Help with Good Neighbor Hotels

[redsox721]

We are going to Disneyland to celebrate our 25th anniversary in early May. We are WDW veterans and know little about Disneyland. We would love to stay at a DL resort but it is not in the budget this year. After reading alot of threads here and checking Tripadvisor for hotels, we are deciding between 4 hotels. BW Park Place, Howard Johnson, Fairfield Inn and Candy Cane Inn. My DH wants a hotel with a short walk. He has a bad back so comfy beds are high on the list also. I am not fussy about the walk (within reason). We like to lounge by the pool in the mid afternoon and enjoy a nice view from either a balcony or window. Any suggestions you can give would be greatly appreciated.

Also, if anyone knows of a reasonable, nice hotel in San Diego we could use your advice there too. We are going there in the beginning of the trip for 2 nights/3 days. We are planning on going to the zoo and possibly either Sea World or the wild animal park.

We are also open to any advice from DL veterans.

Thanks.

 

[HydroGuy]

I have stayed at BWPPI and HoJo. BWPPI has the shortest walk to DLR and the beds we have had there have been perfectly comfortable. There are no balcony view rooms and the pool is adequate. Small with no nice views. But it is there.

Hojos will have an extra walk of about 1/4 mile. They do have rooms with balconies and views, and the pools are much nicer than BWPPI.

 

[LuvOrlando]

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[dmked]

I LOVE Hojos! It is only a 7 min. walk and the rooms there are sooo nice! We had the Premium Disney view, but I have heard that the standard rooms are really nice too. The pool there is great, the beds are super comfy and the staff was really helpful.

As for San Diego, we are going to stay in Anaheim the whole time and drive to Sea World and the zoo and also Universal. We couldn't find any great rates at decent hotels in SD so we decided that we would stay in Anaheim and drive to SD (1.5 hrs each way) and Universal (45 min each way) it is better to us to have a nicer hotel at 1/2 the cost and just driving a bit each day.

San Diego does have some nice hotels, they are just WAY out of my price range.

 

[oc_tony]

You are smart to stay at Disney and drive to San Diego and Universal. I grew up in San Diego, live near Disneyland now, and still like going back...but the hotels are expensive in San Diego. Anaheim is a great base of operations for SoCal. Without traffic, you can get to Sea World in about 90 minutes.

Have fun. : )

 

[Ross3half]

My husband has a bad back too (2 back surgeries) and we've found the beds at the Carousel Inn to be nice (pillow tops with nice bedding), and it's very close to the crosswalk. We sometimes find better rates on Orbitz or Entertainment.com (if you have an Entertainment card) than booking through the Carousel directly.

When we went to San Diego, we booked through Priceline and stayed at the Double Tree for a great rate. Their beds were fabulous and it was a good location for Sea World, Wild Animal Park and the Zoo.

 

[HydroGuy]

I LOVE Hojos! It is only a 7 min. walk and the rooms there are sooo nice! We had the Premium Disney view, but I have heard that the standard rooms are really nice too. The pool there is great, the beds are super comfy and the staff was really helpful.

From this link "How Far Is It?" (shows actual distances in feet from hotels to DLR entrance plaza) www.mouseplanet.com/articles.php?art=mm060329as

Hojos nearest rooms are 2,648 feet and the farthest are 3,063 feet. That is 0.5-0.6 miles.

For a fast adult walker (4 mph) that is about 7.5-9 minutes.

For a casual walker or child (3 mph) that is about 10-12 minutes.

After spending 12 hours on your feet at DLR and returning to the room very tired in the evening apply the appropriate multiplier.

 

[DSNY4ever]

All of your Disneyland hotels are good choices. The Fairfield Inn is very close and I have heard they have the most comfortable beds (but I haven't stayed in all of these and they are all pretty close). We recently stayed at The Catamaran in San Diego and it is just a 3-5 minute drive from Sea World and about 10-15 minutes to the zoo. It is a beautiful hotel- a little pricey (but all San Diego hotels are). We found a package deal for it so got a pretty good price. The Catamarans grounds are beautiful, the pool is nice, you can walk along the beach and there is a really yummy breakfast/lunch place down the street called The Mission. Good luck with your choices- I am sure you'll have a great trip.

 

[Husker Mickey]

I can tell you that the walk to and from the Fairfield Inn is very doable, especially if you are a WDW vet. The beds are very comfortable. We have stayed on the DL side of the hotel every time but one. I'm sure you could ask for that side if that is important to you. The pool is nice, much bigger than the BWPPI. As you can see from my siggie, I have had experience at the FFI and BWPPI. The Ramada Main Gate was too many years ago and I'm sure things have changed by now. HTH