PP Premium Club Level or GCH standard?

[UpNorth49]

If you had to choose between PP Premium Club level or a GCH standard room for the same price which one would you choose? We have stayed at the GCH before and know exactly what we get and do love it. Considering PP this time as we have 3 kids and access to foods/snacks/drinks during the day sounds appealing along with the incredible park views that we have seen posted on the PP forum.

 

[Iceman93]

When I check rates and am faced with that same choice, I always choose the PPH. I love their club lounge, the theme park view rooms are amazing, and I find the hotel itself much better than some others on this board. The GCH obviously has a nicer lobby, better-themed pools, and a generally more upscale feeling. But I have actually found the CMs at the PPH to be the nicest of the three on-site hotels!

 

[ParkHopper1]

I am there several times a year and those are my two exact choices most of the. All things being equal I will take the Grand as proximity is what I value most. I have never been a big fan of any of the concierge lounges for the price but the PPH view is amazing. You can go to bed looking out the window to Mickey's Fun Wheel and Cars Land lit up all night.

Had you never been I would say the Grand...but since you know what you are getting there give the PCH a try. The club level theme park views are the best view of all three resort hotel hands down and the rooms are bigger...and you can see if you like the concierge lounge access.

Grand Pros: Proximity and atmosphere
PPH Pros: View and Concierge lounge

All depends on what YOU value in your room and stay.

 

[lorijohnhill]

We made this choice last year. We decided to go with PP and I regretted it. I was not happy with PP at all. We had major issues with the water temp in the shower; it would fluctuate between ice cold and scalding hot. We were told that's how it is when you stay in a hotel. If you want constant temp then shower mid day. Ridiculous. There were other issues also, but I won't go into all that here. What it really comes down to is how much time are you going to spend in the room?
The club lounge can be nice for snacks and drinks, but that means you have to leave the parks to go back and get them. I'm the type that stays in the park all day. The proximity of GCH was so much better to me than the walk to PP. Now, my husband, on the other hand, loved the lounge. He loved that he could go back and get beer. He spent more time in the room than my daughter and I did.

 

[ParkHopper1]

. We had major issues with the water temp in the shower; it would fluctuate between ice cold and scalding hot. We were told that's how it is when you stay in a hotel. .

I can tell you as a weekly traveler that is true for a lot of Hotels, not just the PPH. The Grand has some of the weakest shower heads in the freakin world. Although some have been upgraded, I could make a similar argument for the GCH.

 

[CateinPhoenix]

We ask ourselves this question every time we plan to stay on site. And everytime my kids pick PPH Concierge over GCH. They just love hanging out in there and having snacks and watching movies. We've walked through GCH hundreds of times and plan to stay there one day but we just love having the access to the lounge.

 

[Aust]

We had the same decision to make a couple of years back and decided on PPH. With 2 adults and 3 kids we made good use of the concierge lounge, and we had a guaranteed daybed which I understand are not available in all the rooms at GCH. Also I had stayed at GCH before also (with only 3 people) and the room seemed quite small and dark to me - I found the PPH rooms seemed larger and brighter. Obviously it is a shorter walk to the parks fron GCH but it isn't at all bad from PPH, and we still got to walk through the GCH lobby every day which is my favourite part of the hotel.

 

[cruisehopeful]

It will depend on how you spend your days. While I want to stay in concierge, we've never spent enough time at the hotel to actually use the lounge. It always ends up being a sleep and shower stop for us. If we spent more time at the hotel, I'd take PP concierge for the same money as a standard GC room.

 

[rentayenta]

Always The Grand.....location, location, location. Love their pool and The Hearthstone Lounge.

 

[ChloroformSdxn]

I was just debating this very thing. The issue is that I have stayed at PPH once in the past, and it was abysmal. My room had no wifi (self-employed, so I need to work after the kids are in bed often), and the shower issues. For the money, it wasn't worth it. PPH isn't particularly close. We are definitely looking at GCH mainly for the park entrance and all the early hours.

 

[ChloroformSdxn]

We also don't go back much during the day, so we would really only take advantage of the Club Level at the beginning and end.

 

[sc426]

As a premium annual passholder and having stayed at both the GCH and the PP, I would definitely stay at the PP concierge. Yes it a little farther away from the center of all the attractions. But I have had better experience with concierge at PP then at GCH whether it was concierge or a standard room. Even thought you are staying at one of the 3 DL hotels, you still get the benefits and perks of all three hotels.

 

[mmmears]

For my family, the location and pools at the GCH win out. I do enjoy CL, but with the PPH being farther away I'm not sure how much of the time we would be in the lounge to enjoy what they do offer. I think it really depends on what your priorities are, as well as what your days look like. Will you have time to enjoy the lounge at PPH? If so, it might be worth the extra distance. If not, then perhaps the GCH is a better option.

 

[ParkHopper1]

Pools are another consideration if you are gonna use them. the PPH pool is VERY underwhelming for a Disney Resort. GHC poll is far superior. I am not a big pool guy but my last trip to the PPH pool I just felt like I was at a Holiday Inn.

 

[Aladora]

With 3 kids I would pick PPH concierge every time. Not only do you have access to the lounge but with 3 kids, the larger rooms at PPH would be nice. The walk is not much further especially if you are unlucky enough to get a GCH room near the end of the last hallway.

If great wifi is really important then I would not pick any of the onsite hotels! All three of them have terrible wifi and when we stayed at GCH, we actually got a better signal connecting to the Sephora Free wifi!

 

[UpNorth49]

Thank you to all that have chimed in, your input has been very valuable. A follow up question: A few have mentioned the location and further distance to PP, when I google map it (street view) I can see where the Disneyland express dropped us of at GCH and I see PP it doesn't look like more than 5 minutes to me, am i missing something?

 

[beachdreamr1229]

PPH isn't that much further than GCH depending on where your room is at GCH. Some rooms at GCH are literally steps away from the park entrances, while others are practically right across the street from PPH. It's only a 5-10 minute walk, so it's not like it's a big deal. I haven't stayed at GCH, but I've seen the rooms and spent some time in one while my friend was staying there. I have also stayed at PPH multiple times. With a larger family (we have a family of 5), I'd always recommend PPH over GCH. The rooms at PPH are lighter and brighter. I'm not sure if they're bigger, but to me they feel bigger than the standard room my friend had at GCH. While GCH is beautiful, I also feel like PPH is more welcoming.

 

[ParkHopper1]

Literally across the street to the Grand. Only a few minutes to get to the Grand lobby which is the fastest way into DCA or DTD

 

[Nevada Jen]

I would choose pph regular club over gch. Premium club? Not even a contest. With 5 people you will likely save a hundred bucks a day in food and drink with concierge. Knowing you are getting a day bedelivery at pph is also pretty important. The walk is nothing. Absent getting a room right by the entrance at gch, pph is just as close, room to park. The showers at pph do fluctuate temperature, but the I can't even get enough water pressure to rinse my hair at gch. And the pool at pph is rather blah but the room size and configuration plus club amenities win every time for me.

 

[Disney Lvr of Old]

I've had the same decision to make. I decided on PPH because we are going for 9 days so I know we will have more time to relax and my son is VERY excited about Concierge level. I requested the pool level with patio but I am thinking I might decide to TPV instead. more decisions to make with 1 month to go!!