Disneyland Hotel or Grand Californian?

[sammysmom]

First and only trip to Disneyland. Staying only 3 nights. Which hotel would be better and why??

 

[Jerryp49]

We have stayed at all three Resort hotels and prefer the GCH because of its location. It`s so nice being that close to your room at the end of the day , or if you need something from your room or a change of clothes. There are hotels on Harbor that are closer to the main entrance than parts of the DL Hotel. You will get reponses to your post that the DLH is more immersive , has larger rooms ,or has a better pool .The GCH has a great pool with a water slide and the rooms are more than adequate for the time we are actually in them.The GCH is beautiful. Dont miss seeing the viewing terrace on the 6th floor overlooking DCA.

 

[Malcon10t]

It really depends on your family needs. Of the resort hotels, Disneyland Hotel works best for us. For us, the GCH rooms are just too small. Paradise Pier Hotel has nice rooms, but the elevators are not fun.

Off site, our choices run to Candy Cane (free parking, nice continental breakfast), Fairfield, Residence Inn (not as close, but free parking and hot breakfast), and Hilton. If you have kids, Hojo's is also pretty good, nice pool, free parking.

 

[DG24]

It depends on what your family wants and needs are. We find the grand adaquate but not our favorite (except dad who is 70). To me the grand lobby is crowded, the atmosphere is stuffy. The rooms are small and the bathroom is just not great for us getting ready in the morning, there are 4 girls and dad. My sisters stuff overwhelms the bathrrom sinks and no one else can get in there, the bathrrom with tub and shower is small.the room itself is small, and the two queen beds take up the whole room. The balcony is very small, not really a place to relax. The price is high for what you get. But you are very close if you want to change after the grizzly run.

The dlh, rooms are much larger. The walk is a few minutes longer. The bathroom is seperated in a way that works very well for our family of mostly girls. Plenty of room for someone putting on makeup, someone brushing there teeth, and someone can still walk I to the shower without making everyone move. Same with the closet, you can get info it without making everyone stop what there doing to open it up, which is a problem at the grand for us. The rooms are more spread out, with two queen beds and a daybed, but they have plenty of room to walk around and spread out.

You did not ask but our favorite for all five of us is paradise pier when we all go. Yes all of us like parts of the other two but as a family the one that works best for us, is paradise pier. First it is cheaper, so we can splurge and get concierge for less than the room at dlh, that way we get breakfast and snacks and drinks all day to take with us. Yes the walk is a little longer, but no more than 2 or 3 minutes, and actually we feel it is closer than the dlh. The rooms are large but even more so, they are bright. Both the grand and dlh are dark and depressing to me. The PPH is beach theme with blonde furniture, bright colors and gives a feel of fresh air and breeze. No the lobby is not grand it is boring, but then again, the crowds and gatherings don't happen so it is calm and peaceful. The elevator is not in a dark corner, it is a glass elevator, again bright.

So for us as you can see, we like to feel calm, quiet, bright and have enough room to all move around. So when we go together we go to the PPH. When it is just mom, dad and grandbaby they go to grand. When it is us girls we go to dlh. Lastly, about crowds again, depending on how much your family uses the pool. We use it everyday we can for an hour or two, so again we hate grand and dlh, why, because unless you stake out your chair for two hours in the morning, your I'll not get a chair, at least not together, and not at the section of the pool you want. To us the pools are overcrowded. The hot tubs have way to ma you kids swimming in them. To us it is just not a relaxing place. The same with the dlh pools. Yes they are much better themed but we want to get wet, cool off and relax. When we go to PPH, we have not really found it crowded. We almost always find a seat. (If you go standard and conceirrge, you can get a cabana room, right off the pool for standard price, if you use the pool a lot). Yes it may not be as grand, or as themed. Yes the chairs may not be as comfortable, but at least you can find a chair and watch the kids swim, otherwise you are all seperated and your watching someone else's kids swim not your own.

 

[gottalovepluto]

OP my answer comes down to if you have kids with you & what ages they are. Adult only trip? GCH. Location & atmosphere best of the three for an adult trip. Older teens &/or really little kids also GCH because of the location, close for running back to the room with very little ones & close enough you may feel fine letting letting older teens head out into the parks on their own when you're too tired! Now, if the kids are of age enough to like Mickey, they will love the theming of DLH & the monorail pool. That's when I recommend DLH when the kids are the right age to enjoy the theming. Take a look at online photos to get a feel for both hotels.

