Which of the Disney hotels for a short 2-night trip in March?

[Leelo]

DH and I will be in Vegas for a work event at the end of March and we plan to fly over to visit Disneyland for the weekend (Friday-Sunday). I am having trouble choosing the hotel because the trip is so short that we may not be in the room a ton and I doubt we will be using the pool that time of year.

Budget-wise, we can stay at any of the 3 hotels at Disneyland

For a little background, we are WDW passholders but have only visited Disneyland one time in July 2019. We like to stay "in the bubble" and walking is a hobby of ours so the distances of the Disney hotels is no issue for us at all. We stayed in the Disneyland Hotel with a pool view room on our 2019 trip and loved it but I would like to try another room type on this trip because we enjoy variety. At WDW we like anything from Pop Century to the Polynesian.

My top choices are:
Grand Californian -woods/courtyard
Disneyland Hotel DVC rooms -deluxe studio preferred or duo studio garden
Paradise Pier (Pixar Place) -premium

What do you recommend?

 

[DizMe]

My personal favorite and recommendation is GCH. There are so many advantages, IMO, that you don't get elsewhere. I love how close you are to both parks, how easy it is to get to everything, the beautiful lobby. DLH is wonderful but one of the main reasons I prefer GCH is the lobby, as DLH doesn't have anything that compares. I love to sit and enjoy a drink or a snack and soak in the atmosphere, while others never spend any time at the hotel other than to sleep so it depends on your style. I also think the dining options at GCH are better, though DLH has added some things through the new DVC area that I've not tried. I very much enjoy both the Hearthstone Lounge and the Craftsman Grill. FYI--they will let you order from the children's menu outdoors by the pool. I had a very delicious parmesan-crusted grilled cheese sandwich with fresh fruit for $10 (before my MK discount) at a lovely table near the pool. I spent more on my Bloody Mary, LOL.

As far as the view, most of them are pretty nice so don't worry too much about that. We just had woods/courtyard recently and it was fantastic. We were a few doors down from the elevator, on the 4th floor, overlooking the lobby. We had a great view of the Brisa Courtyard from our room, where we could watch the monorail go by and check out the security line LOL. My main piece of advice is to avoid the rooms that are far away from elevators.

 

[DLandgirlie]

I've never stayed at Paradise Pier, so I can't give you feedback on that hotel, however, for a short trip I think I would try it for a first time, especially since it's been upgraded to Pixar Pier.

Now based on the other two, I'd choose the Grand for proximity and being literally in the bubble by it being attached to DCA. It's centrally located with access to more food options, imo. The lobby is gorgeous, and atmosphere is calming yet adventurous.

The DLH is more for a leisurely trip, and maybe more historically based. It's vintage Disney in the best way, and although they have the lounge now open along with Tangaroa T. and pool side food offerings, I believe the food offerings near the hotel are sparse, besides walking to DTD.

 

[Pluto468]

I'd stay at Grand Californian for sure. I haven't stayed there yet, but I've gone to the restaurants and shops there. It's the closest resort hotel and it's super nice. I'll be staying there in April.

I've stayed at DLH a few times and I love it, but the walk always feels far and there aren't as many food options there. Also, I'm pretty sure there's still construction going on in that end of DTD.

Pixar Pier is just too far in my opinion, although the new entrance into DCA is helpful.

Have a fun trip!

 

[chezcurrie]

If budget isn’t an issue this trip, do the grand. There is something so special about being RIGHT there, and k believe the architect is the same as animal kingdom lodge so it gives those vibes as well. Have a great trip!