Got to the Hard Rock for 6.30pm. Parked the car at the main entrance. Told Valet I would be 'self parking', no problem, absolutely no pressure to use valet. Check-in took around 10-15 mins and the room was ready straight away. Picked up passes at concierge(stay 4 play free). Room was great (King Suite-pool view 5040). View of pool and parks. Great walk-in shower. 2 TV's. 3 phones, CD player, huge king size bed, 3 piece suite, table and chairs, plenty of space for the little one to run. Had room service the first night.
Lounged around the pool the following day (Friday). Ate at the Hard Rock cafe that evening. Used the All Access card to by-pass the queue outside. Came back to the room to find fresh ice in the bucket, turndowned bed, music set on low, fresh towels, Hard Rock luggage labels were also left on the bed.
The next day we went to Sea World. "Dine with Shamu" was cancelled due to hurricane Jeanne. We rebooked for the following Thursday. We got our photos taken on the way out for our second day free passes. That evening City Walk closed at 7pm so we ate at "the Kitchen" in the hotel. Scooby doo was visiting the tables. We also had a letter under the door from the hotel manager (Lou Carrier) informing us of the impending hurricane and that they would be providing us with entertainment, movies and games in the conference suites.
On the Sunday the whole hotel was on lockdown as there was a curfew until 8 am Monday. Security guards were in place at the main entrance and at the pool entrance/exit. There was also sand bags at every door along the balcony in the lobby and a huge screen had been erected to keep the guests informed on what was going on. There was a lot of dogs in the hotel-evacuees from the coast had brought their animals over to ride out the storm. Fortunately Jeanne only knocked down a few trees around the resort. The pathways were full of debris and at one point I noticed the table tennis table floating around the pool. City Walk was completely empty but still had the music playing. That night we ate at the Kitchen again (buffet menu due to limited staff).
On the Monday we went to Universal studios and IOA. Ate at "Finnegans" in US. Managed to walk straight on the Mummy, Spiderman and the Hulk with no wait using the FOTL keys. Ate at Margaritiville over at City Walk that evening.
Tuesday- The weather was back to normal. Lounged around the pool. Lunch at the Beach club. Room service for dinner.
Wednesday- Went to MK. Lunch at Crystal Palace (Walk-in NO PS). Seated immediately. Fantastic buffet. Highly reccomended. DD met Pooh, piglet and Tigger. Stayed to watch the parade at 3pm then left. Dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe - Highly reccomend a "Jumbo combo" to share and the NY strip-medium. Had excellent service and food again.
Thursday-Lounged around pool (again!) then went over to Sea World for our 5.15pm Dine with Shamu reservation. The buffet was OK. We got seated right next to the lagoon. The show was good (good photo oppurtunity) as the killer whales come very close to where you dine. Overall I thought it represented great value for money considering you can get beer (bud) and wine with
the meal. Got back to the hotel and the car park was full because "The knack (my Sharona)" were playing in the lobby. Manged to get free valet parking. Went over to City Walk. Got back just before 9 and the walls to the hotel where shaking! The music was LOUD (well it is the HARD ROCK I guess!). As soon as 9pm arrived the music stopped.
Friday-Lounged around the pool in the morning. Shopping at premium outlets in the afternoon. Dinner at Hard Rock cafe.
Saturday- Rang 'star sevice' for an extended checkout. She told me the latest they could do was 12pm. I told her I was Loews platinum and she apologised and gave us a 2pm checkout. Stayed around pool till 1pm, then checked out right on 2pm. Finished off shopping back at the premium outlets then got to MCO for 6pm.
Overall, I would say another great stay at this excellent hotel. We only encountered two very minor problems over 9 nights. One was the beach club adding a 15% automatic tip to the bill and the other was the noise from the work being carried out around the beach club bar (we had prior warning of this). I read a few reports before I left about the HRH starting to show it's age. Yes, there may have been a few wear and tear marks on the carpets, but I can honestly say I didn't notice anything that would warrant a complaint. It felt like we never left from our trip back in 2001. The hotel still is still one of the most upbeat and frendliest places (staff and guests) in the area............Now back to planning our 6th visit!
