3 kids at PBH??

[wish*upon*a*star]

Hi,

After reading through all of the great trip reports on Portofino Bay I was very tempted to stay there 2 nights during our upcoming vacation to Orlando in March. (we are currently booked at the Holiday Inn Family Suites for one week)

I was fortunate enough to get an Entertainment rate of $170 for PBR, but then I was informed we would have to tack on an additional $25 per night because we have 3 children (ages 10, 8 and 6). $170 is already pushing our budget!

It doesn't seem fair that hotels penalize those families with more than 2 children. I ended up not booking the room and now I'm really disappointed.

 

[JessicaR]

I dont know who you tried booking this with but you got wrong information. Try calling 1 800 BE A STAR and ask if Portofino has any discounted rates. If you can purchase or already have an Entertainment Book ask for that rate as well, They also honor AAA and the fan club as well as a few others. I think the person gave you info of an extra $25 thinking it was for a third adult. If that fails for your dates give www.expedia.com a try and also www.hotelkingdom.com
Depending on when in march I am aware they have an $155 a night entertainment rate for gardenview.
Good Luck to you

 

[wish*upon*a*star]

Thanks Jessica.

I might try calling again. I did call the Universal hotel reservations
number directly. And I stressed to the woman that we had three
young children & 2 adults- but she insisted that if were a total of 5 people in the room we would have to pay the extra $25 per night. I explained to her that we wouldn't need a roll-away bed
but she still insisted on the extra charge.

 

[PartyofSix]

Hey call again book it for two adults! That's crazy I have triplets and a 10yo and i have never been asked to pay 25 for them and have been give a crib for my yougest dd. I do also get two rooms but i never tell them anything but two adults each room! I turn around and call guest services and make requests for cribs and such and i tell them it's for my kids ect. never a problem. At check in when they want to issue me cards for each person i always give them everyones name (sourviers mostly) never a prob. I don't normally do this for any reason but my convience and time on the phone making ressie's now if it were an adult i might could see a charge try again please you will love this place!

 

[nhrenee]

Unless something has changed you should only be charged an extra $25 for a rollaway. Maybe you could call the hotel direct and ask them.

The # is 407-503-1000

 

[camdevjor]

We were just informed yesterday (actually I saw it on a posting here and then we called HRH to confirm) that there is a $25 charge per night for a rollaway bed. I have yet to find reference to the charge on the website, nor were we ever told when we called to book. Yet when we called yesterday and asked they informed us of the charge. Perhaps that's the additional charge you were quoted. Someone kindly told me to try to upgrade to a deluxe room where there is a pull out couch, but I haven't yet looked at rates or availability. We leave next week so we may just try to duke it out when we get there. I think HRH should be more forthcoming on room capacity and hidden charges.

 

[wish*upon*a*star]

What got me frustrated was that when I explained to the reservationist that we *didn't want* the rollaway bed , she said she still had to charge me an extra $25 per night because there was a 5th person in the room. I again explained that this "5th person" was a 6 year old and she said it didn't matter.

I can understand a hotel charging extra if people were trying to squeeze 2 families into one room - but that's clearly not the case here. We just happen to be a family of 5. I don't think it's fair to penalize us for that. I was not planning on requesting extra towels, etc. that would even warrent any additional money.

I hate being dishonest, but when I called back to reserve the room I claimed to have only 2 children. I hope that doesn't make our check-in experience uncomfortable, but we'll deal with that when the time comes.

We leave tomorrow for Orlando! This morning in Michigan the temperature was -4 degrees. I can't wait!

*wish*

 

[camdevjor]

Regarding number of children...we booked our HRH reservation online. The reservation request form ONLY asks for number of adults in the room, not the number of children. So those of us booking via Lowe's website aren't even being asked number of occupants which is clearly not fair. We are also splitting our week between HIFS and HRH, so maybe we are spoiled by HIFS where we've never had a problem with "hidden" charges. So, don't feel bad feeling that you've lied. In our case it was truly a case of "don't ask, don't tell" since the web site form never asked!
Have a delightful trip. I've about had it with subzero windchill too...hope you post a trip report. We leave a week from Friday!!

 

[threeboysmom]

I have 3 children and have reservations at the HRH. I gave her the ages of all 3 children (13,11, 6) and she offered the roll-away for $25 a night which I declined. So I think it depends on the person you are dealing with. I'm not being charged extra for having a 5th person in the room.