please help me convince my husband!

[elbodans]

so...my husband's heart is set on going to universal and staying onsite. that's 100% non negotiable (trust me, i've tried!) he's also very in love with portofino bay--so in love, in fact, that we've booked it. since then (and just this morning) i got an annual pass (long story why--it makes sense) and called to have my rate adjusted (thanks person on here who said i could do that!) we saved $100, which is just enough to cover the 'extra' cost of the AP.

now...i just checked online with the APH rate, and if we switched to royal pacific, we'd be saving $400 (paying $154/night which is TOTALLY reasonable!) i think this is FANTASTIC, and i'm all ready to switch--but i need someone (or many someones!) to give me good feedback on royal pacific. i'd be super appreciative to anyone who can do that!

to help with justification, here's his reason for wanting to go to portofino
1. it is the nicest of the resorts
2. it is the LEAST kid friendly (we don't have kids)
3. he likes the pool area (this ties in with #2--he was thinking there would be fewer kids at the pool at PB)

ok--justify away! extra pixie dust to anyone who can come up with The Reason.

 

[damo]

You can pool hop. Don't choose the hotel for the pool when you can save $400. The bathroom at the PBH is totally self contained with no sink/mirror outside so whoever is not doing their hair/makeup/teeth/bath will have to wait until the other person is done. Start spending a long time in the bathroom and maybe he'll change his mind.

 

[patster734]

My wife and I have no kids and the RPR is our favorite resort. Tchoup Chop is one of our favorite restaurants. We also like Jake's American Bar for drinks and appetizers in the late afternoon. I also feel that the breakfast buffet at RPR is better than the buffet at PBH or HRH.

 

[bumbershoot]

Well I gotta tell you...next trip we'll likely be staying at Portofino, and we have a kid. I haven't seen a thing about the place that makes it look unfriendly to kids, so I'm not sure about that reasoning!


Royal Pacific was great, the lobby is astonishing and I wished our trip was longer so we could have just sat in the lobby for half a day, BUT the room felt miniscule. We had just come from a 2 bedroom then 1 bedroom at Old Key West, and the whole room seemed about the size of the kitchen space at OKW. PBH is bigger, so we're wanting that in the future.

 

[fort lauderdale dave]

i have to side with you. We have always stayed at RP but last year stayed at pbh for the first time and loved it. but for $400 saving you have to take advantage of that. plus great sushi bar at RP. also stay toward the bar end of the pool and kids arent a problem, the pool is huge

 

[elbodans]

thanks for the input everyone! i pitched the idea of changing hotels to my husband, and he's currently contemplating it. he spent a good half hour re-comparing them online...sigh. all i need to hear is $400 savings and i'm sold! he will be reading all of your replies as soon as i'm done posting this!

i also wanted to say that i don't want anyone to be offended by my 'least kid friendly' statement. we don't dislike kids--we are both teachers. we love kids. we just occasionally like to sit near a pool and have a drink. you may then ask 'well why are you going to an amusement park?'--the answer is, we both also really like to have fun (and we're tired of vegas.)

my argument to my husband--at least tonight--has been 'dear, it is an amusement park, there are GOING to be children!' we'll see how that pans out. i'll post again when there's a final decision (though i'm thinking that 'final decision' might be me just changing the booking sans approval!)

 

[elbodans]

thanks everyone for your input, but alas there will be no convincing. i ALMOST had it--we were at the point where i was ready to call and had the price up online...and then he clicked one more time to look at the final price and discovered that it's 'only' a savings of $280. which i still think is great, but since he was on the fence already, even with a $400 savings...well, i lost this argument. i guess there are worse arguments to lose, right?

 

[elbodans]

YAY!!! i did it! i convinced him!

for those of you out there with the same issue, here's what it took--one part comparison and two parts reverse psychology. i explained to him what we could have for the price difference (five nights at a hotel in amsterdam that we loved) and THEN i was like 'yeah, you're probably right, let's just keep the reservation' and then he changed his mind. we're booked at royal pacific and saving $468 from what we originally booked at portofino (with the AP rate) and i could not be happier.

dancing banana is the highest form of happy, you know!

thanks again everyone for your input.

 

[cieslack]

If you have never stayed at Portofino you should have treated yourself. It is incredibly romantic and the rooms are larger than the others. It is smaller and, in my opinion, worth the premium. And I am in no way wealthy. Pool hopping is great, but not very convenient.

 

[macraven]

congrats on winning.......................


i have stayed at all the on site hotels.

rph is my fave.
staying there again this fall.

i know the rooms are not large but i book the king suite and get 2 rooms.
and i go solo........

really, the room size has never been an issue with me.
in the past, i have had kids with me before in the room and we had plenty of room.

 

[macraven]

spend some time in city walk.
rph is very close to it.

your hubby might enjoy it there.