Element Anaheim vs Residence Inn Anaheim Convention Center

[Liquidice]

Has anyone stayed in either of these hotels? I currently am booked at Residence Inn Anaheim Convention Center at 640 W Katella Ave, Anaheim, CA 92802 but I could save some money by booking at Element Anaheim Convention Center (1600 S Clementine St, Anaheim, CA 92802). The 2 hotels seem very similar and comparable (which makes sense since they're both Marriott owned extended stay hotels and were built around the same time).

The catch with Element is according to Google Maps, it is a 0.9 mile walk to the Disneyland Esplanade, which requires you walk down Clementine, across Disney Way and then up S Harbor Blvd and across to the Esplanade. 0.9 miles vs 0.7 miles is not a big deal, until you're walking home with elementary school kids (10 and 7)

Walking down Clementine just to walk up S. Habor Blvd seems like a waste - it looks like you can through the CM parking lot and cut through the Best Western Plus Anaheim Inn and onto S. Harbor Blvd. Doing this would cut about 0.3 miles off the walk, making it a closer walk than walking from the Residence Inn Anaheim Convention Center which is about a 0.7 mile walk.

Here is an example of my proposed walking path:



Here is a link to a larger version of the image as well: Large Image Link

Also curious if there is a lot of road noise staying at Element because of the freeway nearby.

Thanks!

 

[Cal-Pie]

it looks like you can through the CM parking lot and cut through the Best Western Plus Anaheim Inn and onto S. Harbor Blvd.

There is a very tall block wall between the two that would prevent you from doing that.

 

[Liquidice]

There is a very tall block wall between the two that would prevent you from doing that.

Thank you! That is what I was wondering, it is hard to see in the satellite imagery and there are no Google Street Views there.

 

[Cal-Pie]

Thank you! That is what I was wondering, it is hard to see in the satellite imagery and there are no Google Street Views there.

All of the Harbor Blvd hotels have fences along the back. All by design I suppose, if people could cut through they’d lose their edge of being the closest hotels to the gate.

 

[Iceman93]

I've not stayed at the Element but have to imagine traffic noise would be an issue, particularly if stuck in a room facing the freeway.

I *have* stayed at the Residence Inn and found it to be an above-average example of the brand. Rooms are nice and the staff is friendly. My one complaint is that the breakfast area has been so overwhelmed with people that we simply gave up on even trying to eat there, free or not.

 

[crystal1313]

I have only stayed at the element. We had a room once that faced the freeway. Road noise wasn’t terrible. To be fair, staying on harbor and Katella can be quite loud sometimes too. A lot of the cars in the area have loud exhaust and sometimes it sounds like they race up and down the streets late at night.

We absolutely love the breakfast set up at element. It’s really well organized and the way the room is set up, it’s a lot less chaotic than other free breakfast hotels. They seem to alternate the food quite a bit as well, and have a lot of options to choose from.

I’ve always wanted to check out the residence inn, but it’s usually more money per night than we want to spend. If you end up staying there, would love to know about your stay.

Here is a walk from element. It’s not too bad. I prefer walking this way as compared to crossing Katella. But that is my personal preference.

Have a great trip!

Element Anaheim Resort and Convention Center Real Time Walk to Disneyland | Disneyland Good Neighbor

 

[Liquidice]

I have only stayed at the element. We had a room once that faced the freeway. Road noise wasn’t terrible. To be fair, staying on harbor and Katella can be quite loud sometimes too. A lot of the cars in the area have loud exhaust and sometimes it sounds like they race up and down the streets late at night.

We absolutely love the breakfast set up at element. It’s really well organized and the way the room is set up, it’s a lot less chaotic than other free breakfast hotels. They seem to alternative food quite a bit as well, and have a lot of options to choose from.

I’ve always wanted to check out the residence inn, but it’s usually more money per night than we want to spend. If you end up staying there, would love to know about your stay.

Here is a walk from element. It’s not too bad. I prefer walking this way as compared to crossing Katella. But that is my personal preference.

Have a great trip!

Element Anaheim Resort and Convention Center Real Time Walk to Disneyland | Disneyland Good Neighbor

Thanks! I'm a Marriott Bonvoy member, so I'm planning on staying on points. For points, Element is cheaper for my stay by about 50,000 points vs Residence Inn right now, if it were just my wife and I - I wouldn't hesitate to stay at Element, but with our kids - I am worried it will be tough for them to walk that far back to the hotel. Residence Inn is only a little bit closer, but it is roughly the same distance we walk from Bay Lake Tower to Magic Kingdom and they're able to do that just fine.

 

[crystal1313]

Thanks! I'm a Marriott Bonvoy member, so I'm planning on staying on points. For points, Element is cheaper for my stay by about 50,000 points vs Residence Inn right now, if it were just my wife and I - I wouldn't hesitate to stay at Element, but with our kids - I am worried it will be tough for them to walk that far back to the hotel. Residence Inn is only a little bit closer, but it is roughly the same distance we walk from Bay Lake Tower to Magic Kingdom and they're able to do that just fine.

Totally get that! Many times I have had to coach my youngest back to the hotel because there was no way I could carry him that far!! This was back when he was 8-10 and would get very tired on the walk back to any hotel.

I like that there is a lot of food options near the residence inn too. Walgreens, CVS, 7/11, blaze pizza, Starbucks, the coffee bean, subway, and more. With 2 teen boys now, we usually have to get snacks and frozen meals like hot pockets to tide them over. Lol.

 

[kristensideaoffun]

Thanks! I'm a Marriott Bonvoy member, so I'm planning on staying on points. For points, Element is cheaper for my stay by about 50,000 points vs Residence Inn right now, if it were just my wife and I - I wouldn't hesitate to stay at Element, but with our kids - I am worried it will be tough for them to walk that far back to the hotel. Residence Inn is only a little bit closer, but it is roughly the same distance we walk from Bay Lake Tower to Magic Kingdom and they're able to do that just fine.

I’ve stayed at the Residence Inn many, many times since it opened. We recently did a five night stay there Thanksgiving week. I’ve never experienced the breakfast issues a previous poster mentioned, and we’ve been in there during peak times. There are a lot of people in there, but we’ve never had issues getting food or finding a table.

The walk is not bad at all. I haven’t stayed at the Element but if I did, I would Uber back to the hotel at the end of the night. We have stayed at the JW before we had our now-toddler and had to Uber back each night. It was too far.

 

[smartlabelprint]

Thanks! I'm a Marriott Bonvoy member, so I'm planning on staying on points. For points, Element is cheaper for my stay by about 50,000 points vs Residence Inn right now, if it were just my wife and I - I wouldn't hesitate to stay at Element, but with our kids - I am worried it will be tough for them to walk that far back to the hotel. Residence Inn is only a little bit closer, but it is roughly the same distance we walk from Bay Lake Tower to Magic Kingdom and they're able to do that just fine.

For 50k point difference I’d choose residence.