Which Good Neighbor Hotel do you recommend and why?

[AimeeMichele]

I've narrowed my choices down to Sheraton Park Hotel, Hyatt Regency Orange County, Red Lion Anaheim Maingate or the Anaheim Marriott. According to Disney's website they are all 1-2 blocks away (so I'm assuming you can walk from all to DL) except the Hyatt Regency as it's 1 mile. Which would you recommend out of these and why? Also, for anyone that's stayed at the Hyatt Regency can you walk the mile or is it highway road so you have to take their bus transportation? I had my heart set on the Disneyland Resort however there will be renovations going on which makes me very nervous and it's between $600 - $1000 more than these hotels so I've decided against staying there.

Thanks so much!

 

[HydroGuy]

BWPPI. Closest to the parks. 5 minutes by foot.

 

[AimeeMichele]

I had a bad experience at a Best Western and will not stay there. Thanks for your suggestion, though

 

[Leofoenget]

I had a bad experience at a Best Western and will not stay there. Thanks for your suggestion, though

http://www.accommodationsneardisney.com/Disneyland/default.asp

Anything in the green is pretty ok. We like Desert Inn and Suites in the winter because of the indoor pool, Anaheim Plaza because it's very cheap and has a HUGE olympic size pool. I have stayed at both Best Westerns on Harbor and they were both fine. Not all Best Westerns are the same.

 

[UmmGooD]

I am staying at the Marriott Fairfield Inn for our trip in Dec. and all the reviews I have seen are positive. It is also a much closer walk than the hotels you mentioned.

When I was 10 or so my parents would always stay at the Marriott across from the Hilton and man that was a walk when you were tired after a long day.

 

[DanT]

I've narrowed my choices down to Sheraton Park Hotel, Hyatt Regency Orange County, Red Lion Anaheim Maingate or the Anaheim Marriott. According to Disney's website they are all 1-2 blocks away (so I'm assuming you can walk from all to DL) except the Hyatt Regency as it's 1 mile. Which would you recommend out of these and why? Also, for anyone that's stayed at the Hyatt Regency can you walk the mile or is it highway road so you have to take their bus transportation? I had my heart set on the Disneyland Resort however there will be renovations going on which makes me very nervous and it's between $600 - $1000 more than these hotels so I've decided against staying there.

Thanks so much!

Remember that around Disneyland 1-2 blocks can be anywhere from 1/2 mile to over 1 mile away..that is why they say blocks instead of the actual distance...marketing tool...
and at the end of a long day at DL those 1-2 blocks can seem even further.
and the renovations you are referring to are at the DLH and they are doing one tower building at a time. so it really won't impact your stay there, although I do understand your concern over the outrageous costs at the DLR in comparison to many of the other 3 diamond hotels in the area.

 

[ScooterL]

What DanT said - those "blocks" are really long!!! There's a page on AllEars.net that has the distance from the Good Neighbor hotels to Disneyland:

Sheraton Park: .8 miles
Hyatt Regency: 1.6 miles
Red Lion Maingate: .75 miles
Anaheim Marriott: 1.1 miles

Not exactly "1-2 blocks" in the way that I think of blocks! Sounds like you are looking for a high-end hotel - the closest one is the Sheraton Park, with the Hilton Anaheim a close second.

 

[pixiewings71]

Yup, the blocks are very long.....we stayed at a "maingate" hotel once and no way would we have been able to walk there......

 

[snickerboo]

We stayed at Staybridge Suites @ Katella and I-5 and really liked it but it's not quite walking distance. We saw some families doing it but it was pretty far. The Red Lion seems the closest of the ones you mention. We passed the Sheraton and I think it would be a bit of a hike. It was closer to our hotel and The Anaheim Garden Walk.

If you go on google maps, you can get an overhead view of exactly where each hotel is in relation to DL.

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

I've narrowed my choices down to Sheraton Park Hotel, Hyatt Regency Orange County, Red Lion Anaheim Maingate or the Anaheim Marriott. According to Disney's website they are all 1-2 blocks away (so I'm assuming you can walk from all to DL) except the Hyatt Regency as it's 1 mile. Which would you recommend out of these and why? Also, for anyone that's stayed at the Hyatt Regency can you walk the mile or is it highway road so you have to take their bus transportation? I had my heart set on the Disneyland Resort however there will be renovations going on which makes me very nervous and it's between $600 - $1000 more than these hotels so I've decided against staying there.

Thanks so much!

Hyatt Regency has their own shuttle that they share with Crown Plaza, so if you stay there you should be able to take the shuttle for free. Since you're interested in these higher end hotels, you may be interested in this thread. There is a lot of info in it about shuttles, parking, resort fees, suites, etc.

 

[aristocat65]

As others have said they Hyatt is a LONG walk. It's a regular street with sidewalks, so certainly safe enough, but I love walking and I wouldn't even try it after a day in the parks. The others you mentioned are probably 20 minute walks.

The Sheraton Park is probably the "nicest" of the hotels. It's newly renovated and rebranded to a Sheraton only a couple of years ago. Have you checked Tripadvisor reviews? They're usually brutally honest. Just remember to search for the Hyatt under Garden Grove, not Anaheim.

 

[pearlieq]

http://www.accommodationsneardisney.com/Disneyland/default.asp

Thank you so much for sharing this. What a helpful resource!

