The Anaheim Hotel is located just half a block away from the main entrance to Disneyland. This refurbished motel provides a nearby escape from Disneyland crowds at affordable prices at a property that is dated but leans into its charm.
The hotel consists of a number of low-rise buildings spread across this large piece of land. The standard room offerings at the hotel are two king and two queen bed rooms. They also have family suites available. The two king bed offering is very unique for the Anaheim area.
In many ways this hotel is a remnant of another era that has a ticking clock on it. The hotel is owned by the same development group that leveled an older motel and built The Westin just a short distance from this hotel. The group plans to eventually also level this hotel to build another high-end hotel in the style of the JW Marriott Anaheim or Westin.
We were hosted by the hotel for this stay, but as you'll note below we always share our full opinions of a property. I have personally stayed at dozens of hotels around the Disneyland Resort ranging in prices to be able to compare to this hotel in my review.
The Anaheim Hotel Overview 2024
The most impressive aspects of The Anaheim Hotel are the proximity to the theme park, the hotel grounds which include the largest traditional swimming pool of any hotel near Disneyland and tons of green space, and the service from the staff.
The hotel leans into a more playful version of mid-century modern Palm Springs style. They carry this styling into their art deco decor in the lobby and general furniture used throughout the outdoor spaces.
There is clearly also a lot of care that goes into the hotel with a management team that wants to deliver a higher end level of service that matches their other more upscale properties. The hotel has activities for families, a cabana to rent, room service, and a hotel lobby bar. There is level of care for the hotel that you wouldn't expect for a hotel with the no-frills hotel pricing charged here.
Right off the lobby is also a fun pizza restaurant called Pizza Press. You get to pick your own toppings and then they fire the pizza for you. It's very much a pick-your-own style like Chipotle for pizzas. It is a great late-night meal for after a return from the parks or a quick bite mid-afternoon. Also, the hotel offers room service which was surprisingly good. I'll share photos of my breakfast burrito below.
Prices For The Anaheim Hotel
As you'll see, though the buildings at The Anaheim Hotel are a touch dated, but the hotel is priced to match this. Rooms range in price from $160 per night to $330 per night depending on the dates of the stay. The lower end of this price range is totally worth it, when you start to get into the $300s it's likely because of an event at the hotel or convention center which drive lots of hotel traffic as we discuss in our Disneyland crowd calendar.
Be sure to check out the rates on this hotel as a package from Get Away Today. They have exclusive lower prices on Disneyland tickets just for Mickey Visit readers and offer additional discounts when you bundle them with a hotel offering like The Anaheim Hotel. They have the lowest prices on a stay at the hotel.
The Anaheim Hotel Rooms
The Anaheim Hotel has two queen and two king beds. Some rooms have balconies or patios off of them. Though the room structures are dated, the rooms feel clean and have comfortable linens. Clearly additional rounds of freshening up the rooms have been completed to modernize the rooms to the extent possible without tearing down the buildings or gutting them completely.
We were sleeping in this bed just before sleeping in the new Villas at the Disneyland Hotel and actually preferred the bedding here. Some rooms have views of the theme parks from their balconies including some with solid fireworks views.
The bed was very comfortable and is one of my big check-list items for hotels near Disneyland. The comfortable bed, which had down pillows, was a great place to end a long day after the parks.
The bathroom was clean with plenty of space get ready in the morning. The bathrooms have Hawaiian Tropics dispensers in the showers for soap.
While were staying at The Anaheim Hotel we stayed in an executive king room with an outdoor patio. This room type is not one you can book through Get Away Today website but one that they could book for you by calling Get Away Today. Make sure to ask for the Mickey Visit rate when you do. The room also connects to two adjoining rooms as an option for bigger families interested in the hotel.
The patio is similar to other rooms with patios at the hotel. In this room type we were on the first floor and felt very much removed from the main hotel building and the theme parks. It was nice to have the private outdoor space where we ate breakfast one morning. It would also be a great place to let little ones hang out as they are ready to go in the morning. There's also something nice about a space to feel the temperature before leaving the room for the day.
The are certain aspects of hotels that you only think about when they aren't up to par. The room that we were staying in had two connecting rooms – one on either side. These connecting doors and front door let in quite a bit of noise from the other rooms and hallway. On the final day of our trip before traveling we weren't able to sleep in because the other groups were getting ready for their park day. I'd recommend requesting a room that doesn't connect to avoid this issue – my understanding is that most rooms are not connecting. The issue may also have been with the door to the outside hallway as others writing reviews on the Get Away Today profile for the hotel have mentioned that some external noise leaks in. This was my biggest frustration with the hotel but it's one that many hotels in Anaheim fall victim too. Many older hotels just have thinner walls and the doors opening to the outdoors doesn't help.
