Just back from HRH, quick tip on room

[minijeanie]

Just got back from 3 great nights at HRH. Trip report to follow. I booked a Deluxe Room for $149 with EC. I automatically thought I would get a Pool View as was told to me on the phone. NOT!!!!!
Deluxe Room only gets you the bigger room, not the view. I checked in around 3:00 pm and received a garden view room. When I called the front desk( with the bell hop there waiting), I was informed all poolview rooms were gone and there was nothing else they could do for me. Being I was the only one disappointed in my family, I had to get over it. (although it took several hours and 1 big Margaritta)

Moral of the story is to try to check in ASAP. We left the airport, had lunch, shopped around and then checked in. Never again.
In addition to the room not being what I hoped for, it was also the last one at the end of the hall. Consequently, maid service did not get to our room until about 4:30 pm.

We did have a fantastic time and I guess in the scheme of things, the slight inconveniences were not all that bad.

Hope this info helps someone else who is heading to HRH soon.

[goofyfordisney]

Do you know what the difference between a club room and and a deluxe room are? We requested pool view--are there any club rooms with a pool view? I was told these were the only rooms available during the time I requested! I think we would be fine in another room category--I keep checking to see if we can down-graded! We are flying in on a red-eye so, we will be arriving MCO at 5:45am--I plan on going straight to HRH to try to get the best room possible. Thanks for the info!

[h20jag]

I know where you're coming from minijeanie! You get this great build-up of expectations and then get something slightly/greatly different, it kinda throws you into a tailspin.
Since HRH doesn't show room #'s on the map, we should start a thread with room locations and numbers.
Main thing....ya'll were there and had a great time!

goofydis - I guess half of clubs face pool & parks. Ours in March faced out over the awning of the front doors. (can't remember room # just now, but I'll dig it up somewhere)
Jim

[minijeanie]

goofydisney,


So sorry, do not know the difference betweeen club room deluxe room. I booked deluxe for 2 reasons, view and it is bigger than the std room. I am sure they can tell you where you made the ressie.

[WebmasterBarry]

I stayed in a deluxe once and I got a view of the roof! I stayed in a standard room and I had a beautiful garden view. I guess you are not paying for the view, but a bigger room! :)

[mkymouse4ever]

Can you request a view on your ressies? I also booked a delux room thinking it would be on higher floor and better view, oops! Thanks mky:confused:

[Selina]

Just got back from the HRH last night. Had a superb holiday and the HRH lived up to all our expectations. We had a huge Garden View Room overlooking the green & in the distance the little boat that takes you down the river to Universal etc. I don't know why everyone seems to go overboard on what view you have from your room - we hardly were in the room apart from to sleep & sometimes to change if we've had a "pool" morning! What view you have from your room in my opinion is irrelevant unless you are intending to spend you holiday in your room:D )

[minijeanie]

Maybe in other hotels the room view doesn't matter. But in HRH if you are at the end of the hall like I was it does matter. Stay away from rm# 6199. NO maid service every day until 4:30 pm.
I like to come back to the room to relax, and maybe take a swim. I did not like looking into a room that was not made up.

I guess this was my biggest beef at HRH.

[nancylynn]

our room was 6025 and 2 long hallway walks from elevator. view was of parking lot and the back of E.T. oh well room was nice and bathroom was spacious.

[thefoyboy]

Room #2137....Deluxe Room though 2 long hallway walks from elevators, great view of pool area and very large room.

[XAVIER]

We were in room 5087 - two doors away from the elevators with a view of the gardens and the boat docking area, very nice!!

[markey]

We too had a room at the end, loved it because it was very quiet and a beautiful view just like on previous post. First day the room was not done until 4:30, but had left $5 on the sink for her. Guess what? The next day we returned at 1 for a swim and our room was done.

[Letsbgoofy]

We stayed in room #2152; pool view, way....at the end of the hall near the walkway to IOA/USF. Our room wasn't ready until 4:15 and we checked in at 10:00 am. I called housekeeping and requested that our room be cleaned before 12:30 the next day, when we got back at 1:00 it hadn't been cleaned. I called again and was told that they would be right there to clean our room, it wasn't done until 3:30.

