Hotel opinions, please!

[danacath]

Well, I'm trying to nail down some flights and a hotel for DH and I for late September, but I can't quite seem to make up my mind. (Typical me! LOL) We'll be going to a convention, so we need to be within walking distance of the Conv. Center, but we will also be walking to DL and DCA on two of our days. We've got 3 "deals" we're considering. The cheapest is at the Desert Palms Hotel. (fridge and microwave there would be nice) Then, for about $100 more we could stay at either the Hilton Anaheim (good location) or the Candy Cane Inn (good reviews, plus fridge).

Any opinions will be greatly appreciated! It's been almost 30 years since I was in Anaheim, so I'm definitely a "fish out of water" this time around. I read that the Candy Cane Inn is only a "block" away from the Conv. Center. Is this accurate or is it a gigantic block away? We'll need to go back and forth several times/day, so we can't have our hotel room be too far from things. I also saw mixed reviews on Desert Palms and the Hilton Anaheim, so I'm not sure what to think. So, before I make a final decision, I thought I'd ask my fellow DIS fans for some sage advice. Thoughts or opinions, anyone?

TIA

 

[iceskatejen]

The Candy Cane is one of the few that I actually know where it is--it would be within great walking distance for the convention center--they are on the same street and less than the walk from (as a comparison) the Disneyland Hotel to the entrance to the parks. The reason they are even a block from eachother is that there's a signal between them plus a couple of other businesses. Walking to the parks would be further but doable.

 

[Pugdog007]

Just returned from the Candy Cane and highly recommend.

 

[Bete]

highly recommend it for the price. We did expedia for early June and I paid $45 for a weeknight and $55 for a weekend. Summer rates have kicked in now and good pricing is $75/night for a regular room (deluxe). It's ranked as a three star resort which is better then most resorts that are non-Disney around there. Supposedly, Disney's Paradise Pier (like $230/night right now) is ranked as a three star; so, for the price I can't see how you can go wrong. There's a free continental style breakfast from 7:30 am to 9:30 am. It has three choices of cereal, you get two choices of fruit (most of the time it was apples and oranges with seeds), two breads for toasting, a sweet roll, and juices and coffee and tea to choose from for the breakfast. Parking is with ticket and included.

There's an old section and new section to the resort. It recently went through some renovations. This is one of the reasons the resort was bad rapped in the past. During the remodeling it was tougher, loud and messier especially in the lobby. If you go with expedia don't expect to get the new section. I'm not sure if the old section will get redone but there wasn't anything happening that way while we were there. Our room was large including the bathroom but showed a little aging but not too bad. I've seen worse for the money. The fridge was large for a mini-size one. The freezer actually was good and we could keep frozen bars in it. I would repeat for the price. There's a nice looking pool but on the small side. There's a Quizmos built into the lobby on the front side. We did grab a bite there once. I see a new restaurant coming up but it wasn't quite done while we were there. There is public transportation that is easy to access on Katella and Harbor, if needed.

For location it's not too bad to the convention center. To the parks it's farther but possible to walk. We drove to the parks because we have APs with free parking but I will say there were others farther away than this resort on Harbor Boulevard who were walking to the parks; so, the trek shouldn't be too bad from this location.

 

[daannzzz]

The desrt Palms is rigth across the street from the convention center and just completed a large expansion and remodel. I am sure all the new roos are great. There are also some older rooms that I do not know if they have been remodeled but they never received bad reviews. It is located about a 15 minute walk to the front gates of the parks.
The Hilton is closest to the convention center and is quite large. It gets okay - good reviews but there is a parking fee and I don't feel that things are as "fun" there.
The Candy Cane has the best atmosphere and has a good free breakfast bar. It was comfortable and clean and they have their own shuttle to the parks but would be a bit longer walk to the convention center.

 

[Alice28]

I have stayed at the Hilton & Desert Palms and know where the Candy Cane is..have tried to stay there but it's always booked (that should tell you something). I stayed at the DP probably 11+ years ago, and did NOT like it at all. I did not feel secure in my room- I am sure it has changed, but the safety features on the door were not great (I can't remember specifically, but my friend that I went with agreed that it was not good and we made note not to stay there again). It was right around the time 20/20 did some special on hotel security, or lack thereof, so maybe we were being paranoid.

