Southern California Magic Castle??

[Needtorelax]

Has anyone stayed here recently? I see it is the #1 hotel in Los Angeles and there are a ton of great reviews. However, I get a little freaked out by the terrible and poor reviews. We have a ressie in August and love their location. We planned to stay here for 3 nights before moving to DLH. If you have other suggestions I would love to hear. Lots of hotels in the Hollywood area are already booked for the dates I need.

 

[Plutofan]

Has anyone stayed here recently? I see it is the #1 hotel in Los Angeles and there are a ton of great reviews. However, I get a little freaked out by the terrible and poor reviews. We have a ressie in August and love their location. We planned to stay here for 3 nights before moving to DLH. If you have other suggestions I would love to hear. Lots of hotels in the Hollywood area are already booked for the dates I need.

We are staying there in a month. Since we are staying on a weekend we can do the private brunch at the Magic Castle club with the family. I have heard it is really special. Our kids can not wait to see the magic.

 

[Needtorelax]

Please let me know what you think and how your experience is. I wondered about the magic show and brunch. Did you book that through the hotel? I would love to hear your thoughts! Have a great trip!!!!

 

[Plutofan]

We booked it through the hotel. A person at my work is a member and said we will really enjoy it. We will be back in early July so feel free to send me a PM in case I forget.

 

[Calirya]

We stayed here in 2003. We were in the upper back area and not in the main hotel area. You had to take a narrow windy road up there. It was a dump up there. Granted it was 10 years ago and they were in the process of remodeling. They started nailing and sawing at like 6:30AM! The pool in the upper lot room was disgusting.
BUT the view was beautiful!! It was next to a restaurant at the top of the hill.

I would love to go back and stay in one of the pretty rooms I saw pictures of on the trip advisor site. I dont see any pictures of those upper lot rooms. Is that still part of the hotel? It was advertised as 'staying in the clouds' or something like that.

edited to add
I searched trip advisor reviews and seems those upper "apartments" are still there and still just as nasty.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

This is my personal opinion only (disclaimer: I've never stayed at this hotel): we are in that area often and drive by the hotel frequently. Personally, I wouldn't feel comfortable staying there or recommending it to my friends and family. There are plenty of nicer properties nearby where I would rather stay. The hotel looks all right from the front (in need of some refurbishment), but there are homeless people living in the park across the street and some odd characters walking around, too. Just to give some reference, at DLR we stay at either of the Sheratons, the Hilton, and the Candy Cane Inn. Those properties are fine for me, not luxurious or posh, but clean, safe, and comfortable. Again, since I haven't actually stayed at the Magic Castle hotel, I can't make an accurate comparison there. YMMV.

 

[Needtorelax]

Luckyrabbit can you give other suggestions? I checked the Loews and they were booked for the nights we need in August. I also checked a couple of others and they were booked too (sorry I can't recall which ones off the tip of my head without looking ). Within 30 minutes or so of Hollywood would be okay. How far is downtown from Hollywood? We planned on visiting the science museum downtown. I've even thought about just staying in Anaheim and driving to the locations we wanted to visit. (Used to live in Temecula so the driving and traffic doesn't bother) Again I can't thank you enough for all of your help! If you are ever in the Memphis or eastern part AR I will return the favor.

 

[carnival kid]

We stayed there in 2011.

We stayed there for 5 nights in a 2 bedroom suite. We thought it was wonderful. We had 3 adults and 10 month DD. Agreed it does not look great from the front but once you walk through the front doors it is great.

The rooms are clean and functional and room service each day was great. The staff are VERY friendly and helpful. You get a free breakfast each morning which you can eat by the pool or take back to your room.

We never heard any noise from the street or other guests.

We walked to the CHinese theatre area many time including late nights and ALWAY felt safe. We had a senior and a stroller and were never approached by anyone or had anything happen.

I would (and have) happily recommend it to others.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Luckyrabbit can you give other suggestions? I checked the Loews and they were booked for the nights we need in August. I also checked a couple of others and they were booked too (sorry I can't recall which ones off the tip of my head without looking ). Within 30 minutes or so of Hollywood would be okay. How far is downtown from Hollywood? We planned on visiting the science museum downtown. I've even thought about just staying in Anaheim and driving to the locations we wanted to visit. (Used to live in Temecula so the driving and traffic doesn't bother) Again I can't thank you enough for all of your help! If you are ever in the Memphis or eastern part AR I will return the favor.

