Hotels across the street and safety questions

[connorlevismom]

We are currently staying at the new Courtyard and really like it, but would like to look at something directly across the street for our next trip. When walking by it looks like they all open to the outside and that anyone can just walk right up to your room. especially the Best Western where there is a stairway what looks to be right off the sidewalk.

I am asking this of anyone that has stayed in these hotels.....did you ever feel unsafe? How does the hotel keep non-guests from coming right up to your room? This is a huge concern for me since it seems there are several homeless people who hang out on the corner where you cross the street and also there is a bus stop right there where there always seems to be lots of people hanging out.

So can anyone give me some advice or let me know their personal experiences?

 

[tlovesdis]

I've stayed across the street at Tropicana, Desert Inn & Suites, Park Vue Inn and Ramada Maingate and have never felt unsafe! Most of the motels across the street have outdoor access to rooms.

 

[amyg1975]

Same here, we always stay at BW Park Place Inn and have always felt safe!

 

[Indiana Scott]

Same here, we have stayed at the BWPPI and several other local hotels and have never felt unsafe.
One time I even left the hotel and walked down Harbor at 2:30AM (looking for cough syrup..) and I was surprised at the activity. The street and sidewalks are well lit, busy with people cleaning, pruning, etc and there was tons of traffic and working people coming and going.
There is absolutely nothing dangerous about staying on Harbor and our family be staying there for the 15th time in two weeks.

 

[bumbershoot]

would like to look at something directly across the street for our next trip.

I don't worry about homeless people bothering me; they have enough on their plate to worry about, without going onto private property that's generally covered by cameras and surrounded by people. In the DLR area I've only seen them sleeping on horribly uncomfortable park benches, and that's it. I've never been worried about my safety because of them. I'm worried about *their* safety, honestly.


The only time I felt iffy was a solo trip when I stayed at Carousel. A few nights before, at a Vegas hotel, there had been a big fire. And that midnight, after a long day at the parks, I took a shower that both caused a flood in the bathroom b/c of funky shower curtains AND the steam set off the smoke alarm. I'm short, I was in a towel, and I was trying to hit the button to reset the alarm. I couldn't do it. I called the front desk more than once requesting help, and they never came. Not only did they NOT care about a smoke alarm at midnight days after a publicized hotel fire, but they didn't help me. I had to open my room's door to get the steam out. And THAT is when I felt nervous, but it was nervousness about my fellow guests (I was on the second floor), not homeless people...

 

[aroseinwintr]

We have stayed at the Park place inn, the Tropicana, and the carousel inn, with children. We have never felt unsafe. I almost feel safer because I don't have to walk up the street at midnight. I think that is the worst part to me go figure! We are staying in the Fairfield inn this time!

 

[wdwfan22]

I have stayed at several of them and never felt unsafe. Yes, they can walk up to your door(I have never had that happen), just don't open it for them. I never open the door unless it is someone I know or if I have just called the front desk to send someone. It's really no different than staying in a hotel with indoor corridors. Yes, there are some that you have to show your room key to get to the elevators, especially when I've stayed in Vegas. But quite frankly, most don't. And if they do, it could be an old one. Anyone can walk in the lobby and take the elevators to rooms. So don't ever feel safe to open your door to someone just because you have indoor corridors.

 

[NewbieMouse]

We stay at BWPPI every year and I have never felt unsafe in any way. I don't think there is anything to worry about.

 

[lalasmama]

I stay at Park Vue, and have never felt unsafe, and I close the parks down as a solo female traveler. I've stayed as far away as Super 8 on Katella, and felt safe overall. No one has ever knocked on my door. I pay attention where I'm walking, and try to look like a part of a group when possible. People trying to thieve don't like people paying attention. In fact, the only reason I stay at Park Vue and not further down is because DH doesn't like the walks, and tells me to stay there so I'm nice and close to the parks at the end of the day.

 

[DizMe]

I have only felt unsafe once, and that was a stay at Hojo's when my dd and I walked back to the hotel on the 'dark' (Disneyland) side because it was supposed to be quicker. A guy jumped out of the bushes next to us down where it was dark and not very populated. Lesson learned! At night, stick to the motel side of the street.

But I have often felt uncomfortable on Harbor. That's different from unsafe, but still a consideration. It's why I usually stay onsite. I don't like in-your-face confrontations, having to step over people, being accosted by sales people, etc. Since my stays are generally 2-3 nights, and often shared with friends, I often opt for onsite.

 

[justgrace]

We always stay across the street and have never felt unsafe. The further down Harbor can start to get uncomfortable, but the homeless people won't bother you (besides the typical panhandling sign holding or maybe once saying "Spare change?"). Many of the hotels have a person overnight outside in the parking area.

We've never had someone come up to our door or anything. I've actually never seen any "suspicious" activity inside the grounds of any of the hotels we've stayed at.

 

[lunaland]

We just got back from an 8 day trip staying at Hojos, which has been our go-to Hotel for DLR trips. We have another trip booked at Hojos for December but, due to safety concerns with the nighttime walk to the hotel, are considering switching. We've stayed there since 2002 (although we also stayed once each at Carousel, DLH, and Holiday Inn) and never felt unsafe. We chose Hojos specifically for the indoor hallways, until the Courtyard was built it was the only one with them. However, both in this trip and our trip in May we noticed a huge increase in the number of homeless people in the walk back. Not a huge deal, but an increase. The bigger issue for us was that after the McDonald's, you loose the crowd of people walking. Several times it was us walking alone. One time we had a schizophrenic man yelling loudly, another time a man was panhandling fairly agressively, and most disturbing to us was a man who started yelling at us across the street than ran at us across traffic. I've never had this type of issue before. Seems like the area is getting worse. We would not stay on Harbor with outdoor hallways.

