I'm planning 4 nights on site at Universal to take advantage of Express pass and try out a new experience. I just can't decide between the three - Portofino Bay, Hard Rock, and Royal Pacific. Has anyone been? Thoughts on pros and cons?
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I'm planning 4 nights on site at Universal to take advantage of Express pass and try out a new experience. I just can't decide between the three - Portofino Bay, Hard Rock, and Royal Pacific. Has anyone been? Thoughts on pros and cons?
This was a hard choice for us too. Here is a review I wrote last year after our trip.Quote:
Originally Posted by mom2morgan
After reading a lot of reviews about Portofino Bay, our expectations were still beat
We had an amazing time.
We checked in very early (7am) on Monday and was shocked to find our room was ready for us. We had already decided that we were leaving all of our bags in the car and would come back in the afternoon to move things to the room.
We did stop in the room really quick to take a quick peek. The room was amazing. Lots of room, even for a family of 5. We had bought a new aerobed mattress and that worked out great. We were a little concerned about how comfortable the cot offered by PB for $25 a night would be for our 6" 14 year old. I did see one during our stay and they actually looked really nice. Not your basic cot.
We then headed down to the club room for breakfast and to head on to the park.
We made good use of the club level during our stay. Breakfast was always baked goods, our favorite was the croissant with chocolate drizzled in and on it. Yum! But there are lots of options. There was always lots of fresh fruit, yogurt, cereals and hot oatmeal every morning. Coffee and Juice too.
A couple of times we made it in for an afternoon stop for a snack and a soda/water. Chips a'hoy, uncrustables, goldfish crackers, vegetable chips, Dorritto's and pretzels were standard fare.
Where we made the most of the club stay was at 5pm. Every day, we were all ready for a break from the parks. The food offerings every day included different cheeses, a selection of crackers, some strawberries and grapes (they went quick and were replaced occasionally) a decent salad bar and an assortment of vegetables. They also had a 2 hot offerings each night. Most nights there was some seafood (my wife ate elsewhere these nights as she can't eat seafood) The highlight was the chef's choice night where they had red beans and rice and sausage gumbo with seafood. Far and away the best meal of the week!
They also server beer and wine for free during this time and even will pour one in a plastic glass for you "to go".
The staff in the club lounge was very attentive without being intruding. Happy to help and offer suggestions for your trip.
We had such a great time, we ended up adding an extra night to fit in a full "resort" day.
The beds as described by many others are amazing! It is VERY hard to get up early and crawl out of that bed, its almost too comfy!
This was an amazing trip and left feeling very pampered!
Only thing they are missing is free foot massages on the boat ride back from the theme parks! =D
I would add that we very much enjoyed the main pool and waterslide. The grounds are beautiful. You definitely feel like your in a resort in Italy when you are walking the grounds.
5 thumbs up from this family.
We have always stayed Hard Rock for the express pass and have been pleased. Last few trips we couldn't pass up Cabana Bay's military rates and stayed there. But of the three with express pass we like Hard Rock, mainly for location. But we have teen sons and the theme there appeals to them most.
We stayed at Royal Pacific in January and loved it. We had checked out of our Disney hotel after breakfast and headed right over and our room was ready when we got there. The hotel was lovely, as was our room. We really enjoyed our stay there. We would take the water taxi to the City Walk boat dock when our feet were tired, and other times we would walk along the pretty path to City Walk. We spent time at the pool at Royal Pacific and it was quite nice as well. We had not been to Universal in YEARS and it was a wonderful surprise how amazing our stay was. I think you'll be happy wherever you choose to stay.
Yeah, the 18 year old, who may or may not be going, favours Hard Rock. I'm wondering if it is overwhelming? I heard they play music EVERYWHERE. I'm picturing large, noisy crowds of teens and young adults. The other two seems more my speed, but are my perceptions of Hard Rock unfair?Quote:
Originally Posted by buzznwoodysmom
No noisy crowds of teens in our experience. Lol. Just a lot of families like any other resort in the area. They did have music playing in most common areas, but I don't ever recall it being overly loud or overwhelming. My in laws were with us on one of our trips. They are definitely not fans of rock music and they loved the resort.
I don't think you can go wrong with any of the resorts at universal. They are all wonderful resorts with a lot more to offer, in my opinion, than their disney counterparts.
I've stayed in all 3 and love them all. I would rank them
1. Portofino
2. Royal Pacific
3. Hard Rock
That is how I would rank as well!Quote:
Originally Posted by BelleCiavo
Nanc
stayed at Royal Pacific and Hard Rock. HR was closer but didnt like it as well as RP for theming.
We'd rank them 1) HR; 2) Portofino; and 3) RP. But the truth is, they are all very nice resorts, all with pros and cons - and you really can't make a wrong decision.
We've never had issues with noise or rowdiness at the HR. Is there music playing all around the resort? Absolutely. But it's either outside or in the lobby - not a problem.
Does anyone have any updated opinions on this subject? At WDW we are staying at the Contemporary earlier in that week, although I've always wanted to try the Polynesian. So maybe the Royal Pacific would make the most sense for us?
Amy
We have only stayed at Hard Rock and we loved it! Beautiful resort, cool displays, large rooms, and easy walk to the parks (closest on site). I’m sure you can’t go wrong with any of the three though
We did a three night stay at Royal Pacific this past February. Normally we do Disney, but our vacation was different due to being in Florida for a wedding, so we did some things different, and we felt it was the perfect time to finally go to Universal as a family and do it right, so we stayed at Royal Pacific and got the Express Pass.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mousefever
I have mixed feelings about the resort. The location is incredible, an easy 15 minute stroll or 5 minute boat ride to the parks are two great options. The outside theming as well as the lobby and a few of the bars on 3rd floor are also very nice. The pool area is nice, although I was disappointed that the pool was very shallow throughout, no deep end. There was food service by the pool.
If I had a disappointment though I would say it was the room theming. For a Deluxe price the rooms (standard ones anyway) were basically the equivalent of a moderate at Disney, maybe a bit less so. The hallways were pretty long and bland and the room interior offered little theming, just a standard to bed room.
I'd classify Royal Pacific (in Disney terms) as a Moderate hotel in a Deluxe location at a deluxe price. Without the Express Pass inclusion, I would not stay there, at least not at that price.