If you plan to have early mornings each day of your trip (as we recommend with our Disneyland rope drop morning strategy and Disney California Adventure rope drop morning strategy) this may not be an issue for you. Just something to be aware of.
We also got a look at one of the other standard rooms at the hotel. Above and below is one of their normally available rooms that has a theme park view. The view from this room looks stunning. After booking, you should call to request a view room if it's something you are interested in. One thing with the older-build hotels like this one is that the rooms are not standardized and sizes / style can vary.
Click below for a video of walking into the room at The Anaheim Hotel.
Pool at The Anaheim Hotel
The pool has a sense of being in the desert far away from busy streets or the Disney theme parks. This stands in stark contrast to so many other hotel pools in the area that are jammed into corners of a parking lot to check the box on the amenity for guests. The pool is also open longer hours than many pools at other hotels. When were there, the pool was open from 8 am to 10 pm. This was far and away my highlight for the stay at the hotel.
I loved getting to swim a little bit the morning that we were checking out to relax before traveling. The Anaheim Hotel does also offer a hot tub.
The hotel also has a cabana that you could rent for your group to have a secured space by the pool. This might be a good option during the hotter summer months.
At the pool during the summer months the hotel was also offering movies for people to enjoy while floating in the pool or lounging around it. This is another one of those amenities I would expect as a perk for one of the on-site Disneyland Resort Hotels but not from this fair-priced hotel across the street.
Note – We say largest traditional swimming pool because some other hotels including the Howard Johnson Anaheim have more pool space and offerings.
Additional Activities at The Anaheim Hotel
As I mentioned in the introduction to this Anaheim Hotel review, the hotel really has the benefit of large spaces. Located beside the pool is an lawn area with comfortable seating and large-sized games including chess, beer pong, and corn hole. You could really have a fun evening hanging out here with your group.
The hotel also has a set of additional activities perfect for a rest day at the hotel for a Disneyland break. Here were the activities printed during our stay:
Getting From The Anaheim Hotel to Disneyland
The Anaheim Hotel, one of the best hotels within walking distance of Disneyland, is located just across the street from Disneyland at about a 10-15 minute walk to the front gate. The hotel definitely does not need a shuttle to Disneyland. I say 10-15 minutes because this includes the amount of time to get in from Harbor Boulevard through security to the gate. To get to the actual security checkpoint, and in view of Disneyland it is a 10 minute walk or less.
Google Maps show it is an 11-minute walk which I always claim I can beat. Much of this walk time can actually be spent waiting at the lights to cross Harbor Boulevard. This walk to the hotel is completely safe and I feel comfortable walking the area at night. Our Mickey Visit content director, a single mom, discusses whether the area around Disneyland is safe in a separate article.
Room Service and Onsite Dining
There is no free breakfast at The Anaheim Hotel but there are a couple of great dining options. As we mentioned above, Pizza Press is a great place to enjoy food and the room service offered at the hotel is nice.
The room service offered here does not come on actual plates but in to-go containers. Even so, we enjoyed the breakfast burrito and chocolate croissant. In fact, the chocolate croissant which came piping hot may have been the best chocolate croissant I have ever had. Personal lesson here – always take a picture of the to go pastries even if you don't think they are going to earn a mention in the hotel review. The room service took 15-20 minutes to arrive from the time that we ordered it. For mornings when you are trying to get to Disneyland, be careful about relying on waiting for food. We always recommend getting breakfast at Disneyland or bringing a snack with you and eating as you go.
Room service is currently available daily from 6 am – 10 pm. Here is the menu for room service at The Anaheim Hotel.
Other Amenities
The hotel also has a workout area with nice space for stretching after a long parks day. There is also a laundry facility that accepts credit cards located at the back of the workout space. Not many other non-chain hotels in this tier of hotels offer workout facilities. For instance when comparing the The Anaheim Hotel vs Howard Johnson Anaheim vs the Castle Inn and Suites, the neither of those other hotels have workout facilities.
Like most hotels in the area, there is a concierge desk that will happily hold your luggage on check-in and check-out days when you are headed to the theme parks. We often end up utilizing this service for our stays as we always consider extending our Disneyland tickets to get the extra day and do a half day on our way in or out as the incremental cost isn't usually dramatic.
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