Anaheim Fairfield Inn Review

This past weekend, my family of 5 took our first hotel trip together.  We can no longer stay onsite, despite how magical it is, thanks to the astronomical costs of going to Disneyland with a large family.  So, we bit the bullet and scheduled a last-minute 1 night stay at the Fairfield Inn, which is on Harbor, right across the street from Disneyland, about even with Space Mountain and the Matterhorn, as you can see in this picture (the Matterhorn is slightly obscured by the tree):

Anyway, we paid for a Disney themed, upper level resort view.  I think the view was great, but paying for the Disney theming was kind of useless.  We got a Pirates themed room on the top floor of the east tower, and while it was kind of cool, the theming is mostly wall decals and decor you could find at Wal Mart.

The room itself was on the small side.  We had 2 queen beds and this couch/chair, which I think pulled out to a small bed, but we didn't check.  We had just enough floor space for our double jogging stroller and 2 pack-n-play cribs.  Not an issue since we were only there for 1 night, but if we were a family planning on staying a week or even a few days, this would be super annoying.  As a side note, the walls are thin.  I felt terrible for our neighbors during the hour it took the babies to stop crying at bedtime.  And the doors exit to exterior corridors.  We felt perfectly safe, but exterior corridors are not everyone's "thing", my husband included.

Parking was neither good nor bad.  When we arrived, I had to call out to the man stationed at the front of the parking lot to check our car in as he was not paying attention.  It was 1 PM and check-in doesn't officially start until 4, but you'd think they'd at least try to help us, right?  When we got to the lobby, we were told we could pull up to the curb, but no one offered us help with our bags, which I thought was weird since there's valet parking.  We chose not to use valet as I did not feel comfortable leaving my van in their hands.  There was self-parking as well, though spaces were fairly limited.  Fair warning though--self-park and valet both cost the same amount.  They did have a room available early, so we were able to get situated and have time to rest before returning to Disneyland.

As I'm writing this, I realize it may seem like a fairly negative review.  On the contrary, I thought the hotel was perfectly acceptable for motel standards.  It was overpriced, but everything within walking distance (5-10 minute walk) of Disneyland is.  It wasn't a resort hotel by any means, but it got the job done as a good place to sleep and rest as needed.  I would not pay for the premium view unless I stay more days and I definitely wouldn't pay for the theming again, but it was relaxing, felt safe, and was a perfect walking distance, probably closer than Paradise Pier or the Disneyland Hotel to the actual parks.

We have another, longer overnight trip planned in August.  While we didn't mind the Fairfield, we will be trying the Howard Johnson next time, which comes highly recommended by the individuals I've conversed with on Disneyland discussion forums.  I've also got my eye on the new Courtyard being built next door.  Here's hoping for some great experiences in the future!