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Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa facts for kids
| Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa | |
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The hotel's entrance
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| Location | Disneyland Resort, Anaheim, California, United States |
| Category |   |
| Opened | January 2, 2001 |
| Theme | American Craftsman |
| Rooms | 948 |
| Suites | 44 |
| Operator | Disney Parks, Experiences and Products |
| Villas | 71 |
| Website | Official Website: https://disneyland.disney.go.com/grand-californian-hotel/ |
Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, often called the Grand Californian, is a special hotel found at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It was built in 2001 when Disneyland Resort was made much bigger. The Walt Disney Company owns and runs this amazing hotel. It's a fancy hotel designed to look like the "Arts and Crafts" style from the early 1900s, which was popular in California. The hotel also has a special section for Disney Vacation Club members, which opened in 2009. A cool feature is that guests can walk directly from the hotel into Disney California Adventure Park! In 2017, the hotel's rooms and lobby were updated.
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Exploring the Grand Californian Hotel
This hotel was designed by an architect named Peter Dominick. He based its look on the "Arts and Crafts movement" from the early 1900s. This style focuses on handmade items and natural materials. The hotel has 948 rooms, plus 44 suites and 71 villas.
Craftsman style homes often have a garden feel. For the Grand Californian, this idea was made much bigger, so the hotel feels like a giant forest lodge. The main lobby is like a huge living room with a giant fireplace and big wooden beams overhead. It's filled with comfy chairs and sofas.
Many things you see around the hotel were made by hand using old-fashioned methods. Some old items from a famous Arts and Crafts group called Roycroft are even on display in the lobby. Some hotel rooms and meeting spaces are designed to honor famous architects and designers from the Craftsman era. For example, some suites are inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright. The Napa Rose restaurant has rose designs in its glass, inspired by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. The Storytellers Cafe has a large tile picture that copies an old design from the Gladding, McBean Company.
The hotel's name is similar to Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa at Walt Disney World. However, they have different themes. The Grand Californian has an Arts and Crafts theme, while the Grand Floridian looks like a Victorian hotel. The Grand Californian does share some design ideas with Disney's Wilderness Lodge at Walt Disney World, which also has a national park lodge theme.
Easy Park Access
The hotel has a special entrance that leads right into Disney California Adventure Park. This entrance is located near the Grizzly Peak area of the park.
Hotel History and Growth
The Grand Californian Hotel first opened its doors on January 2, 2001.
One early morning in December 2005, a Christmas tree in the lobby caught fire. All 2,300 guests were safely moved out in just four minutes! The hotel's sprinkler system and the local fire department quickly put out the fire. Only two guests had minor injuries. Everyone was back in their rooms by 7:00 am, or moved to other hotels if needed.
Because more and more people wanted to stay in Anaheim, the Disneyland Resort announced a big expansion for the Grand Californian Hotel in 2007. This plan would add over 30 percent more rooms! It also included the first Disney Vacation Club villas in Anaheim. The expansion added more than 200 new hotel rooms and 50 two-bedroom vacation villas. This was the first time Disney Vacation Club, Disney's vacation ownership program, came to the West Coast. During this expansion, a new swimming pool and an underground parking garage were also built. Peter Dominick, the original architect, designed the expansion to match the existing hotel's California Arts and Crafts style. The project was finished in September 2009.
After this big expansion, Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa became the third largest hotel in Orange County.
The Villas: Your Home Away From Home
The Disney Vacation Club villas were added during the hotel's expansion. These villas are like small homes, with kitchens, living areas, and dining spaces. The rooms in the villas have the same beautiful California Craftsman style as the rest of the hotel.
Napa Rose Restaurant
| Napa Rose | |
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| Restaurant information | |
| Established | 2001 |
| Current owner(s) | Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, a division of The Walt Disney Company |
| Head chef | Andrew Sutton |
| Food type | California cuisine |
| Street address | 1600 S. Disneyland Drive |
| City | Anaheim |
| County | Orange |
| State | California |
| Postal/ZIP code | 92803 |
| Country | United States |
| Coordinates | 33°48′28.53″N 117°55′17.04″W / 33.8079250°N 117.9214000°W |
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| Reservations | Recommended but not required |
Napa Rose is a well-known restaurant inside Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa. It opened in 2001 as part of Disney's plan to make its Anaheim property a bigger resort. The restaurant focuses on California cuisine, which means it uses fresh, local ingredients. It also has a theme inspired by the famous Napa Valley wine region. The restaurant's design was influenced by a Scottish designer named Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
The main chef at Napa Rose is Andrew Sutton. He was hired to help Disney make its food and wine programs even better. The restaurant has won many awards for its delicious food and great service.