DH and I stayed at the Hilton in 2000 and had no complaints at all. Kind of a longer walk to the entrance of the parks, but they had two shuttle buses that were constantly going. VERY convenient to the convention center.

I have never read anything but POSITIVE reviews on the Candy Cane.

 

[Bete]

we didn't notice it being any worse then other resorts. I would deadbolt my room, etc. at night but I do this anywhere we go for security. If anything I don't like the underground parking because it can be a little bit of a walk to the reosrt lobby door but we didn't have any issues with it.

We had the option to stay at the Hilton for double the price and I couldn't justify it especially since it was farther from the parks.

I've stayed from 6-star to 2-star resorts and for the money I think the Desert Palms place is tops for value. I rather spend the money saved on a better meal or souvenirs, etc. You are not in your room that much anyway.

If you are going there for a convention are there others you know needing accomodations, as well? If so, I would ask those people their opinions, too.

There are a lot of choices in that area and I don't think there is really a bad place but there may be a few different reasons to stay at one over the other.

 

[danacath]

Great feedback, everyone! Thanks! I knew I could count on you.

I have a couple of other questions for you. I read that Katella Ave. has 6 lanes of traffic to cross. Sounds pretty busy. Would there be a big wait at the crosswalk, or does the light change pretty frequently?

I'm trying to picture the lay-out of things in my head. Is the Candy Cane Inn right around the corner from the Desert Palms Hotel? (CCI has a Harbor Blvd. address and DP has a Katella address.) Is CCI almost at the intersection of Harbor and Katella, or are there a few businesses between CCI and that intersection?

We'll be leaving the convention center at 11 or 12 on a couple of nights. Would it be relatively safe to walk back to the Candy Cane at this time of night? How is the security at CCI--any misgivings about the exterior corridors, etc.?

I read that the Hilton has a shuttle to the parks for $3. Is that one-way or round-trip? Another suggestion was to cross the street near the convention center and enter the Disney parking lot there to ride the tram to the entrance. BUT then I saw that at off-times, that lot might not be open and/or running trams. Is this true?

Thanks a bunch!

 

[Alice28]

Originally posted by danacath
Great feedback, everyone! Thanks! I knew I could count on you.

I have a couple of other questions for you. I read that Katella Ave. has 6 lanes of traffic to cross. Sounds pretty busy. Would there be a big wait at the crosswalk, or does the light change pretty frequently?

I'm trying to picture the lay-out of things in my head. Is the Candy Cane Inn right around the corner from the Desert Palms Hotel? (CCI has a Harbor Blvd. address and DP has a Katella address.) Is CCI almost at the intersection of Harbor and Katella, or are there a few businesses between CCI and that intersection?

We'll be leaving the convention center at 11 or 12 on a couple of nights. Would it be relatively safe to walk back to the Candy Cane at this time of night? How is the security at CCI--any misgivings about the exterior corridors, etc.?

I read that the Hilton has a shuttle to the parks for $3. Is that one-way or round-trip? Another suggestion was to cross the street near the convention center and enter the Disney parking lot there to ride the tram to the entrance. BUT then I saw that at off-times, that lot might not be open and/or running trams. Is this true?

Thanks a bunch!

First question: The lights change pretty frequently- it is a huge intersection, but not hideously long waits.

I don't Think CCI is right around the corner from DP. As I recall (I may be off here) CCI is right at the corner of Harbor and Katella on the Harbor side; there are no other businesses between it and Katella. Or at least no other hotels; maybe a 7-11 or something like that. DP is near the corner of Katella and Ball (??-they may have changed the name to Magic Way or something like that---Katella and whatever the street that the Disney Hotels are located on). So, as I recall, DP and Candy Cane are a large block apart from one another.

As far as safety for walking, there are TONS of people out walking that late, esp if the parks are open til 10-midnight. I would feel pretty safe. As far as exterior corridors, a lot of the Anaheim Hotels are built this way and I have yet to have a problem. In fact, the only security snafu I have ever really had was at the Disneyland Hotel!!!

