Help me pick a hotel please!?

[JulieEdelman]

We are heading to see Disneyland on Sunday, actually Sunday night, and going to the park for the first day on Monday for three days.
We have two young boys, 3 and 1, and I am beating my head against the wall trying to figure out which hotel would be the best.
We prefer staying in a suite as it is nice to keep the kids seperated for going to sleep so they will actually take a nap, etc. I was also thinking it would be nice to be at a hotel within walking distance, so A) we don't have to pay for parking and B) It might be much easier than loading and unloading a stroller with two kids and the associated junk that goes along with it.
We have been looking at the Desert Palms, but after reading some reviews I didn't get the feelings that it was particulay well liked. Then I was reading about the Portofino, but that seemed a bit of a distance.
Any comments on these hotels or any suggestions of what I might have overlooked?

I appreciate your help and time!!

 

[Itinkso]

The Desert Inn and Suites is fine. We always enjoyed our stays there when the 4 of us went. When it is just DD and me, we stay at Park Inn or Tropicana...but they don't have suites.

 

[got2travel]

You are correct, the Portofino is a bit far.
The Desert Palms (different from Desert Inn) has gone through a lot of renovations lately, so I'm not sure what its like. However, it is not an easy walk either. True, it is adjacent to the parks, but it's behind California Adventure's parking lot. You can either walk through the parking lot and catch the tram to the front, if its running. Or you head over to Harbor and walk down to the pedestrian entrance.
There are a few right across the street from the pedestrian entrance that have suites. The Carousel Inn, Park Inn, BW Park Place Inn, Tropicana Inn and Desert Inn and Suites. My personal favorite being the Carousel.

 

[CalGal]

Selecting the "best" hotel is always so difficult!

The problem with booking late, is that many places are booked for at least a portion of your stay. The advantage of booking late is that you can sometimes get good rates on those that are available..

I would recommend that you look on Expedia or equivalent to see what is available and to get an idea of the rates. I just looked and saw
DISNEYLAND HOTEL is available on Expedia for Sunday and Monday at $129/night (+ tax and resort fee, but still a great rate). If it were me, I would jump at that and then transfer somewhere else (perhaps one of the ones mentioned by got2travel).
In most cases, I'll at least check the hotels web site or directly to see if they will meet or beat Expedia's rate, but I can screen through Expedia.

 

[JulieEdelman]

Thanks for the great advice! I have spent the last 2-3 hours researching and calling some of the hotels.
I do think it would be nice to just be able to walk back and forth instead of taking a shuttle or tram. I figure we will go back to the hotel every afternoon for a nap.

These are the options I have come up with for a suite.
Tropicana - 150 a night, no web pricing or anything, this was via the phone. This includes a Disney view and continental breakfast. The web doesn't show any suite availability, so that is a little concerning.
Park Inn - 134 a night via Expedia, it doesn't say whether breakfast is included or not.
Desert Palms - 108 for a king suite and this includes continental breakfast.

I did call regarding the Disneyland hotel, but they didn't have any suites available and we would have had to of moved Tuesday, so I figured it was more trouble than it was worth.

Would it be worth it to stay at say Homewood Suites a little further away and drive everyday back and forth?

Thanks again!

 

[Itinkso]

Continental breakfast at Park Inn is included. Tropicana and Park Inn are owned by the same company. Did you check Desert Inn?

 

[JulieEdelman]

Continental breakfast at Park Inn is included. Tropicana and Park Inn are owned by the same company. Did you check Desert Inn?

Desert Inn isn't available on 1 of the 3 nights... Otherwise that would be in the running

 

[chocolatelover]

Best Western Park Place Inn & Suites http://www.parkplaceinnandminisuites.com/
Right across street from walkway. They have suite available but their suites are two beds a pull out couch with 1/4 of a divider, microwave, fridge. You get coupons to eat continental breakfast at restaurant next door which is upstairs or choose the free pancakes topped with strawberries or syrup which is downstairs in the restaurant. I stay there everytime I go.

 

[bclydia]

Hi Julie
We were in DL last June and stayed at the "Comfort Inn Maingate" at 2171 South Harbor. We had a kids suite and it was wonderful! I highly recommend this hotel and in fact my sister and her family are going back in August this year and staying there. It is not in walking distance but we found it really met our needs. A continental breakfast is included and they have a pool and laundry.
Our suite had a french door into the kids room where there were bunk beds and a kids table and chairs and their own TV. Our room had two queen beds, TV, microwave, small fridge, desk and the bathroom. We brought a playpen for our then-one-year-old and it was great.
You should be able to get a rate of about $70 US a night. Ours ranged from $69-72. Check the website and compare with expedia etc and if you get a cheaper rate than the AAA rate or the internet rate etc, call the hotel directly and they will match/beat the rate there. My sister has $65 a night for a week in August!
http://www1.choicehotels.com/ires/e...h=6&day=5&depart_month=6&depart_day=9&srp=STD

I hope this helps!!!

 

[dsnylndmom]

That seems really high for Tropicana, did they guarantee a suite?

I haven't stayed at Park Inn but have heard nothing but good things about them. I am staying there for DL's birthday this year

If you don't mind driving I'd say go for either Embassy Suites in Garden Grove, it's about 1.5 miles away. They used to have a shuttle but I think they are now using ART. YOu get full cooked to order breakfast and snacks and cocktails in the evening. Plus, the rooms are relatively large.

Or the Residence Inn in Garden Grove, this hotel gets really good reviews!

Also, Hojos has a couple of suites not many but it's worth the checking.

 

[Eeyorecln]

bclydia,
How did you find that rate? I checked their rates and they came up $98 for the last week in August. Also, how far to DL is it? Is it close enough to go back in the afternoon for a nap? My DS(who will be 1) needs at least a 1 and a half hour nap. Thanks for any info. you can share. If we can find a decent rate we would love to go in the end of August for DS's first BDay as well as December for the holidays. He loves Mickey and Eeyore. He has a singing Eeyore he just loves to play with.

 

[abby]

Not hotel advice, but I would highly recommend making sure you are at the parks when they open, if not 1/2 hour before. It makes a hugh difference. We were there last week