My family and I visited the Disneyland Resort over Mother’s Day weekend, opting, this time, to stay at a Good Neighbor Hotel. This was our first time in many, many years staying outside of the Resort. We booked a room at Best Western PLUS Park Place Inn and Mini-Suites, located at 1544 South Harbor Boulevard. Obviously we choose this hotel because of its prime location – directly across the street from the pedestrian entrance into the Disneyland Resort. And the best news? You can book this hotel through our trusted travel partner Get Away Today and bundle it with your tickets to save big!
How does this hotel compare to hotels of the Disneyland Resort? Find out by reading the following thorough review of the Best Western PLUS Park Place Inn & Mini-Suites!
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Best Western PLUS Park Place Inn & Mini-Suites: No Shuttle Needed
The Best Western PLUS Park Place Inn & Mini-Suites is located directly across the street from the pedestrian entrance into the Disneyland Resort. Its location makes it easily one of the best hotels within walking distance of Disneyland. There is no need to wait restless minutes for a shuttle to take you to the Resort because you are only minutes away. Once we exited the hotel property and crossed the driveway to the stoplight, my family and I waited at the signal for our turn to cross the busy Harbor Boulevard, then walked right into the Resort. This area does get crowded since all guests use this main crosswalk to exit and enter the Resort, however, as with everything around the Disneyland Resort, patience goes a long way. I do have to say that the walk to and from our hotel into and out of the Disneyland Resort was much quicker than the walking distance to Paradise Pier Hotel (or Disneyland Hotel if we couldn’t catch the Monorail out). We didn’t have to fight the Downtown Disney crowd making it a much quicker walk.
The only thing that bothered me about the walk to the Resort was having to fight the cluster of guests who stop on the sidewalk right in front of the entrance into the Resort to engage with non-Disney street vendors.
Best Western PLUS Park Place Inn & Mini-Suites Hotel Review
Check-In/Check-Out Process
When I booked our hotel room three months in advance, I received an email from the hotel inquiring whether my family would be driving in and would need a parking space. It is no surprise that parking/space is a major factor in the congested area surrounding the Disneyland Resort. When responding to this automated email, I replied with a question of my own and was surprised that I got a personal, friendly response back from a staff member! Since my family and I were flying, I asked if the hotel would hold our luggage while we went to play in the Parks on our check-out day. The answer was, yes! They will not only hold your luggage for as long as you stay in the Resort on your check-out day, but they will also hold your luggage on your arrival day if you arrive before check-in.
Parking is $10 per night, which is reasonable compared to other hotels in the area and especially compared to the hotels of the Disneyland Resort, which costs $20 a night, per vehicle for self-parking and $30 a night per vehicle per night for valet parking.
Checking-in to the Best Western PLUS Park Place Inn & Mini-Suites was fast and easy! Check-in is at 3pm. My family and I arrived in the evening and check-in went smoothly. The check-in staff were friendly and accommodating. As with most Good Neighbor Hotels, the Best Western PLUS Park Place Inn & Mini-Suites sell Disneyland and Disney California Adventure tickets.
Check-out was super easy! Check-out is at 11am. Guests are allowed to keep their vehicles in the parking lot until 3pm on day of departure. Guests are offered express check-out, which offers guest the convenience of just calling down to the front office and following the prompts to check-out with no need to visit the lobby. We opted to check-out at the counter and return our keys since we had to check our baggage before heading back into the Parks.
Room Accommodations
The Best Western PLUS Park Place Inn & Mini-Suites has the following room accommodations:
- King Rooms with Sofa Bed
- Two Doubles
- Mini-Suite 2 Queens and Sofa Bed
- King Room Mobility Accessible
My family and I booked a room with two double beds since there were four of us. I was pleasantly surprised by the modern, roomy feel of our room. The building is old, however all rooms were recently renovated. I am really observant on cleanliness and this hotel met my expectations! The room was clean and stocked with the much-needed necessities (shampoo, conditioner, and body lotion). My family and I were put in the very front of the building facing Harbor Boulevard. I can’t say much for the other rooms, but in this specific room, the noise level from not only the traffic on Harbor Boulevard, but the pedestrian traffic made it difficult to get sleep. I am a light sleeper and on our first night, I woke up every hour to either a car racing down the street or a car alarm in the parking lot. On the plus side, the other 200 rooms do not face Harbor Boulevard so I do not believe this would be a common problem for all guests.
