Which LEGOLAND California Hotel is Better?: A Review

When booking your LEGOLAND California Resort trip for the first time, one of the first things you have to figure out is which LEGOLAND California themed hotel to book? 

Which Hotel To Book, The LEGOLAND Castle Hotel or The LEGOLAND Hotel?

Your choices are The LEGOLAND California Castle Hotel OR The original LEGOLAND Hotel. They built the original hotel in 2013 and The LEGOLAND Castle Hotel in 2018. They are stationed on either side of the LEGOLAND California park entrance and share the same parking lot.

Both offer easy park access, free breakfast buffet, and different themed rooms. But which LEGOLAND California hotel is better? The answer is… it depends. I’ve stayed at both hotels and they both have their strengths. Either one you choose will be an AWESOME trip for your family. In order to properly make that decision, I will now pit both hotels against each other and see who comes out ahead!

By the way, my name is Camille and I run San Diego Mamas. I have three kids and we are LEGOLAND passholders that go frequently! This is one of many of my posts about LEGOLAND Resort so feel free to browse around and send me a DM on Instagram if you have any questions. See all LEGOLAND posts.

How to Find LEGOLAND Hotel and LEGOLAND Castle Hotel Deals

They offer hotel deals frequently on their website. Check out this link for all their current deals! Often you can bundle park tickets with your hotel stay for a great deal. LEGOLAND Annual Passholders get a significant discount off hotel stays as well especially in the off-season. 

Check out this post for current ticket deals! I keep it updated with whatever is currently running.

By the way, I do earn a commission from these links. It is no extra cost to you, so if you love this info please remember to buy through my link. Thank you so much! It helps me keep bringing you the best LEGOLAND content for free.

Why Stay in a LEGOLAND Resort Hotel?

These hotels just GET what it’s like to be a parent with young kids. At every turn, my kids were entertained, the rooms were perfectly suited for families (separate bunk bed areas!) and they had picky eater options at every buffet. I’ve stayed at their partner hotels too, such as the Sheraton Carlsbad behind LEGOLAND and we had way more fun at The LEGOLAND hotel. Though the Sheraton does have their own LEGOLAND entrance, so if budget is a consideration, it’s not a terrible option.

Okay now for what you’ve been waiting for… the competition!

Best Lobby: LEGOLAND Hotel

This was a tough one, but ultimately the LEGOLAND Hotel wins because of their spacious hotel lobby with TWO LEGO building areas and a pirate ship castle playground. The LEGOLAND Castle Hotel does have a slide in the lobby which the kids enjoy as well.

BOTH lobbies will forever ruin future hotel lobbies for you because checking into your hotel while your child is amused by a LEGO building area is simply the best. They have me and my husband wishing for LEGO building areas and a play area for the kids at every hotel we stay in in the future.

We stayed at a nice all-inclusive Mexican resort shortly after we visited LEGOLAND and as we were checking in, our kids were running around the lobby. My husband and I both turned to each other and said “Want to know what would be GREAT right now? A giant pile if LEGO.”

Best Pool: The LEGOLAND Castle Hotel

The LEGOLAND Castle Hotel pool area is much bigger and it has a hot tub. There are also water features that dump water on the kids. Both pools feature LEGO bricks to play with and complimentary towels. The LEGOLAND Castle Hotel also has a playground next to the pool and an outdoor movie screen. No outdoor playground at other hotel.

Extra bonus: If you book a room on the ground floor NEXT to the playground you can lie on your hotel bed while your kid burns off all their energy. Both pools are open to guests of both hotels, for example if you stay at LEGOLAND Hotel you can also swim at The Castle Hotel. 

Best Entertainment: LEGOLAND Hotel

While both hotels offer plenty of entertainment and shows, the award goes to The LEGOLAND Hotel because of their kid dance party every night and their disco elevator. I don’t want to spoil the surprise for the disco elevator, but go check it out no matter which hotel you stay in. It’s a party and may end up the highlight of your San Diego vacation. The Castle Hotel has a magic wizard elevator, but IMO it’s not quite as fun. 

