New to Universal - which hotel for us?

[**eeyore**]

Hello We are planning our first trip to Universal in May (5/14-5/17). There are 4 of us in our party, and I was thinking we would stay at Sapphire Falls - it looks new, really nice and seems to have a fun pool area (we have 13 year old twins that I think would love the pool there). But, then I realized that SF doesn't include Express Pass privileges. For $85/night more we can stay at Royal Pacific in a similar room and would then have Express Pass privileges.

Sapphire Falls looks like it would be a great fit for our family, but will we regret not having the Express Pass privileges? I really don't want to get down there and have to buy the EP, since it would be a lot more expensive for the 4 of us versus staying at Royal Pacific.

My concern about Royal Pacific is that I've read some not so great reviews of it on Tripadvisor - people saying it's run down and only worth staying at because of the EP.

Any thoughts? I'm not sure which is more important to us - staying at a newer hotel with (what appears to be) a more fun pool area or staying at a hotel that gives us Express Pass privileges.

Thanks so much!

 

[Fuhnuh]

You might want to check the dates of the Trip Advisor reviews. I believe that RPR had a major refurb in 2016. If I remember correctly towers 1 and 3 had room refurbs finished by July 2016 when we were last there. I have not stayed at Sapphire Falls, but have gone over there a few times. It looked nice. Nice enough that I considered staying there for our April trip. I decided on RPR for the shorter walk and the Express Passes. It depends on how important the pool area is to your family, but we have been satisfied with the quality and upkeep of RPR. It did seem to need the room refurb before our last stay. Hopefully, someone with more recent experience can let you know how the refurb is holding up. Another thing to remember is that you can pool hop, though I am not 100% certain that you can do that to Sapphire Falls from RPR. If you can, it's a short walk.

 

[schumigirl]

The reviews about the hotel being run down confuse me, and always make me wonder if they’ve actually stayed there recently if at all.

The hotel is beautiful, we stay there exclusively and have done since 2009. Everything about the hotel is just about perfect for us.....hasn’t ever disappointed us in any way. Rooms were updated and completed to a high standard. If you choose to stay there you won’t be disappointed. Staff are wonderful and I’m sure you’d love it.

EP of course is a fabulous perk and is certainly a good reason to stay there.

Sapphire Falls we love.......we visit often as it’s walkable from RP in only a few minutes. Strong Water Tavern is a real favourite of ours.

It’s been arranged for us to stay at Sapphire Falls this May for 10 nights, we are so looking forward to it. But that trip is all about resort time and for doing things other than the parks.......we always run out of time on our usual September trip to do some things on top of HHN and park time, so thought this would be an ideal opportunity to stay there as we won’t need EP as we don’t plan to do the parks.

However, EP is important to us usually as we hate to queue......so maybe that would win out for us normally. You can pool hop to Sapphire Falls from RP, both pools are a lot of fun and both have a good pool bar......win win really......

But, honestly don’t worry about Trip Advisor reviews.......we were just there again in September/October for 19 nights and another week in December and everything was perfect as always.

 

[**eeyore**]

Thank you so much for both of your replies! I think they are both just what I needed to hear - positive reviews from real people who stayed at Royal Pacific I think the benefit of EP will be the deciding factor in this situation - we will only be there for 3 nights and it's our first time to the parks, so I think we will want to maximize our time there, which EP should help a lot with, even if the parks are too busy that week. Thanks!

 

[schumigirl]

Thank you so much for both of your replies! I think they are both just what I needed to hear - positive reviews from real people who stayed at Royal Pacific I think the benefit of EP will be the deciding factor in this situation - we will only be there for 3 nights and it's our first time to the parks, so I think we will want to maximize our time there, which EP should help a lot with, even if the parks are too busy that week. Thanks!

Glad to hear your mind is at rest .........apart from this trip in May the RP really is the only hotel we want to stay at in Orlando.........and I’m incredibly fussy....or so my husband says.......

For your visit it sounds like a perfect fit.........EP will make a huge difference to your trip......and your first time too, it’ll make it even more special!

