DisneyChick02
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Apr 29, 2003
- Messages
- 62
Bear with me y'all....just figured I'd give this a shot and hopefully help out some others.
Anyway, just got back this morning from Royal Pacific, using an entertaiment rate of 110/night standard room. I did this very last minute, changed my res 3 times (PBH to HRH to RPR), and I live in the area so I went right after work on Sunday. Also, I'm 23, single, and work in the hospitality industry so my experience is going to be a bit different and more critical than some others.
RESORT
Themed very well, stays true to the theme throughout. Having been in Hawaii many times I think they do a great job, as do the other USO hotels. Pool was overrun with children, which for me wasn't great but it was what I was expecting..... I do wish there were two pools. Fitness Center was wonderful, and I love the open feeling of the resort...I felt very comfortable there. I will also echo other poster's on this fact- ROYAL PACIFIC IS NOT THE POLYNESIAN, NOR DOES IT ATTEMPT TO BE. Don't go expecting "aloha" and Hawaiian culture demonstrations beyond the luau that is offered, because there won't be a lot of opportunities for that. Very clean and a very friendly staff too. Resort grade- A.
CHECK-IN
Checked in at 6pm. Very friendly staff from the start, promptly opened my door and got my bags out. I decided to self-park rather than valet, so I gave the gentleman my luggage and then surprisingly nabbed a good spot in the parking lot there, which judging by comments I've seen here seems to be a bit of a rarity. Came back up, Jason- one of the valets- escorted me in and I was checked in by a very nice employee named Bethany. Much faster check-in then I've seen or experienced at Disney, which was nice. Being a Loews member I asked about the upgrade to club level, having heard and also been told by 2 of their other folks when I did an earlier "research trip" to the hotel that the club upgrade would be 35 dollars and most likely it would be available when I got there. Well, that wasn't the case. It was indeed available, but because I was on the entertainment rate I would have to pay the difference between rack rate club and my current rate- having seen their club level and it just being myself there, it was not worth that added expense. She also said that the only upgrade available was for Loews Gold, and that would be 35 for a suite. I wasn't in the mood to argue that two of her coworkers at the RPR had affirmed the 35 a night deal when I asked them point-blank only a few days earlier, nor did I really need that club level anyway, so I just let it go. I did inquire and recieve a waterview upgrade however, which I was very happy with....Bethany put me in a room overlooking the watertaxi route with a view of the Hulk rollercoaster and the nightly fireworks, which was totally great. I was also able to request my amenity and everything at check-in, which was wonderful, and Bethany was very competent and friendly, so it started everything off nicely. Theming was very good- I love the small check-in packet that kind of looks like an airline/cruise folder, which really sets you in the "glamour/early 20th century south seas voyage" mood they are going for. Overall check-in grade: A
ROOM
Room was 1542 in Tower One. Personally, I knew the decor upfront having seen a room before, and staying there reaffirmed that I didn't like the dark, slightly chintzy decor. For those of you who haven't stayed there, the furniture is all darkwood, with a straw criss-cross pattern covering on the headboard and on the minibar. Three walls are white, two walls are kind of an eggplant purple color, thereby making the room darker and smaller looking. I know the look they were going for, and RPR achieved it nicely, but its just not my style. Also, for the resort being only about a year old, there was a lot of wear and tear that I wasn't expecting....easy stuff to fix (nothing a 2 minute paint touchup couldn't cure, with the exception of a blue stain on the carpet) so I think I was more surprised that it hadn't been done. Moreover, when I two other rooms (during my little research trip) they had marks on the walls too which I pointed out to the staff, so this is not an uncommon thing is my guess. Beyond that, the room was great. Well-stocked minibar, two phones- one cordless which is a GREAT addition to a room- and a very good view. The bed was VERY comfortable with great pillows. As I found out on my last night, one of the wall sconce lamps wasn't working, but beyond that it was very nice. Bathroom was small, but very nice towels....not at the heavenly bath level of Starwood, but fluffy and nice. Did have a sopping wet towel hanging on my shower rod which wasn't mine, so that was not great, but such is life. For one or 2 people the room was great, but I don't see how a family of 4 could sleep in it size-wise. Other nice touches- coffeemaker in room and in-room movies which I watched both nights. Overall room rating: B+
SERVICE
