Just Returned From HRH Club

[Disneyhappy]

Just returned from our trip to FL and our visit to HRH CLub level. We checked in on Palm Sunday for 2 nights with three adults and two 13 year olds. We've stayed at HRH (not club), PBH and RPR Club level before. I'll try to provide my thoughts on the some of the comments I read on these boards before I left. We stayed in room 7053 which was about 8 rooms down from the club lounge/elevators. It overlooked the front of the hotel (same view as the club lounge). The room was clean and spacious. Beds were extremely comfortable with white duvets on goose down comforters. I did notice that the carpets in the hallwys were looking a bit worn. No noise problems even though we were closer to the elevators. This was a concern when I saw our room was located so close to the elevators but there were no problems. I don't recall music in the hallways but there was music in other common areas of the hotel and elevators that was just a tad too loud for me but no biggy. The hotel was crowded which included the pool area. We were given wrist bands to show we were guests. Signs were posted regrading no deck chair saving but the signs did not seem to be a deterent since many chairs were saved with towels for hours. We had a tough time finding chairs and servers by the pool.

The club lounge was convenient as ever. We ate breakfast in the lounge every morning. Water, and mini cans of Coke, Diet Coke, and Sprite were available all day. From 5-7 PM, cut-up veggies were available each night. One night also had mini hotdogs and soft pretzels and another night had meatballs (they were cold), rolls and artichoke salad. Beer and wine was available. Later desserts were canned pudding, prepackaged cookies and brownies or rice crispy treats. The lounge was always crowded and they kept running out of food, probably due to the high capacity. Yes, people came to the lounge in their robes and most young kids were in their PJs in the morning. I wasn't bothered by it even though I would not be comfortable doing it myself.

Overall, offerings were OK but we like RPR better. The RPR lounge was much larger, better and more food offerings, and the staff was friendlier. I knew this already from reading these great boards but still opted to stay at the HRH due to the larger rooms with a big group and two 13 year old boys who wanted to stay at the "cooler" hotel. I really have no complaints about HRH but I do like the RPR better now that I can compare the two. If I had never stayed at the RPR before to compare, I would say I'd return to the HRH in a heartbeat so if you are currently booked at the HRH, do not second guess yourself.

One big plus of the HRH is the 5 minute walk to Universal. I forgot how close it was. I also cannot stress enough how wonderful FOTL is!!!! Let me say that by lunchtime, we thought the parks were extremely crowded. We got to the parks all three days by 8:30 and most attractions were open. We didn't even need the Express line for SM for the first 2 rides. We basically saw and did everything we wanted (some rides twice) by 1 PM and returned to the HRH to relax and hang out by the pool. Parks were open until 10 PM so we would return about 7 PM and see more shows and more or the same rides. By mid-mornings, some of the rides/attractions had 90 or longer minute waits. We did not wait longer than 5 minutes with FOTL except when the attractions were malfunctioning. This was at least my 10th visit to Universal and I never experienced so many technical difficulties. Fortunately, none were too long that it impacted our day. I recall that we had a 15 minute wait for MIB on night. While standing in line, we found out the ride was closed for most of the day and just reopened shortly before we got there. The day before we were on MIB when the ride stopped for 3 minutes and restarted. Even the cash registers were crashing and had to be rebooted (happened to us twice). Did this ruin or impact or trip - not in the least. I just wanted to share my experience.

Let me know if you have any questions and enjoy your planned trips!

 

[Disneyhappy]

One other thing I forgot to mention - there were people using the Club lounge that were not staying on that level. My mother and I overheard at least two groups that gave their room key card to someone in a room not on club level to use their services. I also observed on two separate occassions guests taking plates full of food on the elevator and getting off on a floor or two below the club level. In fairness, these people may have paid for club but stayed on a different floor. Normally, I could care less about people doing this as I figured it "goes home with them" but the lounge was already crowded enough and they kept running out of food that they had to call down to the kitchen to order more and that would take 15-20 minutes.

 

[robvia]

Great report. Staying at the RPR July 6th, can't wait.
We bring our own coolers with snacks so the club thing doesn't matter to me. If I did stay on club level, I'd get there early to beat the crowds.
People in robes, wow, someone take a picture, that will make them stop.

 

[shl1108]

Thanks for the report! Was your room a deluxe size room by any chance or standard?
We are contemplating the club level for May. Hopefully it won't be as crowded as Easter weekend. Can you take alcohol out of the room?
That's funny about people in robes. I could see kids in their pj's (no big deal), but stranger adults in robes? Gross! Hopefully they were fully clothed under! You would hate to see a grown man sit down with his plate of food and have his robe not stay together.
Put on some sweats for God sakes in you are too lazy to get dressed!
Would these people go down to the lobby like that?? eeeks!

