Mainebound
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2002
- Messages
- 1,699
My family (me, DH, DS9, DS7, Grandma) just returned from 7 nights in two connecting garden view rooms on the 4th floor of the Hard Rock. We had a wonderful trip. This was our 2nd stay at HRH and we feel it is the right Universal hotel for us.
Our rooms were 4131 and 4133. They had lovely garden views. We were very happy with them.
Housekeeping and staff in general were very good to excellent. Every employee we passed greeted us and asked us if they could help with anything. Lines at counters in the hotel, such as car rental, attractions info, and check in, were short. Our sons enjoyed activities by the pool, including a soccer game and singalongs with the DJ. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the Kitchen were all very good (the breakfast is outstanding, actually).
Emack and Bolios continues to be the one low spot in terms of service at this hotel. Disorganized, surly staff (although managers were nice), long lines. Luckily, the free in-room coffee was better than the $3.25 cup of Starbucks you could get down there anyway!
Because we were traveling with a senior citizen, we did utilize the shuttle and ferries to get to the parks and other Universal hotels. In general, the boats were very good, although they did not run in storms, of which there were many in August. The shuttle is less pleasant, less reliable (we were told 2 of 3 shuttles were out of service last night), and seemed to change routes every time we got on. Had we not been traveling with my mother, we would have walked everywhere -- this is one of the best things about staying at Universal, and the HRH in particular, over WDW.
We enjoyed great atmo, great service and very good, if overpriced, food at Tchoup Chop, and we also enjoyed the sushi bar at the Royal Pacific. We had 2 good dinners at the main casual restaurant at Portofino, which had a great make your own pasta bar one night, which my kids loved. We always love lunch at Mythos in Islands of Adventure. We also ate in Bubba Gump's, Margaritaville, and Bob Marley's at City Walk. On balance, we feel that the food options are just not that great at Universal if you are there for a whole week without a car, and you do not enjoy loads of butter, oil, and salt with every meal. YMMV. Pretty much all of the restaurants at City Walk have interchangeable menus.
We did not get on Rip Ride Rockit, which was running without express or single rider lines on the days were were there. We had one disappointing day full of ride breakdowns at Universal Studios, but two other great days there, and we LOVED the new Simpsons ride. We had three great visits to IOA and found it to be cooler than the Studios on a hot day, amazingly. We also visited Sea World and Aquatica, both a lot of fun, although next time, if it's August, I would show up at both in late afternoon.
For the first time in 7 annual visits, we did not visit a WDW park, although we did go over to eat at Downtown Disney (Raglan Road) one night. We wanted to avoid the free dining crowds, and if our failed attempts to get a table at Boma and the large crowds at Downtown Disney on a weeknight were any indication, we made the right choice. It was hot enough at Universal using the Express line. I can't imagine what WDW lines (even with smart use of Fastpass) were like.
We stayed at Portofino last year, and we did go over there a few times. I confess that Portofino, while beautiful, seems very devoid of people - kind of like an empty theme park, my husband said -- and kind of creepy. I would not stay there again, personally. We also visited RPR for the first time this trip, and it is very lovely, with the same kind of fun family atmo we find at HRH. We would absolutely consider staying there.
One thing I really appreciated this trip was how beautiful all the grounds are at Universal Orlando. Just walking around is a true pleasure. On that note, a word about the Rickshaws. While it is fun to have them, we did find ourselves annoyed by the constant ringing bells and having to move over fast when they were whizzing by every time we tried to walk on a path to the parks. I guess you can't have both peaceful tranquility and convenient transportation on those paths!
We also used FL Tours to get from Sanford to the HRH and they were great.
We feel that Universal offers a wonderful family vacation. We did not miss WDW at all this trip, although I was worried we might.
I will check back if anyone has any questions!
Our rooms were 4131 and 4133. They had lovely garden views. We were very happy with them.
Housekeeping and staff in general were very good to excellent. Every employee we passed greeted us and asked us if they could help with anything. Lines at counters in the hotel, such as car rental, attractions info, and check in, were short. Our sons enjoyed activities by the pool, including a soccer game and singalongs with the DJ. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the Kitchen were all very good (the breakfast is outstanding, actually).
Emack and Bolios continues to be the one low spot in terms of service at this hotel. Disorganized, surly staff (although managers were nice), long lines. Luckily, the free in-room coffee was better than the $3.25 cup of Starbucks you could get down there anyway!
Because we were traveling with a senior citizen, we did utilize the shuttle and ferries to get to the parks and other Universal hotels. In general, the boats were very good, although they did not run in storms, of which there were many in August. The shuttle is less pleasant, less reliable (we were told 2 of 3 shuttles were out of service last night), and seemed to change routes every time we got on. Had we not been traveling with my mother, we would have walked everywhere -- this is one of the best things about staying at Universal, and the HRH in particular, over WDW.
We enjoyed great atmo, great service and very good, if overpriced, food at Tchoup Chop, and we also enjoyed the sushi bar at the Royal Pacific. We had 2 good dinners at the main casual restaurant at Portofino, which had a great make your own pasta bar one night, which my kids loved. We always love lunch at Mythos in Islands of Adventure. We also ate in Bubba Gump's, Margaritaville, and Bob Marley's at City Walk. On balance, we feel that the food options are just not that great at Universal if you are there for a whole week without a car, and you do not enjoy loads of butter, oil, and salt with every meal. YMMV. Pretty much all of the restaurants at City Walk have interchangeable menus.
We did not get on Rip Ride Rockit, which was running without express or single rider lines on the days were were there. We had one disappointing day full of ride breakdowns at Universal Studios, but two other great days there, and we LOVED the new Simpsons ride. We had three great visits to IOA and found it to be cooler than the Studios on a hot day, amazingly. We also visited Sea World and Aquatica, both a lot of fun, although next time, if it's August, I would show up at both in late afternoon.
For the first time in 7 annual visits, we did not visit a WDW park, although we did go over to eat at Downtown Disney (Raglan Road) one night. We wanted to avoid the free dining crowds, and if our failed attempts to get a table at Boma and the large crowds at Downtown Disney on a weeknight were any indication, we made the right choice. It was hot enough at Universal using the Express line. I can't imagine what WDW lines (even with smart use of Fastpass) were like.
We stayed at Portofino last year, and we did go over there a few times. I confess that Portofino, while beautiful, seems very devoid of people - kind of like an empty theme park, my husband said -- and kind of creepy. I would not stay there again, personally. We also visited RPR for the first time this trip, and it is very lovely, with the same kind of fun family atmo we find at HRH. We would absolutely consider staying there.
One thing I really appreciated this trip was how beautiful all the grounds are at Universal Orlando. Just walking around is a true pleasure. On that note, a word about the Rickshaws. While it is fun to have them, we did find ourselves annoyed by the constant ringing bells and having to move over fast when they were whizzing by every time we tried to walk on a path to the parks. I guess you can't have both peaceful tranquility and convenient transportation on those paths!
We also used FL Tours to get from Sanford to the HRH and they were great.
We feel that Universal offers a wonderful family vacation. We did not miss WDW at all this trip, although I was worried we might.
I will check back if anyone has any questions!
