92802 Travel Guide
Hotel News
Earthquake in Los Angeles Rattles Detective Convention at Anaheim Hotel
July 29, 2008 at 3:30 PM | 0 Comments
Just before noon, a decent-sized quake--5.8 on the Richter--struck the Los Angeles area, sending shocks from Los Angeles to San Diego and as far away as Las Vegas. The epicenter was 29 miles from downtown LA near Chino Hills in San Bernadino County.
No major disasters have been reported yet but a couple thousand donut fans were affected in Anaheim.
About 2,000 detectives were attending a gang conference at the Marriott Hotel in Anaheim when a violent jolt was felt in the main conference room. Mike Willever, who was at the hotel, said, "First we heard the ceiling shaking, then the chandelier started to shake, then there was a sudden movement of the floor."
But what about the donuts? Are they ok? (We kid, we kid.)
Since Anaheim is also home to Disneyland, the park rides have been evacuated and will be inspected for any damage. Fortunately, everything else in SoCal seems ok--a little rattled but ok.
Any Los Angeles hotels affected by the earthquake? Let us know.
Hilton Hotels
Snapshot:: Hilton Anaheim Gets Much-Needed Room Upgrades
November 16, 2007 at 9:30 AM | 0 Comments
For those who frequent Disneyland, the Hilton Anaheim recently got some room renovations. The hotel is located about a mile from the park and judging from some reviews on TripAdvisor, the Hilton was desperately in need of renovations. As one reviewer wrote:
I was shocked by the shabbiness of the room that I was assigned. The prior reviews are valid - this hotel is like something out of the 70's - beige wicker - pale pink florals.
Beige wicker, yikes! We actually got our hands on a pic of a room before renovations. While we didn't spy any pink florals, there was some suspicious beige furniture.
Thankfully, the Hilton will be getting a more modern look. This is a shot of one of the renovated rooms. The hotel has nearly 2,000 rooms (it's also located next to a conference center) and about 240 of the rooms have been renovated. The rest of the rooms will be done floor by floor with all rooms expected to be finished by August 2008.
If you book here and want to stay in a renovated room, call the hotel and ask for one. (We don't trust computers to handle these sort of requests). There will be a $30 premium for a renovated room. But at least you won't have to look at beige wicker.
Celebrity Scoop
Oprah Is a Terrible Hotel Guest
May 18, 2007 at 9:53 AM | 6 Comments
Star magazine is reporting that during Oprah's brief visit to the Grand Californian Hotel in Anaheim she made crazy diva requests and put off hotel staffers, leaving them to call her "spoiled, haughty and a diva."
Oprah rented a $3,000 a night suite during the taping for one of her shows which was being shot at nearby Disneyland. She requested that her room have the following when she arrived:
· Medium Stainless Steel dog bowls
· Refrigerator stocked with 10 Cokes, 10 Diet Cokes, 10 Sprites, 10 Dasanis and 10 Perriers
· Counter stocked with 10-room temperature Dasanis
· Cheese and Crackers from Napa Rose restaurant
· Two bottles of 2004 Stony Hill Chardonnay and two bottles of 2004 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir
· 16 Napa Rose wineglasses
· Tea service for five guests, "please use Napa Rose china, use stainless pot for hot water"
· Welcome fruit pedestal to be placed on dining table.
Whoa, that's a lot of stuff. But apparently Oprah had other rules about hotel employees. They could not enter the room unless one of Oprah's people were there. She also made a fuss over the bottled water which was not at room-temperature. And she made her breakfast order be completed within 10 minutes.
Still despite the demands, Oprah couldn't hang in this touristy joint. She left after one night. So what do we take away from this story? If Oprah doesn't like the $3,000 suite in the hotel which is probably one of their best rooms, then we don't want to stay there either. And dammit, that water better be at room temperature.
Related Stories:
· Grand Floridian reviews [HotelChatter]
Hotel Hell
Marriott Hotel in Anaheim Has Its Own 'Water Park'
January 8, 2007 at 4:39 PM | 0 Comments
Water falls from a light fixture in a guest bathroom at the Marriott Hotel in Anaheim, thanks to another guest on the floor above. Not quite the water park these guys were probably looking for.
Related Stories:
· Water in the Marriott Hotel Bathroom [YouTube]
Bed Bugs
Fairfield Inn Disneyland Might Be the Ichiest Place on Earth
October 13, 2006 at 9:20 AM | 0 Comments
A tourist from Mexico visiting Anaheim (land of Disneyland) is suing the Fairfield Inn there claiming that she received 650 bed bug bites during her stay last August.
Eunice Juarez has traveled extensively throughout the United States and overseas, and said she saved for nine months for the August vacation, according to a televised news report.
