scared I made a mistake...days inn: garden grove

[dancemom1]

Ok, so I know I am going to hear..."you get what you pay for"...
however I am a single mom with a teenage girl...and was trying to reasonably add a couple of days onto a short trip to Disneyland in June...so I used Priceline to bid on a hotel...well when I got the Days Inn and Suites in Garden Grove as my "winning bid" I was initially unhappy about the distance it is from Disneyland...now looking at the reviews I am even more concerned about the actual hotel...things like notices/signs posted regarding "illegal activities/wrong doing will be prosecuted"...an automatic (supposedly reversible) $100 charge to my credit card in case of damage to the room...holes and cigarette burns in the sheets/blankets...bedbugs, dingy towels...tripadvisor people have posted of an unsafe feeling in general regarding the hotel/parking lot...
Has anyone stayed here and if you have can you give me your feedback...we are NOT hotel snobs...I just want to make sure that we are SAFE and in a CLEAN environment. And at this point I am wondering if I should just swallow the cost of the 2 nights there and stay somewhere else...
Help please!!
Thank you!!

 

[Gisele]

Ok, so I know I am going to hear..."you get what you pay for"...
however I am a single mom with a teenage girl...and was trying to reasonably add a couple of days onto a short trip to Disneyland in June...so I used Priceline to bid on a hotel...well when I got the Days Inn and Suites in Garden Grove as my "winning bid" I was initially unhappy about the distance it is from Disneyland...now looking at the reviews I am even more concerned about the actual hotel...things like notices/signs posted regarding "illegal activities/wrong doing will be prosecuted"...an automatic (supposedly reversible) $100 charge to my credit card in case of damage to the room...holes and cigarette burns in the sheets/blankets...bedbugs, dingy towels...tripadvisor people have posted of an unsafe feeling in general regarding the hotel/parking lot...
Has anyone stayed here and if you have can you give me your feedback...we are NOT hotel snobs...I just want to make sure that we are SAFE and in a CLEAN environment. And at this point I am wondering if I should just swallow the cost of the 2 nights there and stay somewhere else...
Help please!!
Thank you!!

Is it possible to cancel?
When are you planning on visiting?
I haven't stayed there.
You can call the hotel to speak with the assistant manager or manager and if you don't feel comfortable with their tone and or language/demeanor then get out of that booking.

 

[ADLFAN]

What was the price from Priceline? They require you to prepay? Does the Days Inn have a shuttle to the parks, or will you have to drive in? I would be surprised if you couldn't find a room in Disneyland's immediate area for about 100.00 on Hotel Tonight, like the Alpine Inn which is usually listed, or Ramada Maingate. I can't offer any reviews, we're booked at the Alpine Inn for the first time for a December trip, but all the hotels real close to Disneyland are pretty well kept up and nice, especially if they're a Good Neighbor hotel associated with Disney that allows you to book a room as part of a Disney vacation package. I have even read positive reviews of the Super 8 nearby. I would personally eat the cost of the room in Garden Grove or attempt to cancel it in favor of a place I could walk to/from just to enjoy the Anaheim Resort Area and Disneyland bubble.

 

[dancemom1]

Unfortunately bidding on Priceline does not allow for cancellation. We are going the end of June which I know is an expensive month for hotels, which is why I originally was trying to get something cheaper

 

[Gisele]

A bit closer would definitely be nice and time efficient. From Garden Grove unless driving, it would either be a rather long walk to Toy Story parking lot or would need to take ART or OCTA.
If you call to speak with hotel management to speak of your concerns, I believe that will be of help for you.

 

[lvdis]

You might try calling Priceline and see if they can do anything for you. You never know unless you ask! I know it's their policy to not give a refund, but I had a problem once when using them and called to talk to them after I saw the hotel I had been given just wasn't going to work (there were 4 of us and they gave me a place that only allowed 2 in the room). They ended up offering me a "one time" refund on my reservation. I think I may have ended up asking to speak to a supervisor. This was a number of years ago. It doesn't hurt to ask. Good luck!

