HardRockHotel NOT worth the money

[JenC025]

OK first off the FOTL is great but not worth even the 117.50 for the entertainment rate. Everything at the hotel is overpriced from their mini bar (which ours was broken- it wouldn't lock and the drawer was busted the conceriege was surprised even though they are suppossed to do an inventory check everyday?)And I wouldn't get their food delivered to the room because that is outrageous (and we saw a lot of half eaten food left outside the other rooms so the food can't be that great) to the phonecalls- I was charged 2.50 to make a call using a toll free number with my calling card. The slide at the pool was GREAT but the pool itself stinks! The deepest part is only 4foot and that's a small amount most of the water is knee deep. Because there are so many rooms the pool gets crowded. (and so do the jacuzzi's) The game room overpriced 1.00 to play Ms. Pacman? Give me a break. For a new hotel there was already paint peeling off the wall. And the steps that led to the outside entrance to the pool looked like they were never cleaned. In the room I left my son's shorts on the floor when I picked them up the next morning they were COVERED in dust. I won't be staying there every again. We split our vacation staying seven days at Marriott's Courtyard (downtown Disney) and then moved to three nights at the HRH thinking we were moving to a better hotel, we were surprised at how much we more we liked the marriott.

[KimCon]

Sorry you didn't like the Hard Rock, Jen. I am staying in a few weeks and I will know what to look out for. However, some of the things you described are pretty typical of a 4 star resort. I never get anything from mini bars and absolutely don't order room service anywhere I go. Well, sometimes, if I am just dying for a diet coke I might! I plan on stopping and getting a small cooler with ice and soda on the way to the hotel. That way we won't be so tempted!

The housekeeping issues are inexcusable however. It sounds like housekeeping is quite an issue for them.

Glad you enjoyed FOTL, though!


Kim:wave: :wave: :wave:

[Winston112]

I am very sorry to here tihs. I was playing on staying there for 2 nights in June, but am reconsidering now.

[gschmerl]

All nicer resorts charge prices like that for the min-bar, phone, etc. It's to be expected, so prepare for it. We usually go to a market and buy our own soda and snacks for the room. Too bad about the hotel looking run down already though.
We will be there the week of July 4--hope they get housekeeping problems corrected by then!

[CPM]

I'm sorry to hear that you didn't like HRH, we just returned from staying there and had a wonderful time! Our room was neatly kept, everything we asked for like extra coffee, extra towels & pillows were brought promptly.
I do agree about the pool, what's up with that! Way too shallow everywhere! We didn't have a problem getting a chair but I'm sure when it's busier & hotter it might be a problem.
Mini bars and such are always expensive at deluxe resorts, we never even get a key, we usually pack a cooler along with bringing pop tarts & muffins for breakfast. I thought the prices at the "Beach Club"for drinks & food especailly kids meals were very reasonable at a deluxe resort (better then Disney). It was only $5.00 for chicken fingers with fries & a drink for a child and it was huge, also my drink was only $5.50 (Bahama Mama).
I was bummed at the price of the local calls also, I thought I got them free because of being a Loews first member but "NOT" and was stuck with a $16.00 phone bill.
Any way most of all this comes with styaing at a deluxe hotel/resort. I would definately stay there again especailly for $117.00!!!!!!!!

[dreamer]

Sorry that you didn't like HRH. We thought it was a wonderful property even though they needed to address a few problems. We ordered room service and found the food to be pretty good. My kids hardly ever finish anything they order so the tray get put in the hallway with "left-overs"...plus usually we just order for a "hold over" till we get out to the resturant so it's not supposed to be finished. We loved the air hockey in the arcade and thought that you get lots of playtime for the $1...Ms. Pacman is more of a skill game and if you get gobbled quickly you loose your turn. It doesn't sound like you'll ever give HRH a try again, but we can't wait to get back up to that lounge floor next February! :jester:

[Jon360]

Minibar: Name one 4-star hotel in the country that does not have overpriced products in it's minibar. Most hotels have no minibar. If the prices are too high, do not take anything from it or have it emptied out for your stay.

Phone Call prices: While I agree it is an outrageous price for a phone call, you can easily walk down to the lobby and call a 1-800 number for free on the pay phone. The phone prices are there for you to see. If it is not worth the $2.50 to make a call from your room, you do have other options.

