There are no shortage of places to stay near Disneyland, with roughly 100 hotels within walking distance of the parks, nearly 200 hotels in Anaheim as a whole, and over 1,000 within driving distance in Los Angeles and Orange County, California.
Despite a wide range of options, there’s far less variety around Disneyland than there is Walt Disney World. Anaheim hotels are fairly formulaic: expensive Disney-owned resorts, newer big box family suites, convention center hotels, and old school motels.
Within those categories, there are a range of options at a wide range of price points (even the Disney-owned resorts are widely varying degrees of very expensive), from budget-friendly motels to 5-star luxury accommodations. Prices are all over the place, depending on factors such as distance from Disneyland, room quality, amenities, etc.
This Disneyland area hotel room focuses on an option that is both an Anaheim Convention Center hotel and an old school one. It’s far and away the cheapest ACC option, with prices that are straight out of the 1980s. Unfortunately, so too is the style of the hotel. It’s basically a time capsule, right down to the bar that could host Cheers: Anaheim Edition (coming to Hulu in 2027!).
If you’re looking for a budget hotel option within walking distance of the parks that has older rooms but unique selling points, continue reading. If not, you might want to instead check out our Disneyland Hotels Reviews & Rankings, as there’s sure to be something right for you.
The hotel at the heart of this review is the Clarion Hotel Anaheim.
Let’s cut right to the chase and cover the biggest selling point of the Clarion Hotel Anaheim: cost.
Whenever I’m trying to figure out where to stay, searching for options and sorting by price, the Clarion Hotel Anaheim is almost always the cheapest option within walking distance. I’d say that’s about 90% of the time. The most common exception is when there are large events at the Anaheim Convention Center. Of course, what’s within walking distance is subjective–if you’re willing to walk from Garden Grove, there will be cheaper options.
The Clarion is routinely at or under $150 per night, and there are even times when it’s under $100 per night. Okay, so these aren’t actually 1980s prices (more like 2015), but at a time when hotel prices have exploded and many of my favorites that were $150 not that long ago are now ~$300/night, the Clarion is a welcome reprieve.
While there are other selling points, price is the reason to book the Clarion. If you’re not on a tight budget, I can tell you right now that there are two-dozen other options that are objectively better. The crux of this review is basically whether the compromises of the Clarion (and there are a few!) are worth it for the low room rates.
Before booking the Clarion or any hotel near Disneyland, we recommend pricing out hotel + ticket vacation package via Get Away Today to save money. In addition to the package discount, some hotels have ‘4th night free’ promos. The Clarion is usually one of them!
Right now, you can also take advantage of the ‘Stay & Play’ discount. With this double-deeply-discounted deal, you can take advantage of the 2026 California Resident Ticket Offer for $184 when combined with a 3-night stay at a hotel near Disneyland. With Get Away Today’s package prices, California residents can get a 4-night hotel stay and a 3-Day Disneyland Park Hopper for less than the cost of just a regular 3-day Park Hopper per person.
According to the Clarion Hotel Anaheim, it’s a “10 Time Gold Award winner from Choice Hotels International”, the most prestigious award for excellence in cleanliness and customer service. To their credit, I have always found the Clarion clean and the staff friendly. Two rarities for a hotel or motel in Anaheim at this price point. But I’m skeptical this hotel has won any notable awards within the last two decades.
The Clarion Hotel Anaheim offers 284 spacious guest rooms, free Wi-Fi access throughout, a year round heated outdoor pool, onsite dining, sports bar, gift shop, and 7,000 square feet of meeting space. Here are other amenities:
- Refrigerator in all rooms, suites feature microwaves
- Hairdryers
- In room coffee and tea service
- Expanded channel offerings including Disney Channel and HBO
- Iron/Ironing Boards
- Pet friendly (fees apply)
- 24-Hour cardio fitness center
- Comfortable business center
You know it’s a 1980s style hotel when they’re still advertising having the Disney Channel and HBO!
