Hyatt Regency Garden Grove or Castle Inn?

[JC Butterfly]

Need some help evaluating my options. I'm heading to Anaheim for a convention in February that will be held at the Hyatt in Garden Grove. My best friend & my four year old son are coming along to do Disneyland while I am busy (and I'll join them in my off time).

Rates at the Hyatt are $139/night. Stayed there a number of years ago and remember them having super comfy beds & an efficient shuttle to Disneyland (like every 30 minutes or so). If I stay here, I'm centralized to my conference but my comings and goings most conform to shuttle schedule.

Castle Inn & Suites is $79/night. It would be walking distance to the parks and I still use the Hyatt shuttle for my purposes. This might be more convenient for my friend if they want to come back to the hotel to take a break from the parks.

I guess the hard to weigh outs are: Is the nicer hotel nicer enough to justify $60/night over 4 nights? Is walking across the street actually easier? Or with a fairly frequent shuttle, would that end up saving them some walking if we just stayed at the Hyatt?

I picked Castle Inn because it is the best rate of the walking distance hotels for my dates. If the cost difference between Hyatt and walking distance hotel was $20 or less, I'd be more inclined to pick Hyatt due to interior corridors/perception of safety, etc. but at $60/night or $240 the choice is less clear.

Any one want to weigh in with their thoughts?

 

[livingwiththeLandon]

Following

 

[Molly Meow]

We stayed at the Hyatt for 6 nights back in October. The beds are super, super comfortable, the staff is incredible. The soundproofing is practically non-existent and the shuttle was extremely unreliable, being more than a 1/2 hour late once. It is also $5 per person per day and is scheduled to come every 30 minutes but we found that realistically it was more like every 45. It was so notorious for being late during the week that we were there that they refunded us the shuttle cost upon checkout. Mind you, the shuttle is operated by PCA and not the Hyatt. We have decided to never stay that far out again if Disneyland was our main objective.

On the other hand, I haven't stayed at the Castle Inn & Suites since it has been remodeled. I've heard good things about the updates but I understand that it is still a lower-end hotel. Comparing the two is really apples and oranges. The walk was definitely doable when I stayed there in the past so if that and the cost are your only concerns and you don't care about new and sparkly, there ya go.

 

[az4boys]

If you are planning on using the Hyatt shuttle to get to your conference while staying at Castle Inn & Suites you might want to check to see if they allow that when you won't be staying there.

 

[mousecrazy]

Like a pp said, this is an apples to oranges comparison. The Castle Inn is a recently (very nicely) updated motor inn. But it's not "just across the street". It is located 1/2 mile away from the Disneyland East Esplanade...an easy walk on Harbor. I stayed there just after the room renovations were complete and I was impressed. The rooms were quite nice, however you're on your own for everything else (e.g. no restaurant on site), the walls are thin and elevators are slow. I've also stayed at the Hyatt Regency which was a totally different experience and one much more suited to the convention goer as opposed to the vacationer. Starbucks in the lobby with full dining services available. But you pay for everything including wifi, parking. The bus service requires a fee $5 per person per day. It delivers you to the farthest stop at Disneyland and it's quite a walk to the gates.

If it were me, the decision would be easy...Castle. It's within walking distance (but there is the ART buses available if you need them) and it's cheaper. It might be a pain for you to travel daily to your convention...but your friend and son will have it easier, for sure. You could always try Uber to get around.

Have fun!

 

[lunaland]

We just stayed at the Hyatt 12/5-12/8. Didn't have a single issue. Shuttle was always on time. Staff was fantastic. We always stay at Hojos and are used to being within walking distance. Have also stayed at DLH, Carousel, and Holiday Inn. Obviously DLH was my favorite, but between Hojos (which has been our go to hotel since 2002) and the Hyatt, I prefferrred the Hyatt. I thought I'd miss Hojos, but I didn't. I've never stayed at Castle, but personally with the prices you were quoted I'd go with the Hyatt.

 

[JC Butterfly]

Thank you all so much for your helpful insights! I totally get that it's "apples and oranges" but I guess I wanted help deciding which fruit to pick for this trip, you know? Especially those of you that have tried it both ways. I don't expect to spend a ton of time in the room either way (between convention and Disney) and I have stayed in 1* hotels and 5* ones but most frequently end up somewhere in the middle.

I almost never eat at restaurants attached to hotels so this isn't a perk that is important to me. I HATE Starbucks so that is certainly no perk. Thanks az4boys about the shuttle comment, I had actually checked with the Hyatt on that and as a "convention guest" they had no problem with me using it. I have not used Uber before but I know others report good things with it.

I'm still not sure what direction I will go but you've given me some great "food for thought"

 

[SoCalTrojanSkip]

Just another thought, Trip Advisor is my go to hotel review site, and this is what they have to say about the Castle Inn. I've found their reviews are usually pretty spot on, and it gets a 4/5 from Trip Advisor Users.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Re...Castle_Inn_and_Suites-Anaheim_California.html

I HATE Starbucks so that is certainly no perk. Thanks az4boys about the shuttle comment, I had actually checked with the Hyatt on that and as a "convention guest" they had no problem with me using it. I have not used Uber before but I know others report good things with it.

