For my birthday this past December, my boyfriend and I decided to celebrate by getting tickets to Disney's "Merriest Nites," a holiday after-hours event at Disneyland. Since it was a special occasion and the event would be going until midnight, I began searching for a nearby hotel, and noticed a new location that I hadn't seen before: The Westin Anaheim Resort!
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The Westin Anaheim Resort is a brand new, AAA Four-Diamond hotel property that's located just a short walk from the parks and the Downtown Disney District. Having just opened in June 2021, I hadn't known about this hotel when we bought our tickets, but I can't tell you how incredibly happy I am that we found this place and stayed here for my birthday!
Since my boyfriend and his family are DVC members (Disney Vacation Club), we usually stay at Disney resort hotels; however, when we tried to book a room in December at the Grand Californian or the Paradise Pier, all the rooms were booked up for DVC members, and the prices on Hotels.com were upward of $800 and $600, respectively.
Most of the non-Disney hotels in the Anaheim area are about a mile away, which is still close, but after being on your feet all day, it's not a fun walk to have to make so late & after dark. So when I scrolled through Hotels.com and saw a picture of a balcony-view of California Adventure, I knew the hotel had to be close, and decided to check it out!
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The Indulge Package
My absolute favorite part of our experience at the Westin was their Indulge Package. For an extra fee, you can choose to add the Indulge Package to your reservation, which will include:
Breakfast for Two at either their Restaurant or In-Room Dining Service
Late Checkout of 4pm the Next Day
Chocolate Covered Strawberries
Sparkling Wine
The hotel's location, price (compared to the other two Disney resort hotels), and this Indulge Package are what sold me on booking the Westin. Seriously, this package is my new favorite thing ever! Not having to set an alarm the next morning to be out of the room by 11am to checkout was an experience I've never had before, and it was awesome!! And considering that most hotels that offer free breakfast usually just mean the small & awkward grab 'n' go continental breakfast in the lobby, getting room service in the morning and relaxing in our hotel robes was just the best!
Parking & Check In
Self parking was a breeze. The hotel does offer valet parking ($39), but we pulled in to the hotel, the road led us to the back of the hotel where the parking structure was, we got our ticket, and parked in self parking. We took the elevator to the ground floor, and walked across into the hotel lobby (this parking structure is a lot closer to the hotel lobby than both of the previously-mentioned Disneyland resort hotels). It costs $35 to self park, but after getting parking validated at the front desk, the price dropped down to $29.86.
Since it was the last night of the Merriest Nites event, we were expecting all of the hotels in the area to be pretty busy, but there were barely any cars parked in the garage, which made both parking and check-in quick & stress-free.
The lobby was spacious, bright, and clean, and we were able to be helped right away at the front desk. The gentleman who checked us in was kind & friendly, and helped set the tone for what was to be a great hotel stay. Check-in wasn't until 4pm, and since we got there at noon, we weren't sure if our room would be ready yet, but not only was our room ready, the gentleman put us right in the middle of the hotel (the hotel has three sides), so we had an amazing, straight-on view of California Adventure from our room!
The Hotel Room
The room we booked was the option labeled: "Park View, Guest Room, 1 King, Sofa Bed, Balcony." I chose this room first and foremost for that view, and then for the balcony in order to enjoy that view. We couldn't have been more happy with our room: incredibly spacious living/sleeping area, gorgeous bathroom with a rainfall shower head, two Westin robes, and the perfect-sized balcony with both a bench & two chairs for seating.
Also, not to mention, our room was quiet! Our last few hotel stays, we could hear the families around our room loud and clear, so we were more than happy and impressed with how quiet our room was. (I will note, however, that it's possible that it was just a slow night for this resort, but nonetheless, we appreciated it!)
After looking around and putting our stuff down, we had a lot of fun admiring/playing with the touch-screen controls for the room, which was right by the door.
There was also a full-length mirror in the walkway that had a light-up frame, as well as a secondary makeup mirror in the bathroom that had the option to light up as well! The last couple of hotels we stayed at didn't have full length mirrors or great lighting in the bathroom for makeup; I never considered those things as a deal-breaker for a hotel stay by any means, but having them in the room was so helpful that I found myself wishing they were in our room when we stayed at another hotel later on in the month.
Since we checked in earlier than the original check-in time, the chocolate-covered strawberries & sparkling wine weren't in the room and (understandably) wouldn't be delivered until 4pm. However, we didn't mind that at all! I actually packed us some meat, cheese, and crackers to enjoy with some wine (and luckily the room came with two wine glasses), so we took that out to the balcony and dined on that for the first part of our stay.
Around 3:30, we heard a knock at the door and knew our sparkling wine & strawberries had arrived! The gentleman at the door was so kind and delivered the bottle of bubbly with an ice bucket and two glasses, along with three plump strawberries on a cute platter.
The strawberries had just the right amount of chocolate & were delicious - the perfect little treat to go with our room! Full disclosure: we weren't too big of fans when it came to the sparkling wine, but I say that as someone who doesn't prefer dry wines much. The novelty and presentation of the wine were enough to make us happy, and we still ended up drinking about half the bottle, so if dry sparkling wines are your thing, you'll probably enjoy it!
Disney's Merriest Nites
After the wine and strawberries, it was time to start getting ready and head to Disney's Merriest Nites!
