Universal Hotels with Express Passes - which one?!

[Winter]

Looking at moving our Universal hotel booking to one that includes Express Passes.

We are staying 4 nights. There is availability at 2 of the 3 hotels that offer passes. There is £27 difference in the cost (across the whole booking)

Which is the best hotel to choose given they are essentially the same price?

If it’s down to personal preference - what would you consider the key decision making points as not been before.

Huge thanks for any insights.

[Guest]

It would depend which two of the three...

If Portofino is one of them, then a £27 price difference suggests a great deal for Portofino could be had as it is a cut above the other two in terms of standard. I say that objectively as we had quite a lot of service issues when we were there, but it undoubtedly has better room sizes and standards and better facilities.

If it was a choice between HRH and RPR I think it comes down to theming. I have never really fancied the music theme at HRH and was worried it would be noisy, so it is the one hotel of the three I have not tried yet. I am tempted to give it a go next time though, as we stayed at HRH in London recently and really liked it.

[Tetrarch]

Which two are you choosing between?

My preference is for RPR over HRH as I prefer the theming and I also prefer the pool at RPR. I find the movies around the pool at HRH in the evening too loud, especially if you have a room overlooking the pool area and just want a quiet couple of hours in your room after a busy park day. I know other Dibbers like the evening pool movies though as part of their holiday experience which just goes to show how we all value different things.

Debra

[Winter]

Thanks.

The Portifino is £27 more than the Hard Rock. The other one is sold out.

[Guest]

Originally Posted by Winter

Thanks.

The Portifino is £27 more than the Hard Rock. The other one is sold out.

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Well I think that suggests a good deal for Portofino as it is worth more than £27 more. So for me (assuming I am ok with the music theme / vibe) this would now come down to location, which is better at HRH. In the Orlando heat, we found it a bit too much to walk from Portofino every day but we did it twice a day when we stayed at RPR which would be similar for HRH. Of course, there are boats from Portofino and we never had any issues using them.

[nquart]

Where do you have to book the hotel to get the Express Passes? Can you book through Expedia for example or does it have to be direct (like booking with Disney to get free dining)?

Thanks

[Guest]

Originally Posted by nquart

Where do you have to book the hotel to get the Express Passes? Can you book through Expedia for example or does it have to be direct (like booking with Disney to get free dining)?

Thanks

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It doesn't matter how you book the hotel. If you are a guest at one of the three then you get express passes.

[nquart]

Originally Posted by Claudette

It doesn't matter how you book the hotel. If you are a guest at one of the three then you get express passes.

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Great, thank you.

[Winter]

The best price I found was actually direct with the Universal hotel but then the DIBB link gave me a slightly cheaper price so I am using Attraction Tickets Direct via that link to book. I’ve cancelled the direct booking with the Aventura.

Thanks for all the advice and things to consider. Have decided on Portifino. Hard to call it but decided with 4 of us in a room the extra space was a worthy deciding factor.

[baggers]

I’m not sure how different the HRH bedrooms are but we’ve just been to the one in Tenerife for a week and struggled with storage. It did leave me wondering if the rooms in Orlando were the same size
Because there wouldn’t be much room for suitcases and clothes.
We’ve booked the RPR for 4 nights.