Disneyland Good Neighbor Whats your Favorite?

[jesscahens]

Hello all,

Looking into A Disneyland Trip, First time and will most likely go with a Good Neighbor Hotel. There are a lot of choices to sift through and was looking for some help with what everyone thought? Do you have a favorite Good Neighbor Hotel? Why do you like that one? Are some better for Kids than others? What are your favorite features?

 

[BadPinkTink]

I have stayed at 2 Motel6 Main Gate and Desert Inn and Suites

Motel 6 Main Gate
Best price
Elevator only in main block
No breakfast but vending machines, microwave and free coffee before 10am in lobby area
Need to use ART
No parking charge
free luggage storage after check out
Outdoor pool
Free Wifi
Room was large enough for 2 king sized beds
Basic room furniture, bench style chair and table unit

Desert Inn and Suites
Best location
Elevator to most floors
Basic breakfast provided in price
Inside pool
4 minutes walk to Disneyland pedestrian entrance
Lockers which require coin payment for small and medium sized luggage, large suitcases can be put in a locked store room
Parking charge
Free Wifi
Regular chair and table, fridge, microwave, ironing board, hairdryer and coffee maker

Both motels had rooms which were large, with 2 king sized beds.

I would return to both, but my choice would be for Desert Inn and Suites, and thats based purely on location. It is more expensive than Motel 6 but you dont need to pay for the ART bus.

Edit----
Forgot to add Im a solo traveller and I do open to close in the parks, so Im only in the room and motel to sleep. I dont have a car either. I get baffled by people who comment on hardness of bed , scratchiness of towels etc as reasons for not returning to a hotel. Stuff like thats not important to me when I stay in Anaheim specifically just to go to Disneyland.

 

[ChloroformSdxn]

I've stayed at a few:

Camelot - good proximity, very "motel-like"
Carousel - excellent proximity, but was my least favourite, meh service, etc. Closed now anyway.
Castle Inn - too far when walking with young children, but no issues with the place itself. At the same time, since I've been there last, Pizza Press has moved and it now right near here, so I would reconsider that since the kids are older and love it for dinner.
Hojo - about as far away as we like to stay when walking. With younger kids, they LOVE the waterpark (maybe less fun for older kids.) Excellent service, good beds.
Grand Legacy at the Park - good location, the newly renovated rooms are nice. Decent splashpad for the kids
Courtyard Marriott Theme Park - the kids loved the slides, and the rooms were the nicest with bunkbeds that the kids really liked. In terms of the hotel itself, this was probably my favourite, but the kid amenities probably aren't worth it alone if your kids are under 5.

We'll be staying at the Tropicana this August, so I'll be able to add that, but generally, I really like being close to the parks, because we don't use the room for much, and it's nice to just walk back at the end of the night.When the kids were younger we did go back for naps, so being close was an additional bonus.

 

[22Tink]

Best Western Park Place Inn- free breakfast and location, location, location! 5 minute walk to the parks!! It's nothing special but being a family of 6 we have certainly appreciated the free breakfast and short walk in the past!

Tropicana-no free breakfast, but again, awesome location with a very short walk to the parks. This is where my daughter and I will be staying next month.

We don't use a car while at Disney and we typically don't spend very much time at the hotel other than to sleep so the other amenities like pool and parking don't matter to us. As long as it's clean and close! That short walk is especially nice at the end of the day when you're exhausted and just want to get back to the hotel.

 

[mpadilla89]

We have only stayed at Best western raffles inn and Hilton. BW was the first good neighbor hotel we stayed at on our first trip to Disneyland. We had queen bed with a separate area with two bunk beds. it was ok. They had free breakfast. We usually just do coffee in the mornings so we don't need free breakfast. I could hear everyone outside and next door at all times. not very relaxing after a day at the park.

After staying at the Hilton the second time it has become our 1st choice hotel. DD loves the pool are because they have a kids area. Parking is much bigger. They do charge but we have gotten it free some stays. ART picks up/drops off right outside. They have little stores with Disney items and a few food places including a Starbucks. It is way more relaxing for us. It seems to sometimes be the same price as some of the motels.

 

[StarlitNight05]

BWPPI for the location and cleanliness. Our room (3rd floor, very end of the hotel) was also extremely quiet. Easy to take a nap if needed.

 

[Butterfly123]

Hi jesscahens! Are you looking for a 2Q room, or a larger suite room? How many people are you planning for? Kid size? My kids are all adult size, and there are five of us, so we have different room needs than a family of four. Give us a few specs, and it it will help narrow down choices.


I'm editing to add that a big priority for me is that it is on Harbor, and that it is as short a walking distance as possible! It makes a big difference at the end of the night!

 

[kirstie101]

Our favorite is the Hojo on Harbor. And I'd highly recommend it to families with kids. The Pirate water park area is great for the kiddos. Mine are currently 10 and 6 and they have been loving the play area since the youngest was only 2 I think. There is also a "regular" pool that is quite nice! Other reasons we stay at the Hojo are the beds are super comfy, better than my bed at home. The hotel has interior corridors rather than exterior doors so your room doesn't open up to the parking lot. Parking is free and pretty easy to get. The walk to the parks is under 10 minutes even with my kids. They have Keurig coffee makers in all of their rooms. The store onsite is well stocked with just about everything you could need. And staff have always been great to us there!

We also will stay at BW Stovalls and Anaheim Desert Inn and Suites. But Hojo's is everyones favorite in our group.

