Choosing the Right DLR Area Hotel for You

[mel2014]

I saw that the Tropicana has rooms that fit 5- a pull out single bed somewhere. Are there any others like this? We've usually stayed in suites but trying to spend less $ next time. Most of the across the street motels appear to have raised their rates! Thx

What price range are you looking for? The Del Sol has rooms with two queens and bunk beds that sleep 6. The rate we got for 3 nights in August with my Travelocity coupon is $135/night, plus the taxes and fees, which raised the rate to $170, which is crazy to me, but run of the mill for Anaheim.

 

[Bluewild79]

We are a group of 8 - 4 adults, 4 kids that will be staying in a 2 bedroom/2 bath suite at the Anaheim desert inn and suites at the end of August. Our rate is only $184/night. Hotel is basic but we just need a place to sleep , shower and it's close enough i can bring the toddler back for naps reach afternoon.

A family of 5 could stay in an executive room there with 2 queen beds and a pull out couch. The rate the last week of August was less than $100/night.

 

[avalovesminnie]

Thank you. The Tropicana is about the same and looked slightly nicer. I'm ok with being a bit farther away but need it to drop the price down to less than $150 which doesn't seem to exist much anymore. Maybe try to Hotwire a room and have one kid on the floor. The suites are all more in the $220 range and some just have a pull out couch versus an extra room. We loved the Camelot suites but wanted to spend less.

What price range are you looking for? The Del Sol has rooms with two queens and bunk beds that sleep 6. The rate we got for 3 nights in August with my Travelocity coupon is $135/night, plus the taxes and fees, which raised the rate to $170, which is crazy to me, but run of the mill for Anaheim.

 

[mel2014]

Thank you. The Tropicana is about the same and looked slightly nicer. I'm ok with being a bit farther away but need it to drop the price down to less than $150 which doesn't seem to exist much anymore. Maybe try to Hotwire a room and have one kid on the floor. The suites are all more in the $220 range and some just have a pull out couch versus an extra room. We loved the Camelot suites but wanted to spend less.

The suites at the Best Western Raffles have the best prices I've been able to find for a true two bedroom suite (one queen in one room, bunk beds and a sofa sleeper in the other room). With an Orbitz code (JUSTLIKETHAT) and selecting a non-refundable rate, I could get a two bedroom suite there for the nights we're going in August for a total of $440, including taxes but excluding the parking fee ($15 per night if you have a car). You can use the shuttle from the Toy Story parking lot and they have full hot breakfast. I tried to talk my kids into that one, but they want to be closer to the park, which is hard to argue with.

 

[dkdaisy]

We're staying at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites on South Manchester. I was just wondering about the walking route from there to the park gates. Would we have to go up to West Manchester or does anyone know if there a walkway to cut through between the Courtyard Waterpark Hotel and the Fairfield Inn? Either way, it still seems like a relatively short walk (11 minutes by Google gong West Manchester), but I wanted to check cause that walk home after a long day is rough with the kids Thanks!

 

[mel2014]

We're staying at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites on South Manchester. I was just wondering about the walking route from there to the park gates. Would we have to go up to West Manchester or does anyone know if there a walkway to cut through between the Courtyard Waterpark Hotel and the Fairfield Inn? Either way, it still seems like a relatively short walk (11 minutes by Google gong West Manchester), but I wanted to check cause that walk home after a long day is rough with the kids Thanks!

No walkway between, there's a fence. You have to go on Manchester. You can cut the corner slightly through the Mimi's parking lot, but I prefer to cross at the corner of Harbor and Manchester and walk down the west side of Harbor. The sidewalks on the east side can get crowded but few people seem to use the west sidewalk.

 

[Wes1stTrip2016]

DLR has a large number of lodging options. Newbies often post threads asking for lodging advice. This thread is not designed to tell you which hotel to choose so much as it is to help folks decide which category they are in so they can narrow their search.

First, be careful of off-site hotel claims about distance to DLR. Some are literally across the street from the parks but not across the street from the entrance to the parks. They thus may be a 1+ mile (1.6+ km) walk to get from the hotel to the park gates even though they are "across the street" or "one block away".

So before you try to choose a specific hotel, decide which of these categories works best for you:

1. Onsite Disney - close to parks but expensive (even more expensive than WDW hotels, and DLR does not have any Value options)

2. Offsite Easy Walking Distance - most of these are decent enough hotels, but not Hilton/Sheraton quality. More like Best Western/Marriott Courtyard/Ramada Inn quality.

