Hotels question

[squirrel922]

Hi,

From what I've read so far trying to get information for this newbie (my head is spinning btw) is that it seems that all the hotels are great. I'm sure people have their preferences but from the 3 deluxe hotels (still trying to wrap my brain around the names of them and the acronyms for them .... Hard Rock, Portofino and Royal Pacific) it seems that I can't go wrong with any of them. I know there are other ones too Sapphire and another but those don't have the express pass. But if I didn't need that I could probably go with one of those too.

Do they all have a club level? That seems to be a preference for people but it's really expensive. Are all club levels the same? Breakfast, snacks..... not sure what else. I've read most of the individual threads on the hotels there's just so much and like I said my head is going in circles with all the information.

I'd like to concentrate on one hotel but I guess whichever gives me a good deal is the winner? And then there's AP and non AP rates which is making my head spin a bit more.

Any clarity would be great!

 

[pattyw]

Hi!! We’ve stayed at all three deluxe over the years and all are fabulous!! We prefer the Hard Rock now and as you said it’s just a personal preference. We stay club level and enjoy it!! I have a PTR going and I have a lot of pictures of the Hard Rock lounge and information. @bobbie68 has a TR which details Portofino Bay club. Maybe check them out to get more details than the hotel website. Everyone here is so nice and are happy to answer any other questions!! You will have a fabulous time!!

 

[macraven]

Op, do you have any dates in mind for an onsite stay?

Some months and dates can give you an idea of a deluxe hotel would be worth it for your stay

 

[squirrel922]

Op, do you have any dates in mind for an onsite stay?

Some months and dates can give you an idea of a deluxe hotel would be worth it for your stay

Hi yes, looking at 1/1 through 1/5. If you have a recommendation that would be great

 

[squirrel922]

Hi!! We’ve stayed at all three deluxe over the years and all are fabulous!! We prefer the Hard Rock now and as you said it’s just a personal preference. We stay club level and enjoy it!! I have a PTR going and I have a lot of pictures of the Hard Rock lounge and information. @bobbie68 has a TR which details Portofino Bay club. Maybe check them out to get more details than the hotel website. Everyone here is so nice and are happy to answer any other questions!! You will have a fabulous time!!

Thanks. I just read your PTR (after I figured out what PTR meant). I have 1 DH and 2 teen boys too so that sound like a good thing the club. Just really expensive. Do you know what the average price is? I'm seeing like 600+ per night. Does it go lower for club rooms or is that about what it is.

 

[pattyw]

Thanks. I just read your PTR (after I figured out what PTR meant). I have 1 DH and 2 teen boys too so that sound like a good thing the club. Just really expensive. Do you know what the average price is? I'm seeing like 600+ per night. Does it go lower for club rooms or is that about what it is.

I’m so sorry!! I should have said Pre trip report!! I’m on my phone today so I shortened my answer. Actually you can get great club rates with an annual pass discount. In January we’ve stayed for about $350 a night. So purchasing one annual pass can be well worth it!! And now that we have annual passes we do find ways to use them often!

 

[macraven]

Hi yes, looking at 1/1 through 1/5. If you have a recommendation that would be great

For those dates I would stay at one of the theee hotels that has the perk of free ep
Rpr
Hrh
PBH

Your dates usually are a popular time for many

 

[schumigirl]

Club levels are all similar.

They all serve breakfast, lunchtime snacks, simple and not worth coming back for........evening appetisers, all 3 lounges have slightly different times for this but basically 2 hours of one hot meal, salad with dressings, crudités, cheeses and crackers and of course beer and wine are complimentary during the two hour period. You can purchase a slesction of hard liquor for $5 a shot.

Dessert hour is around 8pm.

As to whether Club is of value to you, that’s personal choice. Breakfast is usually a good option, but not everyone wants to come back out the parks for evening appetisers........if it’s a short stay you may prefer park time and not come back for food. Park hours may alter your plans too.

Hotels are all walkable from the parks in quite a short time. HRH is closer to Studios, RPR is closer to IOA and PB is a little further but still very walkable. And of course there are the boats.

Sapphire, Aventura and CBay don’t have Club or EP but do have Early Entry.

As to whether you choose a hotel with EP, it’s quite a busy time so you’ll be glad of the EP.

 

[Jujumama]

Hi: Some things to consider with teens is the "vibe" that you prefer for vacation. The three hotels that offer express (Portofino, RPR, Hard Rock) have distinct personalities.

