Desert Palms Hotel and Suites

We had our choices of many hotels around D-isneyland, and this time, the Desert Palms was the choice for us. Part of this was the nice discount offered by Zorbits, but the other part was the amenities for a larger family--not too many hotels offer suites at reasonable pricing this close to Disneyland. First, the room/suite we stayed in was moderate. I don't know the square footage, but there was enough room in the front part for a king bed, two lamp tables and a vanity with big screen LG plasma. The bathroom was normal size with one sink, bathtub and toilet. The suited kids room was small, but the hotel puts a bunk bed and sofa sleeper in there, so it slept 4 kids comfortably. There's also a second LG tv in the suite with a smoked-glass door between the rooms, so you can live in relative peace. Our room came with a mini-fridge, that wasn't cold enough to freeze ice cubes, but was cold enough to freeze guacamole, yogurt and ranch dressing. Odd? Also, it had a microwave and coffee machine. Breakfast was great--although room for eating was hit or miss depending on when we arrived. The dining room is on the 5th floor, and they had hot meals each morning. It was some form of: sausage, eggs, biscuits, oatmeal, waffles, fruit, yogurt, cottage cheese, juices, milk and coffee. Just enough to get you through a morning at D-isney. The location can't really be beat. You're only a 10 minute walk to the main gate, and you never cross any major intersection--your one crossing is at a bus-turn-about next to the D-isney entrance. The hotel also offers a paid shuttle service (per day), but we had great weather, so we didn't need it. The review may sound good so far, but here are some of the cons. The rooms, although nice are well lived-in, and the carpets stink. The walls are paper-thin, so expect to hear your neighbors. We were lucky to come at off-season, so noise was minimal, but we could hear our neighbors across the hall. The wallpaper is marked up, especially behind the bathroom door and closet. Make sure you don't get billed for room charges on this. Also, the light and fan in the bathroom are on the same circuit, so don't expect to keep the light on as a night-light for the kids. There are not a lot of parking spaces--not really sure where you park when the above ground and garage areas are full--we managed to park above ground the whole week, but come Friday when we left, we would've been hurting for parking. Food is also available at the hotel, as well as many take-out options. However, for those of you with allergies, like my kids, you'll find your choices slim to none. We found that Red Robin offers gluten-free about 2 miles south of the hotel, but to get to the closest Chik-Fil-A or Chipotle, it was at least a 15 min drive north. All the other restaurants close are $$$: Bubba-Gump, McCormick&Schmidt, Cali Pizza Kitchen, Ruth's Chris, etc. If that is not a problem for you, then you're probably staying at the wrong resort. Extra Fees: What Zorbits doesn't tell you, and nothing else either until you get there is that there is a non-refundable $1.00/day charge for your safe (regardless if you use it), ANOTHER resort fee not covered in the Zorbits costs at a rate of $9.99/night, and some sort of county fee of $0.22/day. This may not seem like much for a short 1 or 2 day stay, but it ran over $50 for our 4 night stay, making the total cost for this hotel pretty much the same it would have been without the Zorbits discount. Now you know, and this could be a major turn-off! We previously stayed at R,a,m,a,d,a M,a,i,n,g,a,t,e during our last visit. This hotel is definitely an upgrade in all respects (Do not stay at the R,a,m,a,d,a M,a,i,n,g,a,t,e if given the choice). As long as you go without super-high expectations, the Desert Palms is a good hotel to stay at when visiting D-isney. If the price is right, we'd probably stay there again.

The Desert Palms Hotel and Suites has a wonderful and helpful staff. we were able to check in early and got a nice greeting every time we came into the front lobby. also every time we had a question they went above and beyond to help us. also the location to disneyland was so convenient. its is a little nit of a walk however we were able to stop by the 7 11 for midnight snacks and to pick up snacks to bring into disneyland.

The hotel accommodated our family of 5 fine. The staff was very friendly and helpful. The carpet in the rooms were bad but overall the room was clean. However, you can hear others running in the hallway or upstairs very clearly so if you are a light sleeper this may not be good for you. The hotel was in the perfect location for walking to Disneyland, California Adventure, Downtown Disney, theaters, bowling and many restaurants. It is also only a 30-40 min drive into LA to site see and an 1 hr - 1hr 15 min drive to San Diego.

All was good except for the thin walls. I could hear the water pipes every time the water turned on in the next room. Shorter walk from hotel to the park than walking from parking structure to the park.

Friendly, helpful staff- quickly responded to any requests we had. Short 2 block walk to the parks and located in a well-lit, safe area. Hot breakfast was a great start to a long day at the park, great selection of breakfast foods. Other reviews noted that the noise was a little unbearable, and I have to say we didn't notice it. Stayed 3rd floor right above the street & it was just white noise. The only noise we really heard was the fireworks from the park each night. Pool is a little small, but we barely used it- spent all day at the park.

The rooms have very little space around the beds and the breakfast is your typical chain buffet. 15 minutes walking distance to Disneyland. Pool is very small and centered between buildings.

Good value for the proximity to Disneyland. very positive experience. Bunk beds were great!

Easy walking distance to disneyland. Very positive overall.

Our flight out to Anaheim was cancelled and we couldn't get to the hotel on our scheduled arrival date. The hotel refused to be flexible about changing our date of arrival and essentially ruined a long planned family vacation across the country. Staff were also very rude and rooms and common areas quite unclean. Location was good however.

I was looking for the best overall deal, flight and car included...you can't beat the location, an easy walk to and from Disney, their breakfast is more than sufficient to start the day, we didn't use all the amenities but made the most of the ones we did use...would certainly stay again if we are ever back there!