Anaheim Desert Inn & Suites

Anaheim Desert Inn & Suites Information: Rooms, Pools, Dining, and More

Desert Inn & Suites is located on Harbor Boulevard, across the street from Disneyland. The hotel, itself, is no-frills; the main advantage is the extremely close proximity to the main entrance of Disneyland and Disney California Adventure. I clocked my walking time from my room to the front gate at several different times of day, and at no point did it exceed 6 minutes. That’s impressive for a budget hotel that I paid less than $90 a night for, and less walking time than any of the Disney-owned hotels. Another feature I enjoyed was access to storage lockers to keep my luggage in until my room was ready. Sure, almost every hotel ever lets you check your luggage at the front desk for a later pickup. But the lockers are great if you’re like me and you travel with various expensive electronics and have trust issues with anyone taking possession of your bags.

The room was large for the price, but admittedly a bit dated in appearance. The beds were reasonably comfortable, but some may find them a bit too soft. The room and hotel grounds were clean overall. Some rooms contain two queen size beds, others have one king size bed and a couch. All rooms include a flat screen TV, coffee maker, microwave, refrigerator, and ironing board.

My only complaint is that the room walls seemed paper thin. This was especially noticeable at night, when I constantly heard people talking and walking through the hallways as if they were right next to me. Also, as you will see in the video, the “continental breakfast” was laughably bad. But I never hold that against a budget hotel, especially considering the breakfast is free.

The per-night prices of Desert Inn, and similar “budget” Good Neighbor hotels on Harbor Boulevard are typically very good at less than $100/night, especially considering their location. By staying at hotels this close, you're able to avoid renting a car. The 3-5 minute proximity to the Esplanade also allows you to make stops at your room during the course of the day to pick up and drop off various items (tripod, coat, etc.) that you don’t want to carry for the entire day. For the reasons of price and convenience alone, I would recommend Desert Inn.

Other amenities include an indoor pool, a hot tub, and underground parking that costs $8 a day. The pool is nothing special so you may want to look elsewhere if that is an important factor in the enjoyment of a hotel. The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland rates the Desert Inn & Suites 3-1/2 out of 5 stars with a room rating of 81 out of 100.