Top Affordable Hotels Close to Disneyland

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Christian Thompson/Disneyland Resort

By Blake Taylor/Aug. 12, 2023 5:45 am EST

Disneyland is the Happiest Place on Earth, but where’s the happiest place to rest your head when you visit? The destination in Anaheim, California collectively known as Disneyland Resort has three onsite hotels: Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel, and Disneyland Hotel. But they can be pricey, often starting at around $300 a night. Therefore, staying at a nearby non-Disney hotel is a smart economical choice. Lucky for us (and our wallets), a handful of nearby budget-friendly accommodations are “Good Neighbor Hotels,” aka Disney-approved accommodations adjacent to Disneyland Resort. Let’s find the best of the bunch!

Every hotel listed below is a Disneyland Good Neighbor Hotel with a respectable Google rating that’s priced reasonably and located as close as possible to the Disneyland Esplanade, the main plaza where guests enter either of the two theme parks: Disneyland and Disney California Adventure Park. Other nearby accommodations may check one or several of those boxes, but our list only includes those that meet all of these important requirements. Note for regular visitors of Walt Disney World in Florida: Whereas staying offsite at Disney World equates to being miles from the parks and requiring your own transportation, staying offsite at Disneyland — at all the hotels on this list, anyway — still means you’re very close to the magic.

Howard Johnson by Wyndham Anaheim Hotel & Water Playground

We’ll begin our journey just outside the northeast corner of Disneyland on Harbor Boulevard — parallel with Tomorrowland with views of the monorail — and continue clockwise around the perimeter of the Disneyland Resort. Welcome to Howard Johnson by Wyndham Anaheim Hotel & Water Playground. Rooms here start at $200 per night on its most affordable nights and increase based on date. We’ve stayed at the HoJo, as its loyalists affectionately call it, multiple times. It’s awesome.

The property includes one tall tower and several smaller clusters of rooms. All rooms, regardless of location, are accessed via interior hallways. The water playground, Castaway Cove, features kiddie slides and a tipping water bucket. The garden pool offers a quieter aquatic experience. Suites are available, and many rooms are accentuated with Disney décor and artwork that’s tasteful rather than tacky. You can also see Disneyland’s fireworks from the parking lot. Located at 1380 South Harbor Boulevard, the HoJo is a 0.5-mile walk to the Disneyland Esplanade and has a Google rating of 4.3 out of 5.

Holiday Inn Express & Suites Anaheim Resort Area

Rooms, all of which are interior-accessed, start around $200 per night for Holiday Inn Express & Suites Anaheim Resort Area. All stays here come with access to the free Express Start Breakfast Bar, a daily buffet with hot cinnamon rolls, omelets, and more. Alternatively, budget-friendly dining options are available practically at the hotel’s doorstep, whether you’re looking for fast food (McDonald’s), a sit-down meal (Mimi’s Café), or something in between (Panera Bread). This same sentiment goes for Home2 Suites, Hilton Garden Inn, and Fairfield, all also in this vicinity and coming up momentarily on our best-of list.

Other amenities include an outdoor pool and a small fitness room. Located at 1411 South Manchester Avenue, Holiday Inn Express is a 0.6-mile walk to the Disneyland Esplanade and has a Google rating of 4.4 out of 5, one of the highest on our list.

Home2 Suites by Hilton Anaheim Resort and Hilton Garden Inn Anaheim Resort

Home2 Suites by Hilton Anaheim Resort

1441 South Manchester Avenue is the location of one building housing two hotels: Home2 Suites by Hilton Anaheim Resort and Hilton Garden Inn Anaheim Resort. Both are viable options as budget-friendly hotels near Disneyland, with interior-accessed rooms.

With Home2 Suites offering, well, suites, its starting price of around $200 per night is higher than Hilton Garden Inn’s starting price of around $150 per night for non-suite rooms. That being said, Hilton Garden Inn does offer suites, too. (We know, it’s confusing.) While treated as separate in the eyes of Hilton, these two hotels share a pool and a fitness center. Home2 Suites offers free breakfast. Hilton Garden Inn has a sit-down restaurant.

If you like the location, deciding between Home2 Suites and Hilton Garden Inn basically comes down to what kind of room you’re looking for. Have a larger group? Working while traveling? Go for Home2 Suites (Google rating of 4.2 out of 5). Just want the basics? Opt for Hilton Garden Inn (Google rating of 4.1 out of 5). The hotels’ shared address is 0.6 miles from the Disneyland Esplanade.

