My current favorite off-site hotel is Majestic Gardens. They have a shuttle that's free for hotel guests; I haven't ever walked to/from the hotel because the shuttle is convenient and easy, and why waste all those steps to get to the park when I'm going to walk so much *in* the park. Why is Majestic my go-to hotel at this point? The buildings look like Tudor-style castles; makes me feel like a princess walking up
. Indoor corridors make me feel more secure, though I always stayed at motels without corridors before I found Majestic. The grounds are well-maintained and clean. The pool is outside, but surrounded by buildings, so it feels more secluded than a normal parking lot pool, and has lots of lush greenery around it. The interior of the hotel is always cleaned, well-maintained, and it's fun to read the ongoing story of Princess Corinne, their mascot. The rooms are HUGE, and one wall in every room I've stayed in has a forest scene, which adds a little calming "view" after being so blasted with stimuli all day in the parks. The staff has always been awesome, and super helpful. The beds are always comfortable, and 8 pillows means I have 8 chances to find the best pillow for me! My flight usually gets me to the hotel around 1pm, and they have always allowed me to check in early without any type of charge, and have actually had a room ready for me every time I checked in early. The one time they didn't have a room ready, they switched me to a different room immediately since they said I looked so tired, haha. To be fair, I have to get up at 2:30 am to catch my flight, so by 1:00 pm, I am definitely a bit tired looking! Bonus points: More "bang for your buck" staying here-- I often get a large 1 King or 2 Queen room for around $150/night; finding that price on Harbor that meet the above criteria is impossible! Their shuttle picks you up right outside their lobby, and delivers you to the bus drop-off area (where the ART busses and shuttles drop their passengers off), so at the end of the day, your walk to the shuttle is really easy-- about 2-3 minutes from the security check.
As for walking distance, an often overlooked motel is Best Western Stovall's. It's south of the resort, on Katella at West/Disneyland Drive (West changes to Disneyland Drive right across the street). The walk is okay-- takes my arthritic self about 15-20 minutes to walk it. What I liked about the walk is that as soon as you cross Katella over to Disneyland Drive, you're on Disneyland Resort property the whole way. You walk north on Disneyland Drive, then go to the left through the Pixar Pier Hotel parking lot, and then through Downtown Disney to the parks. I'm typically a solo traveler, so I like being on the DLR property the whole way; it means I know I'm on camera from one way or another, and they would know if I sneezed wrong, and if something wayward would happen to me, they would have it on camera. The walk feels much quicker than it actually is. Also, there's not any homeless people on the walk until you are back on Katella.
A few years ago, I wrote the below review about the pool. It sounds really negative, but, once again, remember I'm a 44yo solo traveler, 5'3" and 150 pounds. As my grandma used to say, "Dynamite comes in small packages," but it's not like I could overpower someone substantially bigger than me. If my husband had been with me, I would have felt much better/safer and wouldn't have been uneasy about it at all. If it was daytime, I also wouldn't have felt uneasy. The pictures of the pool in daylight are lovely.
"As far as the pool goes, they have 2 pools and 2 hot tubs. I'm not a huge fan of the pools and hot tubs, but if I wasn't a solo traveler, it likely wouldn't bother me as much. Important background info: I often travel alone as a 40-something, petite female. I feel fairly secure in my ability to defend myself, and am fairly comfortable walking around on my own in the Disneyland resort area. Like I mentioned earlier, my room was at the northwest corner of the property. The pool is on the east side of the property. To get from my room to the pool and hot tubs, I needed to walk through a parking lot, through another building, and more parking. Most commonly, I use the hot tub on my first night at hotels/motels, as I've been traveling all day, and don't go to the parks that day. So, I changed into my suit, threw a towel around me, grabbed my book and phone. I walked down 3 flights of stairs. Then across the first parking lot area. Then I came up on a safety concern. Though the corridor was well-lit, it was a hallway and I couldn't see what was at the other side, other than more parking. Someone could have been on either side of the opening of the corridor at the other end, and I would have been totally unaware. So, I made it through the corridor, and through the next parking area. The pool area was fenced, and I think I needed my key card to get in. At this point, I was faced with my next issue. There was a pool and hot tub up front, and then one around the corner on the far side of a pool-supply building (maybe 15x15 ft building, but made the back hot tub and pool pretty remote-feeling). There was a young couple (ahem, trying to be polite) "canoodling" in the front hot tub. So, I had to use the back hot tub. It was dark, and just felt too far removed to be comfortable. There was also a big pick-up truck driving around the parking lot over and over again, with people yelling from the truck... So, between a back hot tub where I felt very hidden, plus a couple rather hot and heavy 15 feet away, plus a pick-up truck from who-knows-where driving through the parking lot, I just felt uncomfy. I basically ran back to my room as quickly as possible."
Despite that pool review, it's still a hotel I recommend without hesitation, and the price is usually hard to beat!
But it was starting to see some wear and neglect from COVID closures. 
