has anyone stayed a the Castle inn and suites??

[shamrockshake]

Hi All,

We leave in a few weeks and have booked a family suite at the Castle inn and suites. ( There are 5 of us) has anyone stayed here before? How is the pool area, as we will have a free afternoon on Sat ( no entry to DL with AP)? WE have a 5 year old and 2 year old.

Thanks

 

[darph nader]

We were there last Sept.Not a bad motel,try to avoid the rooms at the front though,(traffic noise). Never did try the pool (just there for the weekend). Not bad,walk-wise,but if the price is right give them a try.

 

[Pirate-Emery]

I would pass the Castle Inn and Suites on my walk from the Radisson to the Parks.

I don't care about how the rooms may look: I'd probably stay there if I was given the chance.

It looks rather fun! The Hotel's parking lot is INSIDE its fortress-like walls. You want to sleep in something that looks like a castle? Well, Castle Inn and Suites is your best bet.

 

[DMP]

We stayed there and had a bad experience... but, I'm sure you can make it work. I guess... well, I guess your mileage will vary. I read a lot of bad reviews after we already booked there and then I came here and *begged* for anyone to post that they had a good experience. Several people posted to me that they had a perfectly acceptable time. *We* won't stay there again, but, I'm sure there are much worse.

Our room smelled funny, the floor was bumpy and uneven and my feet looked black after walking on it - we had an episode with raw chlorine or bleach that had spilled poolside and burned a hole in my DD's capris and put a big red mark on her leg. After we reported it to the manager, they apologized and said they would make it right - but, never did anything, even though it happened on day 1 of our 5 day/4 night stay. Every day I had to call for extra coffee, even though I left a note...

Every day after the first day, the elevator closer to the front (and, closer to our room) was broken. The last night we were there, there were no working elevators and we were on the top floor, too. So, we had to cart DD and all our gear up four flights of stairs and the next day when it was time to leave, we also had to cart all of our luggage down the stairs which was a HUGE pain in the tush.

Most of the rooms have no view of the parks, so if you're looking for fireworks, etc. you won't get them. It's also about a block father than a lot of the other hotels - it's *right* at the back edge of California Adventure - not a huge deal, but it does take a bit longer to walk there and there aren't any shuttles. We probably wouldn't have bothered with shuttles except when the park closed at midnight and 5 yo DD fell asleep in our arms - at that time, the extra block and having to walk up 4 flights of stairs made a big difference.

Good luck - like I said, YMMV and other people had fine experiences there. We told our TA that it probably wasn't the best place to book her clients, despite the fact that it has a quaint exterior and a cute lobby.

 

[scanmom]

we were in a family suite in March. We had 6 ppl, and they are all teenagers, and we were fine as far as space goes. It is not fancy at all, but clean and fairly well decorated. We had a small fridge and a microwave and 2 tv's. It was a short walk to the parks, not bad, but we didn't have any small children. Like I said, nothing fancy, but perfectly acceptable. What really impressed me was that about a week after we got home, I got a call from the manager, and apparently my DD 19 had left her purse in a drawer, with her ID in it. There was very little cash, but her check card was in it. She hadn't even missed it since she doesn't use her card(s) often, and when I gave the manager her name and birthdate (which was on her drivers liscense), she mailed it right to me (in Oklahoma) and didn't charge me anything! Not even postage. She was super nice and I really appreciated the fact that a maid found it, turned it in, and NO ONE stole anything from it... even the cash was still there when it arrived! That is something these days! So, not only did we get a clean, decent place to sleep near the parks, but we got excellent service that went above and beyond! I will definitley stay at the Casle when we go back!! (and we will since we got AP's)!!!!

 

[scanmom]

forgot to say that the pool was a little disapointing. It was not heated, and it was small, but DS 13 still got in. The hot tub was fine.

 

[momto2nenas]

We stayed there last March and have reservations again for June. We liked it just fine. Our DDs LOVED coming home to a castle at the end of the night. We didn't swim, but they do have a gated pool. And we also experienced the elevators not working but there were more than 1 to choose from. Hope you have a great time!

 

[hrhlaurie]

We stayed there last fall and I thought it was a pretty long walk and no shuttles available. Candy Cane Inn was across the way and they had shuttles but our hotel didn't. Pool was small and cold and right in the middle of the parking lot so not too scenic.

The people were nice and there was a little strip mall next door with some small restaurants and a market but not that great overall. We aren't staying there this time.

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

We stayed there 5 nights in June of 2005. We had a poor experience, similar to DMP's. We would not stay there again.

Same deal on the room as DMP. Smelled funny, floor was lumpy, there was a hole in the wall, black socks.

When we arrived the water wasn't working. Couldn't flush or wash our hands. Ewwww. Once that got working we thought that maybe we got the "bump" in the road over with early. But no, the next morning we awoke to the TV not working. Apparently the whole place was out, and was out for the next 3 days! We like to watch tv on our breaks and at night. So we tried to speak with the front desk about it, they were rude. We asked to speak to the manager, who was never on site. We were told she'd be getting in touch with us, never did.

The pool was "okay". Not very warm, and was a bit cloudy. It's your typical square motel pool that's in the middle of the parking lot.

We had stayed there 10 years ago and had a nice stay. But was very disappointed with our stay in 2005. We'd never go back, no matter how nice the outside of the place looks. Having a nice clean room, with the basics working is more important to us!

 

[shamrockshake]

thanks everyone for the positive and negative reviews. At least I know what I am getting.

The home page mentioned a kiddie pool. Is there one? No one mentioned it, and I thought it would be good for the 2 year old.

 

[scanmom]

I didn't use the pool, my DH took DS 13, but I did walk out there to talk to DH for a few minutes, and I "think" there was a kiddie pool, but since we don't need kiddie pools anymore, I really didn't pay that much attention. I didn't even get in the hottub.... which is unusual for me.