We’ve stayed in 50+ hotels near Disneyland in our quest to review every major off-site option within walking distance of the parks. There are a lot of good-to-great accommodations in Anaheim, but just as many sketchy motels. We’ve seen ’em all, from motels that should be condemned to bona fide luxury resorts–just see our Disneyland Area Hotel Rankings & Reviews for “proof.”
Over the years, the purposes of our stays have evolved. We’ve ping-ponged between being tourists and locals, and now we’re locals with a toddler. This latest development has been a bigger gamechanger than traveling cross-country vs. cross-county. It has resulted in us doing more stays in Anaheim for pleasure, as it’s so much easier to get out the door or back to a hotel at the end of the night than deal with the wildcards of Southern California traffic, parking, shuttles, and more. We’ve actually had more than one “park day” that ended before it even began because traffic and parking were so nightmarish!
Suffice to say, we’ve been doing more stays that aren’t just for the purpose of reviewing new hotels or revisiting remodeled rooms. As we’ve run out of new accommodations to evaluate, we’ve started returning to hotels that we actually enjoy. From that, a trio of personal favorite off-site hotels has emerged, which we book depending upon the price and primary purpose of our trip.
The first of these options is the Westin Anaheim, which is our favorite luxury hotel in Anaheim. This now edges out the JW Marriott thanks mostly to the easier walk, and it’s where we stay if spending a good mix of time at the resort and in the parks. It’s a great “staycation” option when the primary purpose isn’t just parks non-stop. The Westin stacks up favorably to the Grand Californian, minus the themed design or astronomical price tag. We’d put it ahead of both Disneyland Hotel and Pixar Place Hotel. It offers good value for money, of course considering the fact that it’s a luxury hotel.
Our next go-to pick is the Tropicana Inn & Suites, which is our new #1 overall pick near Disneyland. This offers an unbeatable location, competitive pricing, remodeled rooms have gotten better…and did we mention the location? It’s directly across the street, a 5 minute walk to the parks. At the end of the night, that 5 minute walk can be so worth it–especially if you’re pushing a stroller or carrying a sleeping kid. We usually do the Tropicana when park time is top priority, especially during late Halloween and Christmas seasons, or during the winter.
That brings us to our final hotel and the subject of today’s review: Element Anaheim Resort Convention Center.
The Element Anaheim Resort Convention Center has emerged as what I’d describe as a ‘best of all seasons’ option. It offers a tremendous amount of balance, as we’ll explain in this review.
Also known as the Element by Westin, this extended stay property is designed with a focus on guests spending a few days to a few weeks in Anaheim, and is touted as being ideal for families and groups who want to maintain a balanced lifestyle or their daily routines while traveling.
This actually more or less sums up our typical use-case with the Element Anaheim, as we first did a week-long stay here shortly after it opened when we wanted to cook our own meals. More recently, it’s been our go-to option for multi-night stays when family come to visit and want to do the parks, as this allows us to not deviate from our at-home routine too much.
As basic background, the Element Anaheim Resort Convention Center is a smaller hotel. It opened 4 years ago in the same year as the Westin Anaheim, but only offers 174 guest rooms compared to that luxury resort’s 600+ room count. The discrepancy is in part due to the larger footprint of the Westin Anaheim, but also because the extended stay style family suites at the Element take up more space.
These rooms feature the Element’s signature fully equipped kitchens and spa-inspired bathrooms, along with Heavenly Beds, high-speed Wi-Fi and streaming services. The Element Anaheim Resort Convention Center features an assortment of suites, including family-friendly Kids Suites which offer bunk beds.
Over the course of the last few years, we have stayed in all of the different room options in the Element, and will cover them here.
Let’s start with location. The Element Anaheim is about a 10-15 minute walk to the Disneyland Esplanade and about 2-4 minutes to Anaheim GardenWalk, which is a shopping, dining, and entertainment district akin to Downtown Disney. A range of dining and convenience stores at the corner of Harbor and Katella are also a short walk away.
This all makes the Element Anaheim a conveniently-located option. It’s not actually near the Anaheim Convention Center, making the name a bit of a misnomer, but I’m guessing that’s for marketing. The Element is not too bad of a walk to Disneyland and Disney California Adventure in terms of time, and over half of that is on Disney Way, which is a quieter and more laid back street.
Even though it’s a longer walk than the across the street hotels, we view the Element Anaheim as having one of the “best” walks of the newer generation of big box hotels. Most of the options within 5 minutes on Harbor are all motels that were built before the 1980s. And it shows.
To get one of the modern resorts built in the last decade, you usually have to cross the Katella-Harbor intersection. That’s a busy intersection, and it’s often where protestors, solicitors, and so forth set up shop. Whenever possible, we recommend Disneyland first-timers (especially those from smaller towns) avoid having to cross Katella.
