Better choice than Ramada for same price/location?

[SFMommy]

We are going to be at the DLR for 4 nights, Sept 19-Sept 23. We are going with my BIL and his 2 sons from Australia. Money is tight for them, so I am trying to book the best yet least expensive hotel room.

I will only stay at a hotel within walking distance. I have booked the Ramada Inn for $99/night per room. The reservation is for 2 Queen Deluxe Rooms. It includes breakfast, free wi-fi, parking and also has a good kids pool play area. But I don't know much about the quality of the actual rooms, like cleanliness.

Does anyone have a suggestion for a better hotel that is the same price (or less) and that is still within walking distance? I've checked most of the others on Harbor, but they are either more expensive, don't have availability or don't seem as nice as the Ramada.

Thanks!

 

[sonnyjane]

I've stayed at Ramada Inn Maingate and would stay there again. It's not luxurious, but as you have found from research, the price is right and it's in a great location.

 

[blackjackdelta]

I have heard they are still in the middle of renovations, sorry never have stayed there. Good luck and have fun.

Jack

 

[karrit2000]

I have heard they are still in the middle of renovations, sorry never have stayed there. Good luck and have fun.

Jack

That place has been "in the Middle of Renovations" for at least the past 8 years. My stay there was one I would prefer to forget. Friends of mine had one of the "renovated" rooms which was way better than mine. I guess you get what you pay for. IMO the only thing this place has going for it is it's easy walking distance proximity to the entrance gates of the parks.

It looks to me like the Best Western Stovall's Inn might work for you. For a 2 queen bed room it is $103 per night without any discounts. AAA discount rate is $92.70 per night and the Internet rate that requires you to pay when booking is $97.85 per night. This hotel is located on the corner of Katella & Disneyland Drive. You can walk up Disneyland drive to the Grand Californian Hotel and then got through the hotel toward DTD to get into the parks. BW Pavilions is a little further down Katella but still in walking distance and a little cheaper.
I was suppose to be staying at Stovalls in August but my friend & I decided to splurge on the Disneyland Hotel since we got a good discounted rate through an event we are attending.

 

[DisneytheKid]

That place has been "in the Middle of Renovations" for at least the past 8 years. My stay there was one I would prefer to forget. Friends of mine had one of the "renovated" rooms which was way better than mine. I guess you get what you pay for. IMO the only thing this place has going for it is it's easy walking distance proximity to the entrance gates of the parks.

Huh, I'm sorry to hear that

 

[NorthernCalMom]

We went there yearly from 2008 through 2011. I felt that the service and cleanliness of the rooms went progressively worse. We used to stay in the tower that, upon stepping outside, would give us a decent view at the fireworks. No more. The last time we reserved, we got contradictory information on the phone versus at check-in. They told us that the "renovated" rooms were now "deluxe" rooms and more expensive, so I got the impression they got greedy. The last room we stayed in was pretty dingy. That said, the location is great, the breakfast convenient, the kids loved the pool, and it's probably still a great value. Also, there are some low-cost dining options (Denny's, IHOP) in walking distance. Besides, we are hardcore, stay-in-the-parks-all-day-and-then-collapse-in-our-beds people, so the slowly decreasing quality didn't bug us for a while.

We won't be back, though, but will pay the higher price at DLH this time around (my husband is going to a small yearly convention there, and this way he doesn't have to cross security each morning).

If you happen to drive there, make sure to keep your gas receipts to take advantage of this promotion:
http://www.ramadamaingate.com/specials/

 

[lb2000]

We just stayed there last weekend. We usually stay at the Hojo or on property if we can get a decent rate. We were only there one night. The main plus is the short walk. Is that worthwhile? I guess it depends on how much a nice, spacious room is worth to you. I definitely preferred the Hojo. We were supposed to have a "Deluxe" room, but I don't know what was deluxe about it. It was tiny, and it was only me and 2 ten year old girls. I usually go with my family of 5, and that would be unacceptable. It was SUPER noisy at night. The refrigerator made a clicking noise and the air conditioning was very loud and clicky. It was clean, but very dark.

The pool is nice, the breakfast is basic, but helpful if you want to eat something before heading to the parks and the walk really is great. Even though she complained the whole night about how loud it was, when I asked if she'd rather stay at the Hojo, my daughter said no, because of that super short walk.

I have not stayed at any of the other less expensive motels on Harbor, but a friend stayed at the Tropicana, and it looked about the same as the Ramada.

 

[michelle1]

I am booked to stay at the Ramada the week after you and was wondering the same thing. It seems like good value because of the free breakfast, parking and internet, however, I don't see it metioned much on these boards. Most of the reviews on Tripadvisor were good ones so I will probably stick with my reservation. I have stayed at Hojo which was a further walk then I wanted, and also BW Park Place which was nice, but I hated going next door for breakfast (which was terrible anyway).

 

[NorthernCalMom]

Also, we did have problems last year finding parking on the lot on some evenings! The difference between cars parked early in the day and late in the afternoon was rather striking. I wonder if they failed to reinforce their guests only parking policies at the time. They did not use parking passes or anything like that, so it was kind of an honor system, and apparently that wasn't working too well. Since it was last year, it's of course possible that this is something they fixed since.

 

[figment_jii]

I've stayed at the Ramada, Fairfield, and Best Western Park Place and they were all pretty similar in price (room per night). The Ramada had free parking which was nice and a breakfast. In terms of room quality, I like the Fairfield the best, but it didn't include breakfast and you had to pay for parking. The Best Western was the next best (IMHO), with breakfast, but you had to pay for parking. I like the location of the Best Western (closest).

The Ramada was fine, but we were in one of their "renovated rooms" and it still felt old and worn. Perhaps it was the dark colors, but it didn't seem very new.