She said she suffered the bedbug bites on Aug. 8, on the fourth night of the family's stay at the hotel....
Juarez also claimed her sons had about 500 bites between the two of them and that the bites were so severe they had to "seek medical attention at a clinic in Mexico." Er...Mexico? Not exactly our first choice for medical help. She shoulda stayed in the US to take care of those bites.
However this marks a first time that we've heard of where a hotel is trying to deal with the situation honestly. In a statement released by the hotel, they said staffers were on hand at the time to help the woman file a claim and get initial medical help which the hotel paid for.
Related Stories:
· Tourist Sues Anaheim Hotel, Claiming 650 Bedbug Bites [NBC4.TV]
· Fairfield Inn Anaheim reviews [TripAdvisor]
Hotel Hell
Disneyland Hotel's Roach Problem
May 16, 2006 at 11:05 AM | 0 Comments
[Ed. Note: Disneyland may be the original Disney Theme Park but Disney World will always be superior in size, amount of rides and better lodging. A writer for Mickey News recently stayed at the Castle Inn and had the following experience.]
We had the misfortune of staying here late this past January for one, very long, night! [The room]was on the fourth floor of the hotel and they only had 2 elevators that were in constant use by the cleaning staff, guess they like to ride them because they sure don't do a good job of cleaning the rooms!
We didn't have a lot of time in the room as the party was about to start at the park and we wanted to get there so we didn't inspect the room very well. Big mistake! When we returned after the party it was almost 11PM and everyone was tired. We found bug carcasses on the bathroom counter as well as dust all over the room. When pulling down the covers of the bed I happened to launch a roach on one heck of a thrill ride and sudden stop as he hit the wall on the other side of the room.
This little roach must have requested the family suite as well since we found a few members of his family climbing up walls and running around on the floor.
The next day, we spent another 10 minutes waiting for the elevator ride down to the ground level and again, the cleaning staff was having fun riding up and down the elevator.
My overall rating of this hotel would be an F! It was dirty, bug filled and the staff has no idea what customer service is! If this is the only place that has rooms when you are going to Disneyland sleep in your car!
Roaches are bad but at least this place wasn't full of sex offenders like some other Disneyland hotels.
Related Stories:
· Castle Inn reviews [TripAdvisor]
· Happiest Place on Earth for Sex Offenders [HotelChatter]
Hotel Hell
Disneyland: Christmas Tree Catches Fire in Hotel
December 29, 2005 at 9:12 AM | 0 Comments
Christmas trees are dangerous as Mickey and Crew at the Disneyland Grand Californian Hotel in Anaheim discovered early yesterday morning.
A 35-foot FAKE Christmas tree in the hotel's lobby caught fire at 3 a.m., according to local fire officals.
(Yup, Disney knows how to fake Christmas magic alright.)
According to the San Diego Tribune the 745-room hotel "was at full capacity with about 2,300 guests." The guests had to be evacuated to different locations in and around the park but were expected to be back in rooms sometime today.
Nobody was injured and no one knows how the fire started. But one guest told a TV station news report that the top six feet of the tree was on fire and smoke was seen filling up the lobby.
Welcome to the OC.
Related Stories:
· Disneyland Grand Californian Hotel Reviews [TripAdvisor]
· Christmas tree catches fire at Disneyland Hotel [SD Tribune]
Hotels
Disney Hotel Fifty Years Young
November 4, 2005 at 9:21 AM | 0 Comments
Once upon a time, in a land not so far away, there was a magical kingdom. This was no ordinary kingdom, this one used a mouse and a fairy. This month, the The Disneyland Hotel celebrates 50 years of housing sleeping beauties.
Disney fanatics may dispute this celebration, as the park actually opened in `54, at which time the hotel was hardly done (seven rooms were available--one for each dwarf, obviously.) The hotel opened its 103 units on October 5, 1955 (that's seven dwarfs + 101 Dalmatians, minus 5 lost boys--for those who are mathematically challenged).
In those days a standard room cost about $9, and a deluxe was about $22. Today, $9 won't get you a pair of mouse ears.
As for the building, The Bonita Tower was the first hotel building in the US to use solar heating, which would be impressive if the building was anywhere other than SoCal.
Oh, and as for amenities:
When it opened, one of the Guest amenities included a color television in every room. This kind of luxury was unprecedented in a hotel at that time. At one point during the hotel's history, Guests were able to check-in from their cars using a unique drive-in registration desk.
As we all know fairy tales have a formula: 3 wishes, happy endings, and most importantly a moral message. So what is the moral message of this hotel story? Drive-in registration desks never really caught on.
Related Stories:
· The Disneyland Hotel Celebrates 50th [Magical Mountain]
· Disneyland Hotel Reviews [TripAdvisor]
