Howard Johnson Anaheim Review- STAY THERE!!!!

[DisneyD]

First time at DL, first time at HoJo.

We arrived at the hotel around 11 a.m. and were able to check in. What a relief! The staff was friendly and very courteous.

The rooms are nice. Very clean and have everything you need. The hotel is undergoing more renovation, so it's only going to get better.

We've been to WDW with our kids 4 times and have stayed on Disney property 3 times. So, I was hesitant about staying at HoJo since I wanted the full Disney experience. But, I never felt slighted. The hotel had plenty of Disney touches with flags and umbrellas with the 50th anniversary logos.

What I liked:

Clean
Relatively cheap
Housekeeping and service were beyond OUTSTANDING
About a 7-8 minute walk to Disneyland. That was great!!!
Mimi's cafe is located right next to the hotel. Great restaurant!


What I didn't like:

Two pools, but they were both kind of small for a hotel of this size. Even though, it never felt THAT crowded.

They had a small store at the hotel, but I would have really liked something a little more substantial.

Overall, I would definitely stay there again. We used the ART (Anaheim Resort Transportation) quite a bit and that was nice, especially after a long day of walking! This hotel gets a great approval rating from me, and I'm pretty picky!

 

[spazzyjazzy]

We just checked out of the Howard Johnson on Saturday. We have been staying there for the past eight years for our yearly summer trip. We love it also.

 

[LucyKate]

I couldn't agree more.

We stayed there in December 2004 and thought the service and standard of the hotel were superb.

Not a 5-star hotel, but as a clean, decent sized, well run, moderate price hotel, it can't be beat.

We thought the little store was perfect, and didn't miss an onsite restaurant because of Mimi's being right across the road and doing better food than you'd ever get in any hotel cafe.

I would have liked a bigger, lagoon style pool, but it was still big enough for our kids and never crowded, and better still, very, very warm on December nights!

The fact it was only a 10 minute walk from the park entrance was also a bonus.

 

[amw]

We have the King Suite booked there for next March. Can't wait

 

[being-dragged-to-DL]

You say walking is about 10 minutes from DL. I hate to seem stupid, but help!
We stayed at the DLH a few months back, and are going again. We walk back to the room for naps... and the walk from the entrace thru downtown disney was probably close to 10 minutes, and that was a disney hotel! Is Howard's 10 minutes from the entrance? So, really, is it just as close as DLH? Im assuming its a much better price than DLH. I wouldnt mind saving some money on the room. You just sleep there afterall! And I have plenty of Mickey shampoos from my last trip, so why spend that money? Thanks for help.

 

[Kayla's Mom]

You say walking is about 10 minutes from DL. I hate to seem stupid, but help!
We stayed at the DLH a few months back, and are going again. We walk back to the room for naps... and the walk from the entrace thru downtown disney was probably close to 10 minutes, and that was a disney hotel! Is Howard's 10 minutes from the entrance? So, really, is it just as close as DLH? Im assuming its a much better price than DLH. I wouldnt mind saving some money on the room. You just sleep there afterall! And I have plenty of Mickey shampoos from my last trip, so why spend that money? Thanks for help.

Yes, Hojo's is about 10 minutes from the entrance to the park. We stayed there last November with the entertainment card rate and are doing that again in September. I have never stayed onsite, but we absolutely loved Howard Johnsons!

 

[TimNDansMom]

We really enjoyed our stay at the HoJo last summer and will be staying there again next week, for all the same reasons given above! Looking forward to it!

 

[victorandbellasmom]

Glad to read another great review for hojo's. we'll be staying there for teh 1st time next month. Can't wait.

 

[SamIAm21]

First time at DL, first time at HoJo.

We arrived at the hotel around 11 a.m. and were able to check in. What a relief! The staff was friendly and very courteous.

The rooms are nice. Very clean and have everything you need. The hotel is undergoing more renovation, so it's only going to get better.

We've been to WDW with our kids 4 times and have stayed on Disney property 3 times. So, I was hesitant about staying at HoJo since I wanted the full Disney experience. But, I never felt slighted. The hotel had plenty of Disney touches with flags and umbrellas with the 50th anniversary logos.

What I liked:

Clean
Relatively cheap
Housekeeping and service were beyond OUTSTANDING
About a 7-8 minute walk to Disneyland. That was great!!!
Mimi's cafe is located right next to the hotel. Great restaurant!


What I didn't like:

Two pools, but they were both kind of small for a hotel of this size. Even though, it never felt THAT crowded.

They had a small store at the hotel, but I would have really liked something a little more substantial.

Overall, I would definitely stay there again. We used the ART (Anaheim Resort Transportation) quite a bit and that was nice, especially after a long day of walking! This hotel gets a great approval rating from me, and I'm pretty picky!

I agree with every single word you wrote here!! I stayed there in June and couldn't have been more pleased with the hotel. Very clean, safe, friendly people. Like you, I am pretty fussy about where I lay my head too and I was more than pleased with this hotel.

 

[disney-super-mom]

You say walking is about 10 minutes from DL. I hate to seem stupid, but help!
We stayed at the DLH a few months back, and are going again. We walk back to the room for naps... and the walk from the entrace thru downtown disney was probably close to 10 minutes, and that was a disney hotel! Is Howard's 10 minutes from the entrance? So, really, is it just as close as DLH? Im assuming its a much better price than DLH. I wouldnt mind saving some money on the room. You just sleep there afterall! And I have plenty of Mickey shampoos from my last trip, so why spend that money? Thanks for help.