Pool: If you would like a deeper pool, you are free to walk over to the Portofino and use their pool. There are over 500 rooms at the hotel and obviously the pool will be crowded at some point. I have never been to a resort where the pool or beach area's were not crowded during peak times.

Game Room: Pinball was $1 at Yatch/Beach Club. Most arcade games at BoardWalk are $1. The game prices while high are in line with their competition. If you don't like the price, don't play the games!

The fact of the matter is HRH is a first class hotel right next to Universal, offers FOTL, and is right next to City Walk. They have the location and can therefore charge whatever they want. Just like Disney resorts have similarly high prices because of their superior location. If you are comparing dollars and cents with HRH, any Disney resort, and a Marriott, the Marriott will undoubtadely be cheaper. If cost is your primary concern, you do not want to stay on site.

[Mom of teens]

I thought the hotel was 4 stars all the way. The pool was the only disappointment being too shallow. The staff was excellent we had no other complaints. I did not think the hotel was run down in any way. Saturday was the busiest day by the pool but we always had a lounge chair.

[Tinkerbelle'sMOM]

We just returned from a stay there and we thought it was wonderful..even my DH who is a critic loved it! I am so sorry you didn't enjoy yourself! We thought the rooms were great and the boat ride and FOTL was superb~ I do have to agree with the pool being shallow..I was really surprised, but we like it all the same.

And rule of thumb...never take anything out of a inroom fridge...have you ever stayed somewhere with one before...those prices were par with all the other deluxe hotels we have stayed in!

Once again,...so sorry you didn't have a good time there!

[boudreaux0]

You sound like a complaining cheapskate to me :)

[gschmerl]

Now,now--let's play nice!

[JenC025]

This was my first stay at a "four star" hotel and I didn't see anything that made it a four star?! I was REALLY disappointed with the pool. Not very big for all the people it had to accomodate and too shallow. Who wants to kneel in three feet of water. For that kind of hotel that was a let down. And poor housekeeping should not be! No matter what the price. My 39.00 a room night at the marriott our rooms where spotless and the people extremely friendly. So much nicer than the HRH. Plus make sure you check your bill. I was overcharged for my fridge rental. And when I pointed out the extra charge they weren't too nice about it.

[WebmasterBarry]

I have refrained from stepping into this thread, but I feel like I have to step in now. Please be friendly in all subsequent posts. Although we may not agree with the poster's assessment of the HRH, we must keep all our replies civil and friendly as the board guidelines dictate.

Please refain from unfriendly posts or this thread will be considered for closing.

Thank you.

[Disney Debbie]

The first time I ever stayed in a really nice hotel - the Ritz - I was amazed that local phone calls were $1.00. You can stay at a Motel 6 and make free local phone calls - but a place like the Ritz charged!! So if you've never stayed in a hotel like that it can be surprising!

Now I've never stayed anywhere where room service or mini-bars weren't outrageous!!

[Antonia]

Personally, I love reading varying opinions on resorts, etc. If we all felt the same way about every experience in Orlando there would be no need for a board like this. To the original poster: Thanks for sharing your experience and your thoughts. :D

[KimCon]

I like hearing the differing opinions too. I remember when we stayed at the Poly in 98 and I didn't like it. I came back and posted on the board, about how disappointed I was, and OUCH!! I didn't post on the board for quite sometime after that, I was sort of afraid to! Anyway, Jen, I hope I didn't make you feel that way!!

Kim:wave: :wave: :wave:

[lookingforward]

I appreciate your views about the HRH. I stayed there in April and really loved it, although there were some problems with billing, etc. I hope you continue to post your honest feelings about things, it helps people get a broad overview of how they are spending precious vacation dollars.

[jlima]

Usually the phone charge is incurred when you dial a "9", or whatever number required, to get an outside line. Check the documentation in the room; or ask the hotel operator. If you feel it's too high then go to a pay phone. It's a common business practice to charge for outgoing calls.

Some hotels now charge per minute for calls over 30 minutes, because so many people surf the Internet from their hotel rooms and hog out-going phone lines. The first time I saw that I couldn't believe it :mad: but when I read the little card by the phone (Hilton Suites, Anaheim, CA) I felt stupid because all the charges were detailed right there & I just didn't read it.

