Never been to Disneyland - Hotel recommendation please?

[DLSean22]

Desert Inn & Suites is closer than the Fairfield...they may be confusing it with the Desert Palm which would possibly be a little further. We've stayed at the Desert Palm and the walk back at night was just about our limit (with an 8 yr old). It's not really that far, but at midnight after a long day it can seem a little long.

 

[kirstie101]

I'm confused - isn't Desert Inn & Suites actually closer?? Am I reading the maps wrong?

Yes Desert Inn and Suites is closer. Desert Palms is further.

 

[bcwife76]

This is a great map that shows all the area hotels and their location to Disneyland and which ones are considered walkable:

http://www.accommodationsneardisney.com/Disneyland/default.asp

 

[GoBears 1980]

The Anaheim Plaza is miserable, don't even consider it.

The Best Western Plus Park Place Inn and the Best Western Plus Anaheim Inn are both very nice. Price out the SpringHill Suites Anaheim Resort Convention Center, Marriott Courtyard Hotel & Waterpark (opening this summer) and Holiday Inn Express (also opening this summer).

 

[beachdreamr1229]

I personally like the Fairfield of the ones I have actually stayed at. As long as you're just using it as a place to sleep, it's a great hotel/motel. No free breakfast, but there is a weird little Pizza Hut on site. If you stay there, the fireworks view can be worth it if you don't think you'll be in the parks late at night, but don't waste money on the themed rooms as they pretty much just have cheap decals attached to the walls. I've also stayed at Stovall's. It's a bit further walk, but cheaper and offers a free breakfast. The decor is a little dark, but if you're primarily sleeping there, it doesn't matter. Again, none of these will be even close to the value resorts at WDW. No fancy pools or anything. If you want somewhere with a fancy pool, try the new Courtyard opening in late August as they will have water slides...but it will cost almost as much as staying at PPH, so not sure if it's in your price range.

Do not get the dining plan. I did it once a few years ago when we stayed at DLH. We made good use of it, but it's essentially just pre-paying. There's no benefit to the plan and if anything, you end up spending more than you would otherwise. I didn't love WDW the one time I went, but the dining plans there blew me away compared to what we have. If you want to pre-pay somehow, I'd choose to buy Disney giftcards instead. They can be used for food and souvenirs which makes them a better value.

 

[TechGuy]

I personally like the Fairfield of the ones I have actually stayed at. As long as you're just using it as a place to sleep, it's a great hotel/motel. No free breakfast, but there is a weird little Pizza Hut on site. If you stay there, the fireworks view can be worth it if you don't think you'll be in the parks late at night, but don't waste money on the themed rooms as they pretty much just have cheap decals attached to the walls. I've also stayed at Stovall's. It's a bit further walk, but cheaper and offers a free breakfast. The decor is a little dark, but if you're primarily sleeping there, it doesn't matter. Again, none of these will be even close to the value resorts at WDW. No fancy pools or anything. If you want somewhere with a fancy pool, try the new Courtyard opening in late August as they will have water slides...but it will cost almost as much as staying at PPH, so not sure if it's in your price range.

Sounds like we have the same experiences. Stovals and FFi are my go to places. I walk to both. The breakfast is nice at Stovall's but the walk can be nice/long/dark/fun depending on the day. The pool has been no well maintained in my picky mind ( pools that "smell" like chlorine, are dirty, they should smell fresh and be crystal clear). The rooms are dark panelled and overlook the cars. the bathroom window is a foot square and the humidity can build.

FFI has better beds, better linens and quieter. I don't use the food options there and tend to eat in a restaurant (millie's until it closed) or food I bought at the local store. I like watching the fireworks from the upper walkways and the pool was fun and clear and clean. It's not fancy but the quiet, fresh room with good beds is important to me. The other offerings (or even the lack of them), not so much.

I stayed at the older Residence Inn (cottages) eons ago and it was a real long walk or a long ride on the shuttle. i was not impressed with the site but that was 20 years ago.

 

[Barnabe]

Sounds like we have the same experiences. Stovals and FFi are my go to places. I walk to both. The breakfast is nice at Stovall's but the walk can be nice/long/dark/fun depending on the day. The pool has been no well maintained in my picky mind ( pools that "smell" like chlorine, are dirty, they should smell fresh and be crystal clear). The rooms are dark panelled and overlook the cars. the bathroom window is a foot square and the humidity can build.

FFI has better beds, better linens and quieter. I don't use the food options there and tend to eat in a restaurant (millie's until it closed) or food I bought at the local store. I like watching the fireworks from the upper walkways and the pool was fun and clear and clean. It's not fancy but the quiet, fresh room with good beds is important to me. The other offerings (or even the lack of them), not so much.

I stayed at the older Residence Inn (cottages) eons ago and it was a real long walk or a long ride on the shuttle. i was not impressed with the site but that was 20 years ago.

I agree on your assessment of Stovall's, but we love the walk to the parks from there. Does anyone have another suggestion for a place where you can walk the same route to get into the parks? By this I mean walking through DTD to reach the esplanade?

 

[lvdis]

I agree on your assessment of Stovall's, but we love the walk to the parks from there. Does anyone have another suggestion for a place where you can walk the same route to get into the parks? By this I mean walking through DTD to reach the esplanade?

We did this a couple of years ago when we stayed at the Anabella Hotel and even cut through the Grand Californian some mornings. I would definitely stay there again, but when we go back this year we are trying to decide between the Anabella and the Tropicana. While the walk from the Anabella was nice, I'm thinking directly across the street will be even better!

 

[TechGuy]

I was going to say Annabella also but I have not stayed there. They are essentially on the same intersection with a street and two food places between them.

