This will be a short review of the Holiday Inn Anaheim (1 Blk/Disneyland®) in Anaheim, California. I stayed there for two nights and I want to share my experience. I didn’t spend a lot of time at the hotel because I was to busy at work.
But I can highly recommend this hotel if you are traveling as a family with small kids. Because of the proximity to Disneyland, the hotel has a little Disney-themed design. They have suites with interior design inspired by Star Wars, Pirates or Cars, a gift shop with a lot of Disney items. I wasn’t able to get a look at this inspired suites because they were all booked. There are some photos available online when you book this hotel and select these rooms.
You also get discounts if you buy 2 Day Park Hopper or 3 Day Park Hopper passes at the front desk. For the 2-day pass, you save $5 USD, and for the 3-day $10 USD. The prices are based on the main gate prices. There is a shuttle bus leaving from the hotel to Disneyland. The shuttle is operated by ART (Anaheim Resort Transportation). The hotel is located on route #11 and the round trip day pass for adults (10 years & older) is $8 USD and for kids (3-9 years) $2 USD.
This makes it a perfect hotel if you want to visit Disneyland or the Anaheim Convention Center. Unfortunately, there is not much around the hotel within a short walking distance. But the hotel offers a bar and restaurant, which serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. That pretty much eliminates the need to go somewhere else. The food is pretty good and the breakfast is either a buffet or a-la-carte. Breakfast hour is from 6 am to 11 am but they only serve a buffet from 6 am to 10 am. I choose the buffet and they have quite a selection of foods available. Everything is presented nicely and you will find your way around quickly. For the breakfast, you will get seated and the server brings you a coffee right to your table. I was surprised that they had already pre-made waffles ready to go. I think this is because a lot of families with kids stay here. I was by myself at 6 am in the morning and could enjoy a quiet breakfast. If you book a rate, which includes breakfast, let the server know and he will double-check with his list. You will get a check anyway at your desk, but you only have to fill out the room number, name, and signature.
They have an outdoor pool and spa, which is usually crowded with kids. Especially late afternoon until dusk. The fitness center is located inside, right across from the pool and the business center is right next to it. A little further down the small walkway between the buildings, you can find a “Splash Zone”. This is a great area for kids to cool down and play with water. There are overhead sprinklers and small fountains coming out of the ground.
I wouldn’t recommend using the business center. You have to pay to use it and they will charge you $5 USD minimum (for the first 10 minutes). Every additional minute is 50 cents and to print in black and white you will have to pay $1 USD. This is quite expensive in my opinion.
If you arrive in a car, you will get charged $10 USD per night for parking. When I checked in the front desk staff member Michael was so glad and waived it for me. But $10 USD ain’t that much, compared to what other hotels charge you for parking, this is still reasonable.
I had the 2 Queen Bedroom and the room was spacious and clean. The bathroom was a bit small but still ok. The room had a 32″ HDTV and free wireless internet. The speed and quality of the Wi-Fi were ok, I have seen the worst. Sometimes I was not able to browse the web even that I was connected to the network. But fixed itself after a couple of minutes. During evening hours the speed dropped down very low and it was hard to browse the web or download bigger files, like a presentation.
The staff was always very helpful and friendly during my stay. Can’t complain at all. But my advice is, do not stay here if you looking for a quiet get-away. I don’t say this is a bad location, but there are many kids staying here and it can get louder sometimes. But that’s only in the common areas, like the pool, spa, and restaurant. In my room, I never had any noise issues at all. As I said, this place is perfect for families with kids.
Peter has a passion for Traveling, Photography, and Geocaching. These are the best ingredients for amazing adventures all over the globe. “Traveling is fun, no matter if you stay in a luxury hotel or travel like a backpacker.” Peter shares his experiences on his Blog www.gatetoadventures.com
Some of Peter’s photos are published on corporate websites, in-flight magazines, travel guides, and much more.