Howard Johnson Anaheim Hotel and Water Playground

Round two at Howard Johnson Anaheim Hotel. We had such a great experience at our last stay that we decided to circle back to the hotel during our Disney Trip. Ariel (Front Desk Manager) was very sweet, attentive and friendly. She made the check in process super smooth! The hotel we got this time around had a bunk bed for our littles and they LOVED IT. The water attraction was fun as usual as it was the highlight of the kids stay at the hotel. It's heated during colder weather. Both adult pool and kiddie pool. Life guards are so friendly and all the employees seem to really enjoy what they do!


Our hotel room itself was squeaky clean and so pretty!

I stayed here in June 2014 and was excited to see this property on the stay to play list for a cheer competition we attended in Anaheim.

The front desk people are really friendly and the property is well kept. There was an Easter egg hunt for a prize. The rooms are clean but be aware housekeeping doesn't come every day. We actually had a view of the fireworks from the 6th floor which was nice. And the pools are maintained with ACTUAL LIFEGUARDS!!!!!!

There is no food served in the premises either but McDonald's and IHOP are both about a block away. I hate that you have to pay for parking but that seems to be everywhere in Cali.

Let me start off by saying that the Ho-Jo made our Disneyland experience the BEST that it could be!! They definitely deserve the 5 stars that i'm giving them. The whole experience was amazing. Ever since we first checked in, the woman who was helping us, Anna i believe her name was, she was such a great host and knew all her stuff on what the hotel has to offer. She hooked us up with an early check in, gave us a map to the whole hotel and water playground, even gave us coupons to nearby restaurants! There was even a gift shop downstairs that had snacks and drinks, adult drinks, even Disney merch that you could rock to the park, which was only a 8 minute walk for us. Anna upgraded us to the top floor with an amazing balcony! I really liked how the door to the balcony was hidden inside the closet. The room was nice enough, nothing special but the mickey art was super cool & they even had a cool mirror to check yourself out. Now let's get started on the water playground! We went on a colder day so we couldn't enjoy it as much as we had hoped, but the water park is super cool!! Water slides, water shooters, hot tub, even a little wading pool to relax in. They also have a bigger adult 5 foot pool on the other side of the hotel which is awesome. Best part, they have lifeguards all around to make sure that we are as safe as possible. They even have life jackets of many sizes for all the kids that come to the pool if they need! Such an amazing experience. I am so glad that we stayed here at the Howard Johnson. We only went to one park, Disneyland, but next time we come back to Southern California we are hitting up California Adventure and are thinking about staying here again!

My husband and I went on a mini honeymoon to Anaheim. We stayed at The Howard Johnson's by Disneyland.
The hotel is amazing with a helpful and friendly staff, quick check in, efficient service, reasonable prices and wonderful accommodations.
They have a gift shop across and outside from the check in. It was fun to check out. The room was spacious, clean and comfortable. The air conditioning worked really good and kept us cool. The sliding glass small patio afforded us a pool view. Our bathroom was large and nice with perfect lighting. We enjoyed our stay over Labor Day weekend.
The cleaning ladies were friendly and helpful. It was so nice and enjoyable. We will definitely stay there again. I recommend this hotel to everyone looking for a nice place to stay.

Recommend: Mike, nighttime front desk supervisor
Do not recommend: Rick, daytime front desk supervisor

I booked via a corporate code from an influencer. This was the first time I stayed here. Upon booking, I received a confirmation email that via the official Howard Johnson website with the confirmation code, cancellation policy listed, etc. Our stay was pleasant, it was pricey but not too much so for the area. It's around a 8 minute walk to the gates and around 15 minutes to get to Downtown Disney. We opted for the remodeled room (buildings 1 and 2) and it was decent. The non-remodeled rooms look very old and rundown, so I'm glad I opted for the remodeled one. The toilet is also very tiny and kind of dinky- a weird issue but it's an issue, nonetheless. Other than that, it's a standard room with Mickey touches on the wall, which is cute. There is also a fridge that you can use, and a microwave, Keurig, etc.

Parking is around $30 ish a night, you're guaranteed 1 parking spot. We had no issues finding a spot, albeit a bit far at times.

Now the issues:

After our stay, I noticed an extra charge on my credit card. Turns out, I was charged 1 night plus tax charge as a cancellation fee, but good thing I checked my credit card because I did not receive an email or anything that I was charged this.

I had cancelled a reservation the day of because I realized I double booked it, but the cancellation policy on my email stated "Cancel before 4PM day of arrival to avoid a 1 night plus tax charge." which is what I did. I called the front desk to inquire about them wrongfully charging me, and I got Rick. Rick came off as very condescending and annoyed that I did not cancel within 72 hours, but he would refund me as a "gesture of good will". I did not argue with him because I just wanted my refund, even though I shouldn't have been charged in the first place. He said it would take a few days to reflect back on my credit card. I asked for a confirmation email of this refund but he said he could not provide me that, I would just have to wait. This was Thursday.

Sunday night, I decided to call again to check on the status of my refund, hoping I wouldn't get Rick again. This time, I got Mike, who was very courteous - a welcome change. Mike explained to me that after my situation, they fixed the cancellation policy since the corporate code is through a third party and hence the cancellation policy I received was not correct, unbeknownst to me. Mike apologized profusely and was actually able to send me a confirmation email stating my refund. I also received the refund today.

