Dining in the Grand Californian, using their entrance to DCA

chirurgeon

I am a delicate flower and need my sleep.
Joined
Jan 4, 2000
If you dine at any of the restaurants at GCH, will they let you use the GCH entrance to DCA to get back in the park? Seems kind of silly to make you go all the way around if you aren’t using the hotel as a short cut.
 
Depends on the time of day and who's working the entrance I think.

But, the official answer is no. And I can attest to that, couple weeks ago we had breakfast at Storytellers and we tried to enter through that entrance and they said no. We said we had just ate at Storytellers and had our receipt but they weren't having it.

To be fair there is a large sign displayed that says "hotel guests entrance only." They require you to have your room key with you to enter through there.
 
After 11am, anyone can use it. Prior to 11am, it can be hit or miss. Over Labor Day weekend, they never asked for keys even prior to 11.
 
It would be lunch or dinner, so fingers crossed. Thank you both.
 


Absolutely. With the exception of opening in the morning, we do this all the time.
Often just to have a cocktail at the Hearth Lounge but the people at the entrance to the park have no idea what we were doing and they clearly have never cared.
Enjoy!
 


Depends on the time of day and who's working the entrance I think.

But, the official answer is no. And I can attest to that, couple weeks ago we had breakfast at Storytellers and we tried to enter through that entrance and they said no. We said we had just ate at Storytellers and had our receipt but they weren't having it.

To be fair there is a large sign displayed that says "hotel guests entrance only." They require you to have your room key with you to enter through there.
Good to know. I was already wavering on our early morning Storytellers breakfast, which would have been just prior to us entering DCA. Hearing that they might not even let us through that entrance is the clincher. Ditching Storytellers.
 
Depends on the time of day and who's working the entrance I think.

But, the official answer is no. And I can attest to that, couple weeks ago we had breakfast at Storytellers and we tried to enter through that entrance and they said no. We said we had just ate at Storytellers and had our receipt but they weren't having it.

To be fair there is a large sign displayed that says "hotel guests entrance only." They require you to have your room key with you to enter through there.

This was the first time I saw that sign and said "oops, sorry - I'm not staying here, I'll go around" to the security guy standing there and he told me it was no big deal, they just needed to check my bag first.

Of course, it was just me and about eight bored security workers at the entrance at that time, so it really depends on the situation. If there's a line, expect to be turned away unless you're a guest of the hotel.
 
Good to know. I was already wavering on our early morning Storytellers breakfast, which would have been just prior to us entering DCA. Hearing that they might not even let us through that entrance is the clincher. Ditching Storytellers.
If you have a reservation, your name will be on the list at the crosswalk and it won't be a big deal. I do know that the last 2 mos, we have not been asked for a room key, even prior to 11am.
 
When we have dined at Napa Rose with a reservation, there has never been a problem with our entering through the main hotel entrance (CM at the sidewalk checks our confirmation number and sometimes asks to see the confirmation e-mail, so have that handy on your phone) or with our using the hotel's DCA entrance. Since this is for dinner, obviously it is well after 11 am, but there has never been an issue.
 

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