 

[jdb in AZ]

OP my answer comes down to if you have kids with you & what ages they are. Adult only trip? GCH. Location & atmosphere best of the three for an adult trip. Older teens &/or really little kids also GCH because of the location, close for running back to the room with very little ones & close enough you may feel fine letting letting older teens head out into the parks on their own when you're too tired! Now, if the kids are of age enough to like Mickey, they will love the theming of DLH & the monorail pool. That's when I recommend DLH when the kids are the right age to enjoy the theming. Take a look at online photos to get a feel for both hotels.

They're all a good choice, but I agree with the above. DH and I are empty nesters so we prefer the GCH. When we were soaked(!) on the Grizzly River Rapids, our room was only 5 mins away so it was really convenient to go change clothes from the skin out, then head back to the parks. We tend to visit DLR during the winter because it's usually less crowded, and I love sitting by the fireplace in the lobby after a long day, and listening to the live Disney music played on the grand piano.

 

[cinderkelly]

We chose to do a spit stay, 2 nights at PP and 2 at DLH, just because I wanted to get a feel for both, we have never stayed at any DLR property. Last time we were at DL I swore that we would fork out the $$$ to stay to the GC but price wise it just wasn't affordable for this family of 5. Plus we live in CO and we get that "lodge feel" that the GC has all the time. Yes, it's beautiful and yes the proximity to parks is amazing, but just not for us this time around. Perhaps we'll stay there if it's just DH and I sometime...
For my kids it just doesn't feel as "fun"

 

[whoever]

We've only stayed at the GCH (Seven times now), but will likely be trying our the DLH on our next family trip.

 

[Drusilla99]

My favorite is Dl hotel. I gave found GCH very loud until very late/early morning because of dtd. I have gotten a room away from dtd, but the view was horrible. Dl hotel seems more peaceful and for some reason I've always been upgraded there, so that easily makes it a plus!

 

[Malcon10t]

There are multiple hotels for a reason, and everyone's is different. My next trip will be at the Grand simply because we got a great rate, and we are taking my mom and s-dad. I hope they enjoy. When we go back for the 24 hour event, we will be at the DLH.

 

[Geemo]

We have stayed at all three hotels.

GCH is my first choice when money isn't an issue or I can get a great rate. We generally have 5 in our group and ask for a room with a daybed. So the view is the front drive up of the hotel. We have also stayed in a 2Q room over looking the Monorail court yard and a bunk room way at the end of the hallway on the 4th or 5th floor. Even though the view of the daybed rooms isn't ideal, I like it. I like being close to the lobby and the room was quiet.

DLH has larger rooms, it's easier to get a room with a daybed. I booked DLH for our last trip the first March when the parks close at 8pm. My plan was to hit the pools after a day in the parks. I was disappointed when we got there and found out the Monorail Slides close every day at 5pm. What a waste.....
We still had a great room and fun time at the hotel and in the parks.

PPH is one we will not book again. Elevators are okay once you realize to go down, you need to ride up first to secure a ride down. The rooms need more sound proofing. We heard the neighbors in the next room. Not to mention our room was near the loading dock, every morning around 5am the delivery trucks began arriving. I couldn't sleep through all the trucks back-up beepers.

Enjoy

Geemo

 

[wench]

We really really love the DLH. You can literally feel the history of Walt & DL while staying there. And my son has so much fun on the monorail waterslides. With that being said, it can seem like a really long walk back to the hotel after park close if you're not taking the monorail for some reason.

I have no interest in PP. It's a long walk guaranteed to either park. And the hotel was not built by Disney, but converted after, so it just doesn't have the same feel.

I haven't stayed at GCH, but been there several times to dine & use the private DCA entrance. I enjoy the feeling of the hotel & you can't beat the location.

So, for our next trip, we'll be doing a split stay. 3 nights at DLH & then 4 at GCH. That way we'll get the best of both worlds. If you do stay at DLH, I would try requesting a room in either the Fantasy tower or the Adventure tower. The Frontier tower is further out & makes the walk even longer.

 

[farmfresh]

We chose DLH on our last trip in January because the rates were better and we had another family travelling with us. usually stay at GCH. But we loved our DLH stay. The GCH is in need of a facelift - the DLH has just been upgraded. The walk is about 5 mins longer, and if I had small kids and wasn't too worried about costs I would probably go for the closer hotel. But otherwise the DLH is the winner for us

 

[MinMou]

After reading all these responses, I have my own questions. I had thought we would stay at the GCH, because I loved the idea of being able to get into CA straight from the hotel. And since it is the closest hotel, it would be great for naps.
But now I'm not sure.
This is our first, and possibly only visit. Our LO will be 2. He knows most of the Disney Junior characters, which includes Mickey. Would the DLH be better for him? We are going on days that IsItPacked.com says are OK, but how hard is it to get a stroller through DTD when it's crowded?

