Anaheim Plaza - Opinions, please....

[DisneySuiteFreak]

Trust me, having stayed at Desert inn and AP, aside from the distance to the park, DI being across the street, there is almost no difference in the quality of the rooms, and AP's pool is much nicer

Ditto...

Parking is a huge pain at Desert Inn and it can be noisy. AP parking is plentiful and they let you stay parked through midnight on the day you check out. So if you want to check out and spend the day at the parks you don't have to move. At DI once you check out you have to move your car. They let me stay parked until 2pm once which was nice

Ditto again! I agree with everything you wrote. I also would add that the chlorine smell at the DI&S indoor pool is horribly overwhelming especially for people who have asthma or any breathing problems. Also, although it was years ago, our room at DI&S had filthy carpets and was really cramped for 5 of us even though it was a suite set up. Their continental breakfast was a joke and customer service sorely lacking. They ran out of parking stalls once during our stay even though it's supposed to be 1 car per room, and simply didn't care! After much begging, negotiating, pleading, etc, they finally made my DH park at their other motel The Desert Palms -- and walk back at 3am by himself! I wonder if I were by myself if they would have made me walk back at that time of night by myself?! What if it were just me and my kid? I think there is a reason why they are no longer a Good Neighbor hotel. (They used to be...)

AP's room were very large, had a large counter area to get ready at that was outside the shower area (which is great for groups of people to get ready at the same time). Now the AP is no Trump Plaza, but for the price, location and amenities, (heated Olympic sized Pool and clean hot tub!) it's pretty good. At the time they also had a laundry room w/ washers and dryers, and an arcade. We too had inconsistent hot water issues once during our stay, but I wonder if it's just one of those things with a older buildings and everyone trying to get ready at the same time. I don't know...All I know is for a then young family of 5 with limited funds, it was a decent place to stay at for the price that enabled us to take our kid, MIL and sister to DL. Good luck to the OP! I hope you enjoy it and have a great time!

BJDelta, we ate at the buffet at AP, mind you it was in the late 90's when we stayed there. At the time it was fine and there was no long wait because it seemed like only people who stayed in the hotel knew of it, unlike the other nearby restaurants that tended to have long lines.

 

[SeattleTink]

Good luck to the OP! I hope you enjoy it and have a great time!

Thank you DSF! I am getting excited about our upcoming trip. We haven't been to the DLR in about a year and it seems like FOREVER!

Good news too...I checked on current pricing at the AP during our stay and the price actually went down! We were paying $271 for 4 nights, now it is only $240! I know it is only $30, but hey that is a breakfast at Mimi's! Sweet!

 

[rossip]

A question about the pool at the AP , can anyone tell me if its 25 yards or 25 metres .

Thanks

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

Thank you DSF! I am getting excited about our upcoming trip. We haven't been to the DLR in about a year and it seems like FOREVER!

Good news too...I checked on current pricing at the AP during our stay and the price actually went down! We were paying $271 for 4 nights, now it is only $240! I know it is only $30, but hey that is a breakfast at Mimi's! Sweet!

Even better!

 

[Leofoenget]

A question about the pool at the AP , can anyone tell me if its 25 yards or 25 metres .

Thanks

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic-size_swimming_pool

for what it's worth

 

[rossip]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic-size_swimming_pool

for what it's worth

Sorry Janette I'm a bit confused by your answer


It's definitely not an Olympic pool - they are 50 metres in length

Maybe I should have given a bit more detail.

My kids are national class swimmers and we want to find a pool suitable for training whilst in Anaheim . Just so you are aware they will be swimming around 4-5 kilometres each morning so obviously we need a suitable pool .

So does anyone know if its 25 metres or 25 yards ?

The AP seems to be one of the few pools in the area without having to travel

I have emailed the hotel but no response as yet

 

[La2kw]

Since you're on a budget, have you tried priceline? I just got the Anaheim Hilton for $45 a night and that's a much nicer hotel than the Anaheim Plaza. Of course, I do have to pay parking, but that's only $14 more, which brings it to the same price as your rate. I priceline all the time and get great deals near Disneyland. I usually pay from $38-48/night for a three star hotel such as the Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt, or Marriott Suites.

 

[SeattleTink]

Since you're on a budget, have you tried priceline? I just got the Anaheim Hilton for $45 a night and that's a much nicer hotel than the Anaheim Plaza. Of course, I do have to pay parking, but that's only $14 more, which brings it to the same price as your rate. I priceline all the time and get great deals near Disneyland. I usually pay from $38-48/night for a three star hotel such as the Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt, or Marriott Suites.

