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canadasunflower
03-01-2005, 12:54 PM
Hey all!

I'm a newbie here, but my soon to be hubby and I are taking a bus trip to Disneyland and I was wondering if the Red Roof Inn is a decent place to stay? Is it a really short walk?

Thanks for the help!

(BTW: I've been to DW once when I was eleven, but I am so excited to go to DL. I'm just hoping against hopes that they have Space Mountain up and running by then)

MOUSELUVR
03-01-2005, 01:03 PM
It looks decent from the outside...never stayed there, but it is really far down from Disneyland. Make sure they have a shuttle.

jrsharp21
03-01-2005, 01:17 PM
I have stayed there several times. Mostly on spur of the moment trips.

The rooms are clean for the most part. It is a fairly new hotel (or remodeled), so the rooms have new furniture. The rooms are nothing to right home about, but they are decent. There is not a fridge in the room. The rooms are cleaner than the rooms I have had the Tropican Inn and some of the Desert Inn and Suites rooms. The people working there are usually really nice. Never had any problems with them.

The walk is a little far, but not that bad. It is just up the street and around the corner from the main entrance. But at the end of the day it can seem like it takes forever. I would recommend walking in the morning, taking in the site of the park as you approach it, but try taking the shuttle on the way back. I have never taken the shuttle, so I don't know if they have a van or if its the public transportation.

The one complaint about RRI, is that since the hotel gives such a good price on rooms, you some times get the undesirable people there. One time staying there, there was a bunch of mid-20's people who looked like they were out to start a fight. They hung out in the parking lot drinking, smoking, and yelling alot all night. But that was the only bad experience I have ever had there.

I would definately stay again.

canadasunflower
03-01-2005, 02:43 PM
Thank-you for the quick responses! Any more would be appreciated.

bradk
03-01-2005, 03:29 PM
http://www.mouseplanet.com/cgi/reviews/do/display.cgi?product-sku=dlrredroofinnanaheimmaingate

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g29092-d222951-Reviews-Red_Roof_Inn_Anaheim_Maingate-Anaheim_California.html

DisneylandForever
03-01-2005, 03:33 PM
I've never stayed there, but I have driven by it. So all I can comment on is the distance. It does seem like quite a walk. Especially after all day in DL. I don't think they have a shuttle, either. I have almost stayed there a few times, but in the end I pay a few more dollars and stay across the street on Harbor. It's nice having your hotel so close, especially if you want to take a quick trip back during the day to swim or relax while the Park is at its hottest/most crowded.

bradk
03-01-2005, 03:39 PM
oh, yes, about that. don't be confused by hotel tactics. i'm pretty sure every hotel that has 'maingate' in the title is pretty far from it.

across the street from the park could mean that, yes, it's across the street from the park, but you may have to walk around the park to get to an entrance.

1 block means about a mile.

and reportedly only guests staying at the GCH are able to use the GCH entrance (although recently DLH guests have reportedly been able to) but as far as I know, they check for room keys or whatever before letting you in, so don't bother trying to rely on that route.

DisneylandForever
03-01-2005, 03:53 PM
oh, yes, about that. don't be confused by hotel tactics. i'm pretty sure every hotel that has 'maingate' in the title is pretty far from it.

across the street from the park could mean that, yes, it's across the street from the park, but you may have to walk around the park to get to an entrance.

1 block means about a mile.

and reportedly only guests staying at the GCH are able to use the GCH entrance (although recently DLH guests have reportedly been able to) but as far as I know, they check for room keys or whatever before letting you in, so don't bother trying to rely on that route.

You're half right. The Ramada Maingate is right across the street.

A good way to tell is this: The Hojo is the last hotel on Harbor before the freeway. The Candy Cane is the last one before Katella (FYI: Candy Cane is technically not "across the street from DL, it's on DL's side of the street).

The Hojo is 1380 S Harbor Blvd.
The Candy Cane is 1747 S Harbor Blvd.

So if you wanna stay "across the street" from DL, look for a hotel with an address between the above two hotels. Of course technically the ones on Ball Rd, Disneyland Drive and Katella are across the street too, but the ones on Harbor are the closest to DL's main entrance.

bradk
03-01-2005, 04:01 PM
that's true and i appreciate that, but i was just offering a guideline for the hotels in general, just from what i've noticed. also a lot of not so great hotels are named remarkably similiar to ones that are more ideal.

my point there was that hotels on katella market themselves as being across the street because they are, but it doesn't you mean you can simply just walk across the street to get there.

when i was calling about another hotel which is across the street from the gates, i was also referred to the ramada maingate (which incidentally was more expensive for the dates i requested), but she tried to sell me the 'only one block away' pitch, so i just want to make people wary of the tactics used by the hotels out there.