They also have a designated room for a family dance party that happens nightly. They have a real DJ and a massive disco dance floor. It was packed every night and we definitely had as much fun as the kids!

Best Themed Rooms: TIE with slight edge to LEGOLAND Hotel because of Ninjago

This one depends. Both hotels offer different themes in their rooms. If you have a kid that loves wizards and knights, The Castle Hotel will be your best bet. You can book a Royal Princess Deluxe Suite, Wizard Room or a Knights and Dragons room. However LEGO Ninjago, LEGO Friends, DUPLO Rooms, and the Pirate theming are all at The LEGOLAND California Hotel.

Both have rooms that feel brand new and the standard room comes with one huge King bed and two bunk beds. The bunk beds are slightly removed from the parent bed so it feels quite comfortable and spacious even with young children. They have a trundle bed that goes in the kid room so it slept all three of our kids quite comfortably. 

Best Food: LEGOLAND Hotel

This one is niche, but I find buffets easier with kids. LEGOLAND Hotel offers an evening buffet at Bricks Family Restaurant while The Castle Hotel is a sit down restaurant in the evening. I noticed they rotate dishes served at the buffet so it’s not the same thing every night! The complimentary breakfast buffet is the same at both hotels.

BREAKFAST IS INCLUDED WITH YOUR STAY EVERY NIGHT. This is not publicized well enough in my opinion so now you know. Make a reservation because it gets crowded. The breakfast buffet has a TON of options, I even was able to get a whole Mexican breakfast which is my favorite!

This is a huge plus and should be considered when deciding to stay here or off-property. There are a few hotels like The Sheraton Carlsbad behind LEGOLAND with its own entrance. We’ve stayed there too, it’s worth the extra cost to stay at the themed hotels.

Best Hotel Gym: LEGOLAND Castle Hotel

It’s bigger and has more equipment. However they are both pretty standard, weights, treadmill etc. Hours are good as well. 

Other things to know about The LEGOLAND Hotels

There is a treasure hunt in both hotels for young explorers! Use the QR code on the box in your room to get started. Find the numbers in a scavenger hunt throughout the themed hotels and then use the code to open the treasure box in your hotel room. Hotel guests can do this scavenger hunt every day because they refill the treasure chest daily!

Both hotels offer early access for LEGOLAND Park to hotel guests, however only three rides are open so the lines get pretty long quickly. An even better bet is to stay until park close because things empty out around 4 pm most days. Be aware that all restaurants in LEGOLAND close early, so make a reservation at the buffet for right after LEGOLAND’s close so you aren’t waiting until 9 pm for dinner. 

What to Not Miss at LEGOLAND California Resort

There is so much to do at LEGOLAND, but make sure to check out the new driving schools, the new space-themed land with new indoor family coaster (coming March 2026!), Sea Life Aquarium, The Ferrari Build and Test, the newest land Dino Valley, LEGO Duplo Playground, and Pirate Reef. It’s also a certified Autism center and I have heard countless stories that their staff is wonderful with this group of kids. 

Miniland USA holds a LEGO version of San Diego complete with LEGO models of Petco Park, Coronado Bridge, Rady Shell, and more in their LEGO model of the city. Don’t miss the hands-on STEM-based experiences in all of their building areas!

The LEGOLAND Water Park has a raft river with floating LEGO bricks, a Legends of Chima wave pool, tons of water playgrounds, water slides and more! Here are all my tips on the LEGOLAND Water Park!

Other things to do near LEGOLAND

If you’re looking for sandy beaches, check out this post about my favorite beaches in San Diego. The nearest beach that I would recommend is Moonlight State Beach with their fantastic playground and easy parking and tall palm trees.

For my complete list of 100 Best Things to Do in San Diego With Kids, see this post (not quite ready yet, coming soon!).