Marriott property choice

mom25kiddos

Mouseketeer
Joined
Apr 16, 2013
I have been reading through the threads on where to stay, and could use a bit of help (or a push) as to what to book (four nights, in August). For context, I will be travelling with my two teens (19 and 18 at the time). We would like to stay at a Marriott property (because of points), and I am not super confident in making the right choice (I tend to book what seems cheapest, and then regret it later!). Here are my options on the app:
1. Fairfield Anaheim Resort $268/night
2.Courtyard Anaheim $423/night (have read this one is good, but seems spendy?)
3. Four Points $181/night (have read this is not a good location?)
4. Springhill Suites $249/night
5. Westin $341/night
6. Residence Inn $332/night
7. Sheraton Park $220/night
8. Elements $264/night
9. JW $344/night
10. Anaheim Marriott $236/night

Any of these jump out at you as a decent booking? Not super concerned about the pool. Priorities would be safe area-walkable to something for dinner, and reasonable commute to the parks. Thanks in advance for taking the time to review and chime in!
 
I have been reading through the threads on where to stay, and could use a bit of help (or a push) as to what to book (four nights, in August). For context, I will be travelling with my two teens (19 and 18 at the time). We would like to stay at a Marriott property (because of points), and I am not super confident in making the right choice (I tend to book what seems cheapest, and then regret it later!). Here are my options on the app:
1. Fairfield Anaheim Resort $268/night
2.Courtyard Anaheim $423/night (have read this one is good, but seems spendy?)
3. Four Points $181/night (have read this is not a good location?)
4. Springhill Suites $249/night
5. Westin $341/night
6. Residence Inn $332/night
7. Sheraton Park $220/night
8. Elements $264/night
9. JW $344/night
10. Anaheim Marriott $236/night

Any of these jump out at you as a decent booking? Not super concerned about the pool. Priorities would be safe area-walkable to something for dinner, and reasonable commute to the parks. Thanks in advance for taking the time to review and chime in!
I can only give info/opinions some of them:

1. This would probably be the one I chose based on what I know of your group and requirements. It is about a 5-7 minute walk to crosswalk at security (maybe less for teenagers) and there are a couple of places along Harbor between the hotel and the gates to eat dinner. It is outside corridors instead of interior hallways but that is not an issue for me.
2. The Courtyard is great but really you are paying for the pool (and maybe the bunk beds in every room which is a plus for families with young kids) which you say you are not concerned about so I would rule that one out completely since the price is so much more
3. You have to go over the 5 for this one so it is a longer walk is probably not worth the extra savings unless price is your biggest concern.
10. This one is all well and fine except it is about a 20 minute walk to the parks which is more than I ever want to walk at the end of a park day. You can do ART but I would still rather staying walkable than depending on a bus.
 
My family stayed at the Courtyard closer to the convention center. It's not the closest walk, but manageable. And if you really don't want to walk, there's ART.

I was about a decade ago, but I've still got the reservation confirmation and it was $118 a night base rate around 4th of July weekend. I think parking was $12 a day. It was fine, but parking was near impossible with a full lot, especially since there was a large pickup with a trailer taking up about 5-6 spaces. Other than that, it was clean and fine for what we needed. Some people might just walk to the Toy Story lot to take the bus.
 
We've stayed at the Fairfield and Sheraton Park. Fairfield is usually our go to for Marriott hotels based on proximity and value. It's been updated in the past years. It can be a bit noisy (ac unit is loud, but where is it not noisy?). Has view of fireworks from an open access balcony area. It is very close to entrance and places to eat. .

Sheraton Park is pleasant and near other Anaheim areas such as Garden Walk. But its a long haul if walking. It seemed to have nicer rooms and pools (last we stayed there). Some view of fireworks based on premium room upgrades.
 


We like the Westin. It’s only 5-7 minutes’ more walk than the Paradise Pier hotel. It has a couple of nice restaurants too.

We recently stayed at the JW and there are several restaurants right next to it. We used the Toy Story shuttles and those were convenient.

If you have sufficient status, the Westin’s concierge lounge is better than the JW’s. Westin’s is open every day, but JW is closed from 11:00 am Friday to Sunday evening. Westin’s also has a nice rooftop terrace.
 
When not staying at a Disney hotel we always stay at the Fairfield inn. The rooms are large and the beds comfy. Very clean as you expect from a Marriott. There is even enough room for my scooter inside the room, without making it to crowded.
 
I just booked for a November trip and was deciding between the Fairfield and the Courtyard. I was going to book the Fairfield to save money, but then I made the mistake of looking at Trip Advisor reviews since we haven’t stayed there in about 8 years. Not good, with many people complaining about dirty rooms. I cannot handle that so we chose the Courtyard even though it’s more expensive. (My first choice was Best Western PPI for proximity but they weren’t available.)

I considered the Westin but decided that is just too far for me. I can barely make it to the Disneyland Hotel at the end of the night and the thought of going further is just too much.

It’s always a balancing act of price/distance/quality of hotel for us. So I would suggest figuring out which of those is most important to you.
 


We like the Westin. It’s only 5-7 minutes’ more walk than the Paradise Pier hotel. It has a couple of nice restaurants too.

We recently stayed at the JW and there are several restaurants right next to it. We used the Toy Story shuttles and those were convenient.

If you have sufficient status, the Westin’s concierge lounge is better than the JW’s. Westin’s is open every day, but JW is closed from 11:00 am Friday to Sunday evening. Westin’s also has a nice rooftop terrace.
I hadn't thought about the lounge-we would have lounge access so perhaps that makes the Westin worth it(thanks for the tip on the JW, we will be there over a weekend)....otherwise sounds like Fairfield is a good choice too.
 
