Thinking of switching hotels

[auntyjenn]

I booked a family suite at Anaheim Desert Inn and Suites because it was such a good price for a big group of people, but the reviews are very mixed, especially for the pool and continental breakfast. Should I switch to the Holiday Inn Express? Being right accross the street from DL was very exciting to me, and I'm a major cheepskate, but I don't want to ruin the trip. Are there any other close places you can put 6 people in a room for under $100 off season with a pool (open late with a hot tub) and breakfast (continental's fine if there's at least a little selection)?

 

[staley7580]

You should have no problems there! I know that it is a favorite of a few people here on the DIS, so it cant be all bad, right? But my dh and I have some very good freinds who went last Sept. and stayed there and they said that for the price, it was fantastic! The pool is indoor, and the breakfast isnt very substantial, but other than that its just fine!!! I would stick with it!

 

[Andrew812]

There are a couple of places but you shouldn't have any problems there. friends of ours where just there and they didn't have any problems.
I know my wife and I prefer the Embassy Suites, the rooms are nice and the breakfast is awsome, it is a full breakfast with a cook to order omlete. Tyhe pool is outdoors but is clean and heated, they also have a hot tub. Not to mention that every day around 4:30 is the Managers cocktail hour, so free drinks and snacks, what else could you ask for

 

[i12go2wdw]

We stayed therre last Oct. and are going back in Aug. The rooms are big and clean, nice sized fridge too and so close to the park it more than makes up for the breakfast. There was coffee, tea and juices, danishes, cereal, toast with condiments and a limited selection of fruit. The 5 kids I brought did very well with the offerings each day, I supplemented with a few extras in the room incase someone got bored (frozen waffles, pop tarts, muffins). The kids loved the pool and there was hardly ever anyone in it during the day, it is a good size but indoors the hot tub is in the same room just at the far end. There was a bit of noise if you were in the courtyard end but never late at night, it is right beside a Denny's ( good value for kids meals). Late at night when it really counts, I was thrilled to just have to walk past the bus stops and in 1 minute be in our room (longer if the light was red
The front desk staff were always very friendly and seemed to know what they were doing, we changed rooms 1/2 way through our stay ( some of our party left so we moved to a smaller room) We packed our bags and went to the parks and they moved us, they even moved the contets of our fridge.

If you are not looking for a 4 star hotel then I think you will be fine at the Desert Inn and Suites.

Christine

 

[auntyjenn]

Thank you for your replies. I read a lot of horror stories on the reviews at MousePlanet, and the Desert Inn seemed to have a lot of pretty bad ones. You never know about on-line reviews though. Maybe these people are use to staying at the Ritz, and it seems like more people like to post complaints than praises.

 

[hlbtimes2]

I took a look at reviews for it at trip advisor. The reviews look ok. There are no major compliants. Most felt that for the price it provided what they needed- clean and close! The biggest complaint was the free breakfast. For the price of the room you shouldn't expect much for food in my opinion. It will be enough to get you going in the morning. You can always get something better when you get to the park. I highly recomend Carnation cafe on main street. The food is good and the prices arent bad. Breakfast at the Riverbell Terrace is pretty good too.

 

[kristenhh]

We stayed there and the space was great! It was not fancy, but it was clean and the price was excellent.

The breakfast was not exciting, but they did have milk and juice on tap -- we brought our own box of cereal and we were great.

I would not worry about it. We have a family of 7, and it is hard to beat for a group that size.

 

[tlovesdis]

I don't stay at Ritzy places, ever, and we stayed at DI once and would never, ever stay there again! The place was dingy, dirty, and just had a creepy vibe to it. The staff was not friendly nor helpful at all. The breakfast was a joke, the pool was small and stunk horribly of cholorine, and parking is crazy! They do not have enough spaces for the amount of rooms they have and you are out of luck if there is nowhere to park.

Yes, it is close to DL and the price is cheap, but you get what you pay for!

There were 20 of us that stayed there. We had 6 rooms total and we all agreed that we would never stay there again!

 

[Mom2micayla]

The first time we stayed there (early last year, Feb I think?) I wasn't overly impressed. The room was ok, but the carpet was filthy! The bed linens were old and faded. Breakfast was next to nothing.

We stayed there again later in the year because we were looking for something cheap and weren't picky. This time we went to a suite (had a reg. room the time before). The room had been newly refurbished and was so much nicer than our previous experience! The rooms are big, carpets clean, bed linens new. The breakfast still sucked though. We knew that going in though and brought fruit bars, applesauce, etc to suppliment. We figured the crappy breakfast was a trade off for the super close location and cheap rates. We stayed there 5 nights and in the middle of our trip we ate breakfast at Denny's (right next door) just to get a break from the same old stale danishes and watered down juice.

Anyway, we're staying there again next month so obviously we find it alright. It's not top of the line, but it's not a dump either. For a budget minded traveler I think it's the way to go.

 

[auntyjenn]

I don't stay at Ritzy places, ever, and we stayed at DI once and would never, ever stay there again! The place was dingy, dirty, and just had a creepy vibe to it. The staff was not friendly nor helpful at all. The breakfast was a joke, the pool was small and stunk horribly of cholorine, and parking is crazy! They do not have enough spaces for the amount of rooms they have and you are out of luck if there is nowhere to park.

Yes, it is close to DL and the price is cheap, but you get what you pay for!

There were 20 of us that stayed there. We had 6 rooms total and we all agreed that we would never stay there again!

Can I ask when you went? They said its been redone in 2006 (of course everything looks good on the website).

 

[tlovesdis]

It was in 2005 so maybe it's better now, I don't know, but I know we will never go back. I belong to several Disney message boards and on one of the boards several people have had nothing but trouble with that hotel and their credit cards!

I know everyone has a different opinion. It's crazy how some people hate a place and some love it!

 

[auntyjenn]

I know everyone has a different opinion. It's crazy how some people hate a place and some love it!

So true. I wish you could all tell me what my opinion of things will be. It would save me a lot of trouble.