By general consensus the best of a group of hotels in Santa Ana serving Orange County Airport, the Holiday Inn also has good connections to other south Los Angeles locations via the adjacent Costa Mesa Freeway, which links with I-5 and I-405; Disneyland and the Pacific Ocean at Newport Beach are both just ten miles away. The place is quite large, with 176 clean, spacious, well decorated rooms, all containing a microwave and refrigerator. Facilities include a lobby level bar and a restaurant (Panini), serving Italian dishes, and open all day for dinner, lunch & breakfast, plus room service until 9.30 pm. The hotel has a good sized outdoor pool, next to a courtyard/garden; other leisure amenities are a fitness center and whirlpool. For meetings/events, there are 9 function rooms available, largest single capacity 200 guests. A free shuttle is operated to the airport, to other locations within 3 miles and (once a day) to Disneyland.

Candlewood Suites Orange County Airport caters mostly for extended stay or business guests but has plenty to offer those here on shorter visits. The 122 modern rooms at the all-suite property contain a full kitchen, an executive work desk, sofa bed, DVD player and dual phone lines, and have pleasant views over the generally quiet neighborhood - a business park, half a mile east of the 55 Freeway. The nearest restaurants are 2 blocks away, beside the main road, though snacks and food for cooking can be purchased 24 hours a day at the on site convenience store. Other amenities are free internet access, free guest laundry, a movie rental library and a fitness center. John Wayne Airport is 2.5 miles south (no complimentary shuttle, however).

The Best Western in Orange County is one of several good quality hotels near the Dyer Rd exit of the Costa Mesa Freeway, 3 miles from John Wayne Airport (free shuttle available 6 am to 11 pm), and 6 miles from University of California Irvine. Central attraction is an enclosed courtyard garden containing a pool, hot tub and tropical plants; more palms line the exterior of the buildings, and the whole place has a generally clean and well maintained appearance. There are 148 rooms to choose from - all clean, welcoming, comfortable, and equipped with refrigerator/microwave. Free full breakfast is served, including cooked-to-order hot dishes, while for lunch & dinner the nearest restaurants are just a couple of minutes walk away. The Best Western also offers a business center, free internet access, a courtesy local area shuttle (also to Disneyland), and facilities for meetings/events.

Within a few miles of Fountain Valley, Costa Mesa, Garden Grove, Westminster and Santa Ana, the Courtyard by Marriott makes a good base from which to visit the many attractions of south Orange County. The well regarded hotel has the familiar rectangular design with its 145 rooms & suites arranged around a secluded tropical courtyard garden and outdoor pool; all accommodation includes free internet access, luxurious bedding, a microwave, sofa bed and a large work desk. Breakfast is available on site at the Courtyard Cafe, and although the neighborhood is mostly a business park, there are a few restaurants half a mile south along Harbor Blvd. For those here to work, the hotel has 2 meeting rooms and a business center.

Quality Suites John Wayne Airport is one of a group of hotels along a quiet side road (Hotel Terrace Drive), close to the 55 Freeway (Dyer Rd exit), and it occupies a large site, with the 176 microwave/refrigerator-equipped two-room suites divided into several blocks separated by tree-lined paths and courtyards, all centered on a nice tropical pool area. Several even larger suites are available, featuring a whirlpool bath. Free full breakfast is prepared each morning, and the many other amenities at the 100% smoke-free hotel include a free airport shuttle, gift shop, guest laundry, Budget car rental desk, fitness center, a 100-person meeting room, and a lounge/bar.

The whitewashed walls of Comfort Suites John Wayne Airport make a pleasing contrast to the lush greenery surrounding the property, and the (usually) deep blue sky above. The hotel is situated right opposite a Choice Hotels sister property (the Quality Inn), and it offers similar amenities at slightly lower rates. Guests can relax by a decent sized pool & hot tub beneath tall palm trees, then in the evening take the short walk down the road to one half a dozen restaurants nearby. The 129 oversized rooms have divided living/sleeping areas, and contain a microwave & refrigerator. A free shuttle is operated to Orange Country Airport, 3.5 miles south.