[Travel] [Itinerary] [Disneyland] Where to Stay

I've been to Disneyland in Anaheim, California probably a dozen times in my life, but this most recent trip marked the first time I've ever stayed in a hotel nearby.  As a child, we'd stay with friends of the family who lived in or around LA, then drive to the parks for the day and leave after the Main Street Electrical Parade.

The first thing you'll need to decide is whether you'd like to stay in one of the three Disney-owned hotels.  There are benefits to staying at a Disneyland Resort, of course—the most notable of which is the Extra Magic Hour, which gains you an hour's early admission to Disneyland Park or Disney California Adventure Park, depending on the day.  Here is the schedule: 

• Disneyland Park: Tuesdays, Thursday, and Saturdays
• Disney California Adventure Park (including access to Cars Land): Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays

Other perks include being able to use your room key to charge certain expenses in the park and having them deliver your purchases straight to your hotel.

There are three Disneyland properties in Anaheim.

Photo Credit: Disneyland website

The Disneyland Grand Californian Hotel and Spa is the most expensive, with rooms starting from $380-$420 a night.  It is also, however, the closest of the Disneyland hotels to the parks themselves, situated near Downtown Disney and with its own private entrance to Disney California Adventure Park.  There's plenty to do at the resort itself, including relaxing by a pool complete with a waterslide curving around the stump of a giant redwood tree, booking an appointment at Namara Spa, or learning how to draw Mickey Mouse.  The big restaurant located on site is Napa Rose, which is a little on the pricey side but is meant to be a serious restaurant for serious foodies and features—as could be surmised from its name—vino.

Photo Credit: Disneyland website

The Disneyland Hotel is the middle option as among the three Disneyland properties, with rooms starting from $330-$360 a night.  This is the oldest of the Disneyland hotels and has themed towers (Adventure, Fantasty, or Frontier), as well as (for a pretty penny) "Signature Suites" with the following themes: Adventureland, Ambassador, Big Thunder, Fairytale, Mickey Mouse Penthouse, and Pirates of the Caribbean.  It is located across the street from Downtown Disney, so while it's close to Disney, it will take you at least ten minutes to get to the park gates.  There are a couple of different pools and waterslides located at this resort, and there are even poolside movie nights (specific movie information and times available during check-in).  There are a few restaurants located here, but I'll put in a plug for Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar (review to come).

Photo Credit: Disneyland website

The cheapest official Disneyland option is Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel, with rooms starting from $259-$275 a night.  Although this hotel overlooks Paradise Pier at Disney California Adventure Park, it's actually the farthest of the three hotels from the park gates.  You'll need to walk at least 15 minutes or take the monorail (which is still a short walk away and isn't always operational).  The dining "highlight" here is a character breakfast available daily at Disney's PCH Grill.  (Note that there are character breakfasts available at the other two Disneyland properties as well: the Chip 'n' Dale Critter Breakfast at Storytellers Cafe at the Grand Californian and Goofy's Kitchen at Disneyland Hotel.)

Here's the thing.  While I would advocate staying at a Disneyland property while visiting Disneyworld in Orlando, I'm not sure it's particularly worth it to do so in Anaheim.  With only two parks a hop away from each other, the extra hour in the park isn't as crucial.  Plus, unlike in Orlando, there are actually a ton of non-Disneyland properties that are very close to the parks—in fact, they are often closer than the Disneyland properties themselves.  Disney also offers a slightly discounted package on their Park Hopper tickets if you stay at any of these Good Neighbor hotels.

I perused several travel blogs (the standout was Disney Tourist Blog's comprehensive hotel review round-up, which you should definitely check out if you want to read more in-depth pros and cons of all the hotels near Disneyland) and review websites such as Yelp and TripAdvisor before settling on the Park Vue Inn ($140-199 a night, with discounted rates to $100 at times), which is located almost directly across the street from the parks and comes with free wi-fi (though so do the Disneyland properties), free parking, and free hot (and cold) breakfast daily.  There's also a heated pool if you need a break from the park and want to relax with a soak or a swim.

We stayed in a double queen room.  The beds, pillows, and linens were all clean and comfortable, and there was plenty of room for the both of us, with a large desk and a flat-panel HDTV as well as an in-room refrigerator and microwave.

The toilet and shower/tub combination are separated by a door from the sink, which is convenient for getting ready in the morning or at night.

