Candlewood Suites: An Exception to the Extended Stay Hotels in Garden Grove, California

After staying in a Homestead Extended Stay Hotel with two kids and my husband for two months, I had a small bad rap for Extended Stay Hotels. I've always used Priceline or Hotwire to book my hotels, and went to Priceline to book our hotel for a weekend to Disney Land. After a few attempts, a hotel accepted my bid of $40 a day--a two star hotel in the extended stay brand. Based on previous reviews and my personal experience, I was not too impressed with what was given to us but much to our surprise when we walked in the door the April weekend, it was much more then expected. Here is my review of the Candlewood Suites Hotel located in Garden Grove, CA.

About the Hotel:

Candlewood Suites is located in Garden Grove, CA near Anaheim and is made for people staying for an extended period of time to have a place more like home. Check-in time is 3:00 p.m. with a check-out time of 12:00 p.m. (makes it nice for those of us that like to sleep in). The hotel was renovated in 1998, though it looks like they are in the process of renovating again, has four floors with 133 guest rooms and 133 suites. Of those rooms, 101 are single beds (there are rooms with pull-out sofas) and 113 of them are non-smoking. The rooms are all enclosed within the hotel in which you have to access your room from the front, back or side doors. They don't have a 24 hour front desk, it's only open from 6:00 a.m. to 11 p.m. every night.

General Prices:

Generally for an extended stay hotel, you want to get your dollars worth especially if you are going to be here for a long time. As for any hotel, checking out their website first is generally the key to getting an idea of how much per night you will be spending, though sometimes if you call the hotel directly they will give you a better price or you can also try hotwire and priceline (in which you could probably get a much better deal this way). The average going rate is about $96.99 per night on their website and usually if you stay longer then a month they give you a discount. This really isn't a bad price for everything that you get, although breakfast is not included, you can cook stuff in your room.

Amenities:

When I first read the reviews on this hotel, I was not impressed. Though after staying there for a weekend, things were not quite as they seemed. They had new carpet in the hallways, rooms, new hardwood floor in each room, new paint and each room had a vcr/dvd player (great for kids). The room had a queen size bed, nice big alarm clock that played cds, coffee maker, dishwasher (this was oh so nice!), features a full kitchen (including full refrigerator, microwave, stovetop--though no oven), hairdryer, toaster, desk with high speed internet (they don't have wireless yet, but you can hook your laptop up to the dsl) even had shampoo and soap in the bathrooms and included the pots and pans. One thing I found to be exceptionally nice--they included the dish washing soap for both the sink and dishwasher and to top it off, inside the microwave was a nice little bag of popcorn in which my husband and daughter enjoyed. The room was more then adequate enough for all of us, plenty of space to move around, big bathroom with somewhat fluffy towels. The only thing that looked a little bit rundown about the place were the cabinets. Other then that, it looked as if it has been completely redone recently.

The bed was very comfortable for being a two star but the pillows were way too soft for our liking. Even with two of them, they still felt flat to both my husband and I, so if you don't like soft pillows you might want to ask the front desk before they close at 11 p.m. at night for extra pillows.

Housekeeping:

If you are only going for a few days (less then seven) don't expect housekeeping to come knocking on your door asking if you want your room cleaned. That was fine with us, we don't mind that, but there are those who want their room cleaned everyday. If you are planning to stay more then seven days, you will get one cleaning a week in which they will fully come and clean the room, take out the trash, and replace towels and linens.

Parking:

There is parking located all around the hotel--front, back and side--and there was plenty of parking when we were there. We couldn't find a place to park in the front of the hotel when we first arrived, but parked by the entrance until we checked in and than went to the back of the hotel. There is back door which you use your key to get into and you are right next to the front office and elevators. Easy access either way, but we found the side doors didn't work in the night.

Location:

While we stayed there to go to Disneyland, it definitely isn't worth a walk to get there from the hotel. There is a shuttle that is offered for $3 per day for each individual who rides. It wasn't worth it for us with two kids, so we took the Van and parked at the parking lots for Disney Land instead so I can't offer much on the shuttle service. It's right across from a gas station so if you need something extra to eat or need something in the middle of the night you can go across the street or you can go down into the "Candlewood Cupboard" to pick up a snack or something to eat. Also, you are right off the highway so finding your way back home if you are driving shouldn't be a problem and even easier if you are using GPS (which we used). If you are looking for a place to get groceries while there to cook in your room, there is a Vons and Walgreens about three miles away from the hotel. Very easy to find and easy to get back to the hotel if you decide to make that trip.

Extras:

As I mentioned earlier about the Candlewood Cupboard, it's a small little store located inside the hotel where you can buy food, drinks, snacks, even toothbrushes and shavers without leaving the hotel. The prices are little bit on the high side, but the breakfast bags that they offer are not really a bad deal if you are hungry and don't want to cook. You also get free local calls within the Anaheim and Los Angeles area, so if you need to make any calls once you get to the hotel you are free to do so. They also have a selection of videos and dvd's down by the front desk, though we could not find anything that was for the kids as most of them were checked out.

Overall:

For the price we paid, the feel of our stay there, and the Ameneties I would give the hotel four stars out of five. It would have been nice to have breakfast and the bed could have been a little bit more comfortable. We loved staying there and enjoyed the comfort of feeling like home when we were away for the weekend. I would recommend this hotel for families if you bring an Aero or inflatable bed for them to sleep on. There is plenty of room for them to sleep on if needed. If you are looking for a place to stay in Anaheim for Disney Land, Knotts Berry Farm or anything else, take a look at Candlewood suites before you book your next trip.