Walking distance high end hotel?

[StayClassy]

You might like Hotel Indigo... It's my favorite hotel near Disney. It's a block away right across from the 7/11 near Garden Walk. Not sure if high end enough for what you have in mind...

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_R...-Hotel_Indigo_Anaheim-Anaheim_California.html

 

[Darkbeer1]

I like the Hotel Indigo, a former Holiday Inn Express that had a major remodel. It falls in the limited service hotel category, and the Boutique sub-category. But once again, not truly high-end.

Once again to me,a Full Service Hotel that is 3.5 to 4 stars, and offers all the perks is High End. That doesn't mean that limited service Hotels are bad, In fact, I usually pick a limited service Hotel, or maybe even a place like the Quality Inn for a bed, shower and nice breakfast.

The Anaheim area has no 5 stars, as that requires a Golf Course as part of the property. (I don't make the ratings, complain to AAA)

But the three Disney owned Hotels are Full Service, so trying to compare things are hard. What is walking distance? What is High End?

I am a fan of the Ayers Hotel chain, great limited service Hotel with 3 locations near Disneyland, but all require some sort of transit (all are near Angel Stadium).

Lots of choices, so it truly comes down what you are looking for. For me, it is usually a large room, good free Wi-FI, free nice breakfast, free parking. Since I am a Choice Preferred high end member, Comfort Suites is my main go to if available on my travels.

 

[cruisehopeful]

What specific dates are you looking at?

March 25 - March 28. Red Lion and Desert Palms are also showing up as full for those dates.
I was able to book HoJo for the 3 nights + tax with the cost being less than one night at GCH. Still thinking I may change my dates to the week before and stay at GCH instead if I can get a good mini Gay Days rate.

Red Lion and Hotel Indigo are both pet friendly. I can't tell you how many times I looked for a pet friendly hotel in the area. I wasn't planning on bringing any of my dogs on this visit, but nice to know for future.

 

[5forMickey]

I was able to book HoJo for the 3 nights + tax with the cost being less than one night at GCH. Still thinking I may change my dates to the week before and stay at GCH instead if I can get a good mini Gay Days rate.

People seems to be really happy with HOJO's and the price does look good. Have a great trip!

 

[calilou]

The new Sheraton and the Indigo (part of the IHG chain) are both very nice....but as others have said "high end" has a different meaning to different people. These two are well maintained, professional staff. Both are easily walkable to the park entrances. My personal preference is Indigo....it's more a boutique hotel so less people, plus closer to the various restaurants at Garden Walk.

There is a new Homewood Suites across from the Convention Center, and next to the Toy Story Theme Parking lot.

We always have a lot of Hilton and IHG points so when we're not staying at an onsite property, we stay at either the new Homewood Suites by the convention center or Hotel Indigo. We've stayed at Indigo at least 8 times and really like it. It's small but very modern and well maintained. Service has always been great. There's a small pool and hot tub and a small bar and restaurant to get a drink or meal (food is nothing special but good; room service is available). Plus you're next door to Garden Walk and other good restaurant options. The rooms are very nicely done - wood floors, big comfy beds. HS is good too, but more suited to families I think. Nice and new which is great. As a single traveler I think you would really like Indigo, especially if you bring your furry friend. It's walkable but we find it a pretty long walk. We've been known to walk one way and Uber back or drive. Walking from HS seems tortuous to me so we always drive (free parking with our APs and my girls love Mickey's Tram surprisingly ). We haven't tried the Toy Story shuttle from HS but I hear that's a great option too.

Have you stayed at DLH? I think it currently has the nicest accommodations plus the pool and Trader Sam's are nice hang out areas. We love GCH as well and are looking forward to the scheduled remodel. The rooms have gotten shabby. Always a wonderful stay though.

We were thinking of a stay March 19-22 and my gosh the onsite property rates are high. So Gay Days are 18/19 it sounds like? What else is going on that week? I looked at convention center calendar and didn't see anything major.

 

[Darkbeer1]

OK, as with many things,we have things that can be called facts, such as types of Hotels/Motels/Lodging, and then the personal opinion, such as what is high end.

If you look at Lodging, you have standards that have been set by others, such as AAA.

So the top are the 5 star Resorts, that means a very high level of items in the rooms, great service, and lot of amenities like Golf Courses, beaches, etc. Also high end restaurants on property.

Then you have the Full Service Hotels, as mentioned, designed for either business or luxury vacation, and includes all the special personal perks like Valet Parking, Room Service, etc. For business hotels, convention services including meeting rooms In the Disneyland area, I can only come up with about 10.

Then you have the next level,which is called the Limited Service Hotels, and it has plenty of sub-catagories. This currently is the most popular level, as most "chains" will offer things that you have to pay for at a Full Service Hotel as part of the nightly fee, such as free breakfast, WiFi, etc. The Hotel owners like the fact they can cut back on labor in not staffing Valets, Bell Hops, Room Service, etc.

One very popular sub-category in the Disneyland area is the "Extended Stay/Apartment style" Hotel, in which you get the larger room (and sometimes suites), kitchen facilities including pots and pans, etc. But then there are different levels in that category, IMHO, the low end would be Extended Stay America, which to me is the Motel 6 version in the group, basic but clean and comes with the kitchen. Heck, even some of the same brand are different, for example the Residence Inns in the area. I like the old school RI on Clementine next to the AGW, it is a Condo Style facility with nice grounds. The other ones are the newer style of a high rise tower and interior corridors and the need to use an elevator. Both versions have pluses and minuses, and it is up to the specific person as to which they prefer.