I have friends who swear by Uber, it's usually more reliable than a Hotel shuttle, and probably more comfortable for a comparable price.

As for coffee options, there is not a Coffee Bean which has recently opened at the new CVS complex on Harbor/Katella.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Just back from a one night, last minute stay at Castle Inn in a family suite. Didn't read trip advisor ahead of time, we literally booked 4 hours prior to check in. It suited our purposes for one night but I wouldn't have wanted to be there longer. It's a recently renovated motel as mentioned above and that's the best description for it. Super comfy beds ain't happening here. We slept fine but then were awakened by 6:15am to kids running down the hall excited to hit disneyland. We were second floor and I swear we heard every single kid who ran thump their way down the hall (and we were out on a wing). If a good nights sleep is important I would stick to Hyatt, if you couldn't care less and it's all about park access Castle is "2 stop lights and to the left" from Disneyland to quote the elevator Which is walking distance to the gates but NOT right across the street. I would stay there again for one night with my fam of 5 if we need to but would prefer a Hyatt if it was within our budget.

FWIW I loved Uber when I used it in Orlando for the first time last month. Not a bad trip and I made about half a dozen (I don't endorse Lyft though, half the trips I tried with them were problematic, but Uber was always aces and there to save my night when Lyft failed).

Hope your business-work trip works out no matter what way you go!

 

[JC Butterfly]

Just back from a one night, last minute stay at Castle Inn in a family suite. Didn't read trip advisor ahead of time, we literally booked 4 hours prior to check in. It suited our purposes for one night but I wouldn't have wanted to be there longer. It's a recently renovated motel as mentioned above and that's the best description for it. Super comfy beds ain't happening here. We slept fine but then were awakened by 6:15am to kids running down the hall excited to hit disneyland. We were second floor and I swear we heard every single kid who ran thump their way down the hall (and we were out on a wing). If a good nights sleep is important I would stick to Hyatt, if you couldn't care less and it's all about park access Castle is "2 stop lights and to the left" from Disneyland to quote the elevator Which is walking distance to the gates but NOT right across the street. I would stay there again for one night with my fam of 5 if we need to but would prefer a Hyatt if it was within our budget.

FWIW I loved Uber when I used it in Orlando for the first time last month. Not a bad trip and I made about half a dozen (I don't endorse Lyft though, half the trips I tried with them were problematic, but Uber was always aces and there to save my night when Lyft failed).

Hope your business-work trip works out no matter what way you go!

Thanks for the additional insight! I want it ALL (comfy beds, quiet hotel and walking distance and I don't want to pay a lot for it! At this point, plan to stick with the Hyatt. Stayed at a Hyatt in Chicago over the weekend and reminded myself how comfy the 'grand beds" are versus a non-chain hotel that i had a less than stellar sleep. Still not sure about the Uber concept but appreciate the vote of confidence for it!

 

[Disneyluvr2]

I stayed at the Hyatt for a week, the 1st part of Dec. It was my 1st time staying so far away from the park, but my friend was attending a convention there. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy the shuttle was, and it ran like clockwork. It was never late once. Knowing what time the shuttle would be leaving, I never had a problem hopping on and going back to the room to meet my friend, or drop off purchases made at the park. Granted, I was alone and didn't have to worry about dragging anyone else away from the park when I wanted to go back to the hotel! LOL! I really liked the Hyatt and would stay there again. I stayed at Castle Inn once, and only once. Won't be staying there again!

 

[lildreamer101]

Is Castle Inn that bad? I had noise from excited children when I stayed at Park Vue Inn a while ago.

 

[poohnpigletCA]

Hyatt. We love that place. There is a pool located outside in front of the Starbucks. However there is another pool located on the 3rd floor near the fitness center. That pool area has a fire pit that you can make smores at, so much fun! There is also a large checkerboard that is fun. We stayed there twice last year and loved it both times. We did have a car and parked in the Woody & friends lot so I cannot comment on the shuttle.

 

[DnA2010]

We stayed at the Castle in pre-renos- I thought it was fine. It was quiet, our beds were super comfy and the cleaning was better than the very expensive Fairmont Waterfront Vancouver i stay in for work sometimes. We stayed there when DD was 6 and had no issues with the walk

 

[NeedDCLFix]

Our family has stayed in both. While the Hyatt is really nice, the Castle Inn really isn't bad at all. We make the Castle Inn our regular stop now, especially since they offer a "past guest" discount. The whole family is so exhausted by the end of the day, everyone sleeps just fine at night...lol. Never had issues with noise or things like that.

 

[DisneyMom234]

We just stayed at the hyatt this past oct and loved it! We got a high up room and were able to watch the fireworks fro. Our window on nights be were not in dl.

Loved the free water bottles and cleanliness. The beds were awesome too! Im not a way picky hotel person. We usually stay at a best western or Marriott when going other places but we were glad we used this hotel.

We didnt use the shuttle but did pay attention to it. It was always on time when we checked while there. We just preferred our car this trip.

We never once heard any of the neighboring people while in our room.
We enjoyed both pools and the hot tub. We were never back in time for smores but heard that is fun as well.