Good Neighbor hotel recommendations for an East Coaster please!

[pjlla]

Planning a short visit to DL in September of this year (tacking it onto a conference in San Diego). Have two primary needs in a DL area hotel......comfortable walking distance to the parks and inexpensive. Obviously I imagine it goes without saying clean and comfortable preferred! Only been to DL once before in 2005 and we stayed at the HoJo (family trip). That was a reasonable distance to walk, even with younger kids and in the heat of July.

Most of the DL hotel info and links here are pretty old. I did find a great price at the Ramada Maingate, but it is a pre-pay/nonrefundable/no cancellation price........a bit leary of booking a no-refund price this far out (Sept trip) because life can change!

Suggestions and recommendations please!! Thank you!..........P

 

[eeyorefanuk]

Looking forward to replies

 

[sherilaine]

What kind is room are you looking for? Two queens or a suite type, breakfast included, pool a big deal, do you have kids?

We find walking from the Hojo is not far at all, but our kids were 11 and 10 last trip, so it only gets easier the older they get.

 

[Diszona]

The best prices I have found have been going directly to the Desert Inn and Suites website and booking through them. The farther away your trip is the cheaper their rates are and you can cancel up to 48 hours before your trip (right now 2 queens the second week of September is less than $100/night). Also the Tropicana Inn and Camelot Inn offer a discount of $20/night if you stay 5 or more nights and

 

[Indiana Scott]

Don't get too hung up on the "Good Neighbor" label. Many of the very best hotels in the area aren't labeled GN (it doesn't guarantee or get you anything).

 

[Reepicheep]

Don't get too hung up on the "Good Neighbor" label. Many of the very best hotels in the area aren't labeled GN (it doesn't guarantee or get you anything).

Agreed.

To quote the 2016 edition of "The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland":

A Good Neighbor Hotel is a hotel that has paid Disney a marketing fee to display that designation. Usually a ticket shop in the lobby will sell full-price Disney tickets. Other than that, the Good Neighbor designation means little to nothing for the consumer, It does not guarantee quality or proximity to Disneyland...

 

[Indiana Scott]

Agreed.

To quote the 2016 edition of "The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland":

A Good Neighbor Hotel is a hotel that has paid Disney a marketing fee to display that designation. Usually a ticket shop in the lobby will sell full-price Disney tickets. Other than that, the Good Neighbor designation means little to nothing for the consumer, It does not guarantee quality or proximity to Disneyland...

Exactly.
And the non GN hotels often sell tickets as well - I know PVI does and I'm pretty sure BWPPI does as well.

 

[Diszona]

Exactly.
And the non GN hotels often sell tickets as well - I know PVI does and I'm pretty sure BWPPI does as well.

Yep, but you can usually get better deals than what the hotels will sell them for.
The "Good Neighbor" status leads one to think they are Disney approved and probably better quality but I have found there are plenty of hotels that don't have "Good Neighbor" status that are very nice and some that do have it that are lacking.

 

[justgrace]

I would recommend Camelot Inn and Suites to anyone! The hotel is clean, beds are comfortable, and it is highly affordable. It's a very short walk to the parks (right across the street). If you're staying 5 nights (not sure how long you are staying), you can get $20 off per night.

You are free to cancel a reservation up until (I believe) 48 hours before check-in.

This has become our go-to and only hotel that we stay at when we travel to Disneyland.

 

[pjlla]

The best prices I have found have been going directly to the Desert Inn and Suites website and booking through them. The farther away your trip is the cheaper their rates are and you can cancel up to 48 hours before your trip (right now 2 queens the second week of September is less than $100/night). Also the Tropicana Inn and Camelot Inn offer a discount of $20/night if you stay 5 or more nights and

Okay.... I'll check them out! Unfortunately we can only stay 2 nights... and that is a stretch!

Don't get too hung up on the "Good Neighbor" label. Many of the very best hotels in the area aren't labeled GN (it doesn't guarantee or get you anything).

I do realize that. I guess it was just my quick way of stating that we are NOT going to be paying Disney prices and staying at a DL hotel. I said Good Neighbor just to clarify that I was looking at off-site. Don't care if they have the GN seal or not!

Agreed.

To quote the 2016 edition of "The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland":

A Good Neighbor Hotel is a hotel that has paid Disney a marketing fee to display that designation. Usually a ticket shop in the lobby will sell full-price Disney tickets. Other than that, the Good Neighbor designation means little to nothing for the consumer, It does not guarantee quality or proximity to Disneyland...

