miffytom

Hi, we are travelling to the US from Australia this April and would like advice on where to stay - close to Disneyland 4 or 5 star. 2 adults and 3 children.
Many thanks

Pumpy

We (w/kids 7 & 13) stayed at the Howard Johnson across the street and would recommend it. The room is pretty basic / standard but it has a nice pool area, convenience store on premise, and a great location.

Pumpy

PS: I forgot to mention....go to: www.mousesavers.com and click on the Disneyland link. We found a $10 or 10% (can't remember) per nite discount for the HoJo

janisj

Howard Johnson's is most definitely not a 4 or 5 star property. Nothing wrong w/ it but it is more a 2.5 - 3 star type place. And "3" is a stretch.

What is your budget? The Grand Californian is the best property right at Disneyland - if you can swing the rates, you could not do better.

Miranda

Good advice from janisj. Not only is the Grand Californian perfectly located and very nice, it has rooms that would comfortably sleep your entire family of five if you prefer to stay in one room together. In addition, the hotel has an attractive pool area. Five of us had a nice stay there in April a few years ago. Our room even had a bunk bed for the kids.

lcuy

Also not 4 or 5 star, but definitely clean and classic motels, close to the park entrance are the two Best Westerns. We've stayed at one of the two and it was quite satisfactory and very inexpensive.

Staying inside the park will be much more expensive, but you will be right there and you may get early entrance/special breakfast opportunities with your room.

Pumpy

Yes, the HoJo is not a 4-5 star hotel. Based on the hotels in the area, I'd say it's a solid 3.

kimamom

Go for the Grand Californian! It is a very nice place with full amenities. Make reservations for the Storyteller's Cafe, they have a really nice buffet there and you can take pictures with the characters, lots of fun! The GC is also very conveniently located, opens right out to Downtown Disney which is a cool shopping area with a couple of places to eat, also. Have fun! ***kim***

miffytom

Thanks for the ideas. The Californian sounds great.

cristinab

The Grand Californian is the only 5 star hotel near Disney! We opted not to stay there on our last visit b/c it was $350/night and we wanted two rooms, so we stayed at the Hyatt Regency. It is right down the road, has a free shuttle to Disney every 30 minutes and there was a Starbucks in the lobby (my husband's favorite part). We had a family suite (one room with a king, one room with bunkbeds with it's own tv and one bath). It was $175. I hope this helps. The other two Disney hotels are much older and not worth the money (imo). So, if you don't mind the price of GC stay there or off site like at the Hyatt or Crown Plaza.

coastgirl

Look at www.tripadvisor.com for reviews from people who have stayed in the various hotels in Anaheim.