Courtyard Anaheim Theme Park vs. Anaheim Marriott vs. Anaheim Fairfield

Miggee

Mouseketeer
Joined
Sep 15, 2016
Hi All,

I'm looking into a possible Oct trip for my girls (7/5), my parents will also be coming with. I will most likely be booking with my Marriott points, looking at the 3 listed above and trying to figure out which works out the best.

Courtyard Anaheim Theme Park Entrance - I like the room set up with 2 queen beds and bunk bed, also like the water splash pads, but they don's serve breakfast and it's a bit of a walk

Anaheim Fairfield - I read reviews saying that this is more like a motel? do you know if they serve breakfast?

Anaheim Marriott - I've stayed here before for a work trip, I like that it has breakfast (i'm elite member so that is free of charge to me and my family), but am concerned about the distance, I know I can take ART, but last time on the way back, we waited over an hour before being picked up at Disney (our driver was on a break).

so my question is, which have you stayed at, what was your experience, would you stay there again?

and if you stayed at more than one, which do you prefer?

Thanks so much everyone!
 
I've stayed at the Courtyard Theme Park Entrance and the Fairfield Inn. The Courtyard is a hotel with all of the amenities (and costs) that go with it. The rooms were really nice and the pool area was a lot of fun. The walk wasn't too bad (not much difference from the Fairfield). It did not include breakfast and valet parking was the only parking option.

The Fairfield Inn was okay, but it is a motel. The room was fine (the towels were very thin), but nothing special. It did not include breakfast and parking was somewhat limited.
 
Stayed at Courtyard and Fairfield. If $is no object go with the Courtyard. Very nice hotel. You feel the vacation vibe here.

I usually stay at the Fairfield when I take my kids by myself and am doing a budget trip. Rooms are recently remodeled and are nice. Staff is great here too. Noise can be an issue. The walls are thin. If you're sensitive to noise I'd look elsewhere.

If you go with the Martiott and the walk is too far you could always Uber.
 
I have stayed at Fairfield and COUrtyard. Courtyard is my preferred because of the room set up and amenities. The walk to room is really almost the same between the two places mentally, regardless of the official distance. Fairfield seems so much closer but that long walk down the steamy hot driveway will convince you otherwise. I hated Fairfield. It was super loud in the rooms. It is not "more like a motel" it is a motel. Granted the rooms look and smell nicer than most "motels" Window airconditioners, outdoor hallways, pool in the parking lot. . . motel. They also charged for parking. And the fold out chair will only hold one kid if they promise not to roll over. I certainly won't stay there again. I think the Anaheim Marriot is further than walking distance for that age of kids, but I could be wrong. And you can't really taxi or uber without a carseat for both girls under CA law. If you have the points for Courtyard Themepark, that is a no brainer.
 


Stayed at Courtyard and Fairfield. If $is no object go with the Courtyard. Very nice hotel. You feel the vacation vibe here.

I usually stay at the Fairfield when I take my kids by myself and am doing a budget trip. Rooms are recently remodeled and are nice. Staff is great here too. Noise can be an issue. The walls are thin. If you're sensitive to noise I'd look elsewhere.

If you go with the Martiott and the walk is too far you could always Uber.

i will be using points so just cost will be very low, I will have little ones with me, so prob cant use Uber. sounds like both posters would pick courtyard over fairfield.. thank you all for the great feedback.
 
The little ones will LOVE the Courtyard. We had a great relaxing vacation there. I think it's the nicest closest off-site hotels for families.
 
The little ones will LOVE the Courtyard. We had a great relaxing vacation there. I think it's the nicest closest off-site hotels for families.

so happy to hear that! we normally stay at the disney grand californian, but I wanted to try and use my points for an extra trip, this looks to be a great option! thanks again!
 


I second pretty much what was stated by previous posters. I'm a longtime Marriott member and generally only stay at Marriott hotels. Unlike other Fairfield inns, they do not provide complimentary breakfast, but it was no problem because McDs and Panera are right there. The Fairfield Inn rooms are basic with outdoor entrances and yes noise can be an issue. The Courtyard is very nice and the kids will love the water park. So it really comes down to how much value you see paying more for a better experience at the Courtyard. For quick trips we choose the Fairfield inn because we don't spend much time in the hotel. For longer stays, we choose the Courtyard and plan half day breaks for the water park.
 
I know it is not on your list, but we just came back from the Marriott Residence Inn Convention Centre. Bunkbeds, breakfast nice pool and a kitchen. Less points than the Courtyard but a bit of a walk.
 
