Disappointing experience at GCH

[bumbershoot]

...I layed out all our soaked money on the bed.

I thought yo uwere going to say that housekeeping thought it was their tip. I had that happen once at a hotel in NC...I had emptied my purse out of everything unnecessary, in preparation for my brother's wedding, and I put my change, along with ALL my other stuff (change was in the middle, protected or so I thought), on the desk, and when I got back, housekeeping had picked every last coin out from the middle of my belongings on the desk. Oh man I was so annoyed. (and that experience, which was in the early 90s, makes me wonder why people think that tipping housekeeping is so new...I wasn't tipping them b/c I knew my parents, who had rented a HUGE, proper, 2 bedroom suite, were taking care of gratuities, but even then tipping housekeeping was totally normal)

Glad no one got your stuff, it's too bad they couldn't keep themselves out of your "don't disturb" room!

Actually it wasn't the smell at all, it was the long narrow hallway with white linoleum that turned her off. We came in the back entrance, went past the check in desk and through to PCH Grill. I must admit, at least that part of the hotel did not really impress me either. Haven't seen the rooms or pool, this was just a first impression.

But doesn't that take you along the path where you walk by the arcade and the little kids Disney cartoon screening room? And the pretty stairs (leading to pretty bathrooms upstairs) with the DVC kiosk, and the payphones...OK maybe I've been along that path too many times.

 

[MartinaC]

Sorry to hear about your experience. We only stayed at GCH only once and it was a good experience.
I did want to tell fellow disers that if you do have a bad experience with a disney hotel please stop by the front desk and talk to the manager on duty.
I did have a several bad experiences when we stayed at the yacht club at wdw. I went down and spoke with the manager and she was so understanding. She promised to look into the bad experiences and to try to make sure that the rest of our stay was magical! And, magical she did make it. It ended up being the best disney stay at wdw ever. If I had not spoke up I would have left with the decision of not going back to wdw.
This coming year we are doing disneyland and hoping that if we do encounter problems there will be another disney employee like her there to help.

 

[brergnat]

I just stayed at the GCH for the third time about 2 weeks ago.

For the third time, we had an INCREDIBLE stay. Everything about it was flawless. Our stays there have been spaced out over several years too.

You can have these "off" experiences at ANY hotel. There is no reason to condone an entire hotel for a few bad experiences you have read about.

The one thing I was most worried about was the construction noise at the pool area. Actually, it was much less invasive than I thought it would be. The noise of the kids AT the pool sort of drowned it out, mostly. And, the work was just about done by that point (we were there 8/30-9/2).

Also, re: "shabby rooms"...we stayed Concierge level. Our room was immaculate, as always. I've stayed in the standard rooms there, and agree that they are a bit less impressive. BUT, one of the Concierge CM's told me that they are beginning a soft goods refurbishment of ALL the rooms at the Grand, so that they "match" the decor of the rooms in the new wing. This rehab is being done from the top down (6th floor first), and in fact, a whole wing of the 6th floor was closed off and work had already started.

SO...look for the rooms to have a new, fresh "look" in the near future.

Also, I've heard more than once, if you book the ULTRA CHEAP, super good deals from sites like Expedia, Travelocity, or elsewhere, you are going to get stuck with the LEAST DESIRABLE rooms, in terms of location. You may end up in a room that hasn't been occupied for weeks at a time (hence, dusty). This IS the price you pay for scoring a "great deal". You get what you pay for! Buyer beware. This is the case at almost EVERY hotel chain across the U.S. They sell of blocks of rooms to these online wholesalers. They only give them the rooms no one else wants...

 

[MommiePrincess]

I posted earlier in this thread about our changing rooms issue. But I wanted to say that we love the GCH...mostly for location but also for the overall experience. I must admit that our stay started very rough and ended up fine...but we had ongoing issues that I chose not to complain about like they never gave us coffee cups after the first day (trivial) , we only got turndown service once (I don't understand why and I almost complained about this) - and we were there 8 nights!, things like the arms of the chairs and the windows were not cleaned throughout the trip (due to my 3 year olds sticky fingers), inconsistent towels (we had four people listed in our rooms...some days we got towels for 2, 3 or 4). Noise was fine....we have stayed at the GCH and had horrible neighbors so it's all who is next to you I think. Carpet and furniture is somewhat worn and needs a freshening. But the overall trip and experience was fun. Room service and Storytellers Cafe was great (breakfast, lunch and dinner), pool nice, location unbeatable. My 3 year old says they should get NICK channels on the TV, but that won't happen unfortunately. We will return.....I just get concerned over our debacle of room locations and how you can ensure you get what you pay for and what you reserve!!

