Help please! which universal hotel would be best for 3 kids, 12, 7 and 3 years

[floridaforever]

Can't decide on the best universal hotel to stay in. We have never stayed on site before. With 3 children - which hotel do you think they would enjoy the most? Also is club a good idea - do the food offerings appeal to children? I think I have ruled out RPH due to the small room size. As there are 5 of us am I right in thinking that we will have to pay extra $25 per night for a roll away at either HRH club or standard rooms? If this is the case PBH looks better based on deluxe/club taking 5.

See how confused I am!!?...............

Cost aside, I would still like to stay where the kids will enjoy the most.

Any advice appreciated

 

[DoleWhipMom]

Hi FloridaFever,

I know how you feel; I felt the same on our first trip. How old are your kids? We went with the HRH our first trip because we thought it would be more fun for the kids and then tried the PBH our second trip. We are going back for a week this July and we are returning to PBH, hands down, not that we didn’t enjoy HRH. If it's a week trip you are taking you can always split your time between both resorts.

Both hotels have deluxe rooms that are bigger and have a sofa bed (so you don’t have to get a roll away) but they do cost more. With 3 kids, the $ for the extra space is worth it to me plus minus the $25 for roll away from the price. Try to check for an AAA rate - saves a bunch and worth getting a membership for.

We haven't tried a club room - at the PBH it's a deluxe room w/access to the club because the "club" room is in the main building. I think the HRH club rooms are on the upper floors if I remember correctly. We might try and upgrade to a club room when we go this July. We have older kids (15, 11, and 9) so the bang for the buck will be better than if you have younger kids that don’t eat that much.

The HRH is a little "cooler" for teens for namesake appeal but after a couple of days, it wears off. You can always visit any of the hotels (You can walk to it from the PBH). We liked the pools much better at PBH - there is only one at HRH. The kids actually like the pool better too, even though the HRH had music piped in underwater. We also found the staff nicer at the PBH and the design of the courtyard is fantastic.

We were worried that the kids might find the PBH stuffy - we were very wrong. There are ducks in the "bay", a great kid’s pool, great lobby (one night they were serving sample food that the kids loved). So my suggestion is to stay at the PBH and walk to the HRH and walk around, get an ice cream at Emack & Bolio’s, and then head back to the PBH.

P.S. It doesn’t hurt that there is a spa at PBH too.

Hope this helps.

 

[floridaforever]

thank you for the reply............we live in the UK so we don't qualify for many discounts. We are thinking of staying 3 or 4 nights. My main worry was that the Portofino would be full of childless couples who may 'frown' at my excited 7 year old and very loud 3 year old! I think I will choose PBH if everyone is sure that we will feel comfortable there.

 

[JohnnyB2]

My vote is the Portifina,and if you can do club level it is a very nice experience.The Hard Rock would be my 2nd choice,and their club level rooms are all on the 7th floor with the lounge which is nice.(at the Portifina the lounge is on the 3rd floor with the club rooms on different floors in the same section, but I find it no problem. The Hard Rock is closer to the parks but the Portifina is a great resort.Can't go wrong with either.

 

[DoleWhipMom]

Sorry FloridaForever - First I aplogize, I got your name wrong and didn't see that you had posted your kid's ages in the title - this is what happens when you have so many kids running around lol!

No worries about the kids. They have an adult only pool at the PBH to satisfy the couples only and the hotel is full of kids of all ages. The kids pool is zero entry so you and they will love it. I think it's a general rule that if you are at the themeparks, there will be children running around, screaming at times. They even have a place at PBH to drop the little ones off (Camp Portofino) so you and your hubbie can go have dinner in peace.

Is there no way for you to get a AAA card for the discounts? Also, don't forget to sign up for the Lowes first program for free upgrades and a welcome gift. We are getting a deluxe room for the price of a regular one.

 

[floridaforever]

I am thinking Portofino too.......we are going in mid May. the difference in price works out at $73 between the cheapest Hard Rock standard with roll away, compared to the deluxe at club level at the Portofino. Do you think with 5 of us we will get our moneys worth at club for the extra $$? ................ Plus the rooms are much bigger at PBH.

 

[floridaforever]

don't worry about the name!!............I get called loads of things! I have signed up for Loewsfirst and I think I will look into AAA

Thank you!

 

[DoleWhipMom]

If it's only $73 between a standard room at HRH and a deluxe PHB w/club then definitely go with the club at Portofino! There is a much bigger $ amount then that between the two but maybe with the Euro conversion, it works out to that.

P.S. And the extra room is priceless!

 

[floridaforever]

I worked out that HRH standard (maybe pool view) was $250 (plus $25 for roll away need ) so thats $275 per night plus tax.

Portofino in the deluxe queen with sofa bed (no need for roll away) at club was $348 plus tax - so approx $73 per day. We still use pounds sterling in the Uk and the exchange rate is fantastic $2.00 to the £............

shopping........shopping.............shopping.............shopping!!

 

[DoleWhipMom]

Just for you to compare - I'm getting a standard room rate for $239 a night at the PBH w/the AAA rate. I get upgraded to the deluxe for free because I'm a Gold level at Lowes. Could you get your AAA card delivered to the Portofino Bay hotel using perhaps Paypal? I'd call up their concierge for help for that one. Just an idea.

Happy shopping!

 

[Bexx]

I will look into AAA

Are you a member of the UK AA? If I've understood correctly, this gives the same discount as AAA.

 

[floridaforever]

wow....this is getting better and better!! I will check it out!...............thank you

 

[rpbert1]

When you call to make your booking ask for Triple A rates , if you say AA they will not know what you are looking for.
and you also get discount of food at nearly all the restaurants at Citywalk ,just show your AA card

 

[floridaforever]

Thank you so much rpbert1 !

 

[disneyfan67]

To the OP:

I'm staying at Universal in July for my first time and I researched the three resort hotels until I couldn't stand it anymore.

I have to say that PBH would be your best bet due to the bigger room size and multiple pools. The beach pool which has an excellent theme and a awesome looking pool slide would be a hit with any kid. They have a Villa or quiet pool that looks perfect for adults, which is a good idea so everyone gets to enjoy some pool time and has their own space. Take a look at the Universal trip reports and check out lindalinda's and see the great pictures she took. Here is the link below.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1421926


I got a great AAA rate and I recommend you check into it. HRH didn't have any more AAA rates when I booked my room 3 months ago, but the PBH had plenty. The RPR looks beautiful but has the smallest room sizes of all 3. That was a big factor for me and my family. It seems the HRH is the more popular choice, but when you factor in the bigger room size, the multiple pools, etc. The PBH looks to be the better choice, IMO. The neat thing about the 3 on site resorts is that you can go check out the other pools and swim in them, so that way you get a taste of all 3 resorts. Start checking out all the info on these boards and go through the trip reports that have pictures, to get a feel for what you may like. Good luck.

 

[floridaforever]

Thank you for all the help. My eldest kids (12 and 7) want the HRH. I myself like the look of PBH. My husband is sick of my indecision and couldn't care less anymore!!!

 

[damo]

The deluxe rooms at HRH are larger than the deluxe rooms at Portofino. The sink is also outside of the bathroom which helps when many people are getting ready at the same time. The pullout couch is also larger.

It really all boils down to personal preference but with 5 in a room, I would go with HRH deluxe.