I appreciate the advice.

Do you walk to the parks? Being close is very important to us, and that is why we have always stayed on Harbor Blvd. We are paying $240 total for all 4 nights right now (tax and all). We won't have a car this trip so we don't need to worry about parking.

It is a must for us to be able to walk 10 minutes or less into the parks. We have done the ART thing before, and it is not for us. And driving, well....not an option.

I always have assumed that the Priceline hotels are too far away...am I wrong? I have used Priceline many times for car rentals, but never hotels.

Love to hear your opinions.

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

Sorry Janette I'm a bit confused by your answer


It's definitely not an Olympic pool - they are 50 metres in length

Maybe I should have given a bit more detail.

My kids are national class swimmers and we want to find a pool suitable for training whilst in Anaheim . Just so you are aware they will be swimming around 4-5 kilometres each morning so obviously we need a suitable pool .

So does anyone know if its 25 metres or 25 yards ?

The AP seems to be one of the few pools in the area without having to travel

I have emailed the hotel but no response as yet

Hi Rossip, I don't know for sure if their pool is technically an Olympic sized pool, all I know is in their literature they had when we stayed there and for many years afterward in AAA books, etc, they advertised it as an Olympic sized pool. It is the largest pool I've ever seen in Anaheim (although I haven't stayed everywhere so perhaps there is a place with alarger pool?). For a place that is basically a motel complex, I thought it was impressive. When we stayed there, they did have lanes painted in the pool for lap swimmers, but to be honest with the kids and various age groups in there, there weren't many lap swimmers. HTH.

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

I always have assumed that the Priceline hotels are too far away...am I wrong? I have used Priceline many times for car rentals, but never hotels.

Love to hear your opinions.

The Priceline 3.5 or 4 star hotels would be too far away to walk. Those are the only ones I would risk bidding on, or you could get stuck in a place like the Roach motel. Seriously, if I'm not mistaken, Hojos is rated 2 stars (or it used to be, PL just adjusted their ratings recently) and it's a pretty good place to stay at. Other 2 star motels/hotels in the area may be horrible to stay at. I'd never risk bidding 2 star in Anaheim.
You can check out this thread for more info from the Priceline pros at Micechat. I'm like you. Although we always have a car, my DH usually takes it to go off on business. I don't like ART, especially since they charge for it. But also because I love to linger at the end of the night and be one of the last ones to leave the park after shopping and lots of photos. I don't want to risk missing a shuttle and having to walk back that far away to my hotel. Otherwise, I would totally try Priceline. I've looked into it many times, but my DH always talks me out of it. He'd rather pay more to stay close so he doesn't have to worry about our transportation issues.

 

[La2kw]

I appreciate the advice.

Do you walk to the parks? Being close is very important to us, and that is why we have always stayed on Harbor Blvd. We are paying $240 total for all 4 nights right now (tax and all). We won't have a car this trip so we don't need to worry about parking.

It is a must for us to be able to walk 10 minutes or less into the parks. We have done the ART thing before, and it is not for us. And driving, well....not an option.

I always have assumed that the Priceline hotels are too far away...am I wrong? I have used Priceline many times for car rentals, but never hotels.

Love to hear your opinions.

Our last hotel was the Hilton at the Convention center across Katella from the parks. We walked the entire time. When they are using the Convention center parking lots for Disneyland parking, there is even a tram that picks you up and drops you off across the street. Priceline has a new category that is the Anaheim area, (as opposed to Garden Grove) which includes the convention center hotels. Of course, with Priceline, there is no guarantee of which hotel you would get, so you may not be within a short walk. To us, it's worth it to have a nicer hotel, even if I do have to drive or take ART. We have stayed at most of the 60's era motels surrounding Disneyland over the past years, so we know the area very well.

 

[DizDragonfly]

So does anyone know if its 25 metres or 25 yards ?

I used http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/ and zoomed in on the Anaheim Plaza's pool. Drawing the "route" from one end of the pool to the other I got 0.014 mile. So, I would suppose that the pool is really 25 yards.

We stayed there back in 2007 with our dogs. We were really pleased with how large the room was. It felt, at least, twice as big as the room we had at Pop Century at WDW. Oh and the kids thought the pool was great.