CA Orange County Coast Anaheim Hotel Anaheim-Disneyland

[WillTravel]

This was a bid for $45/night for 12/28/2003 - 1/1/2004.

I am glad that I did this bid when I did in November. As we got closer to the date, I checked the web site and I noticed the hotel's rates going up, up, up, and that some nights of my stay were sold out.

We arrived about 10 PM on Sunday, 12/28. The friendly clerk explained to us that we would have to switch rooms after the first night. A large group was coming in the next day. If we just left our luggage in the room, they would move it to the new room. She asked if we would prefer a high or low floor for the second room, and I asked for a room with a view of the Disney fireworks, which I got on the 9th floor. I said that I had noted some nights were sold out on the web site. She said they had a lot of sold-out nights in the past week. During our stay Disneyland was indeed very busy, and was sometimes closed to further visitors (although California Adventure was open). I recommend getting a Park Hopper pass, which you can buy at the hotel, or at Disneyland.

All went according to plan. The two rooms were basically identical, except the first one had a view of the pool and the second one a view of the fireworks. I had phoned in November and requested two beds, and at the time the manager told me that would be an extra $3 per night. Perhaps due to the switch, I was not charged the $3/night.

Our second room did indeed have a very nice view of the fireworks, which occur every night at about 8:45. We did not want to stay in the crowded park on New Year's and we just watched the special New Year's fireworks from our balcony.

General notes:

* This is a large hotel, with 499 rooms.

* The rooms all have balconies.

* There is a large, kidney-shaped outdoor pool that is heated to a good temperature. There's also a nearby outdoor whirlpool. (I noticed people in both of these even when the nighttime temperature was in the 40s. I went one morning when it was in the low 50s, and surprise - it was just fine.)

* The beds are comfortable.

* The hotel is clean.

* The lobby is very nice.

* Service was pleasant (probably talked to 6 or more staff during the course of our stay)

* There are two restaurants. The one called "Coffee Shop" is roughly equivalent to a Denny's. We did not visit the Overland Steakhouse, which is a little more expensive but seemed like a reasonable value. There's also a coffee bar with standard coffee drinks. A gift shop too, if you somehow don't get enough of shopping at Disneyland.

* Room service was quick and not too terribly pricey.

* The rooms are just a tad on the long and narrow side. I think the total square footage is pretty good, but due to the layout, they seemed just a bit small (by California standards). I think it might be a bit tough to fit a rollaway in these rooms (not sure if these are offered or not).

* The decor is pleasant.

* Parking is $8/day, or that is what I heard someone say on the phone, and is at street-level.

* If you want to take the ART shuttle to Disneyland, you have to pay $3/person/day for everyone 10 and over. The hotel is about 1/2 mile from the gates, so walking is quite possible. We preferred to save our walking efforts for the park itself, though. The shuttle is fast and efficient. Unlike some shuttle routes for other hotels, the "C" shuttle that services this hotel only picks up at 2 other nearby hotels, so you are at the park within 10 minutes. (When coming back to the hotel, you can also take the "D" shuttle and it also drops off nearby the hotel.)

* A fridge is available for an extra $10 charge, for the entire stay. We ended up not getting one.

* 7-11, ABC-Mart, Subway, and some other places are all within a few hundred feet walk.

* Local calls are 75 cents each. Toll-free calls are free.

* There is a business center, accessible by room key, that charges 69 cents per minute. (Next to Subway, the Anaheim Visitor's Center offers Internet access for the still way-too-high charge of 33 cents per minute. The immediate Disneyland area, so far as I can tell, definitely lacks a reasonably-priced cybercafe. The Innoventions attraction in Disneyland's Tomorrowland offers free Internet access, but blocks numerous sites.)

What I thought was most lacking in terms of convenience - a guest laundry. I had looked up laundromats before I went, and the nearest is about 1.75 miles away. However, we managed okay without doing laundry on this trip.

This is the closest 3* hotel to Disneyland and I felt lucky to get it. We were very pleased with our stay here. In general, I would be quite happy with a 2* or 2.5* hotel near Disneyland, and that is what we had on previous stays without Priceline. But with Priceline I didn't want to take the chance of getting a random hotel of unknown quality and location, which I think is more likely to occur at a lower quality level.