I could use some hotel help!

[Bungle]

For our next trip we are looking for a hotel that has breakfast available and a shuttle of some sort. I was thinking the CCI but I've heard the breakfast is awful. Any thoughts? Recommendations? Any advice is appreciated

 

[LynGregory]

Hi there, we always stay at the Hyatt Regency Orange County. I can't recommend it highly enough.....we are from the UK and stay there for 22 nights each year- this is definitely our hotel of choice. I hope the fact that we choose to stay for 22 nights tells you all you need to know? This hotel has a WONDERFUL breakfast buffet or you can choose a la carte (we always opt for the buffet though)- both options are payable but depending on which room deal you get sometimes breakfast is included. The Hyatt also has a dedicated shuttle which costs $4 per day per person, it runs twice an hour to the park and is a super comfortable and modern shuttle. Anything else you need to know, please feel free to PM me and ask?

 

[Girimama33]

Embassy Suites South offers a full hot breakfast for free and all rooms are suites. They are on the ART line with a dedicated shuttle that stops at the Gardenwalk.

 

[raiderfan]

Embassy Suites South offers a full hot breakfast for free and all rooms are suites. They are on the ART line with a dedicated shuttle that stops at the Gardenwalk.

I had a reservation with Embassy Suites South but cancelled after seeing a report of bed bugs from some recent guests. I will miss the great breakfast but won't miss the itching...

 

[lulugirl1968]

We stayed at the Homewood Suites (a Hitlon property) in May, and it was great! Clean, lovely rooms and great pool area.

It is in the Garden Gorve area, and is a mile away from the parks, but they have a great shuttle that runs every 1/2 hour for a small fee.

All the room are suites...we had 2 queens in one room, and then a seperate living room, with a sofa bed and kitchen. We paid about $100.00/night.

They offer a free daily hot b-fast, which was really good. And, M-TH, they offer a free dinner with beer/wine.

There is a Target right across the street, and many restuarants close by.

Good luck!

 

[Karenann*]

We have stayed at Homewood as well for 9 nights in 2010 and loved it. Hotel has it's own dedicated shuttle but ART stops in parking lot of hotel nest door.
Rooms are clean and large and have kitchenette for fixing meals. The breakfast and light dinner (sun-thurs only)were good.
Lots of families and children at this hotel, rooms were very quiet. SLOW elevators.

 

[HydroGuy]

For our next trip we are looking for a hotel that has breakfast available and a shuttle of some sort. I was thinking the CCI but I've heard the breakfast is awful. Any thoughts? Recommendations? Any advice is appreciated

I have never heard anyone say the CCI breakfast is awful. I think you may have gotten a misleading bit of info.

 

[BlueBayou]

For our next trip we are looking for a hotel that has breakfast available and a shuttle of some sort. I was thinking the CCI but I've heard the breakfast is awful. Any thoughts? Recommendations? Any advice is appreciated

We stayed at the CCI two years ago. We loved the shuttle (we have always done across the street harbor hotels or Disney ones - so this was our first shuttle experience). It had a schedule and it worked well for us. There were other people waiting in the same shuttle area that complained about their hotel shuttles (It looked like some you have to phone ahead or schedule pick up). The CCI folks were always happy.

I am not a huge breakfast person - so I might not be the best judge - but in comparison to the other harbor hotels it seemed better than average for a CONTINENTAL breakfast. Fruits, cereals and toast/bagels. If I recall correctly it is not one of the places where you get stuff like biscuits and gravy or scrambled eggs.

 

[DisneyMomma81]

Why a shuttle, stay across the street and walk, your 4 year old will need a stroller *IMO* and they're a pain on shuttles. Breakfast, who cares??? I'm paying $59 per night at HoJo's in Oct, we'll stop by a grocery store *driving so have a car and get Mimi's *already have a $50 gift card for Mimi's! Parks won't open till 10am so an 8am breakfast would be no problem.

 

[milan15]

BW Stovall's is what I would recommend.
Really close, nice rooms, decent breakfast, and relatively cheap.
Look at doing it through getawaytoday if you need park hoppers, as well

 

[DisneyMomma81]

BW Stovall's is what I would recommend.
Really close, nice rooms, decent breakfast, and relatively cheap.
Look at doing it through getawaytoday if you need park hoppers, as well

We stayed there last Thanksgiving, got it cheap through LMT using this tip

Loved walking along Disneyland Dr and cutting through Grand CA and Downton D to get to the parks. See this map

That was DD's 1st non stroller visit to DLR - she did great.

