GCH is Tops

[SSG]

I stayed there once (2014) and thought it was nice, but nothing special, but the Grand Californian Hotel has been named one of the Top Hotels in Southern California in the 30th annual Condé Nast Traveler’s 2017 Readers’ Choice Awards.

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...-spa-at-disneyland-resort/?CMP=SOC-TW.DLR.GCH

So, there's that.

 

[Phroobar]

Yeah, at Magic Mountain your greeted with this:

Personally I don't trust web sites or even "newspaper" readers to chose the BEST of anything.

 

[Stevek]

I stayed there once (2014) and thought it was nice, but nothing special, but the Grand Californian Hotel has been named one of the Top Hotels in Southern California in the 30th annual Condé Nast Traveler’s 2017 Readers’ Choice Awards.

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...-spa-at-disneyland-resort/?CMP=SOC-TW.DLR.GCH

So, there's that.

It's a nice hotel, would have no problems staying there again...I guess being in the top 20 isn't out of the question but I wouldn't call it anything extraordinary.

 

[westie]

There's a reason the wife always wants to stay there and this is part of it.

 

[SSG]

It's a nice hotel, would have no problems staying there again...I guess being in the top 20 isn't out of the question but I wouldn't call it anything extraordinary.

Yeah, it was nice but I actually thought the best thing was the proximity to DCA. The wing we were in the elevator dropped right by the pool area and the entry above Grizzly.

 

[Deleted member 107043]

I think it's probably the best hotel in the immediate area. From the beautiful lobby, to the rooms, to the pool it's uniquely Disney. It has a nice vibe, and the amenities are a good notch or two above the best that Anaheim/Garden Grove have to offer. On top of that the proximity to the parks can't be beat. In terms of service it's no Four Seasons or Ritz even though the rates are comparable. That said I'm betting this property will be upping its game once the Westin and the JW come online.

 

[D.Silentu]

I had the chance to stay there during the opening week of California Adventure. I recall the hotel being nice and beautiful, but what stands as equally memorable were the growing pains the hotel was experiencing. At one point the fire alarm went off for no apparent reason, evacuating everyone. We were also accused of helping ourselves to the minibar, though it earned us a free Storytellers brunch in apology. My favorite part was our room overlooking the courtyard, with the monorail running right underneath our window. I'm curious to see what the Grand Californian is like now that it has been refurbished.

 

[Deleted member 107043]

My favorite part was our room overlooking the courtyard, with the monorail running right underneath our window. I

I've stayed in one of those rooms before. My favorite was room we had overlooking Downtown Disney directly across from the parking lot tram stop. We could see the tops of Space Mountain and the Matterhorn from our room. Another time I had a room overlooking the pool with Paradise Pier in the background. This was before they built the new wing, so I'm not sure what that view looks like now. One of these days I'm going to bite the bullet and book a room overlooking DCA and the Grizzly Peak Recreation Area.

 

[D.Silentu]

Boy, that would be ideal! One thing I've always been curious about, in your room adjacent to Downtown Disney did the ambient noise ever become distracting or bothersome?

 

[GiveMeTheMusic]

The hotel is beautiful. The rooms are inadequate and disappointing. The service is not befitting its price point.

There are much nicer hotels in SoCal than the Grand, but they're not built into a Disney theme park and that's the kind of thing that wins these surveys.

 

[Deleted member 107043]

Boy, that would be ideal! One thing I've always been curious about, in your room adjacent to Downtown Disney did the ambient noise ever become distracting or bothersome?

Not at all. I'm ,pretty sure they're sound-proofed.

 

[Deleted member 107043]

There are much nicer hotels in SoCal than the Grand, but they're not built into a Disney theme park and that's the kind of thing that wins these surveys.

Not sure if I fully agree. For what they charge there's no question that GCH is a poor value in terms of the rooms and overall service level, but the amenities are great (The Napa Rose is exceptional for example), and I think it could hold it's own even if it weren't attached to a Disney theme park.