Since we were on the second floor, facing Harbor Boulevard, we had a view of the Disneyland Resort, but it wasn’t much of a view. We were not in our room during the fireworks show, but I am fairly certain guests facing Harbor Boulevard could get a view of the fireworks (even from the second floor).
Best Western PLUS Park Place Inn & Mini-Suites In-Room Amenities:
- Mini-Refrigerator & Microwave
- Free High-Speed Wireless Internet
- Coffeemaker with Complimentary Coffees & Teas
- HBO / ESPN
- Hairdryer
- AM/FM Clock Radio
- Iron & Ironing Board
- Non-Smoking Rooms
The mini-refrigerator was a much-needed amenity! Surprisingly, the refrigerator didn’t seem “mini” at all because it was actually quite large! We kept it stocked full of water, sweets from the Disneyland Resort, and our dinner/lunch leftovers. The cable TV was nice, however, the remote didn’t work that well.
Although the bathroom was teeny, tiny, it worked. The shower pressure was okay, however, the knob to turn the shower on and off was a bit wobbly.
The bed was really comfy, but the sheets were hard and stiff. I loved that the air-conditioning unit worked great! We put it to good use. I also thought that there were plenty of outlets to charge all of our electronic devices, which is a super plus in my family!
Best Western PLUS Park Place Inn & Mini-Suites Hotel Amenities:
- Breakfast with various hot items
- Outdoor pool, heated and hot tub
- Parking, nominal fee of $10 USD per night valid until 3pm day of departure. One car per room. No RV’s or trailers
- Gift shop or newsstand
- Sightseeing tours, reservation assistance provided
- Fax services
- 24-hour front desk
- Multilingual staff
- Guest laundry, nominal fee per load
- Safe deposit box
- Elevators
- Ice/vending machines
- Exterior corridor
- Mobility accessible parking, nominal fee of $10 USD per day, valid until 3pm day of departure
- Walk to Disneyland Resort
- Tour desk
- Multi-day Disneyland Resort park hopper tickets for purchase
- Dry cleaning next day service
- Higher rates may apply for holidays/special events
- Free wireless internet access available in public areas and all guest rooms
- Select Rent-a-Car counter inside lobby
My family and I took full advantage of the continental breakfast offered each morning of our stay. The continental breakfast is not actually located inside the Best Western PLUS Park Place Inn & Mini-Suites. It is located on the second floor of the Captain Kidd’s Buffet Restaurant next door. We were pleasantly surprised by the variety of hot and cold offerings. The buffet-style breakfast was supplied with scrambled eggs, egg white patties, sausage patties, pancakes, waffles, chocolate muffins, blueberry muffins, donuts, pastries, and fruit. There were bagels, toast, and three different types of cereal.
I chose to make myself a breakfast sandwich, as did both my daughters. My husband got the pancakes, but he said they were rubbery. I really wanted a waffle, but chose to pass since they looked as if they were frozen, then cooked, and left to turn to rubber.
All in all, I really hate to complain about the continental breakfast because for being included in the cost of the hotel, it really was a great deal! We even took some fruit for a snack in the park.
My family and I did not pack swimsuits so we did not use the pool. I did, however, take a peek at it and found it was pretty small. I wasn’t sure if it was even open because there was caution tape all around it.
The gift shop was a pretty good size and stocked with fun Disney knick-knacks, snacks, and some personal items. As with all gift shops, everything was expensive.
