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Back in August was Disneyland trip I stayed at the Hyatt Regency Orange County.
PHOTOS AND VIDEO AT BOTTOM,
FOR SAME PRESENTATION OF MY DL PHOTOS, VISIT HERE:
COST:
I used Priceline, not name your own price, since I wanted a guarantee of this hotel, and I needed a flight, so I did a vacation package, letting me choose the Hyatt, flight times, etc. After everything, roundtrip starting from small local airport to San Francisco, 5 nights, total was $576. Subtracting the cost of the flight, I figured the cost per night was $73, no hidden resort fees. I hear you can get this hotel at $42 a night at Priceline, plus $40 something fee afterwards, but you won't know you got this hotel until after paying.
Again, I had no unexpected bills, like resort fees. At check out through the tv, all I owed was the internet charge. You can go to the front desk after for a receipt.
TRANSPORTATION & LOCATION:
Big plus is the shuttle. Though, shuttle sounds small to a new visitor, it's actually a full size bus. The bus comes and goes every 30 minutes. If say the park closes at 11 PM, two more pick ups will occur, one at 11:20pm followed by the last at 11:50 PM.
The buses are shared by only one other hotel, the Crowne Plaza across the street. You'll see Hyatt and Crowne on the sides.Each attempts to focus on one hotel, but still pass by both hotels just in case. Actually, the shuttle leaving from Hyatt has to go to Crowne Plaza. They can only make a right turn out from Hyatt, followed by making an immediate left into the parking lot for the Crowne. Then they make a left onto Harbor, which is a straight 7 minute shot to Disneyland.
When leaving the park at closing time, often when a crowd forms for the buses, they seem to designate one bus for Hyatt, one for Crowne. Though, if one gets full, and no more room left to stand, you can get on the other one.
If you were about to leave the park mid-day for a break, and missed the bus, you might be able to get a ride from other hotel shuttles. I needed a break to charge my iPhone, Camera before Magical and Fantasmic starts, and walking as fast as I could from Small World, just as I turn the corner to the white zone, I see the buses leaving. If I wait 30 minutes, I might not have enough time. A bus driver from totally different hotels asked where I was heading, saying Hyatt, he says I just missed them and right away offers to take me. I got on a large bus, empty, and he took me straight to the Hyatt, no waiting, gave him an extra large tip.
They drop you off at the White Zone (Photo below), a stop outside of Disneyland along Harbor, just at the entrance to the main bus area, so you have a short walk through that before getting to the bag check area, maybe twice the walk compared to the bus going into this area.
PARKING:
If you bring your own car, it's $15 a day, ouch, and uncovered.
ROOM (Photos below):
Even though I did 1 person through Priceline, they told Hyatt two people, so a double queen room was reserved. A day before my arrival, I called to ask for a King. The King uses the extra space to fit a small couch, coffee table. Bed has night stands, iHome radio to dock your iPhone. Desk with chair, dresser with Tube tv. Lamps had easy access outlets on their base. Bathroom had dryer, plenty of towels, touthpaste, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, facial soap. Closet had hangers, stuff for requesting washing, iron, electronic safe.
Room was clean, new furniture. Bed had plenty of pillows, very comfortable. I didn't bother to look at small details for dirt in corners, nothing bugged me. Though, it seemed the water from the sink had an odd smell that bothered me as I washed my face at the end of the night, the shower was fine.
AC was a bit noisy when coming on. I was close to an ice maker, which was mostly fine except when someone used it. I was at the end of a hall, so only one room next to me, nothing across from me, meaning no one would walk by my door.
INTERNET:
Two options, wireless or Ethernet cable. The Ethernet cable pretty much locks you to the desk, $10, put on your bill. The wireless option was the same $10, so I prefered the freedom, also billed to your room. Both net you 24 hours. I forget the wireless company, but you can use it their other locations and if you bought an extra $10 period and didn't use it, it stays in your account for 180 days if I recall right.
FOOD:
California Grill, no more expensive than Disneyland. Only ate their once on my arrival. Got an omelet, really good, presented nicely. (Photo below). Starbucks, Pizza Hut, which I always missed. The Network bar with room seating area, also had some food I think. Never used it, but when getting back from DL around 11:30 PM, the bar was still open, though, no Pizza Hut or Starbucks. Basically nothing really open moderatly late for DL guests returning late, unless you did some Room Service orders I think. There were some refrigerators with sandwiches, drinks in a small corner between Hut and Star, but probably locked after hours.
