Why You Should Stay on Property at One of the Legoland Hotels

Staying at the Legoland hotels are fitting for young princes and princesses who want to immerse themselves into LEGO bricks. Photo by Kylie Williams for Mommy Poppins
Staying at the Legoland hotels are fitting for young princes and princesses who want to immerse themselves into LEGO bricks. Photo by Kylie Williams for Mommy Poppins
5/11/25 - By Kylie Williams

If you ask my six-year-old his favorite memory of the past year, he will immediately tell you that it was our stay at the Legoland Hotel. I'm not always one to spring for an on-site property at a theme park. Usually, an off-site Homewood Suites will do just fine for our large family, but when we were given the opportunity to check out the Legoland Hotel earlier this year, we jumped for it.

Staying at Legoland elevated our theme park experience tenfold. There are two wonderful, engaging, and bricktastic hotels on the property at Legoland: the Legoland Castle Hotel and Legoland California Resort. Walking to the theme park in the morning is an obvious perk, but staying on-site provided so much more than just convenient access. From LEGO "pools" in the lobby to a nightly dance party to the elevator disco, a Legoland stay is unique in every way. 

Want to hear more about all the fun in the parks? Check out our article on the ultimate Legoland visit with your family. Also, check out our review on Legoland's newest area, Dino Valley, or read more about fun things to do with your family in San Diego.  

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New Rooms = New Fun at the Legoland Hotel 

Why You Should Absolutely Stay on Property at Legoland Legoland's fun decorated rooms
Stay in one of the DUPLO-themed rooms!  

From the time you arrive, the Legoland Hotel offers magical experiences and core memories. My kids were thrilled that we were staying in the colorful building guarded by a friendly dragon. While we checked in, they climbed into a large pool of LEGO bricks and started building. We had the pleasure of staying in one of the brand new DUPLO-themed hotel rooms, with colorful jungle animals on the walls and a larger-than-life giraffe rising over the bed. 

There are also new Ninjago rooms and LEGO Friends rooms in the hotel, accompanying the already beloved pirate and adventure rooms. 

Legoland rooms are built for families! Every room has an alcove with a triple bunk bed perfect for the kids. Our family of six fit comfortably in here, with a kid in each bunk, the toddler in a hotel-provided pack-n-play, and mom and dad in the "giraffe bed." There is a TV and a small DUPLO workstation in the "kids' room", with a second workstation in the main bedroom. Even the bathroom mirror is framed in DUPLO blocks Everyone slept soundly and the beds were comfortable, which made for a banner day in the park (no over-tired meltdowns to be had!).  

The Famous Lego Scavenger Hunt 

Have you heard of the Legoland scavenger hunt? All you need is a phone to scan the QR code, and Legoland will send you on a hunt throughout the hotel to look for clues and answer a series of questions. Once you have all your answers and punch them into the prompts on the phone, it generates a special combination, which opens a lock box inside your hotel room. Our kids were over the moon to open the box and discover a small DUPLO waiting for each of them inside. This scavenger hunt is included with your room, so make sure you don't skip it! The hunt is available in both hotels. 

RELATED: 25 Things To Do in Carlsbad Other than Legoland 

Why You Should Absolutely Stay on Property at Legoland nightly dance parties
Kids can get groovy at dance parties in the Legoland hotels. 

Nightly Dance Parties 

You may regret booking your stay at Legoland because, from now on, your kids will ask if every hotel they stay at has a dance party room. At least, that's what my kids do now. Every night, a DJ spins while kids and adults alike are welcome to move it and groove it on a light-up dance floor. The tunes were bumpin', and my kids had the best time. There are also plenty of chairs in the "nightclub" for tired parents who would rather observe (and maybe grab a drink from the bar next door). 

Arcades, Pirate Ships, Magic Shows, and More 

Next to the dance party room is a small arcade with pay-to-play games. The credits don't go very far, but my kids still loved playing a few games before heading back over to the pirate ship. Yes, there is a castle inside the hotel with a moat of LEGO bricks, plenty of LEGO building stations, a drawbridge, and tunnels. 

