Stressing over Good Neighbor Hotels

[TivoQueen]

We are traveling to Disneyland in August for the first time. We have been to Disney World many times and love it. I am stressing and worrying over the Good Neighbor hotels in Disneyland. Why do they all look like such dumps? They all look old, out dated, and beat up. I have been reading reviews about many of the good neighbor hotels and some of them are just horrible. I have the Carousel booked for 4 nights, but am really second guessing my decision to stay there. When we travel to Disneyworld we usually stay at one of the deluxe resorts and love every minute. I do not have that kind of budget for Disneyland since I have to fly my family of 5 from PA to California, we usually drive to Florida when we go. The things that are important to us is space since we have 5 people, cleanliness, swimming pool, comfortable beds, location and cost. We do want to be able to walk to and from the park or take a shuttle if one is provided at no cost. Can anyone ease my mind about the Carousel or recommend a different hotel all together since the Disneyland Resorts are not an option this trip?

 

[BARBARAL26]

Last year my daughter and I stayed at the Annabella, for us it was very nice. A lot of people on here stay at HoJo. Have June at DL

 

[sharona]

We are traveling to Disneyland in August for the first time. We have been to Disney World many times and love it. I am stressing and worrying over the Good Neighbor hotels in Disneyland. Why do they all look like such dumps? They all look old, out dated, and beat up. I have been reading reviews about many of the good neighbor hotels and some of them are just horrible. I have the Carousel booked for 4 nights, but am really second guessing my decision to stay there. When we travel to Disneyworld we usually stay at one of the deluxe resorts and love every minute. I do not have that kind of budget for Disneyland since I have to fly my family of 5 from PA to California, we usually drive to Florida when we go. The things that are important to us is space since we have 5 people, cleanliness, swimming pool, comfortable beds, location and cost. We do want to be able to walk to and from the park or take a shuttle if one is provided at no cost. Can anyone ease my mind about the Carousel or recommend a different hotel all together since the Disneyland Resorts are not an option this trip?

I fear that you are destined to be disappointed if you are going to compare a standard hotel to a deluxe resort. From what I saw while planning our upcoming trip, there don't seem to be any deluxe style properties except those DL hotels that you are not willing to spend for. We're in a similar circumstance having stayed at several wonderful WDW properties in the past and now heading to DL and staying "off site". For us, it's part of a larger road trip so we will only have 1.5 days/2 nights and we're not planning to spend much time in the hotel so we're not willing to waste our money for something we won't really use. We also are looking for space and have opted for Embassy Suites South. We'll have to drive or shuttle to/from but for $300/night price difference compared to DL hotels, we'll suffer through that!

What about the Hilton - that looks nice and not too pricey and you can walk to the gate... It wasn't available for one of our nights or we would be staying there.

 

[mfleeting]

I have also been stressing about the first hotel I booked. Finally I just caved and booked at Howard Johnson's. I haven't actually gone on our trip yet but they have very high rankings all over this board. There is also a disboards discount as well.

 

[Girimama33]

I would consider the Candy Cane Inn, Fairfield Inn or HoJo.

 

[Sky07]

They are not all dumps. Who told you that?

I have spent many, many hours researching all of the hotels and reading reviews.

IMO, this is what you want to do:

IF you have the bankroll
#1 - Disneyland Hotel
#2 - Grand Californian
#3 - Paradise Pier Hotel
NOTE: #1 and #2 pretty interchangeable. I just think the Disneyland Hotel is more magical, and the pools are better. You can easily be looking at $500+\night.

IF finances are a concern
#1 - Howard Johnson (kids suite) This has the best pools out of all of the Good Neighboor Hotels.
#2 - Best Western Park Place Inn (suite room, triple queens)

 

[HollyL]

There is a Marriott Residence Inn just a couple of blocks from the maingate, which is also on the ART shuttle route. We have stayed there before several times, and it's nice. Lots of space for 5 people, free breakfast, and the manager's reception in the evenings (on the weekdays).

There is also a Fairfield Inn just across the street from the maingate. Never stayed there, but might next time.

You almost never go wrong with Marriott.

 

[luulu1999]

We are staying at Park Vue Inn RIGHT ACROSS the street and I have read lots of good recent reviews on trip advisor we got a queen room with a bunk bed for $150 with free parking free breakfast and no resort fees I think they have some bigger rooms also

 

[Zbugz]

I have stayed at the Candy Cane Inn, HoJo and Fairfield. While each of them has dated architecture, all three are well kept up and clean. The HoJo and CCI have nice landscaping. The Fairfield has the nicest room décor, IMO.

 

[tiffjoy]

They are absolutely not all dumps. But neither are $100-150/night, non-Disney motels equal to WDW Deluxe Disney hotels. I get the impression that that is what you are looking for- the Deluxe experience for the same price as in FL. DLR is in busy, very expensive SoCal. The DLR onsite hotels are so much more than WDW because of the completely different location and economy. If you want the nicer hotel experience, and you can't afford the GCH or DLH, then I'd look into a Hilton or Embassy Suites. They still won't be Disney Deluxe hotels, though.

I've stayed at many hotels over the years, some super cheap and some super expensive. When we go to Hawaii, we drop a lot of $/night and don't even blink. We want ocean front, beach access, nice pools, and a kitchen because we spend a lot of time in the room, in the pool, and on the beach. When we go to WDW, we stay value or moderate because we are in the room to sleep and get ready. For DLR, we stay offsite at a hotel that is affordable and close, for the same reason. These are not luxury hotels, but they are also not dumps. They are clean, serviceable motels that are more than suitable for their purpose.

