Hard Rock or Royal Pacific?

[Karebear]

We will be taking our kids to Universal for the first time probably over the Labor Day weekend. I can't decide if we should stay at the Hard Rock or at Royal Pacific. I have a son and daughter (9 & 10). We are mostly going there before our trip to WDW because my kids love Harry Potter and they want to see all of that. I was sort of leaning towards staying at Royal Pacific because my kids don't really care about music by the pool or rock memorablia. But, I keep reading about how "fun" the atmosphere is at Hard Rock. So, I am wondering which hotel would be better for my family? We are just looking to be close to the parks. Any tips on either of these hotels would be great!

 

[tajz90]

We will be taking our kids to Universal for the first time probably over the Labor Day weekend. I can't decide if we should stay at the Hard Rock or at Royal Pacific. I have a son and daughter (9 & 10). We are mostly going there before our trip to WDW because my kids love Harry Potter and they want to see all of that. I was sort of leaning towards staying at Royal Pacific because my kids don't really care about music by the pool or rock memorablia. But, I keep reading about how "fun" the atmosphere is at Hard Rock. So, I am wondering which hotel would be better for my family? We are just looking to be close to the parks. Any tips one either of these hotels would be great!

HRH is the closet We love it there. It's a good, fun atmosphere. We've stayed at all 3 & given the choice, we always choose HRH.

 

[bumbershoot]

For us the only close-to-fun atmosphere at hrh was at the pool. And that was because they had a good slide. You can't properly swim in the pool. It's nearly wading pool depth until the spot right under the slide and you can't dawdle there. Lots of adults sitting way too long with their lower halves on the water without bathroom breaks while drinking tons of beer.

Our fave is portofino and royal is next. Pool hopping is encouraged so if DS wants the hrh slide we can go to the pool. Our room at hrh had a nice view but was otherwise unpleasant (though weirdly big to the point of us wondering if it was some sort of Accessible room). The rooms at royal aren't big but they are nice.

Should state that our time at hrh was shared with a huge convention of car dealership people and they really took over the place, including curtaining off the pretty and large front area that looks over the pool area. It changed the whole feel of the place from when we had hopped to swim from portofino.

 

[jperrot1]

We have only stayed at RP Club Level with DW and DS 7 August 2012 and I can tell you the Resort is fantastic. The pool is lots of fun, and getting on the boat as well as that "get to the front of the line every time" perk makes you feel like a VIP. The club level is well worth the upcharge, but don't expect this club level to be the same as WDW club level. Still, RP Club Level is fantastic, and their cl staff knows that they are doing. They know how to make you feel like VIP's.

We are thinking on staying at HRH next time for a different experience as well as super close to the parks. I would say RP is about a 10 minute walk whereas I understand HRH is 1-3 minutes so.....

Whatever you do, that Harry Potter butter beer is outstanding. It's non-alcoholic and the frozen one is so good. I think I just want to go back the Universal for the butter beer

 

[tajz90]

Whatever you do, that Harry Potter butter beer is outstanding. It's non-alcoholic and the frozen one is so good. I think I just want to go back the Universal for the butter beer

I'll second that. The frozen butter beer is heaven!

 

[jfelcie]

I love both RP and HRH. I like RP theme better . . .very pretty. RP does not have a slide but has a splash area. They both have dive-in movies.

 

[redrosesix]

For us the only close-to-fun atmosphere at hrh was at the pool. And that was because they had a good slide. You can't properly swim in the pool. It's nearly wading pool depth until the spot right under the slide and you can't dawdle there. Lots of adults sitting way too long with their lower halves on the water without bathroom breaks while drinking tons of beer.

Our fave is portofino and royal is next. Pool hopping is encouraged so if DS wants the hrh slide we can go to the pool. Our room at hrh had a nice view but was otherwise unpleasant (though weirdly big to the point of us wondering if it was some sort of Accessible room). The rooms at royal aren't big but they are nice.

Should state that our time at hrh was shared with a huge convention of car dealership people and they really took over the place, including curtaining off the pretty and large front area that looks over the pool area. It changed the whole feel of the place from when we had hopped to swim from portofino.

wow -- this one sentence just changed my plans. We had really only considered HRH because the theme suits our family. But we have to be able to swim.

 

[kingken]

stayed at HRH a couple years back and found it good although the rooms and lounge area does need updating lots of torn curtains, raggy carpets etc, not something i expected for the price, stayed at PBH last year and waht a differance, superb

 

[mhake01]

I just stayed at RP for the first time. Even though I personally think the layout is a but challenging to master I like the overall feel of the hotel better. If you want to kick back and relax then RP. If not then go to HRH. They are a bit louder and a more upbeat atmosphere

 

[deedeetoo]

You can't properly swim in the pool. It's nearly wading pool depth until the spot right under the slide and you can't dawdle there.

Is this an exaggeration or is the pool really only a couple feet deep? I've never seen a large pool that you couldn't swim in.

 

[jrhwmr]

We have stayed in both with our family and by far prefer RP for kids. We like the food, theming and pool better. We are staying at RP again in Oct.

 

[glocon]

I think that most of the HRH pool is in the 3-4 foot range. More of a" lounge-y" "play-games-in" kind of pool then a "swim-in" kind of pool.

 

[damo]

Royal Pacific is undergoing renovations for the next several months. They will be doing it floor by floor. New samples of the reno'd halls and rooms are up at WDWmagic.

 

[mhake01]

Is this an exaggeration or is the pool really only a couple feet deep? I've never seen a large pool that you couldn't swim in.

HRH is a max of 3 and a half feet. RPR does actually have a very very small section that's 4 and a half feet, but the pool averages between 3 and a half feet and 3 feet 10 inches.

 

[bumbershoot]

HRH is a max of 3 and a half feet. RPR does actually have a very very small section that's 4 and a half feet, but the pool averages between 3 and a half feet and 3 feet 10 inches.

Where in the hrh pool is it even that deep? Apart from the bottom of the slide area, that is. Where you can't swim because you'll get kicked in the head by someone coming down the slide...

Eta: end of the slide has to be deeper than that, of course. But there might be a point where it is getting deeper approaching the slide, but where you still can't loiter, that's 3.5 feet.

 

[DVC Doctor]

Both are good options and I would suggest booking the lowest priced option.

 

[2PreciousBlessings]

We stayed at RP last June with my 2 kiddos, ds10 and dd8. They LOVED the pool at RP!! There is a big splash pad with water cannons you can shoot at each other. They were in absolute heaven! I have not stayed at HRH, and my kids had no interest in pool hopping because they loved the RP pool so much, so I can't give a fair comparison. But I can say that RP is very kid friendly! (Not to mention the pool bar and grill serves FANTASTIC nachos, burgers, and grown-up drinks for the adults that are relaxing and supervising the children!!)

 

[Karebear]

Thanks for all of the advice. I thing that we will go with the Royal Pacific. Now, fingers crossed that Diagon Ally will be open as we can't change our flights!

 

[Sue M]

we are going 3 days in Aug pre Poly stay with the Labor Day deal. We picked Portofino. We've stayed at HRH before but never got a chance to use pool due to Tropical Storm Fay