Fairfield by Marriott Anaheim Resort

When it comes to our four main criteria — Good Neighbor Hotel, quality, price, and distance from Disneyland — this is the most well-rounded selection on our list. Rooms at Fairfield by Marriott Anaheim Resort (also sometimes called Fairfield Inn by Marriott) start at $160 per night, a good $40 less than the $200 minimum at which most other hotels on this list begin. Located at 1460 South Harbor Boulevard, Fairfield is a 0.5-mile walk from the Disneyland Esplanade. In this case, that’s practically just the distance of crossing the street and filing through park security. Its Google rating of 4.3 out of 5 is a smidge above other nearby choices, too.

Fairfield has a fitness center, outdoor pool, hot tub, and game room available for guests. Suites are available for larger families, and some rooms have Disney wallpaper. Rooms are accessed via exterior corridors of two, nine-story towers. The hotel campus’ abundant palm trees and its interior’s moderately upscale design helps give Fairfield some extra aesthetic bang for your buck.

Camelot Inn & Suites

Loosely themed with a medieval aesthetic, some aspects of Camelot Inn & Suites feel like they could belong in a low-budget Fantasyland. Camelot’s exterior design recalls a European storybook village, bringing to mind tales like “Pinocchio” or “The Sword in the Stone.” For the most part, the theme remains outside. Guest rooms, which start around $200, and are accessed via exterior corridors of a five-story building, feature framed artwork of (non-Disney) castles and fortresses, but otherwise are medieval-free and modernly designed. On a mid-level terrace, guests can take a dip in the pool or hot tub, or enjoy a view of Disneyland’s fireworks.

Camelot is close to McDonald’s and Panera Bread, though both dining establishments are in the opposite direction of Disneyland. If eating at either restaurant and starting at Camelot, you’ll need to backtrack to the parks after your meal. The same is true for Tropicana Inn & Suites, Camelot’s next-door neighbor operated by the same company. Located at 1520 South Harbor Boulevard, Camelot Inn is only a 0.3-mile walk to the Disneyland Esplanade and has a Google rating of 4.2 out of 5.

Tropicana Inn & Suites

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If proximity to Disneyland is the most important factor to you in choosing a hotel, Tropicana Inn & Suites is for you. It’s 0.3 miles from the Disneyland Esplanade, which means you step outside, cross the street, and you’ve arrived. Tropicana’s rooms start at $200 per night at their lowest and feature light tropical theming of palm tree silhouettes on their walls.

The campus consists of two long, outdoor, motel-style corridors of two and three stories, with guests accessing rooms from outside. Many rooms surround a pool and hot tub area. The Cove on Harbor, an onsite café, serves coffee, grab-and-go items, and deli selections. As with Camelot, a meal at McDonald’s or Panera Bread isn’t far, if you don’t mind doubling back your route on the way to the parks. Located at 1540 South Harbor Boulevard, Tropicana Inn holds a Google rating of 4.2 out of 5.

Grand Legacy at the Park

In this list’s geographically clockwise journey around Disneyland Resort, we now come to a new spatial reference. Every hotel thus far has been parallel with Disneyland Park, north of the Esplanade. Starting with Grand Legacy at the Park, we’re venturing into hotel properties that are south of the Esplanade, and therefore parallel to Disney California Adventure Park. This doesn’t make a huge difference, but it does change the direction you’ll walk from your hotel to the parks (north instead of south).

Starting at around $200 per night, Grand Legacy at the Park’s main tower of indoor-accessed rooms and suites sits adjacent to a building of outdoor-accessed lodging that surrounds the pool area. (Both are four stories.) This hotel has the most extensive dining selections out of any property on our list. Its onsite options include a Hawaiian restaurant, a boba/pizza shop (hey, we love a good combo), and a donut café. A rooftop restaurant and bar offers views of Space Mountain and Mickey’s Fun Wheel. Additional nearby options in between Grand Legacy and Disneyland include Denny’s, Tony Roma’s, and IHOP. Located at 1650 South Harbor Boulevard, Grand Legacy at the Park is 0.3 miles from the Disneyland Esplanade and holds a Google rating of 4.0 out of 5.

Castle Inn & Suites

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You’re not seeing double: There are two hotels on Harbor Boulevard designed like medieval castles. (When so close to Disneyland, why not?) Like the aforementioned Camelot Inn & Suites, the similarly named Castle Inn & Suites (no relation) boasts a heartily themed exterior, a lightly themed lobby, and sparsely themed hotel rooms that connect it with ye olde days of knights in shining armor.