We have stayed at Hojos (three times), Fairfield Inn (four times), Castle Inn and Suites (one time and it's not our favorite but it's fine), and now we are booked at the Annabella for our next trip. There are many others I would stay at based on this boards recommendations, but I focus on most affordable because the hotel, as long as it's close and clean, is the least important aspect of our trip. I do like to stay at places with pools, too. I do not like driving to DLR every morning because it's not necessary with so many options so close, and walking to and from the parks is a perk WDW can't offer.

My advice to WDW vets visiting DLR is always to put aside your WDW expectations and experiences. This will be a new and different trip! DLR is still Disney, but it's definitely not the same vacation experience. Enjoy the uniqueness!!

To answer your question, I've never stayed at the Carousel. I would, however, be far more inclined to believe the hotel reviews here than on a review site as those have been proven to be biased many times. So, search for it here and see what people have said.

 

[nannyz]

Over the years we have stayed at several offsite hotels. Now HoJo is always our choice. The rooms are clean, the beds are comfortable, the grounds are lovely, and there are interior corridors. The other thing we like about HoJo is that the staff seem to be much nicer and more professional.

I would not dismiss a hotel just because it is older.

 

[2tinkerbell]

I would adjust your expectations. If you are always comparing or expecting deluxe accommodations, you will not have a great time.

That in mind, I would look at Candy Cane Inn or HoJos. Both are clean, comfortable, and well maintained.

 

[AmberStar]

No one has mentioned the reason they all look old. Many of them indeed ARE old. The space surrounding Disneyland is VERY limited with the freeway in such close proximity. The park is going on 60 years old so many of the structures have been there for a long time, changed hands, changed brands, updated the basics but you can only do so much in such a tight cramped area. Major renovations and adding a lot of luxury amenities are out.

300 acres of DL vs 30000 acres for WDW. There is clearly a space issue when you just look at the numbers and with such space issues you won't find as many luxury hotels... granted the size of Disneyland is fabulous and packs a big punch. You won't spend a lot of hotel time since the parks are so close together and will keep you busy from sun up until sun down.

Best bet if you want luxury at a budget- HoJo for the win. Maybe Desert Palms.
Even better but at a premium- GC or DL hotel.

 

[crystal1313]

A majority of the walking distance places are "motels" not "hotels". And yes, they are old. Aren't they building a new Springhill suites on the corner of Harbor and Katella?

We are staying at the Hilton this Thursday. Haven't stayed there in years. Since it's just my DH and I this trip and no kids, we didn't mind it being a longer walk. Parking is pricey here. And you have to pay extra for wi-fi, gym, etc.

When the kids are with us, we like the Candy Cane and the Ramada Maingate. Ramada just built a brand new building last year that is really nice, since you are looking for a newer place (new building is still "motel" style). They have free parking. Only bummer is right now they are still doing a major upgrade/remodel, so there is construction noise. We are staying here in a suite in July. Hoping the noise won't be an issue since we will be at the parks a majority of the day, but if you come back to nap, that will probably be an issue. Fridge and microwave in all the rooms. Free breakfast, although there isn't a lot of options.

CCI has gorgeous grounds, free parking, free shuttle (but is still easily walkable), and free breakfast with lots of options to choose from. Our rooms have been very clean and quiet. And it's rated really high on tripadvisor.

 

[Cinderpamela]

I would consider the Candy Cane Inn, Fairfield Inn or HoJo.

I agree with Girimama33... those are my top "across the street" hotel options as well. We also like the Sheraton Park but the walk to the park is just under 1 mile for that one.

Know that its going to be a totally different vibe than WDW, and if you can, change your mindset... because of the history and the region it is in, DLR is not as much about the hotel as it is at WDW. When at DLR we spend way less time at the hotel because the parks are a stones throw away.... at WDW we enjoy hanging at the resort more (partially because of the distance/commitment required to get from one place to another) and thus the resort becomes a more important factor.

Also if you haven't already check out Hydroguys Hotel rules:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1199862


It may help you think about it a little differently.

 

[Pastalady]

We stayed at carousel in sept last year. It was filthy, never again!
I am sure others are better. But avoid carousel inn!

 

[kirstie101]

Like many others have said, the good neighbor hotels are not dumps but they are definitely not deluxe resorts like you are used to. They are mostly motels. Some get better reviews than others. If you truly require a more deluxe hotel experience and dont want to pay the prices of the Disneyland Hotels than I would suggest looking into the Hilton, Hyatt, Embassy Suites hotels in the area. This will require that you take a shuttle to the parks but the acommodations might be more along the lines of what you're looking for.

 

[mirage0306]

We stayed at Candy Cane Inn last Christmas and it was fantastic. Would not hesitate to stay there again.

In August we are splurging for the Disneyland Hotel, despite the fact that I have not yet fully funded my retirement account.

 

[nannyz]

In some ways I am glad we have never been willing to spend the money to stay onsite at DLR, because I don't stress if I can't stay there.

 

[ClaraOswald]

Personally, I find Deluxe WDW hotels to be a waste of money. They aren't truly deluxe compared to REAL resorts around the world. So I don't really understand wanting to spend $500 a night on hotel at WDW. But that's neither here nor there. I wouldn't really spend that kind of money on a Disneyland hotel either, but at least the location is nice.

Some hotels near Disneyland are slightly in the "dump" category. But others are nice, especially considering their location.

I'd listen to some of the earlier suggestions and check out places the the Candy Cane Inn or Anabella.