Several times a day, Legoland Hotel staff perform shows at the drawbridge, such as storytimes, magic shows, balloon twisting, and group games. Even the elevator ride is a party at this hotel, with a disco-dance surprise during every ride up or down. Fancy a swim? The beach-entry, warmed pool at Legoland Hotel has floating bricks and plenty of fun for the whole family. 

A Free Hearty Breakfast Before Your Day in the Parks 

The Bricks Family Restaurant offers free hot breakfast daily, with dozens of options. Kids can even grab their fare from a child-sized buffet area- allowing them to take control of what they have at the most important meal of the day. 

Free hot breakfast is included at the Legoland Castle Hotel. Bricks Family Restaurant also serves lunch and dinner (these meals are not included in your stay). There are two restaurants on-site at the Legoland Hotel, so no one ever goes hungry. 

A Royal Stay at the Legoland Castle Hotel

The Castle Hotel is directly opposite the existing Legoland Hotel and shares many of its appealing features, including the prime, walk-straight-from-breakfast-into-the-park location. Legoland knows its biggest fans are at the younger end of the theme park crowd, so the hotel caters to parents with tots by keeping distances short, elevator rides entertaining, and opportunities to play everywhere you look—literally from the moment you walk through the lobby door to be greeted by a pit of LEGO bricks. The main staircase even has a slide for coming back down.

RELATED: Best Hotels in San Diego for Families 

Why You Should Absolutely Stay on Property at Legoland Fun in the lobby
Kids walk in the lobby door and can start building immediately.

As the name implies, the new hotel has a royal theme, with an emphasis heavily on magic and wizards; the whole place exudes Hogwarts for Preschoolers. Rooms are decorated with potions and owls (made of Legos, of course), and the elevators claim to run courtesy of some magic spell. Lego portraits on the walls are created to change as guests walk by, like 3D images; the design is ingenious enough to impress big kids and adults walking by as well. As anywhere in Legoland, the brick design crew has clearly had a wonderful time creating works of art for visitors to enjoy.

Al Fresco Fun for Everyone at the Legoland Castle Hotel

Outdoors, the Castle Hotel has more than just LEGO bricks to keep young guests happy. The hotel's 250 rooms are built around a central courtyard with a lawn, a LEGO-themed play structure, and a small stage for entertainment throughout the day. There is also a giant movie screen for nightly outdoor movies (The Lego Movie, anyone?), and, of course, a wonderful swimming pool, heated to over 80 degrees for little tyke comfort all year round.

Legoland's Castle Hotel is the first in North America; the theme park chain has one in Germany already and in England, but lucky SoCal gets the first one this side of the Atlantic. Whether you treat your posse to the Castle Hotel or the regular Legoland Hotel, it is a treat to stay on the property. 

RELATED: 101 Fun Things To Do with Legos

Why You Should Absolutely Stay on Property at Legoland beautifully designed aquariums on the property
Dive into extra fun at the Legoland Sea Life Aquarium. 

The great thing about spending two days overnight at Legoland is that you can break up the entertainment, spending time at the waterpark or the splendid Sea Life Aquarium.

A family in a hurry might understandably skip the aquarium in favor of rides, the LEGO Factory tour, or splash pads. But with an extra day, there's time to be pleasantly surprised by the treat that is Legoland's beautifully designed aquarium. The wide variety of fish swimming among the LEGO bricks in environments impressively close to natural ones will delight visitors of every age—and offer a cool, quiet, educational escape from amusement park mayhem.

Why a Stay on Property Pays Off 

With hotel and admission bundle deals, you may find yourself saving significantly. Seasonal deals offer a hotel stay with a second day's park admission essentially for free. There are always great offers available on the Legoland website. We suggest browsing options and taking advantage of promotions to maximize your money. Sometimes, there is even a kid stay-and-play free deal!

In addition to the great deals, staying on-property allows you to get more for your admission with extra hours in the park. Hotel guests can typically enter the park one hour before the general public. This is the perfect time to hit up some of the more popular rides! We used our extra hour to enjoy Dino World without massive crowds and ride the Coastersaurus multiple times. 

All photos taken by Kylie Williams for Mommy Poppins.

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