Newbie looking for Good Neighbor advice Aug 2012

[jcarwash]

I've been to Disneyland once in 2007 so I'm still a newbie.

I'm looking for opinion/advice choosing among some Good Neighbor hotels for a mid-August 2012 trip. I have been doing a ton of research and it's hard to figure out the best combination of price, location, and amenities. Here's my latest ones I'm considering against each other:

1. Howard Johnson - For the moment I grabbed a reservation for four nights at Howard Johnson Anaheim. The Mousesavers rate is $135. Parking is "free" but at this rate I basically consider it included. I like that the hotel is active on the DIS and on TripAdvisor and the pools/slides look great.

2. BEST WESTERN PLUS Park Place Inn - Meanwhile the AAA rate at Best Western is $107 plus $8/day parking. There is a complimentary breakfast and the hotel is supposed to be the closest to the DLR gates.

3. Sheraton Anaheim - I stayed here in 2007 because of a good corporate rate. The current rate I see is AAA $119 plus I assume $10/day (or more) for parking. I thought this hotel and pool was great and the shuttle bus was convenient.

Thoughts?

 

[Luv Bunnies]

Also check out the Ramada Maingate. We just stayed there last month and were very happy with it. They have free parking, free breakfast, free wi-fi and are close enough to the front gates that you can easily walk. We got a $99 online rate for 2 queens through their website. It was a great deal and a nice place to stay. It doesn't look like much from the outside, but most of the rooms have been upgraded and are very clean.

 

[iheartdisney]

Without knowing *exactly* what you are looking for, allow me to throw the Park Vue Inn recommendation into the mix.
It is directly across from the crosswalk, includes a free hot breakfast, free parking, and the room look beautiful the last time we were there. They have standard hotel rooms, along with bunkbed rooms, and ever suites.

 

[Eeee-va]

If it were up to me, I'd go with the Best Western...not as nice as Hojo but gotta love the cheaper price and especially the location. You'll almost certainly need to take mid-afternoon breaks and while the walk to Hojo's is reasonable, it's not the most fun thing to do when you're already hot. I find I like Hojo's much more when the weather is cool and/or I don't have to take a mid-afternoon break. (Summer heat, crowds, and hours are so draining that I find a break is necessary.)

That said, if Hojo's rates fall to match the Best Western's, it's a solid enough choice. But even if the pool is a BIG priority, that price seems high to me for Hojo's unless you're getting a suite.

We really liked the Red Lion, but that was winter, and it's probably a farther walk than Hojo's...it feels like a more grown-up property, so may not be right for your needs anyway. On the other hand, you can walk to the Toy Story lot and catch a shuttle that will drop you off fairly near your hotel; you just have to walk through the parking lot to get to the street, then double back to the hotel. (I did that once to get back to the room; I don't think I'd do it to get to the park, or at night.)

 

[jcarwash]

Thanks for the replies!

Also check out the Ramada Maingate. We just stayed there last month and were very happy with it. They have free parking, free breakfast, free wi-fi and are close enough to the front gates that you can easily walk. We got a $99 online rate for 2 queens through their website. It was a great deal and a nice place to stay. It doesn't look like much from the outside, but most of the rooms have been upgraded and are very clean.

Thanks -- I have taken a quick look at the Maingate previously during the research but I will take a closer look again.

Without knowing *exactly* what you are looking for, allow me to throw the Park Vue Inn recommendation into the mix.
It is directly across from the crosswalk, includes a free hot breakfast, free parking, and the room look beautiful the last time we were there. They have standard hotel rooms, along with bunkbed rooms, and ever suites.

I don't know exactly what I'm looking for either -- except maybe one of the Disney hotels at something less than what they charge! I have not really looked at the Park Vue so I will have to check it out.

If it were up to me, I'd go with the Best Western...not as nice as Hojo but gotta love the cheaper price and especially the location. You'll almost certainly need to take mid-afternoon breaks and while the walk to Hojo's is reasonable, it's not the most fun thing to do when you're already hot. I find I like Hojo's much more when the weather is cool and/or I don't have to take a mid-afternoon break. (Summer heat, crowds, and hours are so draining that I find a break is necessary.)

That said, if Hojo's rates fall to match the Best Western's, it's a solid enough choice. But even if the pool is a BIG priority, that price seems high to me for Hojo's unless you're getting a suite.

The $135 rate I have now is for a standard room, not a suite. The pool looks great, especially as I have a young child, but I'm not one to pay extra for a special pool. Thanks!

