Is the Club Level Experience at Grand Californian Hotel worth it?

[foodiddiedoo]

Currently, they are not greeting guests on the valet drive. (Not enough staff has returned.)

Both 5th and 6th floors can have club rooms. I have even been on the 4th floor once. The rooms are mixed. It depends on the type of room you have reserved. I usually request specific rooms, so not sure what I would get if I left it open.

How do you request a room for GCH? I've always used touring plans for DW resorts, but so far I can't seem to find a map that shows what are the Premium view rooms for CL to even request.

 

[Malcon10t]

How do you request a room for GCH? I've always used touring plans for DW resorts, but so far I can't seem to find a map that shows what are the Premium view rooms for CL to even request.

First, I want to say I have very different needs than most people. So, most people aren't going to be requesting what I want, which makes it easier to get my requests.

That said, I contact the hotel and tell them my preference about a week ahead of time. When we had VIP coordinators, I usually contacted them.

I attached a map. It gives room numbers (3 digits, so add the floor number for a complete number. Example 001 would be 2001 on the 2nd floor, 6001 on the 6th,,,,)

 

[foodiddiedoo]

Has anyone been since they reinstated masks indoor? Is the offerings still the same?

 

[foodiddiedoo]

Duplicate message l

 

[CaliTwinMom]

On the day of checkout does anyone know if you can use the lounge after check-out time? Or can you only use the amenities until 11-12?

 

[kristensideaoffun]

On the day of checkout does anyone know if you can use the lounge after check-out time? Or can you only use the amenities until 11-12?

You cannot access the lounge after check-out time unless you are already in it. They won’t kick you out after check-in time, but they also won’t let you back in.

 

[twodogs]

The time we enjoyed CL at the GCH was when my parents joined us with our kids. We rented a 2 bedroom suite. Since the charge for CL is “per room per night” the price was distributed across all 6 of us. So it didn’t feel as painfully expensive. If you have 6 people and two rooms, the cost of CL doubles. So depending on how your rooms are distributed, you can get more value. My parents were not too interested in the RD craziness, so they often went to the lounge for breakfast and coffee and met up with us later. DLR is very good for this since you only have to walk to the parks and meet up.

 

[tankgirl!]

We are considering upgrading to club level and I was hoping to get more recent information about the food offerings throughout the day to help us make our decision. I've got really hungry but picky teenagers and it would be great to know about offerings. Also, is there a space to eat outside or do you have to sit inside? Can you take the food back to your room. Any and all information would be most helpful. Thank you in advance!

 

[Malcon10t]

We are considering upgrading to club level and I was hoping to get more recent information about the food offerings throughout the day to help us make our decision. I've got really hungry but picky teenagers and it would be great to know about offerings. Also, is there a space to eat outside or do you have to sit inside? Can you take the food back to your room. Any and all information would be most helpful. Thank you in advance!

You can take it back to the room or there is a veranda where you can eat outside, but it can be crowded, depending on timing.

Breakfast and evening appetizers are usually fairly easy even with picky eaters. Lunch can be a little harder as the sandwiches can seem a little different (fig spread, goat cheese, stuff like this) but there are always smucker PBJs too, along with scones, cream, and curds.

 

[tankgirl!]

Thanks. I have one vegetarian and one carnivore. My husband said he was hoping for hot food options. I just want coffee to keep me going! Are there many veggie options?

 

[Malcon10t]

Hot food for breakfast is generally oatmeal. But they have a lot of other options. The evening usually has 3 hot options, 1 is usually a veggie option. If you are a true vegetarian, I can't guarantee its a vegetarian offering, opposed to being vegetable based. There are always veggies and dips, and there are cheese/meat boards breakfast and evening. And there is plenty of coffee, tea, hot chocolate, mimosa, beer, and wine offerings all day.

 

[StormyCA]

I'm Celiac. Most of the offerings I've read about in the lounge seem to be pretty 'gluten heavy', with breakfast breads & muffins, sammies at lunch, and pasta offerings in the evening. And pretty much NO desserts/sweets Does anyone know how (or if) they cater for gluten free?

 

[Malcon10t]

I'm Celiac. Most of the offerings I've read about in the lounge seem to be pretty 'gluten heavy', with breakfast breads & muffins, sammies at lunch, and pasta offerings in the evening. And pretty much NO desserts/sweets Does anyone know how (or if) they cater for gluten free?