Hard Rock - great rock and roll memorabilia, fun pool with underwater speaker with slides and activities, pool depth is shallow throughout I believe. The club is typically in the same level as the rooms. The club level room in Hard Rock I think is one of the smaller ones so it can sometimes feel a bit crowded during busy times. They offer similar foods than other club level. The biggest differences I recall with Hard Rock is that they offer doughnuts in the morning and prepackaged snacks in the afternoon.

Royal Pacific - This hotel is very laid with a Polynesian feel. Rooms are the smallest of the 3 but not impossible with a family of 4. The club level is fairly large. At breakfast they offer pancakes now I think and they used to offer hot cinnamon roles. In addition they offer deli meats in the morning which is different from the others. The Club level is on the same floor typically as the Club Level Rooms. In the afternoon they offer some packaged snacks you can take to the park like granola but the rest like goldfish, chips/crisps and one other are in open bowls that you scoop up. The pool is nice and relaxing with a splash park in lieu of a pool slide. They have a volleyball net and also have activities throughout the day. Sometimes the ducks that swim in pool and come after your lunch can be a bit annoying pool side but it is nature and the people at the hotel are helpful. Another thing to note is a lot of the cuisine offered at the hotel is Asian themed with the exception of Jakes.

Portofino - We will be visiting later this year so I can't comment from experience. From what I learned here the rooms are slightly bigger. Club Level is NOT on the same floor as the rooms. The hotel is large with two pools (one for adults), with a slide), the cuisine in on site restaurants is typically Italian. As for the club food, from what I read there is now some hot foods in the morning like scrambled eggs and a protein which seems unique to them. Portofino is the most secluded and furthest as well so that may be inconvenient or add to a more secluded resort feel.

What helped my family is watching youtube videos of the resorts to kind of gain the vibe. Some offer videos of the club level as well. I hope this helps.

 

[Robo56]

Portofino - We will be visiting later this year so I can't comment from experience. From what I learned here the rooms are slightly bigger. Club Level is NOT on the same floor as the rooms. The hotel is large with two pools (one for adults), with a slide), the cuisine in on site restaurants is typically Italian. As for the club food, from what I read there is now some hot foods in the morning like scrambled eggs and a protein which seems unique to them. Portofino is the most secluded and furthest as well so that may be inconvenient or add to a more secluded resort feel.

Portofino is a beautiful Resort.

The rooms at PB are very spacious.

There are three pools 1. Beach Pool that has slide and games for kiddos and adults. 2.Villa Pool more laid back and quiet. 3. Hilltop Pool small quiet.

There is a Starbucks in the piazza and shops.

Sals has great pizza. Mama Della’s has good Italian food. The Trattoria serves breakfast buffet in the morning on some days, but I will admit I prefer the breakfast buffet at Sapphire Falls.

No matter where you choose to stay there are all beautiful Resorts.

Look at the stickies on the Resorts and this will help you make up your mind also.

 

[nighttowll]

You will definitely want Express Pass for that time of the year. A lot of people plan their Christmas vacation for the first couple weeks into January. I was there around the middle of January this year, and the crowds still hadn’t died down. Both the standby and single rider lines were very long. It was the most crowded I’ve ever seen it, worse than spring break or summer crowds.

After staying at each of the hotels multiple times, I’d choose Hard Rock over the others if money wasn’t a consideration. It is the closest walk to the parks. We prefer walking over taking the boat especially at the end of the night when large crowds form for the boats. Also, I love that if we need to return to the room for anything (put leftovers from lunch in the fridge, get a jacket, store away the wands, etc), it is only about 10 minutes round trip. The second thing we love about the hotel is the Kitchen (onsite restaurant). Everyone in the family would happily eat there for all their meals if it worked out. We really enjoy stopping in after a day at the parks and getting the mini desserts before going to bed.

My next choice would be Portifino because of the theming and large rooms. They are very spacious compared to typical hotel rooms. I also really like the pool area. If I know we will have a longer trip and will be spending more resort time than park time, this is where I want to stay. If spending all my time at the parks, the commute is a bit long to be really convenient to me. It’s still not that far, but you aren’t making any 10 / 15 minute round trips. You are looking at closer to 40 minutes plus round trip. It’s about a 20 minute walk back to the hotel, plus however long it takes to get to your room, and the hotel is very large and spread out for Universal standards. I swear we had a 10 minute walk to the boat stop from our room last time we stayed.