Rooms (some interior-accessed, but mostly exterior-accessed) start around $200 per night, and amenities include an outdoor pool, a hot tub, and a kiddie pool. An onsite market sells grab-and-go groceries, but other than that, you’ll need to venture beyond the hotel for grub. The closest dining options are Brewberry Café (breakfast food), Sabrosada (Mexican food), and Star Burger (Korean barbecue), all of which are nearby, but in the opposite direction from Castle Inn’s route to Disneyland. Located at 1734 South Harbor Boulevard, Castle Inn is 0.5 miles from the Disneyland Esplanade and has a Google rating of 4.2 out of 5.

Desert Palms Hotel & Suites Anaheim Resort

Desert Palms Hotel & Suites/YouTube

If having access to quick, crowd-pleasing food options at your hotel is important to you, and you perhaps have some picky eaters in your party, Desert Palms Hotel & Suites Anaheim Resort is a nice choice. Desert Palms’ interior-accessed accommodations start around $200 per night, and include a free breakfast buffet each morning. For lunch or dinner, the hotel’s onsite dining location, Oasis Food Hall, offers quick dine-in or carry-out options like pizza, burgers, Mexican, Mediterranean, Chinese, and more. 7-Eleven is right outside, and both CVS and Walgreens are just across the street. Desert Palms also has an outdoor pool, a hot tub, and a fitness center.

Located at 631 West Katella Avenue, Desert Palms sits on the corner of Katella and Harbor, nestling itself pretty much immediately behind Cars Land at Disney California Adventure. But despite this wild proximity, there’s no backdoor entry. You’ll still need to walk the full distance to the Esplanade, 0.6 miles, to enter the parks. Desert Palms holds a Google rating of 4.2 out of 5.

Hyatt House at Anaheim Resort/Convention Center

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If you think you’ll spend a lot of time at your hotel during your Disneyland vacation — rather than being in the parks all day, every day — Hyatt House at Anaheim Resort/Convention Center is your best bet for a well-rounded hotel experience outside of Disney property. As an extended-stay hotel, Hyatt House caters to guests with longer vacations by offering more “homey” amenities than anywhere else nearby, like a complimentary grocery delivery service and an outdoor patio with grills available. That being said, there’s no minimum length requirement, and the hotel is an excellent choice for travelers on short Disneyland trips, too. Or, feel free to stay longer and plan a broader Anaheim vacation or visit a Hollywood studio.

The exterior of Hyatt House is sleeker than its surrounding lodging options, sporting a welcoming, professional look. With a Google rating of 4.4 out of 5, it’s also tied for the runner-up choice of highest-rated hotel on our list, along with Holiday Inn Express and SpringHill Suites.

Rooms start around $200 per night and include free breakfast. An onsite bar also serves food, and a market sells groceries. As if that wasn’t enough, Hyatt House sits atop a first floor of retail space that includes Walgreens, Starbucks, Blaze Pizza, and Yang’s Braised Chicken Rice. Other amenities include public computers, a fitness room, an outdoor pool, and a hot tub. Hyatt House is located at 1800 South Harbor Boulevard, 0.6 miles from the Disneyland Esplanade.

Hotel Lulu

This chic establishment embraces California’s sunshiny reputation with vibrant colors and vintage designs throughout its architectural flourishes. Though it’s as equidistant from Disneyland as some of the other selections on our list, Hotel Lulu might feel further because its route requires you to cross the busy intersection of Harbor and Katella. The 0.7-mile walk is still reasonable but isn’t ideal after a full day on your feet in the parks. If the trek is too long for your liking, you can catch a bus ride via Anaheim Regional Transportation (ART, sometimes also called Anaheim Resort Transit). A bus stop is immediately outside Hotel Lulu, and ART will drop you off just outside the Disneyland Esplanade. A round-trip ticket costs $6. You can consult routes and multi-day pricing on ART’s official website.

Hotel Lulu’s ever-so-slightly longer distance from Disneyland is offset by its considerably lower starting price of $140 per night. Hotel Lulu has an outdoor pool with cabanas, as well as a fitness center and interior-accessed rooms. Onsite dining options include Lulu’s Kitchen, which hosts a full-service breakfast in the morning and cocktails after 4 p.m.; room service dinner in the evening; and a coffee bar. An IHOP is next door. Hotel Lulu is a Best Western property, belonging to the chain’s BW Premier Collection. Located at 1850 South Harbor Boulevard, Hotel Lulu has a Google rating of 3.9 out of 5.