Best Western PLUS Park Place Inn & Mini-Suites: Within Walking Distance
The Best Western PLUS Park Place Inn & Mini-Suites does not have a restaurant onsite, however, there are many affordable restaurants steps away. My youngest daughter was super excited to see a McDonald’s down the street (only a three minute walk!). There is also a Captain Kidd’s Buffet Restaurant, Denny’s, IHop, Tony Roma’s, and a Cold Stone Creamery steps away from the hotel! Talk about convenient!
Since we flew into Anaheim, my family and I did not have any water, snacks, or personal products. Right next door to the Best Western PLUS Park Place Inn & Mini-Suites is The Cove on Harbor Market & Café. This small store was stocked with water, juices, sodas, beer, wine, chips, cookies, travel-size personal items, among other necessities. Although this store was very convenient, everything was overpriced. Their website promoted a small deli, however, when we were there at 6pm, the deli was closed.
Final Thoughts on the Best Western PLUS Park Place Inn & Mini-Suites Hotel
I really cannot compare the Best Western PLUS Park Place Inn & Mini-Suites to any of the hotels of the Disneyland Resort. It wouldn’t be fair. But I do have to say that this hotel did excel in cleanliness, hospitality, and cost! No Disneyland Resort Hotel offers a full continental breakfast like this hotel did.
Pros for staying at the Best Western PLUS Park Place Inn & Mini-Suites Hotel:
- Proximity to Disneyland and Disney California Adventure – Located directly across the street from pedestrian entrance into the Disneyland Resort!
- Reasonably priced – For a room with two double beds for one night, rates start at $206.10 a night. Compared to the Hotels of the Disneyland Resort, Paradise Pier is the hotel where rates are the lowest, starting at $337 a night. Best Western PLUS Park Place Inn & Mini-Suites is a great deal!
- Staff are friendly and accommodating! The staff at Best Western PLUS Park Place Inn & Mini-Suites were very accommodating and friendly!
- Check-In/check-out was quick and easy! Check-in and check-out were quick and easy.
- Baggage holds – On arrival and departure day, guests can have the hotel hold their luggage. This was super convenient and allowed my family and I the time to explore the Parks.
- Clean – Our room was very clean! Everything in the room from the carpet, bathroom, table tops, microwave, and mini-refrigerator were clean!
- Comfortable beds – The bed was super comfortable!
- Air-Conditioning – The air conditioning unit worked great, pumping out just the right amount of cold air to cool down the warm room!
- Refrigerator in rooms – The mini-refrigerator was not so mini! It was huge and could fit a lot of water and snacks!
- Plenty of electrical outlets in room – My family and I had plenty of electrical outlets to charge our phones!
- Safe – I felt that the hotel was safe. Not as safe as staying at a Resort Hotel, though. The Disneyland Resort has security on bikes who ritually patrol the parking lot and the entire grounds.
- Restaurants within walking distance of hotel – What I loved about the location of our hotel (besides being directly across the street from the Disneyland Resort) was the easy access to a variety of affordable restaurants all along Harbor Boulevard. There was something for everyone in my family!
- General store right next door – Although the store was overpriced, shopping there was convenient!
Cons for staying at the Best Western PLUS Park Place Inn & Mini-Suites Hotel:
- Tiny bathroom – Although this isn’t a huge deal, the bathroom was super tiny.
- No restaurant onsite – I had to put this on my cons list, but really this, too, is no big deal since there are so many restaurant choices within walking distance.
- No room service – This wasn’t a problem for us, however, for some it may be an issue if guests are hungry for room service.
- Noise level – The rooms facing the Disneyland Resort (there were only at the most six of them) get the brunt of the noisy, busy Harbor Boulevard.
- No view from room – Since the building is only three stories in total, there really is no view of the Resort. Only the handful of rooms in front get any kind of view. The other 200 rooms have parking lot views.
- Not as safe as Disneyland Resort – This hotel does not have the intense security as the Disneyland Resort.
Would I stay here again? Of course! This hotel will be my family and my go-to hotel when we are not staying at a Hotel of the Disneyland Resort.
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