The Carousel Inn and Suites was the low point of our recent trip. If you're looking for a good value and a decent hotel near Disneyland, take my advice: keep looking.
"Breakfast" at the Carousel does not exist. To start with, it is only served between the hours of 7 and 9am. Have to wake up and be somewhere? Sorry, no breakfast for you. Likewise if you are enjoying your vacation and sleep in. We only made it to the nonexistent continental breakfast once. Our choices were 3 options of stale cereal, or toast (yay toast!), or three types of really awful pastry. Nothing hot, nothing fresh. Nothing with a hint of protein. Not even a bagel. I've seen hotels that claim "continental breakfast" and provide glazed doughnuts. And I would have preferred even that arrangement.
There was no clock in the room. So we requested a wake-up call for our "Magic Morning". The call never arrived, and we lost that already-paid-for perk. We spent the day being thankful we didn't have a flight or business meeting that morning, because a mistake like that could get really ugly.
The room's television was broken. The room had three lamps, but none within reach of the bed. Call me pampered, but I was also disappointed to see that in the entire hotel, there was only one internet kiosk (pay-per-minute), located in the breakfast room, locked and unavailable except during the 2-hour breakfast window. Curiosity (and bargain-hunting) dies at 9am sharp - or immediately if you forget your credit card.
We chose the hotel in part for its rooftop pool. Despite the front desk claiming it (and the rest of the facility) was available, I found a padlock on the stairwell every time I tried. That was a bummer. And every time we went to or from the hotel, we were struck by its odd and unintuitive layout.
All of this was disappointing because we paid more than we had to. I was hoping to show my wife a great first-time Disney and hotel experience to wrap up our trip. The room was adequate, and the hotel in general was very clean. The rest was Not As Advertised. Had I known, I would have booked somewhere else and saved my of money.
I've been to this area before, so comparison is not difficult. With hotels crammed on every square inch of Harbor Blvd, you have at least 20 options within three easy walking blocks of Disneyland's main gate. All of them offer good traveler information and brochures. Most of them offer pools, and many offer real breakfasts (for free!) The whole area is clean - an extra $2 per night guarantees that you see the shiny side of LA, so you shouldn't fear the "seedy" bargain. Just find a good value for your money. The Carousel Inn and Suites does not qualify as such.










