Any specials now at HRH or PB

[BWVPam]

Hi everyone, this is first time posting on Universal Board. We have decided to give Universal a try on our upcoming trip this summer. I have the entertainment guide book, but was wondering if there were any great deals anyone was getting and what price should I expect to get at either hotel.

Which hotel would your choose and why. We have only been to Universal once and it was before all of the new stuff was added. We will have 2 kids (11 - boy, and 7 - girl). We will be arriving on June 1, checking out on June 3 to head over to WDW. Because we will be coming in off the crusie, the earliest we could get there would be probably around 10 or 11 on Saturday morning.

I currently have the $99 cruise offer at the Swan/Dolphin for those 2 nights, but don't mind paying up to about $150 per night.

Any suggestions, and thanks for everyone's help

Pam

 

[gschmerl]

Call 1-800-563-9711 and see if the Entertainment rates are available for your dates. They have been running about $125 for a garden view room at the HRH. Does your employer offer the Universal Fan Club Cards? If so , you can also ask about the Fan Club Rate. Call now--the discounted rooms go fast.

 

[BWVPam]

Thanks for your quick response. I had tried calling Universal directly at 9:00 (EST) this morning when they opened and they told me they had no Entertainment rates. She said if I had Fan Club I could get HRH for $139. How do you go about getting Fan Club? Can you get it even if your employer does not offer it?

Anyway, I called the number you posted and was able to get an Entertainment Rate at Portofino for $150 (Garden View) + tax. have you stayed at both. Portofino looks nice (we will have 2 kids ages 11 & 7.

Thanks,

Pam

 

[gschmerl]

I've only stayed at the HRH, but Portofino is beautiful. You can just take the short and lovely boat ride over to CityWalk and then go to the parks.
Glad you were able to get a good rate.

 

[LynetteB]

We are staying at Portofino again this summer. Our children are 10 and 12. We first stayed there in 2000 and absolutely loved it. My children loved the pool and the ice cream parlour. We like the peaceful atmosphere after a hectic day in the parks. The rooms are wonderful!. We offered to go to HRH but my children wouldn't hear of it!! You will love PBH - it is sheer luxury. I suppose we like it more because we live in Europe and it has a very european feel to it.

 

[nhrenee]

We've stayed at the Portofino twice with our children and they loved it both times, our last trip they were ages 7 + 12. The kids meals at Mama Della's are one of the few food bargains at Universal Orlando.

 

[Kitty 34]

I got the Entertainment Rate of $125 for HRH for our stay the 2nd week in June. Just called a couple of weeks ago.

 

[RLMS56]

I got the same rate of $125 for a standard room w/Entertainment. However, I could not get it for our arrival date of 6/29. The rate starts 6/30.

 

[BWVPam]

I guess I just wasn't lucky on our dates to get the HRH for the $125 rate with Entertainment discount. We are pretty locked in because we get off of the cruise on June 1 and our timeshare at Boardwalk doesn't start until Monday, June 3. So we only had June 1 and 2 to deal with. I was able to get the $150 entertainment rate at Portofino Bay, which looks pretty cool in itself.

I thought I saw somewhere that you can use both pools if you stay on-site, is this correct?

Thanks,

Pam

 

[gschmerl]

Pam,
Yes, you can use the pools at both the PBH and the HRH. The PBH has several pools, while the HRH has just the one.

 

[ozziewags]

I got the same rates for the PB and HR but can't decide which one. I have two teens. Like the HR idea, but rooms at PB are larger and sounds lovely. Which would you do? Also, if I get an Entertainment book for St. Louis, do I get a card from it that I can use there?
Thanks,
Carol

 

[gbanshee]

We got a fan club card from our travel agent. Maybe yours has them?

gb

 

[gschmerl]

Ozziewags,
There will be a plastic card inside your Entertainment Book. That's what you have to bring to show at the hotel. There will be a lot of offers in your St. Louis book that you can use locally. We've discovered so many new restaurants in our area by using the Entertainment Book.

 

[ozziewags]

Thank you for all the great advice on this board. I didn't think I would ever get to stay at one of the Universal hotels! When I had my magic kingdom membership, I got an entertainment book that only had hotel listings for all over the world. With it I got the plastic entertainment card. I wonder if I join the disney club, if that offer is still available..... it cost me $4.00 for it at the time. I will try and let everyone know.
Carol

 

[Jon360]

Do not use the Disney club entertainment card!