In the end, it comes down to cost for us. We always stay in whichever hotel has the best rate. The differences in price can be substantial. Sometimes a difference of a couple hundred dollars a night. Royal Pacific which is our least favorite usually ends up being the least expensive, but sometimes HRH or Portifino have a better deal or are close to the same price. Its hit or miss. It depends a lot on room category availability and who if any are offering AP rates.

We’ve never done Club Level, so I guess I don’t know what I’m missing, but I don’t think it would hold a lot of value for us. We aren’t big breakfast people and usually go for early entry in the mornings. We enjoy getting Starbucks and pumpkin pasties and wondering the park while we eat them. I don’t see us going to the lounge for breakfast at all. We love trying different park snacks and getting our favorite must have bakery sweets. In addition, there are so many great restaurants in the parks and in Citiwalk that we enjoy. Eating out is a big part of vacationing for us. I can’t see us skipping over our favorite restaurants to go back and eat in the Club lounge. Then when you factor in how long of a break we’d need to go back and eat, I know we would decide that was too much work and not use it much. Maybe at HRH. That’s really the only one close enough I could see us returning to eat at. But, if we are going to return to HRH, then we’d rather go to the Kitchen.

I think this is the biggest question to ask yourself. How much do you see yourself actually using the lounge? Will you realistically return to the hotel and use the lounge often enough to offset the cost between a standard and Club level room? Or, are you going to fill up on snacks in the parks or see restaurants you’d rather eat at? Are you guys big HP fans? There are two HP restaurants both with great food. For many hardcore fans, eating at both is a must do. There are also a number of interesting HP snacks to try including 4 different types of Butterbeer (regular, frozen, hot, and ice cream). Then you’ve got Toothsome, Cowfish, Bubba Gump, Margaritaville, Hard Rock, and many other fun restaurants in Citiwalk. You’ve also got fun themed quick service in the parks such as the Dr. Seus Circus restaurant. For breakfast, you've got VooDoo donuts and the giant pink Simpsons donut. With so many great options for food, I’d check out the restaurants and see which if any you guys are going to want to visit. This will give you a better idea of how many meals you will actually have left where you would use the lounge.

One last piece of advice for January. Weather is very unpredictable. It could be 75 degrees or it could be 40 degrees. This year it was especially cold. Next year who knows. But if it is cold, that may factor in to how far of a walk you want or how highly the pool area plays on the importance list.

 

[squirrel922]

Hi: Some things to consider with teens is the "vibe" that you prefer for vacation. The three hotels that offer express (Portofino, RPR, Hard Rock) have distinct personalities.

@Jujumama Thank you for that great breakdown of the hotels!

 

[squirrel922]

You will definitely want Express Pass for that time of the year. A lot of people plan their Christmas vacation for the first couple weeks into January. I was there around the middle of January this year, and the crowds still hadn’t died down. Both the standby and single rider lines were very long. It was the most crowded I’ve ever seen it, worse than spring break or summer crowds.

Thank you so much @nighttowll for your incite! That is very helpful and great stuff to think about. Are those restaurants you listed some of your favorites? Dining questions will come later. But you did make me think maybe I don't need club level with the restaurants. We are breakfast people so something in the morning would be great which is why I thought Club level may work well but maybe once I look further and see that there are other options maybe I won't need that.

 

[nighttowll]

squirrel922

Sorry, can’t help with breakfast. We either sleep in and then an early lunch is our first meal, or we get up early to do early entry. None of us are getting up even earlier than that to eat a big breakfast, plus I’m not even sure what is open that early. We like to be at the park by 7:30 if it opens at 8:00 and 6:30 if 7:00. We usually grab a light snack at Starbucks or in the parks from one of the bakeries or in the HP area to hold us until lunch. As long as we have caffeine no one in my family seems to care about anything else. Then we eat an early brunch / lunch around 10:00 or 11:00 right when the crowds start getting bad, but before lunch crowds peak.

If breakfast is important to you guys, club may me worth it. I know a few of the hotels have breakfast buffets, but I think they run about $15 a person, maybe a little more. After drinks, tax, and tip, for a family of 4, you might come close to breaking even on the price difference just on that one meal. Then you’d still have snacks, drinks, and dessert as an extra bonus, even if you do end up eating most of your other meals in the parks.

Again, it just really comes down to how much you think you’ll use it verses spending money somewhere else anyway.