The Clarion Hotel Anaheim is an approximately 12-15 minute walk to the Disneyland Esplanade, and less than 5 minutes to the Anaheim Convention Center or Anaheim GardenWalk, which is like an off-brand Downtown Disney.
There’s also a range of dining and convenience stores at the corner of Harbor and Katella that are literally right outside the hotel. These options are worthwhile, and include a CVS and Walgreens as well as a few newer restaurants. The only downside is the Disney-adjacent pricing premium, meaning Blaze Pizza is like twenty bucks per person.
The Clarion Hotel Anaheim is located just past Katella on Harbor Boulevard. Its location makes it an ideal candidate for those splitting time between a convention and the parks. The Clarion is a fantastic option for the D23 Expo; it might cost you less than half of the other hotels that are in the ACC cluster.
While Clarion Hotel Anaheim has a good location, it doesn’t have a great one. Ideally, I strongly prefer not having to cross the Katella/Harbor intersection. Not only is it a busy intersection and long light, but it’s unpleasant.
There are often religious fanatics with megaphones here (it happens enough that it merits mentioning), activists, etc. that can make it uncomfortable. I’d recommend staying on the other side of Katella if you’re from a smaller town or are unaccustomed to California cities. It can be a bit of culture shock.
The upside is that the Clarion is right across from Toy Story Parking Lot, which offers a free shuttle to the parks. You do have to cross Harbor Boulevard, so this isn’t as attractive as the Hotel Lulu or Homewood Suites; still, it’s an easy 5-minute walk and you’re at the shuttle. (I prefer just walking, but the Katella intersection doesn’t bother me.)
If you favor simplicity and don’t mind paying, the Anaheim Resort Transit (ART) system is even easier. But if you’re staying at the Clarion, you’re doing so for a reason, so take the free bus at the Toy Story Lot. Those are constant and might end up being faster, even with the walk over there.
Another selling point of Clarion Hotel Anaheim is that it has interior hallways. This might seem inconsequential, and sure, it’s common with the newer luxury resorts, convention center hotels, and big box family suites.
However, it is very uncommon of the old school motels, almost all of which have exterior hallways, exposed stairs, etc–hence them being old school motels. The Clarion isn’t just the cheapest walking distance accommodations option near Disneyland, it’s the cheapest hotel.
Whether this is important to you is your call. We would’ve given this zero thought in the past when it was just the two of us. As parents to a toddler, this stands out as a selling point. Especially as contrasted with the other options at this price point, all of which are either motels or farther away or (usually) both.
In this regard, Clarion hits the sweet spot for families concerned about comfort and safety, but are also on a tight budget and cannot afford something on the “right” side of Katella.
As noted above, the Clarion has a pool. The highlight here is that it’s on an elevated deck and feels a bit secluded as a result. It’s small and nothing special, but at least it’s not between parking spots, which is very common among Anaheim old school hotel/motels.
The Clarion also has an on-site sports bar and casual cafe. I get the impression that breakfast used to be included, but now is available for a separate charge. Paid breakfast–especially at a hotel like this–is a complete nonstarter for me, so I didn’t even give it a try. You’re near plenty of real world restaurants and convenience stores; grab food at one of those.
Then there’s the meeting space. This probably doesn’t bear mentioning in a hotel review like this; you aren’t booking a stay here for its 7,000 square feet of events space. It nevertheless stands out to me because it underscores the old school nature of the Clarion.
Most of the modern hotels being built today don’t have the Clarion’s slate of amenities and features, unless they’re high end luxury hotels. And most of the older hotels that are stuck in the past are, as noted, motels. They are simple and basic–even the ones that have been updated.
When it first opened in 1972, I’d hazard a guess that the Clarion was something special. Probably ahead of its time, and definitely one of (if not the) first Anaheim Convention Center hotels. At least a couple others right around here opened for the 1982 Los Angeles Olympics, so the Clarion beat them by about a decade. Not that any of this is germane to a hotel review; I just find it interesting.
