There are over 180 hotels near Disneyland, and hundreds more within driving distance in Los Angeles and Orange County, California. With that said, there are only a handful of hotel types in Anaheim: Disney-owned resorts (very expensive), newer big box family suites, convention center hotels, and old school motels.
Within those categories, there are a range of options at a multitude of price points, 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–you get the idea.
This Disneyland area hotel room focuses on an option that straddles the last two categories, with elements of each that combine for a hit-or-miss hotel for us. It’s certainly not going to be for everyone, but no hotel in Anaheim is. If you’re looking for a budget hotel option within a reasonable 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 Anaheim Portofino Inn & Suites.
Let’s start our overview of the Anaheim Portofino Inn & Suites with its location. This hotel is less than a 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. You shouldn’t go there–I don’t even know why I mentioned it.
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 (both of which have large selections) 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.
More to the point, the Anaheim Portofino Inn & Suites 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, and speaking from experience, it’s a fantastic option for the D23 Expo.
While Anaheim Portofino Inn & Suites 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), protestors/activists, etc. that can make it uncomfortable. If at all possible, I’d recommend staying on the other side of Katella, especially if you’re from a smaller town or are unaccustomed to California cities. It can be a bit of culture shock.
Location is one sort of selling point, in the sense that you’re going to be hard-pressed to find a hotel at this price point that’s this close to Disneyland. So you do have to cross that dreaded Katella/Harbor, which is suboptimal, but the hotel is incredibly close to the intersection and routinely costs less than $150 per night. (I’ve seen it as low as $100/night.)
Price really is all over the place, though, and the cost of hotels near Disneyland have gone up across the board. So if you’re reading this in 2035 as you price out a stay for the grand opening of Pandora – World of Avatar and are confused at why we’re saying rooms cost $150 when all you see is $300/night options, that’s it. Also, say hello if you see me–I’ll be the dude decked out head-to-toe in blue Na’vi body paint.
Another selling point is that Portofino Inn offers free parking, which is a rarity these days. Like all of its pros, this comes with an asterisk in the form of a resort fee that basically makes everyone pay for parking, albeit indirectly and at a reduced rate. That’s half-price if you book the Anaheim Portofino Inn & Suites via Get Away Today, so “only” $10 per night…for a hotel that is definitely not a resort.
Before booking the Portofino Inn & Suites 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. On top of whatever other savings offered to everyone, you can save an extra $10 by using our exclusive coupon code TOURIST at checkout. We also recommend Get Away Today in our Guide to Buying Discounted Disneyland Tickets—booking a vacation package makes an already great deal even better.
Another selling point of Anaheim Portofino Inn & Suites is that it has interior hallways and it requires a keycard to access the building. This might seem like a little thing, and to be sure, it’s increasingly common with the newer luxury resorts, convention center hotels, and big box family suites.
It is very uncommon of the old school motels, almost all of which have exterior hallways, exposed stairs, etc–hence them being motels. 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–and I still would when traveling solo. As parents to a toddler, this was the first thing we noticed and a definite selling point for the Portofino.
This isn’t to say Anaheim is unsafe or that you need interior hallways. Again, I wouldn’t give this second thought if it were just me. But there is a reason why every single new hotel, at every price point, requires keycard access for guest room floors. Do with that information what you will.
The Anaheim Portofino Inn & Suites has other amenities, such as a pool. Despite it abutting a parking garage and being small, this pool is actually somewhat nice by Anaheim old school motel standards. Many of those are in the middle of parking lots with no seclusion or seating. This has both, and the parking garage and adjacent Sheraton provide valuable shade.
The hotel also has other barebones amenities like a fitness center (small) and video game room (I didn’t actually see this). It also offers room service via something called “CAMO Eats.” I wouldn’t order room service at a motel. If you’re in the market for room service, you’re probably (hopefully?) not in the market for an old motel. There’s also an on-site ART Shuttle stop that picks up every 20 minutes on the hour.
Another sorta selling point of Portofino Inn & Suites is the “suites” part of the name. Let’s take a look at photos of the ‘1 King, Sofa Bed, Bunk Bed Family Suite’ room type:
The upside to this room is that it’s the rare family suite in these old motels that actually is a proper family suite, complete with a door separating the living room from the bedroom.
The layout is a bit clunky, with the bunk beds, sofa bed, and desk on the far side of the room, but it does the job. The room features a microwave and mini-fridge below that, as well as coffee maker and basic amenities.
Here’s a video tour of our room at the Anaheim Portofino Inn & Suites:
It also features the oldest hotel furniture in the City of Anaheim. As you probably gathered from scrolling through the photos, this room looks ancient. Like it was last redone before the Reagan was in office–but not as president, but before that, as governor of California.
These rooms are dated even by old motel near Disneyland standards, even if they are perfectly functional and clean. You can decide for yourself whether or not that’s a dealbreaker for you. The only thing I’ll add is that the newer and nicer box box family suites and convention center hotels in this area typically cost much more. For comparable pricing, you’re going to be at least 5 minutes farther away, or along Disney Way (a sleeper pick area for affordable accommodations).
Ultimately, the Anaheim Portofino Inn & Suites is a bit of a mystifying motel. 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 1970s. The location is pretty good, minus having to cross Katella, the rooms are spacious, and interior hallways is a plus almost none of these older properties have going for them. Perhaps this is precisely why the hotel rests on its laurels and doesn’t improve the accommodations–proximity to the parks and its key features equals high occupancy.
This is pretty far from my favorite hotel in Anaheim, but I must admit that by the end of our 4-night stay here, it had grown on me a lot. The room wasn’t that dated, I told myself (it really is) 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. At the very least, the Anaheim Portofino Inn & Suites is a hotel with unique strengths and common weaknesses, in almost equal measure–hence it being only a half-hidden gem of a hotel near Disneyland.
If you want to know how the Anaheim Portofino Inn & Suites compares to the competition in my opinion (which is based on the perspective of someone who has stayed in nearly 50 different hotels near Disneyland), check our Disneyland Hotels Reviews & Rankings. That has yet to be updated with recent additions, but I’d rank Portofino around #30.
Comparable alternatives could include the Clarion, Cambria, SunCoast, or Homewood Suites. I’d probably book all of those before the Anaheim Portofino Inn & Suites if cost is equal. You can also read our overall comparison of the benefits of staying in Disney-owned hotels versus third party accommodations in Off-Site v. On-Site Disneyland Hotels: Where to Stay.
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 Anaheim Portofino Inn & Suites? 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!