 

[JessicaR]

Thanks so much for the detailed report! Great information. I myself would not have been happy with canned pudding and rice crispie treats. Sounds like the offerings at RPR are better. Glad you enjoyed your trip!

 

[FeeFeeWhite]

I do love the convenience of club. I know that sometimes others abuse it, but we stayed on a different floor at RP and were given Club use. We stayed in a room and one of the suites. I forget what it was called. It was just one floor below club level. It was HUGE with a full bath and kitchen. The sofa had a bed also. It was connected to a King Room w/ bath and a Queen Room with bath.

I am so glad you enjoyed your stay and I agree with all your comments. My oldest loves the "cool" factor of HRH!

Now, you must try PB!

 

[pozey]

Thanks for the great report!!

We are staying at the HRH Club Level in June. It will be our first time at a Universal on-site hotel.

A question for you......Now that you stayed Club Level, what room location would you request? We would like to look out at either the pools or the park. What location would you say I should request?

Thanks again for the great report.

 

[Disneyhappy]

shl1108- We had a regular room. I did have a request for a deluxe room on Club level but did not expect to get one, especially during the busy season. I did take a beer back to our room. They have someone serving the alcohol and you can only get one drink per person at a time. Your post was too funny and gave me a visual I wasn't prepared for about the grown man's robe popping open! Yikes, that would have been some sight!

FeeFeeWhite- We stayed at PBH the year it opened and were upgraded to some type of club level they had. I think it was limited club and we didn't realize we had been upgraded until the night before we left. I recall evening cordials and chocolates (I really didn't look to far past the chocolate). PBH then stopped Club Level service. I know they have since started it again and I would like to try it next time.
I know that guests can get club service and stay on another floor which is why I want to give the people we observed the benefit of the doubt. However, one night I was heading back to our room from the lobby on the third floor around 5:30 PM (son forgot his toothbrush and Loews provides complimentary ones when requested) and when I got on the elevator, there was a couple already on the elevator and the 4th floor button was already lit. I slid my room key card to engage the 7th floor button. The elevator then stopped at the fourth floor and the couple did not get off but went to the 7th floor with me. I didn't look to see where they went as I was heading back to my room. I just thought it was odd. Maybe they just wanted to see what it looked like, I really do not know.

Robvia- Good idea to get there early but that is when the line was the longest. Some people were like scavengers, it was really funny. We would pop in the lounge when we got back from the pool either before or after our showers and the timing always seemed to be around 5 PM. They couldn't keep the food replenished. We would come back later around 5:30 -6 PM and there were no longer any lines but I think they did run out of the soft pretzels and they said there wouldn't be any more. Evening desserts was less crowded but they did run out or rice crispies by the time the kids returned from the parks. Somehow or another, they survived without those rice crispy treats!

I hope I'm not sounding too negative. From reading these boards, I went with the expectation that I would probably like RPR better and tried to keep an open mind. I also knew that it was going to be very crowded and that may impact service. We still had a wonderful time and I wasn't going to let the little things put any damper on my vacation.

Let me know if you have anymore questions.

 

[Disneyhappy]

pozey- Good question and there may be other people on these boards that can better answer this question. If I recall correctly, I think the pool view also has a view of the Universal Studios. There may also be rooms with a view of Citywalk and IOA in the distance. When you get off the elevator, the rooms branched off in three different corridors and at the end of the corridors (at least our corridor when I went snooping) it branched off again in 2 different directions.

I also forgot to mention that we had a good view of Universal's fireworks down by the pool. I didn't realize there would be fireworks and we had just walked back to HRH when they started. The palm trees blocked the view a bit of the lower fireworks but I bet there are rooms that would have an awesome view of the fireworks. Does anyone know which rooms would view the fireworks?

 

[Sherrilatte]

We will be at HRH club level in June. It will be the first time we ever stayed club level and since we are getting a pretty good deal, I am less apprehensive about whether the advantages do not match up to the cost.

It is only three of us, my husband and teenage son. We are hoping that it come in handy to deter our son from the mini bar snacks. Should we still bring some snacks too?

Do they serve juices or non-carbonated drinks at all?

We normally do not drink carbonated beverages. We tend to drink juices, teas, coffee, lemonade...you get the picture.

Thank for answering our questions!

 

[shl1108]

Great info!
We're excited to stay "club" and will take it for whatever comes. The extra $$ really is a drop in the bucket in comparison to the 11 day trip we are taking from Seattle! So we'll just do it in style. My kids will LOVE It.
My husband will be banned from even trying on the robes, however

he's the type that has to take a shower before he goes down to buy latte's in the morning! (which is a bone of contention if ya ask me) Latte calls, you must answer.

