Cambria Hotel Review

[nicole88s]

I haven't seen a lot of reviews for this hotel and don't usually see it recommended as a hotel when people ask on this board. I feel like it has a bad rep from that fight that was there in 2020. The online reviews I read were pretty bad, too.

We just stayed there for 4 nights last week and it was excellent! I went on a quick trip for Halloween stuff and since I'm staying at the Grand Californian in December and the Grand Floridian in February I needed this trip to be a lower cost one. I started researching and hotels were so expensive! I couldn't really find anything that was under $200 (with tax) that I was willing to stay at.

I kept coming back to the Cambria, but I was nervous from the online reviews and the fact that I was staying there alone with my two kids (my husband came too, but stayed in So OC with his parents, haha!) and really wanted a place we could feel safe. I loved the style of the rooms from the pictures and we were able to get a two room queen suite, with a separate sitting room with a couch and a full kitchen for $200 a night including tax.

I watched a recent review on YouTube of a family with young kids and they gave it a good review and said they felt safe so I decided to go for it.

I was super happy with everything and I would absolutely stay there again. The room was enormous, much bigger than the usual Marriott or Hilton. There was tons of space between the beds and had a large nightstand between both. The beds were insanely comfortable (on the soft side) and the pillows were so nice I came home and bought the same one.

My son slept on the couch in the living room. When we pulled it out the mattress was very thin and uncomfortable. We folded it back up and removed the back cushions and made it up with the sheet and comforter and he was very happy. He is 5'10 and it was long enough for him.

The bathroom is a split bathroom with a walk in shower and toilet in one room and the sink area and a tub shower in the other. There were large bottles of shampoo, conditioner and body wash in both showers (and bonus, they smelled like a fresh lemon instead of the overly flowery scents hotels usually have). They gave a ton of towels (at least 10) and hand towels and washcloths.

Everything was very clean, except the carpets. There were a few stains, but they weren't super noticeable and I have seen similar in Disney hotels.

In order to get to your floor in the elevator you had to tap your room key, which I liked because I felt like it added an extra layer of security.

They also have a free buffet breakfast (with waffles, eggs, bacon, etc) and a water park with slides, but we didn't utilize either.

We used Uber or Lyft to get back and forth and it was $6 each time no matter what time of day. We never waited more than 3 minutes either. I feel like you could walk, but I would guess it would be a about a 20 minutes walk if you did. There was also an ART bus stop right out front.

In the parking lot there is a Habit Burger, Starbucks and a few other restaurants. Our room did look over the freeway and you could hear cars, but it didn't bother me and I'm a light sleeper. I also didn't hear any other noise from rooms and no toilets flushing or doors slamming or anything like that.

When I checked in they texted me and said to text if I needed anything or had any questions. I love that. They texted again on checkout day to say they hoped we had a nice stay and if they could do anything else for us and that is when I texted and asked where I could buy the pillows they had and they wrote back immediately.

All in all it was a great stay and I wouldn't hesitate to stay there again.

 

[GBRforWDW]

Yes! We stayed in August and I wrote up a positive review on a thread that was started as Negatives, even dispelling some of the rumors. I really thought it was a great hotel that had safety as a top priority and everything was always clean. We had a park side room. It was a lot of fun watching fireworks from the parks in our living room.

Glad you enjoyed your trip!

 

[mich311e]

We just stayed there in October for 2 nights. We went to DTD the first day and we walked both ways. It's exactly a 1-mile walk. We went to the OBB on the second day and walked to the Toy Story lot for the shuttle, it's exactly a half-mile walk. We just chose that because it was mid-day and sunny and I didn't want to get all sweaty in my Halloween costume. We chose to walk home because we felt it was quicker than waiting for the shuttle. The ride-share pickup place looked awful at the end of the night, so we never even looked into it. You could take the ART as well but with the time it takes to wait for it we just walked.

I felt like the hotel itself was very nice. I have the Choice Privileges card and had 1 free night so for the 2 nights, with parking and tax, I paid $256. We had a room with a kitchenette, which I really appreciated. My son did have to sleep on the fold-out bed, which was very thin, and he said it was uncomfortable. Other than that the room was very nice.

The breakfast was also very nice, they are doing things a little bit different because of Covid protocols, but we were able to get eggs and potatoes every morning, which we thought were really good. The line for the do-it-yourself waffles was long both mornings. What bothered me was the people around us that took wayyyyy too much food and then didn't eat it. I would look at the empty tables around me and see all this food leftover. I saw one man who had 3 blueberry muffins on his plate and never ate them. (He was with just one other person, so it wasn't like it was for kids). The buffet had already run out of blueberry muffins. So it saddened me to see people behave this way. I'm a take only what you can eat kind of person. There were plenty of places to eat so it wasn't too crowded in the dining area.