HRH is a beautiful hotel but I would never stay there again. The hotel doesn't seem very family/theme park quick meal friendly. It cost us over $20.00 with tip at the pool bar for 2 cheeseburgers and fries and one soda. The ice machines were few and far betweeen with no vending machines like they have at Disney and just about every other resort that I have stayed at. Call me cheap, but I'm not going to spend $2.25 on a can of soda from the minibar everytime someone in my family wants a drink! Add that to the fact that the housekeeping service left much to be desired...

FOTL was very good, but we only had to use it 6 times (9/2) as we went to the parks early in the am and there were no lines yet.

[thefoyboy]

LetsBGoody,

First let me second your comment on housekeeping. It left an awful lot to be desired especially considering how they like to tout their high class ratings.

Second, the air conditioning in the hallway was out the last three days we were there and it was very warm. You'd think in a facility of this caliber the longest those ac units would be down is 1 day, not three.

Third, when we arrived, we did not desire to use the valet services or an escort to our room, yet we were treated literally like criminals when we tried to do so. So much so, that they said unless one of them accompanied us to our room upon check in, we would not leave the lobby. That threat didn't last long after contacting the GM.

Lot of stupid stuff like that and for the price we paid, it was fun once, but not a second time.

Here's looking forward to the Royal Pacific.

[manhattan]

I thought I was the only one who had a bad experience w/ housekeeping. Room 5118 poolview. Long walk from elevator and ice machines. Check in was not very friendly- Loews first member- did not receive any of the perks- although he did say that he had our number on file. We only stayed here because of their pet friendly policy. Housekeeping would not come in unless we were there, or called to let them know that our dog was out of the room, which we did, but room was not cleaned. On our third day I called saying that again we would be taking our dog for a walk for 1 hour, could housekeeping come to clean, which they did. We had used up some of our toiletries that they left out, but they didn't replenish our supply. I had to go raid a cart in the hallway ( I wasn't the only one, saw someone else looking for lotion). So out of four days, we had our room serviced one day. The hotel does have potential, but they need some closer interaction with their guests.

[XAVIER]

We were at the HRH for 14 days and never had any problem with housekeeping. We only got back last weekend so maybe they have finally got there act together.

[lagasan]

Xavier - Next time you go...take me with you! 2 weeks!!! Wow! We were there 8/20-25.

I loved the hotel. Houskeeping did seem over-taxed. Our room was always finished lat in the day. They seemed to revisit the room several times. We came back at noon once and the room was half done. Maybe they need to add a few more staff.

For the quality of the hotel (I'd say 4 or 5 star) the price if the food seemed appropriate. I thought the quality of the food was very good.

I absolutely loved the rock music playing everywhere. They do need to sell a selection of CD's in the store. Our room was oddly quiet after we had played out the free CD given at check-in.

I would like to see an awning added over the boat dock area.

We were in 4426.. overlooked the pool... short walk from elevators.

While there met a man and his son. They had booked a room at Portofino. They moved to Hard Rock after visiting the pool one day. He said his little boy had more fun at the Hard Rock.

Anyone notice how every little kid HAD to lie down on the black leather "couch" in the lobby.. the one with the bolster at the head?

I wanna go back!!!!!!!:bounce:

[poolmom]

We were at the Hard Rock for 4 nights Aug 22-26. Our experience with the staff was entirely positive. We had booked a GV room at the Ent rate of $117. We checked in around 2pm. We asked casually if any upgrades were available, and were upgraded immediately to Club Level. Everyone at the front desk was extra friendly and welcoming.

We had the last room at the end of the hall, Rm 7030. Although it was a long walk from the elevator, it was very quiet and private. The view was fabulous. I can see the entire pool area and could keep an eye on my kids when they were out there. We had no problems with housekeeping. Rooms were spotless by lunch time when we returned from the parks. They returned at 6:30 to turn down the beds and straighten up. The hotel was almost 100% vacancy rate when we were there. Perhaps the club floor got better housekeeping. It was a great stay and we loved it.