[Fantasia_]

aka: USEscape

Hmmm, shallow pool, only goes up to 4 ft. ....This is great!!! I'm only 5' 1" and can't swim! This means I can go anywhere in the pool with my 2 young kids and be OK with it. I finally have found a resort that has a shallow pool, I'm so glad!!

Sorry to hear about you experience at HRH, I plan to stay there in the future, well maybe next year. I think the HRH looks pretty cool!

[fboy9287]

question will the new lowes hotel have fotl acsess- even though it will be less than $100?

[Robinrs]

I am also excited about the pool since I am 4'11" tall and can't swim.

I am sorry about your experience, also Jen. I have found that the 4 and 5 stars charge for just about everything, mainly because these things are usually expensed to a corporation. The 2 and 3 stars cater to the little guy, offering much more.

I stayed across the street at the Radisson on my first trip and was charged $21 for 3 phone calls! Yikes! I learned my lesson after that.

I will be at the Hard Rock this week and knowing both sides is a plus for me also. Frankly I want the FOTL only, and it's worth any price to me!

[TJA]

I like to hear all opinions too! In fact, it's very informative to hear all views and thoughts. As far as minibars, they're all over-priced. We've stayed in many 4-5 star resorts/hotels and they're all the same. So if it's a person's first time experiencing a minibar, it would be a shock to see the prices!

At times, I do feel I'm overpaying for various resorts. But you just can't beat the convenience of staying inside Universal or Disney. Great benefits.

[idontknow]

As for the minibar....I was the one that posted all of the prices around the middle of Feb for the minibar. We stayed there Feb 2 - 4, and were surprised at how "cheap" the minibar was. LOL We found it was less to drink a beer out of the minibar than it was to go to the Velvet bar and buy a beer! (of course, it would have been cheaper to bring our own)

We normally stay at hotels that do not have them. When we stayed at the Swan last year, I made sure that our DS knew not to go near the minibar. That was the first time we ever stayed at a place with one.

[damo]

Last year we stayed at the Yacht Club for $399/night. Pail for phone calls, mini bar, no FOTL, room was MUCH smaller than Hard Rock, walked to one park. Had to wait until 3:00 for check in :(

This year stayed at Hard Rock for $149/night. Made no phone calls, didn't use mini bar, adored FOTL and had a huge room (4101), walked to both parks and Citywalk, even ordered room service and was under $40 for two adults and two children (good food too!). Room was very well kept and we had no billing problems, checked-in at 9:30 am and room was ready! :p

Never, ever, ever will we stay at Disney again!:bounce:

[debden]

Damo, WOW! You got to check in at 9:30am?
I hope my stay at HRH works out as good as
yours did! Is Room 4101 a Garden Room? I plan on stopping at a store and picking up
snacks for the room. No mini-bar or phone
calls for me! I hope they let us check in
early when we get there! That would be nice.

[damo]

Rm. 4101 is what they call a "super deluxe" room. It's at the bend in the hotel so you get this extra triangular area which allows the couch to become a pull-out couch and the table has four chairs. It's a great room and yes it is a garden view with a view of the boat docking area.

[msr709]

I'm sorry to hear about the original poster's disappointing experience at the HRH but it has proven very useful and we should thank her for taking the time and posting because it gives us all an opportunity to see things from a different point of view and we can travel a little more at ease knowing that we are prepared for the worst scenario.

I'm also booked at the HRH for Aug. and the truth is that I was thinking mainly in the FOTL advantage more than anything else, but now I know (from these boards) not to use the phone or take anything from the minibar. This is the best group of people on the Internet that I know! Love these boards!;) :p ;) :p ;) :p

[The Hunt]

I'm always annoyed by high phone costs, especially fees to call a toll-free number. Recently, I've started taking my cell phone along on trips, at least for long-distance charges. That can get expensive too, but somehow I don't feel as ripped off.

I am troubled about the complaints I have read here about housekeeping at the HRH. That's something I expect to be impeccable at a four-star resort. We'll be there in August, and will let you know if my shorts get dusty.

[Nan]

We will be at the HRH August 1, 2, and 3. When will you other guys be there in August?

I understand the person who had a bad experience at the HRH. We stayed at the Portofino last August and had a less than wonderful experience mostly due to the terrible housekeeping. When I posted that on this board most people got defensive and I was even accused of being a Disney plant! Anyway, I would definitely NOT stay onsite except for FOTL. I was hoping for better housekeeping at HRH - we'll see! I am hoping for the best.