We did not take part in the pool/outside area or bar at all. There are some nice restaurants nearby. Starbucks, The Habit, Jersey Mikes, a seafood restaurant, and a Mediterranean restaurant (My husband said it was great, I just had him bring me back a pita).

We're a stay across the street on Harbor kind of family but the year we had AP's we spent all our stays at the Quality Inn on Manchester because I could earn extra points and had a few free nights. It was just around the corner from the HoJo, so not a bad walk at all. Now that the QI is gone I may have to consider the Cambria if we get Magic Keys because the points do add up and free nights are nice.

 

[nicole88s]

Yes! We stayed in August and I wrote up a positive review on a thread that was started as Negatives, even dispelling some of the rumors. I really thought it was a great hotel that had safety as a top priority and everything was always clean. We had a park side room. It was a lot of fun watching fireworks from the parks in our living room.

Glad you enjoyed your trip!

We just stayed there in October for 2 nights. We went to DTD the first day and we walked both ways. It's exactly a 1-mile walk. We went to the OBB on the second day and walked to the Toy Story lot for the shuttle, it's exactly a half-mile walk. We just chose that because it was mid-day and sunny and I didn't want to get all sweaty in my Halloween costume. We chose to walk home because we felt it was quicker than waiting for the shuttle. The ride-share pickup place looked awful at the end of the night, so we never even looked into it. You could take the ART as well but with the time it takes to wait for it we just walked.

I felt like the hotel itself was very nice. I have the Choice Privileges card and had 1 free night so for the 2 nights, with parking and tax, I paid $256. We had a room with a kitchenette, which I really appreciated. My son did have to sleep on the fold-out bed, which was very thin, and he said it was uncomfortable. Other than that the room was very nice.

The breakfast was also very nice, they are doing things a little bit different because of Covid protocols, but we were able to get eggs and potatoes every morning, which we thought were really good. The line for the do-it-yourself waffles was long both mornings. What bothered me was the people around us that took wayyyyy too much food and then didn't eat it. I would look at the empty tables around me and see all this food leftover. I saw one man who had 3 blueberry muffins on his plate and never ate them. (He was with just one other person, so it wasn't like it was for kids). The buffet had already run out of blueberry muffins. So it saddened me to see people behave this way. I'm a take only what you can eat kind of person. There were plenty of places to eat so it wasn't too crowded in the dining area.

We did not take part in the pool/outside area or bar at all. There are some nice restaurants nearby. Starbucks, The Habit, Jersey Mikes, a seafood restaurant, and a Mediterranean restaurant (My husband said it was great, I just had him bring me back a pita).

We're a stay across the street on Harbor kind of family but the year we had AP's we spent all our stays at the Quality Inn on Manchester because I could earn extra points and had a few free nights. It was just around the corner from the HoJo, so not a bad walk at all. Now that the QI is gone I may have to consider the Cambria if we get Magic Keys because the points do add up and free nights are nice.

I'm so glad you both had good stays there as well. I must've missed your report, GBRforWDW.

I think it's a really nice hotel and I would stay there again. The fact that I can get a 2 room suite for that price makes it worthwhile.

 

[nicole88s]

What bothered me was the people around us that took wayyyyy too much food and then didn't eat it. I would look at the empty tables around me and see all this food leftover. I saw one man who had 3 blueberry muffins on his plate and never ate them. (He was with just one other person, so it wasn't like it was for kids). The buffet had already run out of blueberry muffins

Why do people behave that way? That would bother me too.

The one downside I had and I didn't list it in the hotel review because it wasn't their fault, is there was a room that had a 1 foot pile of take out garbage stacked in the hallway outside their door and as we walked by they opened the door and put out another 1 foot pile. Just boxes and bags of food trash. I caught a glimpse into their room and it looked like a bomb went off! I can't stand when people treat hotel hallways as their own personal garbage dump. I understand it's rough without daily housekeeping, but I would never stack that much trash in the hall. It's disgusting for other guests.

 

[gelatoni fan]

Why do people behave that way? That would bother me too.

The one downside I had and I didn't list it in the hotel review because it wasn't their fault, is there was a room that had a 1 foot pile of take out garbage stacked in the hallway outside their door and as we walked by they opened the door and put out another 1 foot pile. Just boxes and bags of food trash. I caught a glimpse into their room and it looked like a bomb went off! I can't stand when people treat hotel hallways as their own personal garbage dump. I understand it's rough without daily housekeeping, but I would never stack that much trash in the hall. It's disgusting for other guests.

I'd say that this is partly the hotel's fault. Choosing to cut daily housekeeping leads to more trash in the hallways. Having low priced restaurants or comfortable seating downstairs can also encourage people to eat there rather than generate trash in their room.

