Candy Cane Inn Vs. Carousel Inn

[ld2]

Hello,

We (my wife, 17 yr old, 15 yr old, 12 yr old and mother and father in law) will be visiting Disneyland from December 18-21. I've read TripAdvisor and have narrowed our hotel down to either Candy Cane Inn or Carousel Inn. Any recommendations? Pros/Cons of each? Thanks!

[Darkbeer]

I vote for Carousel.

Closer and slightly larger rooms.

[HeyThere]

Carousel for sure! Its closer, the rooms are nicer and the continental breakfast is good and the staff is friendly.

[Goin2DL]

Sorry, but I vote for the Candy Cane Inn. The free breakfast is far superior tothe Carousel's. The beds are a lot more comfortable as well. It is a little farther but has a great free shuttle to the parks.

[Wanda Woman]

Candy Cane Inn. Get the premium rooms; they come with a microwave (in addition to a fridge), are a little larger, and the staff will deliver your breakfast selections to your room. You also get a popcorn bucket filled with goodies when you check in, turn down service, and robes. The grounds are beautiful and the employees are fantastic. There are also two convenience stores right next to the CCI if you want to stock up on any snacks or drinks.

The CCI shuttle is their own, not the ART bus. It's less than a ten minute walk, but the shuttle is nice after a long day at the parks.

[Malcon10t]

I prefer the Carousel. The View Suite is awesome. Sleeps 7-8 easily. Has 2 rooms that close off for privacy.

[peoplemover]

We just got back from a stay at the Candy Cane and despite a not so happy guy at the front desk, who was unprofessional, our stay was great...we go there just about once a year. Comfy beds, punctual shuttle, mostly friendly staff, and a very nice continental breakfast made for a great visit!

[SCUBAbe]

I've only stayed at the carousel...so based on that I would choose the candy cane.

[whamo]

I'm booked for the Candy Cane Inn Nov. 8th/9th. They have a "manager's special" for $95 for those dates. Based on the favorable reviews, I'm looking forward to it.

[diznimom]

My vote is for the Candy Cane. If you can get the premium rooms. The amenities are worth the extra money. Also the shuttle is great. The drivers are friendly. I stayed at the Candy Cane in September and also last month.

[Barbaraann]

I have never stayed at the Carousel, but my two stays at the Candy Cane Inn were very nice. I had a premium room the first time, and a regular one on my last trip. I loved the fact that they had their own bus. It is comforting to know that the bus will be safely taking you back to your room, if you stay at the park til closing.

[whamo]

Don't know about the other place, but I just got back from 3 days at the Candy Cane Inn. It's clean, convenient, quiet, and inexpensive. The shuttle service went above-and-beyond to pick deliver and pick us up. Ed, the guy who socializes at the free breakfast, wears Tinkerbell pins on his lanyard and talks about the history of the motel. My wife got him a Tinkerbell pin on our last day. I wouldn't stay anywhere else in this price range. By the way, the park was very mellow today with a light crowd, pleasant temperatures, and the pirate musical act in New Orleans Square was a blast. Of course, the Riverboat Jubilee is also a big smash.

[Trader Aaron]

My vote is for Candy Cane. Comfy beds, shuttle/walk/, breakfast, lcd tv's . . .

[GummiBears_Rock]

candy cane! candy cane! candy cane! candy cane! for all those reasons above

[Darkbeer]

My biggest problem with the Candy cane Inn is the size of the rooms (way too small!)

Here is a recent, well written, detailed review over at TripAdvisor that talks about the positives and the negatives....

Staying again - Review of Candy Cane Inn, Anaheim, CA - TripAdvisor

After reading countless positive reviews here on tripadvisor.com about the Candy Cane Inn, we decided to book our stay here. That was a mistake. Here is my honest assessment of the pros and cons of the Candy Cane.

Pros:
-Shuttle service was always on time, and drivers were extremely friendly
-Property has nice landscaping with lots of flowers and cobblestone
-A reasonable distance from Disneyland- took us about 10 minutes to walk at an average pace
-Front desk staff was very friendly, with the exception of one (see Cons).
-Breakfast was free. Not very good, but free.
-Christmas music was playing in the pool area- that was really nice!

Cons:
-THE ROOM. The deluxe room we stayed in was larger than a standard room, but I can't imagine how the room could have been any smaller and still fit the two queen sized beds, armoire, table and chair. This room was very small and cramped. The counter and sink area is right next to the two beds. Of course, this can't be helped, because of:
-THE BATHROOM. It is the size of a small closet. Tiny bathtub, and if you bring your own shampoo, make sure you bring your own shower caddy to put them on, because all that can fit on this tiny tub is the little bottles of hotel shampoo- and that's pushing it. Tiny tub/shower, toilet, and no additional room to speak of. I've never seen a bathroom this small in any hotel/motel. Ever.
-THE BEDS. In some of the reviews I read before our stay, people said that the beds were comfortable. I have to disagree with them. The beds are the soft, squishy kind, where you feel like you will roll right off if you lay near the edge.
-LACK OF NATURAL LIGHT AND/OR PRIVACY. There is no sliding glass door or window in the back of the room. The only natural light comes from the window in the front of the room, which looks out on the public walkway. So, if you want to open the shutters all the way to get natural light in the room, you no longer have privacy- everyone walking by can see right into your room.
-LACK OF DRAWER SPACE: Definitely not enough room to unpack for our family of 5. 5 tiny drawers in the armoire, three smallish drawers in the nightstand. We bought additional hangers at the nearby Target and hung up as much as we could.
-SOMETHING THAT MADE US ALL ITCH! We all experienced a strange burning sensation on our arms and legs after the first night there that continued throughout our stay. I have no idea why. We speculated that it was chemicals on the sheets or in the pool. An earlier reviewer said something about bed bugs- how I pray that wasn't the cause.
-A/C- HEATING UNIT: It is located right next to one of the queen beds. When I say right next to, I mean that they are almost touching. Whomever sleeps in that bed has the air blowing directly on them all night long. In their defense, these rooms are so small that they really didn't have any choice but to have them that close.
-UNRELIABLE WIFI SERVICE: Although free WiFi was advertised on the hotel website, don't stay here if you *need* WiFi service at a given time. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. When it did, it was off and on, with several reconnections required.

There is much more of the review, but that brings out the main points...

So for MY priorities, CCI fails in the size of the room, that it is a 2 story MOTEL, and that the Wi-Fi service is unreliable (and I have read that in many CCI reviews).

I prefer a Hotel setting with hallways and that the cars are not parked right next to the rooms. I prefer larger rooms when I can move, and set up a small office like setting so I could stay online and do some work on occasion, and make sure I can access the Internet. I like rooms that come with Refridgerators and Microwaves and Coffee Makers.

Now to compare it to the Carousel...

At least it is a 5 story building, so you don't have cars in front of your room. But it is an outdoor hallway style. Rooms at the Carousel are also small. Free Breakfast, but an extra fee for parking our car. (But more places are doing it, Fairfield Inn just added a Parking Fee). WiFi is also available, but at an extra fee.

And is why when I want to be near the park, I stay at the Howard Johnson's, they offer a AP discount, an amazing Entertainment Card rate on selected days, and if you don't qualify for either of those, you can get a great MiceChat discount. (HoJo's is a sponsor of MiceChat.)