Can't decide on good neighbor hotel

[Kauinohea]

My family will be visiting Disneyland this summer with a 9 year old, 7year old and 1 year old. We are contemplating staying at the Anaheim Desert Inn, Carousel Inn or Park Vue. All 3 seem to have mixed reviews. Does anyone have any current reviews on these hotels? I don't want to end up in a "dirty" hotel, but want to ensure that we are as close as possible to the Disney entrance (with the little kids).

 

[Disneyland Veteran]

I've stayed at the Anaheim Plaza Inn before. It's right across the street and some of the floor level rooms have patios with a nice nighttime view of DCA. It was cheap when I stayed but idk how it would be now. Have fun, good luck.

 

[kkmcan]

We've stayed at the Park Vue Inn and it was fine. Just your basic motel but not dirty or old. We would stay there again first over Carousel and we will definitely not be staying at the Del Sol. That place was beyond old and run down. The beds were so low they were practically on the floor and the mattresses were terrible.

The Carousel was just kind of so-so. Park Vue Inn is a step up in my opinion. And Hojo is way above them all on Harbor. Nice rooms with inner corridors. But just a bit longer walk.

 

[michelle1]

I know HoJo wasn't one of your options but for your kids ages their pool area is great and the rooms are very large.

 

[cruise cruise cruise]

Have you checked tripadvisor for reviews?
I have not stayed at any of them, but I know Desert Inn has an indoor pool wich I have read reports of it getting pretty stuffy in the summer. The pool is a big factor for my family, but not necisarilly for your family.

 

[Leofoenget]

My family will be visiting Disneyland this summer with a 9 year old, 7year old and 1 year old. We are contemplating staying at the Anaheim Desert Inn, Carousel Inn or Park Vue. All 3 seem to have mixed reviews. Does anyone have any current reviews on these hotels? I don't want to end up in a "dirty" hotel, but want to ensure that we are as close as possible to the Disney entrance (with the little kids).

I have stayed at Desert Inn many times. I think one of the above posts referred to Patio rooms with a view of DCA. I think she may have been thinking of Anaheim Plaza, which is a hotel down the street. (i have also stayed there) Both are nice, Desert Inn is directly across the street and has an indoor pool and limited breakfast. Anaheim Plaza has no free breakfast but has a HUGE pool and is sometimes cheaper. All are good basic hotels, but Desert Inn has LARGE family suite rooms.

 

[kiwitravel]

We really enjoyed the Carousel but it has had some mixed reviews of late, however we would certainly stay again. Park Vue has even more mixed reviews seems like a place you love or hate. Desert Inn has an indoor pool that was very stuffy in the summer, I have kids who love swimming and wouldn't stay there because of it, however it has a lot of fans if this isn't your thing.

 

[dmked]

I know HoJo wasn't one of your options but for your kids ages their pool area is great and the rooms are very large.

I would vote for Hojo too!

 

[mystic_path]

DO NOT DO CAROUSEL!!!! Good grief! I know others have had much better stays then me, but that hotel gave the worst service. My mom and I had my things stolen out of the room, unhelpful grumpy staff, etc. I was even told by a house maid that I was inconveniencing her from doing her job. I would never recommend this hotel to anyone. Not even my worst enemy.

I highly recommend the Howard Johnson, or even the Tropicana. Excellent service, and the Hojo has a fabulous pool.

 

[Kauinohea]

Thank you so much for your responses!

About how long is the walk from Hojo? I am wondering if my 7year old will be able to handle the walk.

 

[MommyWithDreams]

7-10 minute walk tops! It's worth the walk. Others will be able to give you the exact steps but a 7 year old would be able to do it with no problem.

 

[Kauinohea]

Oh thats notbad - she could handle a 10 minute walk
Looks like you have stayed at anaheim desert inn & Park vue - how would you rate those hotels?

 

[Leofoenget]

Thank you so much for your responses!

About how long is the walk from Hojo? I am wondering if my 7year old will be able to handle the walk.

I used google pedometor and it's 2 tenths of a mile from Manchester to the cross walk. 3 tenths to the gate.

