We did a family stay here recently, after flying back from Indonesia. Traveling by taxi from LAX, with a mountain of luggage, a big electric wheelchair, and 4 passengers was quite an adventure.




I had amassed a decent pile of points in the last 7 months through various stay promotions. I had almost enough for our 10 night stay. I had to buy 10k more, during a non-promo time. It was one of the least expensive Hilton properties within reasonable walking distance of Disneyland. They also had double queen suites available at base 50k per night. If you have a big family, the max 6 occupancy for this room helps.

Of course the paltry $30 a day for Diamonds for F & B doesn’t go far these days. Their breakfast buffet is $23 plus tax and tip, so $30 covers one person. Or just buy a smaller breakfast plate for $14, or big pancakes for $10. Then you could cover two people. The credit can be used at Biscotti coffee kiosk in the morning until 11am, or the restaurant all day.




The restaurant food was ok, but some of the evening options like spaghetti Bolognese were pretty bland. At least the portion was nice. Staff was helpful. Kids meal were only for 9 and under. Disappointing for my 10 year old.

We split our stay into 2x 5 night stays, in case the property wasn’t up to snuff. After the first 5 nights, they didn’t even credit $30 on two different days. At least they didn’t have a problem fixing it quickly.

I’d guess the hotel is understaffed. Many times, calls to the front desk went unanswered. On the front door there is a big sign saying the property is owned by a new company. Not sure if hotel branding will change. Generally the staff was good, but some things, like a dental flosser was on the floor at the front desk for multiple days.

Getting your room cleaned is an ordeal here. For a normal cleaning, they want a full day’s notice, and then if it’s on the weekend, it’s likely not happening. We had a huge amount of luggage after being in Indonesia for more than a year, so my wife likes to be in the room when it’s being cleaned. They wouldn’t allow this, so we just got fresh linen and changed our own sheets.

It’s a stark reality after coming from a similar length of stay in Indonesia. Food, service and of course, half the price. You’re definitely not in Kansas anymore!


Casa de Mexico, seen in the background, small strip mall next door.

There are decent restaurants nearby, Casa de Mexico has some good Mexican food. Further south on Harbor, Mr. Pho was quite nice for Vietnamese food. We went a few times. The shaken beef with garlic noodles were my favorite at $24. The Pho bowls are huge! I didn’t like the egg rolls much.


Mr Pho

Shaken beef with garlic noodles

Joe’s Italian Ice, just south of Mr Pho’s often had huge lines in the evening. My daughter sported a blue tongue on many days after eating her favorite dessert there.





A big Target is further down south on Harbor. About .9 of a mile, I’d guess. Decent pricing on Disney shirts. Big food section. The hotel had a small fridge and microwave in our room. A safety box was in the bedroom closet.

Overall the property was ok. They did have a pool and jacuzzi, but we were generally too tired to use it. There are two Costco locations within 6 miles. One in Garden Grove is closer. We went to the Fullerton location, as there were restaurants near it we were considering for lunch. Lyft was $11-13 each way.

There is a considerable amount of homeless people at the bus stops up and down Harbor Blvd. No problems really, but for kids I might be concerned. They never bothered me.

Lots of other restaurants nearby. Went to the Morton’s, which I thought was overrated. Ruth’s Chris next to the hotel probably would have been a better choice. If you want some superb Mexican street food, Tacos La Toxica, about 1.2 miles away from the hotel, is in a rundown strip mall, but has superb handmade blue corn tacos. Great ladies running it, and even worth a 2.4 mile round trip in my wheelchair. The beef quesadilla, blue corn tortilla, with everything on it was probably the best single Mexican food I’ve ever had. Inexpensive, too!



Disney is sure fun for kids, but if not using points, I’d probably need a second mortgage to afford it all!





My 10 year old liked California Adventure the most. I think the amount of Disney characters for meet and greets is a lot more than 20-30 years ago, which is great. Reminds me of Tokyo Disneyland 20 years ago.