HELP! Universal Newbie! Why are the Universal Hotels SO EXPENSIVE?

[jwann]

My dh and his friend are going to Universal and IOA in early December. I am looking for a hotel for them and WOW! Both families are die-hard Disney folks and we have stayed in the All-Star hotels several times. Is there an equivalent at Universal? I checked out RPH rates because I heard they were the cheapest and I can find it for $199 a night while the All Stars during that same time are $77 a night. Now, they will have a car so they can drive to the parks. Has anyone stayed "off-park" for their Universal trip? Where did you stay? Is there a cheaper rate for RPH???

Any advice will be appreciated!

 

[Foladar]

I've stayed "off-site" across the street for approx $45 a night or so.
Walk up too.

Don't recall the name, though. Universal Orlando Resorts offer FOTL (Front of the Line) and AP (annual pass) holders can get them for as low as $129.00 a night - you could think of that route or possibly AAA.

 

[cdpa4d]

Although Universal does not offer a value resort per se....the Front of the line access or sometimes called Express Access is invaluable. Paying the $150 to $190 per night is well worth the price for the FOTL. You only need to experience it one time to realize how priceless the FOTL perk really is!

 

[OhioTony]

In EARLY December Front of the line privelige should'nt be a big deal..We use an Entertainment Card discount for a SUITE @ Holiday Inn Maingate directly across the street from Universal for about $90. free shuttle Nice pool kids eat free @ Fridays resteraunt connected to hotel.

 

[tampaman]

Also, Royal Pacific is a 4 star resort, while some Disney properties are 1 or 2 star accomodations. The rooms are very nice and the ability to walk from your hotel to City Walk and the parks are invaluable. No cars, no traffic. We went in the middle of July and didn't wait more than 10 minutes on any ride (while regular lines were up to 90 minutes long). We slept in and then went to the parks for about 3-4 hours a day, then chilled in City Walk until we went back to the hotel. Its worth it if you can afford it.

 

[aengus]

AP rates usually help but what everyone else said is true. Comparing any of the Universal properties to the all stars is apples and oranges. they are more towards the deluxes.

 

[TigerLilly's Mom]

I just have to agree with everyone else. You CANNOT compare RPR with the All Stars or any other Disney value or moderate. All the onsite Universal Hotels are deluxe resorts with deluxe amenities. The ability to walk to either park and have front of the line is invaluble. The restaurants, rooms, and pools at these resorts are wonderful. I love Disney for many reasons, but Universal hotels win hands down for me. We have stayed at the Poly, BWV, and OKW at Disney and have loved all these stays, but you just can't compare RPR to a value resort at Disney.

 

[MScott1851]

Another vote for on-site. We always go at the end of September, which is probably the second or third lowest attended week of the year. But let me tell you, even waiting just 20 minutes to ride The Hulk or The Mummy in 90 degree heat is too long for me.

I promise that FOTL has gotten me SO spoiled. I almost refuse to wait anywhere else. My brother and I went to Six Flags last week and paid $36 for a "Lo-Q" that was basically a fastpass for roller coasters.

Once you stay on-site at Universal, you'll never want to stay off-site again. WDW? The perks aren't that great...but US/IOA? FOTL alone is worth it.

 

[kellymonaghan]

There are two main reasons the hotels at Universal are "expensive":

1. They are LUXURY resort hotels.
2. They (and the theme parks they serve) are becoming more and more popular. It's the old law of supply and demand at work.

Given those facts, the prices are actually very reasonable.

Tip: An annual pass can pay for itself in discounts on a 3-night stay.

 

[Patch'sD]

ON-Site is much better. It is worth it for Front of the Line. Check and See if you can get an AP discount and go from there. AP Passes also get discounts (10%) at all Citywalk Restuarants and in all Universal Shops. The pass does pay for itself in two or three days.

 

[Harmony]

Stayed at HRH this past June and FOTL got us all SOOO spoiled! Plus, the hotels are awesome! I love Disney as much as anyone else but the Universal hotels are definitely more 'luxury minded' than a value/moderate. You honestly can't compare the two.

 

[verandah]

Although I love the FOTL from staying on-site, I can't justify paying 299.00 a night for the privaledge. Rates for Presidents Week 06 are insane.

 

[Foladar]

I'd say wait, $299 sounds outrageous, I'm paying 129.00 in Oct per night, staying four nights and getting that fourth night free (yay) - will be my 1st time onsite.

And there's no way you can compare Disney and Universal, their hotels are completely different. You can walk to Universal's parks and Citywalk in a few minutes (like 10) .. no need for transportation. It's really worth it, and I'm finally doing it since family is going for their 1st time to Universal.