 

[TommyJK]

I stayed at RPR last year and it was really nice so I wouldn't put too much stock in those Trip Advisor reviews. And as Schumigirl mentioned if you want to spend some time at the SF pool, it's not a far walk from RPR. For only $85 more per night, you're getting 4 EPs every day (~$21 per EP) so that's a steal as compared to paying for them separately.

 

[quandrea]

Royal Pacific is really lovely with wonderful staff. The refurb has leftvthe rooms fresh and clean. I really enjoyed the grab and go breakfast offered in Orchids each morning. Jakes, the restaurant downstairs was delicious with impeccable service. I think you’ll like it. Tripadvisor always has negative reviews.

 

[shanew21]

The reviews about the hotel being run down confuse me, and always make me wonder if they’ve actually stayed there recently if at all.

The hotel is beautiful, we stay there exclusively and have done since 2009. Everything about the hotel is just about perfect for us.....hasn’t ever disappointed us in any way. Rooms were updated and completed to a high standard. If you choose to stay there you won’t be disappointed. Staff are wonderful and I’m sure you’d love it.

EP of course is a fabulous perk and is certainly a good reason to stay there.

Sapphire Falls we love.......we visit often as it’s walkable from RP in only a few minutes. Strong Water Tavern is a real favourite of ours.

It’s been arranged for us to stay at Sapphire Falls this May for 10 nights, we are so looking forward to it. But that trip is all about resort time and for doing things other than the parks.......we always run out of time on our usual September trip to do some things on top of HHN and park time, so thought this would be an ideal opportunity to stay there as we won’t need EP as we don’t plan to do the parks.

However, EP is important to us usually as we hate to queue......so maybe that would win out for us normally. You can pool hop to Sapphire Falls from RP, both pools are a lot of fun and both have a good pool bar......win win really......

But, honestly don’t worry about Trip Advisor reviews.......we were just there again in September/October for 19 nights and another week in December and everything was perfect as always.

Ironically I felt Cabana Bay felt cleaner and nicer than RPR, although it somewhat makes sense due to how new CBR is. However, both felt far better than any Disney Moderate or Value hotel (the deluxe hotels seemed nicer than RPR though)

I just wish they had a Starbucks at RPR like they do at CBR

 

[quandrea]

Ironically I felt Cabana Bay felt cleaner and nicer than RPR, although it somewhat makes sense due to how new CBR is. However, both felt far better than any Disney Moderate or Value hotel (the deluxe hotels seemed nicer than RPR though)

I just wish they had a Starbucks at RPR like they do at CBR

Agree with this. Excellent comparison.

 

[schumigirl]

Ironically I felt Cabana Bay felt cleaner and nicer than RPR, although it somewhat makes sense due to how new CBR is. However, both felt far better than any Disney Moderate or Value hotel (the deluxe hotels seemed nicer than RPR though)

I just wish they had a Starbucks at RPR like they do at CBR

I’m sure some will agree with you, I don’t........

But then I really don’t like CBay anyway........

 

[shanew21]

I’m sure some will agree with you, I don’t........

But then I really don’t like CBay anyway........

We haven't been since 2014 so it could be different now. We just remember being so impressed by Cabana Bay and weren't as impressed with RPR. Express Passes are worth it though.

 

[schumigirl]

Life would be so dull if we all liked the same thing Shane.........

Yep, EP is always a godsend to us.......even on so called quiet times........

 

[shanew21]

Life would be so dull if we all liked the same thing Shane.........

Yep, EP is always a godsend to us.......even on so called quiet times........

Agreed on the latter portion. I don't think I'll ever go without the Express Pass again.

 

[schumigirl]

**eeyore** please make sure you come back and tell us about your trip.......hope it’s fabulous!

 

[Valbot]

I've stayed at royal Pacific twice. The rooms are far from run down. Though on my last stay we had a ground floor room near the elevator and it was super loud. That was my only issue with it. Trying to get some sleep then hearing someone yelling up and down was a bit annoying.