I would recommend Camelot Inn and Suites to anyone! The hotel is clean, beds are comfortable, and it is highly affordable. It's a very short walk to the parks (right across the street). If you're staying 5 nights (not sure how long you are staying), you can get $20 off per night.

You are free to cancel a reservation up until (I believe) 48 hours before check-in.

This has become our go-to and only hotel that we stay at when we travel to Disneyland.

I did look at that one online and it was about $140/night.... over my budget. Only staying 2 nights, so no discount I guess.'

****************

Thanks all for so many quick suggestions and information!................P

 

[Indiana Scott]

Beware of hotels that say they are "right across the street". They may be across the street from the side or back of the park and the walk is a lot longer than those that are across the street form the entrance.

 

[Diszona]

Beware of hotels that say they are "right across the street". They may be across the street from the side or back of the park and the walk is a lot longer than those that are across the street form the entrance.

Good point, I would recommend going to Google maps to get an idea of where the hotels are located in relation to the main resort entrance. This link to Google maps should show the closest hotels. The entrance is right where "South Harbor Blvd" is written about halfway up the map. https://www.google.com/maps/search/disneyland+hotels/@33.8081761,-117.9166235,17z

 

[smiles33]

We've stayed at HoJo twice but are trying Best Western Park Place Inn this upcoming trip. It's directly across the street from the Esplanade, so it's even closer than HoJo. It seems to get very good reviews here, has a fridge and microwave, it has a great location, and I think it's reasonably priced. We got a 2 queen/sofa bed room with 5% off for no car, 10% off for AAA discount, and BW Club discount for $335 for 2 nights, out the door (all taxes included). That may be above your budget, but you can get a lower price if you just have 1 king bed (I plugged in a weekend in Sept. and got $116/night).

 

[smartlabelprint]

We live BWPPI! Costcotravel also has a discount. If the web site shows unavailable for those dates call direct. They're super nice there. Sadly they're not available our trip a month away. We're trying Stovall's. A little longer walk from what I can tell.

 

[lalasmama]

I did look at that one online and it was about $140/night.... over my budget. Only staying 2 nights, so no discount I guess.'

What's your budget? How close are you wanting? Motel 6 is about $64/night. It's right on the ART line, or a 15-minute walk.

 

[Jrsy Boy]

For our last two visits, we found the del Sol Inn to work quite well for us. Inexpensive, close to the crosswalk (behind the Denny's), comfortable and clean. I can't think of any complaints we had either time so, if there were any, they obviously weren't big enough to remember.

 

[pjlla]

Thanks for all of the suggestions and help. This trip is really stretching the budget (we have TWO college tuition payments to make this summer!) and as such the budget is just "as low as I can go" kind of thing! Motel 6 for $64/night sounds fabulous, as long as it isn't a long walk or a scary place. I was actually aiming for under $100 including fees.... but that might be a pipe dream. I'll keep looking.... I have plenty of time, but it would be nice to have something locked in. That being said, we haven't booked our flights yet, so that may tell me better whether I stay for one night or two. ............P

Just went ahead and booked the del Sol for $235 all included for our two nights (this was the AAA rate). I'll keep looking around and checking prices, but this will work for me if I can't get it lower! Thank you all so much!

 

[Angel Ariel]

We've stayed at the Tropicana now 3x and have had great experiences each time. The hotel is nothing fancy, but it's clean and comfortable and we've always gotten great customer service there. You can't get much closer of a walk than from the Tropicana either, which we love.

 

[chickapin parterre]

....scary.....well the Motel 6 can be scary...you have to walk two California blocks east of the park, both are empty of people, then past the MRI, though you can walk thru the middle of MRI onto Motel 6, which is all shrubs, so can be a lonely walk at night. three towering buildings,, once again empty of people. I stay there every visit and its scary emptiness is what I like!!! It does have three ART stops, so this is one plus!!!

 

[pjlla]

We've stayed at the Tropicana now 3x and have had great experiences each time. The hotel is nothing fancy, but it's clean and comfortable and we've always gotten great customer service there. You can't get much closer of a walk than from the Tropicana either, which we love.

I'll definitely check it out.... thanks!

....scary.....well the Motel 6 can be scary...you have to walk two California blocks east of the park, both are empty of people, then past the MRI, though you can walk thru the middle of MRI onto Motel 6, which is all shrubs, so can be a lonely walk at night. three towering buildings,, once again empty of people. I stay there every visit and its scary emptiness is what I like!!! It does have three ART stops, so this is one plus!!!

Well.... that does sound a bit scary. Not sure I want scary AND a far walk, even for a bargain! ..................P