desert inn and suites

[popcorn]

Please help me decide. We already have a room booked at Park Place Inn with two double beds for 89. night. I was offered the same rate at Desert Inn and Suites for a parlor suite with 2 queen beds, a micro and fridge. We will have 2 young children and an infant, so location is very important. How much farther is it to the Pedestrian Crosswalk? Is it clean? Has anyone had any problems there with the staff, housekeeping or anything? What would you choose? Thanks so much! BTW we are going next week!!!

 

[LuvTigger]

Although I haven't stayed there myself, I think considering you have 3 children, Desert Inn might be the place for you. I have stayed at BW PPI, and I liked it, but it was just me and my boyfriend. My friend, who also has 3 children, but older in age, raves about Desert Inn because it's a great rate, with micro and fridge and room for all of them, and it's a convenient location. My friend says it's right across the street, and not far from the crosswalk, but someone else here on the boards should probably answer that question. The only semi-complaint my friend had about her room was that the carpets could have been cleaner.

 

[Sonya in Boise]

I would also go with the Desert Inn. I haven't stayed there yet (Oct is our trip), but according to my map there is just 1 hotel between the 2 you are considering. We chose the parlor suite due to the fact of the seperate living/bedrooms. I wanted some place someone could watch tv, read, eat while the babies were sleeping. Plus it has the fridge, micro, cont. breakfast ( I have heard there is cereal, milk, juice, muffins), and walking distance. Did you see their web site? I can't get the link to work but it should be anaheimdesertinn.com They show the room layout on the web site. Good luck with your decision.

 

[Bob O]

We are also considering staying here for our Dec. trip. How nice is the place??? How is the indoor pool???? How far away is it from disneyland and what kind of Rest./Stores are nearby??? Any info would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[Rita1965]

Of the hotels on Harbor, Desert Inn & Suites is the closest to the crosswalk. You would have to stay in the Grand Californian to get any closer. We stayed at the Desert Inn and Suites, and had no complaints. The indoor pool is ok. I personally choose the Candy Cane, but I have to walk further away. If you want to be as close as possible to the park, Desert Inn is the winner. In addition you can park in their underground garage for free, so your car stays nice and cool.

 

[Bob O]

How shallow is the pool???? Does it have steps for a non-swimming 5yr old to play by??? Any grocery stores nearby???? How will the rooms be for a family of 5 that includes 2 adults a 16yr old boy and 2 girls 10 and 5??? Thanks for your help!!! Im always curious when going to a hotel for the first time and its not part of a chain hotel!!!

 

[Rita1965]

The pool and the hottub are both inside. I seem to remember the pool being deep, and I had brought a lifejacket for my daughter. This is one of the reasons I prefer the CandyCane, they have a baby pool, this pool was ok, but not my first choice.

There are quite a few grocery stores on Katella. The one really nice thing about Desert Inn was there was a microwave, coffemaker, and a fridge in our room. I did not have to pay extra for that. I do not know if that is in all rooms, but it was in ours.

We had a room with a hot tub, and it was as big as a toddler pool, so my daughter went swimming in the tub. THe hottub was huge. That was my favorite part of this hotel. We did pay extra for the room with the hottub.

When we walked into the room, there was a small room with a couch and a tv. The couch turns down into a bed. I liked that this little room was separated from the main room by a wall with a door, not just a curtain, but a door we could close. The main room had 2 queen beds, a tv, a kitchen area, and the bathroom with the enourmous hottub.

What I did not like, the elevator was agonizingly slow, and we were on the 5th floor. I did not like their breakfast, small selection compared to CandyCane. Just toast, a pastry, a fruit, coffe and tea, and milk.

The best part, walk across the cross walk and you are in the park.

It is not a fancy hotel, but it was clean and close to Disney. If I travel with more than 4 people I will stay there again, otherwise my choice is the CandyCane, and I will have to walk a little further.

 

[Mortimer Mouse]

I personally wont stay there again. We stayed there one night in Feb, and it was one night to long. Even if you don't spend a lot of time at the motel it's depressing to return there after a nice day at the parks. it's cheap for a suite but you get what you pay for. it might be clean but it is run down (our room was anyway). just my thoughts. thanks for listening.

 

[Bob O]

Thanks for the info!!

