Hard Rock Disappoints

[Seahag]

Well, it was the 7th floor, but really, what was I paying the extra money for?

Wait, maybe it was for the room temperature waters & sodas in the club lounge? Nah, that couldn’t be it. Ok, then let me think……………maybe it was for the “dinner hour” snacks…………you know the cheese blintzes that were GONE when we arrived & not replaced?

Did I pay extra for the RUDE COW who butted her way in line so she could be in front of a woman in a wheelchair to grab at a non-existent cheese blintz? And then she had the nerve to keep the spot she butted her way into instead of apologizing & going to the back of the line. Yea, I’m sure that was worth the extra money.

What about the kids who pawed every bagel in the basket before they decieded to have a picnic over by the elevators & smash butter & cream cheese into the carpet? No, I’m pretty sure that was free.

What really got our goat & what made us check out a day early (I was surprised that checking out a day ahead of schedule doesn’t even cause an eyelash to bat) but the capper – the frosting on the cupcake – the straw that broke the camels back - was the amount of unattended children that were running up & down the hallways screaming their excited little heads off at 5:30 EVERY MORNING. Yes, you read that right – we were awakened at 5:30 EVERY MORNING of our stay.

Unfortunately, because it was a different set of children each time, what could management do? What could we ask them to do? We did the only thing that was with in our power to do. We checked out never to return. This isn’t the Hard Rock, it’s the Hard Kids. And this was not club level; it was “leave your kids to run amuck & annoy other guests while you sip wine oblivious to the world” level. Needless to say, for a couple looking to get away, this was NOT the place to be.

We were so disappointed in the supposed “extras” that were reserved for club level guests. We have had far better experiences at the other two on site hotels, so we will spend our hard-earned money at either the Royal Pacific or the Portofino Bay.

I’m happy to answer any questions you might have, although I will admit that we did not have the best experience. I would hate to think that another couple would go there for a romantic "club level" getaway & be terribly disappointed as we were.

Haggy

 

[Suzyq123]

If you check in for a 4 nite stay at CLub level and are disappointed in the CLub level amenities could you switch to simply a deluxe room, so you wouldn't be paying extra for things you are not happy with?

 

[Seahag]

If you check in for a 4 nite stay at CLub level and are disappointed in the CLub level amenities could you switch to simply a deluxe room, so you wouldn't be paying extra for things you are not happy with?



I'm sure you could. I know that it works in reverse, if you want to upgrade they let you, but I'm sure it's based on availability too.

 

[pathubia]

Bummer that you had such a crappy time.

I guess we have been lucky!!

Patty

 

[glawgirl]

I think your best bet next time would be the Portofino - there are a lot less children there - it's more of a grown up type of place. I love the Portofino - unfortunately my husband prefers the Hard Rock so we always end up staying there. The smashing of the bagels and cream cheese into the carpet made me laugh so hard I almost fell out of my chair! Incredible!

 

[keishashadow]

Glad we were with the other peons down below . We were happy to get a gratis, pool-view upgrade & not to get placed near any barking dogs, let alone kids running amuck.

Other than the lack of a place to grab a quick snack (didn't want to venture to pool bar, too many happy hour campers for us); thought the hotel was great...lst place I've stayed @ that exceeded my expectations.

Better luck next time.

 

[disneyfreakk]

Sorry you had a rough time of things! Maybe the Hotel Gods were trying to tell you should have changed your resservations to this week like your friends begged you to ??

 

[robvia]

Sorry you had a rough time, and on club level too. Seems the reports are split 50/50, with those having a great stay, and those with problems.
Your story is exactly why I made my Publix page here
http://www.nogodforme.com/directionstopublix.htm
And why I tell everyone to rent the car. Yeah, it takes some work to carry the stocked cooler up to the room, but once there, well worth it. Most of the time, we have to make 2 or even 3 trips to the car. I guess next time you'll be staying in a regular room. RPR seems to be the fan favorite around here, with some of us trying the PBH for the first time next year.

 

[TigerLilly's Mom]

I agree with your assessment of the Hard Rock Club Level. It was a major disappointment and I would never stay there again. However, we have stayed many times at the Hard Rock not on club level and loved it. We will returning in a few weeks for long weekend in a king suite.

I'm sorry you encountered such horribly behaved children. Our children come with us (more often than not) on our Universal vacations and they are completely behaved. We won't even let them walk loudly in the room to be sure not to both those below us. The would never speak loudly in the hallways either, club level or not. I really do sympathize with you as I hate it when parents refuse to parent their children. However, I would expect to see lots of kids at the Hard Rock and any other Orlando hotel, so that shouldn't be a surprise. In our experience, we always encounter more rude adults than children.

So sorry you had a bad experience.

 

[pauldents]

Unfortunately unsupervised children running up and down the hallways can happen at any hotel in Orlando. On the night before we checked out (Saturday), we too had children running the hallways at 11.30pm. From the room it sounded like there was about 20 kids doing the 100m hurdles outside, when I went to check it was two very excited 6-7 year old girls. Fortunately, the previous 16 nights were very quiet.

