Off-site hotels: which would u pick

[doombuggy]

WE are planning a trip to DL in late August. We are trying to use a week of my dad's RCI timeshare, but want to make a hotel ressie as a back up in case the timeshare doesn't go thru. We are looking for a decent place, not too expensive. It doesn't have to be within walking distance, since we will have a car. Here are some of the places that I have found that sound reasonable:

Best Western Anaheim Inn (1630 S. Harbor) at $80.10 per night
Anaheim Vagabond Inn (2145 S. Harbor) at $65 per night
Anaheim Desert Inn & Suites at $89 per night for parlor suite
Candy Cane Inn, deluxe w/AAA discount at $117 per night

Any opinions? Any others you might recommend? We don't want to spend much more than the $117 I found at the Candy Cane.

I am off to AAA's site to see if I can find any other hotels in the area that offer a discount.

Thanks for your help!

 

[spazzyjazzy]

We always stay at the Howard Johnson. It is right off of Harbor Blvd.

 

[puggymom]

I loved the Candy Cane, plus you have the free shuttle and a very good free breakfast (muffins, croissants, bagels, hot and cold cereal, fruit, juice,milk, coffee tea). It was very clean and the staff was so nice.

 

[kristenhh]

It is a very short walk. The hotel is fine -- it is not deluxe, nor is it a dump. The rooms were nice and spacious and great for a big family. ( We had the family parlour suite.)

If the hotel has a shuttle, like the Candy Cane, that is good too. But for easy access, I would go with the Anaheim Desert Inn.

Have fun!

 

[Mom2micayla]

We just got back from a stay yesterday at the Desert Inn.

The positives-
Right across the street. There is only 1 hotel that's closer (Park Vue). It took us literally 3 minutes to walk across, and that was with 3 kids. It's so nice being able to walk to DLR and not bother with ART.

The rooms are large. We planned a last minute trip and all they had was regular deluxe rooms. We were able to fit all 5 of us in there with no problems at all. We even used a pack n play for the baby and could still move around with it open.

Cleaning staff was really good. Our bathroom was spotless.

It was cheap.

The negatives-

It's old & the furnishings are outdated. The carpets were badly stained (at least in our room). They countertop in our room was scratched up pretty bad.

Parking sucks. It's fairly limited and if you get there during a peak time, it might be hard to find a spot. Considering when you're going though, I'd think you'd be okay.

The "continental" breakfast is a joke. Toast, crappy danishes and apples/oranges is it. They had OJ too. I'm assuming there was coffee but I'm not sure since we don't drink it.

Overall the hotel was alright.... the location can't be beat and it is very reasonable as far as costs. IMO it's one of those "I'd rather get a cheap basic hotel and spend the extra money in the park" kind of hotels.

I've heard the same basic things about parkvue. www.parkvueinn.com I've heard great things about CCI and good things about Hojo's. I think we'll likely try and stay at HoJo's next time.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

We just got back from a stay yesterday at the Desert Inn.

The positives-
Right across the street. There is only 1 hotel that's closer (Park Vue). It took us literally 3 minutes to walk across, and that was with 3 kids. It's so nice being able to walk to DLR and not bother with ART.

The rooms are large. We planned a last minute trip and all they had was regular deluxe rooms. We were able to fit all 5 of us in there with no problems at all. We even used a pack n play for the baby and could still move around with it open.

Cleaning staff was really good. Our bathroom was spotless.

It was cheap.

The negatives-

It's old & the furnishings are outdated. The carpets were badly stained (at least in our room). They countertop in our room was scratched up pretty bad.

Parking sucks. It's fairly limited and if you get there during a peak time, it might be hard to find a spot. Considering when you're going though, I'd think you'd be okay.

The "continental" breakfast is a joke. Toast, crappy danishes and apples/oranges is it. They had OJ too. I'm assuming there was coffee but I'm not sure since we don't drink it.

Overall the hotel was alright.... the location can't be beat and it is very reasonable as far as costs. IMO it's one of those "I'd rather get a cheap basic hotel and spend the extra money in the park" kind of hotels.

I've heard the same basic things about parkvue. www.parkvueinn.com I've heard great things about CCI and good things about Hojo's. I think we'll likely try and stay at HoJo's next time.

Hi there - I noticed that they have underground parking. Did you use it, and if so, are there elevators from the underground parking to the levels above?

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

Of your choices here, I'd put them in the following order:

Candy Cane Inn, deluxe w/AAA discount at $117 per night
Anaheim Desert Inn & Suites at $89 per night for parlor suite
Best Western Anaheim Inn (1630 S. Harbor) at $80.10 per night
Anaheim Vagabond Inn (2145 S. Harbor) at $65 per night

I would rate the HoJo, Tropicana Inn, & Camelot (aka Park Inn) before the last two.

 

[Mom2micayla]

They do have an underground parking garage. It is very dark in there and yes we used it. We didn't have a choice. All surface parking was full. The spaces are very compact and it was a bit of a squeeze to get the van in there.

There is an elevator in the hotel and it does go into the parking garage. However (negative coming here), it's S.L.O.W.... I mean really really slow. And small. It's a royal PITA when you're waiting for 10 minutes just to use the elevator. One morning we waited for over 10 minutes just to go down one story (we were on the second floor.. 5 floors total and only one small elevator). The elevator would go down to the garage, then go all the way up to the top and starts down. Of course by the time it'd get to our floor, it'd be full. After waiting and waiting, we finally just pushed both kids down in the double stroller b/c we were tired of never being able to get on.

Of course if we weren't with the kids or didn't have a stroller, it wouldn't really be a problem. But if you're staying there with kids and using your stroller, it's something to keep in mind.

