Has anyone here stayed at the Anaheim Hotel? I attended an event there once and hung out in the lobby for a bit; the bartender made some exceptional, strong drinks, and I thought the vibe seemed pretty great. But I've heard the rooms are dreadful and outdated.
Was it a couple years ago? Just before Covid, they were re-launching that hotel with a property-wide freshening and new rooms. But I'm sure they had to do the rooms in phases, and you may have gotten an old room.
It's a property that has been there since the early 1960's, and was once slated to be bulldozed for a swanky 4 Star hotel but the local opposition from the unions stopped all that about five years ago. Here's the old plan for this exact property from 2016, before the Unite Here Local 11 union made the developer's lives a living hell. This plan died a quick death five years ago in the face of noisy union opposition.
The property owner seems to be sitting on the land for now, and thus gave the 60 year old hotel a hipster mod makeover just before Covid hit.
You can't beat the convenience of that location, with the exception of maybe the Park Vue or a few motels around it. Also, it has a Pizza Press just off the lobby!
Here's the lobby of the remodeled Anaheim Hotel. Trying
a bit too hard in my opinion, but they get points for at least trying.
Here's what the remodeled rooms at the Anaheim Hotel look like; a 21st century spin on 1960's motel mod.
It started its life in 1962 as the
Charter House Hotel. Here's an original postcard, and you can see the old Disneyland sign just over the ladies' slender fur-covered shoulders as a bellhop tends to that '62 Chevrolet that's trying to act fancy without whitewall tires...
While the main dining facility now is a hipster, if very good, pizza place just off the lobby. In the 1960's it featured the standard "fancy" coffee shop. I wish businesses could regain a sense of whimsy and color in their decorating today. Now it's all so... bland.
Coffee cups turned over on saucers. You just don't see that anymore, but it used to be standard procedure.
And here's an original room at the Charter House, now Anaheim Hotel, from 1962. See that Saarinen occasional chair by the sliding glass door? It would go for about $800 on Ebay now. That Saarinen mesh desk chair would easily get $300 on Ebay, or $400 in a hipster boutique. And I'm loving those drapes, and the white Princess phone at bedside. This was cheap and affordable living in '62!
One thing we've improved since then is mattress technology. Those old motel mattresses were hell, even when swathed in blue polyester.
www.parkvueinn.com
www.disneytouristblog.com