 

[Slappy White]

To the OP, it probably doesn't help you to read that other people had a great experience when yours was less than spectacular. I'm not writing this to add salt to your wound. However, for the other people reading this thread who have yet to stay there, I wanted to add my .02.

We have been to Disney World several times and although we enjoy it there, we have noticed over our last few trips that "clean" doesn't mean the same thing to their housekeeping staff as it does to most people. We've learned to expect sub-standard service from both the front desk CMs and the housekeeping staff. Over the past three trips, we had to make at least one visit to the front desk on each trip to have a manager remedy a problem. In each situation, not only did the manager remedy the problem, but he/she offered us some compensation in return. I never had to ask. But frankly, I'd rather have the room I paid for, clean and well-maintained.

Our experience at the GC was quite different than our previous stays in WDW. We stayed at the GC for 5 nights in early August. We loved the place. Our room was spotless throughout our stay. They were even changing our sheets daily. The room looked like it had never been stayed in. The CMs were remarkably helpful. When we called down for extra towels, not only did they bring them straight away, but someone called back to confirm we'd received them. The same was true when my wife asked for extra hangers.

Our room was insanely quiet. We booked standard view and were on the 5th floor, right off the great hall; our view was of the new pool. Only when I was standing by the door could I hear any music from the great hall below. We never heard our neighbors.

We asked for bunk beds and received them. We found the room to be incredibly user friendly. It was as if someone had stayed in a similarly designed room at Disney World and decided to fix what was wrong with it. We appreciated the alcove by the door which was adequate space for the stroller. The trundle under the bunk beds came in very handy. The pocket door to the bathroom took up less space. We also dug having a DVD player although we didn't bring any DVDs with us. The TV was nice, the closet was plenty big and there was sufficient drawer space to unpack. There was also a little drawer in the table which was great for paper work. Plenty of outlets. Comfortable bed. Nice sized balcony. True black out curtains.

Something else we noticed: there was an abundance of garbage cans in the room. I know that sounds silly, but most hotel rooms only have one in the bathroom and maybe another one by the desk. We appreciated having an extra can, especially with 2 kids who can't seem to walk more than 3 feet to throw out their trash.

I can't speak for the DLH or PPH, but at least at the GC, the name of the hotel is still printed on everything. Minor? Sure. But at Disney World, they've long since abandoned any kind of specialized identification. The soaps, the pens, etc. all say Disney Resorts. But at the GC, it all said, GC. That literally means nothing, but like the garbage cans, it was something small we noticed and appreciated the detail.

I don't know, maybe we got a newly refurbished room. If so, then that might explain why it looked so clean. But it wasn't because we paid rack rate. We booked the 3/5 deal. That certainly made the price more palatable. I can't imagine paying rack rate there (or anywhere for that matter).

Convenience couldn't be beat. The back door into DCA was fantastic. It made getting soaked on GRR no problem. We had already put on our bathing suits and after we rode it, we walked back into the GC and went for a swim. It's also a really short walk to DL and back. While it's true other people can cut through the GC to get to DCA and DTD, when you're staying there, the walk can be pretty short. That alone was worth the price of the room.

And the service we received was superior. Which isn't to say it was all perfect. The CM who checked us in caused a minor panic when she told me we were booked at the DLH. But when she looked a second time, she realized, she wasn't looking at my reservation but someone else's. We also found the service at White Water Snacks to be spotty.

Overall, our stay at the GC was fantastic. I have no trouble recommending it to others. But I could see how getting stuck in a far flung room coated with dust would hack me off.

Hopefully more people have the same experience we had. To the OP, if a good rate comes along again, you should give the GC another try.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

Reading this thread here, I just want to thank everyone for giving their honest reviews, whether they be positive or negative. Sometimes people get swept up in the "Disney Magic" and think that automatically they will get the very best at Disney, no matter what. We all know that that doesn't happen in real life, even at Disney.

So, this is a great thread for letting people know that staying at a DLR hotel can be fantastic, but there are times when things don't quite work out. Knowing that that can happen and your experiences in handling the down times is a really good way to help future guests at the hotels.