Fairfield Inn vs Grand Legacy

[PrincessIM]

I need help choosing a place to stay. We've previously stayed at the Disneyland Hotel but at $600 a night for a standard room I have to look elsewhere. I can't believe how much prices have gone up. I think we've narrowed it down to the Grand Legacy or Fairfield Inn. The kids 16 & 12 will likely be walking back and forth on their own at some point so looking for a short safe walk under 10 mins. Prefer somewhere recently renovated/updated but above all clean! Pool is pretty important as we are looking to come back in afternoon for a break. I'm not too concerned about a free breakfast. The reviews for the Grand Legacy have been mixed lately but DH's co worker has stayed there and recommended it. Please help me decide. Looking for opinions on either. TIA!

 

[ParkHopper1]

I have not stayed at the GL but stay at the Fairfield all the time. You can not beat the location. It is a Marriott property but nothing special. Predictably mediocre I like to say. Safe, clean and decent but defiantly and older property that just feels "meh" compared to some of the newer properties. I usually book there on points but will take the Courtyard hands down over Fairfield Inn if I have the option.

If proximity is high value to you it is an excellent choice. There are only one or two closer that personally I do not book at.

 

[PrincessIM]

I have not stayed at the GL but stay at the Fairfield all the time. You can not beat the location. It is a Marriott property but nothing special. Predictably mediocre I like to say. Safe, clean and decent but defiantly and older property that just feels "meh" compared to some of the newer properties. I usually book there on points but will take the Courtyard hands down over Fairfield Inn if I have the option.

If proximity is high value to you it is an excellent choice. There are only one or two closer that personally I do not book at.

Thanks for answering! When you refer to courtyard marriott are you referring to the new Marriott theme park. Just took a quick peek and that might be exactly what we are looking for.

 

[ParkHopper1]

Thanks for answering! When you refer to courtyard marriott are you referring to the new Marriott theme park. Just took a quick peek and that might be exactly what we are looking for.

Yes...I am a Marriott Platinum member for many years in a row which means I stay in a LOT of hotels. I am a bit of a hotel snob and the Courtyard line is one of my favorites and that new property is one of the nicest in the country. By far my first choice for off site hotel. It is as close to a full service property as you can get and has a LOT of amenities for a mid range property. Certainly not necessary the cheapest option off site...but is cheaper than on site and still very close to the gate. I think every room is standard with either king or two queens and twin size bunk beds in every room.

Certainly nicer then the FFI and meets all your criteria above. No free breakfast but they have a counter service "Bistro" in the lobby that you can get hot food and coffee from early morning till late night. I much prefer the Bistro food slections and happily will pay vs most the free breakfast offerings that other properties offer plus a few good food options right there for the kids like Panera.

The pools are not even in the same universe. The Courtyard is a Waterpark.

 

[Whistlebee]

We love the Courtyard but the actual pool is quite small. The water park is awesome but geared toward younger kids.

 

[Elk Grove Chris]

GL is a little closer and rooms have been updated. The pool is not bad, in middle of parking lot, but fenced and there are some greens. I have stayed there 3 times in the last 12 months. I have stayed at FFI only once a couple of years ago and it was ok. Free breakfast is not great, but it can save some $$$. GL meets all our needs, close, clean, comfortable rooms, pretty quiet. You can see fireworks from the lounge on 5th floor. Food at lounge is mediocre, but they have some decent beer and wine available.

 

[KITKAT0229]

If you look at Fairfield Inn's website, you'll see they are in the middle of refurbishing the rooms. They look very nice. We chose them over Courtyard because of price ($600 total cheaper).

 

[Nevada Jen]

If you can swing courtyard theme park that is far better straight hotel-wise than the ones you are talking about. The bunk beds would be perfect for your kids. The rooms are much bigger and better designed than Fairfield and its a HOtel instead of a MOtel. The walk is about the same as the length of the walk from the DL Hotel. Slightly less than 10 minutes. We were big on site only paradise pier believers and Courtyard is better than PPH and the rooms and getting to your room is better than DLH. THe pool is nice and has a resort like atmosphere. The slides are kind of lame but those and the play area tend to keep the little kids out of the hot tub and there are lots of lounge chairs to just sit around and enjoy yourself. We recently stayed at Fairfield. We had an updated room which was actually gorgeously decorated. I personally would not stay there again, but I think I am just solidly a HOtel girl. I found it extremely loud. THe rooms were quite small and the fold out couch was a chair with the fold out bed being considerably more narrow than a twin. No way could a 16 year old fit on that thing. But it was a super close walk. About half the distance of the Courtyard. Like if you only had to walk back to ESPN Zone in the evening as opposed to all the way to your room at the DL hotel. The pool is in the parking lot. It seems fine but I wouldn't want to use it because it just seems weird having a pool in the parking lot. It is a rectangle with chairs around the rectangle deck. If you can live with a bit more money and a bit more walk, you will not regret Courtyard. It sounds like you plan to USE your hotel, Courtyard is a better choice for that.

 

[JBF1982]

I have never stayed at Fairfield so can't speak to that but stayed at GL for two nights, last week. We enjoyed our GL stay. The room was clean, bed was not comfortable, but rest of the room was comfortable. and there was no free breakfast. Parking was $12/day. The walk to DTD and the parks was short. I got a non-refundable "anniversary rate" of 107/night, last week. Would stay there again.

 

[lcp9]

We are Marriott associates and generally either try to stay in the Fairfield or one of the RI. The new RI is wonderful, but definitely a walk. If proximity is your goal, you can't get a whole lot closer than FI and that includes on property hotels. FI rooms are ok, it's just an older hotel in need of renovation. we tend to only be in our room to sleep, so it has worked fine for us in the past. If you've got kids walking back and forth, I think this would be a good choice. We have 3 kids (5, 3, 1) and all of us have crammed into one room.

 

[PrincessIM]

Thanks everyone for all your comments. I booked the Courtyard Marriott today for now. GL location can't be beat but I think CM might be closer to what we are looking for. For those that have stayed at GL did you find it noisy. DH got really nervous when he read GL noise complaints on Trip Advisor.