Anaheim Portofino Inn & Suites

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The highest-rated option near Disneyland for the lowest price, Anaheim Portofino Inn & Suites is a nice overall value. Its Google rating of 3.8 out of 5 is respectable. Even though that’s the lowest rating on our list, it’s certainly the highest for its price range, with rooms starting at around $115 per night. Portofino doesn’t offer any dining options, but an IHOP is across the street. The hotel has an outdoor pool, a game room, a fitness center, and indoor-accessed rooms and suites. The specialty Galaxy Suites have light “Star Wars” theming of rugs, bedsheets, and décor.

Located at 1831 South Harbor Boulevard, Portofino Inn is 0.7 miles from the Disneyland Esplanade and across the street from Hotel Lulu. A bus stop for the Anaheim Regional Transport is next door, outside of SpringHill Suites, if you prefer to save your steps for the parks.

SpringHill Suites by Marriott at Anaheim Resort/Convention Center

Need more space than a standard hotel room, but don’t want to break the bank? For most hotels on our list, the starting price we mention is for a regular room. Where offered, suites usually come with a bigger price tag. Not here. SpringHill Suites by Marriott at Anaheim Resort/Convention Center is an all-suites hotel whose starting price is around $180 per night, making it a great value.

SpringHill Suites’ amenities include an outdoor pool, a fitness center, and a free daily breakfast buffet. An onsite dining spot, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, serves for-purchase sandwiches and bakery items for breakfast and lunch, in addition to variations of its namesake drinks. The hotel is also pet-friendly, unlike most lodging options nearby. Rooms are accessed from indoors.

Located at 1801 South Harbor Boulevard on top of a CVS, SpringHill Suites is 0.7 miles from the Disneyland Esplanade. As an alternative to walking, guests can use Anaheim Regional Transportation, whose buses stop right outside the hotel. SpringHill Suites holds an impressive Google rating of 4.4 out of 5.

Residence Inn by Marriott at Anaheim Resort/Convention Center

The highest-ranked hotel on our list, Residence Inn by Marriott at Anaheim Resort/Convention Center takes the cake with a Google rating of 4.5 out of 5. (Remember, other nearby hotels might have a higher rating, but their nightly prices are also higher.) Starting at $200 per night, a stay at Residence Inn includes free breakfast. Beyond that, guests can visit the onsite bar, or venture to The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf at SpringHill Suites next door.

Like SpringHill, every room at Residence Inn is a suite, providing a nice option for larger parties or those who prefer more living space than a standard hotel room offers. A specially designed kids’ suite has a bright blue and green aesthetic and décor with hints of Pixar’s “Monsters, Inc.” Every suite has a kitchenette, too. Other amenities include an outdoor pool, a small water play area for kids, and a fitness center.

Located at 640 West Katella Avenue, Residence Inn is 0.7 miles from the Disneyland Esplanade. A bus stop is around the corner on Harbor Boulevard if you prefer to use Anaheim Regional Transportation instead of walking.

Best Western Plus Stovall’s Inn

Yes, Best Western Plus Stovall’s Inn is 0.9 miles from the Disneyland Esplanade and the entrance to both theme parks, but it’s 0.1 miles from Disney property. This makes the hotel very valuable for a Disneyland fan who isn’t staying at a Disney hotel and doesn’t mind extra walking. Best Western Plus Stovall’s Inn is outside Disney’s southwest corner, at 1110 West Katella Avenue. By contrast, every other hotel on our list finds itself surrounding the eastern edges of Disneyland Resort. The route to the parks might be shorter from these hotels, but the sometimes-chaotic journey is mostly spent outside of Disney property.

When staying at Best Western Plus Stovall’s Inn, you walk outside, you cross the street, and boom: You’re on Disney property. You’ll walk up Disneyland Drive, hang a left on Paradise Way, and walk through the entirety of Downtown Disney before arriving at the Disneyland Esplanade. (You cannot cut through Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa. Security will stop you.) It’s a hike. However, a longer, more pleasant walk surrounded by Disney landscaping might sound better to you than a shorter, hectic one without any frills.

Beyond its location, rooms at Best Western Plus Stovall’s Inn (accessed via motel-like exterior corridors of a three-story building) start at around $190 per night and include free breakfast. Its amenities feature two outdoor pools, a hot tub, a kiddie pool, and a fitness room. It holds a Google rating of 4.3 out of 5.