The Element is still roughly the same distance away (maybe 1-2 minutes closer to the parks), but not having to cross that busy Katella intersection is nice, especially when returning from the parks at night. The Katella/Harbor intersection is one of two spots in the area that could really use pedestrian bridges. The Element Anaheim being down the Disney Way side street is a big plus. It’ll eventually be an even bigger plus once the Eastern Gateway opens, but that’s not happening until ~2027 or 2028.
We’d prefer to be right across the street from the Disneyland Esplanade on Harbor Boulevard, but there’s upside to this spot–especially if you’re venturing beyond the parks. It offers convenient access to the 5, which shaves a few minutes off the commute to Los Angeles or the beach cities for non-Disney days. Critically, it’s also convenient to the In-N-Out Burger on State College Boulevard, which is open until 1 am. That’s valuable information.
The highlight of the amenities is the pool and hot tub area. This is pretty nice by Anaheim standards, and is secluded from passers-by (not that there are many) and the parking lot. It’s not a rooftop pool like some other new hotels in Anaheim, but it’s still far better than average.
It’s definitely on the smaller side, but that’s par for the course with pools. Only during one of our stays here did overcrowding appear to be an issue, and that was during a heat wave. Something to consider if you’re thinking about booking during the summer and pool time is of paramount importance.
Adjacent to the pool is a lovely outdoor area with nice seating and a couple of grills. If you’d prefer to cook here as opposed to your room, that’s a great option. This area is also great for enjoying breakfast in the morning, as the indoor seating can get crowded.
Other amenities include a fitness center, self-service laundry room, lobby convenience store, and digital check-in. There is an absurdly expensive $35 parking charge, which stings a bit more than normal when the hotel is located among several lots that are empty (for now).
Speaking of location and something else to consider, the Element Anaheim’s pool area is immediately adjacent to the I-5 highway. We’ve had rooms that have directly overlooked the pool (and thus been as close as possible to I-5) and have never had an issue with noise. However, this is a problem that pops up in other reviews, so it’s something to keep in mind when making a room request (or better yet, booking a park view room).
Generally speaking, we don’t really notice this type of noise at most hotels. It’s one thing when there are people stomping in the floor above or hallways outside, but consistent and static noise just fades into the background. And I like to crank the fan to full blast in rooms like this, which tends to drown out outside noise, regardless.
Breakfast is included at the Element Anaheim, and it’s a shockingly good spread by Anaheim standards.
Not only are there multiple hot items, but there’s a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, and some of the best (no joke) pastries and scones I’ve had at any free hotel breakfast in the United States. This might just be the best free breakfast spread of any hotel near Disneyland. (I’m hedging that with “might” because it’s been a bit since I’ve done the Hyatts, and those are strong contenders.)
Another thing I appreciate about the lobby of the Element Anaheim is that there’s a ton of seating and workspaces.
I tend to get up really early to work, and often head downstairs depending upon our room type. There’s never anyone around here at 5 or 6 am, but there is free coffee–and it tends to be better than the stuff in the room. Same goes during naptime or immediately thereafter when it’s “Hot Dog Song” o’clock and an adorable-but-distracting dance party breaks out.
There’s always somewhere in this lobby that’s quiet and free of people. Oftentimes, it’s just a matter of going around the corner to the breakfast area after that stops serving.
Now let’s take a look at various room options in the Element Anaheim Resort Convention Center. We’ll start with photos and then cover distinguishing features, before addressing commonalities at the end…
Element Anaheim Studio Suite (Corner Room)
Studio suites come in a couple of configurations, with different view options. All of them sleep up to 6 guests, with 2 queen beds plus a sofa sleeper with a pull out bed. These rooms are all listed as 439 square feet in size, with the biggest difference being that the corner suite has floor to ceiling windows.
In our experience, this corner suite comes with a pricing premium. Whether it’s “worth it” depends on the upcharge. We’ve seen it for only $10 more, in which case, sure. The room feels more spacious and airy, even if the rooms are the same size. But in other cases, we’ve seen this room cost more than the family suite, which is our preferred option.
You also might be better served by the standard studio, as that has a dedicated kitchen table for 4 people as opposed to the bar seating. While we generally like the corner studio and how spacious it feels to have the large open area, the one potential downside is that the lack of segmentation. Whatever is going on in the room, perhaps a jam session to the “Hot Dog Song” or “Elmo Slide,” is what everyone is going to be experiencing.
Element Anaheim 1-Bedroom Suite
The 1-bedroom suite’s distinguishing feature is a door separating the living room from the main sleeping area. This room is a bit more spacious, with 580 square feet, but it still sleeps up to 6 guests with the same bed arrangement–just in different areas.