 

[DG24]

I have a question also, responses in this post and others lately, keep saying paradise pier was not built by Disney, like dlh and gch. Correct me if I am wrong but neither the dlh or gch were built by Disney, one was bought by Disney long after the park was built, if I can remember correctly sometime in the 1980's Disney company bought the Disney land hotel. The GCH was built in 2001, which was long after walt Disney died so he did not build or design that hotel either. Disney did ask friends to build the Disneyland hotel, there name was something like fancypants, they built it and ran it for many years.

I would also like to say the walk from paradise pier, I know some people have measured it, but I walked it with a four year old, from the back door and thru dtd was 6 min 32 sec. From Fairfield inn across the street with a 5 year old was 10 min 20 sec, of course you have to wait for a very long light that is crowded with hundreds of people. Then when you get to the bag check, you have hundreds of people trying to get thru. In the am when only hotel people are getting in the park the bag check from the hotels are much smaller.

 

[whoever]

I have a question also, responses in this post and others lately, keep saying paradise pier was not built by Disney, like dlh and gch. Correct me if I am wrong but neither the dlh or gch were built by Disney, one was bought by Disney long after the park was built, if I can remember correctly sometime in the 1980's Disney company bought the Disney land hotel. The GCH was built in 2001, which was long after walt Disney died so he did not build or design that hotel either. Disney did ask friends to build the Disneyland hotel, there name was something like fancypants, they built it and ran it for many years..

They are speaking of Disney the company, not Disney the man. Jack Wrather built the Disneyland hotel. He was a close friend of Walt. As far as Disney theming, I think both are done great. The DLH is MCM, with a lot of character/fantasy theming in the rooms. The GCH is Craftsman with hidden character theming. I prefer the GCH from what I've seen of the DLH, but the rooms are aging. The location CANNOT be beat however.

 

[whoever]

I did a brief review of my times at the Grand here:

http://www.disboards.com/threads/matts-february-2015-dapper-day-trip-report.3385886/page-3

 

[Jerryp49]

My favorite is Dl hotel. I gave found GCH very loud until very late/early morning because of dtd. I have gotten a room away from dtd, but the view was horrible. Dl hotel seems more peaceful and for some reason I've always been upgraded there, so that easily makes it a plus!

We were given a standard view room at GCH that was open to DTD and the music and drum noise was too loud. When I talked to the front desk they said it goes on until 10pm. I said that it was unacceptible and they transferred us to another room overlooking the courtyard for nothing extra and this was late in the afternoon after we already unpacked. We have stayed at the GCH many times with most of the views being the courtyard, very peaceful. If you dont like your room ask for a change.

 

[whoever]

We were given a standard view room at GCH that was open to DTD and the music and drum noise was too loud. When I talked to the front desk they said it goes on until 10pm. I said that it was unacceptible and they transferred us to another room overlooking the courtyard for nothing extra and this was late in the afternoon after we already unpacked. We have stayed at the GCH many times with most of the views being the courtyard, very peaceful. If you dont like your room ask for a change.

Hmmm... when we closed our patio door, it was perfectly quiet. With it open, yes, noisy.

 

[Malcon10t]

After reading all these responses, I have my own questions. I had thought we would stay at the GCH, because I loved the idea of being able to get into CA straight from the hotel. And since it is the closest hotel, it would be great for naps.
But now I'm not sure.
This is our first, and possibly only visit. Our LO will be 2. He knows most of the Disney Junior characters, which includes Mickey. Would the DLH be better for him? We are going on days that IsItPacked.com says are OK, but how hard is it to get a stroller through DTD when it's crowded?

It is great if you are going straight into DCA except first thing in the morning.

Going through the front gates only takes about a few mins longer. We prefer the front gates.

What hotel is best for you? The Disneyland Hotel has characters roaming through the Fantasyland tower and on the check in area. It is not unusual to see Goofy, Chip and Dale, Pluto, Rafiki, Cinderella, Fairy Godmother and others out and about in the DLH entry area.

Your son is young enough I would probably go with the hotel you prefer.