3. Offsite Too Far to Walk Comfortably but More Upscale - Lots around Anaheim. Like 1-2 miles. Hilton/DoubleTree/Sheraton/etc. Note some of these hotels are south of DLR on Harbor Blvd. and easy to get to the Toy Story Parking Lot which has Disney buses you can ride to DLR. A few have dedicated shuttles that are grandfathered in and Disney allows the shuttles.

4. Offsite Too Far to Walk Comfortably but Less Upscale - Like #3, lots around Anaheim but IMO a bad choice for most folks. If you want to stay at a less upscale (i.e., more economical) hotel why not just go with option #2 and get one within walking distance? IMO the only good reason to stay a bit farther away from DLR is for a more quality hotel like #3.

5. Offsite but you do not care where because you will Uber or Lyft - Lots of those too. See this recent thread - https://www.disboards.com/threads/where-do-uber-and-lyft-drop-off-at-disneyland.3629816/

6. Offsite but you do not care where because you will have a car and drive to the parks - Like #4, this is a bad option. Whatever you do, do not drive to the parks. That is the least efficient option. See "Hidden Time Losses When Using a Car At DLR" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1381580. The only reasonable situation where one might want to do this is the occasional "I get to stay free at XYZ because [fill in the blank]" where [fill in the blank] means things like "my best friend's parents have a timeshare they are letting us use for free and it is 10 miles (16 km) from DLR". You can't beat free lodging. If you have to pay for the lodging like most people then this #6 option is bad for the reasons stated. If you have hotel points and can get the hotel for free, I would suggest this a time to save your points for a different trip and not do option #6.

For me, I only do #1 or #2 based on this thread I wrote - "HydroGuy's Hotel Rule" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1199862. Some folks who have a strong preference for more upscale hotels but do not want to pay onsite prices choose #3.

For WDW vets my number one key advice I have is do not make the classic WDW vet mistake about hotel choice. Since WDW vets are so accustomed to buses to get to parks (or other time consuming options), they sometimes choose a hotel farther away and plan to take a bus thinking it is like WDW. Yes that works, but it gives up a huge DLR advantage that it has over WDW with so many closer hotels where you do not need a bus. And it can waste a lot of time unnecessarily. See my Hotel Rule advice linked above.

The absolute closest off-site hotel is the Best Western Park Place Inn. From this hotel and those near it on Harbor you can literally walk from your hotel room door to the park gates in 5 minutes if you hit the Harbor Blvd crosswalk light just right. Think about that. A hotel where the room to park walk is closer than some of the bus or boat drops at WDW are to the parks.

For those searching for a hotel and do not know where to start, I suggest you first figure out which category best fits you of the #1-6 above. This will narrow down your search. Then look for hotels that fit your category or ask for more help on this forum while clarifying which category you are looking for.

Here is a link to an awesome map I use regularly to figure out distances around DLR: http://wikimapia.org/#lat=33.8092124&lon=-117.9188132&z=19&l=0&m=b

We are of the #2 category and have been looking at the Best Western Park Place - does $189 a night for October seem high or no?

 

[FoxC63]

We are of the #2 category and have been looking at the Best Western Park Place - does $189 a night for October seem high or no?

Are you going to WDW and Disneyland for Halloween? Sounds pretty sweet!

 

[Wes1stTrip2016]

Are you going to WDW and Disneyland for Halloween? Sounds pretty sweet!

WDW Oct 2018 & DL Oct 2019! We were going to wait too do DL in 2020 - but have cancelled our cruise plans, so why wait right?!!?

 

[FoxC63]

WDW Oct 2018 & DL Oct 2019! We were going to wait too do DL in 2020 - but have cancelled our cruise plans, so why wait right?!!?

FYI, we bought our Disneyland package from Costco. Not sure if you're a member or not. I know Costco does offer limited time membership specials every now and then and throws in a gift card with other goodies.
https://www.thepennyhoarder.com/deals/freebies/costco-membership-deals/

Groupon too.
http://www.mymoneyblog.com/costco-membership-discount-certificate.html

It's worth keeping an eye on.

 

[smartlabelprint]

We are of the #2 category and have been looking at the Best Western Park Place - does $189 a night for October seem high or no?

It seems a little high. But honestly things right across teh street have been in teh $180 range lately.

