Disneyland - walkable off-site hotel for hotel snob?

[twowhat?]

I'm the hotel snob. When I travel for work I stay at really nice hotels. Which is great...but it makes me a hotel snob.

Is there any hope for an off-site hotel that would be OK for a hotel snob? I was looking at the Park Vue inn - the kids would love the bunk beds if we're able to get a room with them...free breakfast, free parking is appealing since we're considering renting a car. But all these hotels close to here look like motels to me...which is OK if the rooms are clean, spacious, comfy mattresses, good linens/towels. Did I mention good linens and towels and good mattresses? LOL. A decent pool too. Disneyland hotel pool was awesome and I know nothing will compare...but still there's a difference between a tiny hole in the ground pool and a nicer larger one with good landscaping.

I definitely want it to be easily walkable. Not interested in getting on a shuttle or anything. Want to be able to walk back to the room for a break. Last year we stayed at the Disneyland Hotel and were fine with the walk to the gates from there. I don't think I'd be OK with anything more than a minute longer.

We LOVED the Disneyland Hotel and would probably stay on-property again if I start getting cold feet about off-site hotels. It burns a hole in your wallet but it'd be a guaranteed nice stay...

[SnuggleBuggles]

I like a good hotel too but I really like saving money. Seeing that it cost us almost $500 to do the park for a day, I was perfectly fine staying at the Candy Cane Inn. I couldn't stomach paying anything more. It was just a night. It was clean and the staff was super nice. If you can afford it and your priorities say you need the nice stuff then go for it. Also matters how long you'll be going. A night or 2- I'm willing to just use a hotel/ motel as a place to lay my weary head vs have a vacation at. :)

[Twoboos]

Don't a lot of people like the HoJo there? If you get a room not facing the highway, I think.

[Piglet]

I don't think you will find what you are looking for that is close enough (minute longer than DS Hotel). We stayed in a nice Residence Inn, but it was a longer walk than I expected. The pools were not all that impressive in any hotels we stayed at.

[MMMommy]

We like the Hyatt Orange County, but not walkable. Well, walkable if you are willing to REALLY walk.

[HipMama]

We stayed at the HoJo. It wasn't bad at all. The pool/splash pad is cool! Short easy walk to the DL gate.

[Karenn]

Oh my goodness, if you're a hotel snob don't go anywhere near the Park Vue. I'd stay at the Motel 6 or Super 8 again before I'd stay at the Park Vue. We were there a year or two ago and it was awful. Loud, smelly, small, shabby. Did I mention smelly?

Seriously, it tops my worst hotel ever list. I don't know if a hotel snob can be happy on harbor blvd. It could be possible. Stay away from the Park Vue for sure. In addition to the Motel 6 and Super 8, I've also stayed at Paradise Pier and Disneyland Hotel. Of course the on property resorts were fabulous. I'd stay there every time if we could afford them. For our next trip I'm thinking of the HoJo or one of the Best Westerns. We walked over to peek at them because we were so dismayed by the Park Vue. All of them were at least a step up from that.

Hope you have a great trip!

[twowhat?]

I don't know if a hotel snob can be happy on harbor blvd.

Haha, you're probably right. I posted the same question on the disboards and got a lot of "hotel snob" and "walkable off-site hotels" don't belong in the same sentence sentiments:)

OK, and DH is even MORE of a hotel snob than me so I think we're staying onsite.

Problem now is - I can get a concierge level room at the PPH for the same price as a STANDARD DLH room! Last time we stayed at the DLH we were in a deluxe room, 9th floor park view - it was gorgeous. But, knowing that we really aren't in the hotel room all that much except for a few short afternoon breaks and one whole afternoon to lounge by the pool, maybe the concierge breakfast/food/snacks would benefit us more than the luxury of the DLH?

DH will actually be the one to need convincing. He loved the DLH last time and will probably be comparing everything to it. I warned him that if we choose the PPH, it will NOT be because it's comparable to the DLH. It's not the same hotel, it's not as nice...but we're also not lounging around at the hotel all day:)

[lalasmama]

We've stayed at Park Vue Inn (PVI) twice now, and this summer, it will likely be a third time. We've stayed with DD once, and we were there on our honeymoon another time. I've also stayed at the Super 8 (I'll call it "S8"; not as bad as one would expect!) on Katella, and the Desert Inn and Suites ("DI&S," which only gets a "price" vote--otherwise, I'm *still* dealing with two rashes that developed after taking a dip in their hot tub).

