Hotel?

[miksicnarf]

Not much to add re: hotel but I strongly recommend a double stroller!

 

[Jrog92]

This depends on the rate you're booking. If you're looking on the Marriott site they do like to push you toward the prepay non-refundable rates. There's usually a tab at the top where you can see all available rates and should be able to see various options there for cancellation.

Thanks for helping me, that tab at the top can be easily missed! And wow, its $400-550+ per night at the "flexible" rate. Why not just stay at a Disney hotel at that point? How are y'all affording these rates??

 

[PiratesOfTheSea]

Looking at Courtyard now and it says you have to pay in full at the time of booking and you can't cancel or make any changes to the reservation. Is that accurate? Seems really strict! Not sure I'm comfortable with that.

Depending on when you are booking there should be a tab to the left of the "Pre-pay and save" tab where you can see the refundable rates in the "Standard rates." It does look like they have change the cancellation policy to 7 days before though.

 

[PiratesOfTheSea]

Thanks for helping me, that tab at the top can be easily missed! And wow, its $400-550+ per night at the "flexible" rate. Why not just stay at a Disney hotel at that point? How are y'all affording these rates??

If you are a AAA member you might be able to get a decent discount (~10%). The king room we had booked was under $400/night for late June this year is going to be more than $500/night for the same week next year.

 

[Jrog92]

If you are a AAA member you might be able to get a decent discount (~10%). The king room we had booked was under $400/night for late June this year is going to be more than $500/night for the same week next year.

That's crazy! It looks really nice, but for that price I'd rather be at one of the Disney hotels. We will probably end up staying at one of the hotels across the street from the entrance that are half the price. Thanks for helping me cross it off my list, though!

 

[PiratesOfTheSea]

That's crazy! It looks really nice, but for that price I'd rather be at one of the Disney hotels. We will probably end up staying at one of the hotels across the street from the entrance that are half the price. Thanks for helping me cross it off my list, though!

I will say though the hotel room itself was nicer than GCH and probably the nicest within walking distance for those of us with young kids.

 

[Jrog92]

I will say though the hotel room itself was nicer than GCH and probably the nicest within walking distance for those of us with young kids.

It does look very nice, but we'll probably spend most of our time at the parks unless we're sleeping or taking a break to nap. I can't justify the price for us (we're just two adults with no kids). We might someday do a night or two at the GCH just so we can experience it once. GCH at least has EE and other perks. If you can afford either hotel, more power to ya! If I could I would definitely book one of them.

 

[PiratesOfTheSea]

It does look very nice, but we'll probably spend most of our time at the parks unless we're sleeping or taking a break to nap. I can't justify the price for us (we're just two adults with no kids). We might someday do a night or two at the GCH just so we can experience it once. GCH at least has EE and other perks. If you can afford either hotel, more power to ya! If I could I would definitely book one of them.

Definitely not worth it if you don't have a child. The Marriott or Westin are newer and nicer, and probably even cheaper.

 

[Jrog92]

Definitely not worth it if you don't have a child. The Marriott or Westin are newer and nicer, and probably even cheaper.

Actually, those prices are for the Courtyard by Marriott. Were you talking about a different Marriott?

 

[PiratesOfTheSea]

Actually, those prices are for the Courtyard by Marriott. Were you talking about a different Marriott?

JW Marriott at the GardenWalk

 

[Jrog92]

JW Marriott at the GardenWalk

Thank you for the recommendation, I'll check it out.

 

[shaycamp21]

We stayed at the Element by Westin and loved it—it’s brand new and super clean. Extensive daily hot buffet breakfast. It was about an 18 min walk but we didn’t find it too bad. Lots of different room options but we lucked out and got a 1 bedroom suite for a great rate around $200 a night. Our room was really spacious with a separate living area and kitchen. The pool though small was never crowded and often we had it to ourselves during our breaks from the parks. Highly recommend.

 

[bardays]

Based on this thread and other research, seems like HoJo or Courtyard may be the best fits fkr us. Quite a big price gap though for our dates. Anyone have experiences with both?

I have stayed at both. HoJo was years ago but our son loved it the water park. The courtyard has become very expensive. I have only stayed there using Marriott rewards and even now, I am priced out. It is nice, but not worth the price IMHO.

 

[pharmama]

I would agree that the Courtyard prices are pretty steep, especially for two adults who don't need the dual bathroom setup, bunk bed rooms, waterpark etc.

The Westin Anaheim (not the Westin Element- I haven't stayed there but have stayed at other elements and found them decent) is lovely and I highly recommend that for a more adult stay. It will be more than most of the Harbor motels but usually less than the Courtyard.

 

[bcla]

Actually, those prices are for the Courtyard by Marriott. Were you talking about a different Marriott?

There are two. One is the one closer to the Disneyland entrance. The other is further down on Harbor Way south of the convention center. When I looked at the prices for a specific weekend, the Courtyard closer to the entrance was maybe 3x the price. Looking on the Marriott website for Sept 2, 2022, the lowest AAA base rates are:

Courtyard Anaheim Theme Park Entrance $456
Sheraton Park Anaheim Resort $179
Courtyard Anaheim Resort/Convention Center $179

I've stayed at the the latter two before. The Sheraton is more a business class hotel that likely gets business travelers attending conventions and conferences. It's in the class of the Hilton and the Marriott in the same area. That is a very nice hotel. The Courtyard is more casual but certainly a decent place to stay. As far as I can tell, the Courtyard across from Disneyland is charging that much just for a minor advantage in walking distance.

 

[sweethannah]

We just came back from the Marriott Residence Inn by the convention center. It's essentially the hotel immediately in front of the Sheraton (we've also stayed at the Sheraton). We were 2 adults, and our DD18 so essentially 3 adults. We stayed in a 1 bedroom 2Q city view, specifically the room category over 540 sqft as I believe there is another 1 bedroom category that is slightly smaller @ approx 500 sqft. The room is great for a larger family. Separate sleeping area which closes off with a sliding, lockable door. Ours had 2 Queen beds in the bedroom w/ TV, window, a small closet, and the bathroom (no tub for those with littles) but a decent sized shower and it wasn't cramped. In the main living area there was a kitchen complete with full size fridge, microwave, dishwasher, sink etc. 4 counter height barstools for eating at the peninsula was handy for take out of breakfast. Couch was a pullout with a chaise attached, another tv and window. DD slept the whole time on the pullout, she didn't complain about the bed but I sat on it and I don't think I'd want to sleep on it for 7 nights but she's young

View was to the parking structure across the way but if I looked to my right I could see the 'backside of RSR' and some of the fireworks were slightly visible. We were on the 8th floor and the last room on our hallway except for a suite. We never heard traffic outside (vehicles or fellow guests) and found the hotel quiet except oddly, the elevator music was pure 90s and always bopping.

Full breakfast each day: scrambled eggs, some kind of potato and sausage(turkey or pork). Several mickey waffle makers(large and mini) on both sides of the kitchen, oranges, bananas, yogurt, oatmeal with seeds and berries, cereal and your usual breads/bagels. Multiple coffee and drink stations with handy to-go cups. The set up was good as the food items were duplicated buffet style so you didn't have to ever wait in line. Lots of seating areas but there was never an issue with taking food up to your room.

The pool area was great. Nice big hot tub although I do wish ppl would keep younger children and inflatables out of the hot tub. Lots of seating and the pagodas were great with a couch, double chaise and a chair. Splash pad for the littles which was really nice.

The walk took about 12-15 minutes. Not too long but it did feel like a schlep after your mid-day break. Yes, there are plenty of homeless hanging around outside the 7-11 or CVS. Some ppl may not like this or find it off-putting.