I booked a trip to Disneyland for my wife’s birthday. We are DVC members and have been to Disney World dozens of times, but this was our first trip to Disneyland. It’s been a longtime dream of mine to stay at the Grand Californian. I wanted the convenience of having our own entrance into the park and enjoy the luxury of a Disney resort. This hotel being the first Disney owned hotel in California and a DVC resort, it was truly special. The only hiccup was at check-in. We drive up, drop off our luggage, told we can valet the car for $70 or park across the street, the very busy Disneyland Drive. I can’t get in the lot, because it’s full, I circle around, talk to the guard who lets me in the lot and I find a spot. It’s a hike back to the gate and can’t get in because I don’t have a room key, you see, we haven’t checked in yet. They need to work out the kinks in the parking situation. Front desk staff were friendly and super helpful. The resort atmosphere is upscale even though the decor is outdoor wilderness themed. The central gathering area with its high beamed ceilings and large fireplace is impressive. They even had a piano player, like at Grand Floridian in Florida. The room was comfortable, we even had a small balcony that looked out over the pool. The decor was either dated or they were trying for retro chic. Judging by the lack of outlets for our devices, I’m going with outdated. We were surprised that so many of the common areas were open air, even the hallways and restaurants. We had a nice meal in the, historic game-room themed, Hearthstone Lodge that evening. In the morning we walked 5 minutes to the California Adventure private entrance. We had a great day in the parks, came back late and crashed in a comfortable bed. The next day we moved to the Disneyland Hotel, the friendly bell service took care of moving our bags for us. Overall, it was a nice stay, glad we finally made it to Disneyland and the Grand Californian.

Soap dispenser was missing from shower, toilet handle was broken, no blow dryer, broken iron, all restroom faucets spun around, main TV stopped working and they couldn't repair it. Came into the room to work on internet without notice. One good thing, my daughter left something in the room and they mailed it to us. DVC member and I'm not happy.

This hotel was stunning and, hands down, one of the nicest hotels I’ve ever stayed at. There are so many reviews saying that Disney charges luxury prices for non-luxury accommodations and, truly, I don’t understand that. You can see from my reviews I’ve stayed at a handful of 5-star hotels comparable in price to the Deluxe tier Disney resorts and the Grand Californian, and they were considerably worse than this one. Compared to, for instance, the Fairmont Lake Louise, our room at the Grand Californian was enormous and intuitively designed for my family of 5 with the convertible sofa. I think this is the first hotel I’ve stayed in the U.S. or Canada (ie not in a developing country with cheap labor) that had turndown service. The staff were so friendly and helpful with any and all questions. The lobby could get crowded, but I could usually find somewhere to sit, and the ambiance with the pianist and hearth and gorgeous decor was unmatched. Now, with such a glowing review you may wonder why I am deducting a star. On our last day, we had a very negative experience at the Napa Rose princess breakfast that 2 days later still rankles. I don’t need to rehash it here as they have heard my complaints, but for a meal that’s almost $150 a head, the experience needs to be flawless. Not only did they screw up our reservation and meal in a spectacular fashion, they blamed us for their mistake and I had to elevate to a manager to get the barest of apologies. (Thankfully, Disney’s legendary customer service was still alive and well in the park, where guest relations were able to fix our missed lightning lane reservations that resulted from Napa Rose’s reservation mistake). I get that humans are human and make mistakes — we all do! But when you make a mistake, accept responsibility and at least attempt to make it right. Secondly, I had similar challenges with the door lock as other reviewers noted, when both my app and the key card they gave me stopped working. The first cast member behind the desk I talked to was very nice but the fix required me to come back later but the lines were way too long. Third, though I expected that March would not exactly be pool weather to this East coaster who is used to swampy summers, the pools were not heated to any degree I would advertise as “heated pools,” and they were unbearably cold even for my kids who are generally unfazed swimming in 60° weather. One of the pools was also shut down which, again, it was cold, so that’s fine but — why shut down all the chairs on the pool deck too? Made it very hard to find a lounger or chair to sit on with half of the chairs taken out of use. Finally, I will note that the soundproofing in the hotel was not great. If you’re a light sleeper, bring a white noise machine or earplugs. All in all the last 3 concerns are pretty minor. Had it not been for the Napa Rose fiasco, this would be a 5 star review from me. The location, ambiance, and amenities were outstanding and I’ll remember this trip forever.

This is a jaw-droppingly stunnning resort. Based on Craftsman, Mission, and California Bungalow styles, you will find soaring spaces, colorful stained glass, epic use of wood, granite and marble throughout. We stayed six days and there is a serenity throughout. The cast members (staff) were faultlessly polite, friendly, helpful, and welcoming. For instance, a bell person saw us walking to our rooms and he smiled and said, ‘Welcome home.’ He had not brought our suitcases and we had never interacted with him, yet he reached out to us—an old lesbian couple and welcomed us. Wow. Our room was was great. We had a king accessible on the ground floor. It had plenty of room, blind wands, and a shower you could roll into, along with a heavy duty shower seat and wall shower wand for ease of cleaning, as well as an overhead rain shower, which could be on or off. We had a small porch with an accessible ramp, plus two chairs and a cafe table for outdoor meals. The restaurants were all great. The pool was enormous with lifeguards and a zillion loungers for your swimming and sun bathing pleasure. There was also an accessible pool arm lift for those with different mobility needs. I can’t rave any further. You will spend a lot here, but you will feel you got everything you deserve and more. Make happy memories with someone you love here.

What a horrible experience. You would think — when you spend $600 a night — that you would get a decent hotel experience. Not at Disney. This place is so overpriced, it’s ridiculous! We arrived on Friday night to discover that our king bed request could not be granted. We were given two queen beds, with no room for negotiation. No crib in the room despite our request either. Arriving at 8pm with a tired baby, we waited and waited while they got a crib for her. After flying, we were parched. A couple of bottles of water in the room? Not at Disney! How incredibly cheap. I called to ask if we could get some complimentary water — they said they don’t offer such a thing. After I explained how appalled I was, they brought us two waters. Is this really what one has to do to get water at a “luxury hotel“? The place was old and uncomfortable. We woke up in the morning and went down for breakfast. We had tried on multiple occasions to make a reservation on the Disney app, something the staff say is easy, without success. After waiting for a table, we were seated for our mediocre $52 per person buffet. Never have we paid so much for such mediocre food. We left the place at 7am and returned at 1pm. One would think housekeepers would have had adequate time to come? Nope, not at Disney. The baby needed to nap so we put up the “do not disturb” for a couple of hours and then called for housekeeping when she woke up a couple of hours later. We went out for dinner (off property, good luck getting anything on property, even as a guest) and returned around 7:30pm. Do you think housekeeping had come yet? Nope, not at Disney. No towels, nothing. We called down and express our disappointment, and they brought us some towels. Oh, and by the way — the mouthwash they provided had 4 different types of parabens in it, along with fragrance. In your mouth??!! Yuck!! Another night in a crappy hotel room before check-out the next day. At the front desk, our concerns were met with ambivalence. This seems to the the theme at this awful hotel. I cannot believe that this hotel has the ratings it does. Aside from its location, it has absolutely nothing going for it. Worn facilities, bad food, and zero service. For $600+ a night?! Never again.