Is Staying At The Anaheim Hotel Worth It?

When it comes to deciding where to stay when visiting Anaheim, specifically for Disney, it can be difficult to decision. With so many different options it can be a bit overwhelming. The Anaheim Hotel is typically at the top of searches due to it’s location to the Disney parks.

This raises the question, is it worth staying at The Anaheim Hotel?

I had the opportunity to stay at this hotel during a holiday season. This trip included my 3 friends and I. This was an adults only trip, and the 4 of us shared a room.

Here is my review of staying at The Anaheim Hotel. What I thought of staying there and whether I would stay there again.

I’ll start by saying that it is a good option for a hotel if you are looking to visit the Disney parks and want to stay off resort at a good neighbor hotel.

To get started with this review of my stay at The Anaheim Hotel, let’s start with the basics!

The Ideal Hotel Location

When it comes to choosing a place to stay for a Disney trip, I always go with location first. For me that is one of the most important things that a hotel can offer for a Disney trip.

Having a hotel that is within walking distance is always a ideal choice. If the hotel is a bit further than walking distance, I always see if they have some kind of free shuttle service.

The Anaheim Hotel really does have a great location. It is easy to get to from the freeway, and is within walking distance from the Harbor Blvd entrance to Downtown Disney and the Disneyland parks.

It is so close to the parks that you can see the Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout ride when you walk out their front entrance! Yes it is that close! Which is a great way to get those kids (or adults) excited for the parks.

It takes about 5-10 minutes to walk from the hotel entrance to the front gates to enter the Disney property. I definitely would give it 5/5 for location!

Hotel Parking

There is limited daily parking available to those not staying at the hotel (available for a fee), located right in front of the hotel. However this parking is also for those that decide to eat at their restaurant as well.

Additionally, for guests, there is a gated entrance to the parking on the side and back of the hotel. For this your hotel key also works at the key to open the gate.

There is definitely a lot of parking available for guests, and at the time, it was easy for us to get a parking spot close to the building which made it easy to unload and load the vehicle up.

Inside the Lobby

The lobby for The Anaheim Hotel is quite large. Right as you walk in, there is a bar to the left, a waiting area to the right, with the check in desks on the other side.

There are a few meeting rooms which can be reserved for business meetings or company conferences.

We stayed at the hotel during the holiday season, which meant that the lobby was decorated with various Christmas decorations throughout the lobby.

Other then the holiday décor, the hotel has that old school 50’s style with modern twist throughout the whole property. Which is actually really cool and creative.

For the overall cleanliness and design of the lobby, I would definitely give this hotel 5/5. It is nice and open, very clean, and they get bonus points for having a bar right in the lobby.

The Anaheim Hotel’s Proximity to Food

Another positive to this hotel is it’s proximity to food. The Anaheim Hotel is close to a variety of options for food. Including breakfast, lunches, dinners and everything in-between.

Behind the hotel, is the STC Anaheim GardenWalk. The Anaheim GardenWalk is essentially an outdoor shopping complex with lots of shops and eateries to choose from. Including options like, P.F. Chang’s, California Pizza Kitchen, House of Blues, and the Cheesecake Factory.

During one of our nights, we ended up ordering from P.F. Chang’s at the Anaheim GardenWalk. We ordered it online, and drove to pick it up. The whole process took about 20 minutes to pick up the food. Really convenient and close.

However, if none of the options in Anaheim GardenWalk sound interesting, there are always plenty of options down S. Harbor Blvd too. Within walking distance to The Anaheim Hotel you have options like; Denny’s, California Pizza Place, Blaze Pizza, IHOP, Tony Roma’s, and Panera Bread.

Or if none of those options sound good, there is a way to keep up the Disney magic without having to go into the parks. Downtown Disney offers quite a few different options for restaurants and snacks, all served with Disney magic.

And lastly, if you don’t feel like traveling far for food, The Anaheim Hotel has it’s own pizzeria attached to the side of the front lobby! The options and possibilities for food are truly endless.

The Pizza Press

The Pizza Press, is located to the left of the main lobby. It offers a variety of pizzas, wings, dessert, and beer. Making it easy to appease everyone in the family.

There are two entrances to the pizza press. There is the front entrance for all visitors, and there is an entrance connected to the lobby of the hotel.

The Pizza Press is an incredible hand made pizzeria. With dine in and to-go options available. How awesome is it to have a restaurant right onsite!