When staying at the DLH, we always take the monorail in and out of DL park since the DTD monorail station is so close to the DLH (a 1-2 minute walk). Also, we go through the Grand Californian when entering and exiting DCA since ALL Disney Resort Hotel guests are allowed to use the Grand Californian's private entrance/exit gates to DCA. That cuts down on a lot of walking to and from the main gates!

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

Thanks for the review, if we were to ever stay offsite sounds like the place to go! Glad you had a wonderful trip!

 

[CindyH]

We have the King Suite booked there for next March. Can't wait

AMW, what's special about the King Suite? Just curious, maybe we'll try that next time, thanks!

 

[deekaypee]

Thanks for the review. I'll be staying there--in 2 days! after having booked based on reviews on TripAdvisor. It's nice to know that it's a good choice.

If you remember, what building did you stay in?

 

[HydroGuy]

You say walking is about 10 minutes from DL. I hate to seem stupid, but help!
We stayed at the DLH a few months back, and are going again. We walk back to the room for naps... and the walk from the entrace thru downtown disney was probably close to 10 minutes, and that was a disney hotel! Is Howard's 10 minutes from the entrance? So, really, is it just as close as DLH? Im assuming its a much better price than DLH. I wouldnt mind saving some money on the room. You just sleep there afterall! And I have plenty of Mickey shampoos from my last trip, so why spend that money? Thanks for help.

Someone actually measured it. The absolute closest walk to the DLR gates is from the Best Western Park Place Inn on Harbor - or from the Grand Californian depending on where your room is and what path you take.

See: "How Far Is It?" www.mouseplanet.com/articles.php?art=mm060329as

 

[HydroGuy]

We stayed at HoJo's in 2003, and I agree it is a nice hotel and you can get really good room rates there.

However, the distance was too much for us - especially since we take a long afternoon break each day and thus had 2 round trips pere day. One night we were leaving the parks at midnight and I had to hire a taxi for $10 to get us back to our room because it was clear it was too far for our tired bodies.

So on our two trips in 2005 we stayed at a closer hotel on Harbor near the crosswalk - and that was far preferable - at least for us. The hotel was not as nice as HoJo's but, frankly, we do not go to DLR to stay at hotels. We try to spend as little time at the hotel as absolulely possible. Or put another way, we try to spend as much time as possible at the parks.

Not everyone is like us, and if you want a nice off-site hotel, HoJo's is a good choice. But you will walk more.

Here is a map showing hotels around DLR:
http://www.geocities.com/ashpsyche/DisneylandLinkMap.html

 

[SamIAm21]

From the corner of Manchester and Harbor, it is about two city blocks to the crosswalk for DL. Once you cross, you must pass the tram/ART pick up and drop off area, then a short distance to the gates. I would estimate this to be about another 1 to 1 1/2 blocks at the most. If you are in decent shape, this will be absolutely no problem to walk this in the morning, but I did take ART one evening when we were really wrung out because even three blocks seemed too far.

I walk about four to six blocks to and from the train everday, and the DL walk seemed shorter. Besides, once you are on Disney property, the music starts and the excitement builds. That last block just flies by!

 

[HydroGuy]

From the corner of Manchester and Harbor, it is about two city blocks to the crosswalk for DL. Once you cross, you must pass the tram/ART pick up and drop off area, then a short distance to the gates. I would estimate this to be about another 1 to 1 1/2 blocks at the most.

If you look at the measurements (see http://www.mouseplanet.com/articles.php?art=mm060329as) here is what you will find:

Best Western Park Place Inn: 1,310 feet (nearest room), 1,825 feet (furthest room) - average is 1,568 ft.

Howard Johnson's Anaheim: 2,648 feet (nearest room), 3,063 feet (furthest room) - average is 2,856 ft.

The "average" room distance would be 1288 ft further, or about a quarter mile. One way.

If you walk both directions once, that is an extra 1/2 mile per day. If you also take an afternoon break and walk, it is an extra mile per day. Aside from the extra walking, this is an extra 15-25 minutes out of the day (depends on how fast you walk, and whether you have young children).

I have never ridden ART. If you skip walking and take ART, I suspect your DLR gate-to-hotel room transit time will be the same or longer than if you walked. But I would be interested in anyone's feedback who has measured this.

 

[amw]

AMW, what's special about the King Suite? Just curious, maybe we'll try that next time, thanks!

I wanted a separate room for my DDs to sleep in. The King Suite has one bedroom with a King and its own TV, and a separate living room with a pull-out queen and its own TV. There's a mini-kitchen with fridge and micro (I think the regular rooms don't have the microwave). There are 2 little balconies, but only one bathroom. Apparently, you can see the fireworks from the room.

Here's a link to the various room layouts at the HoJos:

http://www.hojoanaheim.com/pdf/room_layouts.pdf

The suite is on page 2.

 

[munchkinsmom]

Apparently, you can see the fireworks from the room.

You can, but the view from at least one of the windows is obstructed by trees. The window off the bedroom has a better view of the fireworks than the balcony off the living room, but because the kids are usually asleep in the bedroom by the time the fireworks go off, DH and I never look from that window.

 

[DisneyD]

We have the King Suite booked there for next March. Can't wait

I got a glimpse of that suite as the maid was cleaning it when we were walking to the elevator. It looked really nice!