years back but never again. The pull-out sofa was very old and uncomfortable and I did not like the exterior doors. People were stomping down the walkways at all hours of the night.

 

[disneymouse16]

We stayed there last March and are planning to stay again this December. That was the most recent we have stayed a number of times. I have never noticed mold. Did you ask to check another room? Just wondering if you had a bad room. We always have either an Executive suite or a Parlor A. I have had trouble will all kinds of hotels with noise (including the Grand Californian) and we just use a white noise app on our phone as standard practice these days. I also usually throw kids on the pull-out, they haven't complained of it or are just too tired to care. It is definitely not a "nice" hotel, very minimal, but we have yet to feel it isn't clean. Although I wouldn't mind a bit of a remodel/upgrade we are still willing to stay here for the price and location.

 

[SeattleTink]

I'm so sorry for your bad experience. I have never stayed there....but, where did you move to??

 

[Cal-Pie]

Sounds like a bad room. I've stayed there several times, I have the nose of a bloodhound, and I've never smelled mold, or had dirty carpet. It's certainly not fancy, but it's always been clean. Sorry to hear about your experience, that's a terrible way to start a trip.

 

[StarSpeckledSky]

Uh oh . . . we are planning to stay here on our upcoming trip in October. Is there anyone who has stayed there recently who had a better experience? The mold smell is very concerning since I have allergies. Unfortunately, the other hotels across the street from Disneyland are either booked or out of our price range at this point in time. I was able to snag a backup reservation at the Hilton Anaheim that would actually save us $200, but I was really looking forward to being able to just walk across the street to our hotel for an afternoon break.

A lot of people love it.

 

[Geemo]

We open and close the parks so we are not in the room much.
The DI&S is a place to shower and sleep for us.

We have stayed there many many times over the last 10 years.
We have never had an issue with the rooms. It is not fancy or anything but our rooms have always been clean.
I have a sensitive nose too and the rooms have been fine.

The pool area is a big NO for us to use because it's in-doors and causes a strong chlorine smell.

Where were able to find a room at the last minute to move to?
I hope the rest of your trip is fine. It's bad to start out on such a bad note.

Geemo

 

[njchris]

Did they offer another room? Maybe that particular one had an issue? I've been places where I ask for another room and if it was just as bad, I would leave.

 

[Erin M]

Wow, I'm surprised. We stayed there in February and had a pretty good experience. The rooms are definitely not fancy, but we thought they were great for the price and location. I have a really sensitive nose too and didn't encounter any issues. I wonder if you were in a room where there had been previous water damage or something?

Agree with PP about the pool though, we only stay here on adult only trips when we don't need the pool. When I have have my kiddo with us we always stay somewhere else.

 

[smartlabelprint]

Uh oh . . . we are planning to stay here on our upcoming trip in October. Is there anyone who has stayed there recently who had a better experience? The mold smell is very concerning since I have allergies. Unfortunately, the other hotels across the street from Disneyland are either booked or out of our price range at this point in time. I was able to snag a backup reservation at the Hilton Anaheim that would actually save us $200, but I was really looking forward to being able to just walk across the street to our hotel for an afternoon break.

Who's in your group? I recommend a hotel a bit further away (we like homewood suites) and uber/lyft if you can.
OP I agree. Pool is *nasty*. “Breakfast” Is inedible. We were on a tight budget but i couldn’t pull the trigger on this one again. That was years ago when I wasn’t a hotel snob.

 

[gillep]

I have stayed here four times in the past year and a half and have never had an issue with mold. It is absolutely not fancy in the slightest, but when all we are doing is crashing in bed at night it works for us.

ETA I would never attempt the pool here and would absolutely stay elsewhere if seimming is important. Cereal was perfectly fine for a quick breakfast.

 

[avalon451]

I’m so sorry to hear you had a bad experience! I have stayed here twice and I often recommend it on these boards as a cheap, plain option. I don’t love it, but I will say that we’ve always had clean rooms, no smell, and pleasant customer experiences. I agree with you on the showers, though, very low water pressure and short shower heads.

 

[BecAus]

Very sorry to hear you had such a negative experience.
I stayed there for 1 night last month before moving to the GCH and we stayed there the trip before, in Sept '17, for six nights after a 2 night stay at DLH.
My experience was the same as all who have posted above that have said "it's basic but fine".
Our room was at the back of the property and I had no complaints. I don't recall any issues with the shower but we stayed in about a dozen hotels this trip - I had more problems trying to work the shower in some of the 5* hotels we stayed at! This one doesn't stand out as having had a problem.
We didn't have the B/F there this trip but from last trip I recall it being basic but fine - nothing less than what I was expecting and no different to a lot of the motels we've stayed at across the States.
I myself wouldn't stay here if I was planning to use the pool a lot - it is indoors so it does have the very strong chlorine smell that comes with that. I prefer the Camelot for swimming which has a nice outdoor pool on about level 4 of the hotel.

To OP: I hope the hotel you moved to is ok for you and the rest of your trip goes smoothly. DL is an expensive trip and it's horrible if you're experience is ruined by something like this.
Hoping the rest of your stay is magical and you have a great time in the parks

 

[Kimpossible1]

We moved to the comfort inn and suites on katella and it is so nice! It’s cheaper too at $125 base price a night, and parking is free. It’s very convenient to the toy story parking lot, and it’s not a bad bus ride to the park. The previous Disneyland visit we stayed at the Best Western park place inn and suites and thought that was a nice room, but this trip was it was pricing out at $220 a night before parking and taxes. I’m happy with where we ended up and will stay here again.

 

[audrabolster]

what a bummer. This is usually one of our top three choices to stay, can't beat the location.