Where to stay?!?

[NJlauren]

I am very excited to be planning a our first trip back to Disneyland in 7 years!

We will have 4 days I think, at the end of august next summer. Probably 3 park days, so maybe only 4 nights? Last time we started at the Disneyland hotel and I enjoyed it, I am trying to decide where to stay this time. I am leaning the Howard Johnson.

However I’m open to on site or another hotel that is walk able, we prefer Marriott but are open. We are 2 adults a 10 and 6 year old, we most likely will skip a stroller for the 6 year old, so close is better for sure. A good pool would be nice, and a suite is always a plus but not a requirement.

This will be the end of a 2 week Cali trip, and the days May shift depending on visiting friends in LA.

What do you recommend?

 

[CisforCookie991]

We stayed at the Hyatt House and it was great. They have family rooms where the kids area is split off from the main area by doors. Kids have a bunk bed, a couch, and I think a tv. It was just a few blocks. Really easy walk. It’s right above a Walgreens. You think the walk is further than it is then you see the giant glowing W and you realize you’re almost there.

 

[LKing]

We stayed at the Hyatt House and it was great. They have family rooms where the kids area is split off from the main area by doors. Kids have a bunk bed, a couch, and I think a tv. It was just a few blocks. Really easy walk. It’s right above a Walgreens. You think the walk is further than it is then you see the giant glowing W and you realize you’re almost there.

Plus Hyatt House (and Hyatt Place) include breakfast.

 

[CisforCookie991]

Plus Hyatt House (and Hyatt Place) include breakfast.

The breakfast did not look…great. There is a Starbucks next to the Walgreens but order ahead on the app doesn’t work for that location and the line gets crazy if you don’t get there early.

 

[kristensideaoffun]

We are pretty Marriott loyal as my husband travels a lot of work. Our number one hotel is the Marriott Theme Park. It’s slightly closer than the HJ and has far superior rooms and waterpark. The rooms are huge and all of them have two showers, bunk beds, and a good sized table for eating. Our favorite room is the King Theme Park View. They are located on the corners of the building and the bunk beds have their own little nook/room at the end of a hallway with the bathroom in between the bedroom/living area. They feel like a suite even though they are not. They also have a balcony that gives you a great view of the park and the fireworks. I love sitting out there watching the monorail go by. We’ve also stayed in their one-bedroom suite which is nice. They have a cafe but I’ve found the service to be pretty slow in the mornings so we don’t eat there on park days. We instead order food from the Panera next door.

Our second favorite hotel is the Residence Inn Convention Center. Huge rooms with full kitchens (which we never actually use to cook but appreciate the full-size fridge) and a pretty good hot breakfast selection. The rooftop pool has a small splash pad and a huge hot tub. There is also a bar in the lobby. It’s a little bit longer of a walk but it’s not bad and should be fine for a 6 year old.

The Westin is number three on the list. The biggest downside is the walk and the price of their full suites are more than we are willing to pay. My husband is now Titanium but we’ve gotten some pretty good upgrades there even as Gold, but always to a junior suite, never to a full suite. We’ve realized we need the full suite when traveling as a family so we won’t stay there again unless we feel it’s worth it to shell out the money for one. The rooftop lounge with the outdoor seating overlooking DCA is great if your Platinum+ or in a Club level room.

If you want a decent pool, don’t stay at the Springhill or JW. The Springhill pool is the size of a postage stamp and gets crowded really quickly. There is also very little seating inside the enclosed pool area. I hate it and won’t stay there anymore because I have one kiddo that will swim year-round. The JW’s pool area is lovely and has great service. The downside is it’s on the east side of the building and is in the shadow of the building most of the day. Even though the pool is heated, I’ve found it to be pretty chilly even on warm summer days and there is no hot tub to warm up in. The only plus is the outdoor showers get hot quickly, which is usually one of my biggest gripes about pool showers. Our teenager is fine with the pool because she will swim in any weather but it gets cold quickly for our toddler and myself.

