Royal Pacific vs Hard rock - and changing hotel questions

[megibabi7]

Hi all! I booked a trip to Universal, and booked at Royal Pacific. We were going with other family members who were concerned with the price, so we opted to go with the cheapest hotel. From what I can remember, RPH was a little dated and the rooms not so nice. However, I always really enjoyed Hard Rock. Anyone have any opinions on which is better? I called spirit to see what the upgrade cost would be to switch to hard rock, and it's $269 (for 3 nights) where as if we would have just booked there directly, it would have been about $150...so I'm torn.

Any opinions would be great!!

 

[bumbershoot]

We've now stayed at all 3 current onsite resorts, and HRH is our absolute least favorite.

As we entered they were curtaining off the pretty view to the pool for some event, and those curtains stayed up for 2 days. The room we got maybe wasn't a normal room (not sure), but it was weird and drab and had sugar ants that we had to have maintenance come in about (b/c I didn't know what they were and they almost looked like non-jumping fleas to me).

Remember that pool hopping is encouraged, so if one of your reasons for moving is to enjoy their pool, you can do that even while staying at RPR.

For us, Portofino is the best, RPR is second, and HRH is a place we likely won't stay at in the future (though DS loves their slide so we'll use their pool in the future).

 

[Fuhnuh]

DW, DD12 and I stayed at HRH in '10 and RPH in '11 and '12. We enjoyed our HRH stay but enjoyed the RPH stay a bit more. We did the opposite this summer; we booked HRH and then broke down and moved to RPH. Part of the choice came down to restaurants (DD12 has multiple allergies that seem to be easier to accommodate at RPH), but we genuinely have a slight preference for RPH.

 

[macraven]

i have had numerous stays at hrh and rph.



i switched to rph some years back and made it my permenant home.
i'll never go back to hrh.



it's all personal choice of which hotel is better.

i wouldn't say that rph is dated.
the furnishings are of darker wood coloring which some may consider not a South Seas vibe.

i enjoy that there are 4 places on site for rph for dining.
hrh does not have that many restaurants.

both have 24 hour room service for food.


there are some dates where rph room rates are higher than hrh.

 

[Bluer101]

Depends on how long ago you went to RPR.

We will only stay at RPR, warm and relaxing atmosphere. HRH inside is too bland for us and PBH is too concrete and spread out.

 

[megibabi7]

Thanks guys for all the feedback! I am gonna stay with RPH then! Makes me feel better! Any suggestions on where to ask for our room? I have e-mailed the concierge as it's our anniversary (1 year married!) and wanted it to be special!

i have had numerous stays at hrh and rph.



i switched to rph some years back and made it my permenant home.
i'll never go back to hrh.



it's all personal choice of which hotel is better.

i wouldn't say that rph is dated.
the furnishings are of darker wood coloring which some may consider not a South Seas vibe.

i enjoy that there are 4 places on site for rph for dining.
hrh does not have that many restaurants.

both have 24 hour room service for food.


there are some dates where rph room rates are higher than hrh.

 

[macraven]

Thanks guys for all the feedback! I am gonna stay with RPH then! Makes me feel better! Any suggestions on where to ask for our room? I have e-mailed the concierge as it's our anniversary (1 year married!) and wanted it to be special!

hopefully you will get a pool/park view.
the views on the other side on floor 7 are of the highway and buildings.

if you are staying club, you will be in Tower 3, 7th floor.



since it is your anniversary, you might get lucky.


did you have the anniversary celebration on your reservation when you booked?
if not, call and have it added.

 

[megibabi7]

I e-mailed them and let them know to make the note. I didn't think it was worth the extra $$ for club, as we did it when we stayed at the Wyndham bonnet creek, and never even used it. It was a total waste.

I'm hoping they'll give us a good room!

hopefully you will get a pool/park view.
the views on the other side on floor 7 are of the highway and buildings.

if you are staying club, you will be in Tower 3, 7th floor.



since it is your anniversary, you might get lucky.


did you have the anniversary celebration on your reservation when you booked?
if not, call and have it added.

 

[macraven]

since you are not staying club level, you could also find great rooms in tower 1.


there are some great views from tower 2 but not as many as T1 & T3 have.

 

[Albertan mom]

We stayed at RPR a few years ago, and are thinking of staying at HRH this time.
How far of a walk is it from each hotel to the parks?

Any other pros/cons to each hotel?
Thanks

 

[damo]

We stayed at RPR a few years ago, and are thinking of staying at HRH this time.
How far of a walk is it from each hotel to the parks?

Any other pros/cons to each hotel?
Thanks

HRH is under 5 minutes to the Universal gates and under 10 to IOA. RPR is about 7 from IOA and about 12 to Universal. Add another 5 minutes for PBH.

 

[tchrchgo]

We stayed at RPR a few years ago, and are thinking of staying at HRH this time.
How far of a walk is it from each hotel to the parks?

Any other pros/cons to each hotel?
Thanks

Yes, the pro/con is that once you stay at HRH you'll never want to return to rpr.

 

[sonofanarchy]

Yes, the pro/con is that once you stay at HRH you'll never want to return to rpr.

I couldn't possibly disagree more. We just stayed 6 nights at HRH and I can't wait to go back to RPR. The only thing we liked about HRH better was Emack and Bolio's for an ice cream or quick breakfast. Other than that, everything about RPR was better. The room, theme, public areas, pool, staff, food.

 

[macraven]

Yes, the pro/con is that once you stay at HRH you'll never want to return to rpr.

not for me.
after 22 stays at hrh i tried rph.

one stay at rph, it became my new home away from home.


have stayed there exclusively ever since.

 

[TaylorsDad]

We love HRH. It was the first onsite hotel we visited. I even have to stop and purchase a city tee at every Hard Rock Café I notice when travelling. That being said I really prefer the theming at RPR. I feel more like I am visiting an exotic location and truly on vacation. Hard Rock Hotel is more vibrant, loud (in feel more so than noise level to me at least), and larger than life. Love both and staying at RPR in August with just us and HRH in Oct with my sister and brother in law. Really, each place has its own charm. If you get a chance visit the other onsite hotels while there and maybe get a good idea where to stay for your next visit.