 

[PinkBudgie]

We've stayed at CCI three times and their breakfast is not awful. It is actually very nice. There is a ceral bar, donuts, bagels, bread, (and a large toater for them), muffins, different fruits and juices, yogurt, milk, coffee and hot chocolate. Ok, I will admit the coffee is awful, but I'm a coffee snob. We bring our own coffee maker and coffee. Or sometimes I will mix coffee with the hot chocolate. I do wish they would add some hard boiled eggs. I would call it a step above continental. I usually have a toasted bagel with cream cheese and a little fruit or juice.

And considering that most hotels in the area don't offer any sort of breakfast at all, I think it's a great deal. We don't have to go shopping for breakfast food to keep in the fridge in the room, we don't have to use extra money and time to stop and eat breakfast somewhere else.

My favorite hotel breakfast is, of course, Embassy Suites. We've stayed there before but because of the distance from the parks, we had to hurry down as soon as it opened and eat quick. So it was rather rushed.

I wouldn't rule out CCI based on you heard it was awful. It's a charming, friendly place. No, the breakfast isn't perfect, but not awful.

 

[LisainCalifornia]

I am not a huge breakfast person - so I might not be the best judge - but in comparison to the other harbor hotels it seemed better than average for a CONTINENTAL breakfast. Fruits, cereals and toast/bagels. If I recall correctly it is not one of the places where you get stuff like biscuits and gravy or scrambled eggs.

Actually, you must be thinking of another motel located on Harbor--the Candy Cane Inn doesn't have any hot/cooked items in their breakfast, so no biscuits and gravy.

I wouldn't say it is an awful breakfast at all--it is just a bare bones continental breakfast. A variety of cold cereals, milk, juice, coffee, supermarket bagels (like the kind you buy in a bag), cream cheese and jams/jelly, fruit, prepackaged danish and muffins and boxed donuts. So, if you adjust your idea of breakfast--it is fine. It is not meant to be a breakfast buffet like you would get at a Hilton or Hyatt--it is just clean and basic. My daughter and I just had cereal each morning, which was fine. In some ways, I liked it better simple--because the food at Disneyland is so rich, so it is good to keep it simple in the morning. Pinkbudgie is right--the coffee is pretty bad, but similar to what you would expect at this level of breakfast.

The only issue I had with the Candy Cane Inn was the beds. You could tell they were very cheap. Very soft, but sort of like a big marshmallow with no structure to it. You would roll right off the bed if you got too close to the side. Beds that are too hard and cheap are a problem, but beds that are too soft and cheap can be uncomfortable as well. It was okay.

This is a very family friendly MOTEL (so don't expect a Hyatt, Sheraton, Hilton, etc...) with a great reliable free shuttle (always on time and comfortable). It is a motor coach motel where your room faces the parking lot (your car) which can be handy for getting stuff from your car if you need it. No elevator, and outdoor concrete walkways. Thinish walls with the required screaming kids in the next room at 6:00 a.m. Clean yet bare necessities breakfast. As long as you go with all of that in mind, you will be fine.

 

[Tinker1972]

We just got back from a stay at Stovall's and we really loved it. I was skeptical at first because I always prefer to stay right across the street along South Harbour, but we went with my daughters dance studio and this was the hotel they chose. We're going back in November, and have chosen this hotel as I was completely pleasantly surprised! The rooms are a good size and very clean. I loved the location more than I thought I would. Its a really nice walk through the Grand Californian..or if your feet are too sore, the ART stops directly in front of the hotel. We took the shuttle alot, and it was SO GREAT! The pool area was awesome too, with 2 pools, 2 hot tubs and a small kiddie pool. The breakfast was perfect, with scrambled eggs, pancakes, sausage..as well as fruit, yogurt, bagels, ect. The food quality os obviously not the greatest, but its FREE and it does the job! I would highly recommend this hotel. Can't wait to go back!

