Disney Grand California Hotel

Disneyland Hotel Becomes Resort's Second to Earn AAA Four Diamond Award

AAA has bestowed its coveted 2012 Four Diamond award upon the landmark Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, California making it the second property at the Disneyland Resort to secure such a high rating.

The designation was announced in a recent letter to the resort. The announcement noted that only four percent of the 31,000 hotel properties AAA reviews achieve this enviable distinction.

“This is tremendous news, especially for the 1,000 Cast Members who work at the Disneyland Hotel and create magical experiences for our guests,” said Tony Bruno, vice president resort hotels and Downtown Disney.  “The award underscores our continued investment in the guest experience and all our ongoing work, which has transformed the Disneyland Resort and Anaheim into Southern California’s world-class, multiday tourist destination.”

Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa also is a AAA Four Diamond award winner and is home to yet another AAA Four Diamond recipient: the popular Napa Rose restaurant.

According to the Auto Club, AAA’s Diamond rating program is the only hotel and restaurant review system in the nation that uses specially trained full-time field representatives. As part of AAA’s national network, the Auto Club’s own staff reviews establishments without prior notification using objective and detailed rating procedures.

“North America’s AAA Diamond Rating System is a long-time trusted systematic method of rating lodgings and restaurants,” said the Auto Club’s Approved Accommodations Supervisor Patricia Marenco.  “Southern California’s hotels and restaurants that earn the AAA Four Diamond award maintain a very high standard of service in their hotels and restaurants in order to continue pleasing their guests.”

Earlier this summer, the Disneyland Hotel marked a milestone in the property’s major “re-imagination” project with the opening of a new courtyard, restaurant, bar, pool and water play area.

“This exciting renovation extends the immersion and magic of our park experience to this classic hotel,” said Bruno.  “We’ve woven important pieces of Disneyland park history into the Disneyland Hotel, particularly with the reopening of the pool and courtyard area. The Disneyland Hotel now features some one-of-a-kind enhancements as a result of the property-wide program.”

The hotel’s three guest room towers have been renamed for some of Disneyland park’s distinctive lands: the Adventure Tower, Frontier Tower and Fantasy Tower.  At the entrance of each tower, large marquees will feature classic artwork of Adventureland, Frontierland and Fantasyland identifying each building.

Articles 20VN | Disney Vacation Club's New Resort - The Villas at ...

A couple of month's ago I had a chance to stay at Disney Vacation Club's new resort, the Villas at the Grand Californian. Located right near the entrance to Disneyland, this is a great place to stay if you are planning a visit to the Anaheim parks. You can actually enter California Adventure right from inside the hotel grounds and Downtown Disney is just on the opposite side of the lobby, so all of the Disney magic is close at hand.

Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa is, in my opinion, Disneyland's best resort hotel and it has been around for several years now. I used to see them building it when I was living in Los Angeles and visiting Disneyland on a regular basis. Now though, they have expanded the resort and the expansion is all Villas for the Disney Vacation Club.

What this means for DVC owners is reduced costs for staying at The Grand Californian. I've stayed there before on points in one of the hotel rooms, but now that the DVC Villas are open, it cost fewer points per night to stay in a studio, which gives you a bit more room than the standard hotel rooms. The lay-out for the villas, as far as I can tell, is virtually the same as the rooms at my other favorite Disney resort, Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas. The difference is in the soft furnishings. They features lots of Arts & Crafts motifs and the idea is that you should feel like you are staying in a great lodge in Northern California.

There's been a lot of talk on the various Disney forums that if you want to stay at the Grand Californian Villas then you better own there and buy soon as there are only 48 villas total. But I own at Saratoga Springs at Disney World and still had no problem booking a stay in the Villas at the Grand Californian for a few nights in November, only a few weeks after they were officially opened for reservations. I suppose that may change in the future, but I think if you really want to visit and are flexible with your dates and unit sizes, then it shouldn't be a problem.

Now there is one change at the Grand Californian that I don't care for too much. As a result of needing the extra room to build on the property, self-parking for the resort is no longer directly in front of the resort. You have to cross Disneyland Drive now to get to and from the parking lot. It's nearby, but still a hassle. Valet parking, however, will set you back $17 a day plus tips, so if like to spend your money on better things that parking the car, then self-parking will just have to do!

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