Overwhelmed with hotel choices!

[SeattleJen]

Hi there! We are planning a 3 day trip with our 2 year old in the end of april. I'm looking for a hotel that is comfortable (great bed is a must!), somewhat quiet (paper thin walls are a minus), clean, and not a fortune! I am flexible on location but want a situation that is easy with a toddler either a shuttle to the park or free parking and we drive to the park would be fine. Don't really want a long walk with a super tired kid.

There are so many options so I'd love suggestions!

Thanks in advance!

 

[Canuck16]

There are lots of options for sure......my BIL has always stayed at the Candy Cane Inn with his DD as it's close enough to walk back and forth to the parks. He likes it because it's clean, comfortable and not too pricey.

 

[Butterfly123]

Candy Cane also has its own dedicated shuttle that runs every half hour.

There are also several options on Harbor that are really close...5 to 8 minute walk to the gates. Some are closer than the actual Disney properties! We like the Best Western Park Place Inn right across the street...you can't get closer! It is a standard Best Western, nothing fancy, but we have stayed there several times and have always had good stays. Comfortable, quiet, close, and free breakfast. It's great when you want a mid day break. The pool isn't great, but we don't usually swim on our visits.

I'm going to edit to add that I'm not sure I would call the beds great, but we found them comfortable.

 

[skier_pete]

Check out the Tropicana Inn and Suites on Harbor Boulevard. We've stayed their twice and will be spending a night in February before our DVC stay. It is literally across the street from the park - probably a 5 minute walk to the main entrance. (It's actually a shorter walk to Disneyland than the Disney owned hotels. While it's certainly nothing fancy, we found it to be clean and the rooms to be quiet. The rooms weren't too small either. They have a small pool that was rather crowded when we were there in the summer, it was fine for cooling off, but not a place to "hang out".

Edit: The post directly above me references the Best Western Park Place...we haven't stayed there, but it's right next to the Tropicana. The Carousel Inn is on the other side, and it's actually currently owned by Disney - they bought it to build a ramp from one of the lots over to the park.

 

[sherilaine]

There are plenty of hotels to pick from that is for sure. If you are looking for close then check out google maps. There are several on Harbor Blvd which are directly across from the main gate entrance. These are all a very close walk. Perhaps look up prices for a few of these and then when you have it narrowed down to a couple based on price and location, I'd open up this forum to weight in on bed quality and noise.

The only hotel we have stayed in is the HOJO but we stay in their kids suites as we have 2 kids who enjoy bunk beds and not sharing your typical two queen bed configuration. With one younger child, I would think almost any of the rooms straight across on Harbor would be very comfortable for a three night stay.

Also, TripAdvisor is a great site - there you can also see reviews from many travelers!

Have fun planning.

 

[Tattylou]

Stayed at the Howard Johnson Anaheim last April with my 4 and 6 year old sons...short walk to DL, awesome kiddie water play area, and MOST COMFORTABLE BED EVER. I actually looked up the type of bed when we were leaving b/c I wanted to get the same thing for home. My kids loved the water play area.

 

[princesszelda]

We always stay at the Best Western Park Place Inn and Mini Suites. Rooms are large and accomidating and the beds are comfy. We have been staying there for over 6 years. We currently travle with a 10 month old and 3yo.

 

[Indiana Scott]

We always stay at the Best Western Park Place Inn and Mini Suites. Rooms are large and accomidating and the beds are comfy. We have been staying there for over 6 years. We currently travle with a 10 month old and 3yo.

I second this one. Have stayed there many times and the hotel is clean, modern and well kept. A close second is Park View inn.
Both hotels are the closest and shortest walk to the turnstiles.

 

[amyg1975]

BW Park Place Inn for us, somewhere we have stayed with our toddler since she was 9 months old. We have also stayed at Tropicana when Park Place is not available. We prefer one of these places so we can walk. Taking a shuttle or ART is not easy with a stroller and bags!

 

[kirstie101]

I'd highly recommend Hojo's. Their beds are heavenly! Seriously! They also have a kid pool area. The slides are too big for your two year old but there is a little wading pool and a splash pad area. Parking is free. We walk (with our kids) to the parks in 8-10 minutes. But if thats too long a walk the ART shuttle does pick up in front of the hotel. We've never had a problem with noise there. Its a hotel with interior corridors rather than a motel with exterior corridors so I think that helps too.

 

[Michael623]

We've stayed at the Fairfield Inn and the Desert Inn, both on Harbor across from DL and thought both were fine. The Fairfield is a little nicer but pricier, the Desert Inn is a little more basic but it is cheaper and comes with continental breakfast. I recommend either of those. I considered Tropicanna once, but there is this cockroach picture on Tripadviser that almost made me puke.

 

[CandMmommy]

We stayed at HOJO with kids 3 and 5. Rented a stroller from city stroller rentals and they delivered it to hotel. We used it to tote kids back and forth ( and they fell asleep in it one night) it was way better than walking at night trying to carry them.
The pool area is perfect.
We are staying there in Oct. our kids will be 10, 7 and 3

 

[kathy884]

Michael632, I was really interested in your post as the two properties I've been considering are the Fairfield Inn (I've good luck with the brand and found beds to be comfy in the past, and reviews I've read were quite good) and Desert Inn (if my sister-in-law comes I want to get the two bedroom for extra beds, so would jump on that), and then I thought even if she doesn't come in colder weather the indoor swimming pool and hot tub might be nice. // I was wondering what you thought of their pool and hot tub or if you even tried these out. If nice, for a January visit, I might go for the Desert Inn (indoor pool and hot tub is what would win me over / don't think most of the properties have that).

 

[Skiton]

We had a good experience at Embassy Suites a few years back. They served a killer complimentary hot breakfast with everything you could imagine. It was great to just go downstairs and get some solid food in everyone before hitting the parks.

 

[Michael623]

Michael632, I was really interested in your post as the two properties I've been considering are the Fairfield Inn (I've good luck with the brand and found beds to be comfy in the past, and reviews I've read were quite good) and Desert Inn (if my sister-in-law comes I want to get the two bedroom for extra beds, so would jump on that), and then I thought even if she doesn't come in colder weather the indoor swimming pool and hot tub might be nice. // I was wondering what you thought of their pool and hot tub or if you even tried these out. If nice, for a January visit, I might go for the Desert Inn (indoor pool and hot tub is what would win me over / don't think most of the properties have that).

Sorry, can't help you there. When we stayed at the Desert Inn, it was for a couple of nights before we were able to get the Grand Californian (DVC Member). We did our swimming at the GC. I do remember looking in at the pool at the DI and it was usually "deserted" (pun intended).