I cannot honestly say how it is handled at GCH. I do know prior to covid (I haven't asked since) I could let them know my first day at the E-ticket at the DLH, and they would have options. I am not gluten free, but they had a gluten free brownie that even I would ask for cause it was GOOD. I know people have said at the Grand there were no options for non-dairy milk, but we have gotten almond milk at the DLH E-ticket lounge. I will try to remember to check it out when we go back next week.

 

[Jessaz2000]

We recently stayed at the grand Californian 1/22 for 8 days and did the club level. I had utubed a ton of videos on the club level so I knew some things about it. It was great the first 2 days after that it was exactly the same food at the same times. I mean how many times can you eat chips and salsa and corn with black bean salad for “tea time” lunch and every meal I decided to forgo it the last 2 days absolutely NOT worth the price. Everyone does say which is true is it “worth it” and for me and my family of 5 no because by the 3rd day was like I need a burger or a piece of chicken or something that we ordered room service which is a WHOLE other post!!!

 

[StormyCA]

I cannot honestly say how it is handled at GCH. I do know prior to covid (I haven't asked since) I could let them know my first day at the E-ticket at the DLH, and they would have options. I am not gluten free, but they had a gluten free brownie that even I would ask for cause it was GOOD. I know people have said at the Grand there were no options for non-dairy milk, but we have gotten almond milk at the DLH E-ticket lounge. I will try to remember to check it out when we go back next week.

Hey thanks! I often thought about it as a 'splurge' since financially it's not sensible. But not if all I can have is fruit, crudités, and the pre-packaged treats. The pre-packaged GF brownie is really good, as is the choc-chip cookie (very buttery) but if that's the extent of it, it gets pretty old pretty fast.

I think it's pretty crazy there are no alternate milks since there are so many people who simply prefer them for reasons other than lactose intolerance. You'd think by now a company would be making little 'creamer-sized' cups for milk alternatives that they could stock.

 

[DizMe]

We recently stayed at the grand Californian 1/22 for 8 days and did the club level. I had utubed a ton of videos on the club level so I knew some things about it. It was great the first 2 days after that it was exactly the same food at the same times. I mean how many times can you eat chips and salsa and corn with black bean salad for “tea time” lunch and every meal I decided to forgo it the last 2 days absolutely NOT worth the price. Everyone does say which is true is it “worth it” and for me and my family of 5 no because by the 3rd day was like I need a burger or a piece of chicken or something that we ordered room service which is a WHOLE other post!!!

Oh, that's too bad. I haven't done club level since pre-covid and the food options were vastly different from what you mention. We loved the fancy sandwiches.

Don't know if they still offer croissants, turkey and ham, and bagels at breakfast, but we used to make meat and cheese croissant sandwiches plus fruit to take with us in the park for lunch or snack later on.

edited to add: I always bring ziploc bags on the trip

 

[Obi-J Kenobi]

Hi All,
Has anyone stayed in a Club Level room at the Grand Cal? How do you "use" the amenities? Can the Afternoon Tea replace lunch? Food quality good?

And finally, we are not drinkers...I know it's hard to say, but what makes this experience worth the extra cost for you and your family?

TIA!
Sheryl

If by worth it, you mean value. Probably not worth it especially if you don’t drink. Free alcohol can give some better value to CL. But as other posters note, this is a bit of a subjective question. Some folks swear by CL. I dunno know though.

 

[disfan20001]

We stayed CL for 4 nights in November. Our 3 kids loved it. I agree with the above poster that there was not a lot of variety, especially at breakfast and lunch. Most of the items were exactly as pictured in photos from previous guests. I'd suggest if there is something your kids like at breakfast, take a few extra for lunchtime. They had a great spread of cold cuts at breakfast, but not at lunch when I was wishing it was there. There were some good chia pudding type items that were really good. I really wish they had some sort of salad, but the veggies were small slivers in a minature glass. You are welcome to take as much as you'd like though. Dinner had a little more variety, but sometimes was all fried items. That being said, we really enjoyed having a place to eat meals where we didn't have to worry about finding a table and gave us some built in breaks. We made it work to eat all of our meals there. It was a post-covid splurge for us and I'm not sure we'd do it again due to the high cost, but were happy with our experience.

 

[whoever]

I personally don't find Club Level worth it. They open too late to take advantage of it before park opening. If you are gonna lounge around the room or watch the fireworks from it, sure, but I wouldn't upgrade to it personally unless it was included in your room (like a signature suite).

 

[DizMe]

I personally don't find Club Level worth it. They open too late to take advantage of it before park opening. If you are gonna lounge around the room or watch the fireworks from it, sure, but I wouldn't upgrade to it personally unless it was included in your room (like a signature suite).

Really? They used to open pretty early.