 

[NJlauren]

We are pretty Marriott loyal as my husband travels a lot of work. Our number one hotel is the Marriott Theme Park. It’s slightly closer than the HJ and has far superior rooms and waterpark. The rooms are huge and all of them have two showers, bunk beds, and a good sized table for eating. Our favorite room is the King Theme Park View. They are located on the corners of the building and the bunk beds have their own little nook/room at the end of a hallway with the bathroom in between the bedroom/living area. They feel like a suite even though they are not. They also have a balcony that gives you a great view of the park and the fireworks. I love sitting out there watching the monorail go by. We’ve also stayed in their one-bedroom suite which is nice. They have a cafe but I’ve found the service to be pretty slow in the mornings so we don’t eat there on park days. We instead order food from the Panera next door.

Our second favorite hotel is the Residence Inn Convention Center. Huge rooms with full kitchens (which we never actually use to cook but appreciate the full-size fridge) and a pretty good hot breakfast selection. The rooftop pool has a small splash pad and a huge hot tub. There is also a bar in the lobby. It’s a little bit longer of a walk but it’s not bad and should be fine for a 6 year old.

The Westin is number three on the list. The biggest downside is the walk and the price of their full suites are more than we are willing to pay. My husband is now Titanium but we’ve gotten some pretty good upgrades there even as Gold, but always to a junior suite, never to a full suite. We’ve realized we need the full suite when traveling as a family so we won’t stay there again unless we feel it’s worth it to shell out the money for one. The rooftop lounge with the outdoor seating overlooking DCA is great if your Platinum+ or in a Club level room.

If you want a decent pool, don’t stay at the Springhill or JW. The Springhill pool is the size of a postage stamp and gets crowded really quickly. There is also very little seating inside the enclosed pool area. I hate it and won’t stay there anymore because I have one kiddo that will swim year-round. The JW’s pool area is lovely and has great service. The downside is it’s on the east side of the building and is in the shadow of the building most of the day. Even though the pool is heated, I’ve found it to be pretty chilly even on warm summer days and there is no hot tub to warm up in. The only plus is the outdoor showers get hot quickly, which is usually one of my biggest gripes about pool showers. Our teenager is fine with the pool because she will swim in any weather but it gets cold quickly for our toddler and myself.

This is super helpful! The Marriott Theme park is slightly more than HJ but seems like it maybe worth it!!

I’m platinum at Marriott so ideally would like to stay with them if possible.

 

[kristensideaoffun]

This is super helpful! The Marriott Theme park is slightly more than HJ but seems like it maybe worth it!!

I’m platinum at Marriott so ideally would like to stay with them if possible.

It’s definitely worth it, especially if it’s not much of price difference over the HJ. I’ve stayed at the HJ twice and did not get the hype. The pool area was pretty dirty and I wasn’t a fan of the rooms. I’ve never had a bad stay at the Courtyard. I’d say the only con is its valet only parking. That doesn’t bother me because we always choose valet if it’s available, but I know some people don’t like using valet parking.

 

[NJlauren]

It’s definitely worth it, especially if it’s not much of price difference over the HJ. I’ve stayed at the HJ twice and did not get the hype. The pool area was pretty dirty and I wasn’t a fan of the rooms. I’ve never had a bad stay at the Courtyard. I’d say the only con is its valet only parking. That doesn’t bother me because we always choose valet if it’s available, but I know some people don’t like using valet parking.

It’s def more expensive at the Marriott then HJ, but it’s very far in advance so I have a bit of wiggle room to adjust the budget, adjust other things on the trip.

 

[mdmost]

Another vote for the Courtyard Theme Park hotel. That's our go-to hotel. It's more expensive but the double shower is worth it for 4 of us including two teens. Wish the pool was bigger but it does its job. For adults there's a hot tub. For kids, a spray park and two big slides.

 

[Pluto468]

I'd stay onsite if it's a possibility. I love being in the bubble and not dealing with Harbor blvd. Last time we were there we were woken up by cars at night and had to deal with street preachers yelling at everyone at the park entrance in the morning and at night.