 

[webray]

My dh and his friend are going to Universal and IOA in early December. I am looking for a hotel for them and WOW! Both families are die-hard Disney folks and we have stayed in the All-Star hotels several times. Is there an equivalent at Universal? I checked out RPH rates because I heard they were the cheapest and I can find it for $199 a night while the All Stars during that same time are $77 a night. Now, they will have a car so they can drive to the parks. Has anyone stayed "off-park" for their Universal trip? Where did you stay? Is there a cheaper rate for RPH???

Any advice will be appreciated!

LOL, You can't compare universal and disney resorts, because disney resorts don't hold a candle to universal resorts. Universals RPR is the low end. Depending on the nights you go etc you can get is in the low 100's per night. That is more than a bargain, as the RPR is just as nice, if not nicer than any of disneys deluxe resorts which go for big bucks. You also get fotl access if you stay at a universal resort. Universal resorts are Loews Hotels and are all spectacular! You will be spoiled once staying there.

Now, if you want to go cheap there are plenty of regular hotels very close to universal that will probably come more in the 50-75 a night range.

 

[Harmony]

FOTL isn't the only reason to stay onsite at Universal. Their hotels are WONDERFUL and the service we got was truly amazing. I hate to say this but we got *much* better service at HRH than at Disney this past year.

And it didn't take us no more than 5-7minutes to get from our room to citywalk/Universal. IOA took a couple more minutes.

When I show people our pictures, they can't believe how close the park and hotel are to one another. (neither could we when we first arrived...LOL)

If anything...this should be the primary reason for staying onsite. It helped us out alot 'cause we traveled with a toddler so when it was time for his nap, it was *so easy* to go back and rest for a couple of hours. And with with FOTL...we weren't feeling like we had "to hurry up and do everything."

My family will definitely like to do Universal again. We felt the money was well worth it.

 

[SnowWitch]

Last year US/IOA resorts were very expensive and were not offering very good deals during our dates. We had AP's which we did not renew due to limited discounts and FOTL being limited at certain times of the year with no warning prior to arrival about this policy. To make a long story short we had a 2 week vacation at the BWV's in early-mid Dec so my group went over for 2 day trips. There was no need for the FOTL perk during this time of year. My sons, DH, and friends rode Hulk x 6, Dueling Dragons each side x 3, and so on. Unless you are going during the hoilay epriod there is no need to pay their prices for the FOTL perk. Now in July and August yeah I would pay but not early Dec.

 

[A Mickeyfan]

Universal's resorts are more like Disney deluxe's as everyone has stated. I stay on & offsite. When I can swing the money (and there is a good deal going on), I stay onsite. When I am low on funds & want a long weekend, I use Priceline & really save. I get to the the parks early (when they first open) and I can usually get everything we want to do done in one park before the crowds set in. After we finish the one park, we head over to the other & deal with the lines. We get the express pass's when we can & we will do single riders (we usually do the studios first then head over to IOA). My kids are older so doing singles is no problem for us.

 

[goofy!]

.....

 

[macraven]

why are the on site hotels expensive??



supply and demand.....


this best kept secret of universal parks is catching on.
and with that, many are repeat customers.

this october will be my 15th trip to the parks. in the begining, i would stay at allstars at disney and drive to universal. that got old quickly as when 10pm rolled around, i was dead tired and still had to drive back to disney hotel.
a few trips after that i would stay in the hotels over on major blvd. they served the purpose fine.

then i discovered the entertainment book coupons for onsite hotels at universal. for sometime, i paid $125 a night for hrh. so spoiled i became.

this is the first year that the 3 hotels pulled out of the ent. promo.
they don't need it anymore, they can fill their hotels with out coupons now.

no matter what the price, i will stay at the onsite hotels. i am hooked.
the fotl benefit, head of the line at hrc and other city walk areas as being a hrh guest, that fotl line key works until midnight of the day you check out,
it is a pleasure to walk from hrh to universal in a few minutes. you can't do that at other theme parks.

i wish people weren't like me and would pay the high price for hrh. if less people stayed there, i would have a better chance of getting the dates and lower prices then.

ways to save are by using the ap, aaa, and fan club card for the hotels.

 

[D&R love Disney]

We stayed at HRH with the kids last summer. It was expensive even with the discounts. We had 4 kids with us so we needed 2 rooms. The FOTL access was so worth it. Plus the older kids could go back to the hotel pool and use the cabana while we had the 2 younger ones doing rides. I'd stay there again for sure.