Just back 3 nights PBH!

[JennSaint]

Hi just got home last night!
We spent the last 3 nights of our vacation at PBH and it is a wonderful hotel. We moved from AKL to PBH and I was so surprised to see how large our room was at PBH compared to AKL. Even the bathroom is large. We had room #2538 in the Villas section overlooking the villa pool. I was very happy with this location. I'm not sure if this was a smoking room but we did seem to smell a faint smell of smoke. It wasn't bad enough for us to move. It was very faint. We really enjoyed the pool everyday. Even us adults went down the slide. It was alot of fun! We ate at Sals Market and Deli twice because the pizza was so good! We also had dinner at Mama Della's and that was great also. PBH is a really lovely resort!

If you have any questions I'll do my best to answer them.

 

[mouseclick1]

Glad you had a nice time! We will be arriving at PBH tomorrow night for a 6 night stay. I have a few questions if you don't mind!

1. What kind of room did you have? We have a standard room booked.

2. Can you walk to the parks? If so, how long of a walk would you say it is?

3. This sounds silly, but should I pack shampoo and conditioner, or is the hotel brand they use good enough?

4. Does the room have a fridge or mini-bar?

5. Do you have any other good recommendations for places to eat?

We have made numerous trips to Disney, but this is our first one to Universal. We are very excited! If you have any other tips or suggestions to make the most out of our stay I would love to hear them!

Thanks!!

 

[FeeFeeWhite]

We are going for first time in April and also want to know all!

 

[JennSaint]

Sorry it took so long getting back here. Let me try to answer your questions:

1. We booked a garden view standard room and because we are Lowes First Blue members got upgraded to a pool view.

2. It was a 10 minute walk to Universal Studios and almost 15 minutes to IOA. We took the boat most of the time because the kids were too tired.

3. I liked the lotion they had in the bathrooms but wasn't crazy about the shampoo. But it is there if you don't want to pack any.

4. The room has a stocked mini bar (small fridge and drawer). They give you a key for it and there's a list of items and their cost. Everything was way over priced of course!

5. For places to eat other than what I listed we had dinner at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritiville and that was my boys favorite place they said. It has a very fun atmosphere and great margaritas! And it was the least expensive dinner we had our entire trip! We got seated right away about 6pm. If they are busy show your room key and you'll get priority seating.

Hope this helped!

 

[PartyofSix]

Ditto to everything the above poster said. I just wanted to add that i liked the shampoos they are all high quality amenties and i never pack those since my first trip in. As for the room she had it was a Deluxe Pool View room that they upgraded her standard to. I am sorry but i can't remember the name of the resturant that is adjacent to mama' Della's but it's amazing and has a wonderful buffett of everything you or your kids could want from pizza to maiu maiu, a pasta service center where you pick the type of pasta, meats, and sauces and spices and they prepare it fresh right before you. YUMMY! It starts with a T but for the life of me i can't remember. It's a must do and so is sals' and mama' della' and margaritville and mythos!

 

[JessicaR]

The name of the restaurant at Portofino is Trattoria del Porto. We love this place too! Ask about the character meal when you check in. Make sure to try the marshmallow shakes!

 

[Debbie7452]

Trattoria was in last years Orlando Entertainment Book for a Buy one get one free meal (up to $16). It was a punch on the card so no actual coupon was required. I don't know if it appears in this years book since I don't have one. We enjoyed this restaurant.

 

[JessicaR]

Thanks for the reminder Debbie! We used this last time also and it does include it again in this years Orlando book.

UP TO $16.00 VALUE


Trattoria del Porto (SM)

The colorful festivals celebrated in the Italian countryside are the background for Trattoria del Porto, located at Portofino Bay Hotel. Select from an expansive array of diverse Italian regional offerings & a brilliant display of antipasti & desserts. A northern Italian buffet is also available. Open daily for lunch & dinner (closed for dinner on Tue. & Wed.).

Offer Details
Enjoy one complimentary LUNCH OR DINNER ENTREE when a second LUNCH OR DINNER ENTREE of equal or greater value is purchased

How Can I Get This Discount?
You must own the Orlando book in order to get this discount! Buy it now!

Offer Guidelines
VALID ANYTIME

(Membership Card or Coupon provided in the Entertainment Book is required to obtain discount)



Entertainment Book Orlando

 

[Disney Debbie]

Woohoo! Thanks guys! I need to go ahead and order my book!

 

[corvair]

JennSaint.....Thanks for your report....We are staying at AKL and then going on to PBH..How would you compare the two??? Did you have a long walk to get to the boat at PBH????? How did you like the pools??Which was better???? Was the slide enclosed at PBH???? any info on the two resorts would be great....thanks...amy

 

[Tigger&Belle]

I haven't stayed at PBH, so can't really compare, but we have stayed at AKL. The rooms at AKL are very dark, which I didn't like, however, nothing beats waking up and watching the animals from your balcony. I don't think that I would ever stay there again, though, but I have gone back to look at the animals.

 

[biffyg]

JennSaint,

We are staying at Disney's Boardwalk Inn first then moving to PBH for three nights, in March. We have been to (and love) Universal but have never stayed on site. I have two questions:

1. How did you find the ride waits using your room key? This seems to be a huge benefit to staying at one of the Universal hotels.

2. We are also Loews First Blue members. How did it work with your upgrade and Welcome Gift? Did you present your Loews card on check-in or did they already know you are a Loews member. Did you ask for the upgrade or did they just give it to you. We have a Bay View room (and are hoping for a balcony).

Thanks!

 

[JennSaint]

Corvair: I don't think I could compare AKL and PBH. They are two totally different themes. We loved them both. PBH has some definate pluses though. Much larger rooms and huge bathroom! We really like the size. We did miss having a balcony though.

The walk to the boat was maybe 3-4 minutes from our room.

We like both pools but my boys loved PBH even more. The slide was better than AKL. Even myself and DH went down it.

Biffg: The FOTL access is the best! This probably puts PBH over AKL for that reason alone! There were some long lines last week with alot of 45 minute waits and were able to bypass them!

As far as Loews goes I did give him my card at check-in. So maybe that's why we got the upgrade. We never received our welcome gift and I never asked for it either. Just wasn't a big deal to us.