Pardon the dust at this inn and you'll enjoy some classic luxury suite hospitality. The Buena Park Grand Hotel & Suites was once an iconic Embassy Suites destination spot followed by Radisson Hotels holding the keys to this majestic mission-style place just a 1/4 mile walk from Knott's Berry Farm. I found crews hard at work doing some much needed and overdue facility renovations to this old building. If you don't mind the dust, you and your kids might like this place during your visit to the Entertainment Zone...And yes, the hot water line works! Booking and Reservation...I booked third-party via my airline thanks to a generous 2,000 point rewards bonus and a $139 base room rate offer with free cancelation with $158.74 total for a Friday night's stay at a tourist location...not a bad deal! To compare, several of the other destination hotels were pricing well over $200-$250 for the same night. The airline's rewards bonus payback was also worth almost 19% of the total bill in value that I can use toward future flights...Another great deal! Arrival...The Grand is located in the heart of Buena Park's Entertainment Zone along Beach Boulevard with easy access to/from State Highway 91. There is a wide selection of restaurants within walking distance including family-friendly spots like McDonald's, IHOP, Outback Steakhouse, and Claim Jumper. Subway Sandwiches too if want to take some grub back to the room. Numerous public transit bus routes also pass through this area including LA Metro's Route 460 that links travelers to Downtown Los Angeles to the north and the Disneyland Resort area to the south. I arrived via a public bus and the iconic mission structure provided an inviting greeting. The structure also has a mission-style clock tower that appeared to not be functioning; however the rest of the exterior and landscaping appeared to emulate the glory of the Embassy Suites days. The Lobby...The open air, high ceiling Spanish-theme lobby appeared to have remained untouched and preserves the hotel's classic theme. From the lobby, one can ascend to their hotel floor via one of two hydraulic elevators. The hotel's outdoor atrium can be accessed across the lobby. On the glass doors leading into the meeting room areas from the lobby, building permit signs depict that facility renovations are well under way...one project involving a replacement of their HVAC system. Check-in...Went smoothly and the young man who checked me was very friendly. They located my reservation and checked my ID. The Grand held a $150 incidentals deposit, payable at check-in. No resort fee. Another incentive was free guest parking for one car with additional cars at only $15/night. As one can easily walk to Knott's from the hotel, compare that to $50 preferred parking at the amusement park! The hotel enforced its guest parking via a printed parking voucher; they also documented the description and license plate of the vehicle to be parked. As I've mentioned, I took the bus; thus
ゲゲストClean hotel, very convenient to Disney and Knotts. Great complementary breakfast. People complain about it’s out of date but I didn’t see or experience that. Would 💯 recommend. Staff was extremely friendly.
BEWARE! What a pretty nightmare this hotel stay was. When I booked a much needed vacation I happened to use card with a low limit instead of my main card. Most hotels don’t have an issue switching cards without fuss. Not here!!! This one took a LOT of working to do so, then charged over $1400 on my card, had to go back down and get at least one taken off then their system went right ahead put it right back on my card. Hours and hours of phone calls and front desk visits per day, all for what should have amounted to a $600 stay (including taxes and $25 per night valet). The staff there were all warm, welcoming, and did their best to make everyone’s stay smooth and easy. So I don’t believe this was their fault in the least, but rather a techno issue or something else. They really worked hard to try settle this but the accounting system continued to ruin our time. The food was meh. An effort is being made at providing something unique, with many of the dishes, but they were lacking flavor, proper temperature and seasoning. We got the onion tart (which was not a tart but more of a croissant/roll and it was stone cold in the middle) and the “gnocchi” as starters. The purple dumplings more resembled Spätzle than gnocchi and were barely there, swimming in a pool of a relatively flavorless broth and a bunch of tiny tomatoes and peas with shavings of Parmesan. I remarked that it was something I might come up with if there was nothing else in the fridge and I was desperate (but I’d still have seasoned it better). The salad wasn’t much better. Again, warm-ish and we were sitting right next to the kitchen, with only one another table being served. Everything needed more seasoning and the chicken on my salad as so dry and overcooked I couldn’t finish it. But the service was wonderful. The pool is lovely but no hot tub means swimming with (likely) urinating children is your only option. Plenty of seating and towels, and a lot of security to get into the pool was over the top considering you have to have a room key just to get to the floor it’s on. No room service. Weird. Bar was good! Valet was excellent, and actually having help with our numerous bags was a welcome change. So I’m rooting for the staff, but Hilton, you need to get it together because YOUR BS ruined my whole vacation then made me too broke to do anything about it. NEVER. AGAIN.
KKristenthis hotel is great for anyone. [ travelers, solos, couples, families, etc] quiet area, relaxing front view, kbf is across the street. feels good here:)
RRolando NSo I gave this a descent review because the people working there are just doing their job. So my story isn't a good one in regards to my guests who I booked a room for my sister and her boyfriend. I got the key and let them know there would be 2 people (front desk). I gave my sister the key told her where the room was and went to the store to grab her some snacks and drinks. next thing I know her boyfriend finds me at the store and comes up to me and says that she was told that she can not stay there. That I needed to call them because they can't make calls out of the hotel lobby after a certain hour. Apparently when she tried to find the room she could not so she went to the front desk. They asked for the key and when she gave it to them they asked her if she picked this up off the floor. They asked for her id and she did not have one. So, I called to see what was happening and let them know that yes that was my sister and I had given her the key to get in the room. I was told that everyone who is staying in that room has to provide an I.D. I already knew my sister did not have one as she has been telling me she needed to get a new one. (sadly she is very unorganized and doesn't have much sense of responsibility in life) So her being (dumb) began telling them that they were trying to rip me off and steal the money as they told her to leave the premises (before I was able to let them know that it was my sister and I had given her the key) and would not be giving a refund. I don't blame them...I know my sister and she has a sense of entitlement and a short fuse. I apologized knowing that even though I wasn't there, she probably exploded the situation that could have been handled with a quick talk. I said I understood and I asked to close out the room (they make you give them $100 cash as a deposit on the room which they give you back upon turning your key back in). I was informed that even though I hadn't stepped foot in the room that I was not going to be offered a refund for the room but could get my deposit back. I went to the desk signed the paperwork and got my deposit back. So a simple warning: make sure everyone has their ID have all your ducks in a row with them when checking into this hotel or you risk being told you can't stay there and you will not get a refund for the room you paid for regardless of if you even have stepped inside or not. That said I get it....I live in this area...while I would not call Buena Park the worst or even a bad place...sometimes less than desirable people hang out and rent in these areas and businesses need to be on their guard for people they would not wish to stay at their establishment. A sign right at the front desk says ”right to refuse service”. I just wish there was a more clear policy...I don't think I;ve ever had to give the i.d.'s of everyone staying in a hotel room before other than the person who booked the room. Ahh well...live and learn.