And then you have the low end, which are Motels, and in that I mean a 1 to 3 story building (or set of buildings) without elevators, outdoor corridors, your car is parked in front/near your room, and everything is fairly basic, designed originally to be the low cost option.

Now, in Anaheim, the dynamic has changed, and it is due to location. When built, Motels was the "in thing" in the 50's and early 60"s (anyone remember the Stovall's Space Age Lodge...)

http://stovallsinn.com/property-info-2/hotel-history/

So in the 1950's, Walt Disney couldn't afford to buy anything else, as he maxed out his finances in opening Disneyland, and even sold rights to things like the Disneyland Hotel, so many folks bought up land near the park and built Motels (IMHO, a smart decision). But due to many factors including building permits,etc. The options is pretty much update/refresh the property, or tear it down and rebuild from scratch. The nearest Motels to Disneyland have pretty much decided to just update, due to the cost/benefit forecasts. And some owners have done a nicer job in upgrading than others. So some folks can say "High End Motels",meaning a very nice basic Motel, versus a run down version....

Everyone is different, and a written post doesn't show some info that a face to face conversation will offer. So one person might mean more as to value for the money, as in what you get for the nightly fee, while others think a place like the Great Wolf Lodge Resort with all its amenities is important (More Stuff, but not caring too much about the budget).

So all we can do is provide information,and let the OP decide what is best for them....

 

[mommymermaid]

Just my two cents:
Red lion and Hojo's are OK. Not my favorite. If I was in your shoes, I would go with GCH or DLH. While they both aren't "High-end", They are still soooo much more comfortable than any other hotels on Harbor...

 

[cruisehopeful]

Have you stayed at DLH?

I have and the last time I stayed there was years ago when they first added the light up headboards. I thought my room was tiny for the price and I didn't like that the bathroom sink was outside of the toilet door. I didn't like the idea of people wiping themselves and then touching the door before they got to the sink. I think I am not as germophobe as I was at the time. I am not opposed to it, but the prices are too high for what I feel I am getting - not only for the room rates, but for breakfast, room service, etc. It's not completely out of the question, though.

We were thinking of a stay March 19-22 and my gosh the onsite property rates are high. So Gay Days are 18/19 it sounds like? What else is going on that week? I looked at convention center calendar and didn't see anything major.

I just got an email from Gay Days a few minutes ago. They said discounted rooms will be available for mini Gay Days soon. Check the website frequently. I do get emails from them, but the website is updated quicker than the emails most of the time. In 2016, I think only Saturday was the mini Gay Days, but the rooms were discounted for several days before and after that date. I hardly saw any red shirts at GCH and the hotel was crazy full and busy in the public areas all day. Something else was going on, but I have no idea what it was.

@Darkbeer1 , my priority for this trip is to be able to log roll myself out of the parks and back to my room if necessary. I was looking at as close as possible and was going to book Candy Cane Inn or Park Vue, but after looking at their websites, I couldn't bring myself to do it. Same with the Best Westerns on the same street. I normally don't spend time in my room, but am trying to make it more laid back visit and I want a decent room. And, if I get rained out (slim chance, I know) I want to still enjoy my surroundings. I have been rained out twice while staying at GHC and still had a great time sitting on my balcony watching the park. I think I wouldn't be miserable at HoJo, but I had to get a regular room as the suites weren't available.

I do have exchange requests pending for timeshares in the area, too. I actually prefer Homewood Suites Garden Grove over Dolphin's Cove and Peacock Suites, though. I haven't stayed at the tall WM Anaheim and wasn't able to rent points for DVC as the dates were already gone.

 

[Darkbeer1]

If you were looking at the CCI, the Sheraton Park isn't that much farther away, and is a true High End Hotel with great grounds, I would opt for a Club Level room.

Also close by the CCI is the new Springhill Suites, and while a limited service Hotel, still a good option.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_R...ort_Convention_Center-Anaheim_California.html

 

[bumbershoot]

None of the hotels in the area are really what can be described as "high end".

True. I think most of us are answering with an underlying definition of "high end for the immediate Disneyland area". Or "highER" end.

March 25 - March 28. Red Lion and Desert Palms are also showing up as full for those dates.

Are you only looking on the hotel websites themselves? Or on one online TA website? If so, expand the search. Look on hotel websites, expedia. travelocity, hotels, etc. Check them all out.

I have seen availability change drastically as months go by (and Desert Palms is one of the bigger ones I've seen change).

I was looking at as close as possible and was going to book Candy Cane Inn or Park Vue, but after looking at their websites, I couldn't bring myself to do it.

Every time we stay at Hilton or Anabella (and with the latter it's only when we want to stop at the CVS that we walk that way) and walk past Candy Cane we think "gosh I wish we would book that". It's so pretty from the outside, and I hear the service is great. So what it's a Motel? It's lovely.

And I do love Anabella. It, too, is a Motel, but I've had great service there. The pool is lovely, the foliage is beautiful. I think it'll be gone by 2018 b/c of Anaheim deciding to court business travelers and forgetting about the average people who want a pretty, interesting, hotel, but it's still worth staying at. Club level gets you breakfast in their restaurant, and it's a good breakfast. (the easily ordered breakfast is a set thing, but you can ask if you can get the dollar value of it towards the menu; we've never been turned down with that request)


We DO like Hilton, but it is a convention hotel and there can be elevator issues, the buffet (while VERY good) is $$$, and the hallways are long and a bit odd.

 

[Nevada Jen]

You might try Paradise Pier, Theme Park View Concierge. I actually think that would click off all your boxes and if you have never stayed in one of those room, they are truly incredible.