Disney's Grand Californian Hotel

The thing that the grande California has is location, location, location. I stayed in March for a business event also. The rooms are average at best. Hotel definitely looks like it has not been updated in quite some time. I remember having to wait in my room for them to bring my luggage up to at least 45 minutes. The folks at the valet seem like they work pretty hard. The rest of the service definitely does not match the price you pay for this hotel. But they do have location. After you’re done in a long day at Disneyland you can walk back to your hotel from the park or go to Disney walk to have a great meal. I compare the grand California to the failed Acolyte series, they put out. It just needs to be better if it’s going to have the Disneyland name on it.

Prefacing this review with it was an Easter stay so it was busy. The Mix: Greeted at a gate where you need to give your name - and then proceeded to check in - there are 2 choices - self park and valet - with a 30 $ difference - so I went self park - bad choice. Upon saying "self park" the valet derisively told me I would have to park my car down the hill to the left then left and ONLY 20 mins he emphasized. I asked for luggage help as Im 56 with a back issue and my son had just pinched a nerve in his shoulder - it was one large piece and a backpack -the guy said "since you are self parking one of you should just take it while the other parks". Wow - far cry from a luxe experience. Check in WAY better and the front deck people were highly efficient and way more magical disney attitude - phew. We took our luggage (quite a ways to room) and were quite pleased with the theme park view especially knowing we would view World of Color (Note if you want Quiet DO NOT BOOK A THEME PARK VIEW - but we loved it. Ice machine - 3 separate tries - never worked. Called the service - in our stay it was never fixed and they cant bring you ice. Parking: self park is a LONG WAYS down the hill from resort crossing Disney drive (a busy intersection and then in this outside not great area. Its a 15 min plus journey from our room. Pay the extra 30. I had a very magical moment with customer service person Liz on the phone - again - she had "disney magic" and helped me get a robe so I would not have to purchase at store - and she was every bit the Disney magic we missed at the other stuff. Beds are comfy - rooms are getting a needed renovation right now but it was the weekend so no noise. Pool crowded but nice - bar at pool has an awesome espresso Martini with another magical bartender. We just got back from Disneyworld where we were at the waldorf astoria. The service there was amazing and we were in a suite. The price point was the same. We had just a standard room here. So for the price both of us were disappointed overall. At 1k a night - they can do better. I appreciated the very magical staff - and that made up for some but again when we checked out - we were told it was min 20 min wait plus for a bellman - so again we took it ourselves. The we waited in a line where we were ignored for a good 15 mins (along with the other people waiting) then it was another 10-15 finally getting someone. I would suggest having some staff that can "double up" as bellman during busier times - a note we left at a later check out and were told this was a better time to do this - I cant imagine how bad it is at actual check out time! I do want to say the bellman who got our luggage later that night was vey kind and attentive - and put our bag in the car for us. So at least we excited more gracefully. I debated the star rating - 5 star to some magical people - 1 star for the bell desk and valet (minus the last guy) and 3 stars for the room itself (but Im sure after updates a little better) and no ice machine (the closest one was 5 floors down - make a left then a right etc.) Ive had better rooms at the nearby Hilton and Hyatt Place.

Our recent stay at the Grand Californian (March 21–24) was deeply disappointing due to unexpected renovations and a lack of transparency. Upon arrival, we found that the only pool with a slide was closed—something our children had been looking forward to, but we weren’t informed beforehand. Dining was equally frustrating: Hearthstone Lounge had no children’s menu due to kitchen renovations, and Craftsman Bar’s stove was broken, leaving only a poke bowl and chips and salsa as meal options. At one point, we had to resort to ordering Domino’s—hardly what you expect from a luxury Disney resort. Even room service was severely limited, offering only cold breakfast items and a microwaved cup of oatmeal. To top it off, a glass of wine at Hearthstone Lounge was served in a plastic cup due to a glassware shortage. Disney is known for its high standards, but this experience did not reflect that. Had we been informed in advance, we could have planned accordingly, rather than paying a premium price for a subpar experience. Future guests deserve better transparency about ongoing renovations.

Just stayed at the Grand Californian for the weekend. We usually LOVE this hotel and would go back. Just be aware the pool area is completely under construction. The pool with slides that the kids usually love is completely closed off. As of leaving today there was only one useable pool. This is not listed anywhere on the website. It was a complete surprise to us when we arrived. Spring break is in full swing so surprising they would do this much work around this time. The staff was very gracious in trying to compensate us for the construction but definitely keep this in mind. I would book the Disneyland Hotel until construction is done. Definitely a misstep on Disney's part for not notifying guests of the lack of amenities especially when rooms are $700-$900 minimum during this time of year.

This has been a hotel we have been visiting for years. Of late the prices have increased an incredible amount while the service and experience has gone down greatly. Such a shame , I feel the magic has gone from this hotel that once was a true extension of the parks…