Overwhelmed - where to stay?

[MissDisney21]

First trip to DL with an 8 and 11 yr old. Totally overwhelmed with choosing a hotel. Most important things to us are:
1. Location
2. Pool
3. Price
Everything else is icing on top.

We are used to staying at value or moderate hotels at WDW.

What do people suggest and why?

TIA!

 

[ONeilcool]

The Grand California is obviously unbeatable for location, while also being prohibitively expensive. You can rent points through DVC (Disney's timeshare program) and stay at there for much less, but its still not cheap and requires some extra steps. This would be my recommendation but only if its in your budget and you willing to do the work to figure out how DVC works.

If staying on property is out of your reach you really can't go wrong with any of the hotels within walking distance. There is so much competition they are all priced similar with similar amenities. There are some that are slightly more expensive for slightly better amenities like a better pool, but those are slightly farther walk due to lack of space. It's all trade offs.

Many people prefer one hotel over the others based on personal experiences, but in generally there is not any hotels that are definitely better than others in the area or ones that are horrible and you need to avoid at all costs. Don't overthink it too much.

 

[DLgal]

If you can't swing the Disney resorts, my recommendation is the new Westin on Katella. You can't beat the value here for the quality of the hotel.

 

[AstroBlasters]

Westin & Marriott Theme Park are very good options. I believe the Marriott has a more kid friendly pool area.

 

[Pluto468]

I'm not familiar with WDW moderate hotels. About how far of a walk are you looking for?

How many beds?

 

[goooof1]

Check out Candy Cane Inn. possibly HoJo's

 

[goooof1]

Check out Candy Cane Inn. possibly HoJo's

that is if you aren't staying at DLH or GCH .....

 

[RoseColored97]

It depends on what you're looking for.

Onsite? Disneyland Hotel all the way. Nice, quiet, spacious rooms, extremely clean, extremely kind staff.

-Grand Californian isn't worth the cost IMO. Too many use it as a midday break in the lobby, the hallways are long, the rooms are smaller. It's a great hotel, just not worth $800+/night. OTOH, Disneyland Hotel is very much worth paying $950+/night for Club Level. Highly recommend Club Level if you can swing it for the DLH.

-Would not recommend Pixar Pier Hotel/Paradise Pier (not sure if it has fully changed over). Relatives stayed there about 5 years ago and a big negative is the elevator being slow/always full and the rooms being too small.


Offsite? There is a wide range of available hotels/motels/inns along Harbor. My recommendation from a convenience/safety standpoint is to stay on Harbor in between the borders of Katella and Ball. Plenty of less inexpensive all the way to moderate options.

These are the motels I would recommend. All are clean, safe, comfortable. We've stayed in all of these within the past 6 years. Listed in order of recommendations:
1. Desert Inn and Suites (free breakfast)
2. Camelot Inn and Suites (recently refurbished, within the last few years)
3. Tropicana Inn and Suites (sister property of Camelot, also refurbished recently and has a nice convenience store attached for water/soda/beer/wine/snacks)
4. Del Sol Inn



Moderate:
1. Courtyard Marriott Theme Park Entrance
2. Desert Palms (free breakfast)

Ones I would not fully recommend based on our experience in the past 5-7 years:
1. Hyatt House at Anaheim Resort/Convention Center (noisy, thin walls)


Others that are available that seem to get good reviews but we don't have experience:
1. Candy Cane Inn ****this one just reopened after an extensive refurbishment and had many issues with postponing the date of reopening, but so far it looks great and it has a shuttle.
2. Fairfield Inn (we stayed in this one when I was probably 4-5 years old, so 20 years ago. I haven't heard anything bad about them but can't give a review based on anything recent)
3. Howard Johnson (this one usually gets very good reviews)
4. Grand Legacy (rooms in the newer building can have noise issues based on the rooftop bar, other buildings are further away in property)
5. Anaheim Inn (recently refurbished within past few years, haven't stayed there since)

 

[MillauFr]

The Candy Cane is your best choice. Low price, great value, very clean.

 

[Kerr84]

We stayed at Tropicana last summer and it was very clean and comfortable and so close to the parks! It was like a 6 minute walk! We are staying at the sister resort of it, Camelot Inn & Suites this March because we needed a bigger room and booked the family suite. The location is amazing for both of these. You aren’t getting anything fancy, but it isn’t run down either. Camelot got a renovation during Covid. They do not offer free breakfast which makes a lot of not choose them, but that was not a deal breaker for us.

 

[gelatoni fan]

The first few responders seem to be recommending deluxe priced hotels.

Given that location seems to be a priority, the places right across the street actually may be value/moderate: Best Western, Tropicana, Park Vue, etc. People I know have stayed at those but I prefer to go with chain hotels that are a bit nicer and better priced even if they're a slightly longer walk. The Courtyard Theme Park entrance is moderate quality at deluxe prices. The Fairfield is decent but the hotel doesn't really follow the rules for the Fairfield brand in the US so don't expect free breakfast.