If you do want to stay on Harbor, the Best Western Plus Anaheim Inn is a 2 minute walk and has some 2 room suites and a hot breakfast. The suite was 2 attached bedrooms and had 1 bathroom. We've also stayed there with adjoining rooms. The pool is nothing to write home about, but we loved how close it was. Their customer service is excellent.

We've stayed at Hojo and liked it, but the walk felt very far at night. When we had little kids it took about 20 minutes, but most people say it's 10. We must be slow lol.

The Courtyard Marriott is very popular and they have alot of different room configurations. Their pools looks super nice.

Candy Cane Inn is about a 10-15 minute walk but has a designated shuttle. They just renovated so it's like a brand new hotel. They have continental breakfast.

We love Disneyland Hotel and have stayed there a number of times. We're trying Grand Californian next time. I like walking through Downtown Disney instead of Harbor blvd. You can also take the Monorail to and from Disneyland Hotel. There's a new entrance into DCA right across from Paradise Pier that's open for resort hotel guests. It was very convenient. There's also early entry for on property guests now. You get in half an hour earlier than everyone else.

 

[gelatoni fan]

This is super helpful! The Marriott Theme park is slightly more than HJ but seems like it maybe worth it!!

I’m platinum at Marriott so ideally would like to stay with them if possible.

Remember that Courtyard only has $20 dining credit for the Bistro as a Platinum welcome amenity rather than lounge access and breakfast.

For a family of 4 that wants to eat breakfast at the hotel, the Residence Inn may be a better choice. But if you want a "water park" style pool for the kids, then the Courtyard would make sense.

If it's in your budget, the Westin is a very good option if you're willing to Uber to the park entrance. They let you use your Platinum welcome amenity to get 4 people total into the lounge for the evening spread and breakfast. If you're willing to use Suite Night Awards on this trip, the suites at the Westin are the absolute nicest rooms of all the hotels near Disneyland that can be easily booked.

 

[kristensideaoffun]

Remember that Courtyard only has $20 dining credit for the Bistro as a Platinum welcome amenity rather than lounge access and breakfast.

For a family of 4 that wants to eat breakfast at the hotel, the Residence Inn may be a better choice. But if you want a "water park" style pool for the kids, then the Courtyard would make sense.

If it's in your budget, the Westin is a very good option if you're willing to Uber to the park entrance. They let you use your Platinum welcome amenity to get 4 people total into the lounge for the evening spread and breakfast. If you're willing to use Suite Night Awards on this trip, the suites at the Westin are the absolute nicest rooms of all the hotels near Disneyland that can be easily booked.

I do agree that the Westin has very nice suites. We’ve never been lucky enough to have an SNA go through there, but we have always been upgraded by the front desk, usually to a junior suite. We will probably stay at the Westin more often once we don’t have a kiddo in a car seat. The walk is just too far with a toddler.

If staying at the Courtyard, I wouldn’t do breakfast at the hotel unless you do grab and go. The service is sloooooooow. It may have improved as we haven’t had breakfast there in 5 years, but we missed rope drop twice because of it and never tried again.

 

[NVDISFamily]

When we are light on DVC points to stay on property we have been taking advantage of hotels near the Toy Story Parking Lot. Going a bit down Harbor gives you some good options that cost much less per night and/or can be of better quality than what is next to the gate and all you have to do is walk to the bus and let that get you to your hotel. Our last trip was to the Homewood Suites and overall we were very happy with what we got for the cost. A large 1BR "suite" like room with plenty of space, a decent kitchen/fridge setup, a large patio area, etc. Breakfast was okay (not great but better than average compared to some of the bad "free" breakfasts I've had at hotels). There was some wear on some of the fabrics in the resort (the retro pastel orange fabric doesn't seem to hold up well to the kiddos running around in the resort). At under 250 a night for a room of that size that sleeps 6, I'd be back if I had to pay cash or use credit card points.