According to your post, your requirements are:
bunk beds if we're able
free breakfast
free parking is appealing
rooms are clean
rooms spacious
comfy mattresses
good linens/towels
A decent pool too (nicer larger one with good landscaping)
definitely want it to be easily walkable (no shuttle)

Does PVI meet these?
*bunk beds if we're able--PVI has a few of these rooms (not sure how many). I'm not sure if DI&S or S8 have these. My DD can't sleep with other people in the room, so we need a suite every time!
*free breakfast--PVI: typically, eggs, fried potatoes, sausage or bacon, oatmeal, fruit, bread, muffins, bagels, fruit, yogurt, juice, coffee, hot cocoa, to go cups (seriously, this makes my day, I can get some juice and drink it on the way to the parks!), cereal, milk. And it's free! We always have plenty to eat here in the morning! DI&S: Apples, oranges, fruit Danish, bread, oatmeal, fake Cheerios, fake Corn Flakes, milk, juice, coffee. S8: I can't remember well--I think cereal, sugar donuts, maybe some fruit, juice, coffee.
*free parking is appealing--PVI and S8: no idea on this, though, I think it's free. We never rent a car there! DI&S $8/night.
*rooms are clean--PVI: Our first stay, our room passed the "white sock test" without an issue. We were in a 2-queen suite with a sofa bed in the living room. Our second stay, we weren't as impressed; we think the floors maybe weren't as clean because the room wasn't used at much--we were staying in the Jacuzzi suite that time for our honeymoon. S8: Passed the white sock test without a problem. DI&S: I had grey socks, so I have no idea if it would have passed the white sock test.
*rooms spacious--PVI: we felt the rooms were plenty big enough! I liked that they had 2 sinks in both of the rooms we stayed in; that way, DH and I could be getting ready while DD was showering, or vice versa. I've stayed in plenty of 2-queen rooms before, so anything more than that seems large to me. S8 and DI&S: typically-sized 2-queen rooms. No idea about the size of the other sizes rooms.
*comfy mattresses--DH is a mattress snob, and I'm a pillow snob. We were both pleased at PVI! The beds are firm, but still with a pillow-top, and we've always had a plethora of different-firmness pillows. S8: Comfy as well, with lots of fluffy pillows. DI&S: Rock-hard beds. I seriously considered sleeping on the floor!
*good linens/towels--PVI: the linens were nothing to write home about, but they are clean, white, and unstained. For the towels, I'll admit that I'm a size 18, and DH may be a bit rotund as well... and the towels go all the way each of us without issue, and without any "flashes" ;) They are fluffy enough for hotel towels, but not as fluffy (or as large) as our bath sheets that we use at home. S8: The sheets were clean, white, unstained, and soft! So soft! Towels were typical hotel towels--needed 2-3 to cover myself! DI&S: Clean, white, but nothing more. Towels were scratchy and small.
*A decent pool too (nicer larger one with good landscaping)--PVI's pool is small, but crystal clear. DD said it was a good pool. Their hot tub is nice. The pool is in the parking lot, which, I'll admit, I didn't care for. That being said, it is surrounded by a brick and ivy "fence", so it's not like you're out on display. I felt like it was a nice pool overall. Again, compared to Desert Inn, where you're in a pool with a 10-ft high, 30-foot long "display window", PVI's pool is great. I haven't seen many people in PVI's pool, but we're not pool-during-the-day people; we just hop in the hot tub when we head to the hotel after our day at the parks. S8: Again, in the middle of the parking lot, small, but without the brick-and-ivy walls that PVI has.
*definitely want it to be easily walkable (no shuttle)--PVI: you know how close this is--literally, across the street from the pedestrian entrance. It's a max of 6 minutes (and that's waiting for the crosswalk!) to the security tent. I'm of the opinion that it is actually closer than DLH and GC, when you're considering your-hotel-room-to-front-gate time. Heck, I think the walk from just the security gate to Trader Sam's could be longer than the walk to PVI! DI&S: Just as walkable, but the walk seems somehow longer--I think it's because you have to walk to the far back to get to the rooms. S8: About a 15 minute walk, which makes it hard to come back to the room in the middle of the day.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Compare the walking between Disneyland Hotel and Paradise Pier. We parked at PP when going to Downtown Disney and the walk just kept going and going. DL was a better walk.