Very good service all around. Extremely friendly, very competent staff. Star Service was wonderful- kind of a good all around concierge that will take care of things for you. Case in point- I had my milk and cookies amenity waiting for me on Sunday night which was so incredibly yummy I wanted it again Monday night. Now this time of course I had to pay for it, which was fine, but Star Service set up the order for me and just took care of everything, rather than transferring me to private dining (which I in fact asked if that's what I had to do, and the operator said "don't worry about it, I'll make that call for you" which was very nice). Sure enough it was there within 40 minutes. Only downside is that I requested turndown service nightly- only recieved it one night. Again, not a huge issue. Service grade: A-
FOOD
I'm going to have to make this overall for Universal. NO complaints here. Great value, good food, good choices. I would have done more "big" meals if I had people with me, but my solo meals were great. First off, for resort dining it was reasonable- 5 dollars for a juice and bagel in the morning, 9 dollars at Boulangerie @ US for a turkey crossaint with fruit, water, and potato salad. Even got out of Margaritaville for 21 dollars, tip included, for grilled salmon and a martini. This was all way better than I was expecting, b/c much like Disney you are a captive audience so they could serve you garbage and you'd not have a big choice. I wasn't a fan of the RPR's private dining menu- I found it too limited and a bit more exotic than what I wanted- mind you, I love gourmet food and trying out different things, but when I can't just find a turkey club or a burger on a room service menu easily, I'm not thrilled. Dined solo at Tchoup Chop and really enjoyed it. My waiter, Carlos, was wonderful. A nice touch with the restaurant is that the servers greet you with your name as soon as they get to the table, as the greeters get everyone's name when you check-in for dinner. Great Asian-Pacific fusion dishes, but I'm spoiled steak-wise by Hawk's Nest at the World Center, so my filet mignon was good but not great. Aslo had good flavor combos, but not ones that pop out at you like I've experienced in the dining room at Wolfgang Pucks in Downtown Disney. Presentation at Tchoup Chop was very well done, decor was WONDERFUL, and the service was excellent. For the record I had dumplings as an appetizer, filet mignon for the entree, and a flourless (and divine) chocolate cake for dessert, and also had a pineapple martini again (they are my favorite). The dinner alone was 60 dollars, but that was my splurge meal of the month, but the presentation and size of the plate you are getting makes that a decent overall expenditure. I would definetely go back and try it again when I have family in town.
THEME PARKS
Okay, I have to say that the front of the line thing is fantastic, but I started to develop a bit of a guilt complex with it....afterall I was waiting about 10 minutes max for each attraction while everyone else was waiting on long lines. At first it was cool, but then the more I thought about it I can kind of buy the whole "class warfare" argument that I've seen erupt on these boards over the FOTL access. I think Universal realizes they have more day guests than on-property, so its an excellent perk that will inherently work well for those who use it, and a great revenue generator for Loews and Universal (the old "heads on bed" routine) Yes, express pass is available on almost everything, but you have to play by Universal's terms unless you are a resort guest, where you can just go on it whenever and utilize it on each attraction as many times as you want. It's a great perk, I used it at every attraction, but part of me felt that it wasn't right for some reason. For those of you who would like Disney to do this, I will bet you that Disney will NEVER do this. 3 hotels versus 20 at Disney would make the Fastpass line at Disney become slower than the regular line b/c of all the on-site guests!
In so far as rides, I will be interested to see Universal in a few years. There is a clear distinction between the old rides and the new ones, and I will love to see what Universal's rides will be like as they cycle out JAWS, EARTHQUAKE and TWISTER at some point.....TWISTER, in my opinion, was the biggest letdown of the park. Okay if you wait 10 minutes, absolutely time waster if you wait more than that. Honestly, the preshow is much better than the ride itself.....the anticipation is great, the theming is great, but then you are on the ride and its like "here's some wind and a flying cow, thanks for coming" I heard several people around me express the exact same disappointment I had. Shrek was good, but I think I had heard so much hype about it that it didn't meet my expectations overall. It was a 4-D theater attraction, which I've seen at other places, but the script and everything was tight and sarcastic like I expected from Shrek. Men In Black is my favorite by far at Universal Studios- interactive, fun, totally fits the movie, and I really hope they bring in more rides like that in the future.
