DoubleTree by Hilton Buena Park — Hotel in Buena Park

I arrived at 3am seeking accommodations after, jet lagged and hurting from flying cross country and then a long drive in an uncomfortable rental.

The gentleman at the desk seemed disinterested in booking my stay, seemed he thought I couldn’t pay or something. It took longer than it should’ve for him to actually confirm that I did want the room, given it was the only one left, and I literally had just rumblestripped falling asleep at the wheel on the highway.

In my disorientated state, I thought little of unaliving half a dozen fruit flies that were on the ceiling and wall above one of the beds (and one floating in the CLOSED toilet bowl) and the undeniable stench of mildew emanating from the bathroom. I passed out shortly after entering room 155. Later that day, I woke up and noticed the TV welcomed JeanMargaret (not me) and to find the fruit fly reserves had apparently been buzzed in to avenge the fallen, because over the course of the next 20 hours or so, I was embroiled in battle, resulting in DOZENS of fruit fly casualties. I honestly thought I was imagining things, until I discovered the source of the infestation — a decent sized red stain on the carpet next to the a/c unit, appeared to be a juice or similar spill that had to have been left by previous occupants. This, as well as other factors (dust, cup rings, etc) suggested that this room was not cleaned prior to my arrival.

At one point, I exhaustedly slumped into a chair with such instability, it had to have been previously compromised, was unable to hold my weight, flipped over, sending me flying, causing me to hit my head on the little shelf that juts out from the headboard, and landing onto the overturned chair’s legs, bruising my thigh.

I thought about complaining but I thought it was a lost cause, and was too tired to have to search for alternate accommodations.

Then I learned that I could not access the WiFi with my last name and room number as the instructions stated. I called the front desk, and was told they would fix it. It took over an hour to gain access to WiFi.

Then I noticed my credit card got charged a second time. Once when I booked, and again during the second night of my 2-night stay for Lord knows what reason. Can’t wait to fight that battle.

Won’t be staying again, obviously.

Update:

Thanks for commenting your defense Hilton and doing absolutely no follow up. It’s very possible the room was cleaned AFTER my stay, but it definitely wasn’t cleaned before. I was charged twice, the man obviously failed to disclose the total charges because I had asked for 2 nights and was under the impression that was what I was charged for the first night. So I really wasn’t anticipating another charge and it really messed me up financially. And you can credit me for taking care of your fruit fly infestation, there’s even someone who can vouch for my kill count as they witnessed a good part of the ordeal....

Every staff member at DoubleTree by Hilton Buena Park who worked with us in planning our daughter Lizzie's 17th birthday and unveiling of her new record label (LS Records) - 09/09/2023 - are very, very gracious, courteous and helpful. I would like to make special mention of the following staff members who helped made our event a very, very memorable one:

Jessica Chavez - our Catering Coordinator who helped us in planning this event. She is very, very helpful and very patient with all our changes. She coordinated everything very well for us from start to finish. From food tasting, finalizing the food to set-up and even a request for a dress rehearsal prior to the main event and an early set-up request were accommodated. We are forever very grateful! Luckily, there were no events scheduled prior and after our event. So it all worked out! She is really very, very helpful to our family and we are very grateful to her for helping us have a very successful and memorable event!

Macario - Banquet Manager for our event and his team. They are very, very professional and very, very helpful. Macario approached us at the head table and he made sure that our daughter was able to eat so he went out of his way to prepare a plate for her. Usually hosts leave the party hungry because they have to entertain their guests. But for our event, he and his staff took care of us!! We were not rushed and the guests all complimented the food. they all loved the food and even for our vegetarian/vegan guests, they were also able to eat! We felt the hospitality! :) There was enough food to serve everyone (even seconds) so no one left hungry + the food was really excellent!

Tommy - Asst Manager from the Front desk. He is very, very accommodating as well!! We almost lost the complimentary breakfast since we were supposed to take it the day prior. However, we were very busy with the event so we only had the chance to have the complimentary breakfast after the event the following day. He made sure that he took care of us and accommodated us! Since it was still a slow morning, he also walked us to the restaurant and made sure that we are taken cared of! :) He is very, very helpful! We enjoyed our breakfast and the food was really very good!

Our family is very grateful we were able to work with them! We are hoping that we will be given a chance to work with them once again in the future.

I will request for you to follow LS Records in IG: @lastsecondrecords @lizzie.cruz14

Thank you very much DoubleTree by Hilton Buena Park for being a part of her 17th birthday and unveiling of her new record label-LS Records!

Sincerely, Tony, Tess...

We stayed here recently and, honestly, it was a mixed bag. Not terrible, but not great either.

We went through three rooms total. The first two were in the main building, and the last one was in the back building. Both areas looked remodeled and were actually pretty nice-looking inside. No real complaints about the furniture or layout — I liked the way the rooms were set up.

But the issues started stacking up. The first room was clean but only had one bed. The second one (which was a complimentary upgrade for being Diamond) was supposed to be an improvement — but the bathroom smelled awful. Like alcohol and straight-up weed or smoke. Not cool. It was strong enough that we couldn’t stay in there, so we went back to the front desk (who were super nice, by the way) and they gave us a third room.

The third room was better — clean, no weird smells, decent bed — but by then we were already tired of switching. Also, the beds are pretty narrow if you sleep sideways like I do. Just a heads-up if you’re not a vertical sleeper.

One big downside was the elevator situation. One was closed when we arrived, and the other was shut down for servicing later. So we had to walk from the back building to the main building and back just to get around — not ideal when you’re carrying bags. And the one elevator that was open earlier? Super old, dim lighting, kinda creepy.

The pool area was loud until like 1 a.m., and the windows are thin, so if you’re a light sleeper, bring earplugs. Luckily, the blackout curtains were amazing. I slept like a rock and didn’t even realize it was light outside till 10 a.m.

The Wi-Fi was okay once it worked — it was kind of a pain to connect after switching rooms, but once I got on, speeds were decent. I ran a test: about 10 Mbps down and 10 Mbps up. Not blazing fast, but enough for basic stuff.

Parking was another thing. The lot in the back feels sketchy at night — not well lit, and kind of gives off “someone might break into your car” vibes. Luckily, nothing happened, but it’s not super comforting when you’re arriving late.

Breakfast was okay. Nothing fancy. The waiter forgot some of our order, and I got two Dr. Peppers even though I only asked for one — not a huge deal, just a little messy.

All in all, the staff was great, and I loved the look of the rooms once we found one that didn’t smell. But between the noise, sketchy parking vibes, elevator problems, and Wi-Fi hassles, I can’t give it more than a 2.5 to 3-star rating. There’s potential here, but they need to clean up a few things — literally and logistically — to make it worth...