They have plenty of other room options, including suites with a sleeper sofa and kitchenette, and even a deluxe king room featuring a giant in-room jacuzzi, which I imagine is perfect for decompressing and soothing sore, tired muscles at the end of a long day at the parks.

I'm skeptical that the Park Vue Inn can be beaten for value, given its proximity to the parks and convenience.  We definitely snuck back to the room for a pick-me-up our second afternoon.  And the complimentary hotel breakfast is a huge time and costsaver in the area, although there are plenty of other options nearby, like the 24-hour iHop, Denny's, or McDonald's, all on the same street.  And, of course, the Disney character breakfasts at any of the Disneyland properties.

Other Disney and Universal Studios Posts: 
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What should you pack?  For Disney

[Travel] [Itinerary] [SE Asia] Chiang Mai, Thailand - Where to Stay

As winter gears up on the East Coast, many of us start dreaming of escaping to warmer and greener pastures.  If Southeast Asia is not on your radar yet, you should really reconsider—while airfare to this part of the world (namely, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, etc.) can seem expensive, here are two things to consider: 

(1) If you're willing to fly economy, round-trip tickets from New York can range from $650–$1000 (note that this figure won't include any flights you want to take within Southeast Asia); and 
(2) Hotel, tour, and food expenses are all what we would consider very affordable in Southeast Asia.  I know some travel bloggers receive sponsored stays at the best and fanciest hotels, even in Southeast Asia (I'll point you to a few of those, too, even if I haven't stayed at them), and other travel bloggers are really into backpacking and hostels, but you can think of me as Goldilocks with dark black hair and a floppy sunhat—I'm not particularly interested in roughing it but also don't want to blow my entire budget on a hotel—although I may reconsider if I'm at a resort, especially if all-inclusive or if you're paying for other amenities or a lovely private beach.

Winter in Thailand lasts from November to February—but don't worry, winter in Thailand is relatively comfortable—temperatures range from 30–35°C, or 86–95°F, and humidity drops as well.  While we were there, it was definitely still humid, so I can only imagine what it's like during summer.  Winter is also just after the rainy season, which typically lasts from July to October.  We were in Thailand for about 6 days the second week of November and had just one burst of rain, which lasted about an hour while the sun was still shining and honestly was kind of welcome—it cooled things down.

I would be surprised if there are any direct flights from anywhere in the U.S. to Chiang Mai.  You most likely have to do a layover somewhere else in Asia.  We flew EVA Air (a Taiwanese airline, which I'll review and post a link to in the future) from JFK in New York City to Taipei and then EVA Air again from Taipei to Bangkok.  We spent the night at Amari Don Muang Airport Hotel in Bangkok (review to come), which is conveniently located right across the street (literally, you take a skywalk) from the international airport, before boarding an early-morning flight to Chiang Mai, which is in the north of Thailand.

There are so many hotels in Chiang Mai.  We stayed in two while we were there—one, a very nice but economical (by U.S. standards) hotel and the other, a very nice hotel that nonetheless didn't break the bank.  Stand-alone review posts are in the works, but suffice it to say that we thoroughly enjoyed both and would recommend that you check them out as well.

I like to stay, if possible, in hotels that don't feel sterile and American, and luckily there are a ton of hotels in Chiang Mai that fit this bill.  Below are just a few suggestions; note that booking will vary based on when you book, what kind of room you book, and through which service—I've tried to provide a representative range):

Expensive
137 Pillars House ($750–$900)
Dhara Dhevi Chiang Mai ($500–$850)

We didn't stay at Dhara Dhevi Chiang Mai, but we made the trip out there to explore their hotel grounds and have some afternoon tea: 

These are the main hotel grounds.

Just me in a random doorway on the Dhara Dhevi hotel grounds.

 





Duck salad, spicy Thai sausage croissants, and green tea at the Dhara Dhevi.

 

Mid-range
Ping Nakara Boutique Hotel and Spa ($175–$225)
Siripanna Villa Resort and Spa ($110–$200)
Puripunn Baby Grand Boutique Hotel ($140–$220)

We stayed at the Puripunn (review to come), which was amazingly lovely, both day and night.

Puripunn courtyard in the daylight.

 

Puripunn pool in the moonlight.

Budget
Rustic River Boutique Hotel ($35–$45)
Thannatee Boutique Hotel ($40–$60)

We stayed at Thannattee (review to come), which was very good value for the price and had a distinctly Thai (and non-sterile or American) feel about it.

 
I like courtyards.  Can you tell?