Some of the restaurants I listed are our favorites, others I included because they are fun or get good reviews from others. But really, I was just trying to give a good example of how many different fun options for food and snacks are available. There are also character meals, one with Minions and one with Super Heroes, plus a luau meal and a carnival themed meal.

Before I get into our favorites, I’m going to throw out there that I think we have very stereo typical middle-class taste in food, so you were warned. We love PF Chang, Chipotle, Sweet Tomatoes, Cheesecake Factory, On the Border, Carrabbas, and Chick-fil-A. We aren’t gourmet food people. At Universal, we really love the two HP restaurants and visiting at least one is always a must. Despite my reservations (I don’t like sushi or hamburgers), we really enjoy Cowfish. They have a crab dip I love, and you can turn any of the burgers into chicken sandwiches, plus their Asian salad is very good as well. It’s a fun restaurant with interactive walls for the kids to play on and corn hole for adults. There are also some great views from the outdoor balcony seating looking out over Citiwalk toward the parks. Our other must do is Bubba Gump. It’s a touristy place, but the kids have loved it since they were little. We find the food varies from ok to really good depending on what you order. It’s the atmosphere I think they really like and the tarter sauce. I introduced them to fries in tarter sauce when they were little, and I think I created tarter sauce monsters. There’s a giant shrimp mascot that comes out you can pose with. You can also take pictures on a bench with chocolate. They do a little trivia quiz at the table, and the walls are decorated with fun decor. At most locations, old license plates that spell out IGOT2P mark the way to the bathroom. We find it a lot of fun to eat here and are very appreciative of the stop and go signs they have on the tables for attracting waiters attention. You get some of the best service because of those. I wish all restaurants had them.

 

[squirrel922]

Sorry for all the questions I'm about to throw down but I don't know why I can't wrap my brain around this hotel thing. I'm thinking stay to stay at the Hard Rock since it's most convenient. I don't need a deluxe room but I'd like something decent.

When I go on the AP link for hotels for the dates I'm looking at it says "The requested rate is not available; however, we would like to offer you these available rates." Then it gives 2 seasonal rates which I guess are the same? And one SMSM which is a bit lower but still expensive. Does that mean they don't have AP rates at that time? Will they have them again? Do I need to keep checking back? Every day? Weekly? Should I book through another site? AAA or something else just to have the room and then switch it out if something lower comes along? Is that what y'all do?

Is Garden View at the HRH a decent room? That seems to be the cheapest. Then the pool view? I don't plan on being in the room all that much.

Thanks for answering all my crazy questions!

 

[Lynne G]

My opinion, if you are only going to use the room to sleep and refresh, I'd pick the cheapest. For me, though pool room is nice, may be more noisy if pool open late. For me, closest to the walking path is good. I didn't mind a garden room. We are those that once leave the room, tend not to return until well into the evening. Only time we go back early, is to change from wet clothes. I am not one to stare out my window. Only time I'd care, is if I could get a balcony room.

 

[Lynne G]

Oh and if the discount you are wanting, like an AP one. Then it is not available if it doesn’t show up. Sometimes the SMSM rate is better, if you are staying 7 nights or more. AAA I think has a discount too. What I do is usually book online, room only via the hotel’s website, then call the hotel if I see a better rate, or want to change something with my reservation. When I call, I always ask for any discounts. They have always been helpful when I call.

 

[pattyw]

Sorry for all the questions I'm about to throw down but I don't know why I can't wrap my brain around this hotel thing. I'm thinking stay to stay at the Hard Rock since it's most convenient. I don't need a deluxe room but I'd like something decent.

When I go on the AP link for hotels for the dates I'm looking at it says "The requested rate is not available; however, we would like to offer you these available rates." Then it gives 2 seasonal rates which I guess are the same? And one SMSM which is a bit lower but still expensive. Does that mean they don't have AP rates at that time? Will they have them again? Do I need to keep checking back? Every day? Weekly? Should I book through another site? AAA or something else just to have the room and then switch it out if something lower comes along? Is that what y'all do?

Is Garden View at the HRH a decent room? That seems to be the cheapest. Then the pool view? I don't plan on being in the room all that much.

Thanks for answering all my crazy questions!

Keep checking for AP rates. I've booked with the seasonal or rack rate and then later if an AP discounted rate comes up I modify my reservation.

All the rooms at HRH are lovely! We stay club and you cannot book a pool or garden view. We've received both garden and pool view and they're nice! Book the lower priced room- you'll be fine! Keep asking any and all questions!