Best Western Stovall's Inn

[LovelyLocks]

We are strongly considering staying here when we go to Disneyland soon.
Problem is, I just cant seem to go for it over BW Anaheim Inn even though it's significantly cheaper.

So has anyone stayed here and can offer me some nice reviews? :]
I also wanted to know about the walk to the park.
As for Stovall's I've heard both that it was bad and good.

[1FoolishMortal]

I stayed there a few times and never had any complaints. It isn't a 5-star experience, but it's certainly not a dump. If you're looking for a nice place to stay that isn't too far form the parks, then it's probably a good choice. The walk is a bit farther than other closer hotels, but it isn't horribly inconvenient. It really isn't that much farther than the Paradise Pier Hotel.

Sorry I can't be more in-depth as the last time I stayed there was over a year ago, but hopefully that little bit helps.

[tamasurvivor]

I always stay at Stovalls whenever I go because I love the location on the backside better and over the last few years we stay at Stovalls they have been making renovations on their rooms so while the exterior looks similar to how it always is the room I was in on my last trip in January was really nice and above par from what a standard hotel room is... Not to mention Best Western as a whole does have a higher priority on hotel standards [I work for BW Corporate and take hotel complaints everyday so I am a bit biased on that opinion but I have stayed at Stovalls plenty of times and have encountered great stays each time not to mention its our hotel when we go for Disney and will probably be staying there for our Haunt trip this october]

I remember on my first time staying there 2 years ago they had wallpaper in the bathrooms, bedspreads, and the standard look of a hotel room but they redid those and now have tile which looks nice when the bathroom light is on... The room we were in had a microwave and refrigerator and the beds were pillowtop mattresses with really nice furnishings and they no longer have bed spreads they use comforters and accent blankets along with accent pillows on the beds... The furnishings were updated too to match the walls and compliment the color of the walls which had standard paintings.

The room I was in though was just a basic hotel room so picture the same things a basic hotel room has and the look of a standard hotel room dress it up to make everything look more professional and prettier and you have an idea of what the inside of their renovated rooms are like... not to mention the last trip I had in January had comfortable bedding... so comfortable that it was just noticed on my last stay. So as far as accommodations I think they do really well.

Now heres the good thing to help you choose BW Stovalls over BW Anaheim Inn [they are owned by the same owner so I can make a preference of the two as I have also stayed at both]... I prefer Stovalls over the convenience and ease of less traffic. With Stovalls being on a corner of Katella and Disneyland Dr. you have more flexibility if you were to use your car in getting around to other attractions and you dont have to fight for getting out of the property on busy Harbor Blvd. Also Parking is a hot commodity at BW Anaheim Inn and I honestly like this hotel if you are going to park and just never move your car for anything but because the city of Anaheim has some wall set up in the back of the property the parking lot dead ends which is something I encountered a few times the hard way and an 8 point turn later [and thats nothing the hotel can control] Now for Convenience in walking to Disneyland Harbor Blvd is there and BW Anaheim Inn serves that purpose really nicely and the BW Park Place also is nice too for that same reason but honestly I enjoy the walk from Stovalls better because you walk down Disneyland Drive to where Paradise pier hotel is and just cross the street into the Grand Californian Hotel lobby and into the area of Downtown Disney by the Tram Station and half of the fun is the walk itself in the nice morning breeze and the evening hours when the sun has set and you get to reflect with an image of the ferris wheel and Maliboomer lights giving you that last reflection of your day... and the staff at the Stovalls was always very helpful in directing me to the shortcut with a little map of the Disneyland Resort and walking directions from their hotel. My sister and I just enjoy the walk in the early morning anyways as it gets us energized for a day at the parks. And walking back isnt too bad because by the time we get back to the hotel room we crash out and fall asleep for the next day of Disney fun. And as I mentioned the parking blunder at the Harbor properties, the BW Stovalls has some good convenient and easy parking to park your car not to mention a lot more parking. My sister and I came back from Haunt and even at 2:30am were still able to find parking which would have been near impossible at a Harbor Blvd property.

And the continental breakfast is a deluxe but its still a continental so there are no hot items but there is fruit, pastries, cereal, toast, hard boiled eggs, and muffins, juice, and a good assortment to choose from but I think it serves its purpose perfectly as its quick and nice to get a little bit to eat before trekking the parks where the Disney food and dining experiences are. I usually fill up on some pastries and hard boiled eggs and then get some coffee to energize and then take the walk to the parks. Not to mention Stovalls continental is included in the rate and on my stay at BW Anaheim because they have the Dennys within 500 feet of the hotel they gave vouchers for an Internet Cafe in another place on harbor for free pastries or something but I dont recall a breakfast being offered. Also Stovalls has CoCo's right on the corner which is so much better than Dennys IMO! And the best thing is if you are at the parks and on your way back earlier than expected then CoCo's is really nice to have on the way back to your hotel room.