If you don't have a preference of hotel chain, I'd recommend looking into Grand Legacy and the Howard Johnson assuming the prices are OK for your dates. Suite style close to that price range would be the Element, Home2Suites, Homewood Suites and possibly the Residence Inn.

 

[Huskerpaul]

We stayed at the Best Western Park Place and we really liked it. Free breakfast that is passable and you will not beat the location to Disneyland gate, not even the Grand Cal. We also stayed at the Grand Cal DVC side and my wife preferred the BW Park Place. Nice store at the motel next door. And this place is a motel style, but you said you didn't mind value at WDW. I think they have done a really nice job on the rooms and they even have a few bigger "suites". We stayed at the back of the property, so a little farther to everything, but pretty peaceful.

 

[MissDisney21]

I'm not familiar with WDW moderate hotels. About how far of a walk are you looking for?

How many beds?

15 minute walk. 2 beds. Just 1 adult and the 2 kids - 8 and 11 yr olds.

 

[Huskerpaul]

BW Park Place is like 5 minutes to the gate and even less to security. There are other options along Harbor Blvd that are a little cheaper and a little farther as @gelatoni fan mentioned. Super easy to get back to the room for a rest if you decide it is needed. The Westin is nicer but about a mile walk to get in the parks (a little shorter on the way back if you cut through Grand Cal) and more expensive. Lots of folks like the Howard Johnson's down Harbor a bit. They have a better pool situtation. Almost no place has a great pool area except Disneyland Hotel and Grand Cal.

 

[DLgal]

The first few responders seem to be recommending deluxe priced hotels.

You can get a room at the Westin for the same price as WDW moderates most of the year, that is why.

Every single "motel" style place on Harbor is like a lower quality of a WDW value resort. The pricing here doesn't line up with the tiers at WDW. I think someone used to a WDW value would be pretty disappointed with a stay at the Tropicana, for example. These motels don't even come close to the amenities and theming of the WDW value resorts. This is especially true of the pool situation.

If a pool is a priority for kids 8-11, the only acceptable options offsite are the Courtyard Theme Park entrance or the Anaheim Hotel (which has a HUGE pool).

 

[kristensideaoffun]

You can get a room at the Westin for the same price as WDW moderates most of the year, that is why.

Every single "motel" style place on Harbor is like a lower quality of a WDW value resort. The pricing here doesn't line up with the tiers at WDW. I think someone used to a WDW value would be pretty disappointed with a stay at the Tropicana, for example. These motels don't even come close to the amenities and theming of the WDW value resorts. This is especially true of the pool situation.

If a pool is a priority for kids 8-11, the only acceptable options offsite are the Courtyard Theme Park entrance or the Anaheim Hotel (which has a HUGE pool).

I agree with this. The Residence Inn also has a nice-sized rooftop pool with a giant hot tub and a splash pad.

 

[DLgal]

I agree with this. The Residence Inn also has a nice-sized rooftop pool with a giant hot tub and a splash pad.

I was going to mention that one too. But then we'd have to compare it to DVC...

 

[Pluto468]

15 minute walk. 2 beds. Just 1 adult and the 2 kids - 8 and 11 yr olds.

Lots of great choices within 15 minutes!

The Disneyland Hotel is very nice and we love it there. It's about a 15 minute walk through Downtown Disney, or you can take the Monorail. There's also a new entrance into DCA that's about 8 minutes away from the Disneyland Hotel lobby. Super convenient.

Our favorite Harbor Hotel is Best Western Plus Anaheim Inn. They have rooms with 2 or 3 beds, and serve hot breakfast. - 2 minutes from our room to the Disneyland crosswalk.

Hojo - Plenty of room and comfortable beds, plus a great water play area and pool. That took us 15- 20 minutes.

Hyatt House - Great hot breakfast, comfortable beds, Starbucks in the lobby and Walgreens in the same building. 15-20 minutes

Candy Cane Inn- We stayed in the Premium room, which has 2 queen beds, late checkout (2:00) and they bring breakfast to your room in the morning. 15 minute walk but they have a shuttle that runs every hour.

(My family's walk time is a little longer than everyone else's, so it might take you less time.)

 

[MissDisney21]

Thank you EVERYONE for all the suggestions. I’m doing some more internet research now and will be booking tonight. I’ll keep you posted on the results. Really appreciate all the info, incredibly helpful!

 

[mdmost]

Courtyard by Marriott Theme Park Entrance. We always book through Get Away Today to save some money on the rooms. We get the room with 2 queen beds and the bunk beds. You'll also get two separate showers which makes getting everyone going a lot easier. The pools, slides, and spray park are all great for your kids. There's also a hot tub for adults but kids get in there as well. It's about a 10 minute walk to security. We would love to stay at one of the onsite resorts but the value has just never been there compared to this hotel.