 

[Nonsuch]

I think it's probably the best hotel in the immediate area. From the beautiful lobby, to the rooms, to the pool it's uniquely Disney. It has a nice vibe, and the amenities are a good notch or two above the best that Anaheim/Garden Grove have to offer. On top of that the proximity to the parks can't be beat. In terms of service it's no Four Seasons or Ritz even though the rates are comparable. That said I'm betting this property will be upping its game once the Westin and the JW come online.

I'm a fan of the Grand Californian, and stay there several times a year. The newly renovated rooms are much brighter (both color scheme and better lighting), and furniture changes make the rooms feel larger -- unfortunately, some of the Arts and Crafts design elements were eliminated.

The public spaces are also refreshed with lighter colors, without losing the Arts and Crafts designs.

I certainly hope you are correct that competition will drive the Grand Californian to upgrade service. While I have no major issues, random long lines for registration (or even bell services) should be not happen.

 

[Axoman]

I stayed at GCH in 2013 and we had a great location, right above the DCA entrance.
We went back to Disneyland the following year and stayed the Disneyland hotel. I prefer the Disneyland hotel after staying there, it just felt more "Disney".

I haven't seen it since rooms have been redone, but outside of the big lobby and location, I can't say I'd prefer staying there over anywhere else.

 

[westie]

I stayed in a refurbed room at DCA last month. It's very nice. Brighter colors, orange grove theme, granite counters, new tv with more channels, all new shower with multiple shower heads. Also, they replaced the coffee maker with a Keurig with Pete's Coffee!(yum) The room was ground floor next to the pool which was a little weird because you felt like you were spying on the pool lol.

 

[Darkbeer1]

I stayed in a refurbed room at DCA last month. It's very nice. Brighter colors, orange grove theme, granite counters, new tv with more channels, all new shower with multiple shower heads. Also, they replaced the coffee maker with a Keurig with Pete's Coffee!(yum) The room was ground floor next to the pool which was a little weird because you felt like you were spying on the pool lol.

I wonder how long that will last, with Starbucks spending all that money on the Resort locations....

 

[Nonsuch]

I wonder how long that will last, with Starbucks spending all that money on the Resort locations....

Back in March, a renovated room had Twinings pods.

GCH rooms no longer have ceramic mugs, a downgrade of the renovation.
An incentive for guests to buy the updated Starbucks "You are Here" mugs for DL and DCA

 

[Deleted member 107043]

I wonder how long that will last, with Starbucks spending all that money on the Resort locations....

To me Peet's is vastly superior, and it was one of the first specially coffee companies in the US, predating Starbucks and the current coffee craze. It's also from California, while Starbucks is based in Washington. I'd be happy if Disney switched all of it's Anaheim locations to Peet's or another California based coffee company.

 

[Darkbeer1]

To me Peet's is vastly superior, and it was one of the first specially coffee companies in the US, predating Starbucks and the current coffee craze. It's also from California, while Starbucks is based in Washington. I'd be happy if Disney switched all of it's Anaheim locations to Peet's or another California based coffee company.

And I wished for In-n-Out Burger instead of McDonald's when DCA 1.0 opened.

Money Talks, and Starbucks getting inside all the parks wasn't cheap.

Same as wishing for Pepsi

Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf would be an awesome replacement, founded and based in LA,

There is one next to the CVS at Harbor and Katella.It is also the brand served by Hilton's worldwide. And is also Kosher.

 

[Deleted member 107043]

And I wished for In-n-Out Burger instead of McDonald's when DCA 1.0 opened.

Money Talks, and Starbucks getting inside all the parks wasn't cheap.

Same as wishing for Pepsi

Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf would be an awesome replacement, founded and based in LA,

There is one next to the CVS at Harbor and Katella.It is also the brand served by Hilton's worldwide. And is also Kosher.

Clearly In n' Out has a big following in Southern California, but I've never been impressed. I'd definitely grab an espresso at Coffee Bean if there were one at DLR though.