Disney's Grand Californian Hotel

Stunning! We stayed in a first floor 1-bedroom villa with one full bath and one 3/4 bath. The full kitchen included a coffee pot with 2 packets of coffee in filters, paper towels, dish soap, dishwasher soap, hand towels. If you plan to cook and require plastic wrap or aluminum foil, you’ll need to bring it. There were ice cube trays in the freezer. The verandah opened to a wooded courtyard with 2 chairs and a small table (you can hear the park but cannot see it). Also included are a washer, dryer, and laundry soap. The lobby is gorgeous! Craftsmen style architecture is throughout the entire resort. The pools were great with very nice lounge chairs and attentive and friendly wait staff. You can enter Disney California Adventure Park directly from the resort. We will definitely be back!

I have genuinely stayed in hostels with better customer service. Our stay at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel was one of the worst hotel experiences I have ever had. For a hotel charging premium prices and presenting itself as a luxury Disney resort, the level of service was honestly unbelievable. The biggest issue was the complete lack of customer service. We constantly felt like we were an inconvenience simply for asking basic questions or requesting things that should be standard at any hotel. We were repeatedly given information that turned out to be untrue, and it seemed like almost every Cast Member’s priority was to pass the request on to somebody else rather than actually help. During our stay, our room was not receiving the towel service or garbage removal we were supposed to receive. We were travelling with a 1-year-old, so naturally we accumulated garbage, including diapers. After getting so frustrated that we had resorted to leaving garbage near the elevators, we saw a housekeeping Cast Member IN OUR HALLWAY, ON OUR FLOOR, PUSHING A HOUSEKEEPING CART. While holding the baby, we simply asked for some garbage bags so we could deal with the trash ourselves. He refused to give us any and told us we needed to call downstairs and request them. We called. Nothing came. We called for towels and were told to get them from the pool. We went to the front desk for help. Nothing. Then, on our final night, the hotel water went out around 1:00 AM. We unfortunately knew immediately because members of our group were also dealing with what appeared to be food poisoning after eating at the Craftsman Bar. The water remained off through the morning of our checkout day. What shocked me almost as much as losing the water was the complete lack of communication. No letter under the door. No voicemail on the room phone. No visible notice. No proactive communication whatsoever. We had to keep calling the hotel ourselves just to find out what was happening. We had approximately 30 hours of travel ahead of us that day and repeatedly asked if there was ANYWHERE we could shower before leaving for our flights. We were basically told there was nothing they could do. We then had to BEG for bottled water just so we could brush our teeth. Eventually, someone brought us five tiny bottles of water IN A GARBAGE BAG(finally). We were told to use the showers at the pool. Obviously these are public pool showers, so this already meant trying to shower while wearing swimsuits. We went down there anyway, only to be told THE POOL SHOWERS DIDN’T WORK EITHER. That was it. No alternative. We ended up putting the kids in the pool just so they could freshen up, then using bottled water afterward to try to rinse the chlorine off them before beginning our trip home. That is an absurd situation for guests of a hotel at this price point to be put in. Our experience with a package delivery was just as ridiculous. One of the kids’ tablets broke during our flight to California, so we ordered a replacement to the hotel. Before doing so, we checked with approximately 11 different Cast Members AND used the chat function in the Disneyland app to make absolutely sure we could have it delivered. Everyone told us it was fine, although almost every person gave us different instructions. The package was delivered to Bell Services. We repeatedly checked for it IN PERSON over the following days because, by this point, we had learned not to rely on the information we were being given. We kept being told it wasn’t there. At one point we were even told it needed to go through “security.” It took FOUR DAYS to finally get our package. We eventually discovered that it had apparently been at Bell Services the entire time. Nobody had bothered to actually locate it. After repeatedly watching Cast Members go into the back to “check” and then return saying it wasn’t there, it is very difficult not to wonder what they were actually checking. Finally, during the water outage we were specifically told that a manager would come to our room to speak with us face-to-face. Nobody came. Instead, someone claiming to be a manager called the room. The conversation was dismissive and left us with the impression that they really did not care about what we had experienced. Considering how much incorrect information we had already received during our stay, I honestly have no confidence that we were even speaking to a manager. The Grand Californian has an incredible location and a beautiful lobby, but those things do not make up for terrible service. At these prices, guests should not have to chase down towels, beg for garbage bags, spend four days trying to retrieve a package that is already inside the hotel, or use a swimming pool and bottled water to clean their children because the hotel has no functioning water and offers no reasonable alternative. Several people in our group described the experience as worse than staying in a decrepit motel. They aren’t wrong. Disney talks endlessly about its legendary level of service. We experienced the exact opposite here. We felt like an inconvenience from beginning to end. I would not stay at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel again, and I cannot recommend it to anyone. Save your money and stay somewhere that actually treats paying guests like guests.

Fantastic hotel, wonderful location and great facilities. We had an amazing time and would definitely choose this hotel again. The direct access to Downtown Disney and Californian Adventure was so convenient. Loved it!

This is in our top three for Disney properties. Absolutely beautiful proper and you can’t beat the proximity to the parks. Our room was nice and had everything that we needed. The staff was fabulous and was always eager to point us in the right direction or to offer recommendations. As a diehard WDW fan this was a nice way of visiting Disneyland. The resort is walkable to GCA, Disneyland and Downtown Disney.

WARNING to travelers: the Disneyland Hotel and any OnSite hotel is just not worth it any more. SAVE YOUR MONEY!! The 1 star is for STAFF, if I could give my $$ directly to them, I would, because their amazing kindness is what Disney does best. Absolutely love all cast members, front desk, cleaning crews and security! But I genuinely want the Disney Company to Do Better! Every off property hotel offers the same fireworks view and short walking distance to the entrance for $200 to $700 LESS A Night!! The 1 lightening lane pass per person per entire stay (not per day even!) is not worth the loss of early entry. A full multi lane pass costs less than the overnight parking! (Up to $40 versus $45 parking). And the taxes? Left our family (staying for a Disney wedding even) with a bitter taste. All the rides and shows the theme parks offer still make the entry ticket worth the price. But most people also don't realize that you can walk around all the hotel grounds, enjoy the restaurants, music, vibe and magical photo worthy decor in all the lobbies for free! So although I am still a huge Disney fan, until they do better by lowering the price or offering more worthy perks like full lighting lane passes per day, free parking or food credits for hotel guests, I will warn all travelers against Burning their $$ money just for a bed at a Disneyland Hotel.