 

[RweTHEREyet]

http://www.accommodationsneardisney.com/Disneyland/default.asp

Anything in the green is pretty ok. We like Desert Inn and Suites in the winter because of the indoor pool, Anaheim Plaza because it's very cheap and has a HUGE olympic size pool. I have stayed at both Best Westerns on Harbor and they were both fine. Not all Best Westerns are the same.

Another newbie question. On the map that is linked above, it shows one "pedestrian entrance". Is that the only entrance for those not staying on Disney property?

 

[DizMe]

When is your trip? If you want to stay at DLR, consider upgrading one of your hoppers to an AP. The extra cost is generally minimal for 1 and that way you can take advantage of ap rates, which save you 40% or more during promotion times. I did this last year. It was maybe $50 to upgrade one hopper to an ap and we then paid $149/night for DLH. There are also other deals that can be had without an ap (like pay for 3 and get 5 or whatever that deal is called) and the Fall/Winter Getaway rates. Many were able to get PPH for $100/night (4-night minimum) through Expedia this fall. With AP rates for Jan, a good option for a family is to go PPH concierge because you could save on food. The other 2 hotels charge a lot more for concierge and so the savings on food is probably negated by the extra room cost unless you are a larger family. But all of this advice in contingent on going at a time when you could get one of those deals or a good ap rate.

I personally would stay at a resort hotel if my hotel cost went over $100/night off site, especially if it wasn't within walking distance, and if I didn't have to pay too much for DLR hotels. There have been very few (if any) days in the last year or so when you couldn't manage to get in on some kind of deal.

 

[HydroGuy]

Another newbie question. On the map that is linked above, it shows one "pedestrian entrance". Is that the only entrance for those not staying on Disney property?

No. There are two main entrances.

One is from Harbor that you note and will be closer to the Harbor hotels, the ART dropoff, the hotel shuttles, taxis, etc.

The second is thru DTD and not too far from GCH. This will be closer for the three Disney hotels, some of the non-Disney hotels on Disneyland Drive, those who park at Mickey & Friends and who take the tram or walk (the parking lot tram drops off right near the second entrance) and anyone coming thru DTD. No restrictions on this entrance on whether someone stays onsite or off-site or is a day tripper.

There is a third entrance directly into DCA thru GCH which is only for Disney hotel guests. But this is only enforced for the first few hours of the day.

This map may be a little clearer:

http://www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com/disneyland/disneyland-map.htm

 

[DizMe]

Another newbie question. On the map that is linked above, it shows one "pedestrian entrance". Is that the only entrance for those not staying on Disney property?

Yes and no. You can access the parks through the DTD side, but there are not many off site hotels on that end. You would have to go in from the streets that take you to PPH, GCH, and DLH or you can also park for a limited time in the DTD parking lot and walk in from there.

 

[splash5]

We stayed at the Marriott Fairfield - just across the street. and we really liked it. We've stayed there before and find it to be very comfortable and reasonable. Another choice is the Howard Johnson's - many have raved about it.

 

[RweTHEREyet]

When is your trip? If you want to stay at DLR, consider upgrading one of your hoppers to an AP. The extra cost is generally minimal for 1 and that way you can take advantage of ap rates, which save you 40% or more during promotion times. I did this last year. It was maybe $50 to upgrade one hopper to an ap and we then paid $149/night for DLH. There are also other deals that can be had without an ap (like pay for 3 and get 5 or whatever that deal is called) and the Fall/Winter Getaway rates. Many were able to get PPH for $100/night (4-night minimum) through Expedia this fall. With AP rates for Jan, a good option for a family is to go PPH concierge because you could save on food. The other 2 hotels charge a lot more for concierge and so the savings on food is probably negated by the extra room cost unless you are a larger family. But all of this advice in contingent on going at a time when you could get one of those deals or a good ap rate.

We will probably be there the end of May, and right now I have the Villas at the GCH booked for Sun - Thursday, but I was thinking about adding the Sat before and the Friday and Sat after our villas stay, and was thinking about offsite.

Plans are still up in the air and totally subject to change.

I personally would stay at a resort hotel if my hotel cost went over $100/night off site, especially if it wasn't within walking distance, and if I didn't have to pay too much for DLR hotels. There have been very few (if any) days in the last year or so when you couldn't manage to get in on some kind of deal.

 

[RweTHEREyet]

No. There are two main entrances.

One is from Harbor that you note and will be closer to the Harbor hotels, the ART dropoff, the hotel shuttles, taxis, etc.

The second is thru DTD and not too far from GCH. This will be closer for the three Disney hotels, some of the non-Disney hotels on Disneyland Drive, those who park at Mickey & Friends and who take the tram or walk (the parking lot tram drops off right near the second entrance) and anyone coming thru DTD. No restrictions on this entrance on whether someone stays onsite or off-site or is a day tripper.

There is a third entrance directly into DCA thru GCH which is only for Disney hotel guests. But this is only enforced for the first few hours of the day.

This map may be a little clearer:

http://www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com/disneyland/disneyland-map.htm

Yes, that map does help a lot. Thank you so much.

 

[RweTHEREyet]

We stayed at the Marriott Fairfield - just across the street. and we really liked it. We've stayed there before and find it to be very comfortable and reasonable. Another choice is the Howard Johnson's - many have raved about it.

Fairfield may be my first choice, if we do go that route. One of these days I hope to have enough points for a free night or so. The reviews on here for the Fairfield have all been very good and the pictures I have seen do make it look very attractive.