Will I regret my decision--GCH vs off-site?

[Amy Krieger]

I've not stayed at the Westin but I've seen posts were folks love it. Perhaps they will jump in here and offer the VGC to Westin comparisons. I know Paul and Amy talk about the Westin on one of their shows. They loved it. I think its there got to if not staying at Grand Cal.

If you don't get the responses here, perhaps post this on the DVC Grand Cal thread.

The Westin is amazing! I didn’t like staying off property until we stayed there. I would never turn down a stay at that hotel. And until VGC sees the completion of a refurb, I would consider renting out our VGC points and staying at the Westin. The service, rooms, theme park views, and rooftop bar are all amazing. There is an awesome restaurant there also called Puesto. I recommend checking it out. I attached our room so you can see the view. The balcony was also huge and then we moved to VDH where we had no balcony…

 

[Geoff_M]

My wife and I stayed at GCH in 2022 and really loved it. We just got back from a week at DL with a party of five. I tried to get into GCH again using DVC, but couldn’t get availability. So we stayed off-site at the Courtyard. The Courtyard was excellent. The rooms are large and hold six people. There’s also a separate bathtub/shower and another shower. The walk to the esplanade was shorter than the DLH or the Pixar hotel. The 30 minute early-entry for being on-site was the only downside to the Courtyard. But the cost, amenities, and close proximity made it an easy choice.

 

[disygirl]

The Westin is amazing! I didn’t like staying off property until we stayed there. I would never turn down a stay at that hotel. And until VGC sees the completion of a refurb, I would consider renting out our VGC points and staying at the Westin. The service, rooms, theme park views, and rooftop bar are all amazing. There is an awesome restaurant there also called Puesto. I recommend checking it out. I attached our room so you can see the view. The balcony was also huge and then we moved to VDH where we had no balcony…

That is so great to hear. We will be there next week and looking forward to it. It sounds like a lot of people have had great experiences so we are excited to try it!

 

[Varty Yo]

With so many good hotels 10 mins or less walking distance well worth staying offsite to save the money for other fun things. I mean all your doing is sleeping there. A bed is a bed in my books.

 

[ClaraOswald]

With so many good hotels 10 mins or less walking distance well worth staying offsite to save the money for other fun things. I mean all your doing is sleeping there. A bed is a bed in my books.

I used to think that....and still do to a certain extent. But after staying at the Grand Californian earlier this year....my perspective changed a bit. There's just something extra nice about the atmosphere, especially on the walk to the parks.

 

[Wesley815]

Love Westin, Marriott has done a great job. It's new and very clean/modern-

https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/snawa-the-westin-anaheim-resort/overview/

 

[Rex1993]

With so many good hotels 10 mins or less walking distance well worth staying offsite to save the money for other fun things. I mean all your doing is sleeping there. A bed is a bed in my books.

Except when you don't just sleep there. Our trips to Disney have started getting longer (4-7 days) so we like going back to the room midday and eating lunch and having a rest before going back for the evening. Of course you could do that with a lot of the off site hotels but it's just so easy and convenient with the GCA.

 

[Varty Yo]

Except when you don't just sleep there. Our trips to Disney have started getting longer (4-7 days) so we like going back to the room midday and eating lunch and having a rest before going back for the evening. Of course you could do that with a lot of the off site hotels but it's just so easy and convenient with the GCA.

If an experience is what you want then giver er. Can i ask what it costs per night to stay there? Also i enjoy using my points from my other stays to pay for rooms 5-10 mins offsite. Saved 1k in room costs this coming trip.

 

[DizMe]

With so many good hotels 10 mins or less walking distance well worth staying offsite to save the money for other fun things. I mean all your doing is sleeping there. A bed is a bed in my books.

There isn't one answer and it depends on a number of variables. Are you a rope-drop, stay until closing, and rope-dropping-again type? Then the Grand probably isn't worth it. Is it almost impossible to afford the hotel? Not worth it. You have the money but feel that spending it on an expensive hotel is a waste? Don't care where you sleep? Aren't planning to spend any time looking at what's there? Nope, nope, and nope again.

But I'm older and LOVE going to the Grand, especially during the holidays. I don't really go to DLR for the rides, although I love them. I like the feeling I get when I'm there, and I like being catered to for a change instead of being the one doing the catering, ha ha. I'm fine with paying more because I get a LOT more. I'm not there with kids (except sometimes my grandson), love being able to go down to the lobby from my room, love spending an hour or so in the Hearthstone Lounge, love sitting in the 3rd floor lobby having a snack and glass of port, etc. At Christmas, I can look over the balcony and watch Santa with the kids (and adults!). I meet a lot of fun people at the hotel then and often have had so much fun just interacting with others when I'm there. I love the dining options, which range from self-serve to exclusive experiences.