 

[tarheelalum]

Hotel Indigo.

 

[tiffjoy]

We have stayed at pretty much all the lower end (ie, affordable) hotels within walking distance. None of them have been absolutely awful experiences, but in general, we have some we liked better than others.

My kids really like the Candy Cane Inn, and I think it has the best breakfast. The pool area is nice but not fancy, and the little kiddy pool is a plus if you have a little one. My youngest liked it a lot when she was little and couldn't swim yet. The shuttle is nice, but it's hit and miss. If the driver is sick you get the van instead, which doesn't hold as many. And it seemed to be late picking up a lot.

Another favorite is Park Place Inn. They have great customer service. The pool is just ok, but they have one. Breakfast has a few warm options, but nothing that I like to eat (I tend on the healthier side of eating, and with all the treats I eat in the park, I don't want to eat crappy breakfast food that is also bad for me.) The walk cannot be beat, and that's really the big selling point for our family.

But we have stayed at most of them, and I've yet to have a truly awful experience (knock on wood).

 

[Jedi Mouse]

Of those we've stayed at, I liked Portofino's kid suites with the bunk beds and partitioned rooms and BWPPI for the close proximity and breakfast.


Now that we have been utilizing our free parking and staying a bit further away to save a few bucks, I really miss staying directly across the street.

 

[Napoleon Dynamite]

We just stayed at the Courtyard Theme Park Entrance, it was awesome!! 5 minute walk to the park, and my kids loved the waterpark, despite that people on here said it was not good for kids over 5 (we even enjoyed the slides as adults!). Great, clean rooms, brand new. Bunk beds, split baths that have a shower in one room and a tub/shower in another room. Double sinks. Made getting ready super easy! Was just great!! We had a view of Space Mountain from our room and could even see Mickey's fun wheel. If we go again, we will stay there!

 

[gardenrooms]

Hi, so we have a reservation at BWPPI coming up but we are weekend trippers so the parking looks awful! Pay hotel $10 to park but can't park before 1 on check-in day or after 3 check-out day, yet for a weekend visit we arrive early and leave late, so they recommend Disney parking at $20 a day and of course nowhere near the hotel. Anyone have any suggestions? Looks like this is the wrong choice for people like us. We are used to dropping off our luggage, which I know we will still want to do, and parking and going to the park till check-in and checking out, leaving luggage in Office and picking it up as we leave.

 

[deetman]

Hi, so we have a reservation at BWPPI coming up but we are weekend trippers so the parking looks awful! Pay hotel $10 to park but can't park before 1 on check-in day or after 3 check-out day, yet for a weekend visit we arrive early and leave late, so they recommend Disney parking at $20 a day and of course nowhere near the hotel. Anyone have any suggestions? Looks like this is the wrong choice for people like us. We are used to dropping off our luggage, which I know we will still want to do, and parking and going to the park till check-in and checking out, leaving luggage in Office and picking it up as we leave.

HoJo's has free parking and it's a pretty easy walk--

 

[hjgaus]

Indigo Hotel and Springhill Suites .

 

[momjeeps]

BW Park Place Inn by far my favorite for location and free breakfast. When we took my mom and dad it worked great because we rented a scooter for mom and she could just ride right across the street to the room. It books up fast so one must plan in advance to get a reservation though. Last trip we didn't book through Disney. We went with a third party package and it worked out great for price. We did have to drive to the park, but were really happy. An even nicer hotel further away for a lot less money.

 

[OKC Disney Fan]

We stay at Doubletree Suites. It's not within walking distance after walking the parks all day, but the ART shuttle makes it easy and I use m Hilton points for great rates. You can combine points and $ each day for the rate.(Ex XXX points and $50 per night, etc)
Like the 2 rooms suites.

 

[My3crazymonkeys]

Hi jesscahens! Are you looking for a 2Q room, or a larger suite room? How many people are you planning for? Kid size? My kids are all adult size, and there are five of us, so we have different room needs than a family of four. Give us a few specs, and it it will help narrow down choices.


I'm editing to add that a big priority for me is that it is on Harbor, and that it is as short a walking distance as possible! It makes a big difference at the end of the night!

I would love your suggestions on hotel choices. I also have a family of 5 and my kids are 15, 12, and 9. Always seems to narrow down choices of where to stay with 5 of us and my 3 kids can not all share one bed! Thanks!

 

[lmhall2000]

We just stayed at the Courtyard Theme Park Entrance, it was awesome!! 5 minute walk to the park, and my kids loved the waterpark, despite that people on here said it was not good for kids over 5 (we even enjoyed the slides as adults!). Great, clean rooms, brand new. Bunk beds, split baths that have a shower in one room and a tub/shower in another room. Double sinks. Made getting ready super easy! Was just great!! We had a view of Space Mountain from our room and could even see Mickey's fun wheel. If we go again, we will stay there!

Thanks for the review! We are staying there in 5 days! Can't wait!!! Our 'kids' are 18-22, so was worried the pool area would not be interesting to them

 

[Jedi Mouse]

I would love your suggestions on hotel choices. I also have a family of 5 and my kids are 15, 12, and 9. Always seems to narrow down choices of where to stay with 5 of us and my 3 kids can not all share one bed! Thanks!

BWPPI has rooms with two queens and a queen sized pullout and Portofino has rooms with a king bed and then a queen pull out and a set of bunk beds in a partitioned off area. Those are our two favorites when we bring along a 3rd kid.

That 5th person always makes finding good rooms hard.