Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa
- Seaotter71
- First Reviewer
- 4 out of 5
- Avg. Member Rating
- 27
- Reviews
-
10
- Photos
Excellent Disney Property
- February 25, 2009
- Rated 5 of 5 by
a traveler from Travelocity.com
We just returned from the Grand Floridian. Fabulous, beautiful Disney property. Expensive but well worth the money. On monorail so very convenient especially with children. Great restaurants...Narcoosie's, Victoria & Albert's. Victoria & Albert's (although not recommended for children) is a five star restaurant with stellar service and food. The wine pairing menu is wonderful. You have to make reservations well in advance and jackets are required for men. Although, they have some at the restaurant to use if you forget. I will warn you that the meal is about $500.00 for two, but well worth it for a special occasion. We've stayed at the Grand Floridian several times and plan to go back again soon!
Not worth it!!!!!!!!!!
- February 5, 2009
- Rated 1 of 5 by
a traveler from Travelocity.com
Wow, totally not worth the money! I must say I have been to Disney World and Disneyland several times in my life and never had such bad serves and unclean room! It started with checking-in and them stating that they do not have a King bed, although I asked for one. The manager then stated "What do you want me to do, kick someone out of their room?" The lady at the desk asked, "Where is your daughter going to sleep?" Totally rude! We then got our room that had two queen beds and there was mold on the ceiling of the bathroom, cracked tile and dirty old carpet. Also a strange humming sound all night and the toilet was broken, making a high scream everytime it filled up! No help from the front desk. They just painted over the mold and I left with a sinus infection and l think Disney has totally gone down hill! Too crowded too and it was suppose to be the off season. But don't spend the money on this hotel. We stayed at the Beach Club several years ago (2 years) and it was so much nicer!
Overall, a good stay
- January 7, 2009
- Rated 4 of 5 by
a traveler from Travelocity.com
Have stayed here multiple times. We are the type that typically go to the parks in the morning, pool and nap in the afternoon, parks/dinner in the evening, and sleep at night. For the most part, our rooms have been fine. Comfy beds and sofa. Three different pillows with different feels made it sort of weird to sleep. Comforter made it impossible to move when sleeping. Maids clean every day and provide new shampoo/soap and towels. Staff can be clueless sometimes. Two pools and one hot tub. Family pool and 24 hour general pool. Hot tub had a tendency to work and not work due to too many kids messing with it and no parents watching. Narcoossees/Citricos/1900 Park Fare are fine. Nothing that makes them truly unique since Disney has set menu items for most of its restaurants. Didn't have a bad meal. Hotel is the stop before Magic Kingdom on Monorail and Three stops to the TTC for EPCOT. You can take a boat to Magic Kingdom as well. Bus service is a different story. Typically slow. The person who runs the business center is never there, and is a lazy wench. We've seen her work there the past three years. Had to use the Contemporary's business center because none of the staff knew where she ran off to one day. The Spa is expensive but nice. Good massage. We go during Christmas, so we are hit the hardest with price. That's the reason why I have to knock the value down to 3. Otherwise an off-season day would bring it to 5.
Girlfriends New Years-No Children
- January 6, 2008
- Rated 5 of 5 by
a traveler from Travelocity.com
PROS:
-Check-In-We wanted to arrive early to get as much time at the Magic Kingdom. The GF allowed us to check in as early as 7AM and provided a secured placed for our luggage until the room was ready. Upon check in we were informed that we were being upgraded to a conciege level room. The conciege level rooms (levels 3 and 4 in the main building) allow you to have food, drinks, wine and champagne from 7AM to 10PM. Also, you have two full time private conciege desks to tend to your every need. If you can afford conciege level, I highly recommend it.
-Our room was beautiful, newly renovated. Flat screen tv's, private bath seperate from marble topped double sinks, whamsetta bedding on two queen (not full) sized beds, private balcony, refridg., large ironing board, robes, dvd player, IPOD docking station, H2O plus spa products.
CONS: SERVICE: All the lower level employees were wonderful (valet, bellhops, maids, servers). The people I was most dissapointed with were the conciege and management level employees.
TRANSPORTATION: The GF does not have any private transportation. You must take either the monorail or disney bus to other resorts which can pose a problem. We wanted to go to Downtown Disney and it took 30 minutes to get there and 50 minutes to get back. I was so disgusted by this and if you are someone who does not like public transportation, get your rental or car out of valet and drive.
NOISE: If you are a sleeper make sure you ask for a more private room. Even though the best rooms are in the main building they can be the noisiest. You can hear all the activites from the main floor in your room and the maid even comes at 8:30.
Editor Pick
Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
- December 2, 2007
- Rated 4 of 5 by
dimmzy from Rochester, New York
This is Disney's premiere hotel at Disney World. Designed like one of the great Florida resorts at the turn of the century, it's a white Victorian confection with modern amenities.
It's been rated five-star, but I think that's a little high as it's been "Disney-fied" with plastic generic sweetness and unexpected cheapness. For example, the bedspreads are the same polyester spreads found at every Motel 6 in America. Note to Disney: next upgrade, get some child-friendly 300-count duvets.
The hotel has a striking two-story covered entrance with the second floor entryway serving as the Monorail station. This makes it super easy to go to the Magic Kingdom and EPCOT(one stop) and a transportation transfer station where you can get connections for Disney MGM Studios and Animal Kingdom. The convenience of that one feature cannot be overstated!
Inside the entry is a five-story atrium with a stained glass dome, gorgeous Victorian furniture, thick carpeting and gleaming white crown molding. The grand piano is actually played every afternoon. It's to the Grand Floridian's credit that the decorating theme is carried out through all the buildings (even to the pool). One highlight at the holiday time is the life-size gingerbread house in the lobby. It not only smelled great, but the sample they passed out was good too. They handed out the recipe, but to my surprise, one of the ingredients was POWDERED AMMONIA. Yes, you read that correctly. I think I will stick to my storebought gingerbread mixes!
We stayed in one of the outer buildings (the Conch Key), which was a smaller version of the main building (even down to the five-story atrium). Our room was nice with a beautiful view of the lagoon (the sunrises were gorgeous!) and modern Victorian-style furniture. The mattresses were thick and comfortable. Each night we had a turn-down service with chocolates placed on our pillows.
Sound-proofing was surprisingly poor, but this hotel is not one where you'll find a lot of noisy kids, so it wasn't too bad. The hotel has the usual toiletries and towels, and they did add bathrobes, which was a nice touch.
There are several restaurants on the grounds, from the classy Albert and Victoria to the Gasparille Grill, which was like a high-end convenience store and suitable for grabbing a quick snack, breakfast or fruit.
The central garden pool is clean and heated with a circular jacuzzi that seats about 12 people. The week we were there, the pool was always in use, even late at night. It shows you how busy I was during my week there that I never visited the elaborate main pool or even the pretty wedding chapel on the grounds.
Without a doubt, this is the best place to stay at Disney World and once you've stayed here, it will be tough to stay anywhere else.
From journal No Scrooges Here: Disney World at the Holidays