We (5 adults and one small child) stayed at the Residence Inn Anaheim (actually in Garden Grove) on Harbor Boulevard from Dec. 8th through 15th. Heres my review.
Room:
We had a 2 bedroom/2 bath suite with full kitchen. We paid $127 plus tax with a AAA discount. The kitchen included a full sized fridge (with ice maker), a stove/oven, a microwave, a dish washer, and a sink with garbage disposal. It also included pots and pans, dishes, bowls, glasses, mugs, silverware and cloth napkins and dish towels. There was a king bed in one room, 2 queens in the other room, and a sofa sleeper in the living room. There were tvs in each room as well as the living room.
The hotel is new and the furnishings are all in very good condition. The bed that I slept on was comfortable, although the pillows were flat as pancakes. There was only one A/C unit to control the temperature in the whole suite. The bathroom was pretty large, with the sink separated from the commode and shower. Towels were fairly thick. Tub included a non-skid bathmat. The bathrooms included hair dryers and irons with ironing boards.
The real plus to this hotel is the full kitchen. We made use of it daily. When we were too tired to go out to eat, we just ate food we brought from home. Next time, if we stay here again, we plan to shop at the Costco down the street and stock our fridge. It really saves time and money and makes it a little easier to accommodate everyones different tastes and needs.
Service:
The housekeepers were pleasant and did a reasonably good job. However, it was clear that at least some of them could not read and barely spoke English which made it difficult to get our special requests (extra towels, etc.) satisfied. Also, housekeeping basically shuts down at the end of the work day so there is no one to provide you this service after 5 pm. One thing that is nice is that the housekeepers load the dishwasher and clean up the kitchen area for you daily. The people at the front desk were very nice and helpful however the other people in the hotel did not seem to know what was going on. I dont know if it was a language problem or something else.
Food:
The free full breakfast was just ok. Having just stayed at Embassy Suites in April, by comparison, this breakfast was lacking. There were no breakfast meats at all. The Belgium waffle machines (four of them) worked well. There was also pancakes or French toast, biscuits, muffins, Danish, breads, cereals, some fruit, and coffees, tea, milk and juice. The food was more like cafeteria food as opposed to restaurant food. We did not have an opportunity to partake of the evening reception so I have no comment about that. Overall, this breakfast is probably still better than 90% of the hotels in the area and certainly a plus for big families. The breakfast area did get really crowded in the mornings. There is no restaurant in this hotel and therefore no room service. There are restaurants in the area that are within walking distance though.
Shuttle:
The free shuttle came every half hour, starting ½ hour prior to park opening. Last shuttle from the parks left 50 minutes after closing. The shuttle was a large tour bus. Often, the shuttle came early and was already on its way out at the appointed time, or came late, leaving crowds of people waiting and sometimes left behind because there was not enough room. The shuttle is shared with 2 or 3 other hotels. The drivers were very pleasant and often very entertaining as well.
Laundry, Internet, etc.:
There were lots of washers and dryers at this hotel, all located on the first floor. Wash cost $1.75 and dry $1.50. The machines worked well. There is a room where you can use the internet for 15 minutes for free. This came in handy when we needed to get our boarding passes on the internet. There is a game room and ice machine next to the laundry room. There was no parking fee at this hotel and we never had a problem finding a parking stall in front of the hotel. I believe there is an overflow lot somewhere behind the hotel but we didnt need to use it. Target and Walgreens are right across the street, in walking distance.
Personally, I prefer the Embassy Suites over this hotel. Its a more full service hotel. Also the breakfast and evening reception at Embassy Suites were outstanding. However, overall, Id give this Residence Inn a grade of B. Id stay here again if I were on a budget trip and Id make full use of the kitchen. When you figure that two families can stay in one 2 bedroom suite with full breakfast and kitchen for less than the price of other hotels, it really cannot be beat.
Id be happy to answer specific questions if anyone has any. Hope this was helpful.
Room:
We had a 2 bedroom/2 bath suite with full kitchen. We paid $127 plus tax with a AAA discount. The kitchen included a full sized fridge (with ice maker), a stove/oven, a microwave, a dish washer, and a sink with garbage disposal. It also included pots and pans, dishes, bowls, glasses, mugs, silverware and cloth napkins and dish towels. There was a king bed in one room, 2 queens in the other room, and a sofa sleeper in the living room. There were tvs in each room as well as the living room.
The hotel is new and the furnishings are all in very good condition. The bed that I slept on was comfortable, although the pillows were flat as pancakes. There was only one A/C unit to control the temperature in the whole suite. The bathroom was pretty large, with the sink separated from the commode and shower. Towels were fairly thick. Tub included a non-skid bathmat. The bathrooms included hair dryers and irons with ironing boards.
The real plus to this hotel is the full kitchen. We made use of it daily. When we were too tired to go out to eat, we just ate food we brought from home. Next time, if we stay here again, we plan to shop at the Costco down the street and stock our fridge. It really saves time and money and makes it a little easier to accommodate everyones different tastes and needs.
Service:
The housekeepers were pleasant and did a reasonably good job. However, it was clear that at least some of them could not read and barely spoke English which made it difficult to get our special requests (extra towels, etc.) satisfied. Also, housekeeping basically shuts down at the end of the work day so there is no one to provide you this service after 5 pm. One thing that is nice is that the housekeepers load the dishwasher and clean up the kitchen area for you daily. The people at the front desk were very nice and helpful however the other people in the hotel did not seem to know what was going on. I dont know if it was a language problem or something else.
Food:
The free full breakfast was just ok. Having just stayed at Embassy Suites in April, by comparison, this breakfast was lacking. There were no breakfast meats at all. The Belgium waffle machines (four of them) worked well. There was also pancakes or French toast, biscuits, muffins, Danish, breads, cereals, some fruit, and coffees, tea, milk and juice. The food was more like cafeteria food as opposed to restaurant food. We did not have an opportunity to partake of the evening reception so I have no comment about that. Overall, this breakfast is probably still better than 90% of the hotels in the area and certainly a plus for big families. The breakfast area did get really crowded in the mornings. There is no restaurant in this hotel and therefore no room service. There are restaurants in the area that are within walking distance though.
Shuttle:
The free shuttle came every half hour, starting ½ hour prior to park opening. Last shuttle from the parks left 50 minutes after closing. The shuttle was a large tour bus. Often, the shuttle came early and was already on its way out at the appointed time, or came late, leaving crowds of people waiting and sometimes left behind because there was not enough room. The shuttle is shared with 2 or 3 other hotels. The drivers were very pleasant and often very entertaining as well.
Laundry, Internet, etc.:
There were lots of washers and dryers at this hotel, all located on the first floor. Wash cost $1.75 and dry $1.50. The machines worked well. There is a room where you can use the internet for 15 minutes for free. This came in handy when we needed to get our boarding passes on the internet. There is a game room and ice machine next to the laundry room. There was no parking fee at this hotel and we never had a problem finding a parking stall in front of the hotel. I believe there is an overflow lot somewhere behind the hotel but we didnt need to use it. Target and Walgreens are right across the street, in walking distance.
Personally, I prefer the Embassy Suites over this hotel. Its a more full service hotel. Also the breakfast and evening reception at Embassy Suites were outstanding. However, overall, Id give this Residence Inn a grade of B. Id stay here again if I were on a budget trip and Id make full use of the kitchen. When you figure that two families can stay in one 2 bedroom suite with full breakfast and kitchen for less than the price of other hotels, it really cannot be beat.
Id be happy to answer specific questions if anyone has any. Hope this was helpful.
