First Time - Would Like Info

[CB Disney Mom]

Hi there,

We have been to Disney twice and now are planning a trip to Universal next fall and I have a few questions:

1. Do the Universal hotels offer anything like the Disney ones - Charging privileges, package delivery, food courts, free transportation between parks and incredible atmosphere?

2. We will be staying at one of the on site hotels, but don't know which one to pick. We have stayed at CBR in Disney both times and we love it, is there anything similar at Universal.

3. How far in advance should I book the hotel? If a special comes out after I book can I get the special rate or am I locked in to pricing once I booked?

Sorry for all the questions, but I would love any help you guys can provide and any additional information which I forgot to ask.

Thanks a bunch.

 

[TigerLilly's Mom]

Hi - I'll try to answer a few of your questions.

1. Do the Universal hotels offer anything like the Disney ones - Charging privileges, package delivery, food courts, free transportation between parks and incredible atmosphere?

Yes, except the food courts, the Universal hotels offer all of these things. I have only expierenced the atmosphere at the Hard Rock Hotel - but it was great. We will be going to the Royal Pacific next week, which also looks beautiful. I have stayed at Old Key West and the Polonesian at Disney and the Universal hotels, IMO, are much much nicer. I think they may be limited in the way of quick food - like the food courts at Disney - but there are many dining choices in the hotels and the parks and Citywalk. YOu can have packages delivered and I'm pretty sure you can charge on your hotel key. The transportation is FAR superior to Disney. They are all within a short walk or boat ride from the parks. It took us literally 5 minutes to walk from our room at the HRH to the front entrance to Universal Studios.

2. We will be staying at one of the on site hotels, but don't know which one to pick. We have stayed at CBR in Disney both times and we love it, is there anything similar at Universal.

Is the CBR the Carribean Beach Resort? I've never stayed there, but all three of the onsite hotels at Universal would be comparable to a Disney deluxe. If you are looking for a tropical like theme, I would go for the Royal Pacific Resort - it is the closest to that theme.

. How far in advance should I book the hotel? If a special comes out after I book can I get the special rate or am I locked in to pricing once I booked?

Not sure on this one. I don't believe you are locked in once you are booked, you can cancel and rebook, but Entertainment Rates and other special rates are based on availability, so if everyone booked and then rebooked there wouldn't be very many special rates. You can get special rates with the Entertainment book, Fan Club card, AP discount, and Florida Resident discount.
I would call to see what rates are available for your dates as soon as you know them, and ask when discount rates would become available.

If you have never been, you will love Universal. The rides are great, the theming (especially at Islands of Adventure) is excellent, and the food is great. My family and I love Disney for different reasons, but it is so hard to find food that is not c*** there, we get so sick of eating there and can't wait to have a "real" meal. We never expierenced that feeling at Universal, the food quality is superb. Also, you will not believe how cool it is to use your room key to get in every express line, as many times as you want. We went in the middle of the summer when everything was packed, but we never waited more than 10 minutes for anything! What a lifesaver with kids!!!

These boards are a great source of information - enjoy your planning!

 

[SpideyHulk24]

Tigerlilly summed it up, but I wanted to add that you are going to love it!!!!!! It really has become a great destination!

 

[webray]

Ditto....if you have only stayed at CBR...you are going to flip when you see the Universal resorts.

Portofino the top, the HRH, the RPR...none of them any less than a disney deluxe resort. Service at the resorts..wonderful. Pool areas beautiful.

 

[DaveWH]

We just got back from a two night stay at the Hard Rock Hotel. Below is just of couple of points I can say:

- We checked in on Wednesday 29th (last week) and we only booked the night before (28th). This was however midweek and we checked out on friday. If your looking at staying over a weekend you could propabably get away with 3/4 weeks in advance. It also depends on the time of year as Friday 31st would have been booked out for weeks because it was Halloween

-The atmosphere in the HRH is amazing! The music that is played is perfect as it sets the atmosphere without being to much. The hotel suroundings are beautiful with great landscaping and architecture (sp?).

-I visited all three hotels and my face value view was that the Hard Rock was the nicest because it is the perfect size and the amenities are great. I didn't explore the royal pacific and portofino extensively so don't rely on that judgement!

-staying on site is a must because of the incredibaly short walk from the Hard Rock to Universal (Royal pacific is close to IOA and Portofino is a short water taxi ride). The unlimited universal express is a god send to help in missing all the queues even if they are only 10/15 minutes long. Also charging all purchases from IOA, USF and Citywalk with your room key is a great advantage as you don't have to carry money and all that heavy change!