 

[skiingfast]

The $135 rate I have now is for a standard room, not a suite. The pool looks great, especially as I have a young child, but I'm not one to pay extra for a special pool. Thanks!

Ramada maingate has a nice pool, little splash play area and it's a zero entry pool.

As far as your Hojo rate, that looks high. Did you get the DIS 15% off discount?

 

[jcarwash]

As far as your Hojo rate, that looks high. Did you get the DIS 15% off discount?

The regular rate, for the August 2012 dates I'm researching, for a "Standard 2 Double Beds In Buildings 3-6" is $159.99.

AAA is a 10% discount at 143.10.

I plugged in the 15% MouseSavers code (LKMS) to show the $135.15 rate. DIS code LNDS also shows $135.15.

 

[skiingfast]

The regular rate, for the August 2012 dates I'm researching, for a "Standard 2 Double Beds In Buildings 3-6" is $159.99.

AAA is a 10% discount at 143.10.

I plugged in the 15% MouseSavers code (LKMS) to show the $135.15 rate. DIS code LNDS also shows $135.15.

I just mentioned the DIS code, because people here are familiar with it, and I wasn't sure if you were using a code or booking through a link on MS.

In summary it sounds awefully high, which is possibly because you are booking too early, and getting a sort of "suckers" deal, rather than a demand based rate.

 

[jcarwash]

In summary it sounds awefully high, which is possibly because you are booking too early, and getting a sort of "suckers" deal, rather than a demand based rate.

Thanks - I don't think I'm going to hold onto this Hojo ressie for much longer. With this additional information from this thread I can see I can get better rates, location, amenities etc.

Curious about your comment about booking too early -- am I looking too early at this point for August 2012?

 

[Butterfly123]

I don't know about other hotels, but when we stayed at BWPPI last summer we booked fairly early. Their rates went down before our trip, and they emailed us and told us that they would be giving us a lower rate. Nice, because it is not something I would have thought to check before our trip. This summer we are trying Park Vue Inn and we made reservations already because they only have two 3Q suites rooms, and that is the room we wanted. I would happily stay at BWPPI again, though.

 

[skiingfast]

Thanks - I don't think I'm going to hold onto this Hojo ressie for much longer. With this additional information from this thread I can see I can get better rates, location, amenities etc.

Curious about your comment about booking too early -- am I looking too early at this point for August 2012?

You might keep the reservation because it's possible somthing might happen like Butterfly123 had happen.

I don't know about other hotels, but when we stayed at BWPPI last summer we booked fairly early. Their rates went down before our trip, and they emailed us and told us that they would be giving us a lower rate. Nice, because it is not something I would have thought to check before our trip.

Most hotels will let you change or cancel trips upto very close to the cancel date with no fee. It can be a good option when you don't know where you want to stay to make a few reservations and then monitor the rates. Plan A, B and C, or more.


Also OP if you haven't seen it you may want to read the DLR Guide for WDW vets. I don't know that you've seen it already but booking so far in advance is a sign that you are in WDW mode.


As far as why it's too early.

Hotels are a business, they exist to make money, not help consumers.

So with hotels, they don't know what demand will be down the road, and thus not sure of thier future profit. They don't know if they will profit until they have solid bookings. So they put up high rates and let people take those. As the date approaches and hotels need to be competitive they use lower rates to lure bookings for most of thier rooms. Hopefully at this point they have been able to book enough rooms to be profitable. Then as the date is close, if they have already sold most of the rooms that can charge super high extra porfitable rates. As the date is super close they can decide if they want cheap rates for the last few rooms, or super high rates, gambling on how much extra money they can make.


For DLR, most planning is done the one season ahead of travel. Right now it's the Holiday Season, most planners are looking at Spring Break, few are looking at Summer. In two weeks most will be looking at Spring Break, a few at the May offseason. During Spring Break people will be looking at Summer.

Mid March to mid April deals should appear for Summer at DLR.

 

[kirstie101]

Having stayed at both BWPPI and HOJO's I would say for those prices I'd go with BWPPI. Its a nice motel, free breakfast and you cant get any closer to the park. It definitely wins for location.
Hojo's does have a better pool and it is a really nice property but the rates sound high. I'd book BWPPI cause that sounds like a decent rate for them. If Hojo's drops later on, then I'd consider switching if they end up being less expensive.
IMO they're both good choices though. If it was me I'd just go with the cheapest one.

