ALO Hotel by Ayres, Orange — Hotel in Orange

We stayed at this hotel before and expected a bit more than we got. We travel on a pretty tight budget which is why we chose this hotel. We stayed for 5 nights. Room: Basic room, comfy beds. Decent shower/bathroom. This is all I ask for in a hotel room we are basically using to sleep/bath in when we are not at the Park so that part was great. There are also lots of little storage cubbies that come in handy when you are bringing your own food stuffs to save $$. The remodeling felt weird, so aesthetically, it's a little confused at the moment. The lobby looks new and contemporary, but the rooms and restaurant are still in some sort of old English style (Which I liked when we stayed there before...really missed the art that was there before!). The breakfast was ok. Very basic. It's a step just above a continental breakfast since there were some protein offerings, but it was the same thing every day. We always try to get in a good breakfast so we don't have to spend so much on food in the park. This did the job but it did get tiring after day 3! Also, since breakfast was not served before 6:30 it made it impossible to get to our 1 early entry. We really loved the hot tub. We valued the heat, cleanness and great jets. Very unhappy with the ART shuttle service. This is 1 reason we probably won't stay here again. Only stopping every hour made scheduling difficult (wish I'd read that review before). Then, on the last 2-3 pickups our line(14) didn't show up on time. The other line (15) would end up taking us back. On the last night, they didn't even show up! We ended up taking a Lyft almost every morning and 2 nights! It never took more than 5 min and was only about $6 (plus tip) so not bad. However, I'd prepaid for the ART so I feel I got cheated there! (that's not the fault of the hotel though). As for the front desk staff, they didn't do anything wrong but when ever we interacted with them, it seemed like it was an imposition. Maybe I expected and am used to more from a Disney endorsed hotel, but I was not in the least impressed with them. The ladies that managed the breakfast were awesome, they really hustled and were very pleasant and helpful (their tip jar should be in a more visible spot). And the maids did a great job and greeted us every morning with a cheerful "Good Morning! The desk staff seemed irritated we were there. A last word about the appliances. The refrigerator would not cool very well so we reported it to the staff. They said they put a work order in but never did anything about it. Luckily we didn't really need the thing except to keep my medication cooled which it did, barely. We were there for 5 days. Something should have been done. Also, the guest microwave located on the 2nd floor did not work well. Frustrating when we came home from the park and wanted to heat up some soup. The guest dryer also did not dry our laundry w/o a second round. That wouldn't be all that bad except the desk clerk admonished us saying "you know the laundry room closes at 10, right?" So, all that to say, I probably won't stay there again unless that is the only place in my price range (which was the case this time). We loved it last time but much has changed since then, most importantly the way the staff interacts with the guests. Oh, and there were never any cookies when we came back from the park. We came back at different times each night and each night there was an empty plate! Not really a big deal, but you'd think since they were offered, there would have been at least 1 night out of the 5 that we got...

I really liked this hotel and wish I could give it all the stars but I have to take away a couple, but then add back in extras for ways the hotel was better than expected. This makes it a 4 star review total but there are some definite low marks, read on if you are particular in what you are looking for!

I stayed at the Ayres hotel next door before and thought this would be nicer but turns out it was a little more worn down.

Starts at 5 stars, starting with the bad:

Subtract 1 due to it seeming a little beat up and worn down in appearance in the halls and the elevator. My son who is very germ-averse was very nervous by the time we got to the room. It's an older building and it seems due to settling the floors aren't even. They seem to have tried to mask drywall repairs in the ceiling by adding plaster swoops here and there to make it seem part of the design. (See pic.). This appears to also have been done UNDER the hall wallpaper too, as there are bumps the same shape showing underneath.

Subtract 1 because despite not using the "do not disturb" tag, our room was only serviced 1 of the 3 days we were there.

Subtract 1 because the shower heads are awful. To get enough water pressure you have to adjust the head to have the water flow through around the outside edges of the nozzle which makes it to where by the time the water gets to your body it hits spread out in a large circle that doesn't hit all of you at one time.

Subtract 1 for the unclean bathroom incoming air vent (see pic) which I especially noticed since I was getting a cold.

Subtract 1 because the outlets on the lamps and clock radio to charge things didn't charge things and I didn't know until the next day when the supposedly charging things were still dead. Please cover with black electrical tape.

Subtract 1 for the only ice machine being on the 2nd floor and the elevators being pretty slow, and I think only one was working.

Add 1 because the room layout was awesome. Each bed had its own side table, (see pic) & the t.v. was atop another ledge, so there was plenty of space to set things down and keep organized.

Add 1 because if was the best A.C. EVER! Easy to control and worked really well.

Add 1 because the breakfast was better than most. For example there was a bowl of fresh shredded cheese added for no particular reason. Just a big bowl of shredded cheese. Respect!

Add 1 for how easy parking was. Even in the garage it was still close.

Add 1 for checkout time being 12, not 11, for no extra charge.

Finally, there was some confusion as far as parking and breakfast. I thought parking was free and breakfast wasn't included. Turns out parking was $15 and breakfast was included. I'm not going to try to untangle where that came from (could be from my bank's website where I paid for this stay with points) but $15 isn't bad and the breakfast was good so I'm neither adding nor subtracting points for the mix-up.

The location is ideal for those that want to stay outside "walkable-to-Disneyland" prices and are planning to...

Priced well for a great space. My dog and I checked into a 5th floor king suite and I immediately turned off the AC and opened the windows to let that California breeze in. Never turned the AC back on or closed the windows during our week stay. There were no musty odors in the room, it smelled fresh and I got so much great rest on that amazing bed by the window which was the highlight of this room. The furniture in the room was also perfectly positioned and functional. I made use of the desk by the window. I loved the separate seating area with sofa and coffee table. I normally book suites as I can't stand how claustrophobic a bed in a box can be but this was the perfect amount of space and thoughtfully arranged. I even appreciated the bench below the mirror I used as a landing and exit area to put on shoes or drop my purse and dog's leash.

My only issue was the door to my room kept getting stuck that I had to lean and forcefully push against it to open the door which is annoying when you have things in your hand. At first I thought it was my key card but when I got a replacement, the front desk told me it's an old building leaving the windows open helps. I had the windows open and it did not help. I would put in my key card, the light would turn green I'd start to open and then it would get stuck halfway through the latch and if I did not force push it through and just tried again the door would lock and the light would remain red and would not let you in. To the point I couldn't tell if the keycard would work anymore. Other than that I would stay here again.

Breakfast is okay - I'm one of those that can always find something to eat in a spread and I appreciate the hot options. The staff is also kind and welcoming. And I loved that I could use my credit card to operate the laundry on the 4th floor. The washers and dryers seem like heavy duty so larger than the standard...