After staying inside the park at Grand California the last 2 times I'll admit I've been spoiled as far as location & cleanliness but since the price is so high I thought why not try another hotel this vacation? So I went to Tripadvisor & found how high this place was rated and thought why not? Well after staying there I will tell you why not. I found the hotel location entirely too far from the park & although they call it Maingate, it is too far to walk with children & not near ANY GATE! Upon check-in I was happy I brought my own bottle of Lysol to do my own cleaning in the room. Staying with another family, we rented the 2 Bedroom Penthouse, not recommended for 2 families! The bedrooms are extremely small & the upstairs room is quite dangerous for young children as the bed looks over the loft. Also the sound travels so if your sleeping upstairs & there are people in the living area, you are not sleeping...due to the noise. The front desk was not helpful the 3 times I went in with questions & the staff seemed to be too young to care. The entire suite was outdated, old & very dirty, but I will say the grounds outside were nice and quiet. I realize the rate was extremely good in comparison to many other hotels but you know the good old saying...you get what you pay for.

I have stayed in RI in SFO and San Diego and this was the worst one by far. Rooms are old and need refurbishing, sofa bed the most uncomfortable in the world even with two extra covers on it. Even sitting on it was uncomfortable and the chair threadbare and dirty. Front desk staff on check and generally not very friendly until about our 4th day and then they seemed to improve (think different staff). If you have a penthouse apartment you would really struggle with luggage if you didn't have someone able to carry the luggage up the stairs.

Breakfast was fine but very crowded and the hamburger night was good. Laundry facilities are also handy with a family. It was very close to Disneyland and you could walk or get the bus.

I would stay again ONCE it has been refurbished.

The Residence Inn is very convenient when you have kids and are staying for an extended time to visit Disneyland. The outdoor amenities like the BBQ area and pool are great. The included breakfast makes everything that much easier in the morning. While the rooms where clean, the furniture could use some updating. Because of the use it probably gets worn fast. The staff was always very helpful and the location is great because you can walk or take the shuttle.

The Residence Inn was great for what we needed. It is hard to find a hotel that allows the kids to have their own bed. This was perfect for that. The downstairs bedroom of our penthouse had 2 queen beds that the kids slept in. Upstairs in the loft was a very comfortable king bed for my husband and I. I don't often sleep well in hotels, but I slept like a dream here.

Breakfast was great. Those waffles were the best! The pool was small but fine, and the hotel was quiet most of the time.

The only thing that really needed help were the bathrooms. The caulk was icky, and they just looked like they had had a LOT of use.

Given the price, IF it had been less of a walk to Disneyland, I might have given it 5 stars. Even though we loved it I am not sure we would stay here again, because it is a long walk to Disneyland turnstiles. With all the walking you do in disneyland, we didin't need that additional 5/8 mile each direction to get there. After walking around Disneyland all day my legs could barely move, and then to have to walk back to the hotel that far was a real pain.