Travel Review: Anaheim Buena Park Days Inn

Stars: 2 out of 5
Pros: Cheap, clean

Cons: Shabby, plumbing problems in one room, few amenities, poor breakfast

The Bottom Line:

Price and cleanliness

Are biggest draws to motel

Okay just to sleep

I Got What I Paid For at the Buena Park Days Inn

I'm a guy on a limited budget, so I consider staying in a hotel an extravagance.  But when I spent Labor Day an hour from my house, I decided to spring for a hotel.  After much bargain hunting on line, I settled on the Days Inn on the border of Buena Park and Anaheim.  I got what I paid for, which wasn't always a good thing.

Location

The hotel is actually located about 10 minutes from the 5 Freeway.  You have to drive past quite a shopping center to get to it, which is nice if you've forgotten something small.  There are also some restaurants near by.

The biggest attraction right there is Knott's Berry Farm.  I didn't go exploring in that direction, but I think if I had the inclination, I could have walked from my room to the amusement park.  I could definitely see the bigger rides from the driveway, but I could never hear any noise coming from that direction.

Layout

When you turn into the hotel complex, you turn into the parking area.  The hotel is on your left, and a fence that separates you from the apartments next door is on your right.  It's a very small hotel, and a small parking lot, but I never saw it completely full while I was there.

The office is very small, but it was big enough since I never saw I huge crowd in there, even during the free breakfast times.  Since I had already paid for my room on-line, registration was easy.  In fact, I got upgraded for free from a single to a double room since they were out of singles.  (Do they even have those in hotels any more?)  There was a big sign on the front of the hotel advertising rooms starting at $44.99, which is what I paid.  I didn't check out their other rates.

The hotel has mostly non-smoking rooms on two levels.  While there are several sets of stairs, there is no elevator to get you to the upper level.  Rooms either face the parking lot or a wall off the back of the hotel.  Frankly, neither offers great views.

Rooms

I stayed in two rooms over the course of three nights.  Both rooms were pretty much identical.  They offered two double beds, a table and two chairs, dresser, TV, small refrigerator, microwave, and nightstand.  By the time you get all that in there, it is pretty small for more than about two people, but you could do it if you wanted to.  The bathroom sink was separate from the toilet and shower.

Frankly, both rooms looked like they could use a little care.  Don't get me wrong, they were clean.  But they also were old.  The carpet looked a little shabby.  A baseboard was missing in the bathroom.  Little things like that.

While the room had a TV and cable, I don't know what channels they got.  There was no listing of the line up anywhere, and believe me, I looked.  Frankly, that was frustrating, especially when I was trying to find a weather forecast.

As I mentioned, I did stay in two rooms.  I discovered early in my first morning that my shower only had hot water.  Now, I like my showers hot first thing in the morning, but this never got cooler than scald you hot.  Fortunately, they were able to switch me to a room where the cold water actually worked, and they did it at 5:30 AM with no question or complaint.

Amenities

To be honest, I was hardly in my hotel room or in the neighborhood period.  And I think if I had been planning to spend time relaxing at my hotel, I would have been disappointed with the lack of amenities.

The hotel does have a small pool in the back of the complex.  I don't think I'd want more than about a dozen people in it at a time.  But the water felt warm when I stuck my hand in it.

There was a laundry facility at the rear of the building as well.

Finally, there was the free breakfast.  The menu consisted of donuts, bread and jam or butter, and cold cereal.  To drink, you could have milk, coffee, or orange juice.   No fruit and no bagels, exactly the two things I was looking for.

Would I Go Back?

So, obviously, this place wasn't near the top of any list of places to stay.  So the question arises, would I stay there again?  Despite my rating, yes I would.  The price was right for a place to crash at night.  If I couldn't find anything cheaper, I would book a room without hesitation.  If I were planning to actually spend time in my hotel, however, I would look for some place nicer.

So if all you want to do is sleep, the Days Inn Buena Park is an okay choice.  But if you are looking for more than that, you'll want to look elsewhere.