Is it really that bad right now?

[ladyderks]

Trying to decide between HRH (I have 3 elementary-aged kids who love music), PBR (for the bigger rooms), and RPR (cheapest) for a week long trip this September. Problem is - I’m seeing so many recent poor reviews - across Google, trip advisor, etc. specifically when it comes to the cleanliness of the rooms at all three resorts. I know people will readily complain online - but there’s just so many! I even looked up recent reviews from Disney’s Boulder Ridge and Boardwalk Villas (on the DVC side, but rooms are aged, and I personally stayed there last year), figuring I’d see similar negative reviews - but that wasn’t the case.

I don’t care about aged rooms. I don’t care about USB ports, or sink size. I just want to book somewhere where I know my room will have been properly cleaned, despite (or especially with!) everything going on with COVID. Is it really that bad at Universal Resorts right now? Should I not worry and just pick a hotel and get it booked?

 

[schumigirl]

We were at RP for two weeks from Thanksgiving 2021 onwards.

Cleanliness was wonderful. Our room was cleaned everyday and cleaned thoroughly with no need to contact them to replenish or replace anything.

I do sometimes wonder when I read reviews if they`ve ever visited the resorts they claim to have stayed in sometimes.

We visited the HRH for an evening, although we didn`t go in any rooms, the property including bathroom trash bins were all empty and the whole place was as clean as ever.

We have 3 trips booked for this year at RP and SF and have no concerns about cleanliness.

 

[bchbetha]

I just went through maybe the first 30 HRH reviews on google (sorted by most recent) and nothing there alarmed me or would keep me from staying. It was almost across the board 4s-5s with a few random low ones that didn't compel me that there was a serious trend with cleanliness problems.

 

[wdwrule]

Trying to decide between HRH (I have 3 elementary-aged kids who love music), PBR (for the bigger rooms), and RPR (cheapest) for a week long trip this September. Problem is - I’m seeing so many recent poor reviews - across Google, trip advisor, etc. specifically when it comes to the cleanliness of the rooms at all three resorts. I know people will readily complain online - but there’s just so many! I even looked up recent reviews from Disney’s Boulder Ridge and Boardwalk Villas (on the DVC side, but rooms are aged, and I personally stayed there last year), figuring I’d see similar negative reviews - but that wasn’t the case.

I don’t care about aged rooms. I don’t care about USB ports, or sink size. I just want to book somewhere where I know my room will have been properly cleaned, despite (or especially with!) everything going on with COVID. Is it really that bad at Universal Resorts right now? Should I not worry and just pick a hotel and get it booked?

We stayed at all three (HRH, PBH, RPR) during separate trips within the past 6 months. All three were very clean throughout the resort and our room. Full housekeeping occurred every day. Also within the last 6 months we tried out all other resorts except Surfside (but we stayed at Dockside which I think would be similar). All of those resorts were clean and staff was awesome as well. I thought Dockside was exceptionally clean. With the other resorts, however, not full housekeeping but trash was emptied everyday and you can easily text them if you need toiletries, coffee, towels etc and they will promptly deliver… even if you’re out and about in the parks. With that said, during our second day at Aventura last weekend, we received full housekeeping (beds made and everything refreshed) so maybe they’re gradually increasing to every other day at the value/prime value category of resorts.

I personally take reviews with a grain of salt because everyone can have a different experience depending on so many factors. For example I was dreading Dockside because of bad reviews and even bought earplugs because of possible noise. Turned out it’s one of my favorite resorts (minus lack of transportation) and one of the quietest.

 

[DoryGirl1963]

Stayed at HRH over Christmas and very clean - rooms & property - there were always housekeepers & grounds people out & about cleaning.

 

[SCSabresfan]

We stayed at Dockside and RPR at the beginning of December. Did not have any issues with cleanliness at either hotel. I tend to take online reviews with a grain of salt. People seem really eager to jump online and leave a review after a bad experience. Not many people do the same thing after a satisfactory or even good experience.

 

[Fely the 1st]

Stayed at RPR over Christmas and our room and the Resort were always very clean. We got full housekeeping every day. I stopped reading reviews on trip advisor or similar side as they always sound terrible. You will love which ever Universal Resort you choose.

 

[Westerner]

I only get worried if I see multiple reviews complaining about the same specific thing.

 

[Jujumama]

I stayed at Portofino in October for HHN. Housekeeping came daily and the resort was clean. However, for the first time ever, I saw trash bins overflowing in the bathrooms and public areas at the parks. Also, the service at Portofino wasn't up to par as with previous stays. Not horrible by any means but not spectacular either. I think you could really tell that they weren't fully staffed and people were strained or spread thin. I suppose as long as we travel during a pandemic we can expect some changes or inconveniences.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

The person who checked us in at PB made the comment that they were back up to full housekeeping if we wanted it. Maybe some of the trip advisor people went when they were at reduced housekeeping and perceived that as less clean?? We didn’t have any issues.

 

[kbelle8995]

Stayed at Portofino in December and Cabana Bay in november. Cabana Bay we had some issues with a light not turning off, they moved us into a new room quickly. Both resorts were clean and had housekeeping.

In Cabana, it looked like they were refreshing some rooms or just replacing the mattresses. Either is a good thing

 

[Nabas]

We stayed at all three (HRH, PBH, RPR) during separate trips within the past 6 months. All three were very clean throughout the resort and our room. Full housekeeping occurred every day. Also within the last 6 months we tried out all other resorts except Surfside (but we stayed at Dockside which I think would be similar). All of those resorts were clean and staff was awesome as well. I thought Dockside was exceptionally clean. With the other resorts, however, not full housekeeping but trash was emptied everyday and you can easily text them if you need toiletries, coffee, towels etc and they will promptly deliver… even if you’re out and about in the parks. With that said, during our second day at Aventura last weekend, we received full housekeeping (beds made and everything refreshed) so maybe they’re gradually increasing to every other day at the value/prime value category of resorts.