You can totally see Universal's growth in Islands of Adventure. Great theming and fantastic rides. Spiderman is honestly one of the most amazing rides I have been on ever- can't wait to do it again. Great 4-D combo, good ride length, etc. Jurassic Park was broken when I got there I'm pretty sure...the amount of empty boats flying down the flume clued me in on that, but that's not a shocker to me. HULK was great but much like my first time on it my head got banged around very hard on the ride, to the point that I had a nasty headache for the rest of the day. Dueling Dragons, in contrast, was a wonderfully smooth, fun roller coaster ride. For a change, I tried Poseidon's Fury- that was really interesting. Neat "experience" that they set up- totally not what I was expecting, going through water tunnels and cool things like that. Really a lot of fun. If I had kids, I would be all about Seuss Landing and Toon Town, but considering I wanted to stay dry I steered clear of the water rides and fountains that these areas have. Also, for being right after July 4th, the parks weren't too crowded which was nice. Park Experience- with FOTL, I give it an A. Without FOTL, I would probably say B-.
Overall, I had a great time- FOTL made it easy for me to hit everything I wanted in both parks and be back in my room by 3, but I don't know what it would have been like without FOTL. Honestly, that's the one way I will do Universal now- grab an entertainment or annual pass rate, stay at the hotels, and go to the parks. The hotels are GREAT, and I think the strength lies in that its not run by Universal, but by a hotel chain. The hotels are the primary focus of Loews, and USO can focus on the parks, restaurants, merchandise etc. That is the one strength I see over Disney hotels, but the same can be said about the WDW Swan/Dolphin. Value wise though- particularly with the entertainment rate- it doesn't get much better than this.
Hope this helps others. Any other questions?
Anyway, just got back this morning from Royal Pacific, using an entertaiment rate of 110/night standard room. I did this very last minute, changed my res 3 times (PBH to HRH to RPR), and I live in the area so I went right after work on Sunday. Also, I'm 23, single, and work in the hospitality industry so my experience is going to be a bit different and more critical than some others.
RESORT
Themed very well, stays true to the theme throughout. Having been in Hawaii many times I think they do a great job, as do the other USO hotels. Pool was overrun with children, which for me wasn't great but it was what I was expecting..... I do wish there were two pools. Fitness Center was wonderful, and I love the open feeling of the resort...I felt very comfortable there. I will also echo other poster's on this fact- ROYAL PACIFIC IS NOT THE POLYNESIAN, NOR DOES IT ATTEMPT TO BE. Don't go expecting "aloha" and Hawaiian culture demonstrations beyond the luau that is offered, because there won't be a lot of opportunities for that. Very clean and a very friendly staff too. Resort grade- A.
