Embassy Suites South (Garden Grove) Awesome trip!!

[Brynnie]

Hello all! Went to CA 3/31 to 4/4. I was traveling with my sister, her husband and my 3 nieces ages 7, 10, and 12

Embassy Suites South:
LOVED this hotel!! It is about a mile away from the parks, across the Street from Target, Red Robin, Outback Steakhouse.

Our rooms:
2 bedroom suite...2 full beds and a full pull out bed in the living room. The beds and pillows were very comfy! I slept very well here! Small microwave and fridge that we didn't use because we didn't spend much time in the room. I wish we had 2 bathrooms...we stayed at the Homewood Suites in San Diego 3 days before and we had 2 bathrooms there...a must for 6 people. Some noise from the waterfall and lion in the lobby and people talking outside could be heard in the living room, but the bedrooms were dead quiet.

Checkin and staff:
I booked through Get Away Today and we saved tons of money! When we arrived at the hotel there was a delay in checkin...the staff let us know that it was Embassy suites fault...they entered our ressie wrong. The staff was WONDERFUL and so nice! They comped our parking and gave us a room with a good view to compensate for the time delay during the checkin process.

Pool:
We only used it twice since it was a bit cool. The pool area was small but nice, the pool was heated so the kids loved it!

Free Breakfast/Manager's reception:
Breakfast is AWESOME here! Cooked to order omlettes and eggs, french toast, pancakes, cereal, fruit, potatoes, bacon, sausage....anything you could ever want to eat and it was all piping hot and super fresh every day! They let you know what times are the busiest, obviously it was slower earlier in the morning so we took advantage of that. The cooks and bus staff were very friendly and nice, no matter how busy it got. Manager's reception was from 5:30 to 7:30. We loved this! Free beer, wine, mixed drinks, popcorn, chex mix, and pizza slices for $2.00 each. Wonderful to have this on a break from the parks. We saved probably $60.00 a day on breakfast and probably another $40.00 on the manager's reception drinks. How does this hotel make money??

Parking/ART:
We had no problems finding a spot in the lot at the hotel. We drove to the park one day and ended up in Simba...terrible!! We had to walk SO far! We did the ART shuttle the remainder of our time and loved it...we never waited more than 20 minutes and the busses were never too crowded.

All in all we LOOOVED this hotel and I look forward to staying here again!

This was my second trip to DL and my family's first.

What we loved....Indy, Space Mountain ( the new smooth track and music is awesome and we loved how dark it was), Peter Pan (LOVE the stars, wish they had this in the WDW version, Pinocchio, Alice in Wonderland, CA Screamin, Monster's INc, Toy Story arcade game ride.

What we didn't love so much....Nemo ( the idea and the look of the ride is awesome, but we all felt so sick after), Tower of Terror ( this is nowhere as good as the WDW version).

The people in the parks and in the hotel...SUPER nice and polite! Anytime I was bumped I got an apology, no one cut in the shuttle line, no cutting at breakfast when it was busy, kids well behaved and polite everywhere we went...wonderful experience. I have been to WDW at least 20 times, and the magic just gets ruined when you have to deal with rude people.

Any questions..please ask. I will get back to you! Thank you to everyone on here for all the help you have me in planning this trip!

 

[PigletGurl]

I know its so wonderful! I've stayed there 4 times, and for two weeks at a time

 

[jemilah]

I have been thinking about staying there , I have a ressie at CCI right now but its around the same price for a bigger room and better b-fast . How was ART? We have never rode it always have parked or walked to the parks.do they charge for parking?

 

[teatime]

Sounds like a wonderful place to stay! I would have but I have a scooter so do not know how to get to the parks unless Im across the street from the park. Im so happy you had a wonderful time how about pictures?

 

[blutes]

Sounds like a wonderful place to stay! I would have but I have a scooter so do not know how to get to the parks unless Im across the street from the park. Im so happy you had a wonderful time how about pictures?

F.Y.I....the ART can has handicap access so you can use the scooters...

 

[Tyr23]

We're staying there for a third time in June. Glad to hear it's still nice

Does the ART shuttle come right to the hotel or is the stop close-by? The hotel had its own shuttle last time we were there.

 

[PinkBudgie]

Thank you for your info! We are staying there for a week at the end of June. I have stayed in other Embassy Suites for conventions and know how wonderful the breakfast and managers reception is. That was a big reason for us picking them for this trip. A nice free breakfast means I can get my protien and also not have to take the time to sit and be waited on. We can eat and be off to the parks. And I like having a living room in addition to a bedroom.

We will probably drive to the park, I still don't like the bus. What time did you leave when you had to park in Simba? We always get there before opening and park at M&F.

Now you've got me very excited for my trip. I never hear much about this hotel but just booked it based on my experience with it in other locations, so good to hear you liked this one. Can't wait!

 

[roxy72]

Just wondering, has anyone booked the Embassy Suites through priceline? I would love to get a good deal at that hotel.

 

[patzermom]

Have to check out the room configs for the Embassy Suites now - thanks for the review!

 

[Brynnie]

When we drove, I think we ended up in Simba because it was our first day and we left to go to the park around 1pm. I assume all the other lots were full because we got there so late.

I had read about all the nightmare problems with the ART and I was nervous but we still tried it and ended up loving it! The drivers are not too friendly but they were on time. The Embassy ART bus stops in front of the hotel...it makes probably 2 other stops on the way and almost noone else gets on. We never had trouble getting a seat except for one time when the bus was really crowded and we gave up our seats to people who needed them.