So if you choose any of the Hotels i'm sure u'll enjoy your stay but if it was my choice I would go for the Hard Rock because of the atmosphere, rooms and proximity to USF.

(one thing about HRH: We were lucky enough to be at the end of one of the wings with a pool view. The reason this was lucky is because loud music is played until 10PM and you could hardly hear it before 10 in our room. The music is great when your awake but not if your trying to sleep. Therefore ask for a higher up room or a room further away from the lobby)

 

[Geno1129]

I've never been to Universal either. Plan on staying at RPR in August. Do you get FOTL on the day you checkout? Do you hand in the room keys when leave?

 

[DaveWH]

Each person gets their own room key with there name on it which is used for the following:
- Entry into your room
- Entry through various doors to the pool etc
- Unlimited use of Universal Express
- To charge purchases in the whole USO complex to your room bill

The fact your key has your name and signature on it, it means you get to keep it after you have checked out. This means that you can use front of the Line access after you have checked out right up to park closing on that day. (the length of your stay is shown on your room key also)

Also when we stayed at the HRH we weren't sure about this. We asked and they said yes you can use FOTL access after you've checked out. However they also told us that you can use ALL of the hotel facilities after you have checked out for the rest of the day. So basically after you have checked out your day is exactly the same except you don't have access to your room.

Hope that helps. Dave

 

[SpideyHulk24]

Dave,

Thanks for the review. I have stayed at RPR, Portofino and HRH is next on my list. Glad you enjoyed it and can't wait to experience it for myself!!!

 

[IMGONNABE40!]

Geno1129--

Not only do you get to use FOTL on the day you check out, you can use it for the full day on the day you check in. Even though check in is not until 3 or 4 in the afternoon, you can arrive at your hotel as early as 7 or 8 that morning and get a room key even though your room is not yet available. You get to play all day in the parks, using FOTL, while they ready your room. (If you remembered to keep your swimming stuff handy, you can go in the pool as well.) At your convenience, stroll back over to the hotel and have your bags sent up to your room. I know FOTL seems too good to be true, but it is!

 

[Flyfly_Eclipse]

I'm going to add on to IMGONNABE40!'s comments.

By all means, check in around 7 or 8 in the morning!!! Usually the rooms are ready already, and you may even get lucky to pick which tower and floor you get. The later you check in, the less options you have. I have checked in before 8:30AM most of the time. The only time our room wasn't ready we chose to be in Tower 1, lobby level. I'm sure you can request being near an elevator and everything too.

But, if your room isn't ready, you still get the room keys to use all day that day through the end of the day you check out. Remember to keep the phone number on you while at the parks so you can just call them to see if your room is ready instead of just going back and forth between the parks and the hotel.


You'll love the hotels. I've only stayed at RPH, but visited the other two. RPH is BEAUTIFUL. It's the least expensive, but it's also the newest resort at Universal. It's clean and the staff is very nice. Check-in is pleasant (I remember checking into Disney's All-Star Music Resort: nightmare).The pool area is lovely, like the other two resorts. The standard room (only one I've been in) is rather small, but a bit larger than Disney's All-Star Music Resort. The interior is beautiful (as appose to, yes, Disney's All-Star Music Resort which was tacky...major eyesore).

 

[wendypooh]

Hi, someone may have mentioned it, but just to reiterate, if you book your room, you can still at any time change it to get a better rate should you come across one....... I booked at the AP rate, then got my ent. book...... and changed it to that rate, it was not a problem at all. It seems like every thing else you asked was covered pretty well. You will LOVE the resorts, they are amazing, and I LOVE the RPR. It is beautiful and they treat you like royalty, every whim is catered too! The pool is perfect for little ones, my son LOVED it...... You will be impressed, and there is NO comparison to disney, once you get the fotl at US/IOA. It is beyond worth it to pretty much walk on rides all day! We loved it, and we're going back in Nov.!!!! Enjoy

 

[hockey mom]

I have to agree you will wonder what took so long to try it. We spent years doing only Disney then stayed on-site ay Universal and now are hooked. Our stays at Disney include AKL, CBR, POR, OKW and ASM. At Universal we have tried HRH and PBH and much prefer the Universal hotels. We always check in early to get our room key then head to the parks. Have fun.