Our family (a toddler and a baby) recently stayed at this hotel for four nights, during the first week of October. We took advantage of a convention rate that was available to the general public, and paid $219 per night. The hotel and its grounds are absolutely gorgeous, without a lot of the blatant Disney decor. The lobby is stunning, and the three pools are really nice and well-kept.

The biggest negative for us was the check-in process. We utilized the express check in and called the hotel when we were 2 hours away from the resort (around 1:30 p.m.). However, when we arrived, well after the check in time, a room was not available for us. With two tired young children in tow, this was not welcome news. We were told to call the number again in 15 minutes, which we did. Still no room. We waited and called again, and same story. At this point, it was more than an hour past check in time. We finally got a room, but it wasn't our original room with a good view. We were so tired, we were past caring at this point.

The rooms are standard rooms, and definitely are not worth the $400-$500 rack rate. The room is pretty small and cramped, the bathroom wasn't very clean, and there are definite signs of wear and tear in the rooms. The mini refrigerator in our room didn't work very well, but it was swapped out with a new one, within an hour of us calling the front desk. The hotel shampoo and body wash products are really good, and I'm a product junkie who is very picky about those things.

The biggest plus about this hotel is location. With two young children who still take afternoon naps, this hotel really made our visit to the parks much more enjoyable. We also loved WhiteWater Snacks, the "convenience" restaurant in the resort, near the entry to California Adventure. It's kid-friendly, tasty, and reasonably priced (for Disneyland restaurants).

The Storytellers' Cafe was a lot of fun as well, and our girls loved the character breakfast. While it's overpriced food-wise (as are most of the character meals), the overabundance of costume-wearing characters scampering about made the high tab well worth it.

The pools were probably the family favorite. With a baby pool, a play pool with two slides (one adult/one toddler) and a large lap pool, it was a nice way to spend a hot afternoon. There are plenty of towels available, as well as lots of swim float jackets for children. We didn't utilize the bar service as I had read it was very slow (which also seemed to be the case when we were there), but with WhiteWater Snacks nearby, it didn't matter.

As our girls get older and don't need naps, I don't see a reason to return to this property. We'll probably stay at a more Disneyesque, and more reasonably-priced hotel in the future. But for our first visit, it was overall, a nice stay.

Nice lobby (but everything is kind of plastic and ersatz if you look closely) and decent rooms, although very average. It's a big hotel, a little impersonal, and our rooms were a fairly long walk from the elevators.

One thing the Disney Hotels do (we've stayed at the Disneyland Hotel as well) really well: customer service. They have got it down, and the staff is always delightful here. My husband left his Visa card at the Story Teller restaurant, and we called from home to see if they found it. They had, and they mailed it to him the next day at no charge.

You'll pay a premium to stay at a Disney property, and so very close to both parks (Disneyland and California Adventure park).

We travelled as 2 adults with 4 teenaged girls, and we stayed here for 2 nights. It was April, Spring Break, and the girls all had one room, while we adults had another. We were all seriously bummed that the pool waterslide was closed for the entire time we were there.

I don't know how Disney does it, but kids LOVE everything about Disneyland, including this hotel. Our kids had a blast here, and they were delighted to be so close to the park. Even though we had 2 14-year-old girls in the group & 2 12-year-old girls they adored watching the little kids Disney channel on TV every night. They collapsed into delighted giggles watching this silly show. The girls also enjoyed the meals at the Story Teller restaurant with Chip 'n' Dale and some of the other Disney characters.

We ate at the fancier restaurant (fine dining) here, and it was ok, nothing Michelin would note, but not bad. We also ate at the Japanese restaurant (also a Disney property) across the street, and that was decent too. Just know that with everything here, you'll pay a premium for being on Disney property.

Bottom line: If you love all things Disney, you'll love this hotel too. You'll pay a premium to stay here, but then, you are practically at the gate of Disneyland AND California Adventure Park.

Okay, I have stayed at all three Disney property hotels. All have their positive and negative attributes. Yes, the Grand Californian is a beautiful hotel-from the lobby. When you get to your room, there is nothing noteworthy to sing praises about. It is just an average hotel room. Why pay the $400.00 a night for a standard room. I just don't understand it unless you are trying to impress yourselves or your neighbors by knowing or saying that you stayed in an overpriced Disney hotel room. If I were to choose to have an all encompassing once-in-a-lifetime Disney experience, I would hands down choose the Disneyland Hotel. Don't believe what other reviewers say about it being old and tired. It is a clean hotel, has large rooms and there is always a touch of Disney magic. I think the staff is nicer here too (not saying the other staff is not). I do not think the Grand warrants a hands down rave review and it is so overpriced. Save your money and just walk through the lobby, you can enjoy it without spending a dime.

This hotel is the best for location if visiting Disneyland. The service and hotel rooms were great. It was better than I had imagined. It is very expensive for an average room size but its the location and service that make it worth at least one in a life time visit.