We stayed here for three nights and came away with mixed feelings. Taking a week to think about the visit I realized that the hotel was fine. The staff was fine. The room was fine. But, "best" at Disney doesn't mean it is worthy of being called "best" in general. The Grand Floridian is the nicest hotel in the Disney chain - but its still a chain...granted the chain is only in Orlando...but its is institutional. I realized that my biggest "problem" were, in fact, the other guests who were expecting, no demanding, service and care that one would get at a five-star elegant hotel in Paris, New York, or another major city. $400-$500 a night does not "buy" the avoidance of lines a concierge, having the staff know you by name, or the right to demand a new napkin and silverware between each course at a meal.
The staff does the very best they can - they have to wear those heavy 19th century uniforms in the heat of Florida and say "have a magical day" 8-10 hours at a time. People need to dial back the expectations. This hotel is comparable to a good national chain and not an exclusive luxury resort.

The hotel was very nice and my wife and I had an excellent stay, but considering the price, I cannot give the GF a 5 star or even 4 star rating.

I booked the GF to get an extra special stay in WDW (decided to splurge), and for the convenience of the monorail access during the busy holiday season (stay until Dec 20-25, so we did not have the full brunt of the crowd, but certainly busy). I had paid extra for a park view room and specifically asked the agent (booked direct through WDW) if we would have an unobstructed view of the park and could see the fireworks from our balcony, than they assured me yes. The view we had was a very nice view of the cosmopolitan hotel and the lake, and had a nice view of space mountain to the left, but there was a roof to the left of that which extended such that that use could only see the castle (over the roof) when you were standing at the edge of the balcony. The majority of the fireworks were blocked by the roof since they tended to be mostly to the left of the castle (where there roof was higher). We could only see the fireworks that were extra high or occasionally to the right. Therefore, we ended up not watching fireworks in our room after the first night. Instead, we watched from the boat dock at the GF with everyone else (so I could have saved the expense of the park view room).

In regards to the room, it was relatively small and old for property claiming in to be a 5 star. We had requested a king bed, but did not get (not a big deal, but when we checked in they did not tell us one was not available – we just showed up as the room and it was not what we requested). The bathroom was nowhere close to 5 star. It just has a regular tub (looked old) and the extremely small. To close the bathroom room, you needed to step into the bathroom and squeeze out of the way of the door. The bathroom door has a little notch worn into to the edge to clear the toilet. I had never that that in any hotel, let alone a five star.

The GF grounds were 5 star, but the room was certainly not. In October, we stayed at Port Orleans Riverside, and even though that is not as nice as GF, I would definitely stay at Port Olreans again, whereas I would not stay at GF again unless there was a bargain price (which I’ve never seen in the past). I’ve seen postings that said after you stay at GF, you’ll never stay anywhere else – We’ll not me.

We have stayed at this hotel since its grand opening. We use to love staying here....this will be our last stay.
Over the past 5 years down a notch each visit. Every time we check in the is always a problem (new staff, computer system, what ever). Use to be great when you drive up its like open season everyone running around doing nothing. We finally got out pulled bags hunted down attendant then headed inside almost to doors when finally greated

This all needs to be addressed its rudiculous they make you feel like you don't belong at their hotel. Rooms are outdated. Impossible to get a reasonable RSVP at their restaurants.

We won't be back!!!!

I just returned from a three day stay with my son at Disney's Grand Floridan. Last year we stayed on the concierge level and this time we stayed in a standard room. Although it has a great location in the heart of Disney and easy access to all the parks the "luxury" part of the hotel is not so " luxury." The staff is very kind, but personal attention to detail that you expect from a luxury hotel is not really there. Upon arrival, the staff took my luggage assuring me that it would be in my room once I returned from the park. However, when we returned 5 hours later, the bags were not in my room. I had to go to the concierge and find my luggage. Overall, our stay was OK.