We had much higher hopes for this value hotel but found it in need of a good clean.
1831 S Harbor Blvd, Anaheim
Quick Facts about the Hotel
15 minute walk to Disneyland
Check-in: 3 pm Check-out: 12 pm
Parking fee: $16/Night
The Portofino Inn is Classified as a moderate resort on the Disneyland Good Neighbour hotel list. But in all honesty, after our stay, it's not a hotel we’d recommend. Come join us as we take a tour of this resort and stink around to see why we’ve poo-poo’d this hotel.
"...I was shocked to see how far they’ve let this place slide downhill..."
Overall Experience: 2/5
My first experience staying at the Portofino Inn & Suites was about 20 years ago when I was a teen. I really liked the resort for how clean and comfortable it was and of course, because it was within a 15 minute walk to Disneyland.
Fast forward to recent history, I was always surprised at how reasonable the cost was when I was pricing out vacations, given the awesome experience I’d had, and because it’s current rating trip advisor rating is 4 out of 5. So I figured it was worth another stay.
First let me just say, I was shocked to see how far they let this place slide downhill. Every room in this hotel has a distinctly different odor, giving it an overall unclean feeling. Even though the smell is the biggest reason for low rating, our experience wasn’t all bad. When we arrived a few hours before check in, they had a room ready for us. With a check-in time of 3pm and a check-out time of noon, they have some of the most flexible check in times in the area. Plus, it's a great location being next to a CVS and a short 10-15 minute walk to the park.
Room: 1.75/5
We stayed in a two queen room up on the third floor and were excited at the prospect of having a private balcony. When we walked into the room, the first thing we noticed was the smell. The best was to describe it: the smell sewage being covered up by cleaning products.
When we arrived the room was hot so we turned on the a/c which is a central ac unit but quickly discovered the cold air came with a new foul smell.
The beds were old and uncomfortable and there were no outlets at the bedside table to charge your devices. But there are plugs on either side of each bed plus additional plugs at the desk and table. Overall, the bathroom was meh. The vanity was showing it’s age and the lighting in the bathroom was dark. Thankfully it was one of the only places in our room that felt clean.
Here's a list of all the in-room amenities:
Small, wall mounted hair dryer
Basic toiletries
Mini fridge
Mini coffee maker
Flat Screen TV
Iron, board, hangers & luggage holder
Here are a few things to keep in mind about this room:
It has a balcony which is great, but make sure you lock it at night and every time you leave the room.
The sinks and mirror sit outside of the bathroom area
It’s important to note that there is no in room safe.
According to the website, if you ask for a fridge or a microwave, they charge a daily fee for each. In our room, we had a mini fridge and weren't charged and there was a communal microwave in the laundry room...but I can't say I'd recommend you use it.
Upon further inspection of the room, To our shock and dismay we found what looked and smelled like feces on the curtains. All in all we gave the room a 1.75 because it is a far cry from what we’d expect from a ‘good neighbor hotel’.
Hotel Amenities: 2/5
The Pool area was WAY smaller than it appeared in the photos and all the furniture looked old and worse for wear. There were only 7 towels left to use, not that I would want to sit in this pool area anyways since it is surrounded by large hotels with rooms overlooking you and it’s situated in the middle of the parking lot.
The Fitness Centre was very small and the air smelled stale giving it an unclean feel I would not want to use this facility. The smells continued in the kids activity centre.
The ice machine, guest laundry machines and microwave share the same room so it was hard to tell where the smell was coming from. For sanitary reasons, I wouldn’t use any of these.
Their business centre was adequate. To be competitive against other hotels in the area on paper, they have many of the same amenities, but most weren’t near the quality you’d hope for from a Disneyland good neighbor hotel.
Value: 1.75/5
We gave the Portofino Inn & Suites a 1.75/5 for value purely because it’s one of the cheapest offerings within a stone’s throw of the park.
Overall Rating: 1.9/5
This gives the Portofino Inn & Suites an overall rating of 1.9/5. In our honest opinion, trip advisors current 4/5 rating is way off the mark. This is one of the worst hotels we’ve stayed in at the Disneyland Resort and in it’s current state, we don’t recommend it.
if you’re planning on staying here for the location and the price, don’t say we didn’t warn you.
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I’m Julia and this has been another Honest Hotel Review.