Help me out here - Royal Pacific suite vs. Portofino Bay suite

[Schneewittchen37]

Hi everyone,

I'm a veteran disnerd and a Universal n00b. Please help me pick a resort for my family's first visit in November. It's a long weekend. There's four of us - me, DH, DS11 and DD9. Nominally, the trip is to celebrate DS turning 12. And the trip might be a surprise, haven't decided yet. But over the years, we've taken surprise birthday trips to WDW and DLR. Price isn't really a big factor.

Non negotiables:
1. We want a suite. DH and I enjoy having a separate room from the kids. And we don't care if the kids have to share a garbage sofa bed.
2. We want to be able to walk to the parks. A mile each way is no big deal. (Huge fan of Boardwalk/Swolphin, etc. because we can walk to Epcot/HS). And boat rides are nice at night too.
3. Nice pool. Weather permitting, we'll hit the pool on arrival day and go to the pool in the afternoons around 2 or 3 when it gets hot.
4. Resort food is sort of important. Breakfast options - some days it's just grab a coffee and a pastry (btw, we are anti-starsucks. But other days, if the park we're going to opens later, we'll want a sit-down pancakes and eggs kind of breakfast. Snack options - the kids might want ice cream or something after dinner.

I'm looking at several options:
King suite at Royal Pacific (cheapest option, but the grayish decor doesn't thrill me, does that even matter?)
Despicable Me suite at Portofino (middle price option, the adult room looks nice)
Various 1 bedroom suites at Portofino (highest price, but maybe two bathrooms, that would be awesome)

I've read some articles, watched some videos. There seem to be a lot of pros and cons for each. Do you guys have strong feelings about any of these resorts?

 

[macraven]

The three premier hotels are the closest to the parks and city walk

read each of hotel stickies to find the one best suited for your family
All three have the water shuttle besides a walking path to the parks

I prefer Royal Pacific as 3 choices of sit down dining.
They also have a grab and go food section

Due to a food allergy, I will visit Portofina hotel but not eat there

 

[hhoope01]

You are correct in that the Portofino suites have 2 bathrooms where the RPR suite does not. It also is larger. The RPR King suite is about 670 sqft. When you have the pull-out sofa bed out, there isn't a lot of room to move around. The Portofino Suite is about 900 sqft and is much roomier. I've not stayed in a Despicable Me suite. So can't really comment on it other than I do believe it only has 1 bathroom and is listed at 800 sqft (a little smaller than the Portofino Suite).

 

[cfoxga]

Hi everyone,

I'm a veteran disnerd and a Universal n00b. Please help me pick a resort for my family's first visit in November. It's a long weekend. There's four of us - me, DH, DS11 and DD9. Nominally, the trip is to celebrate DS turning 12. And the trip might be a surprise, haven't decided yet. But over the years, we've taken surprise birthday trips to WDW and DLR. Price isn't really a big factor.

Non negotiables:
1. We want a suite. DH and I enjoy having a separate room from the kids. And we don't care if the kids have to share a garbage sofa bed.
2. We want to be able to walk to the parks. A mile each way is no big deal. (Huge fan of Boardwalk/Swolphin, etc. because we can walk to Epcot/HS). And boat rides are nice at night too.
3. Nice pool. Weather permitting, we'll hit the pool on arrival day and go to the pool in the afternoons around 2 or 3 when it gets hot.
4. Resort food is sort of important. Breakfast options - some days it's just grab a coffee and a pastry (btw, we are anti-starsucks. But other days, if the park we're going to opens later, we'll want a sit-down pancakes and eggs kind of breakfast. Snack options - the kids might want ice cream or something after dinner.

I'm looking at several options:
King suite at Royal Pacific (cheapest option, but the grayish decor doesn't thrill me, does that even matter?)
Despicable Me suite at Portofino (middle price option, the adult room looks nice)
Various 1 bedroom suites at Portofino (highest price, but maybe two bathrooms, that would be awesome)

I've read some articles, watched some videos. There seem to be a lot of pros and cons for each. Do you guys have strong feelings about any of these resorts?

We love the PBH theme the best of the three deluxe resorts, but it is all a matter of taste. The walk from RPR is quite a bit shorter than PBH, but I like the remote feel of PBH. When taking the ferry, you really feel like you are arriving in Italy. But you should be happy with any of your listed choices...

 

[damo]

I would check out the pools to help you decide. RPH has a kid water play area and no slide. Portofino has a fun slide.

 

[Schneewittchen37]

Thanks for the feedback! We're going with the king suite at Royal Pacific - it will probably save me about $1k.

DH talked some sense into me. It's a quick trip, we're not going to be hanging out at the resort that much, so the room, restaurants, amenities, stores, etc. don't have to be the greatest. The kids will just be happy to be there, so the Minions room or a second bathroom won't make them enjoy the trip more. And we're planning on a Volcano Bay day, so the resort pool just has to be a place with chairs and water......

 

[glocon]

We’ve stayed at both resorts and really liked both, with RPR a smidge in the lead. They are both so beautiful. The pool at PBH is probably better for your age kids with the slide, and Sals deli with pizza is so yum. But RPR is closer. We stayed in the Jurassic Park kids suite there and liked it a lot. Loved Jakes for dinner. You will love RPR!