I was once saw two different kids break Christmas ornaments in a store. Even though the kids were misbehaving, the store also could have done better by putting the ornaments on a higher shelf so that the younger, most rambunctious kids couldn't reach the ornaments.

 

[Dug720]

Choosing to cut daily housekeeping leads to more trash in the hallways.

No, people who refuse to tie up trash in bags in their rooms and decide to dump it in the hallway leads to that. Do you take your trash out daily at home? My parents are complete Type-A neat freaks, and they only empty the in-house cans the nights before the garbage truck comes (obviously if a can is completely full they will do so before - and really smelly stuff (chicken bones, etc.) gets bagged and frozen to be taken out on the appropriate day.

And don't give me the "but food containers" argument. Most food containers for take-out can easily be combined so they fit in the bag it came in.

 

[GBRforWDW]

I'm so glad you both had good stays there as well. I must've missed your report, GBRforWDW.

I think it's a really nice hotel and I would stay there again. The fact that I can get a 2 room suite for that price makes it worthwhile.

No worries, i was replying to a mostly negative thread where people were talking about things they read on Yelp. Pretty sure a bunch of hotels jealous about the new hotel shine of Cambria wrote the bad reviews because so much of it was untrue info

We would definitely stay again. My daughter loved the pool area and we enjoyed the mixture of restaurants across the parking lot, and the park view room with the amazing views! The only thing we had an issue with was park transportation, but that's not really the hotels fault. I think we'd plan for Uber in the future, but that's hit n miss when needing a kid booster seat

I'm glad to see more positive reviews.

 

[clb79]

We stayed there for 4 nights a few weeks ago. We stayed in the bunk bed suite. The size of the room for the price we paid was good. We felt very safe and all of the staff were friendly and professional. They don’t have hardly any above ground parking so 90% of the cars have to be valet parked, but they don’t charge extra if you don’t find your own spot. The breakfast was excellent (the waffle line was long, but moved fairly quick). The kids loved the pool and water slide. I am sure things would look a little “shinier/newer” if they had full housekeeping/room service, but I understand the “covid modifications”. It is quite the walk to the park (we made that mistake walking all the way there and back the first day). The rest is the trip we walked to the Toy Story Lot (entered where the buses exit on Clementine) and rode the bus in and it wasn’t bad at all (probably the same amount of walking as the Hojo, Courtyard Inn or other places that are across the street on Harbor). It will be one of our go to places (we felt the price we got was really good for the amenities) unless we purposely choose to stay somewhere right off of Harbor. We would definitely stay there again and recommend it to anyone as long as they are ok with the parking situation and distance from the park.

 

[mich311e]

Why do people behave that way? That would bother me too.

The one downside I had and I didn't list it in the hotel review because it wasn't their fault, is there was a room that had a 1 foot pile of take out garbage stacked in the hallway outside their door and as we walked by they opened the door and put out another 1 foot pile. Just boxes and bags of food trash. I caught a glimpse into their room and it looked like a bomb went off! I can't stand when people treat hotel hallways as their own personal garbage dump. I understand it's rough without daily housekeeping, but I would never stack that much trash in the hall. It's disgusting for other guests.

I also noticed the trash in the hall, but it wasn't super bad during our stay. I knew going in that there was no daily housekeeping due to covid, and that's fine. But I had reviews of trash in the hallways so I knew what to expect. I would say they should send someone to clean hallways a few more times a day. If I'm staying somewhere just 2 nights I don't necessarily need housekeeping but trash pick up would be helpful.

 

[clb79]

I also noticed the trash in the hall, but it wasn't super bad during our stay. I knew going in that there was no daily housekeeping due to covid, and that's fine. But I had reviews of trash in the hallways so I knew what to expect. I would say they should send someone to clean hallways a few more times a day. If I'm staying somewhere just 2 nights I don't necessarily need housekeeping but trash pick up would be helpful.

I don't know if the suites are different that other rooms, but we had a pretty large garbage can under the sink and a few extra bags under there too. Yes, they did say to leave trash in the hallway for pickup, but I can't understand why anyone in their right mind would think anything short of leaving the can/bin or trash bagged up in the hallway is ok or what they meant. Maybe they ought to clarify what they mean when they say "leave it in the hallway for pickup". We had one room in our hallway that looked liked they would go down to breakfast and then take the stuff up to their room to eat and would just leave the plates and dishes stacked outside the door. I understand not wanting the dishes thrown out, but if it was easy enough to bring them up, why couldn't they take them back downstairs when they were done. If they were in a suite too, they could have at least washed/rinsed the dishes off in the kitchenette first?