DisneylandForever
03-01-2005, 04:05 PM
True. I should have said you were "mostly right."

Not only the people, but be careful of the websites too. A lot of them say their hotel is 0.4 miles away. Um, not always the case.

Quick side note: The Ramada Maingate is actually a great place to stay.

So IMO while the info I posted about the addresses is in no way "the gospel," it is a pretty good guide to tell you if in fact you really are across the street from the main entrance.

Earkid
03-01-2005, 06:36 PM
Quick side note: The Ramada Maingate is actually a great place to stay. But don't confuse the Ramada Maingate with the Ramada Limited Maingate that is north of Ball Rd on Harbor. Very YUCK :mad:

uvsc_wolverine
03-01-2005, 11:09 PM
I think the hotel that is the absolute closest you can get to the main gate is the Park Vue Inn. It sits right at the crosswalk that goes accross Harbor Blvd to the DLR main entrance. Although the GCH might be closer, I'm not sure - but it is the closest off-property place there is.

canadasunflower
03-02-2005, 04:29 AM
Thanks for the quick replies.

We don't really have a choice about where we are staying, as it is a bus trip, I just wanted to know what to expect. My soon to be hubby and I love to walk, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

My future in laws have a 7-year old and an 8 year old, so I will warn them about the length of the walk, they may wish to take a shuttle.

Thanks again!

siamese1975
03-03-2005, 06:44 AM
Hi,

As a travel agent....the property itself is fine. We've been getting quite a few complaints from clients that the surrounding area isn't great. The complaints range from a "biker bar" across the street and other hotel patrons causing problems all night long at the hotel. I'm planning a trip myself and will definitely visit the Red Roof to form my own opinion.

Kim

jrsharp21
03-03-2005, 06:52 AM
Hi,

As a travel agent....the property itself is fine. We've been getting quite a few complaints from clients that the surrounding area isn't great. The complaints range from a "biker bar" across the street and other hotel patrons causing problems all night long at the hotel. I'm planning a trip myself and will definitely visit the Red Roof to form my own opinion.

Kim

Hmm..a biker bar? I have stayed there several times and not seen that. Across the street is the freeway (I-5). Right next to it is an extended stay type of property.

I do believe hotel patrons causing problems. You get your mix of Disneyland people and people just stopping to sleep there since it is right off of I80.

My suggestion is to request a room that where the door faces inside the property towards the pool as opposed to rooms facing the parking lots on the outside.

siamese1975
03-03-2005, 07:08 AM
Jrsharp21,

Thats a great idea to request a room facing the inside of the property....I've never been to the property before, but was starting to get concerned for my clients that will be staying there!

Kim

jbrowna
03-03-2005, 07:11 AM
I just returned from staying there Feb 23rd to 28th. My family has stayed there since it was built as the Hotel Ibis back in the late '80's, through it's incarnation as a Motel 6 in the '90's, to today. There is no "biker bar" or any other kind of eating or drinking establishment anywhere near it. As the Ibis it used to have an internal restaurant, but not for many years now.

Although we have walked and taken the shuttle, we generally have a rental car or other vehicle when we stay there. Of course, we have two Cast Members in the family, which means our parking is free, so driving makes more sense for us. If we had to pay $10 to park, I'm sure we'd take the shuttle or walk more often. And, yes, it is quite a hike. But my wife and I take brisk walks every evening, so the prospect of walking doesn't bother us. YMMV.

For the price, we feel the Red Roof can't be beat. For this trip we checked at closer hotels, and even had our CM's check for cast rates on property, but our two rooms for the whole family at Red Roof amounted to not much more than one room at the discounted rate at Paradise Pier -- which wasn't even available during our stay. A room at the DL Hotel would have been well over what two rooms at the Red Roof was, even at the cast rate.

We usually book online from the Red Roof site, and use the "Red's Hot Rates" promotion. We ended up paying just less than $55 per night per room, including taxes.

It should be noted that the Red Roof has an outdoor pool and a great spa that feels really good after a day of walking the parks!

Hope this helps.

jbrowna

bradk
03-03-2005, 07:14 AM
through entertainment.com, i have hojo for $49 a night. through a travel website, i can also get carousel for $65/night. if it ever gets to $60, i'm switching because the loss in quality and $10 more a night is so much more worth it to me so i can walk across the street. i'm not lazy (well i am), but you're literally on your feet all day at the parks. why add to it?

canadasunflower
03-03-2005, 10:27 AM
To add on to my question - what is the shuttle service like? How often and how much is it?

Thanks!