We are doing the FFI this time as I want less walking. I did trade off free breakfast for the shorter walk but since I am Gluten free, the free breakfast was sort of challenge/risk for me (3 days of discomfort with any GF mistakes). We will taking our own food for breakfasts and this means we will also be taking our own adult beverages to relax in the evening, after the park. We even have our own travel toaster. GF inside DLR is the best place ever. DLR does a great job with food allergies.

 

[Barnabe]

I was wondering about the Annabella, but I was on trip advisor and the most recent reviews aren't too great. It makes me a little hesitant. Yesterday I watched the Dis Unplugged podcast 7 in 7 and they had the Sheraton Park Hotel. Boy did that look nice.

 

[TechGuy]

I would say take all reviews with a grain of salt. The 7in7 shows were Overviews (aka Marketing or Advertisements) and not Reviews. The DIS crew was shown the hotel in its best light, with the support and guidance of the hotel management.

IMHO, Yelp, Expedia, Trip Advisor and other site's reviews seem to be mainly from people who like to comment and angry/dissatisfied guests. It can mean you get a slanted view, unless they are all negative. I did look at the reviews and there do seem to several negative ones this week.

The reviews for Stovalls and FFI, my regular places, seem fair and accurate.

 

[4Siamese]

OH my goodness I must apologise. I meant the Desert Palms Inn... Its the one on the corner of katella and harbour. My bad!!!

The desert inn is the close one across the street.

Sorry about the slip.

 

[lvdis]

I was wondering about the Annabella, but I was on trip advisor and the most recent reviews aren't too great. It makes me a little hesitant. Yesterday I watched the Dis Unplugged podcast 7 in 7 and they had the Sheraton Park Hotel. Boy did that look nice.

We really liked our stay at the Anabella. They have several different room types and we had a Concierge Premiere suite with a king bed, a double bed (in a little side area) and a sofa bed. We got a good deal on it through Travel Zoo that year that included breakfast and parking. If you want to see the different room types you can go to Anabella's website and pretend you are making a reservation up to the point where you can select your room type. This year I actually have a Casita suite (with 1 queen bed and a little separate room with a daybed) reserved, but I have been debating on the Tropicana just for convenience of being directly across the street. You can get a good deal on a couple of room types at the Anabella through getawaytoday with 4th night free.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the Anabella, though based on our experience there. Even though the walk is a little longer, it is a beautiful walk along the side of California Adventure that leads to the Grand Californian and Downtown Disney.

 

[Barnabe]

We really liked our stay at the Anabella. They have several different room types and we had a Concierge Premiere suite with a king bed, a double bed (in a little side area) and a sofa bed. We got a good deal on it through Travel Zoo that year that included breakfast and parking. If you want to see the different room types you can go to Anabella's website and pretend you are making a reservation up to the point where you can select your room type. This year I actually have a Casita suite (with 1 queen bed and a little separate room with a daybed) reserved, but I have been debating on the Tropicana just for convenience of being directly across the street. You can get a good deal on a couple of room types at the Anabella through getawaytoday with 4th night free.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the Anabella, though based on our experience there. Even though the walk is a little longer, it is a beautiful walk along the side of California Adventure that leads to the Grand Californian and Downtown Disney.

Thanks, this is great. I'll check it out.

 

[sweethannah]

I was wondering about the Annabella, but I was on trip advisor and the most recent reviews aren't too great. It makes me a little hesitant. Yesterday I watched the Dis Unplugged podcast 7 in 7 and they had the Sheraton Park Hotel. Boy did that look nice.

I've stayed there twice and liked it each time but the walk is too much after a long day and makes mid-day breaks a problem. You can use the ART but it adds up and you can spend a lot of time waiting around.

We stayed at HOJOs and found the walk very pleasant - 8 minutes to the esplanade.

 

[ADLFAN]

Our first visit we stayed at the Disneyland Hotel and splurged, but I was forced to look for more affordable accommodations when I returned home and...uh...couldn't resist booking another trip... We stayed at the Fairfield Inn the next trip and I actually liked it almost as much! Well, it didn't have a cool pool or restaurants like the DLH but the room was pretty close, minus the cool floor to ceiling blue window. The beds were cozy, the pool was clean and usually empty, they have a little spot in the lobby to get free citrisy water, and the staff was great!

 

[ADLFAN]

Plus- the Matterhorn was right across the street, and you can watch the monorail pass!!

 

[eebuckeye]

Has anyone stayed at Tropicana Inn & Suites?

 

[luulu1999]

You will get sooo many answers to this, when we go i have certain things I am looking for, I despise having to pay for parking so free is a must, a free breakfast is also pretty important, and cost to an extent, we stayed 10 days at Park Vue Inn last summer and it was awesome!! There breakfast is Great!! Its actually a motel with exterior corridors but we will be staying here next summer also. It is literally right across the crosswalk from the entrance! It was clean and we never had any problems!!

 

[luulu1999]

For us, walking distance and free breakfast seem to be the most important things. We spend the vast majority of our time in the park so the hotel is basically a place to sleep, shower and eat breakfast before our long day at the parks. The shorter the walk the better. Within the last five years, we have stayed at the Red Lion three times and Desert Palm once. Both had decent free breakfasts and the rooms were good, but the walking distance was just about at the edge of where we would like to be (especially after a long day/night of park-hopping). For our August trip this year, I chose the Park Vue Inn, mainly due to the proximity/free breakfast/free parking (driving this trip). It was a toss up between that and the Candy Cane Inn, based on what I've read here on Disboards. We only chose Park Vue since it was closer (as close as you can get, even including the on-site hotels) and had what appears to be a bigger breakfast spread. Hopefully we chose well. We are coming back again in November, so our August stay will help determine where we stay in November.

We LOVED it there last July stayed for 10 days and will be staying next year too (Park Vue Inn)