 

[motor58]

Through disney, I tried to get BWPPI for 2019-20 holiday season and they are booked. (I could book directly with them but it looks like they want full payment up front and we can't do that, plus I like locking in ticket prices with the package). The CM on the phone recommended Castle Inn as it can sleep 5 and is most similar to BWPPI. I know reviews aren't so good of the Castle Inn, but the hotel says they are renovating their rooms starting in early 2019.

What do you guys think of Castle Inn? We have stayed at BWPPI and loved it and Desert Inn and Suites and hated it. It makes me nervous booking an unknown hotel

 

[ChattyAshley]

Our upcoming trip is the week after Thanksgiving, Nov. 26-30. Last year we stayed at Camelot and loved being right across the street to go back for afternoon naps with our littlest child. This time we're deciding between Desert Palms and Del Sol; we've never been to either. Basically same price both places (Del Sol is a little cheaper but once you pay parking it ends up being close to the same as Desert Palms), and I love that Del Sol is right across the street, but Desert Palms looks like a nicer place, and I can't really guestimate how long the walk would actually be.... any thoughts or advice?

 

[smartlabelprint]

Through disney, I tried to get BWPPI for 2019-20 holiday season and they are booked. (I could book directly with them but it looks like they want full payment up front and we can't do that, plus I like locking in ticket prices with the package). The CM on the phone recommended Castle Inn as it can sleep 5 and is most similar to BWPPI. I know reviews aren't so good of the Castle Inn, but the hotel says they are renovating their rooms starting in early 2019.

What do you guys think of Castle Inn? We have stayed at BWPPI and loved it and Desert Inn and Suites and hated it. It makes me nervous booking an unknown hotel

I also enjoyed the Camelot inn.

 

[amyshell]

My husband and I are going for the first time in April.. we currently have a room booked at Best Western Scovall ‘s..

How far is this? Is this a decent place to stay??

 

[LittleFlounder]

Our upcoming trip is the week after Thanksgiving, Nov. 26-30. Last year we stayed at Camelot and loved being right across the street to go back for afternoon naps with our littlest child. This time we're deciding between Desert Palms and Del Sol; we've never been to either. Basically same price both places (Del Sol is a little cheaper but once you pay parking it ends up being close to the same as Desert Palms), and I love that Del Sol is right across the street, but Desert Palms looks like a nicer place, and I can't really guestimate how long the walk would actually be.... any thoughts or advice?

I don't have any experience with Del Sol, but we stayed at Desert Palms in Aug/Sept 2017. We really liked it! It has internal hallways, as opposed to Del Sol's external. The free breakfast is extensive...so much selection and the dining room has a view of the backside of DCA. It's not a long walk at all to the DL gates. It's not across the street, but not having to cross the street cuts down on the walking time. It was only a 5 min or less walk to the front gates. I would definitely stay there again on a future trip.

 

[Malcon10t]

My husband and I are going for the first time in April.. we currently have a room booked at Best Western Scovall ‘s..

How far is this? Is this a decent place to stay??

I've heard positive things. It is maybe a 15 min walk to DTD. Walk north on Disneyland Dr, and use the path by Paradise Pier to get to DTD. I would use it over the trams to the Harbor side.

 

[smartlabelprint]

Through disney, I tried to get BWPPI for 2019-20 holiday season and they are booked. (I could book directly with them but it looks like they want full payment up front and we can't do that, plus I like locking in ticket prices with the package). The CM on the phone recommended Castle Inn as it can sleep 5 and is most similar to BWPPI. I know reviews aren't so good of the Castle Inn, but the hotel says they are renovating their rooms starting in early 2019.

What do you guys think of Castle Inn? We have stayed at BWPPI and loved it and Desert Inn and Suites and hated it. It makes me nervous booking an unknown hotel

I’d say the BWPPI probably hasn’t opened any rooms. Are you talking December 2019? A year from now?

 

[motor58]

Yes, December 2019. I am checking often-seems like other hotels are open for those dates. I also think maybe they are sold out (vs. not released yet) because the Castle Inn is now sold out for our dates

 

[rachaeld]

Yes, December 2019. I am checking often-seems like other hotels are open for those dates. I also think maybe they are sold out (vs. not released yet) because the Castle Inn is now sold out for our dates

We are looking for September/October 2019 and there aren’t many that have released dates yet. I would say this is the case rather than being sold out.