Which motel? Can't decide

[DMRick]

I just can't decide..I keep looking at all of the following 4, and reading reviews. Being connected to the internet is important, although dial up will do. A continental breakfast doesn't seem to matter, since the reviews on all of them are terrible. It looks like none of them are far to walk. Help! Is there any one of these that you would not stay at again, after a first stay?

 

[cuterlt]

I have only stayed at Best Western Park Place Inn, so I won't vote in the poll. BUT I will tell you that it was great. Very close, right at the light to cross over to Disneyland. Pretty decent sized room for the two of us. Queen or king bed, and a little living room area with pull out sofa and chairs. Also had a free microwave and fridge in the room, and coffee maker.
Pool was small, but I didn't get a chance to go in it.
I really liked the convenience of where it was.
Good luck in your decision!

 

[LucyKate]

Hojo has free high speed internet - though only if you bring your own laptop, there are no terminals for guests.

It has no breakfast, but you just eat across the street at Mimi's which is absolutely superb.

It's about 10 minutes walk from the turnstiles. We stayed there in December and loved it - superb service and great value. The heated pool and on site shop were also great additions.

 

[BlueBayou]

I have actually stayed in three of the motels.

The HOJOs has the nicest grounds. More of a resort feel. It is the longest walk, but still a reasonable walk. Some of the rooms face the highway and are noisy. We had to ask to be moved (loud enough our baby was not sleeping) and they moved us without a problem. We have stayed there twice.

We were in a parlor suite at the Anaheim Desert Inn and Suites. The room was very clean and the housekeeping staff was very nice. We added and extra night to our trip and they did not try to charge us an arm and a leg. If you looked hard enough you could see the matterhorn out the window. The free breakfast was nothing fancy, but you could grab fruit and munch on it all morning at the park. Indoor pool. Very close walk.

The Best Western was fine. Nothing fancy. The room seemed a little dark to me, but I did not have any complaints. Also a very close walk.

Of the 4 motels I have stayed at, I would stay at all again. It would be in this order:

1-2) Toss up between Anaheim Desert Inn and HOJOs. It would all depend on if I needed the extra room (advantage Desert Inn) or if we planned on spending downtime at the motel swimming (advantage HOJO).

3) Park Inn

4) Best Western Park Inn

Just my opinions. Hope it helps.

Sher

 

[zukeeper]

I have only stayed at the Desert Inn so I won't vote, since I would not stay there again. I found it to be a bit run-down. The elevators took forever from the 3rd floor and it was packed full of people - I mean a lot in one room packed. This was during peak season so go figure. The real killer was that they wouldn't check our bags on the last day and we were not flying out at check-out time. It was a REAL pain to cram our luggage into the lockers. Some were broken and the whole system looked very unsecure. That is now the first question I ask when looking for a hotel - Will you check my bags upon arrival and check-out when rooms are not available?

I used to be sold on staying within walking distance, but I just stayed at Embassy Buena Park, and with their own shuttle, it was super easy. I can't speak for the other Embassy Suites, but I know you have to take ART from the closest one, which people have complained about.

 

[korrie leslie]

The hardest thing about going to Disneyland is deciding where to stay. If you can afford it of course stay at a Disney resort. For most of us we have to wade through hotel after hotel. You can look in brochures, guidebooks and on the internet and still not know what the best hotel is. My family and I have stayed at HoJo, and we would stay there again. They were doing contruction while we were there and only had one pool open, but we still enjoyed our stay (2001). We have also stayed at The Anabella. It was a beautiful hotel. The only downside was that the employees are not up front about the charges. We had to pay 1.00$ every time we picked up the phone. EVEN TO ANSWER!!! Not to call the lobby though. The resturant at the hotel had great, above average food, and the price isnt too bad. There is a male server there who has been to Disneyland an incredible amount of times, and he knows all there is to know. Need any help? Just ask, actually even if you don't ask he will still give you advice. We thought we knew quite a bit, but there is always more to know. I would reccomend staying there. The price we paid was well below the quality that you get.