[MMMommy]

The Hyatt Orange County has bunk beds in the Kids' Suite and the VIP Family Suite.

http://orangecounty.hyatt.com/en/hotel/rooms/suite.html

The Kids' Suite has one bathroom, the kids' room (with bunk bed, small tv, a table and a chair), and the main bedroom with the one king bed.

The VIP Family Suite has the main bedroom with 1 king bed, 2 bathrooms, a living room, and a second bedroom with bunk bed.

I prefer the two bedroom queen suite over the VIP Family Suite - the two bedroom queen suite has the main bedroom with one king bed, 2 bathrooms, a living room, and a second bedroom with two queen beds. The two queen beds are more comfortable than the bunk beds, and I would rather have two queen beds than one bunk bed in the second bedroom.

But as noted, not really walkable. The property has two pools in two different areas of the hotel.

[mytwosons]

We chose the Hyatt based on recs here and loved it! The shuttle was great - always on time and very pleasant drivers. I think it took 5-7 mins to drive to the park. The hotel staff were great and my boys loved the pools and basketball courts.

[twowhat?]

OK, well we decided on stay on-site at the DLH (same hotel we were at last time). Turns out DH is an even BIGGER hotel snob than me and was concerned that even if we tried to save some money at PPH or offsite (I learned that off-site was COMPLETELY NOT AN OPTION for DH - LOL!) that he'd be comparing it to DLH the whole time. DH is definitely high-maintenance when it comes to "luxury" of hotel arrangements. He can't relax if the bed isn't perfect, if the room isn't nice, etc. Anything close to even an upscale Holiday Inn feel wont' do it for him. And I don't need a grumpy DH on vacay so we sucked it up and booked DLH again. While it would've been nice to save the money, at the same time we can afford it and DH is of the "we don't work this hard and make this money to do boring things with it all the time" mindset. I can agree with that for now, so DLH, here we come again! Looking foward to that pool:)

[BayGirl2]

I think that's the right choice. I am a hotel snob too at this point - because both DH and I travel for business and stay in nice places. The last thing we want on vacation is someplace less nice than where we stay for work. I really tried the concept of Harbor, looked at all the pictures, read reviews, but couldn't do it. Not for a week long vacation. Driving by them all on Harbor confirmed by choice the first time we were there. I think the closest off site option would be the Sheraton Park on Harbor but the walk is longer than I want. But if you are ok with the walk I'd consider that one, they do have a pool. I will probably go down for a weekend with DS and if its 2 nights we may stay off site, we'll see how that goes. For a quick, cheap weekend trip I can do it but for a vacation we want luxury. Just where we are in our lives now. Plenty of nights slept in roach motels to get here!

[twowhat?]

I think that's the right choice. I am a hotel snob too at this point - because both DH and I travel for business and stay in nice places. The last thing we want on vacation is someplace less nice than where we stay for work. I really tried the concept of Harbor, looked at all the pictures, read reviews, but couldn't do it. Not for a week long vacation. Driving by them all on Harbor confirmed by choice the first time we were there. I think the closest off site option would be the Sheraton Park on Harbor but the walk is longer than I want. But if you are ok with the walk I'd consider that one, they do have a pool. I will probably go down for a weekend with DS and if its 2 nights we may stay off site, we'll see how that goes. For a quick, cheap weekend trip I can do it but for a vacation we want luxury. Just where we are in our lives now. Plenty of nights slept in roach motels to get here!

