CA Orange County Doubletree Santa Ana Costa Mesa

[soccermacmom]

My review of the Doubletree Santa Ana/OC Airport:

It was okay. I would never choose to stay there. It felt like you were staying at an event center - probably nice if you were attending a reception or meeting, but not somewhere you'd choose to spend some time. You have to walk past all the banquet rooms to get to the elevator to the guest rooms, and there is no sense of hospitality in the lobby. Sort of like the guest rooms (and guests) were an afterthought to the banquet area.

Pros: The usual great Doubletree bed, new pillowtop mattress, nice pillows, etc. Good cookies. Clean, and pretty furniture. Desk staff was nice enough, and responsive when the first room we were assigned turned out to be a smokey nightmare. They quickly gave us another room.

Cons: One of the most awkward rooms I've stayed in. You couldn't see the TV from the bed, and there was one small easy chair and one desk chair. Coffee was set up on the "coffee table" since the bathroom was too small to hold the coffee tray and ice bucket. Room overlooked MacArthur and street noise was loud. Walls are very thin; neighbor's TV woke us up during the night and we could hear him talking on the phone. You can't adjust the fan to stay on to hide the noise. Weird room layout; maybe it was the Priceline room. Parking was scarce at 8:30 pm in the parking garage, but we found a spot. Parking is $14 extra.

Actually, I think I wouldn't bid a 3* in this zone again, because I wouldn't want to land here. Fortunately the price was a good one.

[tiffandrew14]

So I just got back from my vacation where I stayed at this hotel (DOUBLETREE SANTA ANA/O.C.AIRPORT).

DO NOT STAY HERE!!!!! IT WAS THE WORST HOTEL EXPERIENCE I HAVE EVER HAD!!!

First of all, we've stayed at many Doubetree Hotels before and have never had a problem.... until this time. Staff members were not welcoming & accomodating like all other Doubletree hotels. Usually when walking toward the front desk, they acknowledge you with a smile & a greeting like "Hi! May I help you?" NOT HERE! They would wait for you to come to the desk & speak first until he/she would even look up at you. Also, there wasn't always someone at the front desk (even during day time), sometimes waiting up to 10 minutes for someone to help us.

Second, our hotel room was NOT completely cleaned from prior guest! How disgusting is that! It felt like we were staying at a Motel or even worse! Our bedsheets did not appear to be changed from prior guest (there was a stain on sheets & multiple hairs under pillows!). The little leather folder with a pen & paper had no pen (it's the little things!). This became an inconvenience when we ordered room service because the lady who delivered did not have a pen either, so how are we supposed to sign the bill??? What a mess! Also, our bathroom smelled like a public restroom, even after it was cleaned by the maid (who knows??).

Lastly, our digital camera accidentally slipped out of my pocket when I was sitting at the sofa in the lounge. It was later discovered by hotel staff & "placed in lost & found." They next time I saw that staff member, he notified me that my pink camera was in lost & found, but I had to wait until a certain time to get it, as it was locked up. When I went to get it, they couldn't find it ANYWHERE! When they called the staff members involved, they have TWO DIFFERENT stories of what happened with the camera. Different managers on duty were not helpful & made us feel like we were lying. They just kept saying "I don't know what else to tell you," and that they'd "follow up." It had been FOUR DAYS and they still haven't found it. If only they could tell us it was just STOLEN. It's not even just that it's a digital camera, it had over 500 hundred pictures and memories of our summer vacations from Cabo San Lucas, Hawaii, San Diego & more.

As you see, this was the worst hotel experience we've EVER EVER had, from the room to staff. PLEASE DO NOT STAY HERE.

[mbstone]

We did NOT have a bad experience at this property. Quite the opposite. Bid $49, others have gotten recently for $44.

Property is located 1 mi N of SNA near SR55/Macarthur and is easily confused with other Doubletree properties in the immediate vicinity.

Elegant lobby with lots of marble. Large banquet/meeting facilities, in fact you have to walk past 30 yards of banquet rooms to reach the guest elevators.

No PL attitude; cookie given. No bell service, carts avail. Garage parking $14/day. Restaurant, bar. Restaurants/shopping within 1 mi. Room service 6A-11P except 2-4P, quick and tasty, prices vary, reasonable to less reasonable+1.50+17%. TV, local+13 basic+HBO; PPV; wired internet, claimed as $10 but not charged; toy internet. Wireless internet from first floor, also claimed as $10 received free at times, we were on 2nd floor. Business center 24H w/free workstations/printers; gift shop. ATM. Exercise room 24H. Microscopically tiny pool, must be seen to be believed, slightly smaller jacuzzi, 7A-10P. Coffeemaker.

Great king bed; room otherwise sparsely furnished with desk, chair, older TV, upholstered armchair had broken springs which caused me to sink into the chair and almost hit the floor.

Recategorized by PL as 3.5* on 9/22/08

[808geek]

Recently stayed during Oct. 1-4 2009. Was actually pleasantly surprised by this property. Have never stayed at a Doubletree before. Check-in was a breeze at 8pm. Asked how many cookies I would like and I politely declined only cuz I was wiped out from the drive and wanted to go to bed.

Parking was never an issue for me. Got to park right in front of the lobby each night and only once during the day when I came back did I have to park down below in their parking garage. Even then I parked directly across from the elevator that takes you straight up to the lobby. Parking is $14 a night. However upon check-out my bill showed zero balance. So I'm assuming they comped it to me. I won this property through Priceline at $48 a night.

Room was spacious. Beds were extremely comfortable. I have back problems so I'm usually pretty picky about the beds I sleep on. I loved it. Didn't use their pillows, I always bring my own. But they seemed to have a good mix of firm and soft pillows on the beds. Bathroom is average size. Shower had good water pressure. They use neutrogena products which smelled nice. Towels were surprisingly soft. Loved it, and they stocked 3 sets of towels everyday. None of them were rough or scratchy. So kuddos to Doubletree on that. A/C in room worked great, one day I left it on and set it a little low and it was definitely cold when i got back. Disappointed in the old conventional tv though. Would have loved a flat-screen and one that was bigger. Only reason for that is they come with a/v jacks so I can hook up my own portable dvd player to it and watch my movies on their tv. But their particular old style conventional tv didn't have any a/v jacks anywhere on it. So had to watch my movies on my portable dvd player screen. No big deal I still made do.

It is in a financial type district area. Quizno's is literally a walk across the parking lot. But they do close early. I came back one evening at 7pm thinking I could grab something quick to eat there before going back to room and they were already closed. Right across the street is Starbucks and they can get a bit busy in the morning during week for people hitting it before work. Had a few other eateries in that same plaza. I remember a sushi place there. I think Rubios is there or something like that. Further down MacArthur Blvd is Mc Donald's, Taco Bell, In & Out Burger, Subway. Think there is a Walgreens and grocery store down in that area too.

Would definitely come back if I'm in that area again. I did a Disneyland trip and it was sold out in Anaheim area do to a convention and other stuff going on that weekend so that's how I ended up out here. But it really only 15 mins or so by freeway to get to Disneyland, so not bad. The 55 freeway can be crazy with traffic during commute hour time. So Friday night going back to Disneyland I used the streets. Drove down MacArthur Blvd for a few miles and turned right on Harbor Blvd. and drove down that about 5 miles or more till I got to Disneyland. Pretty straight forward drive just took 25 to 30 mins drive cuz of all the stop lights.

Overall very happy with stay, good property. Quiet place. Never heard any noise from other guests.