 

[ballarinamom]

We stayed at the Desert Inn in November we had the Family Suite which is actually two adjacent rooms. They were the only hotel to garaunty us adjoining rooms which we needed. The rooms were clean and plenty big for us. Nothing fancy which was fine with us. The price was great and the location was perfect. I saw were HOJO was and the Entertainment rate was available for most of our stay. But my DH and DD would have hated the walk. DH does rope drop to close every day so he is exhausted when he's walking back. I know alot of people say their kids don;t mind the walk but mine would. PLus we shop alot and have alot of bags to carry.

I think the biggest question is how long are you planning on being at the hotel? Will you be doing any swimming? We've stayed at the DLH three times and have yet to step foot in their pool. We live in South Texas so we can swim anyday. (Even in winter as our neighbor has a heated pool and it was in the high 70's last week!) They may help make up your mind

 

[lntsmom]

Here's another vote for HoJo's! They're kind of like family here....

After just walking past the other hotels on our last trip I was SO glad I'd listened to the Dis'ers and booked at HoJo's.

I've stayed at hotels that didn't qualify for "flop house" ratings...and really didn't want my vacation ruined by ending up in one of them in Anaheim.

HoJo's was wonderful! I can't say enough good things about them...but I will say that their staff is as close as I've ever seen to embodying the Disney values outside of Disney hotels themselves!

Give HoJo's a look before you decide on somewhere else!

 

[lntsmom]

Oh thats notbad - she could handle a 10 minute walk
Looks like you have stayed at anaheim desert inn & Park vue - how would you rate those hotels?

Don't forget, you can get ART passes for next to nothing. I wouldn't suggest riding the ART in the morning unless your family has the patience of Job, but if walking back after the park closes is an issue, get the ART pass and you won't have to stress!

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

I saw were HOJO was and the Entertainment rate was available for most of our stay. But my DH and DD would have hated the walk. DH does rope drop to close every day so he is exhausted when he's walking back. I know alot of people say their kids don;t mind the walk but mine would. PLus we shop alot and have alot of bags to carry.

I agree with you. We always stay at Hojo but for some people, the walk can be long. Heck, we always jay walk and cut through the Mimi's parking lot to save time and steps at the beginning of every day - but mostly at the end of the day. If the OP is one who does the park commando style, the walk can be long at the end of the day, especially for a young one. On the other hand, the rooms in Bld 1 are spotlessly clean, clean clean - and that's important when you have kids, especially a 1 year old crawling around on the carpet. (ETA: I haven't stayed in other Buildings at Hojo so can't comment on the rest, but I've heard good things about most them.)
When I last stayed at Desert Inn and Suites (several years ago) my white socks turned black from the dirty carpeting. Yuck! I stayed at Anaheim Plaza way back in '97 and I would say the conditions were the same, but we paid considerably less for the room, enjoyed the Olympic sized pool and jacuzzi that were both outdoors. And back then it literally was across from DL parking lot. It's about the same distance from AP to the crosswalk as it is from Hojo to the crosswalk.
I would book at Hojos w/ a 1 year old. (Just because it's clean and I wouldn't want my child playing around on a dirty floor/carpet. Oh yeah and it has a good pool.) You could always book directly through Hojos (call directly, not 800 #), book a back-up hotel just in case and keep checking the Hojo website for the price to drop. look at their website to see if the Entertainment rates are offered -- hojoanaheim.com . I've done that many times, but especially this last Holiday season. Some of my days were full rack rate and by a couple weeks before the date, the website showed the Entertainment rate. So I scored Ent rate every day of my trip. Just remember to cancel either ressie before the 72-48 hour period or they charge you for the first night. Hojos has a really great staff and good customer service. They also have a little store that you can buy snacks or meds in at the last minute (in case someone unexpectedly gets sick, etc.) Good luck in whatever you decide!

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

Don't forget, you can get ART passes for next to nothing. I wouldn't suggest riding the ART in the morning unless your family has the patience of Job, but if walking back after the park closes is an issue, get the ART pass and you won't have to stress!

That's right! We never do lately, but have done it in the past. Plus, I think kids under 9 are free or used to be free. Looking at the links below, it appears that kids under 3 are free and 3-9 are $1 a day - which is almost free and great for convenience.

http://www.rideart.org/index.php?loc=6

http://www.octa.net/pdf/pdf/dec08/anaheim.pdf

http://www.anaheimoc.org/Articles/Archive/Webpage10399.asp