[Selina]

Surprised at the adverse comments on the HRH. We got back last weekend and had a brilliant stay. Our room was always cleaned, beds made, clean towels every day and we didn't leave any dollars for the maid until the last day! Only once in our two weeks the room was not done, but that may have something to do with the fact that we had a sleep-in with the "Do-not-Disturb" sign hanging outside. We thought the cocktails were rather expensive & cans or sprite quite expensive too - but no more expensive than at Magic Kingdom or in any of the Parks! We chose to eat mainly at the Hard Rock Cafe most evenings as the kids (5&7) loved the food and atmosphere - but we thought the service and food at the Sunset Grill was good too. The Concierge Staff were very helpful and replaced all our tickets into Universal when the others got wet on a ride. The Valet staff were great too and got cabs for us every morning. We thought the pool was wonderful - having two young children who are not very good swimmers yet - the pool was ideal. Part of the pool does go to 6FT DEEP!! (which is deep enough for me!) Most of the pool's depth is waist/chest deep on shorter people, which is fine for swimming&playing ball...... So anyone who has booked a holiday at the Hard Rock Hotel and is worried by the last few posts - don't be!! We had a super room & super holiday and are definitely going back. :)

[WebmasterBarry]

Whenever I came back from the parks, my room was spotless! Perhaps it's because I left a $5 tip for housekeeping. :)

I like the PBH housekeeping. My ice bucket was full everytime I returned from the parks! :)

[thefoyboy]

Okay Barry, if tipping is the answer, then tell me why it got worse from the first day on and I left $20 tips the first two days hoping it would help things out.

In the end, the only thing that really helped was a call to the GM and that should have been unnecessary.

[sha_lyn]

Our horrible experience with house keeping was in the beginning of April. I am really hoping they have improved so I can use the free night they gave us for our troubles. I love the HRH but if I have another bad housekeeping experience I will nver stay there again as much I love the decor, the pool and walking to the parks.

[catseyepub]

Just returned and although I love the HRH, there were a few disappointing things that made me wonder if I want to go back.


I was glad they had a gym there, since I love working out . But after walking in the doors of the gym, an attendant there asked me for an $8 fee to use the gym. I was flabbergasted that they would require a guest of the hotel to pay an additional charge to use the gym.

Also upon check in, they asked if we planned on using the minibar.
We said no. So we get in our room and the minibar is locked which we wanted ,no problem.

However near the minibar there was a coffee pot and a few plastic bottles of Evian water.

Well, there was nothing there that said if we drank coffee or water, there would be a charge for them. They were not inside the minibar.
Well we drank coffee and my wife drank some water and the day we checked out, there was a $30 charge for using what the itemized bill listed as use of the minibar. Outrageous. Obviously I will not pay this charge.

How do you feel about all these little nickle and dime charges that the HRH throws your way?????

[pathubia]

catseyepub,

when we were there the bottles of evian stated that there was a charge for them, i cant remember how much, it was something like
$6. Do you have a loews 1st card? I think you get free use of the gym with that.

we never had any trouble wth housekeeping, but then again we were out of the room from 8 am until 7 pm every evening.

patty

[poolmom]

There are big labels on the Evian bottles that clearly state that it costs $6 per bottle. The coffee is complimentary. Many hotels charge for use of gym facilities. The loews card would have provided you with complimentary passes. I don't think these are hidden charges that nickle and dime everyone. I think everyone's first assumption should be that nothing is free. If in doubt ask, or read the info package in every room that outlines all the charges.

When we were at the Grand Floridian paying $300/night we had no complimentary coffee and had to pay $15/hr to rent tennis rackets, $5/hr to rent balls and $15/hr to rent the court. Now that's nickle and diming the guests as if they were the Motel 8.

Don't let these little misunderstandings deter you from returning to a great hotel.

[minijeanie]

Selina

Where was the pool 6 ft? We were there 3 weeks ago and I thought max. depth was 4ft 6. As for as zero entry pools and low depth pools, IMHO I hate them. They are not refreshing and my family are all good swimmers & we love going into the deep end. As your children are smaller, wait until they get bigger and want a deeper pool

Poolmom,

I am happy that you got upgraded and only paying $117. On the other hand I paid $149, was told I would get pool view and did not. Please know I do love HRH and would definelty stay there again. Convenience, FOTL and size of the room alone warrants me to pay more than what I did. My comments were just my observations on my trip. Had I gone 2 days earlier or later, my trip would probably been different. I found each trip experience is so different from the one before. After we left HRH, we went to the Poly and stayed concierge. Room was okay, place lovely but I did not find concierge staff to be the greatest in the world. Other people think they are.

