Need help with hotels-On property or off

[kiwitravel]

We have stayed at both of the above, CI was the better, they have a breakfast room that overlooks the park, good breakfast, very good staff we got a free late checkout (1pm) and as we didn't have to go to airport till 6pm we stayed in their airconditioned breakfast room and watched TV and relaxed. Rooms were bigger at CI although a little dated at the time, very clean though. Also had a decent sized fridge and freezer plus a microwave. Best of all only 300 yards to the maingate of Disneyland, the Hotels directly across the road on Harbour Boulevard are the closest to Disneyland main gate then you have hotels like GCH and Hojos and Fairfield, followed by DSH and PP. Hope this helps.

 

[kiwitravel]

DSH should read DLH. The maps you see aren't usually to Scale so its hard to judge. We had a look at all the resort hotels, PP and DLH are on the otherside of Downtown Disney, about 700 yards from the maingate. About halfway down is the Monorail Station (think its up some stairs) but this can get crowded you may have to wait a couple of trains before you get on. The GCH is somewhere about here so a lot closer and does have direct access into DCA. CI is over on the Harbour Boulvard side of the park, there is a crosswalk, you walk down past the ART dropoff stops and you are there.
I did make a list of the Hotels there, I will find it and post it here.

 

[LLS]

Thank you -- very helpful!

 

[prncssmel]

I was going to recommend Candy Cane, also. It's a very nice, peaceful place with lovely rooms and comfy beds. The breakfasts are great and FREE! You can walk to and from the parks, or take the free Candy Cane shuttle which runs every 1/2 hour--a nice option that very few hotels around offer.

They have three room types: Standard, Deluxe and Premium. Standard and deluxe both have two queens and a fridge, but deluxe is larger in square feet. Premium is just a deluxe room with a microwave, VCR, cookies on arrival, turn-down service, and the option to have breakfast delivered to your room. (Not worth the extra $$ in my opinion, but some people really love this.) Here's a picture:

www.candycaneinn.net Their best prices are their online ones, or call and ask the hotel itself if they can offer anything better.

I've stayed at DLH, GC, Carousel, and Desert Inn--I actually like this hotel best (well, GC is my favorite, but the price is hard to swallow...)

Staying onsite at DL just doesn't have the perks that WDW onsite has. I absolutely agree about CCI. It is a fantastic place -- so cute, very friendly and helpful staff, wonderful breakfast. The walk is only 10 minutes, or you can take the shuttle. Also, we have stayed at multiple rooms there and have never heard Harbor Blvd. noise. It has always been very quiet.

 

[Arianna]

Whatever you do, do not go to the ramada inn maingate...horrible service and its really loud!

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

Were staying at the Carousel Inn, mainly because of how close it is. All the reviews I've read have been good, about the service, the rooms, and the breakfast. From what I understand they renovated not too long ago, so the rooms are nice. I like having a fridge with freezer and microwave too! While reading the reviews on tripadvisor.com I noticed that management responds to mostly all the reviews, which I think is neat. Shows they care.

We were thinking about the CCI, but honestly that seemed like a bit of a hike for us! Especially after a long day at the parks with tired feet! I like the idea of just hopping across the cross walk and being at the hotel.

 

[Cadillac_Dreamgirl]

I stayed at the quality inn a couple of weeks ago........some say its terrible but i actually liked it. it had a microwave and hair dryer. we ate breakfast there for free. the breakfast consists of waffles, milk orange juice lemonade, bagels toast and it wasnt bad. so there was only like 4 channels and no internet but keep in mind by the time u arrive at the hotel u will pass out in bed from all the walking. i never heard a noise outside. the staff was friendly too.

 

[kiwitravel]

We use Trip Advisor too, we had friends who stayed at the CCI because of its good reviews but were dissappointed, the hotel was OK but not up to the hype some had posted, they preferred our hotel CI which was cheaper. There have been regular postings on Trip Advisor that it is felt CCI management were placing their own postings to boost their ratings....

 

[DevilDuckie]

Personally, if I were staying off-site I'd pick different hotels. We enjoyed Candy Cane Inn with their dedicated shuttle every 30 minutes and free breakfast. They also had a cute little pool. The Carousel looks to be a good value for families also and it is right across the street from the main entrance so you don't need to drive and park.

Add me to the Candy Cane faction. The breakfast was much better than most I've seen and the free shuttle was never so full people got left behind. Remember to tip the driver! : It was clean, the staff was friendly and we were totally happy with our stay.

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

We use Trip Advisor too, we had friends who stayed at the CCI because of its good reviews but were dissappointed, the hotel was OK but not up to the hype some had posted, they preferred our hotel CI which was cheaper. There have been regular postings on Trip Advisor that it is felt CCI management were placing their own postings to boost their ratings....