 

[lwilkison]

Why a shuttle, stay across the street and walk, your 4 year old will need a stroller *IMO* and they're a pain on shuttles. Breakfast, who cares??? I'm paying $59 per night at HoJo's in Oct, we'll stop by a grocery store *driving so have a car and get Mimi's *already have a $50 gift card for Mimi's! Parks won't open till 10am so an 8am breakfast would be no problem.

We do the exact same thing...get some groceries and make food in room and get Denny's with the coupon...it works great! When you pay the great ET rate and have a great themed pool/water park....it is a great place to stay and play

 

[DisneytheKid]

BW Stovall's is what I would recommend.
Really close, nice rooms, decent breakfast, and relatively cheap.
Look at doing it through getawaytoday if you need park hoppers, as well

We've stayed at Stovall's before and liked it. Plus its right next to an ART stop so there is your shuttle. Breakfast was ok. Nothing to write home about.

 

[disneegrl4eva]

We stayed there last Thanksgiving, got it cheap through LMT using this tip

Loved walking along Disneyland Dr and cutting through Grand CA and Downton D to get to the parks. See this map

That was DD's 1st non stroller visit to DLR - she did great.

i cant figure out how to do this...and its driving me batty...how do you find the hotel code??? there was only one property that had a name...everything else is hidden...

 

[specialks]

i cant figure out how to do this...and its driving me batty...how do you find the hotel code??? there was only one property that had a name...everything else is hidden...

Don't feel bad...I tried to figure out this awesome Disneymomma trick and couldn't figure it out either. I think they've changed their web system so it no longer works. At least that's what I told myself when I couldn't figure it out.

 

[Bungle]

Thanks I really appreciate all of your ideas and recommendations. I am checking out all of the hotels now. I think I did get some bad advice about CCI because the consensus seems that its a pretty good basic breakfast. Embassy suites looks amazing! You have all really helped narrow down a ton of choices so thank you

 

[goofyfordisney]

For our next trip we are looking for a hotel that has breakfast available and a shuttle of some sort. I was thinking the CCI but I've heard the breakfast is awful. Any thoughts? Recommendations? Any advice is appreciated

Hi,

I guess I would want to know what type of motels/hotels you've stayed at in the past? If you are accustomed to staying in a 'hotel', CCI might not be your best choice.

When I travel with my DH and my DSs, we typically don't stay in motels. My husband travels on business quite a bit, so we usually stay in chain hotels and resorts. However, when we've visited DL the past 4 times, I traveled with one DS, my mom and sister and we stayed at CCI. We've been very happy with our stays. Its not 'the Ritz', but we were very comfortable and we were glad to be close to DLR and have the free breakfast and shuttle.

CCI is really a pretty good choice and it matches the requests that you provided here. It is a motel, but a nice motel. The breakfast offerings include a variety of muffins, breads, bagels, cereals, yogurt, fruit, as well as juice, milk, hot chocolate and coffee. It was plenty for us - it wasn't 'awful' at all! You can eat breakfast in a small breakfast room or out by the pool - which is what we did every morning. Their shuttle runs on a regular loop every 1/2 hour. The shuttle takes about the same amount of time, but it saves the feet after a long day of walking! We usually walked in the morning if the shuttle wasn't ready to leave when we headed out - its only about a 7 minute walk to the front gates at DL. Since we drive from the Bay Area, it was nice to have free parking. The rooms are nice enough - we usually book the 'deluxe' room category. The pool is actually pretty nice - perfect for a quick dip. There also is a large jacuzzi. The 'grounds' consist of the parking lot in the center of the property - however, they have done a nice job of landscaping with lots of pretty hanging flowers, so it actually looks very nice!

If you don't care about being able to walk to and from DL, then you really open up your choices and get more 'bang for your buck', IMHO. We've stayed at a few off-site hotels that were nice - but, neither included breakfast (Sheraton Anaheim and Marriott Suites). I've heard really good reviews for Embassy Suites, Residence Inn Maingate, Sheraton Park and the Hyatt.

For our upcoming trip, I was able to get a AAA Club level rate of $171 at Sheraton Park. It included free wifi, parking, free full breakfast and evening food offerings, etc. We were planning on catching the Disney shuttles that leave from Toy Story parking lot.

I just changed my reservation to DLH, because my DH decided to come and he really wanted to stay onsite.

Hope this helps!

Let us know what you decided!