 

[LucyKate]

We stayed at the Howard Johnson and loved it - great staff, clean rooms, good beds and a great pool. About 10 mins walk from the parks.

No restaurant so no breakfast, but across the street is Mimi's, which is superb and cheap.

I've noticed in my 2 years here the two off-site hotels which consistently get great reviews are the HoJo and the Candy Cane Inn.

They have similar prices and the difference is that the CCI includes breakfast and has a shuttle, while HoJo has bigger rooms (including some with a Disney view) and a great pool.

But it appears you can't go wrong with either.

 

[Michelle2]

We just got back from a stay yesterday at the Desert Inn.

The positives-
Right across the street. There is only 1 hotel that's closer (Park Vue). It took us literally 3 minutes to walk across, and that was with 3 kids. It's so nice being able to walk to DLR and not bother with ART.

The rooms are large. We planned a last minute trip and all they had was regular deluxe rooms. We were able to fit all 5 of us in there with no problems at all. We even used a pack n play for the baby and could still move around with it open.

Cleaning staff was really good. Our bathroom was spotless.

It was cheap.

The negatives-

It's old & the furnishings are outdated. The carpets were badly stained (at least in our room). They countertop in our room was scratched up pretty bad.

Parking sucks. It's fairly limited and if you get there during a peak time, it might be hard to find a spot. Considering when you're going though, I'd think you'd be okay.

The "continental" breakfast is a joke. Toast, crappy danishes and apples/oranges is it. They had OJ too. I'm assuming there was coffee but I'm not sure since we don't drink it.

Overall the hotel was alright.... the location can't be beat and it is very reasonable as far as costs. IMO it's one of those "I'd rather get a cheap basic hotel and spend the extra money in the park" kind of hotels.

I've heard the same basic things about parkvue. www.parkvueinn.com I've heard great things about CCI and good things about Hojo's. I think we'll likely try and stay at HoJo's next time.

This goes exactly for the Best Western Park Place Inn. We stayed there a night before our stay at the Grand Californian kicked in, and thought the exact same thing as the above poster said about the Desert Inn. If we ever will not/or cannot stay onsite, convenience is the best factor for me, and so we would stay there....Cannot beat the convenience, it is as close as walking from the Grand Californian, and even less from the other 2 Disney hotels.

 

[drgalyen]

We stayed at the Desert Inn last Nov. It would have to be a really cheap rate for me to stay there again. The staff was rude to my Mom. They told us the day before we were to leave that we had to get our luggage out of the room because they were bringing in new furniture. We couldn't understand why they couldn't wait one day to change our room, plus they gave us NO notice and we had been there 7 days already. The only furniture they changed was the TV stands and dressers.
Bottom line the rooms were decent. We could see the fireworks from our room. And the most important thing is LOCATION....LOCATION....LOCATION!!!!!!
We had 2 strollers with 3 older kids, the easy walk was wonderful!!!! We didn't stay in our room very much and that is the only reason I would stay there again. I will try the Best Western Park Place first next time. We have several friends who really enjoy this hotel.
I've also heard that the Candy Cane is very nice. Their grounds were fantastic!
Have a great trip!

 

[abby4]

We just got back from a trip to disneyland a week ago and we stayed at the Hampton Inn and Suites in Garden Grove. It was AWESOME! Not one complaint. The room was standard but always clean. The pool was big enough. The complimentary breakfast was great. They also had many little extras for the kids too. We would definitely stay here again. The staff were great and very professional. The ART stops here if you want to take it to disneyland but we found that for the $4 more per day we would much rather take our own car and park at disneyland, you don't have to wait for the ART then. There is also a Target store one block away so you can quickly run over and grab anything you need. We stayed for eight nights and we didn't have one problem. I checked out their website and in late August with a AAA discount the rate is around $80 per night. We had a great time and would definetely stay here again.

 

[dornen]

you might want to check the motel 6 website and see what they might have there.

 

[Another^Dimension]

HoJo's (with the mouseinfo.com discount), The Candy Cane Inn and the (West) Coast Anaheim (being renamed to Sheraton something, I heard in chat) are all recommended by friends of mine when they stay in the immediate resort area.

 

[doombuggy]

Thanks for your opinions and keep them coming! I will make sure rikersmom takes a look at this thread when she gets back from vacation back home. My main concern for a hotel is clean and the ability to cancel the ressie (with some notice, of course). At Holiday Inn you cannot cancel. I'll be sure to check out these suggestions - I didn't think of Garden Grove, but since we'll have a car and we don't pay to park, it won't really matter if the drive is just 10 minutes or so.

Keep 'em coming! Thanks!

 

[blackjackdelta]

You may want to look at the RI on Clementine, great breakfast and rooms.

Jack

 

[Torjohnson]

Residence Inn is great....The Ramada Maingate is good, the Tropicana as well
tropican and maingate are freakishly close
Check the good neighbor hotels...You can get park hoppers and all the bells and whistles

 

[tlovesdis]

My vote is for the Candy Cane Inn!

 

[ZeusNike]

We have tried many of the nearby hotels and liked some and didn't like others. Other than if we are staying onsite we will always choose to stay at the Candy Cane Inn from now on....it is definitely our fave. We have had the best service, cleanest rooms and most comfortable beds there. It is very close so the walk is easy but the hotel has its own shuttle if you need/want it. A really decent breakfast is a bouns too....we are able to find something to satisfy everyone. We and our friends have never had anything but good experiences at the CCI!

 

[npealer]

We just got back from a trip at the end of April. We stayed at the Fairfield Inn. Clean rooms, close to entrace ( we walked every day) many eating options around. I think the rooms are a little more, like $130/nt