I believe it is all in the timing.

[poolmom]

Hi Minijeanie:

Not disagreeing with you at all. Timing is everything and 10 people can have 10 different experiences at the same place. I think this is why these boards are so helpful in that they offer differing opinions and allow others to learn from our mistakes in planning.

When we checked in at 2pm the hotel was at full capacity. That is the reason we got upgraded to club. But we asked for an upgrade. If we didn't, the front desk would have re-juggled all the bookings and perhaps bumping someone else who had not checked in yet to give us the GV room. When that later reservation checked in, they would have gotten the club upgrade. The point is, ask for the upgrade. In previous postings, there was talk of bribery, slipping $20, etc. No need, if they can do it, they will.

When we went to the Grand Floridian, we also asked for an upgrade. We were offered a LV room. We declined it because it was a smoking-optional room. So it is the luck of the draw.

[Selina]

Hi minijeanie, I thought it said opposite the basketball net 6FT, but I understand that your older kids might like a deeper pool if they want to swim/dive - but I don't think that the HRH pool is intending to cater for that kind of "swimming", more refreshing dips, a seaside atmosphere with the "walk-in" all around the pool and the sandy "beach" part, which makes it reasonably safe for most children who can swim, and ball fun . If the kids want deep underwater swimming, then Discovery Cove is a must I think for us when they get older!!

[dreamflight99]

Wow...I have been thinking of booking at the HRH...but not now. I have stayed at the Portofino for the past two summers. I have booked a deluxe room w/bay view w/private balcony for $169.00 an eve. (U.S. Fan club rate). While in the lobby awaiting valet, I inquired about staying a third eve. with the front desk. Associate was VERY friendly, and gave me the Fla. Res. Rate of $139.00 per eve for all three nights! I DID receive my Loews first ammenity in the room upon check-in, (Fresh-baked gourmet cookies and milk on ice...beautiful presentation, with a kids pack on the bed for our daughter). This past summer, we stayed in the Kids suite, and had a great time. We experienced no trouble with the housekeeping, and the service was A++!

Dear mkymouse4-ever.....how did you secure "18 nights" in the Contemporary tower? I have always wanted to stay in the tower with a view of the magic kingdom...Do you mind me asking if you received any discounts or special rates? Any help with this is appreciated. I noticed the G.F. for two weeks prior...was the accomodations as nice as they sound? Thanks!:p

[mkymouse4ever]

At last minute because of this thread changed from delux room to club level, ( slight discount given), Having watched the show on TV travel channel, they were very off on food offerings, drinks, etc. it was minimal to say the best, and the yummy cookies, please 1 nite they had out OREO's & I'm not kidding, I happen to like oreo's but still feel this was inappropriate. Housekeeping is apprently all up on the club level, think if we left room for 10 minutes they were in there cleaning, that must be why they are not doing the other rooms. However never had ice in room, 1 machine at end off the far away hall was broken and the lounge has ice but only for the lounge, I was told to look around the other floors and see if I could find some. (I did and found that the floor below us was also broke, and there was ice on the 3rd floor.) The hotel is beauitful, however as nice as our room and pool view were, there was a strange very large stain on our carpet in front of the beds? Wonder what upkeep will look like after a year or two passes? Note to dreamflight99: tried to e-mail your question but not available, My secret just call cro, and yes I have an annual pass & hope to discount it again, as we did this september. GF is very nice but after 2 weeks I can give you a list of problems there also. MKY:cool:

[UKDEB]

We stayed on 7th floor club with pool view. We got upgraded to pool view at check-in for some minor hiccup (so minor I can't even remember what it was!), and the check-in staff were way frendlier than check-in at AKL where we'd stayed the previous 2 nights.

Housekeeping was excellent, although they were quite late. They didn't even take the $5 tip we left the first day - we had to leave a note saying 'tip'! The Concierge offerings weren't as good as AKL, though.

All in all, we had a GREAT time at both. Very different, but we wouldn't hesitate to do either again.