Sorry you had such a bad time.

 

[Seahag]

thank you all for your replies ~

The PBH is our fav., and most of our stays are there - we were actually giving the HRH a second shot to see if their service had improved what was I thinking!?
Also, so you all do not think I'm full of sour grapes ~ let me tell you that Sammy @ the HRH is the best valet we have had in a long dang time - he excelled at his job, even remembering us by name each time he saw us. *applauds*

Robvia ~ we did take a cooler! (we have a 3 hour drive, so we brought waters & food for the ride) LOL! Then we put the room temp waters from the lounge in our cooler!

And I do expect kids everywhere, after all, it's the happiest place on earth, right ? LOL, but I also expect that their parents would understand that the people attending HHN till 2 am need to sleep past 5:30 in the morning - it really was mind boggling ~ and a HUGE thank you to the parents of the children we didn't hear ~ I really do appreciate your being mindfull of your children - I guess on this trip a few mommies & daddies were on vacation from being parents !

 

[Seahag]

Sorry you had a rough time of things! Maybe the Hotel Gods were trying to tell you should have changed your resservations to this week like your friends begged you to ??

I don't quite know how to answer this - did the hotel gods give me this bruise on my knee?

 

[Motherfletcher]

I'm checking in next Thursday. I hope the hall monkeys have cleared! Forget the Club! You can not eat/drink enough to break even.
Sorry you had a rotten time. You going to have kids, now?

 

[ChrisFL]

, but I also expect that their parents would understand that the people attending HHN till 2 am need to sleep past 5:30 in the morning

Maybe it was those parents who went to HHN and were too tired at 5:30 AM to stop their kids from going through the hallways?

j/k

Anyway, my family is going to the RPR, I don't care if it's the least expensive hotel, I like it there

 

[keishashadow]

Somewhat confused, even though it's the "happiest place on earth" or maybe the second; is it customary for folks to let small children run unsupervised in a strange hotel?

In our neck of the woods, it's called endangering the welfare of a minor.

Never good to tempt fate, or rely on the goodness of your fellow man; especially when it comes to small children...predators go on vacation too.

 

[Seahag]

I'm checking in next Thursday. I hope the hall monkeys have cleared! Forget the Club! You can not eat/drink enough to break even.
Sorry you had a rotten time. You going to have kids, now?

hehehehe, nope no kids in this house, I will stick with my & my LOL

 

[Seahag]

Maybe it was those parents who went to HHN and were too tired at 5:30 AM to stop their kids from going through the hallways?

j/k

Anyway, my family is going to the RPR, I don't care if it's the least expensive hotel, I like it there

LOL, it could have been! We did see a LOT of frightened kids at HHN, maybe they were getting back at their parents for taking them !!!
Have a great trip, the RPR is wonderful!!

 

[Seahag]

Somewhat confused, even though it's the "happiest place on earth" or maybe the second; is it customary for folks to let small children run unsupervised in a strange hotel?

In our neck of the woods, it's called endangering the welfare of a minor.

Never good to tempt fate, or rely on the goodness of your fellow man; especially when it comes to small children...predators go on vacation too.

You are SO right, I would be a nervous wreck if I had kids that were running around & I wasn't able to keep tabs on them. I guess these were the kind of kids that predators would return??? ( I'm kidding of course, we all know the dangers)

 

[macraven]

haggy so sorry to read about the dreadful events that happened when you were at hrh.

i ws there for a 4 day weekend that ended with columbus day.
the first time i heard/saw kids running in the hall, i called security and they stopped it right away.
i had the suite room 1700 and the only thing i heard in the morning around 8 was the maids.

the club lounge was pathetic this time around. no selection during the day. i asked the gals there what was on the menu for the day and what they said was so lame it took me by surprise. i only used it for breakfast coffee and bagel.......later in the afternoon for the soda and water.
i spent most of my waking time at the parks and then hhn the entire time.
i probably was in the suite around 2:30 am after the park closed on peak nights.

did you talk to carlton about this issue?
its not too late to do so if you wish.

 

[cooncat]

Sorry to hear about your trip! On the trip before our last one, we did club level at the HRH and had an excellent time, although we won't do club level again (we don't really use concierge and we'd just as soon bring our own snacks). We found the hotel to be very welcoming and they really did treat us like stars, from replacing the comforter on the bed because we got a little smudge on it from our luggage(we didn't ask because we didn't care, but when they straightened the room I guess THEY cared!) to meeting us at the back entrance with warm towels after a Florida monsoon! I'm sure the HHN didn't help your stay any...over-stimulated, our of control kids are not fun to be around. We tried to book HRH for 10/14-10/15 and they were booked solid several months before so we had to go with the PBH instead. I have to admit, we like the HRH much better. We found the HRH staff to be much friendlier and I was afraid I'd fall out of bed at the PBH and break a hip! I'm short enough that I actually had to put a chair next to the bed to help me up!