Howard Johnson Hotel and Water Playground Vacations

I'm surprised to see so many 5-star reviews, our experience was a bit in the middle.

Firstly, the positives -

The service was really good, and the staff were friendly enough. I think they did the best the could. The two pool areas had multiple lifeguards and they were really engaged.

The little store in the hotel was nice, if you needed a beer or a bottle of water it was open until 11pm every night.

The pools were decent - the adults pool was in a nice half-shaded area, and the kids pool was pretty good too. We spent a leisure day by both, and it was good.

The negatives -

We booked through a vacation package on the Disney site and picked the rooms and beds that were right for us. We ended up in a room adjacent to stairs in the "1" building, so the room was substantially smaller than what we paid for, and the beds were doubles (advertised as queens) - the room was tiny. We could barely move in there and there were only 3 of us. We also had cockroaches one night which the staff did a great job with, but it was already done.

The rooms looked nothing like the pictures on the site, they were dated, the bathrooms were old and the shower heads were too low. The fridges in the room were so small we brought back some leftovers and just ended up throwing them out because the standard-sized container was too big to close the door.

Lastly - the TVs were "HD", but that was about it. No Disney+ (or even ability to login to your own account).

The WIFI is TERRIBLE. It's an open network so anyone can access it, it's slow and spotty and randomly disconnects your device, which is really terrible if you're halfway through using the Disneyland planner for your next day.

We paid nearly $300USD a night after fees and taxes - I'd say it was a bit much for what we got.

Summary

This hotel landed middle of the road for us - What was good was great, what was bad, was bad. We likely won't choose HOJO Anaheim again, and if we do, we'll be a little more vocal on getting a room that is right for our family.

An excellent hotel located across the street from the Disneyland resort. One can literally cross the street and be at Downtown Disney in about 5-6 minutes (maybe less)! The room we got was located in front of the pool and was recently updated. The rooms were equipped with a small refrigerator and microwave. The room and bathroom were very clean and we felt very safe and comfortable on the property. The staff were very friendly. This hotel is very kid-friendly. The price of the hotel reservation was very fair given the location and amenities. We enjoyed the hotel so much, we already have another reservation in the next couple of days. Book with confidence!

I really love the size of our room! We had plenty of room for our suitcases on the floor and walking space plus a desk and more counter space in the living area. The fridge was the perfect size. It was nice having a microwave and a Keurig as well. I was crossing my fingers that there would be someplace for me to sit my kids down for breakfast, so I was extremely excited to see a table with two chairs, and then two more stools under another table the chair at the desk! The balcony was a pleasant surprise! The bathroom was fantastic I appreciate the large shampoo, conditioner and body wash containers in the shower, as well as the counters space between the two sinks. When we requested extra towels, I was excited when we got four sets of everything just like at check-in, my last hostel stay we only got half of that amount., I wanted to recognize Arielle the front desk manager, we left a stuffed animal behind, it is my daughters prized possession. She contacted us right away after locating it, took some hilarious wonderful pictures of our stuffy having a great time at the hotel! She included that and a letter about my daughters stuffys extended vacation! The hotel exceeded ALL my expectations!

This hotel is excellent for a family Disney trip! Not quite as fancy as some of the neighboring hotels, but the price is much more reasonable. The facilities are excellent. They even had life guards on duty at the pool who were so kind and helpful. The room was very clean, we had a basic room and it was more than enough space for a family of up to 4. Only a 10 minute walk from Disney, very direct and super easy. Highly recommend.

This was our first time staying at this location, we have stayed in many other hotels close to Disney. We absolutely loved it! Our children loved the pool, they even wanted to come back from Disney to play at the pool. Frank, the lifeguard, went above and beyond to make our girls feel special! The location is perfect walking distance to Disney, the beds are comfortable, the hotel gives discounts to various restaurants nearby, very clean! We definitely recommend!

Terrible.
False advertised waterpark.
They only display the attribute of having a waterpark to lure in more customers.
The waterpark in-person is so conspicuously built for children and frustratingly small.