 

[DMRick]

Ok, I could pretty much see where this was going LOL. 5 minutes ago, I booked the Best Western Park Place Inn for Dec 3 -10. Half their rooms have high speed internet and I got one of those. She said I would be getting a front builing because of that. I didn't get the wonderful prices I've seen in some of the reviews..with AARP it was $89 a night plus tax. Whew..that's done! Thanks all. Sounds like any of the top three would have worked.
Doris

 

[TrixieMaguee]

I vote for the Red Roof Inn (even though it isn't a choice)
Its cleanest and cheapest by far...

PM me if you want to get detail.

 

[Mom2Joce]

I think you will be VERY happy there. The rooms are just fine and the beds are dang comfortable!! I booked an internet room and then when I got there I just linked up to someones wireless...hehehehe!!

You are THE closest to the parks and it's SO nice at the end of the day to know that!! The elevators are on the small side but the place is only 3 stories high and easy to walk up.

I LOVE this place and will return hands down!!

 

[disneychrista]

BWPPI is THE closest to the cross walk. So that is a plus.

 

[crasher11]

Tropicana Inn worked out great for us(not a choice on the list, but thought i would add)....Very close to Crosswalk.. was nice at the end of the day...

 

[DMRick]

OK..you guys stop voting for HJ's right now LOL! I don't want to have to cancel my ressies at BW!

 

[astroboy]

A great site to read hotel reviews from other travellers is www.tripadvisor.com

Every hotel is given a ranking out of all the hotels in the area (eg. 98 in Anaheim), based on individual scores posted by previous guests.

I quickly checked all the candidate hotels and the ratings were:

Best Western Park Inn: #8 of 98
Howard Johnson: #3 of 98
Candy Cane Inn: #2 of 98
Anaheim Desert Inn: #47 of 98

So, the only one that did not make the top ten is the desert inn. I'd say any of the first three would be a good choice.

 

[DMRick]

Thanks, I did read them, but I'd just as soon get info from familiar names. While the Candy Cane came in nice and high, I have gotten two PM's from people who had bad visits there, and I like getting info from familiar names It's stuff like that that helped me make up my mind. Neither of them posted on that review site. HJ was a close second to our BW though, in my search for the "perfect" motel at a cost I can live with, and I have until 48 hours before our trip (in December), to switch over.

 

[WatchinCaptKangaroo]

The Fairfield Inn is nice too. The Anabella is a longer walk (it's behind CA Adventure.)

 

[Sosai X]

Wherever you go, don't stay at the Castle Inn. That place is a dive. We stayed there in May. The carpet is so dirty you stick to it. The toilet overflowed. There are ants in the closet. The cleaning staff doesnt speak English. What a pit!

 

[NancyIL]

I realize that you've already reserved a room, but wanted to throw in my two cents. Will you have a car? Is a walking location a must? The reason I ask is because being the frugal gal that I am, my last two stays in Anaheim were via Priceline. I stayed at the Coast Anaheim in 2000 when it was WestCoast Anaheim, and at the Hyatt Regency in Garden Grove in 2003. Both charge for parking, and are on the ART @ $3/pp per day, I believe. In 1998 we stayed at the Fairfield Inn on Harbor Blvd. It hadn't been renovated yet, as it had recently been purchased from Ramada. By the way, I stayed at what is now the BW Park Place Inn in 1971!!

I'll spend 3 nights in Anaheim next March with my two daughters during their college spring breaks. It's really too soon to try Priceline, and I'm not sure I want to chance it for 3 adults. I reserved the Sheraton Anaheimseveral months ago when the rate was $119/night, but could use Starwood points for a free stay. This morning I saw that the Anaheim Marriott has a 2-night AAA Disney package: $419 plus tax for 2 nights, breakfast for 2, and two 3-day DL park hoppers - so I reserved that too, then added the 3rd night using Marriott Rewards points.

 

[DMRick]

We will have a car, but won't have to pay for parking at BW. My dates were not available for the AAA special. With it just being DH and I, I think form what others have told us, the BW for $89 plus tax, will be fine. Thanks though, for letting me know about the special.

 

[kkheburn]

I got a great deal through travelocity for BW Raffles Inn. We got the kids suite for less than a $100.00 a night. We have never stayed there before but reviews sound good. The only thing is we are parking at DL because we know we will be too tired to walk home in the evening plus we are traveling with a 3 year old who will need a nap in the afternoon. Anyone stayed there before?