Universal ‘deluxe’ hotels?

[dreamisawish]

Hi all!

So! I recently went crazy and upgraded our disney stay to beach club, and now I’ve been looking at our second week which is currently at Endless Summer at Universal.

We got a really good deal for it which I know I won’t be able to beat at all, but I’m now working for a travel agency with all of the universal hotels on their books, and I’m getting a significant discount if I book with them.

So with that in mind I’ve been looking at the hotels that offer express- If we moved it would probably be for that perk alone.

But the catch at the moment is a small one, I really don’t much like the aesthetic of any of the universal hotels I’ve looked at so far- hard rock or royal Pacific. Portofino is more ‘us’ but it looks a bit odd as well, with the empty courtyard.

So I was wondering if anyone could help with what hotel is best in terms of how long it takes to get to the parks, what methods of transport there are, how busy the hotel gets, where the best breakfast is etc.

[chmurf]

all 3 deluxe hotels have water transportation to citywalk (hub to parks)

they are also in walking distance to the parks
RPR is the closest walk to Islands of Adventure, HRH is the closest walk to Universal Studios, PBH is the farthest away from the park

you need to take a bus to volcano bay if you're doing that park

how long does it take to get to the parks ? significantly less than it will from endless summer
the bus at endless summer will drop you off at the transportation hub where you'll need to take a loooong walkway to citywalk, then walk to the parks
the walk from the transportation hub to universal studios in iteslf will be at least as long as the walk from PBH to the same park

so the time it takes from one of the deluxes to the parks would not be an issue as far as I'm concerned

how busy the hotel gets ? well hard to tell since you don't provide any indication on when you go, but one thing is for sure, it won't be as busy as a "low cost" hotel (which is basically what endless summer is) for perspective, if Aventura and Sapphire at universal compared to moderates at disneys, Cabana bay beach would compare to the values, when endless summer would compare to a "sub-value" category (= a value with all the nice things removed and a complete lack of atmosphere ... That will be my review from visiting last august)

about breakfast, well ... define breakfast, because at the deluxes, you could choose to go club level and enjoy the lounge there, you could also get sit down meals but those will come at a cost (both in time and money)
TP has a list of menus for all parks and hotels, you'll get to check for yourself
touringplans/universal-orlando/dining/menus

[Guest]

I don’t know what you mean about the unappealing aesthetics and the odd looking courtyard, it never appeared odd to me, the hotels seem pretty normal looking too.

I have stayed at Portofino and RPR, I prefer RPR for the location and easier walk to the parks. I found the walk a bit too much every day from Portofino (and we do quite long stays), but Portofino is a higher quality hotel. I would probably stay at HRH next time as it also has a good location and I would like to try them all.

When we stayed at Portofino, we usually went to the onsite Starbucks for breakfast. When we were at RPR, we either had a snack in our room or waited until we got to the park. I don’t think that we ever ate breakfast in the hotel restaurants.

[dreamisawish]

Originally Posted by Claudette

I don’t know what you mean about the unappealing aesthetics and the odd looking courtyard, it never appeared odd to me, the hotels seem pretty normal looking too.

I have stayed at Portofino and RPR, I prefer RPR for the location and easier walk to the parks. I found the walk a bit too much every day from Portofino (and we do quite long stays), but Portofino is a higher quality hotel. I would probably stay at HRH next time as it also has a good location and I would like to try them all.

When we stayed at Portofino, we usually went to the onsite Starbucks for breakfast. When we were at RPR, we either had a snack in our room or waited until we got to the park. I don’t think that we ever ate breakfast in the hotel restaurants.

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Maybe I could elaborate. In royal Pacific they have lovely surroundings and pool but the rooms are a bit odd looking, with the super modern look and the orchid decals on the walls. It just doesn’t look like a deluxe room, in my opinion. I don’t mind modern but it’s just busy.

The hard rock rooms are a lot nicer but I think if I was going to upgrade to a deluxe it would probably have to be a bit less themed to one thing.

I like that the rooms at portofino are much more elegant and don’t really push the theming of the resort on you.

What I meant about the courtyard is that it seems big and in every photo it’s completely deserted. Not really a deal breaker at all but it makes it all look a bit empty, like a film set or something. But still portofino is by far my favourite in aesthetics.

(This is of course all just my opinion and I’m sure other people love hard rock and royal Pacific, I’m just thinking about what a hotel would need to look like to entice me to upgrade and pay up some extra).