Overall, the whole situation was disappointing, but I'm glad Mike was able to be polite about it. Definitely do not talk to Rick if you have an issue because he will be condescending about it.

TL;DR: double triple check the hotel policies listed on their website, and ask their supervisor if you're unsure. Talk to Mike, not Rick. Double check your charges after your stay. Always ask for a receipt. Book the remodeled rooms only. I'm not sure if I would come stay here again, especially with the abundance of options nearby.

The best thing about this hotel was the close walking distance to the park. We didn't stay long enough to enjoy the waterpark.

If you have a baby or toddler be warned since weren't. They have these massive windows at the top that doesn't have any block out shades to block out light so the room lights up during fireworks and from the street lights and super early in the morning.

They didn't give us a shower curtain so the first night our bathroom floor was soaked. There was no soap in the containers and we had to resort to using our babies soap.

We needed a comforter change as water was spilt on it. They just gave us a brand new comforter without a duvet cover or sheets to go above/below it which is unhygienic

All in all we won't be staying here next time we're in the area

Excellent and affordable hotel option. We booked one night here simply so the kids could enjoy the waterpark. We only live 35 minutes away and go to Disneyland every month so we were one of the few people that were staying at the hotel and not going to Disneyland. However, this is a great place if you are going to the theme park because it is literally only a couple of minutes walking distance.

Anyway, check-in was very easy and staff are friendly. The hotel grounds and hotel room are spotless, the waterpark and the waterpark bathrooms are spotless. I really appreciated that. The hotel room itself is dated, but it is clean and spacious and served its purpose.

There isn't a restaurant on the property, but there is a mini mart with lots of snack options including alcohol. We Postmated a couple of meals to the restaurant and it was super easy as I would just meet the Postmates driver in the lobby to collect my order.

My kids had a fantastic time using the waterpark. I have a 1 1/2 year-old, four year old, and six year old. It was perfect because the waterpark has a lot for them to do, but it's also not so large that I can't see them and so I wasn't having to run around in different directions for them. I appreciated the amount of staff and lifeguards on duty as well. Overall, it was a great experience, definitely recommend.

Excellent excellent customer service! We were helped by very friendly staff during out entire stay, however Arielle really stood out for her customer service. She remembered us throughout our short stay, and checked in to make sure our needs were met. I have never felt so welcomed or looked after at a hotel. When we checked in, my son was handed a balloon sword, to match the water park theme. They also had free pirate cardboard hats for the children to wear. The hotel really leaned into the retro vibe, which was a fun twist.

The water park was a big selling point for having an alternate activity. Unfortunately the September day we were at the pool, the weather was very overcast and the water was very cold. We had some fun, but it was hard to stay in the water too long because the water that was shooting at the pirate ship was chilly, and the baby pool was not much warmer. The temperature would probably seem more refreshing on a hot day. I appreciate that there were lifeguards on site watching everyone. Note, there was a 10 minute break at the top of each hour for a lifeguard break, however it also gave the children a chance to use the facilities without being upset about missing out.

Great gift shop on site with light snacks and Disney decor. The Howard Johnson, which I learned is called "The HJ" also had some cute HJ shirts. The shirts had a retro vibe, matching the feel of the HJ sign in the lobby. There was also cute and unique apparel for the yearly Anaheim Autumn festival.

The hotel has been partially renovated, some of the suites are updated with the new Mickey decor in the room and upgraded bathrooms. If you are able to, I recommend reserving a newer rooms for a better sleeping experience. The older rooms are fine, however if you have light sensitivity when sleeping, the second floor of the older buildings have two large crescent windows, one on each side of the room without windows shades, and the light streaming in from the street lights affected my sleep because I love it pitch black. Also, if you have are a light sleeper, there is some freeway noise if you are in a room facing the freeway.

Breakfast was not included, however Mimi's cafe, Panera Bread, and McDonalds are withing walking distance. Something to note, the wifi signal in the rooms was very weak. Parking is not included, so we decided to book transportation from the airport instead of renting a car.

Overall a great stay. Walking distance from the park, and I felt very safe staying here as a woman traveling alone with my toddler son. There are many hotels to choose from across the street from Disneyland, and I felt that this hotel hit all the marks, and they were definitely trying to keep guests happy. I will definitely be back.

MICE IN ROOM - Feb 2024!

Let me start with the good before I get to the bad; everyone was SO nice! When we checked in the kids got balloon swords and paper pirate hats. The water park and pool were both fun and included tentative lifeguards. It was a short 10 minute walk to Disneyland as promised.

Now for the bad; we had MICE in our room!!! Well, we didn't see the actual mice but we heard their scampering and they left their droppings everywhere! We had to throw away tons of stuff that was no longer safe/sanitary. The staff all apologized but it was GROSS! They did comp our parking but didn't offer to comp any of our stay. I was a little disappointed that I to PUSH to get a 25% refund and they weren't rushing to make it right on their end. I just hope they didn't let anyone else sleep in that room until the problem was totally eradicated.

Stayed here last week as we went to Disneyland for my son's birthday. Was able to check in early which was great. Really convenient location literally a 10 minute walk. Clean room and quiet. The staff was really nice. They even have a little shop that has snacks and Disney souvenirs. The only issue was that I had was with the key cards. They would always go red and not work. Staff said they really sensitive, but it was happening to everybody as well. I will totally come back and recommend this hotel to others especially those visiting Disney!