Now as a disclaimer I dont know if its the whole hotel that had these renovations on the room interiors because they do have lots of rooms there [over 100] and my most recent stay with them was in January of this year and whenever they do renovations they do them in phases but I know they had one phase working and were doing it in sections but when in doubt call the hotel directly which is my best advice for any questions you may have before choosing the hotel.

My sister and I love BW Stovalls and its really our hotel of choice when going to Disney for the convenience if we wanted to go take the car elsewhere to either eat or visit another attraction, the lesser amount of traffic on the backside of Katella, and close proximity to the parks.

Hope any of this info helps you out

[migy21]

Every time we travel we always stay at Best Western and their service is great. Not that too fancy and extravagant but worth every penny.

[basketballmom]

Another question: Do those of you who have stayed there feel the walk to the park is safe? As in late at night, a mom and kids would have nothing to worry about? Thanks!

[tamasurvivor]

The walk to the park and even back to the hotel late at night should be pretty safe as you are pretty much on Disney property 95% of the walk... I know we walk with the children back to the hotel and have not had any problems other than the kids wanting to go sleep in the hotel room and being a little cranky after the parks... Most of the walk back to the hotel is done on Disneyland Resort property minus the crosswalk when you cross Katella Ave and leave the resort area. but after you cross Katella and make it to the CoCo's on the other side of the street you are basically at the hotel. I personally like the location because its less crowded and congested than Harbor Blvd. and makes it easier to get in and out of if we were to take the kids to the beach or other California attractions.

Now if you were staying at Best Western Pavillions which is down further west on Katella from Stovalls thats a totally diffrerent story as you have to walk past a few other hotels on the Katella strip and therefore the walk at night might not be your best bet but Stovalls location is right across from Disney property on the back side so theres pretty much only a street separating you from Disney property.

The main thing to remember is that when walking back from the parks its so easy to walk through Downtown Disney until the point you see the side entrance to the Grand Californian Hotel right by where that new Disney Salon is being built... then you would make your way into the main lobby of the Grand Californian and then exit from the main entrance door of Grand Californian. Theres a nice walkway that leads out to Disneyland Drive and the Paradise Pier hotel [you are more than halfway done getting back at this point]. You would then cross the street as if you were going to paradise pier hotel and just walk down the sidewalk past Paradise Pier hotel until you reach Katella, cross Katella using the corsswalk and you are back at the hotel. Basically after exiting Grand Californian you walk down Disneyland Drive to Katella and Disney keeps the area pretty well lit and most of the walk minus that short strecth between Paradise Pier hotel and the signal at Katella is well populated as I have seen the bell people outside helping with bags at the Paradise pier hotel and a few times when walking back to the hotel there is sometimes an officer with anaheim police also parked near there watching the area. I would honestly say the walk back is safe but everybody has a different opinion on what is considered safe.

Also my disclaimer on the walk to/from the parks in general... not everyone will agree on the length of the walk and what works for my family might not work for everyone... but we generally follow the rule that if you are going to be walking the parks quite a bit throughout the course of the day, then a little bit more of a walk is not going to hurt anymore and we have found the walk to not be too bad.

[basketballmom]

Thank you for the very detailed reply! That is exactly the kind of info I was looking for. We are walkers too. Have stayed at anaheim plaza, hojos and DL hotel. I really like starting and ending the day through DTD.

I need to make a decision soon........

[LovelyLocks]

Whoa!! Thanks for all the advice.
It really helped!

[LovelyLocks]

Originally Posted by basketballmom

Thank you for the very detailed reply! That is exactly the kind of info I was looking for. We are walkers too. Have stayed at anaheim plaza, hojos and DL hotel. I really like starting and ending the day through DTD.

I need to make a decision soon........

DTD is pretty amazing to be in. Especially at night. :]
and I think what won me over for Stovalls is the walk through the GCH. I love love love it there!

And if it helps your decision at all...Stovalls was definitely the cheapest (and one of the nicest) hotels I found so last minute.
I got it really cheap through get away today vacations!
PLUS the walk is pretty. (or so I've heard, hah).

[basketballmom]

Well, I am booked for August!! Thanks everyone! Especially lovelylocks for letting me hijack your thread!!

[Delfino]

I never stayed there but heard a lot about it. So it would not be a problem for you to stay there. You will enjoy staying there