Paradise Pier vs. Grand Californian

[disneymayz]

There is prob. a thred somewhere but some new comments would be nice. We have never been to DL before. Any info to help me decide which hotel to stay at would be great. We usually stay at an all-star resort in WDW so we are not picky. I was told that Disneyland Hotel was starting to look rundown so that one was ruled out. We are staying on DVC points so it will be 4 days at Grand or 5 days at Paradise. Either way the number of park days will be the same.

Also dw wants me to ask if crowds are heavy in the 2nd week in June.


Thank you

 

[din]

There is prob. a thred somewhere but some new comments would be nice. We have never been to DL before. Any info to help me decide which hotel to stay at would be great. We usually stay at an all-star resort in WDW so we are not picky. I was told that Disneyland Hotel was starting to look rundown so that one was ruled out. We are staying on DVC points so it will be 4 days at Grand or 5 days at Paradise. Either way the number of park days will be the same.

Also dw wants me to ask if crowds are heavy in the 2nd week in June.


Thank you

IMHO, there is a big difference between the two. If you are familiar with WDW, Grand California is comparable to Boardwalk (our DVC home), Beach Club type resort. It is closer to Downtown Disney and the parks. I am not sure what Paradise Pier compare to at WDW to be honest. Did not get a good experience there.

The family is spolied, so we prefer Grand Californian.

As for June, please remember that DL has more locals and so it can get crowded on weekends.

 

[kikiq]

The DLH recently went through some renovation along with the renaming of the towers. I haven't heard too many complaints about the DLH. If I were going to compare properties and it's a pretty loose comparison...GCH is a "deluxe" property, DLH depending on the tower and the room is a "deluxe/mod" property and PP is a "moderate" property.

I booked my brother and family at the DLH because DLH pool is wonderful. The GCH pool is great too but there's no pool hopping. I just thought my little niece would enjoy DLH pool more.

First 2 weeks in June will be crowded but doable, as the previous poster said, the weekends are filled with us local AP holders.

 

[CoolPool]

The GC is a step up in many ways. It has wonderful high impact theming (public areas are beautiful) and the pools/hot tub/slide area is much more upscale than the PP. The GC is closer to the action as you are steps away from DCA and the front gate of DL plus you are right next to DTD. I love the DTD views which give you a good view of the fireworks too.

The PP is a nice Holiday Inn. The slide is fun but the pool area is boring. The rooms are spacious and have a fresh airy feel. There is no real theming to speak of; I don't see the "beach" theme when I'm there but I'm sure others will disagree. Its no farther than the DLH to the DL main gate but if "feels" that way because you have to cross a busy street and walk either through the GC or through DTD. It can be a real buzz kill if you ask me to walk through the GC and not stay there but that's me and my family.

Personally the DLH is a wonderful hotel and I've not had a bad experience there. The Neverland Pool is terrific. Many people love this hotel.

I think if you are "not picky" then stay the extra time with PP.

 

[Tink208]

We just stayed at the DLH last month and I didn't feel like it looked "run down" at all.

I haven't actually stayed at GC or PPH, but if I had the chance, I would definitely love to stay at GC just based on everything I have heard about it, along with what I have seen just walking through it.

 

[DirkLogan]

We stayed at the PP and thought is was nice, but it wasn't a draw. There wasn't really anything to do at the hotel. They have the basics, a pool, a little slide, some restaurants and not much theming. It is a little more walk to get to either park than DLH and GCH. The rooms were nice and they do a good job, but not a ton of WOW. The GCH seems to have that WOW but is quite a bit pricier.

I would personally go for PP and 5 days than GCH and 4 days. The parks are why you go imo.

And I am one of those pesky local AP, lol. See you on the weekends.

 

[Sunobo]

I can't offer advice on the crowds since I've only been to DL once.

We recently spent 2 nights at DLH and I didn't think it looked rundown at all. I've never seen the other 2 hotels. Our room was in the Magic Tower (that's where the lobby is) and other than Mickey missing an ear on one lamp, we didn't notice anything in our room. Other than sleeping, we didn't spend much time there.

In the hall there was a couple of pizza boxes near the elevator and some food trays outside rooms awaiting pickup. They were picked up in a semi timely manner and that kind of stuff doesn't really bother us.

The staff was friendly, the rooms were spacious, the beds were comfortable and the room and bathroom were very clean and that is what really counts to us.