Anyways...thanks so much for the trip report. Can't wait for the HRH, club level, FOTL and the yellow submarine cabana!!

Plus, I think we'll get a nanny service to come in to the room so we can go party at citywalk one night.

:thewave:

 

[Disneyhappy]

Sherrilatte - I'm sure you and your family will love the HRH club level. We did not even opt to get the key to the mini-bar. It stayed locked the whole time. I would definitely bring snacks if it is convenient. The kids became hungry in the afternoon and later in the evening when there was nothing available in the lounge. They had apple juice and orange juice in the morning and only water and sodas for the whole day. We really utilized the bottles of water. We took them to the park and and poolside. The convenience of any club lounge can not be overstated. Food is not cheap at Disney or Universal and breakfast alone for the 5 of us could easily have cost us $50. The ability to have some of our party getting ready int eh AM while the others had space to go eat, watch TV or read the newspaper in the lounge also has value. In my opinion, club level is well worth the cost and DH won't let me book anything but club/concierge anymore when we go to Disney or Universal. The kids loved the HRH atmosphere looking for the employees with a mohawk or green hair. The kids really enjoyed the pool. The hot tubs were great too!

sh1108- Lucky you, getting a Cabana! I forgot to mention that we saw the members of O.A.R. who were playing for the Mardi Gras and staying at the hardrock. They rented a cabana (I think it was the Yellow Submerine cabana) and hung out byt he pool all afternoon drinking beers and watching the NCAA basketball playoffs. People were asking them for pictures and they were really friendly. Our beach chairs just happened to be by their cabana. My son was the one who recognized who they were. The cabanas look really cool and you won't have to worry about beach chairs since chairs are reserved with the cabanas! Enjoy!!!

 

[Sherrilatte]

I can hardly wait 'til June!

 

[luvdzny]

We will be staying Club level at HRH in June. Do they have a seperate check in for Club level like they do at Disney resorts or is it all the same? Thanks!

 

[Disneyhappy]

luvdzny - Sorry, no separate check-in for Club Level at HRH. I always liked the separate check in with Disney's concierge rooms too. We checked in around 9 AM at the HRH so the line was not too bad. By mid-afternoon, the check-in line was long. Keep in mind this was Easter week and it was fully booked. I think the earlier you can check-in the better. They gave us our key cards and called me on my cell phone at the parks around 1 PM to let me know our room was ready. Check-in is supposed to be at 4 PM so we considered ourselves lucky to get in earlier during this busy time. Enjoy your trip!

 

[T&G1994]

what does FOTL stand for. thanks

 

[mcefalo]

Front of the Line - the perk you get for staying on-site - get to by-pass regular line

 

[ribbitribbit]

[we stayed on a different floor at RP and were given Club use.


Is this something I don't know about? I thought I read someone else "got a deluxe room with club priviledges". Do you ask at check-in or when you make your reservation?

I have (and need) the size of the deluxe room (5 of us). Didn't <a style='text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 3px double;' href="http://www.serverlogic3.com/lm/rtl3.asp?si=24&k=book%20club" onmouseover="window.status='book club'; return true;" onmouseout="window.status=''; return true;">book club</a> because I couldn't be guaranteed a deluxe room.

Then I thought maybe I wouldn't need club:
1. Hors derves from 5-7 ~ I really don't think we'll be at the hotel at that time, especially because the parks close at 7.

2. I think we'll be stopping on the way from the airport for snacks, water, and some breakfast items. Then get a "Real breakfast" a couple of times during our stay

3. The 1 thing my kids liked were the cookies and milk at night. Can you get those sent up from room service?

Am I overlooking anything? Is club worth the extra $$$$$. Already paying $296 HRH

 

[shl1108]

I guess it depends on how much more the club room would be a night for your family. If space is on the top of your list then I would get my own snacks etc.. for the room.

You can "rent" a fridge from the hotel for $25 for the entire time of your stay. That's what I was told when I inquired.

We struggled with the same issue having 5 people in a room. One of our children is still a baby, so she can sleep in the complimentary crib they will give us. So weighing all of the benefits and costs etc.. and knowing my kids...we decided to book club. One big factor is that we save $70 on our cabana rental by going club.

Also, I know how much my kids will love jetting down for snacks and breakfast in the AM..plus we will be around the hotel more with the baby, so we'll be sure to hit the food/happy hour time each day for a break.

Good luck! And have fun! We can't wait for our trip. I love Disney, but I am more excited for our HRH club stay and quick walk to the FOTL parks at Universal and ease of coming back to the pool for fun after we save so much time NOT waiting in line!!

 

[kevin harrison]

I think they charge you $25 dollars to empty the Mini Fridge you already have in your room.