Brief trip report

[Sarahgraci]

My boyfriend and I visited Orlando from Dec. 27-January 2, and it was amazing. Our first 2 nights were spent at the Downtown Marriott (got it through Priceline), and on the day between those 2 nights we just went to Downtown Disney and shopped, ate at Wolfgang Puck's, and relaxed.

On Sunday morning, we checked out bright and early, and went to the HRH, where we checked in and got our keys. Off to the parks we went. While they were VERY crowded, we quickly learned the advantages of staying on-site. We will NEVER stay off site, and will highly recommend staying on site at the HRH, or other hotel for the perks. Of the days we visited, we got to ride everything we wanted, pretty much as much as we wanted. Whenever we got annoyed at the lines or just too hot, we zipped back over to the hotel via water taxi and went to the pool (boyfriend LOVED the water slide...I could usually be found in the hot tub...it was great for my sore feet), and sometimes we just took a nap. We partied New Year's Eve at the hotel, which was fun, but could have been better if the fireworks had happened and the weather cooperated. That evening, in a bit of a tipsy state, we actually added a night on to our stay.

Because of staying on site, we were able to really take things easy and go at a relaxed pace, enjoying all we wanted to by avoiding the lines, eventhough it was one of the busiest times of year. Our vacation was great, and we're looking forward to visiting Orlando again soon!

~~~~~~~~~
If you have questions about dining, the parks, or HRH, shoot them my way. We went to both parks, went to the pool at the PBH, and ate at Wolfgang Puck's, Emeril's, Margaritaville, Mythos, Enchanted Oak Tavern, and some other places.

P.S. We got some advice about eating at Emeril's; if you don't make reservations way in advance, it's usually impossible to get a table. However, the bar is open for anyone to sit at, and you can order from the regular dinner menu. We did this and had a really good meal, in a great place on the spur of the moment.

 

[h20jag]

What a great place to be at a great time of year! Ditto about the waterslide. Love hearing I'm not the only adult that goes down it!
Glad it was enjoyable for ya'll and thanks for sharing.
Jim

 

[corvair]

How did you like the PBH pool?? thanks..amy

 

[KarenT]

Did you get a wedgie when you went down the slide? I know it's kind of an off the wall to ask, but I need to be prepared.



KarenT

 

[>>^..^<<]

Hi,

Thanx for the trip report.. sorry new years weather did not cooperate with the festivities planned.

Question - in your report you say you went to the pool at PBH?.

Are you allowed to swim at this pool if you are staying at Hard Rock.. I thought the pools there were off limits unless you were a guest?

Thanx!

 

[jjls]

We are staying at the hard rock next month and i have a few questions:
1. Did you see any dogs in the hotel
2. Was it warm enough to swim and how warm was the pool water
3. Is there a special check in line for loews members
4. Could you walk to each park, or was it easier to take the water taxi
Thanks for your help and for the review. Jamie

 

[gschmerl]

We've stayed at the HRH the past two Julys.
1.Yes, we saw dogs at the hotel.
2.The pools are heated.
3.No special check in for Loew's members.
4.We found it much easier to walk to the parks than to use the water taxi. If you use the back gate from the pool, it's a five minute walk to the parks. Just go around the Beach Bar and head on back to the gate. People there will tell you where to go.

 

[KarenM]

We will be staying at HRH with two young children. We booked a standard garden room because I read that the music blasting by the pool makes it difficult to sleep and it plays till about 1 am. Is this true? I sure would much prefer a pool view, but sleep is more important for the kids.

 

[gschmerl]

I have been in both garden view and pool view rooms at the HRH. I prefer the garden view. We didn't really hear music blasting, but I definitely heard the bass from the music at the pool. Our pool view wasn't much of a view anyway. Trees were in the way. It's not like you have a balcony and can sit out there and enjoy the view of the pool. I don't know about you, but I don't spend much time looking out the window. The pool view rooms aren't any closer to the pool than the garden view rooms.

 

[Sarahgraci]

The PBH Pool- you can use it, as well as the RPH pool, if you are staying at the HRH. Your parking pass is good there as well. We were just there for a bit one night; the conceirge at the HRH said the pool was open until 9, but it actually closed at 8. Overall, I liked the pool at the HRH better. It seemed more relaxed and fun, if those 2 can go together.

HRH Pool- I didn't go down the slide at the HRH (bad incident last year at a water park), but my boyfriend said he didn't get a wedgie (but it might be different for girls). The water was warm, and the weather was warm. At one point, my BF and I were just kind talking and relaxing, and we noticed we kept feeling warm water come by us (which was bothersome, if you know what we thought it might be). We then figured out there was a water vent at the bottom of the pool near us pumping out warm water. In the evenings, I usually found it nicer to be in the hot tub relaxing, and in the pool during the day when the sun was shining helping to warm things up some.

Dogs- I saw a few dogs while we were at the hotel, but they were all leashed and well behaved.


Loews- We are members, but couldn't find our enrollment stuff, so we didn't get any perks.

Getting to the parks- Maybe we're just lazy, but we always used the water taxi. It's a nice relaxing way to start the day, and after a day full of walking around a theme park, my feet thanked me for not making them do more walking than they had to. (Also, we had very informative Captains who told us that the park hours had changed, and just were very nice and friendly in general, which was a pleasant treat.)


Our view- We had a garden view room, which actually just overlooked the front of the hotel. No music could be heard (I would have actually liked to have had music in the halls...it seemed to just be in the lobby and common areas of the first couple of floors, as well as the pool).

I hope this helps! If I missed any questions, shoot them back my way. I'll post a note to myself to make sure to check this thread this weekend (sorry I have neglected it this week!).