 

[TinkerKell-ey]

We stayed at the GCH in November (using DVC points) - loved it! We had a CA park view, looking straight out at the Grizzly's head on Grizzly River Run. We grabbed fast passes for Soarin' early in the day, and rode it each night right before walking in to the hotel right from the park. Unfortunately, we had a fire alarm go off one night (er, 2:30 in the morning) and had to leave. Turns out we were probably sleeping on top of some part of the World of Disney Store, which we figured out when we left the building through the fire doors. Cool (not the fire alarm-"kindof" sleeping in DTD!!!). I didn't love Whitewater Snacks, and they had miserable hours (opened late and closed before DL, no after park snack!!). The location can't be beat, and the spa tolietries are fabulous. If you choose GC, don't bother packing shampoo or lotion!!! We had a nice, clean room with turn down service at night-didn't care about that, but they always left chocolate : ) Can't speak to PP, but we had a rental car which we choose to self-park (valet was $16 a day/self-park - free). The self park lot is right by the pp hotel, and I think I would agree that the walk is a "buzz kill". But Coco's restaurant/bakery (off site) is within walking distance of PP and makes great breakfast and opens early!!!

 

[Amy&Dan]

I think its really hard to compare the DLR hotels to WDW hotels. In theory, all three of the DLR hotels, including Paradise Pier are deluxe level, not moderate. They all have interior corridors, valet and bell service, room service, full service restaurants and bars, larger rooms and the things one associates with the WDW deluxes. However, they don't have quite same the feel as far as theming and grounds. The GCH comes close with the theming, its very similar to the Wildnerness Lodge, however, it doesn't have the grounds.

Paradise Pier is a beach theme with some Disney touches. Its convenient in that you don't have mulitple buildings and long hallways like the DLH and GCH. Its just one central high rise tower. It has a very cool pool slide and a very boring pool area. Its generally much cheaper than GCH. Each room at the PP has a very nice couch that folds down into a very comfortable twin sized bed.

I have stayed at the DLH six times in the past four years and have never found it to be run down. It is the only one of the three DLR hotels that has grounds. It also has the most dining options, a very nicely themed pool and is generally in the middle on price. It has nice large rooms with lots of nice Disney touches. Many of the rooms have daybeds, if it doesn't and you need an extra bed, they will provide a free rollaway. Its my favorite of the three.

GCH is lovely, its the only one that has balconies. The rooms are furnished in a craftsmen style with dark woods. I don't like dark rooms so that was a turn off to me which is strictly a personal thing. The rooms are also smaller than the ones at PP and DLH. However the balconies are wonderful. Some rooms have daybeds, some have bunkbeds. No rollaways are available, so if you don't get one that has a bunk or daybed, you get a sleeping bag if you need that extra sleeping space. The lobby of the GCH has the wow factor that the deluxe's at WDW have, it was designed by the same architect that did the Wildnerness Lodge and Animal Kingdom Lodge. It is the only hotel at DL designed by Disney. The other two were at one time owned by other companies and then taken over by Disney. So their lobbies don't have that themed wow factor. But the grounds of the DLH are lovely and make up for that in my opinion.

I have been the second week of June three times, crowds are heavy, esp. on the weekends. However, since you are staying onsite, you will have Early Entry each day its offered. Its vital at DL to get to the parks at opening before the locals arrive. So yes, crowds will be a factor, however, its very doable. Staying onsite at this time is really nice since you have EE and the nice pools to escape to during midday. None of the neighboring good neighbor hotels have that so I think your idea of staying onsite will help balance the crowd issues. And the good thing about your time frame is that hours are long, shows are running and nighttime entertainment will be every night. If you went a few weeks earlier, you'd have lower crowds but the hours would be short and the fireworks, Electrical Parade and Fantasmic would only run on the weekends. So to me, you picked a good time to go. Before the really intense crowds of July and early August but when the park is in full gear. It will be hot, but not humid and the evenings are so pleasant. Most nights the Disneyland will be open until 11:00 or even midnight.

If it were me, I'd look into the DLH and see if you can do your five nights there. But in the end, you cannot make a wrong choice, they are all three lovely hotels.

 

[disney-super-mom]

We stayed at the PP and thought is was nice, but it wasn't a draw. There wasn't really anything to do at the hotel. They have the basics, a pool, a little slide

A little slide?!!! You can't be serious.

The slide at the PPH is 180' long, the longest of all the slides at the DLR hotels.

Also, in my opinion, the PPH offers the best park views around. If you want great park views, don't pay for one at the GCH (especially with all the construction that's taking place right now). Go for a park view at the PPH, or a DTD view from the DLH. Those are the best views offered at the DLR.

The GCH is a deluxe hotel, but in the next couple of years it'll be under construction (right next to the pool and the park view rooms), so be aware of that.

The DLH and the PPH are very nice hotels. Considering the amenities they have, they would be considered deluxe hotels at WDW (like the Contemporary), whereas the GCH would be a deluxe plus (like the Poly or the Grand Floridian).