 

[elaine amj]

If it makes you feel better, a lot of negative reviews tend to be exaggerations. Read the reviews again more carefully, and read between the lines a little. I've stayed in many hotels with "dumpy" reviews and most of the time I feel it is fine. That said, there are some truly dumpy places out there.

The other thing you can do is call priceline and say that when you checked out the hotel, you feel it doesn't meet their * standard. (since you are bidding for a hotel with whatever number of stars).

 

[MommyJKM]

[QUOTE="elaine amj, post: 53730705, member: 414798"The other thing you can do is call priceline and say that when you checked out the hotel, you feel it doesn't meet their * standard. (since you are bidding for a hotel with whatever number of stars).[/QUOTE]

I would try this. They should give you a one-time refund or offer to another hotel to appease you. I would call. Sounds sketchy and I've seen some bad neighborhoods with "Disney adjacent" hotels. My cousin stayed at the Days Inn in Anaheim behind Harbor and said it was "Icky"

 

[lalasmama]

I can't offer any reviews, we're booked at the Alpine Inn for the first time for a December trip, but all the hotels real close to Disneyland are pretty well kept up and nice, especially if they're a Good Neighbor hotel associated with Disney that allows you to book a room as part of a Disney vacation package. I have even read positive reviews of the Super 8 nearby.

We actually really like the Super 8 on Katella @ Harbor. They recently remodeled (within the last 4 years). The beds are comfortable. The walk is a bit long, but not undoable. The breakfast is basic.

As far as a Good Neighbor Hotels go, though, there's not a series of quality assurances that make them a "Good Neighbor." As I understand it, they have to be willing to let Disney sell a certain number of their rooms, and have to pay a fee. Then unsuspecting people think "Disney endorses this hotel!" when really, Disney just took their fee and a sold a few rooms....

If it makes you feel better, a lot of negative reviews tend to be exaggerations. Read the reviews again more carefully, and read between the lines a little. I've stayed in many hotels with "dumpy" reviews and most of the time I feel it is fine. That said, there are some truly dumpy places out there.

Yes yes yes to this! Often, I hear about how "dumpy" (unclean, dirty, grungy) Park Vue Inn is... And DH and I feel like we are at a really nice hotel! Recently updated, rooms felt like they were in good repair, good prices for the amount of space ($200 for a 1-bedroom suite with kitchen), nice beds, really nice linens (big enough to cover my plus-size booty), etc. Reviews are such a personal thing! If I see *pictures* of what they are complaining of, then I put more weight in it.

 

[StageTek]

I've never stayed there but I know the area. It's quite safe. On TripAdvisor it gets generally
good reviews. 54 "very good" to 13 "poor" and 46 "excellent" to 19 "terrible" so 103 liked
their stay and 32 didn't. That's acceptable to me.

 

[JinglePoem]

I've never stayed there but I know the area. It's quite safe. On TripAdvisor it gets generally
good reviews. 54 "very good" to 13 "poor" and 46 "excellent" to 19 "terrible" so 103 liked
their stay and 32 didn't. That's acceptable to me.

I agree with this. It's not in some nasty area, like Stanton or parts of Westminster. It's in a decent area...and the pp is correct- 103 people liked it. I'd offer up a quick Hail Mary that I bring that up to 104.

It's funny- we had some extensive work done on our home, a few years ago, and had to stay in a hotel for a little over three weeks. We stayed at the Annabella, next to DL. We LOVED it. Big, clean rooms, comfy beds, good linens, etc. When my sister found out, she was HORRIFIED. She had read terrible reviews, including everything from bedbugs to theft...from a small percentage of unhappy people. These people clearly had bad/weird experiences. Equally as clearly, we did not.

Go, be happy and bring the Trip Advisor "like" count up to 104.