Try checking the Embassy Suites and the Hilton in Glendale. Also try the Residence Inn and the Courtyard by Marriott in Burbank. My sister likes the Glendale Embassy Suites when she comes to L.A. with her kids. Friends stayed at Beverly Garland's Holiday Inn Universal Studios and liked it. This was several years ago. Glendale and Burbank are about 20-30 minutes from Hollywood, depending on the traffic. If you want to be closer to Hollywood, try the Hilton Universal and the Sheraton Universal (top of the hill by Universal Studios Hollywood). Downtown isn't far from Hollywood distance-wise, but traffic wise is another story. No traffic, maybe 20-25 minutes? With traffic, it could be an hour if things are bad. Hope all this helps and that you have a great trip!

 

[sksjasams]

We booked it through the hotel. A person at my work is a member and said we will really enjoy it. We will be back in early July so feel free to send me a PM in case I forget.

Just checking to see how was your stay at the Magic Castle?

Thanks!

 

[Plutofan]

Just checking to see how was your stay at the Magic Castle?

Thanks!

It was one of the highlights of our trip. If you can get the brunch the entertainment and food was excellent. Be sure to get the 11:00 brunch so you have enough time to do all three shows. The two of the shows are very done in small areas so you need to get to these shows early.

The Magic Castle hotel was also excellent. The room was very big. It was nice having a kitchen in the room. There are also laundry facilities at the hotel. While we did laundry while the kids had a great time in the 24hr heated pool. We took advanatage of the daily contentental breakfast. The hotel bends over backwards to make your stay wonderful. The hotel has a list of 20 - 30 snacks etc that are free to guests. Our boys would get a list of 10-20 items each day and go shopping at the desk. We have never eated so much snacks. I would definitly give it high ratings.

 

[sksjasams]

It was one of the highlights of our trip. If you can get the brunch the entertainment and food was excellent. Be sure to get the 11:00 brunch so you have enough time to do all three shows. The two of the shows are very done in small areas so you need to get to these shows early.

The Magic Castle hotel was also excellent. The room was very big. It was nice having a kitchen in the room. There are also laundry facilities at the hotel. While we did laundry while the kids had a great time in the 24hr heated pool. We took advanatage of the daily contentental breakfast. The hotel bends over backwards to make your stay wonderful. The hotel has a list of 20 - 30 snacks etc that are free to guests. Our boys would get a list of 10-20 items each day and go shopping at the desk. We have never eated so much snacks. I would definitly give it high ratings.

Thank you so much for your quick reply and good review! I'm not sure if we would have the time to set aside for the brunch and the shows, but the hotel sounds great! I'm glad you enjoyed your stay and thanks again

 

[rnorwo1]

Sorry to re-start an old thread but would love to hear if OP or anyone else has stayed here recently? Would love to hear more thoughts on it. Plutofan, do you mind telling me more about the brunch and shows, particularly how long they last and the price? Our kids will be 4, 8, and 12 when we go in March, I think they would enjoy this but not sure how long it will hold the 4yo's attention or if we have enough time... We will only be in LA a few days before heading to DL.

Thanks for any info, I've been obsessing about where to stay to minimize driving in traffic to the different sites. I want to just pick a place and be done with it!

 

[Plutofan]

Sorry to re-start an old thread but would love to hear if OP or anyone else has stayed here recently? Would love to hear more thoughts on it. Plutofan, do you mind telling me more about the brunch and shows, particularly how long they last and the price? Our kids will be 4, 8, and 12 when we go in March, I think they would enjoy this but not sure how long it will hold the 4yo's attention or if we have enough time... We will only be in LA a few days before heading to DL.

Thanks for any info, I've been obsessing about where to stay to minimize driving in traffic to the different sites. I want to just pick a place and be done with it!

This was a great place to visit!!!!!!!!!!

You are only allowed to go to the show if you are staying at the MC hotel or if you know a magician. It is only open to the public for Sunday brunch (possibly Saturday...not sure). It was an awesome place. Think Hogwarts...you can't take pictures (at all!) so bring your great memory so you can remember!!!

Timewise, you can stay all afternoon. We were able to make all three shows but we ate quickly and ran around to be sure we were first in line. I think the kids would really enjoy it, even the 4 year old as long as you are up front so he/she can see.

Make reservations for the 11:00 (or earliest) brunch so you do make all three shows.

The food was great...seafood, breakfast and there was great kid food. Our 12 year old is sitting here as I type this and he's telling me right now that this was definitely a highlight of our trip. Let me know if you do decide to go. We loved it.

 

[rnorwo1]

It sounds so neat, and the hotel itself sounds wonderful. This was supposed to be a very budget oriented trip since we're going to Europe a few months later, but I keep adding more things to it! I'm sure this will be our only time in LA as a family so I need to really consider it. Thanks for the info!!