In this post, we discuss a recent visit to the Four Points by Sheraton Anaheim. This hotel is located just about 15 minutes walking from Disneyland, north on Harbor across the highway. Read on to learn our thoughts about the Four Points by Sheraton Anaheim.
Introduction
With more than a few visits to Disneyland Resort under our belt, we’ve so far held off on reviewing hotels in the area. This has honestly been simply a matter of not prioritizing them. But we’ve gotten a few questions about where to stay, particularly because prices at Disney’s hotels (Paradise Pier, Disneyland Hotel, Grand Californian) are so high. So we’re going to start reviewing the hotels we stay at near Disneyland.
Unfortunately, we’re starting on a sour note. This is not a positive review, but most of my complaints are, admittedly, minor. The room worked, the location was good, and the price was acceptable. As I’ll get more into, though, when comparing hotels in this area, I find it makes sense to nitpick based on service (though an amazing room somewhere could win me over).
Acceptable guest rooms at good locations at reasonable prices are aplenty. In case you’re wondering, my go-to hotels in the area at Best Western Park Place Inn and Mini Suites and The Anaheim.
Basics of The Four Points
The Four Points by Sheraton Anaheim is a Marriott-operated hotel at 1221 S Harbor Blvd. The walk between the hotel and the Disneyland park gates took us between 12 and 16 minutes. You do have to walk over Interstate 5, so people who don’t handle “hills” well may want to avoid this hotel.
As with most every hotel on Harbor, out of towners may like to know that they should be prepared to explain to their kids why there are lots of people sleeping on benches just outside Disneyland.
I booked this hotel in an attempt to use some of my Marriott points and free nights. My best option wound up being four nights at the Four Points by Sheraton Anaheim. I used 50,000 points for two nights, one free night certificate for one night, and paid $143.02 for one night.
There is a pool, a restaurant (“Tru Grits,” American-Asian fusion cuisine, no free breakfast), a fitness center and an outside bar (in the pool area). We didn’t have the opportunity to enjoy any of these because we were (as we expect most guests are) focused on visiting the theme parks. If you’d like a multitude of photos of these spaces, Google has plenty.
The hotel has free wifi and is 1.5 miles from the Anaheim Convention Center. It’s a Disneyland Good Neighbor Hotel, which means it has (limited) on-site assistance for things like buying Disneyland tickets. You can see the Disneyland fireworks show from certain parts of the hotel, but generally it will just make more sense to go to the park for the full effect.
Arrival and Check-In
We arrived from LAX at about 2:40PM, having gotten ride from a friend from the airport to the hotel. Things started poorly at check in. This section was much longer when I originally wrote it, but you don’t need 1000 words of my small complaints. So I’m going to try to keep it brief.
I visited the front desk twice for check in, at 2:45PM and then again at 3:25PM. The hotel’s actual check-in time is 3PM. Neither time was our room type (King) ready. The first time we weren’t offered an alternative. The second time, we were offered and took two queens.
Copyright Marriott
Both times I visited the front desk (check in and once later), it was clear the people actually at the desk didn’t know how to work their computer system. Both had to call in a manager for help.
I’m a Marriott Platinum Elite member, a tier that typically requires you to stay 50 nights at Marriott in a year. To be clear, I don’t care about this status, but I appreciate the opportunity to evaluate how hotels treat their elite members.
At check-in, the only acknowledgement of my status was at the very end, as I was walking away. The gentleman at the desk said “oh yea, I forgot, do you want points or breakfast?” This was a reference to the “welcome gift” perk of the status. There was no “thank you” for my loyalty (the bare minimum, in my opinion) or a discussion of the complimentary room upgrade.
Between 2PM and 4PM, both lobby snack shops were closed. Guests checking in at 3PM on the west coast are in prime snack and beverage shopping mode. It’s maybe partly a staffing issue, but there were an abundance of staff chatting behind the desk.
The thing about Harbor Boulevard—and much of the area around Disneyland—is that it’s saturated with moderately-priced hotels. You have to push a little beyond “you get what you pay for” when you’re comparing a dozen $100 to $200 / night hotels.
Location and price are highly competitive in the area. Room quality across many hotels is middling, but sufficient for most guests. Service is the area where these hotels need to distinguish themselves. For the Four Points to come up short—even in minor ways—when dealing with a guest with elite status, is enough for me to recommend ignoring them among the sea of other options.
Our Room at the Four Points
Besides the bathroom, which had a decent amount of wear, the room was clean. The TV worked well, there was enough storage space for the two of us, and the furniture was all in good condition (use the arrows to navigate the below gallery).
The beds had skirts that hid their bases. We managed to kick these several times with shoes on but avoided any stubbing incidents while shoeless. There were generally enough outlets, though nothing convenient on the very inside wall (near the bathroom), so I just had to part with my phone for the evening (woe is me).
The paint on the bathroom door and frame stuck, which led to a very loud “POP!” every time you opened the door. Each of us woke the other up a few times over the course of our stay when up late or early.
Marriott has switched to bulk toiletries. If Marriott wanted to be “Green,” charging for individual toiletries, perhaps in biodegradable containers, would be a better way to go, in my opinion (though I understand why many disagree). Their “Green” reputation might also be helped if the cleaning staff didn’t leave our lights on multiple times during the stay…but that’s none of my business…
Complimentary coffee and tea were available in the room, and coffee was available from 6AM to 9AM in the lobby as well. Disposable cups, both for coffee and for water, were available in the room.
They also had complimentary ear plugs. I think these were probably due to the proximity of the Disneyland fireworks. The hotel has notably good views for fireworks, though we were never home for them.
Conclusions
It frustrates me that my visit got off to such a poor start, and it clearly impacted the rest of my visit (I admit I never would have included the “Green” paragraph if I didn’t have a slight grudge against the hotel). In a world where I could online check-in and avoid the front desk entirely, or even if I had just showed up at 10PM exhausted and too out of it to care, I probably would have been more neutral in my assessment.
But first impressions last a lifetime, and there are so many hotels near Disneyland Resort, I see no reason to come back to the Four Points anytime soon.
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