 

[Geemo]

Just be aware of your surroundings.
It's nice to have a couple of extra days at DLR.
Enjoy your trip. Let us know what you think of the location.

Geemo

 

[mgd]

Seems about as far down on harbor as you can get from disneyland, but surprisingly it has a good 4.1/5 rating on hotels.com.

Not sure if you compared prices, but I think those "secret" prices are kind of a scam and you can almost do as well or better yourself just by watching prices and promotions. I would be too scared to be forced into a nonrefundable unknown hotel.

 

[elaine amj]

I've gotten some killer deals on Priceline - when I don't care about having a specific hotel, I think it's great. Haven't used it lately because we've been more fussy.

Also, I just read the Tripadvisor reviews (with a large grain of salt) and discounting all the hyperbole, it sounds like a decent, clean budget hotel. Basically, your typical Days Inn. if you take a look at the photos, the rooms have been recently updated and look fairly fresh. If you have issues with cleanliness in your particular room, ask for housekeeping or ask to be switched.

I think you'll be fine here

 

[Mugglemama]

We almost always stay at the Super 8 on Disneyland Drive, because most of our trips are "budget" trips. We had a bad stay once about 10 years ago, and then some noise problems that went inadequately addressed during a stay 5 years ago. Every other time we've stayed (which has been about 10 times, and always for 3-5 days at a time) has been fine. It's old, and the people who work there are sometimes great, sometimes not...but we've never had an experience that stopped us from going back. We are literally only in the room to shower and sleep, though. So, if you can get out of your Priceline hotel and need another economy option, you might want to see if they still have rooms available for your dates. We walk to and from the parks...takes about 15 minutes, but most of that is standing at the two traffic signals, trying to get across Ball Road.

 

[tarheelalum]

It looks like it will be ok to stay there but considering its just you and your teenage daughter, under no circumstance should you try to walk home at night. Nor would I be crazy about walking in the day time. Its a looong walk.

As far as priceline goes I use to be a regular customer with them but they booked me with some jerks earlier this year and when I called them about it they could not have cared less. I'm pretty much done with priceline.com.

 

[dancemom1]

Thank you so much for everyone's replies...I sincerely appreciate your thoughts...
I will be looking into this more carefully/closely and making a decision...
We will for sure be taking the ART buses...NOT walking...if we decide to stay at this hotel.
Thank you so much everyone!!

 

[Nicolette11785]

I stayed there about 11 months ago with my 9 year old. It was a huge room which u loved and I had no problems with it not being clean or old. I did however think the beds were uncomfortable. They are really firm. I never felt unsafe in the neighborhood. The hotel is lit up enough. The street the hotel is on can use some more lighting though. You will also need to drive to disneyland or use the city bus as ART does not go that far. The pool is shared and pretty small but it worked to cool off. Basically it was a fine motel but I have learned since then that when I use priceline to always do a minimum of 3 stars. I have stayed at Marriott suites for $74, red lion for $72, and Ayres Inn for $64. I also try to get one of the express deals since you can usually have a pretty good idea about which hotel you will get. Don't stress about the days inn Because it's really not bad. In the future try to bid 3 stars or more. Have fun!

 

[dancemom1]

Thank you Nicolette11785 for your response! It really does help knowing someone has stayed there and that it isn't going to be as scary/dirty/gross as I was picturing just from some of the descriptions! I appreciate your insight...definitely learned a lesson with this priceline bid! Thanks again to you and everyone else for their thorough responses!!

 

[bumbershoot]

Is this down Harbor beyond Buca di Beppo and maybe even Target? About there is as far as I would have felt comfy walking; we stayed at, I think, the Hilton Garden Inn right at BiB once when DH managed to call that "southern LA county" for a work trip and we followed him. We definitely walked with purpose and like we were in a big city, when going to and from the parks, especially when it was just me and DS (who was 8ish at the time). One night we were so tired we took a cab.