CHECK-IN
Checked in at 6pm. Very friendly staff from the start, promptly opened my door and got my bags out. I decided to self-park rather than valet, so I gave the gentleman my luggage and then surprisingly nabbed a good spot in the parking lot there, which judging by comments I've seen here seems to be a bit of a rarity. Came back up, Jason- one of the valets- escorted me in and I was checked in by a very nice employee named Bethany. Much faster check-in then I've seen or experienced at Disney, which was nice. Being a Loews member I asked about the upgrade to club level, having heard and also been told by 2 of their other folks when I did an earlier "research trip" to the hotel that the club upgrade would be 35 dollars and most likely it would be available when I got there. Well, that wasn't the case. It was indeed available, but because I was on the entertainment rate I would have to pay the difference between rack rate club and my current rate- having seen their club level and it just being myself there, it was not worth that added expense. She also said that the only upgrade available was for Loews Gold, and that would be 35 for a suite. I wasn't in the mood to argue that two of her coworkers at the RPR had affirmed the 35 a night deal when I asked them point-blank only a few days earlier, nor did I really need that club level anyway, so I just let it go. I did inquire and recieve a waterview upgrade however, which I was very happy with....Bethany put me in a room overlooking the watertaxi route with a view of the Hulk rollercoaster and the nightly fireworks, which was totally great. I was also able to request my amenity and everything at check-in, which was wonderful, and Bethany was very competent and friendly, so it started everything off nicely. Theming was very good- I love the small check-in packet that kind of looks like an airline/cruise folder, which really sets you in the "glamour/early 20th century south seas voyage" mood they are going for. Overall check-in grade: A
ROOM
Room was 1542 in Tower One. Personally, I knew the decor upfront having seen a room before, and staying there reaffirmed that I didn't like the dark, slightly chintzy decor. For those of you who haven't stayed there, the furniture is all darkwood, with a straw criss-cross pattern covering on the headboard and on the minibar. Three walls are white, two walls are kind of an eggplant purple color, thereby making the room darker and smaller looking. I know the look they were going for, and RPR achieved it nicely, but its just not my style. Also, for the resort being only about a year old, there was a lot of wear and tear that I wasn't expecting....easy stuff to fix (nothing a 2 minute paint touchup couldn't cure, with the exception of a blue stain on the carpet) so I think I was more surprised that it hadn't been done. Moreover, when I two other rooms (during my little research trip) they had marks on the walls too which I pointed out to the staff, so this is not an uncommon thing is my guess. Beyond that, the room was great. Well-stocked minibar, two phones- one cordless which is a GREAT addition to a room- and a very good view. The bed was VERY comfortable with great pillows. As I found out on my last night, one of the wall sconce lamps wasn't working, but beyond that it was very nice. Bathroom was small, but very nice towels....not at the heavenly bath level of Starwood, but fluffy and nice. Did have a sopping wet towel hanging on my shower rod which wasn't mine, so that was not great, but such is life. For one or 2 people the room was great, but I don't see how a family of 4 could sleep in it size-wise. Other nice touches- coffeemaker in room and in-room movies which I watched both nights. Overall room rating: B+
SERVICE
Very good service all around. Extremely friendly, very competent staff. Star Service was wonderful- kind of a good all around concierge that will take care of things for you. Case in point- I had my milk and cookies amenity waiting for me on Sunday night which was so incredibly yummy I wanted it again Monday night. Now this time of course I had to pay for it, which was fine, but Star Service set up the order for me and just took care of everything, rather than transferring me to private dining (which I in fact asked if that's what I had to do, and the operator said "don't worry about it, I'll make that call for you" which was very nice). Sure enough it was there within 40 minutes. Only downside is that I requested turndown service nightly- only recieved it one night. Again, not a huge issue. Service grade: A-
FOOD
I'm going to have to make this overall for Universal. NO complaints here. Great value, good food, good choices. I would have done more "big" meals if I had people with me, but my solo meals were great. First off, for resort dining it was reasonable- 5 dollars for a juice and bagel in the morning, 9 dollars at Boulangerie @ US for a turkey crossaint with fruit, water, and potato salad. Even got out of Margaritaville for 21 dollars, tip included, for grilled salmon and a martini. This was all way better than I was expecting, b/c much like Disney you are a captive audience so they could serve you garbage and you'd not have a big choice. I wasn't a fan of the RPR's private dining menu- I found it too limited and a bit more exotic than what I wanted- mind you, I love gourmet food and trying out different things, but when I can't just find a turkey club or a burger on a room service menu easily, I'm not thrilled. Dined solo at Tchoup Chop and really enjoyed it. My waiter, Carlos, was wonderful. A nice touch with the restaurant is that the servers greet you with your name as soon as they get to the table, as the greeters get everyone's name when you check-in for dinner. Great Asian-Pacific fusion dishes, but I'm spoiled steak-wise by Hawk's Nest at the World Center, so my filet mignon was good but not great. Aslo had good flavor combos, but not ones that pop out at you like I've experienced in the dining room at Wolfgang Pucks in Downtown Disney. Presentation at Tchoup Chop was very well done, decor was WONDERFUL, and the service was excellent. For the record I had dumplings as an appetizer, filet mignon for the entree, and a flourless (and divine) chocolate cake for dessert, and also had a pineapple martini again (they are my favorite). The dinner alone was 60 dollars, but that was my splurge meal of the month, but the presentation and size of the plate you are getting makes that a decent overall expenditure. I would definetely go back and try it again when I have family in town.
