Anaheim Plaza or BW Stovall's???

[Gabbro808]

Okay so here's the deal. We have been going back and forth on whether to stay on-site or and a cheaper hotel. Well we decided to save some money and stay off-site this time. So we narrowed it down to these two. We choose Stovalls because we stayed there last year and it was an easy walk to the park, we like that there is free c.breakfast, and that it has been renovated. And Anaheim Plaza because of the reviews on DIS.

Is AP closer or are they about the same?
If you had to choose which one would you stay at?
If you have stayed at both which one do you prefer?
How is the breakfast at AP?
How much is the parking at AP?

I will be booking our room very soon so any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks for the help

 

[darph nader]

We haven't stayed at either site,but I'm pretty sure that AP is closer.

 

[spacemermaid]

I've stayed at both many times!

Anaheim Plaza is definitely closer, but you can take the ART bus to the Park from Stovall's, as it picks up/drops off right in front of the hotel. You can also walk down Disneyland Drive and take a shortcut through the Grand Californian lobby, if you want to be sure to be to the Park at opening time. It's about a 10 minute walk to the Park from Anaheim Plaza; it's about a 15 minute walk from Stovall's.

Though I've enjoyed my stays at both hotels, I'd choose Stovall's, as it's been recently renovated. Here's a picture of a room I stayed in last summer at Anaheim Plaza:

As you can see, the decor is a little outdated. However, the room was much larger than an average motel room, had a fridge and a microwave, and a balcony big enough for 2-3 people to sit out on.

Here's a picture of the room at Stovall's I stayed in last summer:

The room was average sized, but was newly refurbished. The beds were SOOOO comfortable, and there was also a fridge and a microwave in-room.

Stovall's also has topiary tree animals throughout the grounds:

The pool at the Anaheim Plaza is huge, but the pool area at Stovall's is more inviting, IMO. There are 2 hot tubs, and 2 swimming pools, one heated & one not. There's a cool round poolhouse at Stovall's, too:

The free breakfast at Stovall's wasn't anything fancy, but it was fresh & constantly restocked. There were apples, bananas, a few different kinds of dry cereals, biscuits & gravy (which were actually really good!), donuts, Danish pastries, and hardboiled eggs. The breakfast buffet at the Anaheim Plaza (not included; it was $9.99 for AYCE last time I was there) was typical Denny's/Coco's breakfast fare, but it's a great bargain as one would be lucky to get out of either of those restaurants for $9.99! The buffet had bacon, French toast, sausage, fruit, oatmeal, yogurt, scrambled eggs, croissants, pancakes, and a quite a few other breakfast foods. Again, it was nothing fancy, but it was fresh, plentiful, and affordable.

I'm not sure how much parking at the AP is, as I've never needed to park a car there. I think it was around $5 a day. Parking at Stovall's is free.

Though I've enjoyed my stays at both hotels, I'd choose Stovall's, even though it's further away and more expensive...to me, it's worth the extra $ for the updated rooms & comfy beds.

 

[LuLusApple]

We have stayed at Stovals too but not AP. The walk for us was a bit daunting, I would use ART. I didn't care for all the cut thru DTD cut thru GCH lobby and the walk down Disneyland drive. Toooo long for me. But as PP said the ART drops off in front and cuts the time to get to the park atleast in half.
The rooms were nicely decorated. Granite sink counter tops, big bathrooms all nicely redone. With all the nicely redone ammenities certain little things reminded me it was a 1.5/2 star property. I remember the trim around the door was a little beat up, like it had recently had repairs in a section by the deadbolt. The air conditioner was OLD and kinda crusty, I couldn't get it to turn off, so I unplugged it. The bathroom window was tiny about 12" across and had no screen on it. The interior doors were pretty beat.
It wasn't gross at all, just a motel with exterior corridors that is trying to look better IMO.
Oh the staff was great, friendly really good maid service.
We also got a great price thru hotelsdotcom. We paid in advance and can't remember exact numbers but it was less than 70$ a night.

Having stayed there, I would jump at anything on Harbor that's closer for that price. I like to try new properties!

 

[Gabbro808]

Thanks for the great advise.

If anyone else has any info I would love to hear it.

SM: since you stayed at both, is the room significantly bigger at the AP then at Stovalls? There will be four of us(2adults/2kids) in one room and last year the room at stovall felt a little cramped. The new beds at Stovalls look so inviting and comfy. How are the beds at AP, they look realy out dated? I think these two things will be our deciding factors as where to stay.

Thanks again for any help.

 

[Lesleyluvsdisney]

we just arrived back from the AP this morning. We thought the location was great, didnt see the other one so cant give my opinion.

I was a bit worried re the decor etc, as always stay on site in WDW. It is very basic, but rooms were cleaned everyday, fresh towels. The beds were also REALLY comfy, I'd heard reports of bad beds, but ours were great. I also read they charge for parking, we werent, you just got a card to display in your window.

Hope you have a great time...soooo jealous!

x

 

[spacemermaid]

Thanks for the great advise.

If anyone else has any info I would love to hear it.

SM: since you stayed at both, is the room significantly bigger at the AP then at Stovalls? There will be four of us(2adults/2kids) in one room and last year the room at stovall felt a little cramped. The new beds at Stovalls look so inviting and comfy. How are the beds at AP, they look realy out dated? I think these two things will be our deciding factors as where to stay.

Thanks again for any help.

The rooms I've stayed in at Anaheim Plaza were significantly bigger than the rooms at Stovall's, and they felt even more "open" due to the extra bit of space on the balcony / in the "yard".

The beds at Stovall's *are* super-comfy!!! The beds at Anaheim Plaza can vary...the bed in the room I stayed in last December was comfortable; the bed in the room I stayed in last summer felt...like it'd been there since the hotel opened, and was stuffed with rocks. So I'm guessing that some rooms have been upgraded and some haven't.