 

[jcarwash]

Also OP if you haven't seen it you may want to read the DLR Guide for WDW vets. I don't know that you've seen it already but booking so far in advance is a sign that you are in WDW mode.

Thanks so much. I think you're right that I'm in WDW or DCL mode -- I already know what my 2013 vacation (Disney Fantasy) is going to be ahead of a possible 2012 DLR visit.

I was sort-of aware of the DLR for WDW Vets guide but I will read it in more detail, thanks!

 

[jcarwash]

Having stayed at both BWPPI and HOJO's I would say for those prices I'd go with BWPPI. Its a nice motel, free breakfast and you cant get any closer to the park. It definitely wins for location.
Hojo's does have a better pool and it is a really nice property but the rates sound high. I'd book BWPPI cause that sounds like a decent rate for them. If Hojo's drops later on, then I'd consider switching if they end up being less expensive.
IMO they're both good choices though. If it was me I'd just go with the cheapest one.

Anyone know how the Best Western Anaheim Inn to compares to the sister Best Western Park Place Inn?

From what I've been seeing:
- At this time the AI rates are slightly cheaper for my dates than PPI (102.60 vs. 107.10)
- Location seems to be a wash, almost identical?
- PPI has breakfast included but charges for parking ($8/day)
- AI does not have breakfast include but parking is free
- Somewhere I read that AI would start charging a $5/day resort fee in 2012. Now I cannot recall where I saw that.

Their comparison brochure does help:
http://stovallshotels.com/pdf/ebrochure.pdf

 

[skiingfast]

Anyone know how the Best Western Anaheim Inn to compares to the sister Best Western Park Place Inn?

I will PM a friend who regularily stays at the Best Westerns. I'm sure he likes PPI better.

 

[bzh]

You may also want to check out the Candy Cane Inn. They have a dedicated bus to/from Disneyland, which is very convenient. We stayed at Hojo one summer, and everytime we left the park to make the trek to the hotel, we saw the Candy Cane bus leaving. The following summer we stayed at the Candy Cane Inn and loved it. It is my favorite place, other than the Disneyland Hotel!

 

[mvf-m11c]

I have stayed at both BWPPI and BWAI. If I had to choose between both BWPPI and BWAI, I would always choose BWPPI because the main reason is the location which is right by the crosswalk on Harbor Blvd. But if you care about how much you spend at the hotel, I would suggest BWAI since the time difference form walking to DL is only 1 1/2 minutes apart.

Here are my opinion of the two hotels starting with BWPPI.
- The first is the location where it is the closest off-site hotel right by the DLR. BWAI is three buildings down from BWPPI. The walk difference to DL from BWPPI and BWAI is a minute and a half longer walk from BWAI. BWPPI is about a 6 minute walk to DL.
- The suites have a sofa which can be turned into a sofa bed. The sofa bed is really hard so I would stay away from the bed. The good thing about the 2 queen suite is that you can have another bed for more people.
- Complimentary breakfast at Captain Kidd's, but stay away from Captain Kidd's since it is not a good restaurant to eat at.
- If you care about going swimming at the hotel, I don't recommend this hotel since it is a small swimming pool. Both BWPPI and BWAI have small pools.
- You have to pay $8 a night for each car you park at the hotel which you don't have to pay at BWAI.
- Parking is very tight at both BWPPI and BWAI.
- The TVs are a little outdated, but if you don't care about watching TV, then it is no problem.
- The rooms have a microwave which some other hotels don't even have a microwave if you want to heat up food or something else.
- The internet is very decent. If you want to get on the internet at the BW hotels, you have to get the code at the front desk.

BWAI
- BWAI prices are way better then BWPPI. Sometimes I have seen BWAI at $50 dollars apart from the cheapest room compare with BWPPI. I barely see BWPPI prices cheaper then BWAI.
- There is no complimentary breakfast at BWAI, but if you don't care about a complimentary breakfast this is the hotel which I suggest.
- No parking fees like BWPPI which you have pay.

 

[jcarwash]

You may also want to check out the Candy Cane Inn. They have a dedicated bus to/from Disneyland, which is very convenient. We stayed at Hojo one summer, and everytime we left the park to make the trek to the hotel, we saw the Candy Cane bus leaving. The following summer we stayed at the Candy Cane Inn and loved it. It is my favorite place, other than the Disneyland Hotel!

I have been reading up on the Candy Cane, and it seems really appealing! Thanks for this recommendation!

Here are my opinion of the two hotels starting with BWPPI...

AWESOME thanks for the detailed comparison between the two; it helps very much!!!