Yeah, it's exactly this, down to staying at nice places for business travel - that's where we are in life now. Plenty of Motel 6s to get us here:)

Oh, and I didn't mean to say upthread that Harbor St motels are "boring" - I mean more along the lines of saving money is "boring" vs using it to live it up on vacation every now and then since we can afford it. It's hard for me to let go of the "but we could be saving that money" feeling because that's how I grew up. My parents saved every penny and when we did vacation, we scrimped on everything even though I am sure at some points my parents could've afforded a bit better. But DH had a good point last night as we were discussing it - he said that this is OUR vacation too and we're not trying to use our vacation to teach monetary life lessons to the kids - it would be over their heads. Let them experience it since we can afford it - it doesn't make a difference to them anyway (kids will not be picking apart differences in hotel amenities!). That makes sense to me.

It still hurt when I called and dropped a couple grand on a room with a view reservation at the DLH:)

[Tenasparkl]

Have they updated the Disneyland hotel recently? My boss (also a hotel snob) didn't like it much but liked the Grand Californian. I never stay overnight, but I'm going simple and cheap when I do the DL 10K in August and staying at the Howard Johnson's.

[twowhat?]

Have they updated the Disneyland hotel recently? My boss (also a hotel snob) didn't like it much but liked the Grand Californian. I never stay overnight, but I'm going simple and cheap when I do the DL 10K in August and staying at the Howard Johnson's.

Yes, it's been fairly recently (within past 2 years?) remodeled. You can google for pics - the light-up headboards are really magical:) They play a little music-box style tune too - it's adorable. Everything feels pretty new and fresh. I have no idea what it looked like before but from what I've read the remodel significantly enhances the appeal of DLH.

[Tenasparkl]

Yes, it's been fairly recently (within past 2 years?) remodeled. You can google for pics - the light-up headboards are really magical:) They play a little music-box style tune too - it's adorable. Everything feels pretty new and fresh. I have no idea what it looked like before but from what I've read the remodel significantly enhances the appeal of DLH.
ooh, that sounds great, thanks!

[Karenn]

OK, well we decided on stay on-site at the DLH (same hotel we were at last time).
I know you'll be 10 times happier at the Disneyland Hotel than at the Park Vue Inn. :) (At least I would be!) Enjoy it!

[BayGirl2]

Yeah, it's exactly this, down to staying at nice places for business travel - that's where we are in life now. Plenty of Motel 6s to get us here:)

Oh, and I didn't mean to say upthread that Harbor St motels are "boring" - I mean more along the lines of saving money is "boring" vs using it to live it up on vacation every now and then since we can afford it. It's hard for me to let go of the "but we could be saving that money" feeling because that's how I grew up. My parents saved every penny and when we did vacation, we scrimped on everything even though I am sure at some points my parents could've afforded a bit better. But DH had a good point last night as we were discussing it - he said that this is OUR vacation too and we're not trying to use our vacation to teach monetary life lessons to the kids - it would be over their heads. Let them experience it since we can afford it - it doesn't make a difference to them anyway (kids will not be picking apart differences in hotel amenities!). That makes sense to me.

It still hurt when I called and dropped a couple grand on a room with a view reservation at the DLH:)

I think our DH's must know each other. :) We had the same conversation when we booked our last two trips. I was all like "I really would love to stay at GCH but, but, but how can we spend that much when cheaper options are available?" He's like we have the $ in our vacation fund, its not needed for something else, the point of vacation is to go and enjoy it. And we did, totally loved staying there. Now that we have returned and I just paid the credit card bill this week I have no regrets. That money was sitting there in cash, we are no worse off for spending one what made us happy. Not to minimize the cost but these are the things we worked our a$$es off for the first 15 years of our careers, saved hard, and invested so we could enjoy them now. I have no guilt for that.

We were at DLH last time and loved that equally, but the bunk bed room at GCH was perfect for us. The room was slightly smaller but not noticeably, plus we had the balcony. We also had a 3rd small adult with us for a few nights sleeping on the trundle. The funny part was that MIL is not used to nice hotels and didn't really get it. When she needed something like a pillow she wanted to walk down to the front desk and ask. We had to explain that you just call housekeeping and they bring it to you.

[Tondi G]

Nothing walkable that will suit your needs. We tried staying at the Sheraton Anaheim thinking it might be a less expensive alternative and because they had a shuttle. It was icky. We have stayed at both the Disneyland Hotel and the Grand Californian and honestly we prefer the D-land Hotel. The pool area with the monorail slides is a HUGE draw for our boys. Those headboard are magical aren't they?!