Anaheim Discovery Inn Review & Tour

If you are searching for the least-expensive place within walking distance of Disneyland to safely lay your head, today’s installment of the Unofficial Guide’s ongoing series of Disneyland-area lodging reviews might land the Anaheim Discovery Inn on your list of possibilities.

Learn how to sleep within steps of Disneyland for a lot less! Here’s our look at the Anaheim Discovery Inn & Suites. (Photos/video by Seth Kubersky)

Anaheim Discovery Inn & Suites at the Park, located at 1126 West Katella Avenue, is a 1960s-vintage motel that’s right next door to the Best Western Plus Stovall’s Inn. For a long time, we had Anaheim Discovery Inn on our list of hotels to avoid regardless of price. However, after recent renovations, this property (while still far from luxurious) is now at least worthy of consideration by thrifty travelers.

Comprised of a few charmless single- and two-story exterior-access buildings surrounding an asphalt parking lot with only the most cursory attempt at landscaping, Anaheim Discovery Inn is the textbook definition of a minimally acceptable motel. The infrastructure shows its age in spots, despite the independent owners’ ongoing efforts to apply more than one fresh coat of paint.

Accommodations are reasonably clean and comfortable—but far from pristine—with visibly worn-but-functional furnishings. The decor can charitably be described as minimalist, featuring tile floors, padded pleather headboards, and a few monochrome photographs on the walls, along with scuff marks and paint patches.

Basic in-room amenities include a mini-fridge and microwave, decent Wi-Fi, and convenient USB ports beside the bed, but the air-conditioning units are noisy, so it’s fortunate that the windows can be opened. Room service is offered via a sketchy-seeming delivery company. There are no coffee makers in the rooms, and the complimentary brew served for a few hours each morning in the front lobby is essentially undrinkable.

The bathrooms are just barely adequate, with dated tub fixtures and not nearly enough counter space for more than one person to get ready in the morning.

There are also hardly any drawers or shelf space for storage, although an awkwardly placed walk-in closet provides some space for hanging up clothes.

Standard king and double-queen rooms will serve solo visitors or couples, but families will want to step up to a 2- or 3-bed suite with separate bedrooms, which are priced significantly below equivalently sized accommodations at neighboring properties. Take a tour of a standard single king room at Anaheim Discovery Inn & Suites with this video:

As far as recreational activities go, Anaheim Discovery Inn offers a tiny outdoor pool with no hot tub—and nothing else. But this frill-free motel isn’t a place you’ll want to spend much time at anyway. Rather, it’s simply a place to sleep for a few hours between trips into the parks, and it can be a good value as long as you aren’t expecting anything more.

Since the Anaheim Discovery Inn competes closely with the Kings Inn (which is slightly nicer and closer to the Esplanade) for the crown of cheapest habitable lodging within a mile of Disneyland, research the rates at both before booking. We rate the Anaheim Discovery Inn & Suites 2 stars out of 5.