Refurbished Villas at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel: Deluxe Studio Review

Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa is a deluxe hotel at Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. In this post we’ll review a Deluxe Studio in the Villas at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel Disney Vacation Club wing of the resort. In late 2025 the Disney Vacation Club Villas at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel got a much needed refurbishment, which is also what we’ll go over in this post.

Before moving on, here’s a description of Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel from our overview page:

The Grand Californian, built in the rustic stone-and-timber style of the grand national-park lodges, is the flagship property. Newer, more elaborately themed, and closer to the theme parks and Downtown Disney than the other two on-property hotels, the Grand Californian is without a doubt the best place to stay…if you can afford it.

The Grand Californian hotel is the crown jewel of Disneyland Resort’s three hotels. With its shingle siding, rock foundations, cavernous hewnbeam lobby, polished hardwood floors, and cozy hearths, the hotel is a stately combination of elements from Western national park lodges. Designed by architect Peter Dominick (who also designed the Wilderness Lodge at Walt Disney World), the Grand Californian is rendered in the Arts and Crafts style of the early 20th century, with such classic features as “flying” roofs, projecting beams, massive buttresses, and an earth-tone color palette. We strongly encourage visitors with an interest in architecture to take the fascinating (and free) hour-long Art of the Craft walking tour of the resort, offered several times each week through the Guest Services desk. Most reminiscent of the Ahwahnee hotel at Yosemite National Park, the Grand Californian combines rugged craftsmanship and grand scale with functional design and intimate spaces. Pull up a vintage rocker in front of a blazing fire, and the bustling lobby instantly becomes a snug cabin.

The Deluxe Studio is large and spacious. At 379 square feet, the studio can comfortably fit 4 people. The room includes 1 queen bed and 1 queen-size fold down murphy bed. Storage space is plentiful thanks to a decent-sized closest and space under the queen bed with enough room to store luggage when not in use.

The murphy bed is the biggest upgrade to the room. Previously Studio Villas contained a fold out sleeper couch.

Here’s a look at the bed folded down. It’s an easy process of simply moving a couple of pillows out of the way and the grabbing the handle and pulling down. This is a nice change from the previous Studio configuration with a couch.

Each studio contains a kitchenette with mini fridge, coffee maker, toaster, microwave, sink, silverware, plates, and cups. There’s also a few cabinets with shelves to store any groceries you bring. The kitchenette is completely unchanged from the previous Studio Villa.

Here’s the closet. You’ll find two full-length mirrors on the outside of the closet door. On the inside there’s a safe that is large enough to fit 2 or 3 laptops, a rack (about 3 feet long) with hangers, iron, ironing board, laundry basket, and an extra blanket and pillow.

Two robes are included, but you can call the front desk if you need more.

A table that is about 3 feet long and 3 feet wide is included along with two chairs. There’s no desk like the standard rooms have, but there was more than enough room for me to work on my laptop at this table. This area is also mostly unchanged, with exception of reupholstered chairs.

Next to the table, and directly in front of the queen bed is a 55-inch TV and dresser with 6 drawers.

The sink area contains plenty of storage and counter space.

Here’s a look at the bathroom. I’ve stayed at Grand Californian a handful of times over the years and found the water pressure to be inconsistent each time I stay there. This time it wasn’t great, but not bad enough to the point of where I’d ask for a different room. Water temperature was fantastic and warmed up quickly.

One last look at the room from the opposite side of the room. One upgrade you’ll notice is the removal of the carpet in favor of wooden flooring and a rug.

The balcony has two chairs and a small table.

Overall, I don’t have many complaints about the Villas at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel Deluxe Studio. GCH is a wonderful and luxurious hotel with an unbeatable location, fantastic dining options, and excellent service. There weren’t a lot of notable upgrades during the most recent refurbishment, but a lot of the room didn’t need fixing and a simple refresh went a long way.

Have you stayed at The Villas at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel? What are your opinions about the rooms and the resort in general? Let me know in the comments below.