You’ll also notice that the kitchen is larger and more feature-filled. This is definitely the better option for larger parties who will be spending more time in the guest room, preparing more meals, or just wanting extra area or separate spaces. One part of the party can play the “Hot Dog Song” to their heart’s content, while the other writes content for their Disney travel blog. That’s the dream.
The biggest downside of the 1-bedroom suite for us is that the bathroom is only accessible via the bedroom. This strikes me as a serious design flaw, especially since the bathroom is situated in a spot that could theoretically have two different access points. We’ve stayed in this room as a party of 5, and the bathroom setup presented a real challenge. It’s a non-issue for just the three of us, but when joined by family or friends, it presents delays and potential sleep interruptions.
Element Anaheim Family Suite
There are two variations of the family suite. One has two queen beds and is 527 square feet in size, whereas the other has one king bed and is 438 square feet in size. Like the other rooms, these also have a sofa sleeper, but they also add bunk beds to the mix. Meaning that you have a maximum occupancy of 8 with the queen arrangement or 6 for the king.
As should be evident from the photo immediately above, this is the king room. All of the extra square footage would be on this side of the room, were this the queen permutation. Personally, I think you’d really be pushing it to cram 8 people in here, even with that extra square footage. But admittedly, we’ve never tried.
Regardless, this is our favorite room at the Element Anaheim. Although there’s no wall separating the two spaces, the bathroom in the middle does provide a buffer. Which means that, to continue torturing the example, one part of your party could listen and dance to the “Hot Dog Song” on one side, while the other aggressively blogs on the other side. Sure, there might be hot dog-induced distractions and typos, but that’s just the cost of dogging business. We view this room as the doggone best of both worlds.
Circling back to commonalities, all of these rooms have a surplus of power outlets and USB ports, nightstands, shelves and storage closets. Unless you really are cramming 6-8 people in each of these rooms, it’s unlikely that storage will be an issue.
We’ve been impressed at the functionality of each of these kitchens or kitchenette. They each offer a stove with burners, fridge, microwave, toaster, coffee maker, and dishwasher. The sizes of these vary upon the room style, but we’ve found that even the studio is surprisingly effective. Notably, the rooms also offer more pots, pans, plates, cups, and utensils than you can shake a stick at. We’ve been in other Anaheim hotels with kitchens that lack any supplies, rendering them virtually useless unless you raid the breakfast area stash.
The bathrooms and bedding are where the Element by Westin part comes into play. To be sure, this room is not as nice as the Westin Anaheim, a true luxury resort. But the bedding here is very close–it truly is “heavenly” as the marketing suggests. The “spa” shower is also fantastic, as are the included toiletries.
Element Anaheim Prices
Rates at the Element Anaheim are dictated by demand and can be considerably higher during peak seasons, and plummet during the off-season. We’ve seen rates under $200/night and above $500. I would say that the average rate of the Element Anaheim is in the $300/night ballpark. As with all other hotels in Anaheim, prices fluctuate considerably, and you should always do comparison shopping with comparable hotels in the area before booking.
If you’re considering the Element Anaheim as part of a Disneyland vacation, you can book a hotel + ticket vacation package via Get Away Today to save money. You can also save an extra $10 by using 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.
In addition to the package discount, some hotels have ‘4th night free’ promos. This sometimes, but not always or even usually, includes the Element Anaheim. More consistently, booking via Get Away Today does get you discounted parking at the Element Anaheim.
We’ve found that the Element Anaheim tends to be a bit more expensive than its next door neighbor, the SunCoast Park Hotel Anaheim Tapestry Collection by Hilton (try saying that ten times fast). If you’re looking for a budget option that checks a lot of the same boxes, read our SunCoast Park Hotel Anaheim Review & Photo Tour. It’s a pretty good alternative, and one that usually offers the 4th night free via Get Away Today.
Overall, the Element Anaheim Resort Convention Center is a great option for families or friend groups needing a bit more space. As we said before, this hotel is all about balance, and it feels like it straddles the line between extended stay features and upscale accommodations remarkably well. It’s definitely not as luxurious as the Westin Anaheim, but the fact that we’re even mentioning the two in the same breath should say a lot.
In the end, that’s really what it comes down to with the Element Anaheim and why we stay here for pleasure quite often. It checks a lot of the right boxes for us, and while it’s not as posh of a staycation option as the Westin Anaheim or as cheap as the SunCoast or as close as the Tropicana Inn, it’s a good balance of all those properties. It gives us breathing room and isn’t disruptive to our daily routine, while still allowing us to feel like we’re on vacation. That’s a huge win for us as parents to a toddler, and what makes the Element Anaheim one of our personal favorites.
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 Element Anaheim by Westin? 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!