Here’s a look at the guest rooms at the Clarion Hotel Anaheim (a few different room types since we’ve stayed here several times before finally getting around to publishing this review):
At the risk of stating the obvious, these rooms are dated. Rooms were allegedly redone in 2011, which tracks with my photos from here over the years.
One major selling point of the Clarion is that the rooms are large and spacious. The main room pictured here is the studio suite, so it’s bigger than the standard room, but we’ve had a variety of room types at the Clarion over the years, and all of them have been larger than the Anaheim norm.
From my experience, this is common with older hotels and the ones tucked away back by the Anaheim Convention Center. These rooms don’t necessarily maximize their expanded footprints, but sometimes it’s just nice to have a bit more breathing room, even if the square footage isn’t fully optimized.
Even though they’re clearly showing their age, my impression is largely positive of these rooms. They’re not as nice or modern as many hotels in the area, but they somehow have less wear and tear than rooms that are half as new. Maybe I’ve just been lucky with the Clarion and unlucky elsewhere.
Ultimately, the Clarion Hotel Anaheim is an interesting hotel and one without many comparable counterparts. The bones are there for this to be something really nice, if they just invested a bit of money bringing the guest rooms out of the 1980s.
I’m honestly surprised this hasn’t been bought by one of the big chains, as the nearby Marriott, Sheraton, and Hilton all demonstrate the potential for this style of hotel. (And all of those have had major investments made in them over the last several years.)
The location of the Clarion is pretty good, minus having to cross Katella, the rooms are spacious, and interior hallways is a plus almost none of the older motels in Anaheim that are comparably priced have going for them. Then there’s the price. The Clarion is often at or under $150 per night, which is becoming really rare for hotels within walking distance of Disneyland.
That’s basically the whole ballgame here. A dated hotel straight out of the 1980s (but in a period piece sort of way; one that’s been well-maintained) in exchange for some of the absolute lowest rates of the hotels near Disneyland. The Clarion is pretty far from my favorite hotel in Anaheim, but it’s tough to beat when on a tight budget and doing a cost-benefit analysis.
The room wasn’t that dated, the amenities are better than almost all other motels in the budget tier, and the compromises are worth it for the lower cost and spaciousness. Whether that’s true for you is going to come down to what you prioritize in a hotel near Disneyland and how much you’re willing to spend on accommodations.
If you do any amount of researching hotels, you’ll find mixed reviews for the Clarion. To be perfectly frank, those leaving negative reviews for the Clarion (mostly) have unrealistic expectations. If you’re judging this hotel against the Grand Californian, Westin, or JW Marriott, sure–those all blow the Clarion out of the water.
But how much do those cost per night? Definitely more than $150 per night! Probably a lot more. (As a general matter, we often see the harshest reviews for the most economical options near Disneyland. People booking budget motels in Anaheim seem to have an odd mix of the tightest budgets and highest expectations.)
If you want to know how the Clarion Hotel Anaheim compares to the competition in my opinion (which is based on the perspective of someone who has stayed in ~50 different hotels near Disneyland), check our Disneyland Hotels Reviews & Rankings.
Comparable alternatives could include the Anaheim Portofino Inn, Cambria, SunCoast, or Homewood Suites. All of those are likely to be more expensive than the Clarion, but if that’s not true for your dates, definitely book the Cambria, SunCoast, or Homewood Suites over this. I’d pay a slight premium for any of those, but chances are, the premium will not be slight. It’s really difficult to beat the Clarion on cost.
Planning a Southern California vacation? For park admission deals, read Tips for Saving Money on Disneyland Tickets. Learn about on-site and off-site hotels in our Anaheim Hotel Reviews & Rankings. For where to eat, check out our Disneyland Restaurant Reviews. For unique ideas of things that’ll improve your trip, check out What to Pack for Disney. For comprehensive advice, consult our Disneyland Vacation Planning Guide. Finally, for guides beyond Disney, check out our Southern California Itineraries for day trips to Los Angeles, Laguna Beach, and tons of other places!
Your Thoughts
Have you stayed at the Clarion Hotel Anaheim? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Thoughts on the rooms or amenities? Any questions? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