ARRIVAL AND CHECK-IN:
On the phone a day before as I requested a King, they said they had no early Check-In right now, as I said I'd arrive early. I got their at 8:45 AM, check-in is at 3PM. I asked if they had a room available. They checked to see if a room was ready, they only had a double queen, or a smoking king, so I passed and waited. They said they'd call my cell, and I checked in my bags, but stayed and ate there. 2 hours later I check again and voila, a King available and got my key. No fee for this early check-in.
LEAVING:
I just get back from DL at 11:30 pm, in the morning is my flight and I need a ride to the John Wayne airport. I see a concierge for my options for the morning. Disneyland Express seemed the best option for me, he didn't push any expensive service and got a form to fill out and put down a $3 deposit, if I recall right, and I'd show the form to the driver and pay the rest. I can't recall the total, but $15 or under.
The average time to get to the airport this was is 45 minutes. Bus was on time. Nice soft seats that recline. Overhead storage. The driver took my suitcase and loaded it under the bus. There were LCD screens above the seats, but nothing playing, just me that got on. We made one stop to pick a couple people up, from there it was straight to Disneyland Hotel, were we got off to transfer to another Express to go straight to the airport. The buss for my airport came 2 minutes after, and at that point I paid the rest of the ticket.
45 minutes seemed like a lot, since a taxi probably would have been 15-20 minutes, but nothing stood out as a huge time waster. Just one hotel stop, and the short stop at Disneyland Hotel to transfer. The bus took me straight to my airline entrance.
CONCLUSION
I enjoyed my stay, shuttle service. Didn't really get to use all the Hotels resources. Starbucks was nice in the morning as you wait for the Bus. I may just do priceline bidding thing next time to get the lowest price. Besides the shuttle, all the nice stuff I picked Hyatt for was wasted, as I spent all my time at Disneyland of course
I think the area you narrow down with Priceline, plus 3.5 star rating, your bid pretty much guarantees 3 great hotels. Crowne, Hyatt, and one other nice hotel, I just need to make sure all have some kind of shuttle service. Remember the cost of parking at Hyatt if you have a car or rental. If you are going to do a full day, opening to closing, the shuttles are nice to get back for quickly for small breaks. Or maybe eat outside the park near the hotel. Such as Red Robin, Joe's Crab Shack, Outback, and more all across the street. The Target was useful when I forgot my data cable to empty my camera's memory card daily.
VIDEO COLLAGE OF HOTEL AND SHUTTLE:
Sorry for music provided by youtube, needed something:
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFfAm4wRXT4"]YouTube - Hyatt Regency Orange County - Anaheim[/ame]
PHOTOS AND VIDEO AT BOTTOM,
FOR SAME PRESENTATION OF MY DL PHOTOS, VISIT HERE:
COST:
I used Priceline, not name your own price, since I wanted a guarantee of this hotel, and I needed a flight, so I did a vacation package, letting me choose the Hyatt, flight times, etc. After everything, roundtrip starting from small local airport to San Francisco, 5 nights, total was $576. Subtracting the cost of the flight, I figured the cost per night was $73, no hidden resort fees. I hear you can get this hotel at $42 a night at Priceline, plus $40 something fee afterwards, but you won't know you got this hotel until after paying.
Again, I had no unexpected bills, like resort fees. At check out through the tv, all I owed was the internet charge. You can go to the front desk after for a receipt.
TRANSPORTATION & LOCATION:
Big plus is the shuttle. Though, shuttle sounds small to a new visitor, it's actually a full size bus. The bus comes and goes every 30 minutes. If say the park closes at 11 PM, two more pick ups will occur, one at 11:20pm followed by the last at 11:50 PM.
The buses are shared by only one other hotel, the Crowne Plaza across the street. You'll see Hyatt and Crowne on the sides.Each attempts to focus on one hotel, but still pass by both hotels just in case. Actually, the shuttle leaving from Hyatt has to go to Crowne Plaza. They can only make a right turn out from Hyatt, followed by making an immediate left into the parking lot for the Crowne. Then they make a left onto Harbor, which is a straight 7 minute shot to Disneyland.
When leaving the park at closing time, often when a crowd forms for the buses, they seem to designate one bus for Hyatt, one for Crowne. Though, if one gets full, and no more room left to stand, you can get on the other one.
If you were about to leave the park mid-day for a break, and missed the bus, you might be able to get a ride from other hotel shuttles. I needed a break to charge my iPhone, Camera before Magical and Fantasmic starts, and walking as fast as I could from Small World, just as I turn the corner to the white zone, I see the buses leaving. If I wait 30 minutes, I might not have enough time. A bus driver from totally different hotels asked where I was heading, saying Hyatt, he says I just missed them and right away offers to take me. I got on a large bus, empty, and he took me straight to the Hyatt, no waiting, gave him an extra large tip.