Even if you think that's not justifiable for 1 star; the entire thing is about $300.

Don't come here.

Across the street from the Disneyland entrance. The water park is great - lots of fun for the kids. Room is good sized and clean and comfortable.

Building 1 was great!!!!

Very nice hotel, located really close to Disneyland parks. They have microwave and fridge in the rooms and the bed is really comfortable. Very fast check in and check out. The water park for kids is a must.

Kelli and Arielle are absolutely amazing! We scheduled a room with our nephew and neice and ran into a bunch of personal issues. Both of them were helpful, friendly and gave outstanding customer service! Thanks too the two of you our entire trip was saved! Thank you Arielle and Kelli!!!!!

This hotel felt and smelled like 1970. It isn’t a cheap place to stay, and for the amount Howard charges he should remodel the entire property.

Highly recommend. Great hotel and service. Very friendly and helpful. Rooms were nice and clean.

Super friendly and helpful staff. Michael especially provided great advice and suggestions.
Awesome location walking distance to the Disney parks.
Great to have the heated pool available, and the kids absolutely loved the water park and hot tub.
Starbucks and bistro available across the road at the Marriot. Panera is a short walk up the road.

Overall en excellent stay! Highly recommend to everyone 🙂

Very clean, spacious, updated rooms. 15 minutes walk from Disneyland with a McDonald's and Panera on the way. Guest laundry is $1.50 per wash/dry (Tip: pack your own detergent). The overall property is super well kept. The pools look very nice but we never used them being too wiped from being at Disney all day.
Front desk was very helpful, including Edwin this time. Our second time staying at this hotel and I would highly recommend it for families.

Great for location and family

Rooms have a outdated feel to them, and the service at the front desk is great. Location is ideal because of the theme parks next door.

I want you to imagine that you went on a vacation. I want you to imagine that you came here to relax and rest. Then I want you to image you are staying in a room that is surrounded on all 4 sides plus the ceiling by never ending constant noise. There is literally no way for this to be fixed. The whole hotel is built this way. I can hear someone blink their eyes in the hallway through my door. The noise never ever stops. I thought things became quiet at midnight only to be awakened by stomping at 5am. You get MAYBE 5 hours of sort of quiet. The rest of the time is constant endless noise. On all sides. Door slamming, talking, stomping, etc. This hotel is actually my worst nightmare. If the walls and ceiling weren't made out of cardboard I would give it 5 stars because everything else is fine. So how am I able to sleep here? Well I stuck my airpods in my ears every night and blasted white noise all night. But due to the stomping you will still wake up because of the vibrations! Never staying here again. Even a deaf person couldn't stay here because you will wake up due to the stomping vibrations. I have stayed in so many hotels, some loud, some quiet, this is the WORST ONE. Try to imagine not one moment of peace.

We were refused check-in after a long travel day because I did not have my ID on me (it was with my husband who'd accidentally kept it in his pocket after airport check-in). We showed up in the lobby at 11:30p clearly exhausted, room already paid for, credit card matching the card on file, and a short man with a very strange demeanor and stare would not let us check in. By "us" I mean myself, a mother with 4 very young children in tow. So I cried for a few minutes and then we proceeded to wait in the lobby of another building until almost 1a when my husband arrived. HERE IS THE KICKER. They proceeded to check my husband in to a room under my name, withOUT the card on file present. Tell me how that makes sense? I hope the small man at the counter - and the entire team - feel good about themselves. They saved the Wyndham that night.

WOW! The HoJo is SO close to Disneyland/DCA a short 8 min walk. Fun views of the monorail and Matterhorn. You can see fireworks on select nights from the grounds or in specific rooms. The waterpark was amazing and really let our kids play off some energy. Staff was super friendly and accommodating. We can’t wait for our next stay!

Horrible experience! They charged my card 250$ on accident for a cancellation fee, even though the managers, the one who canceled my reservation, and also left a note there, saying that the fee was waived! I had to call three days in a row for them to refund my money!