That shuttle to the parks via the Hilton is FREE! Almost all DL area hotels have free shuttles to and from Disneyland. I'm not sure where the $3 was posted; maybe it is $3 to go to Knotts Berry Farm or something like that. And it would be a LONG walk from the Hilton to the parks. Trust me, we did it. DH and I stayed at the Hilton while they were building DCA and we walked to some parking lot tram at DL....it was a pretty long and sweaty walk. I would just take the shuttle. I am not sure about off times...I thought that was one of the first parking lots they filled, but I could be wrong....I haven't been to DL since 2001----been too busy going to WDW so I am sure other people are more up on this topic than I.

Hope this helped!!!!

 

[daannzzz]

The first link is a map showing the locations of the various hotels. You can find where the Desert Palms, the Candy Cane Inn, The Hilton and the convention center are. The second link is an actual ariel view. The Candy Cane and Desrt Inn are not marked but you can see them on the corner below DCA.

http://www.geocities.com/ashpsyche/DisneylandLinkMap.html


http://www.beachcalifornia.com/dlmp.html

 

[danacath]

Alice28, Wow, thanks for the quick response!

I got my Hilton info about the shuttle service from reading reviews on tripadvisor.com. Several people mentioned the $3/day shuttle charge to DL. Maybe it used to be free and they've recently started charging for it?? That would be my guess.

The parking lot I was wondering about is the Timon parking lot. Another reason I wanted to know if it will be open is because DH and I may attend a morning session at the convention, and then want to zip over to the parks for the late morning/afternoon hours. I thought it would be convenient to be able to catch a tram, but it's not such a great plan if the lot wouldn't even be open.

daannzzz, Thanks for the links! You know, I had bookmarked that hotel map a few weeks ago and I totally forgot that I even had it. The map is really great and gives a clear picture of how things are laid out. Now I'm wondering how the convention center is situated--if it's the shortest route to walk down Katella to the Conv. Center entrance or if we would walk down Harbor ?? (If we're coming from the Harbor/Katella intersection, that is.) DH really likes the close proximity of the Hilton, but if I can convince him that the walk to the Conv. Center from CCI isn't all that bad, then we'll probably go with that hotel. (Hey, he's training for a marathon. He should be able to handle a .37 mile commute, right? lol )

 

[danacath]

Quickie OP update:

Well, we booked our flights, ordered our park hoppers and reserved our hotel room this past weekend. Yippee!! We decided to give the Candy Cane Inn a try. I read so many glowing reviews about it that it has peaked my interest. We're really looking forward to our trip! Thanks again, everyone, for your helpful advice. Now if we can just get our airport/hotel transportation lined up, we'll be good to go!

 

[Firefly777]

Glad you got it figured out.

 

[funnygarcia]

In 2002 nearly ALL of the hotels have switched to the ART system (Anaheim Resort Transit).
It is $3 per day (all day) for adults and free for children under 10 yrs.

More info here
http://www.anaheimresorttransit.net/info.html

CCI has its own shuttle and a handful of other hotels do also .. but many are being pushed to switch to ART.

 

[danacath]

funnygarcia, Thanks for the link! Now I can see that the $3 shuttle charge that everyone was griping about was really the ART bus system--not a private hotel shuttle. IMO, the $3/day pass really isn't that bad of a deal, if a person is going to be going back and forth a lot. Do you know (or does anyone else out there know) if the ART system is a pretty good way of getting around, or is it pretty slow?

 

[minmaui]

We were at the Desert Palms last May...it was still under renovation... We walked to the Timon parking and caught the tram from that parking area everyday. It's a short walk (about 10 minutes) just one other hotel between the DP and the lot...but a little bit of landscaping...we travelled with a 3, 7 and 11 year old and the walk wasn't bad for them. HTH The lot was never closed during that time...morning, noon and late at night (12 midnight)...

 

[Amy&Dan]

We just used the ART system. Kind of silly I guess since we were at the HoJo but after my daughter almost got run over by a guy making an illegal turn we did use it a couple of times. The drivers were very nice, they ran regularly and were nice and clean. You can buy a pass for all day and use it as many times as you want. I believe they had a five day pass for $12 which would save a little. Kids 9 and under were free. We bought our pass at our hotel. Have a great time!