Royal Pacific

We stayed there in early November. The room we were in was fine and I wasn't aware of any refurbishment though it could have begun after we left.

We weren't thrilled with the dining choices and the prices charged for food at the hotel. We ended up eating in hotel a couple of times because it was quite cold when we were there and we didn't feel like walking back over to Citywalk. I think the dining establishments at Citywalk are a much better choice than the ones at the hotel.

I have stayed there several times but not during the refurb. It's a beautiful hotel...but so are the other two.

I'm hoping that it'll be completed before we arrive. I may call the hotel directly to try and get an accurate completion time. It looked really nice on the website, so I'm hoping it will be fine. We're not picky, but I do expect the room to be clean, relatively quiet, and not to have issues with hot water. As far as eating in the hotel, we'll probably eat there very little. There are so many good places outside of the hotel, I think we would prefer to try them out. I understand that it isn't always possible due to poor weather conditions.

You will not have any trouble with hot water or water pressure at any of these hotels. They have also always been spotless for our visits. They are top notch hotels and having those things are a given.

Everyone has their own opinion but I don't have a problem with the hotel restaurant prices. I don't feel that they are any different than Disneys nicer restaurants as far as the pricing. Most are fine dining or chef sponsored so you always pay a little more with that.

Now as far as the noise....well I have never been there during construction but I would imagine if you are close to it...well you may hear it.

NJGIRL;2445796 wrote: You will not have any trouble with hot water or water pressure at any of these hotels. They have also always been spotless for our visits. They are top notch hotels and having those things are a given.

This is absolutely not true. Many hotels routinely have water pressure/temperature issues in their showers. If your read Trip Advisor, there are numerous complaints about this at ALL the onsite Universal resorts. We had a problem with lack of hot water on the first night of a two night stay at Cabana Bay in October. The water was tepid at best and didn't even get from cold to tepid for about 5 minutes. I was ready to give up on taking a shower when it finally became warm enough to not feel like a shock when I got under the stream. I warned my friend and her shower was even colder. This was at close to 11pm. The next day the water was TOO hot. Literally, it kept turning SUPER HOT about once a minute and would require me to jump out of the way. A similar thing happened to me at a high rise Marriott hotel last summer.

I would personally not stay in a hotel under going refurbishment if there are other comparable options. But I would also not rule our a hotel based on issues people have posted related to the water in the shower, as EVERY hotel can have these issues.

BrerGnat;2445800 wrote: This is absolutely not true. Many hotels routinely have water pressure/temperature issues in their showers. If your read Trip Advisor, there are numerous complaints about this at ALL the onsite Universal resorts. We had a problem with lack of hot water on the first night of a two night stay at Cabana Bay in October. The water was tepid at best and didn't even get from cold to tepid for about 5 minutes. I was ready to give up on taking a shower when it finally became warm enough to not feel like a shock when I got under the stream. I warned my friend and her shower was even colder. This was at close to 11pm. The next day the water was TOO hot. Literally, it kept turning SUPER HOT about once a minute and would require me to jump out of the way. A similar thing happened to me at a high rise Marriott hotel last summer.

I would personally not stay in a hotel under going refurbishment if there are other comparable options. But I would also not rule our a hotel based on issues people have posted related to the water in the shower, as EVERY hotel can have these issues.

Well we have stayed on property at Universal at least 10 to 12 different occasions and have NEVER had a problem with water temps or pressure.

I do feel that the properties at Universal are superior to Disney's in every way.

But I do want to point out that I was speaking about Universal's (3) four star hotels when I said those things are standard. You do not have to worry about those types of things at any hotel of that caliber. The new hotel is not in the same class so things like water pressure may be an issue...I don't know since we have not stayed there.

We always spend the extra money and stay at the deluxe properties because when we are on vacation I like to be pampered and I feel that's what I get when on Universal property staying at the Loews.

When we stay in hotels anywhere we always go for a Loews (stayed at many all throughout the country way before they built in Orlando) or Omni because they are top rated and always have great service.

stayed at Royal Pacific in June and it was nice..just stayed at Hard Rock this wk...i like the location of Hard Rock, but i think the rooms were a little better at RP

We are staying at Royal Pacific in March, so I have also been looking at the Tripadvisor reviews, but have not been unduly alarmed by negative ones. Every resort accommodating the volume of people that the Universal-Loews resorts do is going to have a certain number of negative reviews. If you look at all the Disney World resort hotels, this is true of them too. Most of the time (IMO) it's that people's expectations are higher because they tend to cost more, which is a valid point. And while I do think that the refurbishment of the RP is something to consider, if we get there and I am not satisfied with the room I will ask to be moved.

I have stayed at Hard Rock and, most recently, Cabana Bay. I actually wish that they would offer an Express Pass Option for Cabana Bay--i.e. a cheaper rate for those who don't want the Express Pass and a suitably more expensive rate for those that do. I think the rooms at Cabana Bay, while small, are actually pretty nice for a value resort (we stayed in a suite with the kitchenette). And we loved the pool, the bowling alley and the theming. The other Loews hotels there do tend to nickel and dime you to death, what with renting a fridge or microwave, paying for the fitness center, etc. But they are nice hotels.

That's how I am with Trip Advisor also Beth. I don't let a few bad reviews change my plans...Unless a hotel has more bad reviews than good and the bad ones list the same problems over and over again, I take them with a grain of salt. After all some people are not happy no matter what. Our hotel in Jackson Hole was absolutely wonderful and some of the knit picky stuff people had a problem with were silly to me. A hotel can not stay a four star rated hotel if an overwhelming amount of people give it bad reviews...And as you mentioned, the Disney hotels get just as many unfavorable reviews and I have yet to stay at one that I wouldn't hesitate to go back to if I had the need.