I think for that reason- which may be a bit shallow but you want to like the look of your room when you are paying that much!- portofino is winning by leagues in my mind.

We probably also would just eat breakfast on the go, apart from a Uber trip to Denny’s, so I suppose breakfast isn’t a massive deal.

[Disney_time]

I don't know who is in your party but we are just two adults and we loved the peace and serenity of Portofino Bay. The empty piazzas and quiet pool were right up our street. We used the other pool too, when we wanted a more lively afternoon.

We loved the breakfast options, especially in the first few days of the holiday when you are up at stupid o'clock, just getting a starbucks and sitting beside the bay in the peace and quiet, watching the resort come to life. The trattoria had a very reasonable continental buffet ($14, but this was 5 years ago) with everything you could want. We asked at check-in about upgrading to club level, but it wasn't available for every day of our stay and they would only upgrade an entire stay for some reason. As it turned out, we would not have got our moneys worth out of that, as we preferred being outdoors or in the parks.

We walked to the parks and the path could get busy with rickshaw drivers, but was a nice walk. We also took the boat and liked that the bag check was done getting onto the boat, so no queue at the other end. I don't know if that's still the same.

[ABZDisney]

Can't pass comment on HRH & PBH but we spent a night at RPR last Monday & thought the whole resort was lovely.
I get what you are saying about how the rooms look in photo's, we were really not sure about them ourselves, but were really impressed with the room that we had & actually found the decor very relaxing.
We were staying at the Yacht Club for two weeks & had only chosen to stay at RPR for the Express Passes.
The boat taxi service was excellent & once you had cleared security screening before you got on the boat you were good to go once you got to City Walk & the parks.
We will definitely be going back to RPR on our next trip.

[dreamisawish]

Originally Posted by ABZDisney

Can't pass comment on HRH & PBH but we spent a night at RPR last Monday & thought the whole resort was lovely.
I get what you are saying about how the rooms look in photo's, we were really not sure about them ourselves, but were really impressed with the room that we had & actually found the decor very relaxing.
We were staying at the Yacht Club for two weeks & had only chosen to stay at RPR for the Express Passes.
The boat taxi service was excellent & once you had cleared security screening before you got on the boat you were good to go once you got to City Walk & the parks.
We will definitely be going back to RPR on our next trip.

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I glad to hear that about the rooms. I know I probably sound über picky right now, normally I’m not at all! I just want something a bit more neutral whether it be modern or classic.

I wonder if they have security before the water boats at portofino? That’s probably the mode of transport we would use, and that would be so convenient.

[dreamisawish]

Originally Posted by Disney_time

I don't know who is in your party but we are just two adults and we loved the peace and serenity of Portofino Bay. The empty piazzas and quiet pool were right up our street. We used the other pool too, when we wanted a more lively afternoon.

We loved the breakfast options, especially in the first few days of the holiday when you are up at stupid o'clock, just getting a starbucks and sitting beside the bay in the peace and quiet, watching the resort come to life. The trattoria had a very reasonable continental buffet ($14, but this was 5 years ago) with everything you could want. We asked at check-in about upgrading to club level, but it wasn't available for every day of our stay and they would only upgrade an entire stay for some reason. As it turned out, we would not have got our moneys worth out of that, as we preferred being outdoors or in the parks.

We walked to the parks and the path could get busy with rickshaw drivers, but was a nice walk. We also took the boat and liked that the bag check was done getting onto the boat, so no queue at the other end. I don't know if that's still the same.

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That sounds pretty ideal for us as well. We will also be two adults. Being closer to the parks and city walk would be a major perk for us, and So would be a more relaxing atmosphere.

[Guest]

We were booked into Endless summer as we got a great price for the 2 room suite but i couldnt help but feel a pull back to the onsites. i've only ever done rpr and sapphire falls. i know you don't get express with SF but to me it's my favourite resort on property so we moved over to there. it's chilled out. the aesthetic really appeals to us and works throughout the whole resort, you get the water taxi as well sitting out on the decking on a busy saturday night watching the world go by was just perfection.

[Hughseysar]

We love RPR have spent 2 entire 16 night holidays there before we started staying onsite at Disney and now still stay at least 3 nights per trip. It’s beautiful and the staff are so nice, really cannot help you enough. Rooms are big and very comfortable . The walk to city walk and the parks takes no more the 10 minutes no is through the pretty gardens and along the water way .. love this hotel
Oh and the Sushi in Orchid Lounge ..wow