Any questions?
Lounged around the pool the following day (Friday). Ate at the Hard Rock cafe that evening. Used the All Access card to by-pass the queue outside. Came back to the room to find fresh ice in the bucket, turndowned bed, music set on low, fresh towels, Hard Rock luggage labels were also left on the bed.
The next day we went to Sea World. "Dine with Shamu" was cancelled due to hurricane Jeanne. We rebooked for the following Thursday. We got our photos taken on the way out for our second day free passes. That evening City Walk closed at 7pm so we ate at "the Kitchen" in the hotel. Scooby doo was visiting the tables. We also had a letter under the door from the hotel manager (Lou Carrier) informing us of the impending hurricane and that they would be providing us with entertainment, movies and games in the conference suites.
On the Sunday the whole hotel was on lockdown as there was a curfew until 8 am Monday. Security guards were in place at the main entrance and at the pool entrance/exit. There was also sand bags at every door along the balcony in the lobby and a huge screen had been erected to keep the guests informed on what was going on. There was a lot of dogs in the hotel-evacuees from the coast had brought their animals over to ride out the storm. Fortunately Jeanne only knocked down a few trees around the resort. The pathways were full of debris and at one point I noticed the table tennis table floating around the pool. City Walk was completely empty but still had the music playing. That night we ate at the Kitchen again (buffet menu due to limited staff).
On the Monday we went to Universal studios and IOA. Ate at "Finnegans" in US. Managed to walk straight on the Mummy, Spiderman and the Hulk with no wait using the FOTL keys. Ate at Margaritiville over at City Walk that evening.
Tuesday- The weather was back to normal. Lounged around the pool. Lunch at the Beach club. Room service for dinner.
Wednesday- Went to MK. Lunch at Crystal Palace (Walk-in NO PS). Seated immediately. Fantastic buffet. Highly reccomended. DD met Pooh, piglet and Tigger. Stayed to watch the parade at 3pm then left. Dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe - Highly reccomend a "Jumbo combo" to share and the NY strip-medium. Had excellent service and food again.
Thursday-Lounged around pool (again!) then went over to Sea World for our 5.15pm Dine with Shamu reservation. The buffet was OK. We got seated right next to the lagoon. The show was good (good photo oppurtunity) as the killer whales come very close to where you dine. Overall I thought it represented great value for money considering you can get beer (bud) and wine with
the meal. Got back to the hotel and the car park was full because "The knack (my Sharona)" were playing in the lobby. Manged to get free valet parking. Went over to City Walk. Got back just before 9 and the walls to the hotel where shaking! The music was LOUD (well it is the HARD ROCK I guess!). As soon as 9pm arrived the music stopped.
Friday-Lounged around the pool in the morning. Shopping at premium outlets in the afternoon. Dinner at Hard Rock cafe.
Saturday- Rang 'star sevice' for an extended checkout. She told me the latest they could do was 12pm. I told her I was Loews platinum and she apologised and gave us a 2pm checkout. Stayed around pool till 1pm, then checked out right on 2pm. Finished off shopping back at the premium outlets then got to MCO for 6pm.
Overall, I would say another great stay at this excellent hotel. We only encountered two very minor problems over 9 nights. One was the beach club adding a 15% automatic tip to the bill and the other was the noise from the work being carried out around the beach club bar (we had prior warning of this). I read a few reports before I left about the HRH starting to show it's age. Yes, there may have been a few wear and tear marks on the carpets, but I can honestly say I didn't notice anything that would warrant a complaint. It felt like we never left from our trip back in 2001. The hotel still is still one of the most upbeat and frendliest places (staff and guests) in the area............Now back to planning our 6th visit!
Any questions?