 

[Sonya in Boise]

Mortimer Mouse,
Could you please give more details? Are you talking about the Desert Inn and Suites directly across the cross walk on Harbor? How long ago did you stay there? Was the room dirty, beds dirty, uncomfortable, rude staff.....? I have heard to ask for a "bright" room. I guess some are pretty dark. Maybe the way the hotel sits doesn't get much direct sunlight??
Thanks, Sonya

 

[Judy from Boise]

The thing to remember about most of the places on harbor blvd, is that they are motels. Classic motels where there are outside corridors, and parking lots right up to the guest rooms. I have stayed at many of them , and have always felt like I got more than my $ worth. But, they will be noisy with kids playing in the parking lot etc.
I always stay on Harbor, but please have realistic expectations, a good clean room, a functional pool ( either on the roof or in the parking lot ) and a no -frills cold breakfast. However you will have lots of $$ in your pocket compared to staying on site.

 

[Mortimer Mouse]

All motels are not created equal. I think for a few more dollars there's better options out there. You can't beat the location and the price so if that's your priority then go for it.
Just beware the rooms are below average. (stained carpets, missing baseboard, cracked sinks ect.) remeber this is just one room but i've got to assume the rest are simular and to be fair I only stayed there one time one night Feb. '02. Just my personal thoughts.

 

[hydster]

stays only at the Desert Inn and Suites. WE KNOW It is NOT a 5 * hotel but we dont care! We love being so convenient to the park and we have kids ages (last time we were there 9-11-01) of 7,5 and 2. We were there from 9-9-01 until 9-14-01 (not by choice until the 14th but still) and we loved every minute of our stay there!We never did use the pool even on 9-11 when they shut down everything in California we rented a van and went to the beach. My kids LOVE to swim but we never used the pool once...we werent there long enough to even go near it! When we would come back from the park we were so tired we went to bed, woke up the next morning and went back to the park so for us the pool was a non-issue! We found our rooms (my parents went with us so we had 2 rooms that adjoined) to be comfortable but not particularly 5 star quality of course for the price we knew what we were getting into before we went! We usually head to DL/DCA at least 2 times a year so we have stayed in numerous hotels/motels but have come to love the convenience of Desert Inn with having small kids. If our kids were older say 14,12 and 10 we would probably go to a nice hotel such as the Crowne Plaza (we LOVE that place but it is much pricier and further away) but for now with the small kids we love the convenience!We love that you walk up 2 doors, across the street and you are right where the tram will drop you off if you pay the $$$ to park in the Disney lot! With small children it was nice because we could rent the Disney stroller for the day until my 2 year old tuckered out and then turn it in, walk the short distance to the hotel, it was pretty empty during the day so he could nap in peace, when we woke up just a short trip back to the entrance where we then enjoyed DCA for the evening and to see the Electric Light Parade. We have stayed in MUCH NICER rooms in Anaheim but they were ALOT more money, much further away and not half as convenient as the Desert Inn. The pool at Desert Inn leaves alot to be desired so if that is a HUGE issue for you you might want to consider somewhere else! The breakfasts we have had at other hotels havent been MUCH better than the Desert Inn and instead of eating there we walked up the 2 doors to the IHOP and had breakfast there! I have never not felt clean in my room in Desert Inn and we have stayed there 4 times with time #5 coming in September. It is a typical motel! Think along the lines of Motel 6, Super 8 those kinds of motels and you will understand! Most along Harbor with the exception of the Hyatt or Crown Plaza are basically just motels! Some I agree are much better than others but for convenience you cant beat Desert Inn. We were supposed to stay once at Peacock but they lost our reservation and we ended up back at Desert Inn anyway who let us have a great room for a nice price! We travel with the thought that most of the time we are not in the room, when we are in the room it is usually night time or trying to get ready to leave, we dont like forking out hundreds of dollars to sleep somewhere when all we usually do there is sleep so for us Desert Inn is nice! If you have real issues about making sure that everything is in tip top shape and you have the best of the best of the best then Desert Inn probably isnt for you but if you want close, convenient and reasonably priced then Desert Inn fills the bill in our opinion! I am sure there are others who will disagree with me but these are OUR opinions and it cant be all bad because we are going back there in a few months! I am a hotel "snob" if you want to call me that. Our very first trip to DL we found a very cheap motel in our local newspaper and it was 29 a night (that should have been first clue but we were stupid) we checked in and 20 min later checked back out because it was just downright gross. We ended up at a Rodeway inn around the corner from the park and it was ok but it wasnt much better in quality than the Desert Inn and was ALOT more money! If a hotel looks nasty or the rooms are just gross I will not stay there...but we havent had a single problem with Desert Inn. One other nice hotel with a GREAT pool area is the Holiday Inn at the Park which was nice but it was .50 from DL and it was RIGHT ON THE FREEWAY so if you had a freeway facing room it sucked! We actually had a parking lot view and it was great but the pool there is excellent!! They have a shuttle to the park as well! It was nice and very clean! You may even think about that place!!!


Heidi

 

[Bob O]

Thanks for a very detailed reply, most appreciated!!!!