I have been reading through the threads on where to stay, and could use a bit of help (or a push) as to what to book (four nights, in August). For context, I will be travelling with my two teens (19 and 18 at the time). We would like to stay at a Marriott property (because of points), and I am not super confident in making the right choice (I tend to book what seems cheapest, and then regret it later!). Here are my options on the app:
1. Fairfield Anaheim Resort $268/night
2.Courtyard Anaheim $423/night (have read this one is good, but seems spendy?)
3. Four Points $181/night (have read this is not a good location?)
4. Springhill Suites $249/night
5. Westin $341/night
6. Residence Inn $332/night
7. Sheraton Park $220/night
8. Elements $264/night
9. JW $344/night
10. Anaheim Marriott $236/night

Any of these jump out at you as a decent booking? Not super concerned about the pool. Priorities would be safe area-walkable to something for dinner, and reasonable commute to the parks. Thanks in advance for taking the time to review and chime in!
I've stayed at a few since I favor Marriott whenever staying off-site.
  1. Fairfield Anaheim Resort - it's fine but I think it's showing it's age and parking can be cramped, if no spots are available you're forced to valet.
  2. Springhill Suites Convention Center - It's nice but does get busy, lots of families stay there. Being on the corner of Katella and Harbor, it's a short 10-15 min walk to the parks. Parking garage is underground, which I like especially for summer (my car doesn't get hot) there is an elevator that will take you from there up to your room floor.
  3. Residence Inn - right next door to Springhill Suites, the upside is, it's like staying in a little condo with full kitchen features and extra space since the bedroom is separate from the kitchen/living area. Parking is underground.
  4. Anaheim Marriott - I'm staying there in a few weeks and can let you know. It is right next door to the Convention Center and maybe only a few minutes past the Springhill Suites.
If the price is right for me, I always lean towards Residence Inn just because you get more space. My brother in law booked their last stay on points, and did it with Springhill Suites Convention Center, they loved it. He called in to make the reservation since online it kept showing not available for points, but when he called it in, they had no issue getting him booked with points.
 
I hadn't thought about the lounge-we would have lounge access so perhaps that makes the Westin worth it(thanks for the tip on the JW, we will be there over a weekend)....otherwise sounds like Fairfield is a good choice too.

Same issue when we were at the Anaheim Marriott Convention Center last year-lounge closed on Saturday.
 
I hadn't thought about the lounge-we would have lounge access so perhaps that makes the Westin worth it(thanks for the tip on the JW, we will be there over a weekend)....otherwise sounds like Fairfield is a good choice too.
The Westin lounge is awesome. Breakfast was nice and the evening snacks really helped our food budget. But the standard Westin rooms are not large. Our teen prefers the Residence Inn as there is much more room and we can stock up the kitchen.
 
Based on those prices, I'd pick the full-service Anaheim Marriott (near the convention center).
 
The Westin lounge is awesome. Breakfast was nice and the evening snacks really helped our food budget. But the standard Westin rooms are not large. Our teen prefers the Residence Inn as there is much more room and we can stock up the kitchen.
If I remember correctly the Residence Inn also offers evening snacks and wine, along with hot breakfast buffet style. Springhill Suites also does a hot buffet style breakfast. Whenever I stay at either of those properties, even though I'm not a huge breakfast person, I still go and grab a few things that will tie me over until lunch at the parks.
 
I have had more Marriott points than I know what to do with and if not staying on site my go to is still the Fairfield as I value proximity to the parks and rooms are predictably mediocre. Courtyard is great, but kinda pricey...everything else is not worth the walk IMO.

Spring Hill and RI are both a tad nicer than FFI, but a longer walk...however the extra space with 2 teens might be nice.
 
Of the ones on your list, I have only stayed at the Courtyard Front Entrance. I will argue on its behalf for 3 reasons:
1. Each room comes with two showers, one a glassed in shower next to the toilet which separates that area from the double sink vanity and the other shower/tub with a locked door. So for us with two teen girls, it was great to have everyone getting ready and the double vanity for each to get ready at.

2. Proximity to the park. Door to security is under a 10 minute walk. Maybe a 12 minute walk to Downtown Disney for dinner. Made it incredibly easy to take a break during the day for a swim or some down time.

3. Onsite Starbuck/quick breakfast options. This was great for me as I am a grab and go breakfast person who needs his morning joe. Very easy to get what we needed and head to security.

Has a hot tub as well and the pool is pretty narrow. We enjoy the pool/water slide aspect but the other 3 are more why we keep going back there.
 
If I remember correctly the Residence Inn also offers evening snacks and wine, along with hot breakfast buffet style. Springhill Suites also does a hot buffet style breakfast. Whenever I stay at either of those properties, even though I'm not a huge breakfast person, I still go and grab a few things that will tie me over until lunch at the parks.
This RI does not have the evening social.
 
We've stayed at the Courtyard and Four Points on that list.

The Courtyard is designed for families but you are definitely paying for the water park area and proximity to the parks. It's a nice hotel with interior corridors but definitely a tier below the JW and Westin. IMHO probably not worth it unless you have a younger kid.

We stayed at the Four Points right after they remodeled. The rooms were adequate but definitely on the noisy side because of the paper thin walls. You'd also have to cross over the I-5 ramp on Harbor to get to the parks and that in itself is probably more "unsafe" than the transient population around the resort area.

On your list I'd put the Fairfield on the top of the list if you are ok with prioritizing cheap and close, you should be able to get a pretty good view of the fireworks from the hallways outside your room. If you'd prefer cheap and nice then I'd say go with the Marriott or Springhill Suites.
 
Fairfield is our go-to when not staying on site. We are also a Marriott family and of the Marriott options, it is the best for our number one priority: proximity. Love being able to walk to the park and love being close enough for easy afternoon breaks.
 

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