We decided to eat here twice during our stay. Everyone was quite impressed with the pizza. It was made fresh and you could tell that it was made with fresh ingredients.

One night we ordered the Tribune, and the Chronical. Both were amazing choices, and we were left wishing we got larger pizzas! The following night we ordered, the Sun and the Tribune, clearly the Tribune was a good option! Overall it was pretty good pizza and is a great option!

Walking Around the Property

One thing that I absolutely loved about The Anaheim Hotel, was the grounds. They were absolutely beautiful. It is obvious that there is a lot of time that went into decorating the grounds to match the theme within the lobby of the hotel.

My favorite part was this part (pictured above), that was just as you left the lobby on the left hand side of the pool. It is a nice little area to relax. Beautiful seating area, as well as a few beautiful fountains.

It was always enjoyable to walk around the grounds. I was also really cool to see that there was an area for families to play games on the grass. There are directions on the side of the building on how to set up certain games to keep kids entertained. Definitely a family friendly hotel.

If I am going to be completely honest, one of my favorite parts of the hotel was all of the palm trees that were throughout the property. It definitely helped give it that ‘Southern California’ beach theme. Which is a vibe that I am such a sucker for!

Amenities Offered

It is important to note that the stared rating for hotels, isn’t based upon overall reviews from guests. It is based upon the type of amenities offered. Therefore the lower the stared hotel, the less things they offer; the higher the stars the more things that they offer.

The Anaheim Hotel is classified as a 3 star hotel. The amenities offered reflect that.

Which means that The Anaheim Hotel offers just above the basics when it comes to the rooms and services offered. Within that, the type of room which you get could also change the type of amenities as well.

The Room

We stayed in one of their basic standard rooms. It had 2 queen beds, a desk area, a TV, dresser, blow-dryer, etc., pretty basic.

Beds

The overall size of the room was a nice size. It was able to accommodate 4 adults quite nicely, without us feeling like we were too crowded in the room.

The walls on the hotel are quite thin, and if there are loud guests in another room, you will hear them. Which was the only downfall to the room.

Other then that the room was nice and spacious and was an enjoyable place to stay.

Bathrooms

I thought that I had gotten a few pictures of the hotel, but I cannot find them. Which probably means that I didn’t actually take them!

The bathroom itself was pretty basic. Average hotel size with the shower and toilet in a room separate from the sink and mirror. I will say that I was very pleased with the counter space that was offered in the prep area.

There was only one sink, but there could have easily been two with lots of room. With having 4 adults trying to get ready having space for everyone’s items is important. Specifically 2 women getting together at the same time, the counter space was much appreciated!

Recap and Final Thoughts:

The Anaheim Hotel is a good neighbor hotel just outside Disneyland. Rates are very reasonable, especially for being so close to the parks.

The close proximity to food made it easy to decide what to eat everyday. Additionally the close proximity to the parks made it easy to walk to and from everyday. Which is always a top priority for my stays.

Location: 5/5
Cleanliness: 5/5
Proximity to Parks: 5/5
Proximity to Food: 4/5
Room: 4/5
Amenities: 4/5
Cost:4/5

Overall Rating: 4/5

The room walls were very thin, and were honestly the only real downside to the stay during the trip. Our noisy neighbors did cause an inconvenience while we were there, however when we notified the staff, they immediately addressed the issue.

Therefore, as much as the inconvenience was annoying, it wouldn’t prevent me from staying here again.

How To Book Your Stay:

If you’ve decided to stay at The Anaheim Hotel, then there are a few things that you can do to book the hotel.

The Anaheim Hotel is classified as a Good Neighbor hotel, which means that there is the option to package this hotel directly on Disney’s website when you purchase tickets.

Additionally you are able to book this hotel directly through their own website.

There are perks to booking both ways.

A perk to booking directly through Disney’s site is that you know everything is all connected. Additionally, because The Anaheim Hotel is a good neighbor hotel, it is often included in exclusive deals that Disney is able to offer.

For example, they are often doing promotions like stay 3 nights get the 4th free when staying at a good neighbor hotel. I have definitely taken advantage of those deals a few times.

A bonus of being a travel agent

Being a travel agent does have it’s perks. I looked at the prices on The Anaheim Hotel’s direct site, and was able to get a better price through my own booking engine. What makes it even better, is that I was able to earn commission back on this stay!

To use my own booking engine, click here. Or to fill out a request to book travel with me, click here.