If I was on a scooter...I would probably stick with staying across the street from the park. I know the bus can accomodate a scooter, but there are so many people that it might be frustrating. I feel this way because I went to WDW last year with a broken ankle. I rented a scooter and we stayed at the Swan so I could drive to Epcot and MGM. The one night we went to the Magic Kingdom, I just didn't like how long it took to load me onto the bus and I didn't like being stapped in...nobody was rude to me at all but I just felt like it took SO LONG to load me on and I felt bad holding up the bus. That is just my opinion...I am a bit of a control freak!

Sorry...I did not take any pics in the hotel...we were so happy and having so much fun that I just forgot! I will see if my sister has any that I can share.

 

[Brynnie]

Oh and Roxy72....try looking at the rates on Get Away Today.com. They were wonderful. I called to get advice about where to stay and they answered ALL of my questions and were very nice. I was worried when I had trouble checking in, but the Embassy staff said it was an error made on their end, and had nothing to do with GAT. During the time that we went the rates were high everywhere (busy). I could not get the hotel for under $800.00 for 4 days....with GAT I ended up paying $600 ($150/night for six people! yay!), and like I said, we got our $$$ worth! Happy planning!!

 

[PinkBudgie]

We booked with a AAA discount through the Embassy Suites site for $150 a night. I could have got it a little cheaper through Travelocity or one of those, but that rate would not let you cancel and since I was was making the res about 6 months ahead I decided the few extra dollars per night was like travel insurance. I can cancel up to 24 hours ahead of time with no penalty.

We wanted somewhere nice for our anniversary and it seemed like everything that was closer to the park just wasn't what we wanted for something special. I'm pretty sure we will drive, I just hope we don't have trouble finding parking each night when we come back.

 

[disney4metoo]

Hello all! Went to CA 3/31 to 4/4. I was traveling with my sister, her husband and my 3 nieces ages 7, 10, and 12

Embassy Suites South:
LOVED this hotel!! It is about a mile away from the parks, across the Street from Target, Red Robin, Outback Steakhouse.

Our rooms:
2 bedroom suite...2 full beds and a full pull out bed in the living room. The beds and pillows were very comfy! I slept very well here! Small microwave and fridge that we didn't use because we didn't spend much time in the room. I wish we had 2 bathrooms...we stayed at the Homewood Suites in San Diego 3 days before and we had 2 bathrooms there...a must for 6 people. Some noise from the waterfall and lion in the lobby and people talking outside could be heard in the living room, but the bedrooms were dead quiet.

Checkin and staff:
I booked through Get Away Today and we saved tons of money! When we arrived at the hotel there was a delay in checkin...the staff let us know that it was Embassy suites fault...they entered our ressie wrong. The staff was WONDERFUL and so nice! They comped our parking and gave us a room with a good view to compensate for the time delay during the checkin process.

Pool:
We only used it twice since it was a bit cool. The pool area was small but nice, the pool was heated so the kids loved it!

Free Breakfast/Manager's reception:
Breakfast is AWESOME here! Cooked to order omlettes and eggs, french toast, pancakes, cereal, fruit, potatoes, bacon, sausage....anything you could ever want to eat and it was all piping hot and super fresh every day! They let you know what times are the busiest, obviously it was slower earlier in the morning so we took advantage of that. The cooks and bus staff were very friendly and nice, no matter how busy it got. Manager's reception was from 5:30 to 7:30. We loved this! Free beer, wine, mixed drinks, popcorn, chex mix, and pizza slices for $2.00 each. Wonderful to have this on a break from the parks. We saved probably $60.00 a day on breakfast and probably another $40.00 on the manager's reception drinks. How does this hotel make money??

Parking/ART:
We had no problems finding a spot in the lot at the hotel. We drove to the park one day and ended up in Simba...terrible!! We had to walk SO far! We did the ART shuttle the remainder of our time and loved it...we never waited more than 20 minutes and the busses were never too crowded.

All in all we LOOOVED this hotel and I look forward to staying here again!

This was my second trip to DL and my family's first.

What we loved....Indy, Space Mountain ( the new smooth track and music is awesome and we loved how dark it was), Peter Pan (LOVE the stars, wish they had this in the WDW version, Pinocchio, Alice in Wonderland, CA Screamin, Monster's INc, Toy Story arcade game ride.

What we didn't love so much....Nemo ( the idea and the look of the ride is awesome, but we all felt so sick after), Tower of Terror ( this is nowhere as good as the WDW version).

The people in the parks and in the hotel...SUPER nice and polite! Anytime I was bumped I got an apology, no one cut in the shuttle line, no cutting at breakfast when it was busy, kids well behaved and polite everywhere we went...wonderful experience. I have been to WDW at least 20 times, and the magic just gets ruined when you have to deal with rude people.

Any questions..please ask. I will get back to you! Thank you to everyone on here for all the help you have me in planning this trip!

We love Embassy Suites (south) on Harbor Blvd. This was our hotel before we started staying on site at the Grand Californian. If we could not get reservations at the Grand this would be the place we would stay! We love the staff and know some of them well! Great breakfast and nice comfortable room!

We won the Embassy Snap Happy Photo Contest during a stay at this hotel! We won two ocean front rooms at the Hilton Waikoloa in Hawaii, four RT airline tickets, limo service, $500.00 and a really cool digital Kodak camera.

When we shared our story with Lawrence the manager, he celebrated with us! He remembers us every time we stay there years later and always sends us a gift bag! This hotel rocks!

 

[marvel]

How does it compare to HOJO? I gather it is further away, but is in walkable in comfort? Is it a similar standard to HOJO?

 

[DonnaLeah]

We are staying at the Hampton Inn & Suites in July. I am looking at the addresses; they seem really close to each other.
I booked the Hampton for the full kitchen. We like a nice, clean hotel; hope The Hampton is as nice as Embassy Suites.

Happy to hear you had such a great trip!!