Staying Club Level PBH- Any Tips?

ForMyBoys

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jan 13, 2013
Hi All, We will be Universal in July- 18th - 25th. This is a very last minute trip and our first time to Universal. I *think* I've decided we have to stay at one of the 3 hotels all (or at last part) of the time. I like the idea of express pass and w/ 3 kids (12, 8 and 5- all boys) we will likely be doing park in the morning and then heading back to the hotel. Then maybe back at night... so closeness is key. We do have 3 park- 14 day unlimited tickets so shouldn't have any issue w/ going where we want, when we want.

The issue I'm having is the cost of the hotel. It says that a double qeen sleeps 5, but they are only 375 sq. ft. Do they give you a cot for the 5th? Does it fit?

I see the rooms at the Portofino bay are larger but that resorts seems too elegant for our tastes. I'm debating calling to see if we can get two connecting king rooms but obviously that doubles the cost!

Another thought is the new Cabana resort for closeness, but then no fast pass and buying them separate is quite pricey. If anyone has pics of 5 in this room or any recommendations? Note: we do disney cruises quite a bit and find we are happier paying a bit more for two rooms... we do need some space!

Thanks!
 
We are staying at Royal pacific with 3 teenage boys. Actually checking out the day you check in. I'm taking a blow up air mattress to use. I believe you can get a rollaway but they charge you for it. Might be $25 a night. This is our first trip to universal and I also looked at cabana bay. But with it being July, we need the express passes, so royal pacific it is.
 
Are you sure RPR has rooms available? I'd just take an inflatable mattress to save room. You can get extra sheets/blankets from housekeeping. (Think its called star services?).

We're there the same time as you, but we're checking in the 20th. We booked two rooms for our fam of 6, a king room and a queen room for our four kids. It's connecting. We simply can't fit in a room for 5, so for us the cost doubled. But for cheap hotels when we're on road trips, we always sneak out extra child in lol.
 
Thanks for the words of wisdom. Yes they have rooms avail. I'm not sure if they have connecting rooms available but I plan to call later today (after my kids are asleep since its a surprise trip).
 


OK, so after weighing cost and options we decided to go ahead and book a double queen 490 sq ft room, club level, at PBH. With my hubby's military discount it came to $3,010.60 for the week. The extra cost of club was around $450 for the week, but since it seems it includes sodas, snacks, continental breakfast and such we figured the price was worth the extra cost of food we'd be paying if we didn't go club. Since there are 5 of us we will be paying around $200 to get a cot added to the room. Anyone know if they are comfortable?

Also would like to know if I should make any specific room requests? With a 5 year old who still naps I'd love a balcony or a room that opens to a patio but I understand they are very limited. Also, I realize club level is in the lobby (not on the floor with other rooms like at the other resorts). With that said can anyone who has stayed PBH club level tell me how far they were placed from the club? And if there is an ideal location I'd want to be placed?

Thanks!
Ali
 
I stay club at PBH all the time.CLub is on 3rd floor lobby level.Rooms can be anywhere but generally in the Villas wing..I was on 5th floor of the villas wing the last 3 visits ..It is a bit of a walk to the lounge, but we don't mind it.Balconies are extremely limited and not easy to get one( we haven't had luck in 3 visits and 2 of those were in Jan when the resort wasn't booked solid)..My guess would be a room on the same level as the lounge, but even then some of those can be further then if you are on an upper level but closer to the elevator..I would tell them close the lounge as a request
 
If you bought club you will be placed near the club lounge.
 


2314 and 2315 Villa wing 3rd floor adjoining rooms both have balconys overlooking the promenade. From the balcony you can see villa pool to your left.
 
We were in the villa wing floor two near the elevator. Just a quick ride up one floor to hit the lounge. We made a habit of stopping in on our ways in and out of the room to grab drinks. We loved the lounge. It'll be nice for you to have more than one space to spread out. So one group can nap in the room and the rest head to the lounge. The rooms are a good size an we had a sliding door that opened to two chairs it was one the pool level.we didn't use it since it was too muggy for our liking. You are going to love the club level...have a great time being pampered!
 
If you bought club you will be placed near the club lounge.
Not always..We always book and stay club and that is not always the case.Those hallways are LONG and you can be way at the end furthest from the elevators( happened to us )
 
Not always true; we sure weren't!

Not always..We always book and stay club and that is not always the case.Those hallways are LONG and you can be way at the end furthest from the elevators( happened to us )


Club rooms are located in the villa wing and hospitality wing for the most part. If you were put at the end of a hall in that area it is still near the lounge considering the size of PBH.
 
We did breakfast then off to the parks. We came back to our rooms after lunch and hung out at pool. We then hit the beginning of happy hour which we used as dinner. Back to the park then back to the lounge for desserts before bed. We only purchased lunch.
 
We were in the villa wing floor two near the elevator. Just a quick ride up one floor to hit the lounge. We made a habit of stopping in on our ways in and out of the room to grab drinks. We loved the lounge. It'll be nice for you to have more than one space to spread out. So one group can nap in the room and the rest head to the lounge. The rooms are a good size an we had a sliding door that opened to two chairs it was one the pool level.we didn't use it since it was too muggy for our liking. You are going to love the club level...have a great time being pampered!

Thanks for the info! Did you have a balcony or was it a patio? Wondering if they have patios if those are easier to get.

I appreciate the comments all, I will call and have them add a request. Since we are staying a full week hopefully they will be more willing to honor our request.
 
Patios are easier to get but still not easy.Staying a full week doesn't always help either.We have had 7 night stays the last 2 trips and still didn't get the balcony/patio request.We asked at check in again , since last visit balconies were by request at check in( first come, first serve) and they were charging extra for them per night and they still didn't have any available.Don't know if they are still an extra charge nightly, but they were in January this year
 
i notice that extra charge earlier for the requests.
the specific rooms looks like a crap shoot in getting them since it is first come, first served policy.
 
Thanks for the info! Did you have a balcony or was it a patio? Wondering if they have patios if those are easier to get.

I appreciate the comments all, I will call and have them add a request. Since we are staying a full week hopefully they will be more willing to honor our request.


We had a patio. We didn't request it, just happened. The room was on the second floor so that was pool level.
 
HI hpfan, did the patio have a couple of chairs and did you like having a patio?
Yes it had two chairs and a small table. We liked the patio but didn't use it much as the weather was pretty swampy when we were there. We had a lovely view of the pool area and could have accessed it by opening our sliding patio door. If you want a patio I would think that most of them are on floor 2 since that is the pool/ boat dock level.
 

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