Nan

[njmomof2]

I read in the welcome info given to me by HRH that the first 10 minutes of calls to 800 numbers are free. After that they charge .10 per minute. I had my prepaid calling card I bought at Sam's club(4.132Cents/min)So my calls cost me 14.32cents/min for the time over 10 min per call. (so my 38min call cost 2.80 on my hotel bill)
Although this isn't great it was something I could live with.

[h20jag]

Always hate to hear someone got short-changed somehow. But nothing gets resolved unless we, as customers, bring matters to Managements' attention.
Fill those comment cards out; e-mail your opinions; tell staff & supervisors what you liked and disliked.
Leave a little tip for your housekeeper if pleased with their job.
A little goes a long way if everyone mentions the good, the bad, & the ugly to the hotel staff.
In my book, HRH is worth the Ent. rate. (And if ever needed, and I'd have to need it badly, it would even be worth paying rack rate!)
Jim

[ceb29]

I'd like to thank everyone who posts what they experience.:) It is by knowing the problems that others run into that we may learn and avoid the same such bad experience. I know the others on the Disney boards wouldn't even what me to start about our bad experience at Carribean Beach Resort in January.:mad:
And when we let them know at CBR they insulted us with offering us to come down again at a rate that was $40 higher than what they were offering (in other deals)!!!!!! What nerve!! That's why we are trying HRH in June. I just hope that the housekeeping and the attitude of the staff are much better than CBR. (It wouldn't take much to be better than CBR.) Please everyone with info on what to look out for POST IT AS IT IS! It helps us all. Thanks again;)

[LadyTrampScamp&Angel]

I'm sorry the original poster was not happy with HRH and it is definitely good for us who read these boards to get varying viewpoints. I've always thought that I'm pretty much a hotel snob but I've come to realize that I may just be a whole lot more laid back than I think after seeing the kinds of things that really seem to bother other people. The only complaint we had was housekeeping made up our room late one day, but that was a minor inconvenience for us.

For those of you who are thinking of changing from HRH, I just had to say, we absolutely LOVED it there. Can't wait to go back. I've got very small children and my son was in that pool every afternoon going up and down the slide about a hundred times and having a blast. I'm also not that tall and not much of a swimmer so I think it was great for us. My husband just loved the music.

I recently paid $189 plus tax for an awesome pool view room and didn't feel bad about that at all since we had a great time and it was shortly after Easter so kinda a peak time. FOTL is absolutely the best. The short walk to the parks is another thing that's just wonderful. I never ate at the hotel, we always were in the parks or we ate over at CityWalk somewhere so I can't comment on the food at the hotel itself but look at all the choices you have within walking distance! As far as phone calls and the mini bar I've never been in a 4 star hotel where those things aren't a huge ripoff - it just comes with the territory. So we never partake of anything from the mini bar and use our cell phones for any calls we make. Fortunately we have the no roaming charge kind of service. I didn't even pay for a fridge because the minibar one was enough. They told me to have it emptied would be $25, another huge ripoff but followed it with "if you want to empty it yourself into a drawer, we'll put it back" and that's what I did. Took a trip to a grocery store and bought water, soda, baby formula etc and it worked out great.

So I'm sorry it was a bad experience for one but given the diverse opinions on these boards, I'd say give it a try once and see what you think for yourself.

Everybody - have a great day!

[Disney Debbie]

I'll be doing a trip report - but we LOVED HRH! Our room was beautiful, clean, convenient. We ADORED the pool - in fact spent 2 hours of park time there yesterday afternoon and then went back in the evening.

I brought my mini bar price sheet home - it wasn't badd at all - we didn't get anything! but Soft drinks were $2.25, beer $3.50, liquor from $5.00 - $14.00 for wine, camera $17.00 ceral and snacks from .99 to $10.00.

And I CANNOT stress enough how GREAT FOTL was.

One man's trash is another man's treasure!!

[Vicky Fla]

Jen,
Sorry you didn't like the HRH. I would go yesterday if I could get the $117 rate. I think it's good to hear the good and bad... however to the other people who are thinking twice about staying at the hrh.. I wouldn't not go to hrh because of a bad expereince. I didn't like the pbh myself, but I am sure many others did...To quiet for my taste. We all need to go where we want and just post our experience about it if we wish!

Vicky:pinkbounc