They drop you off at the White Zone (Photo below), a stop outside of Disneyland along Harbor, just at the entrance to the main bus area, so you have a short walk through that before getting to the bag check area, maybe twice the walk compared to the bus going into this area.
PARKING:
If you bring your own car, it's $15 a day, ouch, and uncovered.
ROOM (Photos below):
Even though I did 1 person through Priceline, they told Hyatt two people, so a double queen room was reserved. A day before my arrival, I called to ask for a King. The King uses the extra space to fit a small couch, coffee table. Bed has night stands, iHome radio to dock your iPhone. Desk with chair, dresser with Tube tv. Lamps had easy access outlets on their base. Bathroom had dryer, plenty of towels, touthpaste, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, facial soap. Closet had hangers, stuff for requesting washing, iron, electronic safe.
Room was clean, new furniture. Bed had plenty of pillows, very comfortable. I didn't bother to look at small details for dirt in corners, nothing bugged me. Though, it seemed the water from the sink had an odd smell that bothered me as I washed my face at the end of the night, the shower was fine.
AC was a bit noisy when coming on. I was close to an ice maker, which was mostly fine except when someone used it. I was at the end of a hall, so only one room next to me, nothing across from me, meaning no one would walk by my door.
INTERNET:
Two options, wireless or Ethernet cable. The Ethernet cable pretty much locks you to the desk, $10, put on your bill. The wireless option was the same $10, so I prefered the freedom, also billed to your room. Both net you 24 hours. I forget the wireless company, but you can use it their other locations and if you bought an extra $10 period and didn't use it, it stays in your account for 180 days if I recall right.
FOOD:
California Grill, no more expensive than Disneyland. Only ate their once on my arrival. Got an omelet, really good, presented nicely. (Photo below). Starbucks, Pizza Hut, which I always missed. The Network bar with room seating area, also had some food I think. Never used it, but when getting back from DL around 11:30 PM, the bar was still open, though, no Pizza Hut or Starbucks. Basically nothing really open moderatly late for DL guests returning late, unless you did some Room Service orders I think. There were some refrigerators with sandwiches, drinks in a small corner between Hut and Star, but probably locked after hours.
ARRIVAL AND CHECK-IN:
On the phone a day before as I requested a King, they said they had no early Check-In right now, as I said I'd arrive early. I got their at 8:45 AM, check-in is at 3PM. I asked if they had a room available. They checked to see if a room was ready, they only had a double queen, or a smoking king, so I passed and waited. They said they'd call my cell, and I checked in my bags, but stayed and ate there. 2 hours later I check again and voila, a King available and got my key. No fee for this early check-in.
LEAVING:
I just get back from DL at 11:30 pm, in the morning is my flight and I need a ride to the John Wayne airport. I see a concierge for my options for the morning. Disneyland Express seemed the best option for me, he didn't push any expensive service and got a form to fill out and put down a $3 deposit, if I recall right, and I'd show the form to the driver and pay the rest. I can't recall the total, but $15 or under.
The average time to get to the airport this was is 45 minutes. Bus was on time. Nice soft seats that recline. Overhead storage. The driver took my suitcase and loaded it under the bus. There were LCD screens above the seats, but nothing playing, just me that got on. We made one stop to pick a couple people up, from there it was straight to Disneyland Hotel, were we got off to transfer to another Express to go straight to the airport. The buss for my airport came 2 minutes after, and at that point I paid the rest of the ticket.
45 minutes seemed like a lot, since a taxi probably would have been 15-20 minutes, but nothing stood out as a huge time waster. Just one hotel stop, and the short stop at Disneyland Hotel to transfer. The bus took me straight to my airline entrance.
CONCLUSION
I enjoyed my stay, shuttle service. Didn't really get to use all the Hotels resources. Starbucks was nice in the morning as you wait for the Bus. I may just do priceline bidding thing next time to get the lowest price. Besides the shuttle, all the nice stuff I picked Hyatt for was wasted, as I spent all my time at Disneyland of course
I think the area you narrow down with Priceline, plus 3.5 star rating, your bid pretty much guarantees 3 great hotels. Crowne, Hyatt, and one other nice hotel, I just need to make sure all have some kind of shuttle service. Remember the cost of parking at Hyatt if you have a car or rental. If you are going to do a full day, opening to closing, the shuttles are nice to get back for quickly for small breaks. Or maybe eat outside the park near the hotel. Such as Red Robin, Joe's Crab Shack, Outback, and more all across the street. The Target was useful when I forgot my data cable to empty my camera's memory card daily.
VIDEO COLLAGE OF HOTEL AND SHUTTLE:
Sorry for music provided by youtube, needed something:
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFfAm4wRXT4"]YouTube - Hyatt Regency Orange County - Anaheim[/ame]
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