Of course, you could do the luxurious, convenient hotel stay on the Anaheim Campus, and stay at the Anaheim Marriott, the 
Hilton Anaheim, the Sheraton Park Hotel at the Anaheim Resort or the Westin Anaheim resort (opening this year), which are all practically attached to the convention center, and share the ACC’s outdoor space, including the Arena Plaza, Palm Court and Grand Plaza. Or you could go across the street to Disneyland and stay at one of their spectacular resorts like Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa (pictured right).
Or if you like brand-new, just-opened hotels, Orange County’s first JW Marriott is slated to open in April and will be adjacent to the Anaheim GardenWalk in the heart of the Anahe
im Resort District. The 12-story $150 million property will have 466 guest rooms, a rooftop garden and 24,000 sq.ft. of meeting space while the new Westin Anaheim Resort (pictured left), scheduled to open in August, will have 600+ stylish guestrooms including 101 suites, three restaurants, two bars including a rooftop lounge overlooking Disneyland’s nightly fireworks, a resort-style pool and a marketplace. The Westin Anaheim will also feature 23 meeting rooms totaling 47,542 sq.ft. of customizable and high-tech meeting space including a 16,000-sq.ft. grand ballroom.
But, speaking as your tour guide for time travel, I recommend spending a night or two aboard the Queen Mary (pictured above and below). Docked just 16 miles from Anaheim in Long Beach harbor, The RMS Queen Mary is a retired British ocean liner that sailed primarily on the North Atlantic Ocean from 1936-1967 for the Cunard Line. The Queen Mary lives on now as a full-service Long Beach hotel, historical landmark and entertainment venue with several tours and special events, giving visitors a unique glimpse into a bygone era when steamships were the most regal way to travel.
The Queen Mary features some of the grandest, most intricate and beautiful interior designs ever aboard an ocean liner. Influenced by the Art Deco movement of the 1920s and 30s, the interior design includes strong curves and geometric forms representing elegance, glamour, function and modernity. The Art Deco design was further enhanced by the use of over 50 different types of woods from all over the world, which earned her the nickname, “Ship of Woods.” The highly decorative and luxurious woods were used throughout the entire ship—inside and out. Intricate marquetry, carvings and highly decorative murals were featured in every ballroom and salon of the Queen Mary. A total of 56 types of highly polished veneers appear on the Queen Mary, one for each of the British protectorates at the time the ship was built. Six of those types of woods are now actually extinct making the Queen Mary one of the few places they can still be found. Today, the Queen Mary is widely considered one of the best examples of Art Deco style in the world.
Whether it’s the authentic polished wood paneling, the original 1930s artwork, the Art Deco style or the operable porthole(s), there’s no question that the Queen Mary Hotel is unlike any other Southern California hotel. Each of the original 347 first class staterooms and suites are unique with their own personality and offer a real glimpse into what transatlantic travel was like during the 30s, 40s and 50s. In addition to choosing between a full or mini suite, a deluxe, family or standard stateroom, you could choose to stay in Stateroom B340 which has had a large volume of recorded paranormal activity with many stories of haunted encounters noted in the ship’s logs.
The Queen Mary, 1126 Queens Highway Long Beach, CA 90802, (877) 600-4313, www.queenmary.com.