I personally take reviews with a grain of salt because everyone can have a different experience depending on so many factors. For example I was dreading Dockside because of bad reviews and even bought earplugs because of possible noise. Turned out it’s one of my favorite resorts (minus lack of transportation) and one of the quietest.

We also have stayed at all 3 (Royal Pacific, Hard Rick, Portofino Bay) within the last 6 months.

Service was excellent, better than what we typically encounter when staying at a DVC resort.

Cleanliness also was excellent, the same as what we encounter at DVC resorts.

The pools and common areas were all well maintained. The staff was friendly. The food was good.

We also were concerned about some of the online reviews, but we experienced none of the problems those guests experienced.

Thinking in depth of our stays, the only problem we encountered was getting the parking lot gate to work for our Hard Rock stay. It worked for others so I assume it was something specific to our room card.

 

[lisam70]

Split stay end of Sept CB/RP
Split stay beginning of Dec SF/PB
No issues at all
I will say that while PB does have the largest rooms I don't like the bathroom set-up. I prefer to have sink access outside of the shower/toilet area

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

Without getting into it, we had a really horrible experience with RPR in September. We don’t blame the TMs at all, as we know a lot of them were new and they were still understaffed, but the lack of cleanliness was a big part of our problem. There were other problems as well, including a huge miscommunication between those who run the hotel and those who book the trips through UOR, and it caused another big issue.
While we love the parks and City Walk, it’s understandably put us off from staying on property for a long time.
and it was a shame as we had a great time at the pool (even with weather closures), the TMs were always helpful, the express pass, and the boat ride is so quick it was amazing.

 

[mialovesart]

We stayed at HRH from January 2-9. Both the resort & our room were exceptionally clean. Housekeeping came daily & our towels were refreshed daily as well. We have no complaints about the quality of our stay.

 

[Westerner]

Stayed at Portofino in December and Cabana Bay in november. Cabana Bay we had some issues with a light not turning off, they moved us into a new room quickly. Both resorts were clean and had housekeeping.

In Cabana, it looked like they were refreshing some rooms or just replacing the mattresses. Either is a good thing

We stayed at Cabana Bay recently and the resort was clean.

 

[Skywalker3]

Stayed at Aventura and Portofino last October , and both were great. Very clean. We rarely opt for daily cleaning, but forgot to put out sign one night at PBH, and came back to extra clean room. No issues at all.

 

[keishashadow]

Not to discount anyone else’s experience…coming from one who owned a cleaning company in the past, no issues as to cleanliness in the onsite properties. Force of habit, I find myself ‘checking’ for things, especially in the bathrooms Lol.

Enjoyed stays since September ‘20 onsite @ PB, HR & SF. not a single issue with room cleanliness at either U or WDW. When the staff wasn’t entering the rooms, will say I was shocked how fast they would bring a clean bag of towels at HR when I’d call, place in the hall and be gone like ninjas.

Where I did experience an issue was with a mechanical issue being slowly addressed as to plumbing last fall. Management certainly made it right and apologized profusely saying skilled labor pool was erratic. I completely understood the reason for the inconvenience.

therein is the key, other than nit picking sort of things, express your concerns to the the proper person in management. Will say since the world turned upside down on us ,some of the front desk staff did seem to be a bit ’green’. that’s when you request to speak to the supervisor on duty.

Training and experience will kick in there for new hires and things will normalize back to the high standards they’ve always offered. Loews is above & beyond being responsive to their guests based upon my experience over the years. You travel enough, you are going to run into bumps. Management can’t fix it if they don’t know it’s broken.

re parking lot gates, have had multiple issues at PB when leaving. It’s a running joke between the Mr & me. Easily resolved. If that’s the only thing that goes south on a trip, I’m very good Indeed.

 

[sjuncfan]

We are literally just back from Royal Pacific - checked out this morning. We spent almost no time at the hotel so I can't comment about the facilities outside the room. Check in was easy and all the staff we interacted with was just fine.

We didn't have major issues with the room but I'd say housekeeping was not at the top of its game. The only thing I noticed when I checked in was that there was a pod from the last guest still in the coffee maker. Not a big deal AT ALL but should be part of a checklist.

During our stay, they replenished towels and the room was fine, but they did not replenish soap/shampoo and I'm pretty sure they didn't clean the sink on our second day. Nothing worth complaining about but if someone was really uptight about cleanliness, I could see it being offputting.

 

[WIll C]

We just got back from Disney and Royal Pacific and boy was it a downgrade from Riviera. The room was clean but it was tired. The furniture was all shabby and needing replacements. The beds were fine and the bathrooms nice (we had a hospitality suite) but the sound proofing is non-existent. We ended up with a room too close to the 3rd floor elevators and lobby and it was so loud sometimes you couldn't sleep and the endless dings from the elevators was horrible. They also start a generator or pump early in the mornings for the pool and that is loud!
I'll give the dining a thumbs up though. The breakfast at Islands is good and the food at Jake's is great (though no AP discounts...) and I loved the Tuk Tuk market. Those were a real plus.

We won't do another split stay in the near future. It's better for us to extend our trip at Disney an extra day and just drive up to play in the parks. We were really looking forward to it but it wasn't worth the price or the noise.