The Happiest Place on Earth

Anyone that knows us, knows that we love Disneyland! We only live 6 hours away so it's easy to drive down for a quick trip. In addition, we are big LA Angels fans so if we can fit a baseball game in with a trip to Disneyland, all the better. Because of our frequent trips, we are often asked about our preferences for hotels. In recent years we have used Priceline to help us find the cheapest rates and this has led us to hotels all over Anaheim. Here's a list of some of the hotels we have stayed at along with positives and negatives of our stay. If you have stayed at any of the same places and have had different experiences, we invite you to share them with us.

1. Candy Cane Inn--in our days before Priceline, this was our hotel of choice. It's a cute little place within walking distance of Disneyland.

Pros--Beautiful grounds, free continental breakfast, free parking, free park shuttle, friendly staff.

Cons--Rooms need to be updated, uncomfortable beds. No suites, rooms are small if you have a big family. More expensive than Priceline (Candy Cane doesn't participate in Priceline)

2. Hyatt Regency Orange County--Our favorite Priceline hotel for a single room. We stayed in a suite once (not on Priceline) and loved it. It had 3 rooms, 3 queen size beds, 3 tv's, and my favorite, two bathrooms. Perfect for 7 people.

Pros--Beautiful grounds, great beds/pillows, close to Target/restaurants, comfortable big rooms. Free shuttle to the park.

Cons--Paid parking, too far away to walk to the park, no free breakfast.

3. Anaheim Marriot--Probably our second favorite Priceline hotel. There is a Pizza Hut in the lobby that has great family deals.

Pros--Great beds/pillows, updated rooms, great swimming pool (half is shaded)

Cons-Must pay for parking, shuttle to the park, no free breakfast.

4. Sheraton Park Hotel at the Anaheim Resort

Pros--Close enough to walk to the park, great view of fireworks (if you get a room facing Disneyland), updated rooms, ok diner style restaurant good for breakfast.

Cons--Must pay for parking, no free breakfast. Must pay for shuttle to the park (we walked).

5. Hilton Anaheim--our least favorite Priceline hotel--we have stayed there a couple of times but don't recommend it if you have a choice. Unfortunately, you can't be picky when it comes to cheap! It's still a 4 star hotel and is much better than some of the nearby motels.

Pros--hmmm well, it is a Hilton as opposed to joe smoe's motel.

Cons--Outdated rooms, must pay for parking, must pay for shuttle to the park, no breakfast, we hated the bathroom--very little privacy. The decor in the whole hotel is very outdated.

6. Desert Palms Hotel and Suites--this one is very close to Candy Cane Inn and is cheaper so we thought we would give it a try--we won't do that again! You get what you pay for sometimes!

Pros--within walking distance of the park, ok continental breakfast, cheap.

Cons--Old, outdated rooms and decor, very small, poor pool.

7. Holiday Inn Anaheim--We got two rooms on Priceline when we went to Disneyland with some friends. It is much further away than most other hotels but it was close to the Angels stadium which was nice when we went to a game.

Pros--Free parking, large comfortable rooms (we were given a handicap accessible room).

Cons--Very far from the park--a city bus runs from the hotel to the park but you stop at many other hotels and stops on the way.

8. Anaheim Desert Inn and Suites--our first attempt to get a suite for the seven of us. Yikes!! Definitely won't do that again!

Pros--Directly across from the park (I think that's why most people pick it), free "continental" breakfast, free parking.

Cons--Old, outdated (smelled old and dirty), only one bathroom in the suite, very small difficult to get to parking garage, small breakfast area next to the dumpster (which was being emptied by a loud beeping truck while we were eating).

9. Hilton Suites Anaheim/Orange--another Priceline gamble

Pros--The room was kind of a mini-suite. It had two rooms with two tv's and a mini kitchen. It was great to put the kids to bed and be in the next room. The bathroom was very nice and big.

Cons--Very far from the park. Must pay for parking and the shuttle to the park. We had to park a long ways from the hotel before we found out where the correct parking area was. It is very close to the freeway--don't get a room on the side of the hotel that faces the freeway--very loud.

10. Crown Plaza Resort Anaheim/Garden Grove--

Pros--close to restaurants (Red Robin, Outback, Joe's Crabshack, Target is across the street), nice pool. Free shuttle to the park (but it is shared by the Hyatt and was full by the time it got to us)

Cons--must pay for parking, the parking lot is a long walk from the hotel, no free breakfast. Customer service was pretty poor.

11. Doubletree Hotel of Anaheim--there are several Doubletree hotels in the area. This one was on City Drive by the Angels stadium.

Pros--free shuttle to the park, free warm chocolate chip cookies when you check in (that would be the kids favorite part), nice pool.

Cons--Far away from the park, the shuttle runs just once an hour, must pay $12 a day for parking, no fridge in the room, double sized beds (nobody wants to sleep in a such a small bed!) not very kid-friendly--the whole place felt "stuffy", the restaurant was expensive and not kid friendly.

12. Staybridge Inn and Suites--we have stayed here several times now and have experienced both the single room and the suites. It's right next to (and shares the beautiful pool) the Holiday Inn that we have been to before.

Pros-Comfortable rooms and beds. The rooms have a kitchen area with table and sitting area that is separate of the bedroom(s). The staff is very friendly and helpful. They provide a full breakfast each morning that is great. The pool is very nice with lots of chairs and area to relax.

Cons--far from Disneyland, you have to pay for the shuttle to get there. The bathroom is a bit awkward with the door running into the sink and mirror area.