The Anaheim Marriott Hotel is a Disneyland Good Neighbor Hotel located about a mile away from the Disneyland Esplanade and right next to the Anaheim Convention Center. This review will include photos of the hotel along with our thoughts on our stay here.

Disneyland Good Neighbor Hotels are a strange thing to study. Seemingly, the closer you get to the parks the lower the quality of the hotel. That’s not a hard and fast rule but most of the major chains aren’t as close to the Disneyland Esplanade as some of the locally owned hotels. Not all of the hotels across the street are bad but they do have an element of bare bones to them. Guests stay there because it’s close and convenient and there aren’t many other reasons.

Farther down Harbor Blvd. in either direction are some of the bigger chain hotels like Courtyard, Hilton and Marriott, among others. Many of these chains, including the Marriott, sit next to Anaheim Convention Center. If for some reason you came to this review looking for a place to stay while at a convention then this location is great. That extends to those attending D23 Expo in the future.

As for the location relative to Disneyland, the Anaheim Marriott is roughly a 20 minute walk from the gates of DCA and Disneyland. The walk is more or less a straight shot and passes the hallowed grounds of 7-Eleven so it’s not all bad. Of course, there are cheaper hotels that are closer to the gates so if you’re in Anaheim to go to Disneyland from open until close then staying here might not be the best move. There are certainly arguments for the hotel (we’ll get to those) but from a location standpoint, you can do better. Here’s a look at where the hotel resides in comparison to Disneyland via Google Maps.

Anaheim Marriott does sit adjacent to the Toy Story Parking Lot, which has a shuttle to and from Disneyland. If you don’t feel like putting in an extra mile of walking then crossing the street to the Toy Story Lot will save you quite a few steps. I don’t think it saves you much time, unless you’re one of the last people in the parks at night and the bus is sitting there waiting for people. Even without saving much time, it’s a nice little perk when your feet are tired. The bus is free.

Putting aside the location, Anaheim Marriott offers more amenities than the typical Disneyland Good Neighbor Hotels. Let’s take a look at the rooms first. When checking in we were told that we were assigned one of the newer rooms in the building. I had booked using Priceline Express Deals, which is a great resource when looking for a heavy discount. After experiencing the room, I’m left wondering if it was an accessible room.

Positives in the room start with the king bed and the design around it. The mattress was comfortable and I liked the modern headboard and decor around the bed, especially the hanging lamps. After that things go downhill.

For some reason there were no plug-ins or USB outlets around the bed. A recently designed room without that is a strange (bad?) choice. Outside of what you see on this photo, there was nothing on the walls. They were off white and extremely bland. I liked the hard floor pretty well but it also was the most colorful thing in the room.

Here’s the weirdest part of the room and it has haunted my thoughts ever since we stayed here. I generally understand and often like modern design but what is this? A blank off-white wall with an uncomfortable couch and some weird little table next to it? It’s not functional and doesn’t look good. Again, I’m left wondering if the room was an accessible one assigned to us for some reason but I’m not sure why they’d leave one half of the room this bare regardless of if it was accessible or not.

This view is much better and I always appreciate the TV being centered with the bed. We were on the ground floor so our view out the window was the parking lot but being up high would give a nice view of the surrounding area, including Disneyland in the distance.

Here’s the bathroom, which is pretty nice albeit bare. Maybe I have something against white walls? All of the features in here are up to date and had a sleek design. There’s a sliding door on the bathroom and the sink is in with the shower and toilet, which may be a negative if you’re sharing the room with a few people.

Overall, the room is not my taste. Some of the design choices seem absurd and far from practical. It was like they designed the bed and desk area then realized that they still had half of the room to use and no money. Having that all out of the way, the room is modern and clean compared to some closer to Disneyland. The amenities inside the room are nice, despite some of the issues.

One more point of contention with me is that guests have to pay for the internet. Now, you can get it for free if you sign up for the Marriott reward program and had booked directly through Marriott. Of course, I had booked through Priceline so I was out of luck. Spending an extra $10+ a night on the internet is a waste of money and it’s annoying that hotels are still doing this in 2019.

Fortunately, the amenities in the hotel are strong. The lobby is spacious with plenty of comfortable seating. Some of the features are beautifully done and the area was inviting.

The hotel has a restaurant, cafe and bar inside. The cafe serves Starbucks drinks. There’s a breakfast buffet for $25 and a pizzeria inside the hotel, as well. We’ve tried the buffet on a separate trip and enjoyed it although it is not worth the price.

There’s a really nice pool that has both an uncovered and covered area. With plenty of seating and a bar close by this area is really inviting and superior to 90% of the Good Neighbor Hotel pools. The pool area also has a hot tub.

Back inside the hotel, there’s a nice open room with a pool table and shuffleboard. This is a nice place to relax. How much time you’ll have to use the pool and the common areas is a big factor in how much you’ll enjoy the hotel. If you’re planning to spend some time relaxing during your Disneyland trip then this is a big plus in the Marriott’s favor

The Anaheim Marriott’s price per night varies more than any hotel I’ve ever reviewed. We booked our September stay (again, using Priceline Express Deals) for just over $100/night after taxes and fees. Looking at busier times during the year, I’ve seen the hotel over $300/night. For just over $100/night, the Anaheim Marriott is a steal. Despite my qualms with the hotel it is of higher quality than most Disneyland Good Neighbor Hotel.

Once Anaheim Marriott gets over $150/night I’d start looking elsewhere. The location is a big enough negative to offset any improvement in quality. Of course, much of this depends on how much time you’ll actually planning to spend at the hotel. If you’re looking for a fine place to sleep in between long park days then stay somewhere closer to the parks, regardless of price. If you’re planning a pool day during your vacation or being a little more relaxed then the Marriott is worth considering.

Overall, the Anaheim Marriott wasn’t for us. While we enjoyed some of the amenities, especially compared to some other Good Neighbor Hotels, the location is too far from Disneyland and problems with the room design are our main takeaways from the hotel.

Overall Rating – 7/10

Have you stayed at the Anaheim Marriott? Let us know your thoughts, or any questions you might have, in the comments below. Planning a trip to Disneyland Resort? Check out our Disneyland Trip Planning Guide to help you out. If you enjoy what you are reading here on Wandering in Disney please share this post with your friends and like our social media pages. You can also subscribe to the blog via WordPress or email. All of those links are on the right side of this page. Thank you for reading, we really appreciate it!