Help navigating club level options

[joshua4]

Hey Universal Experts -

I am disney vet but with very limited experience with Universal. I went there in August, 2012 and stayed at Portofino club level. I had three teens with me so doing the walk when the boat was running late was not an issue. We loved having the club as a place to get a light bite and get out of the heat. Flash forward to now -- I am planning a three night/four day trip for five adults and two kids (ages 5 and 9). We will likely go at the end of January or the beginning of February 2023. I know I want to get three rooms in club level at a premier resort because we loved having the express passes last time. I looked at pics and reports on the newly renovated Portofino club but my concern is that resort is a lot of walking for a five year old. Trying to figure out if it would be better to stay at Hard Rock and be so close to the parks. I know that the resort room are smaller at the Hard Rock but we are not jamming the rooms too full of people so maybe that doesnt matter. Are the pools at Portofino and Hard Rock comparable? Is there a big difference in the clubs between Hard Rock and Portofino? Is there some other factor that I am not considering that I should be considering??? I ran the costs of the three premier resorts and they are all pretty close so that is not so much a factor. (Still so much cheaper than a deluxe room at disney!)
Thanks in advance for your words of wisdom.
Lauren

 

[GoofyDad_4427]

My kids are a bit older (16 and 12), but they would pick the pool at Portofino every time over Hard Rock. They don't like the fact that Hard Rock is so shallow throughout the entire pool, and they say the waterslide at Portofino is far superior.

 

[sunnybunnies]

We have kids same age as GoofyDad and they say the same thing. With younger/shorter kids, though, the Hard Rock pool might be fine.

 

[Edna Cloud]

The actual club room in the Portofino is bigger too, so if you want to spend more time relaxing in there, that could be a factor.

 

[Jujumama]

You will appreciate the extra room both in the room and the club at Portofino. The Portofino property is large but doable. We felt much more cramped at Hard Rock and my kids prefer the pool at Portofino. As added bonus, you have multiple pool options with Portofino as well.

 

[Minnie1222]

The HR club lounge is the least attractive in both appearance and offerings, out of the three at UO. The location of the hotel, however, is absolutely amazing. It takes us probably 3-5 minutes to walk from the pool to the gate of Universal Studios.

 

[joshua4]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. I have been consulting with the family and they are pushing for Royal Pacific. I know the club is much smaller there as are the rooms, but the theming looks fun and it would be a much closer walk to the parks. Also looks like the resort is less spread out than the portofino. With a five year old who is likely too big for a stroller - I am starting to consider doing club level at Royal pacific because it is way less walking. The thing is that the three rooms together are only 250 cheaper total. It looks like there is no savvy traveler discount for RP. Guess I will watch and wait and see what develops.