 

[RemainSeatedPlease]

I haven't felt unsafe staying in the Harbor hotels with outside doors. To be honest I don't really understand the concern, because it is just as easy for someone to walk up to your door in an indoor corridor. It's not like hotels check ID at the door. And if you live in a house, anyone can walk up to your door, unless you have a large gate I guess. Anyway, I haven't felt unsafe. The only time I see somewhat questionable people is sitting at the bus stops, but in my experience that's true of bus stops everywhere, not specific to Anaheim. If you are truly concerned, you can stay at Tropicana and request an inside room. I know that at least on the 2nd floor left side they have a number of them, because they put us in one last time we were there.

 

[KalamityJane]

We always stay across the street and have never felt unsafe. The further down Harbor can start to get uncomfortable, but the homeless people won't bother you (besides the typical panhandling sign holding or maybe once saying "Spare change?"). Many of the hotels have a person overnight outside in the parking area.

We've never had someone come up to our door or anything. I've actually never seen any "suspicious" activity inside the grounds of any of the hotels we've stayed at.

You mention further down Harbour - we are thinking of the new Homewood Suites near BW Raffles, and would be taking the bus to the Toy Story parking lot back. Is that area rough?

 

[MommyJKM]

How does the hotel keep non-guests from coming right up to your room? This is a huge concern for me since it seems there are several homeless people who hang out on the corner where you cross the street and also there is a bus stop right there where there always seems to be lots of people hanging out.

Why would you think homeless people would come up to your room? What a weird assumption. If you're so freaked out about the homeless population in a multi-billion dollar area, then stay on-site and keep ignoring the real issue.

 

[TACK]

I have stayed at most of the hotels on Harbour and some on Katella. I have never had a problem. I have noticed people sleeping at the bus stops, asking for money, etc. I am careful walking back to my hotel at all times no matter where I am as I am a solo traveller. I do appreciate that there is so much traffic in the area as opposed to a dimly lit, deserted street.

 

[Astylla]

Not to be devil's advocate but why does this always come up ? Is it that we are so afraid to face the reality of the situation that frankly anyone of us could face in an instant ?
I'm certainly not saying you aren't entitled to your concerns or feelings but something can happen anywhere from anyone from any walk of life.

Outdoor corridors don't make any place less safe - it's perception. What's to stop a random person from walking into a hotel , taking an elevator up to a random room and knocking ?
Unless there is a doorman specifically checking every keycard and guest - not a thing. The difference is HOW we react. It's using common sense practices.
It's not like the "old days" where there are physical keys and locks , since everything is electronic it is a massive improvement in security.
Also , you can't just walk up to the front desk , say you need a new key without proper ID. There are policies in place to protect guests safety even if you aren't seeing it.

The fact is most of these people have no interest in anything but trying to make do with their circumstances.

My advice is to not worry so much and if it IS such a concern , look into other hotel properties, rent a car or take ART. However do not be fooled into thinking anywhere you go is 100% secure.
Part of being safe in any situation is being self aware. I honestly think staying across the street is actually one of the best areas because the traffic is ALWAYS high.

 

[justgrace]

Why would you think homeless people would come up to your room? What a weird assumption. If you're so freaked out about the homeless population in a multi-billion dollar area, then stay on-site and keep ignoring the real issue.

She has a legitimate concern and has a right to ask. It's not "weird" at all to be concerned about safety in a foreign place. That story about the homeless man getting stabbed across from Disneyland definitely raises some concerns with most people who don't live in an area that has much of that type of activity, even though the stabbing occurred in a "multi-billion dollar area" (not to freak anyone out! This was a rare event that involved two homeless people).

 

[justgrace]

You mention further down Harbour - we are thinking of the new Homewood Suites near BW Raffles, and would be taking the bus to the Toy Story parking lot back. Is that area rough?

The Homewood Suites is pretty far down from Disneyland. We've never stayed that far down Harbor, so I'm not sure about the surrounding area. I wouldn't recommend walking back and forth, just because it's such a long walk and you would be outside the immediate vicinity of Disneyland.

I just looked up Homewood Suites, and it looks like they have their own shuttle that goes to Disneyland. The Homewood Suites shuttle should drop you off in the bus drop off area located just outside bag check. If you take the hotel shuttle back and forth, that hotel would be just fine. The shuttle looks like it's inexpensive and goes every 30 minutes.

 

[mgd]

The Homewood Suites is pretty far down from Disneyland. We've never stayed that far down Harbor, so I'm not sure about the surrounding area. I wouldn't recommend walking back and forth, just because it's such a long walk and you would be outside the immediate vicinity of Disneyland.

I just looked up Homewood Suites, and it looks like they have their own shuttle that goes to Disneyland. The Homewood Suites shuttle should drop you off in the bus drop off area located just outside bag check. If you take the hotel shuttle back and forth, that hotel would be just fine. The shuttle looks like it's inexpensive and goes every 30 minutes.

There is a new homewood suites opening december, right next to the toy story lot. Aside from a few homeless that I've seen sleep in front of the CVS down the street, that immediate area is not horrible. It's right across from the convention way road to the convention center. Farther down, there are more businesses and fast food places, but even late at night, tends to be mainly harmless vacationers getting a late night ice cream or snack.