The Downtown Disney District is only about a 5-10 minute walk from the Westin. When you leave the hotel, just cross the street (W. Katella) and walk down Disneyland Drive to the Paradise Pier Hotel (you'll see it on the left). Then when you see the Grand Californian hotel entrance on your right, cross the street towards the Paradise Pier hotel and keep walking straight until you see signs for Downtown Disney on your right. Turn right and keep following the signs until you see the entrance for Downtown Disney on the right! From Downtown Disney, you can access the entrance to both Disney parks.
Our walk to Downtown Disney was so beautiful; they decorated the trees along the sidewalk, so our whole walk there was lined with warm Christmas lights and all of the holiday decorations at Downtown Disney and the park were just a Christmas dream.
If you ever wondered whether or not it was worth it to purchase tickets to this event, my answer is a big YES. Not only are you able to enter Disneyland up to three hours before the event (which starts at 8pm), you actually get to enjoy the majority of the attractions with little to no wait times because they don't over-sell tickets. They also sell event-exclusive food (we got a Thanksgiving burger and the pretzel to the right), merchandise, had plenty of live music throughout the park, and let's be honest: is there anywhere that does the holidays quite like Disney?
We've had season passes to the parks for the last couple of years, but since the pandemic, Disney ended that program and we went back and forth on whether it was worth it to buy season passes again. We had gotten a lot of use out of our season passes, and didn't feel the need to go to Disney quite as often here, since we went to Disney Springs pretty much whenever we visited Orlando.
The tickets were worth it honestly just for the fact that it wasn't crowded; we got to ride everything we wanted to several times, and the longest wait we had was for one story-book ride (30 mins). There weren't even lines for food! It was the perfect dose of Disney, that if we decide to do Disney again this year, we'll most likely just go to this event instead of buying their Magic Key Program. The only real downside for us is that the event doesn't include California Adventure.
Room Service/Dining
After the event, we started walking back to our hotel and realized we were getting hungry again. Luckily, room service at the Westin was offered 24/7! We ordered the cheeseburger and chicken quesadilla, and once our order arrived, were so incredibly happy with our choices. We were quoted 30 minutes, but the food arrived in 20 and not only were the portions great but both dishes were delicious and hit the spot.
Breakfast
Waking up without an alarm on check-out day was simply amazing. We both slept in and once we woke up, I worried that breakfast might be ending soon (or already over) so we went to check out the room service breakfast menu. I was happy to see that you could still order breakfast up until 11am (score!) and after glancing at the menu, the "breakfast for two" included in our package honestly seemed too good to be true!
I dialed room service, and double-checked with them that the breakfast on their menu was included in our package, and after looking up our room, they said "Yup, it is!" I honestly couldn't believe it.
We brought our own coffee pods from home to use with the room's Keurig, however, there are plenty of coffee pods available for use in the room. We made some fresh coffee, threw on our robes and enjoyed the view from our balcony while we waited for breakfast.
Once breakfast came (early again, yay!!!), I still felt like it was too good to be true! My boyfriend ordered the Eggs Benedict while I made a customized omelette (you got up to five choices of add-ins!) with a glass of freshly-squeezed orange juice, and everything tasted incredible!
It was even better than the room service breakfast we've previously ordered at a 5-star hotel!
We turned on the tv and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" happened to be playing, and since we still had the room for over four hours (unbelievable!), we kept on our robes, got back into bed and finished the Christmas movie. Honestly, one of the best ways to spend a birthday in December.
After the movie was finished, though we still had the room for a couple more hours, we decided to pack up and bring our things to the car so we could check out some stores at Downtown Disney and head home before traffic picked up. I was able to do an express check-out on my phone, and after we dropped our stuff off at the car, began our walk over to Downtown Disney.
I loved getting to walk through the shopping area during the day to take in all the holiday decorations before we went home!
As we started to drive out of the parking garage, I worried if we would be charged for two days of parking, since we had left the car there for so long...but luckily, we weren't! When you take into consideration that we pretty much spent two days at Disney, and parking at the parks is $25/day, I was grateful that we were able to conveniently leave our car in the hotel's garage for so long for only $29 and some change.
Overview
To sum it up, I had one of the best birthdays ever, and a large part of that was our experience at the Westin Anaheim Resort. Everything about our stay far exceeded my expectations; from the ease of parking and the early check-in, to the quality of our room and our extraordinary view, even the warm hospitality and outstanding customer service, all contributed to an unforgettable stay. In my opinion, the Indulge Package was totally worth every penny, and I will forever be holding other hotel stays to the standards of this Westin. If you're planning a trip to Disney and looking for a place to stay, the Westin Anaheim Resort is the perfect hotel!
Quick Hotel Facts
Disneyland Tickets: You can skip the lines and purchase your tickets to the parks straight from the hotel!
Discounts: The Westin Anaheim offers a package for Disney Magic Key Holders
Check-in time is 3pm, and Check-out time is 11am
Parking: Valet is $39, Self Parking is $35 ($29.86 with validation) and there are 10 complimentary charging stations for electric vehicles.
Amenities: There is a heated outdoor pool, whirlpool, and fitness center (24/7, but you must make an appointment with the front desk to use it - I'm assuming this is for Covid)
Dining: Room service 24/7, buffet & continental breakfasts, a casual restaurant, a lobby bar, pool bar and rooftop bar, as well as a Fleming's Steakhouse and Puesto Mexican restaurant.
Click here to watch a 30-second video tour & highlights from our trip! (Helpful tip: it's definitely more fun to watch with the sound on!)