From a Marriott Platinum member...I have stayed at both the Courtyard and Fairfield Inn. Technically they are both "motels", The Anaheim Marriott is the only full service property of the three...Buuuuut, the Courtyard is as close as you can come to a full service property with everything they have on site,

Neither have free breakfast but the Courtyard has the Bistro that serves food in the AM and PM. I will take good grub available for purchase all day long vs the crap most places offer for free for breakfast.

That Courtyard is one of the nicest mid line properties I have stayed at...and having had racked up millions of points with Marriott I have stayed at a lot. The Fairfield is pretty frumpy and out dated. Not dirty or dingy, just predictably mediocre and on the lower end of quality in the Fairfield line IMO

Both the Courtyard and Fairfield are right there at the gate. The walk is really minimal. The Marriott is a hike relative to the other two options.

That Courtyard is hands down my favorite place to stay if not on site.
 
I know it is not on your list, but we just came back from the Marriott Residence Inn Convention Centre. Bunkbeds, breakfast nice pool and a kitchen. Less points than the Courtyard but a bit of a walk.
Can you take the ART?
 
From a Marriott Platinum member...I have stayed at both the Courtyard and Fairfield Inn. Technically they are both "motels", The Anaheim Marriott is the only full service property of the three...Buuuuut, the Courtyard is as close as you can come to a full service property with everything they have on site,

Neither have free breakfast but the Courtyard has the Bistro that serves food in the AM and PM. I will take good grub available for purchase all day long vs the crap most places offer for free for breakfast.

That Courtyard is one of the nicest mid line properties I have stayed at...and having had racked up millions of points with Marriott I have stayed at a lot. The Fairfield is pretty frumpy and out dated. Not dirty or dingy, just predictably mediocre and on the lower end of quality in the Fairfield line IMO

Both the Courtyard and Fairfield are right there at the gate. The walk is really minimal. The Marriott is a hike relative to the other two options.

That Courtyard is hands down my favorite place to stay if not on site.

Thank you for the info! I'm only gold and working my way up platinum! From what everyone said, sounds like courtyard would be choice #1
 
From a Marriott Platinum member...I have stayed at both the Courtyard and Fairfield Inn. Technically they are both "motels", The Anaheim Marriott is the only full service property of the three...Buuuuut, the Courtyard is as close as you can come to a full service property with everything they have on site,

Neither have free breakfast but the Courtyard has the Bistro that serves food in the AM and PM. I will take good grub available for purchase all day long vs the crap most places offer for free for breakfast.

That Courtyard is one of the nicest mid line properties I have stayed at...and having had racked up millions of points with Marriott I have stayed at a lot. The Fairfield is pretty frumpy and out dated. Not dirty or dingy, just predictably mediocre and on the lower end of quality in the Fairfield line IMO

Both the Courtyard and Fairfield are right there at the gate. The walk is really minimal. The Marriott is a hike relative to the other two options.

That Courtyard is hands down my favorite place to stay if not on site.

Reviving an old thread ... do people still feel the same way? We are going to waitlist the Grand Californian, but book with points at the Courtyard (50,000/nt) or the Fairfield (35,000).

@Miggee, how was your trip? Did you end up staying at the Courtyard? I am just wondering if our kids will use the splash area, or if we'd mainly be at the parks.
 
Have you checked the residence inn convention hotel? They had some really cute family suites I saw on their website.
 
Have you checked the residence inn convention hotel?

Both RI and Springhill Suites are nice new properties...but closer to a 15 min walk a a good pace to the gates.

Still same for me...if you want more of a resort feel and the bed configuration is a benefit, Courtyard is the way to go IMO. If you just need a clean bed and shower, FFI is perfectly fine. Just booked my next trip at FFI to save the points as I just need a close pad to crash at night for that trip.
 
I love the Courtyard, it’s the only place we stay. Plus it has TWO showers which is a huge bonus for our family of 6.
 
We are marriott investors and usually stay wherever the associate rate pops up. FFI was redone, but is still a basic room. No breakfast. RI convention center is awesome - new within a couple years, free full breakfast, suites. We like the full kitchen to be able to get grocery delivery and get snacks for the kids to bring. About a 12 minute walk with little kids/stroller. Courtyard is probably my favorite because every room has bunk beds, so with a family of 6 (kids 8, 5, 3, 1) everyone can have their own bed and no one is in a sleeping bag on the floor. Obviously super close. No breakfast, but panera and McDs are in the parking lot. RI and CY are equally good, just depends on your room needs.

Re: waterpark - In October the splash park was pretty cold, but my kids liked it anyway. We are rope drop to bedtime kind of park people, so we really only used it the day we got there and the day we left.
 

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