We just got back from our THIRD stay at the GCH Concierge. This is the BEST Disney resort, EVER, in my opinion.

I grew up going to WDW and I have stayed at many resorts there as well (see my signature). BUT, for a TRUE Disney Deluxe Resort experience, you have to stay at the Grand, and if you can swing it, in Concierge Level. While it is true that Disney WORLD's "Club Level" is a bit lacking, the Concierge Level at the Grand Californian is truly a wonderful experience, and worth it to us. However, I do have to mention that we get an AP discount, so the "worth" is based on that. Rack rates for Concierge are sometimes exorbitant so keep that in mind.

The Grand Californian Hotel was designed by the same guy who designed the WL and AKL at WDW. So, it has a similar "lodge type" vibe. The theme is turn of the century Arts and Crafts Movement. It is a beautiful hotel, architecturally. There is lots of deep colored wood, rose motifs, and lovely marble tile work. The lobby is very elegant and relaxing, and NOT AT ALL stuffy. I hate the feeling of the GF...totally uppity and stuffy, so I get what you're saying. I love the feel of the GCH lobby. I go there all the time just to sit and relax. I live about 15 min away, so I have the pleasure of being able to just hop in my car and drive over to DLR anytime I need a "fix". The hotel is NOT AT ALL "rustic" like the WL. It is actually totally opposite. I find it to be very elegant and upscale feeling. It's like a really, really nice house. The furnishings are mission style, large wood frames--thick cushions, beveled glass edge tables and mirrors, large grandfather clocks, etc. There is a huge stone fireplace (the Hearth) with rocking chairs and a wraparound sofa in the lobby. There is a pianist who plays classic Disney tunes while dressed in a tuxedo. There is soft ambiant music played all around the resort...you can hear it everywhere and it is SO peaceful and relaxing. You can even hear it when you are at the pool area!

Housekeeping at this hotel is great. We have never had any issues with cleanliness or promptness of service with housekeeping. Plus, you get turndown service at this resort (whether you stay concierge or not).

The Concierge Level is EXCELLENT. It is very exclusive. In fact, even if you book a suite here, you don't automatically get concierge service. You have to pay extra to add it on, and they will only let you do so if a certain percentage of the concierge level rooms remain unbooked, in order to keep a certain level of service in place. The lounge is open from 6:30-10pm. First of all, I can say that the staff is great. There are about 10 staff members dedicated solely to the Concierge guests and EVERY SINGLE ONE of them greeted me by name every time I saw them. Their desk is located right off the elevator bank on the 6th floor, and every time anyone exits the elevator, they stand up and greet you...by name! That's pretty amazing, at least to me. At one point, my son spilled some chocolate milk on the carpet in our room. I went to mention it to the concierge on duty at the desk late at night. I had not met her before. I wanted to let them know, so they could shampoo the carpet upon our checkout. SHE KNEW who I was and which room we were in...blew my mind. That's personalized service. The lounge has great food too! From all the pictures I've seen of all the lounges around WDW and DL, it has the best food, even better than the Grand Flo, IMO. From 6:30-10am, breakfast. From 11-4, afternoon tea. From 5-7, "The Grand Hour" (evening appetizers and wine), from 8-10pm, dessert. Also, every night, around 8:15pm, there is either storytelling in the lounge or a guitar player who sings bedtime songs to the kids. They lay out a huge blanket and throw pillows on the floor for a 'pajama party'. And, on nights where there are fireworks at DL, the lounge hosts a viewing party on the balcony, and they pipe in the music. Very cool. The lounge is always accessible via room key for drinks from the fridge and whole fruit from a fruit bowl. In addition, you can get board games, dvd's and use the computer in the lounge to access the internet if you wish. Concierge rooms have upgraded bedding, a Bose sound system in the room, dvd players in room, and flat screen televisions. The lounge accommodates 49 people. It was never crowded. In fact, there were never more than about 15 people in there at any given time. And, people were very well behaved. Food was plentiful and ALWAYS stocked. In fact, if a tray was half empty, it was taken away and replaced by a new, full tray.

MOST of the rooms at the Grand have balconies. There are a few rooms that do not, and they are the "standard" rooms located over the front entrance of the hotel. It is easy to avoid these rooms, just request a balcony, even if you book a standard room. Every balcony has a table and two chairs. I do not think there are any ground floor rooms at this hotel. All the hotel services are located on the first floor. I have not seen any rooms with patios here. Perhaps in the new wing? Not sure...

This hotel easily accommodates 5. Your options would be: 2 queen beds and a daybed (which actually nets you a BIGGER room). OR, a room with 1 queen bed and bunk beds. The bunk bed rooms here have a TRUNDLE as well, so three people can sleep on the bunk bed total. However, the trundle is pretty small, meant for a child under 10 years old. We just stayed in a bunk bed room. Our 3 year old slept on the trundle. I like the bunk bed room because it makes the room larger (since the bunk bed is smaller than a queen bed).

The pool area is fabulous! The lounge chairs are wrought iron with HUGE THICK cushions (like 5" thick). There are waiters who come around to take your food/drink order and will serve you poolside! (like a REAL deluxe hotel!) The main pool features a great slide for the kids as well as a slide for toddlers. There is a second pool called the Turtle Pool that is the "quiet" pool. Both pools go from 3-5 feet deep. They are kept at a perfect 85 degrees. There's a kiddie splash pool and two spas. In about 2 weeks, a third pool, the Mariposa pool (an oval shaped pool) will open up along with the Villas wing. This pool will be right next to the main Redwood Pool.

As I mentioned, we just got back (yesterday) from a 3 night stay at the Grand. We live locally. We go to Disneyland about every other week. We chose this hotel as a RESORT vacation getaway, and it truly was. We barely hit the parks, since that was not our intention. We needed to getaway and recharge, relax, and reconnect as a family. The Grand is perfect for that! While there we were totally immersed in the experience of being "away". It is great! It is a great plus being so close to DCA and DL. The ability to exit our room and be INSIDE DCA in the space of 5 minutes was priceless, and vice versa, especially with two special needs kids (one of whom was constantly saying "I want to go back to the hotel room"). And, the little counter service restaurant there, Whitewater Snacks...BEST hidden gem at DLR. When we weren't eating in the lounge (which, honestly, was most of the time), we were there! Also, Storyteller's Cafe (the full service restaurant) has a pretty excellent dinner buffet and hardly ever has a wait, especially during the week. No need for ADR's. SO NICE! DS and I had a great dinner there our last night on a whim. Excellent food, excellent service. All around great!

I think all of your major questions about the layout of Disneyland have been answered. For a perspective of the property, try using Google Maps or Google Earth so you can see a true satellite view and real life scale of the property. You will have a much better understanding of how things are laid out. Basically, you have Disneyland Park. Across from DL Park you have DCA. In between them is a plaza containing the ticket booths (the Esplanade). Extending to the west from the plaza is Downtown Disney. The Grand Californian Hotel is sort of sandwiched between DCA and Downtown Disney. You can enter GCH from either DCA or Downtown Disney. At the far end of Downtown Disney is the monorail station. Anchoring the far west end is the DLH. About one block south of the DLH is the Paradise Pier hotel. The PPH is, essentially, across the street from the FRONT LOBBY entrance of the GCH.