And the neat thing is that I can walk out the door and be in DTD. I can walk straight into DCA from the hotel. I don't have to leave the resort at all, which is something I value highly at this stage of my life.

 

[Chili327]

We have usually stayed on site (typically GCH) for our every other year trip. This year I booked the Westin since GCH prices skyrocketed. I have been second guessing myself since then. Will I regret the walk to/from the hotel? We are a family with teens so Uber is possible. Anyone recently booked Westin and regretted not just staying on site?

I wouldn't say regret it, but if you absolutely love staying on site you might miss it. I've never stayed at the Westin (or Grand Cal), but id guess the Westin is probably the next best thing to being on site as far as quality & proximity.

Either way, you're going to Disneyland.!!

 

[Varty Yo]

As you wish

 

[AstroBlasters]

There isn't one answer and it depends on a number of variables. Are you a rope-drop, stay until closing, and rope-dropping-again type? Then the Grand probably isn't worth it. Is it almost impossible to afford the hotel? Not worth it. You have the money but feel that spending it on an expensive hotel is a waste? Don't care where you sleep? Aren't planning to spend any time looking at what's there? Nope, nope, and nope again.

But I'm older and LOVE going to the Grand, especially during the holidays. I don't really go to DLR for the rides, although I love them. I like the feeling I get when I'm there, and I like being catered to for a change instead of being the one doing the catering, ha ha. I'm fine with paying more because I get a LOT more. I'm not there with kids (except sometimes my grandson), love being able to go down to the lobby from my room, love spending an hour or so in the Hearthstone Lounge, love sitting in the 3rd floor lobby having a snack and glass of port, etc. At Christmas, I can look over the balcony and watch Santa with the kids (and adults!). I meet a lot of fun people at the hotel then and often have had so much fun just interacting with others when I'm there. I love the dining options, which range from self-serve to exclusive experiences.

And the neat thing is that I can walk out the door and be in DTD. I can walk straight into DCA from the hotel. I don't have to leave the resort at all, which is something I value highly at this stage of my life.

3rd floor lobby?

 

[DizMe]

3rd floor lobby?

Yes, there is a balcony on the third floor directly above the registration area. There are tables, chairs, and couches. It's not a large area but it's also not as well known and a great place to relax.

 

[mfleeting]

We have always stayed on site (normally DLH) but this year we are also staying off site. Last year I felt like it was a mess and not worth the horrendous expense it was. They had no electric/water most nights, no laundry service (nor laundry rooms) and they kept sending me to every other hotel and still laundry rooms were closed, and we went to Goofy's and saw 1 character. After that mess I decided why not try another hotel - but we will be staying at Howard Johnsons since it's a bit closer (and my youngest has stayed there and liked it).

 

[Jane VanTassel]

We have usually stayed on site (typically GCH) for our every other year trip. This year I booked the Westin since GCH prices skyrocketed. I have been second guessing myself since then. Will I regret the walk to/from the hotel? We are a family with teens so Uber is possible. Anyone recently booked Westin and regretted not just staying on site?

I'm an on property girl. I stayed off property once and won't do it again. But, it that price difference is what is giving you the flexibility to go to DL: than well worth it!!! I just know that my idea of walking across the street and others is greatly different!!

 

[GoofyGoofyGoofy]

Yes, there is a balcony on the third floor directly above the registration area. There are tables, chairs, and couches. It's not a large area but it's also not as well known and a great place to relax.

Ssshhhh.
Don't want too many people hanging out there. The desk that is up there is for Club 33 reservations. That is where I saw Tony Baxter!

 

[DizMe]

Ssshhhh.
Don't want too many people hanging out there. The desk that is up there is for Club 33 reservations. That is where I saw Tony Baxter!

I KNOW!! I should've kept my mouth shut, LOL!!

Tony Baxter?! How cool is that! The Club 33 concierge is always so nice. On the last 2 Christmas-time visits, the concierge helped us with the corkscrew we had for our port bottle. *Tip: they gave us each one for free in the GCH gift shop!

 

[NVDISFamily]

We bought into Disney’s timeshare at Grand Cal earlier this year so we wouldn’t have to make these types of decisions again in the future

Shhhhhh.... don't tell people about VGC points and how they will save you about half over the very long run. We need the prices to stay low

With that said - there is nothing wrong with staying offsite. I prefer to try and stay at the hotels next to the Toy Story lot and use that as my transport into the parks. Usually get a better bang/buck ratio and a somewhat newer hotels but I've heard great things about the Westin.