PBR is my new favorite hotel!

[CornishPixie]

We got home last Wednesday from our stay at Portofino Bay Resort and we are so in love with this hotel!! We had the most beautiful room and I owe it to the suggestions on this board. We booked a garden view room at the APR rate of $174 and got an upgrade to the bay view, west wing, 5th floor with a huge balcony!!
We walked everyday using Bubba's Mom shortcut tip through the HRH parking lot and it took us no time to get back and forth.
We loved the pool and the staff and we ate at Sal's everyday for one meal or another. The food was awesome and inexpensive and my teenagers loved the pizza and gelato. Sometimes we took our food up to the room and ate on our balcony!
Thanks to everyone who posts on these boards to help everyone make the most of their trips!

 

[damo]

So glad you loved it. We adore Sal's and the bay view rooms too.

 

[CornishPixie]

So glad you loved it. We adore Sal's and the bay view rooms too.

I can't thank y'all enough! It is so great to have these boards for help and advice! Can't wait until our next trip!

 

[TwingleMum]

We got home last Wednesday from our stay at Portofino Bay Resort and we are so in love with this hotel!! We had the most beautiful room and I owe it to the suggestions on this board. We booked a garden view room at the APR rate of $174 and got an upgrade to the bay view, west wing, 5th floor with a huge balcony!!
We walked everyday using Bubba's Mom shortcut tip through the HRH parking lot and it took us no time to get back and forth.
We loved the pool and the staff and we ate at Sal's everyday for one meal or another. The food was awesome and inexpensive and my teenagers loved the pizza and gelato. Sometimes we took our food up to the room and ate on our balcony!
Thanks to everyone who posts on these boards to help everyone make the most of their trips!

Can you explain to a newbie where this magic walkway is?? Is it a good short cut??? Have you stayed at other US/IOA Resorts??? How did this compare to them?? TIA

 

[damo]

Can you explain to a newbie where this magic walkway is?? Is it a good short cut??? Have you stayed at other US/IOA Resorts??? How did this compare to them?? TIA

Go out the main road of PBH into the driveway of HRH and then right through the HRH parking lot. Follow the road the runs adjacent to it and you will end up at USF.

 

[tink20]

OP, glad you had a great time. We have a room booked here for June, can't wait. Did you pay for you upgrade or was that some pixie dust? I would love a balcony!

 

[CornishPixie]

Can you explain to a newbie where this magic walkway is?? Is it a good short cut??? Have you stayed at other US/IOA Resorts??? How did this compare to them?? TIA

I took "Bubba's Mom" shortcut - look for her trip reports and not only does she describe it but she has photos. Basically, walk past boat launch and turn left. You end up crossing through the HRH parking lot.
We have stayed at HRH and RPR and loved both! We have two teenage girls and they have loved all the US hotels, put PBR the most. Royal Pacific is beautiful. Hard Rock is cool. Portofino Bay is a true 5-star resort.
We have stayed at several Disney hotels/resorts and really enjoyed them, but I think US has them beat on theming and amenities.

 

[CornishPixie]

OP, glad you had a great time. We have a room booked here for June, can't wait. Did you pay for you upgrade or was that some pixie dust? I would love a balcony!

Hope you have a great time in June! We didn't pay for our upgrade but we are Loew's First members and they gave us a free upgrade for that. The balcony was pure luck and probably the fact that we went on a slow week in January and the resort wasn't very full. I am completely spoiled though. I can't imagine going again and not getting one. Ours was huge! We were on the fifth floor in the west wing overlooking the bay. We ate breakfast on the balcony and my husband and I had cocktails there every night listening to the opera singers. I couldn't see them from our room but we could hear them.