Yeah after seeing it so much on here I looked in to it. While we haven't stayed there I just didn't see what all the hype was all about honestly. We've stayed at the Castle Inn a few times, which is pretty much across the street (possibly even closer to DL). We found that to be too much of a walk for us! Especially with so many closer hotels, offering free breakfast, and not having to worry about a shuttle? To each their own I suppose, but yeah I'm not sure it would live up to the hype for us either.

 

[bubbasmom99]

We *just* got back from a long weekend at the parks. We stayed at the BWPPI and I was pleasantly surprised! Mind you, we are DVC members and used to staying at deluxe resorts -- we have stayed at the DLH and GC and chose to try the BWPPI this time for budgetary reasons. We have stayed at the HoJo, Fairfield and CCI, for comparison purposes. I'd say the BWPPI was as nice as the CCI, and they both offer the continental breakfast, for about the same price (we had a mini-suite). But you absolutely cannot be the proximity of the BWPPI. It was fabulous to walk out the door, down the stairs, and hit the crosswalk.

Room was clean, housekeeping was great, front desk was great. The only downside was the garbage truck outside our room this morning about 8 am, which, if we weren't up so late last night, we'd already be out of the room on the way to early entry.

I am sold on the BWPPI and will have a hard time justifying the higher cost of a resort hotel, when we just want a place to stay. We did spend a decent amount of time in the room, including several hours each afternoon. It was a very nice, roomy place to hang out.

 

[LLS]

I love hearing everyone's experiences -- thanks so much for sharing! It's tough to decide, especially when I know this may be our only family trip to DL -- I want to get it right!

 

[jessandtwo]

Thanks so much for everyone's opinion. I'm still not sure where we will be staying, but I know that we won't be staying at the Fairfield, but maybe another one of the closer hotels.

 

[Buttercup Roberts]

We *just* got back from a long weekend at the parks. We stayed at the BWPPI

I get the BW=Best Western but what does the PPI stand for?

 

[victorandbellasmom]

We *just* got back from a long weekend at the parks. We stayed at the BWPPI

I get the BW=Best Western but what does the PPI stand for?

PPI= Park Place Inn

 

[PrincessIM]

We just got back from our trip Sunday and we stayed at the Paradise Pier. We haven't stayed at the GCH or Disneyland Hotel so I'm unable to compare. Staying onsite is so worth it. That extra hour in the park (EE) made a big difference for us as we were able to do all the Fantasyland rides (DD 6, DS 2)first thing and then move on to the rest of the park. It was also very handy to have your parcels shipped directly to the hotel. Don't be concerned about Paradise Pier being too far away - it's not. You just cross the street and enter through the GCH and take the shortcuts for both Disneyland and DCA. DS and DD were able to walk it no problem. For Downtown Disney you just go out the back doors and it was a quick 5 min walk. Disneyland Hotel does offer the monorail but (I may be wrong) that only takes you to Tomorrowland. We did Goofy's Kitchen one morning and to me it seemed that if you are walking, it's a longer walk to the park from the Disneyland Hotel compared to Paradise Pier. However, the pool area at DH was much nicer. We would have loved to have stayed at the GCH but the difference in price was the cost of our 6 day park hopper passes. We had reserved city view rooms but were upgraded to Park view upon checkin. Great view and the kids really enjoyed looking at all the rides. We really enjoyed our stay there.

 

[wvnative]

We were there last weekend for the premiere. This trip we stayed at the Desert Inn. I really can't complain. They had a room ready early for us and the staff was very nice. The beds were comfy. Not that we would have noticed anyway because we were so tired..lol. The room was clean, well stocked, and plenty big enough for us. They have an indoor pool and spa which we did not go to. The do offer a continental breakfast but we didn't try it. It wasn't open yet when we headed to the park on Saturday and we opted for breakfast in the park on Sunday. Plus, it's maybe 5 minutes to the gates including the wait for the light at the crosswalk. I liked having the frig in the room so our water was cold in the mornings too.

We've also stayed at the Anaheim Plaza. It was o.k. We won't completely rule it out, but there are better places to stay. Our room was big and it was clean, but the maid's cart was really loud in the mornings and the shower next door was really loud for there not being a lot of water pressure.

We've stayed at the Ramada Main gate. It's been a long time, but I don't remember it being very comfortable. That little pizza place over there is tolerable though and not badly priced.

The kids stayed at the Tropicana on their choir trip. Mine had no complaints and the room looked decent enough when we stopped by to pick up her stuff.

We stayed at the Ramada Limited North that trip. I won't be doing that again. It was dirty, there were bugs, it was loud, and there was a serious language barrier. The walk wasn't too bad 15 min or so, but it killed me at night going back. It's just across the 5 on Harbor.

We're still trying to find the affordable hotel we like. Right now the Desert Inn is the forerunner, but there's a couple more we'd like to try out.

Staying on property is not an option for me at this time. Disney property or not, I can't bring myself to pay that much for a place to sleep. lol Especially when I travel with teenager(s) and we only go to the room long enough to sleep and shower. However, if the prices were lower, we'd stay onsite just for the atmosphere.