Dream Castle Hotel

The room was clean, the staff were friendly and the shuttle came in handy. The hotel is perfectly fine as long as you don't plan to eat there. We paid for the evening buffet before we could see the food. The desserts were delicious, but the rest was nothing special and the meat was very dry for the price. Breakfast was bland and depressing too. We only ate there when we had to. You're better off eating in the parks or Disney Village.

Our room was dirty and smelled unpleasant. There was hair on the bathroom tiles and in the bath, marks in the toilet, and dust throughout. The hotel also seemed tired, with beer and champagne bottles left in the corridors, which made a poor first impression. We were there for one night as a family and found the stay very disappointing. The indoor pool was closed due to technical problems. The outdoor pool opened later in the afternoon and was clean and enjoyable, but we couldn't use one of the main facilities we had expected. I wouldn't recommend this hotel.

The outdoor pool is great, the food is good and the staff are brilliant. The bar prices are high, the indoor pool needs proper maintenance, and the bathrooms in the family rooms need updating. Even so, we had a good experience apart from the shuttle. Over the past three days, I've watched the buses get overloaded and run too infrequently for all the hotels they serve. The pushing, shouting, screaming and crying is embarrassing to see. Add another bus each hour. It would probably still be nearly full, but people wouldn't be crammed together like brawling sardines. The public bus outside is much more civilised.

Service is the big letdown here. The bar took 40 minutes to serve me a drink, and only four other people were served in that time. No one acknowledged the wait, apologized or thanked me. At dinner, we waited a long time to be seated, then heard two servers were handling 200 guests that night. The buffet helped, and the man serving drinks was experienced and efficient, but the bar seemed to have only one person taking orders and one pouring drinks. The staff clearly needed more help during the busy school holiday. There's no table service, either, which might at least let people sit while waiting for drinks. The food prices were steep for what we got: 28 euros for a poor pizza and 23 for kids' chicken and chips. I bought wine at the restaurant to drink later, then ordered a pizza and a slush for my nephew while he played. When I returned, the whole pizza, wine and untouched slush had been cleared away. They offered to replace the pizza, but I'd lost my appetite and just asked for another glass of wine. The tables seem to be cleared faster than drinks are served. The location is perfect, with a free shuttle to and from Disney, and the hotel looks clean and nice. Check-in staff were helpful. The place could be wonderful with enough staff, but the service is terrible for a hotel that isn't cheap. Paper cups in the room for tea and coffee also don't feel like four star service.