 

[nurse.darcy]

If you are not picky, Paradise Pier has the BIGGEST rooms of the three hotels. Proximity goes to GCH and Theming goes to DLH. My personal preference of the three is the DLH. It does not appear run down at all to me. Grand California reminds me of Wilderness Lodge (not BWI) at WDW.

Paradise Pier does have GREAT views of DCA, DLH has good views of DL, and GCH has views of both. I think you would be happy at all three but if proximity to the parks is a priority, I would go with GCH. If themeing is a priority I would go with DLH, if room size is a priority I would go with Paradise Pier. Either way, you really cannot go wrong. Personally, though, I prefer the Hilton across Katella at the Convention Center in a Theme Park view. Its a deluxe hotel, you can usually get a room for $99 per night and they have the best room service ever. Just my opinion.

 

[Tink208]

I have stayed at the DLH six times in the past four years and have never found it to be run down. It is the only one of the three DLR hotels that has grounds. It also has the most dining options, a very nicely themed pool and is generally in the middle on price. It has nice large rooms with lots of nice Disney touches. Many of the rooms have daybeds, if it doesn't and you need an extra bed, they will provide a free rollaway. Its my favorite of the three.

I do love the DLH, but I have to say that all the rooms are not large. My family was just there and we ended up with a very small (two queen beds, no daybed/couch) room. The previous two times I had stayed there with just my oldest son, we had had bigger rooms than they gave us for a family of four. Our room was also a pool view, but on the second floor, so it was very noisy, especially at about 12:30 in the morning when a bunch of very "happy" people were whooping it up on the walkway between the hotel building and the pool area.

As to cost, my first stay there was because it was the least expensive room available at the resort when I was booking, even cheaper than a room at Paradise Pier. So, I guess it depends on what is available and you can get a room with a lesser view at the DLH for less than one with a more premium view at the PPH. (And this "lesser" room was one of the ones that was bigger than our most recent room.)

 

[disneymayz]

All the comments are great. Due to all that have replied we are now looking into DLH. It will be me , dw, dd (6), and ds (1) going so if pool at DLH is better and the hotel itself is themed then I am going to look into it more. Thanks again for te help.

 

[Amy&Dan]

I do love the DLH, but I have to say that all the rooms are not large. My family was just there and we ended up with a very small (two queen beds, no daybed/couch) room. The previous two times I had stayed there with just my oldest son, we had had bigger rooms than they gave us for a family of four. Our room was also a pool view, but on the second floor, so it was very noisy, especially at about 12:30 in the morning when a bunch of very "happy" people were whooping it up on the walkway between the hotel building and the pool area.

As to cost, my first stay there was because it was the least expensive room available at the resort when I was booking, even cheaper than a room at Paradise Pier. So, I guess it depends on what is available and you can get a room with a lesser view at the DLH for less than one with a more premium view at the PPH. (And this "lesser" room was one of the ones that was bigger than our most recent room.)

You are right, I have also experienced those smaller rooms at the DLH that don't have the daybeds. However, based upon my stays which have included rooms with and without daybeds, even the non daybed rooms felt larger than our room at the GCH. The GCH room did have a balcony but the room itself felt very small for our family of four. I have never felt cramped for space at the DLH, even in our non daybed room in June we stayed in for nine nights. And that was a premium view room, you cannot tell by view vs. standard room if it will have that daybed or not. Its sort of a bummer, however, I still find all rooms at the DLH larger than your typical hotel room and plenty spacious.

And I have had that same problem with noisy people on the walkway underneath my room too! I called security and they got out there very quickly but my kids were awake all the same. I think its people leaving the Lost Boys Bar and its very annoying. But I only had that happen one time. And like you, it was a second floor room in the Sierra Tower (which is now called something else).

I still love the hotel, but I agree, its not a guarantee you will have one of the very large rooms.

 

[pixiewings71]

We stayed at the GCH the first weekend of November. We had a DTD view and we loved it!!!!!!! Absolutely loved it!! I would love to stay there again but it's quite the pricey hotel so it's a bit out of our budget. I'm sure we will stay again but it will be a while! LOL

I just booked our stay at the PP for the end of January. Quite excited to stay there too! I went with a theme park view and can't wait to see it!

I know, not any help but wanted to chime with my opinion of the GCH and the DTD view. We would definitely stay there again and we would ask for that particular view too!!

 

[drag n' fly]

I would choose GC over PP. The GC falls under a deluxe and the PP is comparable to a Holiday Inn. It is ok but nothing spectacular. We were at GC from the 14th to the 19th of November and had some issues with housekeeping and general cleanliness in the hallways but other than that it is a lovely hotel.