THEME PARKS
Okay, I have to say that the front of the line thing is fantastic, but I started to develop a bit of a guilt complex with it....afterall I was waiting about 10 minutes max for each attraction while everyone else was waiting on long lines. At first it was cool, but then the more I thought about it I can kind of buy the whole "class warfare" argument that I've seen erupt on these boards over the FOTL access. I think Universal realizes they have more day guests than on-property, so its an excellent perk that will inherently work well for those who use it, and a great revenue generator for Loews and Universal (the old "heads on bed" routine) Yes, express pass is available on almost everything, but you have to play by Universal's terms unless you are a resort guest, where you can just go on it whenever and utilize it on each attraction as many times as you want. It's a great perk, I used it at every attraction, but part of me felt that it wasn't right for some reason. For those of you who would like Disney to do this, I will bet you that Disney will NEVER do this. 3 hotels versus 20 at Disney would make the Fastpass line at Disney become slower than the regular line b/c of all the on-site guests!
In so far as rides, I will be interested to see Universal in a few years. There is a clear distinction between the old rides and the new ones, and I will love to see what Universal's rides will be like as they cycle out JAWS, EARTHQUAKE and TWISTER at some point.....TWISTER, in my opinion, was the biggest letdown of the park. Okay if you wait 10 minutes, absolutely time waster if you wait more than that. Honestly, the preshow is much better than the ride itself.....the anticipation is great, the theming is great, but then you are on the ride and its like "here's some wind and a flying cow, thanks for coming" I heard several people around me express the exact same disappointment I had. Shrek was good, but I think I had heard so much hype about it that it didn't meet my expectations overall. It was a 4-D theater attraction, which I've seen at other places, but the script and everything was tight and sarcastic like I expected from Shrek. Men In Black is my favorite by far at Universal Studios- interactive, fun, totally fits the movie, and I really hope they bring in more rides like that in the future.
You can totally see Universal's growth in Islands of Adventure. Great theming and fantastic rides. Spiderman is honestly one of the most amazing rides I have been on ever- can't wait to do it again. Great 4-D combo, good ride length, etc. Jurassic Park was broken when I got there I'm pretty sure...the amount of empty boats flying down the flume clued me in on that, but that's not a shocker to me. HULK was great but much like my first time on it my head got banged around very hard on the ride, to the point that I had a nasty headache for the rest of the day. Dueling Dragons, in contrast, was a wonderfully smooth, fun roller coaster ride. For a change, I tried Poseidon's Fury- that was really interesting. Neat "experience" that they set up- totally not what I was expecting, going through water tunnels and cool things like that. Really a lot of fun. If I had kids, I would be all about Seuss Landing and Toon Town, but considering I wanted to stay dry I steered clear of the water rides and fountains that these areas have. Also, for being right after July 4th, the parks weren't too crowded which was nice. Park Experience- with FOTL, I give it an A. Without FOTL, I would probably say B-.
Overall, I had a great time- FOTL made it easy for me to hit everything I wanted in both parks and be back in my room by 3, but I don't know what it would have been like without FOTL. Honestly, that's the one way I will do Universal now- grab an entertainment or annual pass rate, stay at the hotels, and go to the parks. The hotels are GREAT, and I think the strength lies in that its not run by Universal, but by a hotel chain. The hotels are the primary focus of Loews, and USO can focus on the parks, restaurants, merchandise etc. That is the one strength I see over Disney hotels, but the same can be said about the WDW Swan/Dolphin. Value wise though- particularly with the entertainment rate- it doesn't get much better than this.
Hope this helps others. Any other questions?
Thanks!!
