Need help deciding PP or GC

[PrincessYessenia]

I stayed at the PPH this past June for a week with DM. We LOVED it. We loved the decor, the room, EVERYTHING! The only drawback was the walk to the parks was a little tiring when you've been in the parks all day, otherwise, we loved the walk. Never took us more than 10 minutes, and we cut through the GC. Our room was huge and we had a view of the pool exactly in the center.

I love the laid-back feeling of the hotel and we couldn't figure out why we seemed to find so many people on the DIS that didn't care for the hotel at all, because we thought it was great. Well, now we have DVC so our trip in January will probably be the last time we stay at the PPH, since we'll more than likely be staying at the VGC on our next trips.

Overall, we loved the service, loved the room, and loved the hotel! Save some money and give it a shot!

And have fun!

 

[wannabimagineer]

You gotta love those toiletries they give you, we stayed at the DLH last year and I brought about 4 sets home. My wife thought I was crazy. We're going to stay at PPH this year and I will be bringing some more home.

 

[Sherry E]

You gotta love those toiletries they give you, we stayed at the DLH last year and I brought about 4 sets home. My wife thought I was crazy. We're going to stay at PPH this year and I will be bringing some more home.

You are either not crazy or we are BOTH crazy! I was hoarding them too! And this was even before I knew how sought after they would be by DIS-ers on the board! I currently have two complete sets left (that is what is left after the ones I sent to other DIS-ers), and I was saving one of the sets for my friend, but if she doesn't take them then I will be able to send this set out to someone else, and the next time I am at PPH (or DLH), I will be hoarding more and bringing them back for people on the DIS again!!

 

[ter-moo]

The funny thing with those toiletries is that they kept giving us MORE every day, whether we'd used them or not. (this last week at the DLH) Each day, two or three new bottles would appear on the countertop, until after 5 nights we had what looked like an ARMY of little Mickey head bottles! My daughter and I were cracking up at it!

I only took one shampoo and one conditioner, but I'll use them forever!!!!!

 

[ter-moo]

Let me just add, too, that after walking from the Wonder tower at the DLH every day, we started to WISH we'd stayed at the PPH! It's about a block closer to the "short-cut" route.

We also thought the CM's in there were SUPER nice when my DD and I went over to "look around" and to check out the gift shop. I thought the DLH CM's seemed a little tired this trip.

Even though the hotel doesn't have the lovely grounds and all the bells and whistles of the other two Disney properties, I think the vibe inside is great--and there are AWESOME views from the hallways on each floor and from the glass elevators.

I'm hoping to try it out someday! :

 

[Sherry E]

The funny thing with those toiletries is that they kept giving us MORE every day, whether we'd used them or not. (this last week at the DLH) Each day, two or three new bottles would appear on the countertop, until after 5 nights we had what looked like an ARMY of little Mickey head bottles! My daughter and I were cracking up at it!

I only took one shampoo and one conditioner, but I'll use them forever!!!!!

Knowing that Mousekeeping expects to leave a fresh supply of bottles and toiletries every day and they know the guests will keep them, I was purposely stashing each day's supply at the PPH in the drawer by the bed (or my friend who was with me took one set of them), knowing they would leave new ones in the bathroom when they came in to clean. I was initially keeping them, thinking that other friends of mine would want them, but then when I got home, I started thinking DIS-ers might want them (and they did!). Anyway, the ONE and ONLY time I forgot to stash a day's bottles in the drawer, the housekeeping staff did NOT leave new ones. They saw the bottles from the day before sitting on the sink in the exact same spot and they did not leave any new ones. So if I want new sets every day now, I make sure to remove all signs of the bottles from the previous days and hide them.

Also, the other thing I had heard a long time ago from a friend of mine who once worked in Hospitality (not for DLR but elsewhere) is that if Housekeeping puts a new set of bottles/toiletries in your hotel bathroom and you DON'T touch them, use them or take them with you or throw them out, when you check out of the room, Housekeeping will just end up throwing them away anyway and put fresh ones up for the next guests. Even if you never touch the bottles, they have to consider them as being used and so the toiletries will just go to waste and end up in the trash. That is another reason why I always make sure to take whatever ends up in my room while I am there, because, if I don't take them or use them, they will be wasted and thrown away anyway. Kind of like if you eat at a buffet and take a whole banana and a whole apple to your table. You may never eat them or touch them once they get to your table, and they may be perfectly fresh and good, but once they leave the buffet table, the restaurant people have to look at them as being used and they end up throwing out perfectly good fruit. So Housekeeping has to look at the toiletries in your room as being used and toss them out, even if they have never been touched. I assume it works the same way at the DLR hotels as it did at the place where my friend used to work. So might as well take them all with you!

 

[lark]

I was extremely disappointed with the GCH (the customer service during our stay was awful), but that's just my opinion. It has got to typically be better for so many people to enjoy it so much. However at check out the bellhop asked how our stay was and I told him that we were pretty let down, and his response was "I hear that a lot".

We really really like the hotel -- the style, the lobby, the theming, and the location -- to the extent that we try to overlook the customer service issues. But, except for the Bell Stand guys and housekeeping (which are both excellent), I hate to admit it but I agree with you. It's never affirmatively bad for us, but there is a pretty significant level of indifference that's hard to ignore if you've stayed there more than once.

 

[Grumpygrandpa]

We stay at GCH about 90% of the time. I have only stayed at DLH once and I liked it just fine, but if I'm short on points I tend to choose PP as my second option. I just love the Grand and it is easier to stroll across the street and hang out in the lobby from PP. If I were you I would stay at the Grand again and just catch a few meals with Lilo and Stitch across the street. We do this at least once on every trip because my DGD loves Stitch and I love the pineapple scones they serve at Breakfast.