jsmla
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2001
- Messages
- 4,498
We just returned from a stay at Port Orleans French Quarter (5 nights) and the Royal Pacific Resort (2 nights). Here's how we felt they compared:
Resort theming: POFQ-10/RPR-5
Much better at POFQ. Not really like New Orleans but I'm from Louisiana and didn't miss the drunks, noise or smell a bit. The Mardi Gras pool is festive and cute. A mixture of zydeco and jazz is played on the sound system and the resort just feels special. At RPR theming consisted of a lot of rattan and a few palm trees. I didn't care for the color scheme (mustard and burgandy) and the pool-side music was your standard easy listening mix. The resort felt much more Hilton-like than POFQ.
Resort location: POFQ-7/RPR 10 +
POFQ is really not badly located. It just suffers in comparison to RPR. POFQ bus service was prompt and, except for the boat to DTD, uncrowded. It's a quick drive from POFQ to almost any WDW location. The location of RPR is FABULOUS. City Walk was a ten minute walk from our room. Once there, we never got the car out. If it were any closer I would probably have been bothered by the noise.
Room size: POFQ-5/RPR-7
Slight edge to RPR. Having a king bed (we had 2 doubles at POFQ) made the room feel much more spacious.
Room decor: POFQ-9/RPR-5
I found the POFQ room to be very pretty and fresh looking. Bedspreds were festive without actually SCREAMING at you. The carpet looked very new. The room at RPR was in need of a re-hab. The bedspread was worn looking and the carpet had stains. Not awful, just tired-looking.
Bathroom-Cleanliness: POFQ 10/RPR-4
Our bathroom at POFQ was spotless. Really, it looked brand-new. The bathroom at RPR had stained grout and rust spots. Not gross, just a little worn around the edges. More like a Days Inn than a 4 * hotel.
Bathroom-Convenience: POFQ 5/RPR-8
Bathroom area at POFQ is very small. The pedestal sinks leave very little room for toiletries. Privacy curtain was nice. Shampoo/soap was standard Disney issue. Bathroom was much bigger at RPR with plenty of counter space for our stuff. Towels, soap, shampoo, etc. were of a very nice quality. Both rooms had double sinks.
Beds: POFQ-7/RPR-7
The mattresses at POFQ were newer and more comfortable. The bed at RPR was triple-sheeted which is something I really like. We were uncomfortable in the double bed at POFQ and ended up using both beds. We slept well at both resorts.
Housekeeping: POFQ-10 +/RPR-3
Really no comparison here. Our room at POFQ was kept absolutely perfectly. The bathroom was shiny-clean and every surface was obviously cleaned daily. They even straightened out our shoes on the floor of the closet area! The houskeeper must have seen some of our anniversary stuff around because we came back one day to find a Magic Moments certificate, a note congratulating us and a room full of towel flowers. The few times we ran into the housekeeper she was very, very pleasant. We had a completely different experience at RPR. The room just didn't feel as fresh as the one at POFQ. The bed was sloppily made and the extra blanket was just left crumpled in a chair. We were only there two nights but the floors and furniture were not cleaned during our stay and there was hair (ours, fortunately) left in the sink. If we had booked a longer stay I would have complained.
Pool: POFQ-7/RPR-8
Both pools were very nice. RPR gets higher points for size and the comfy sun beds. The pool at POFQ was warmer though both were at comfortable temps.
Restaurants: POFQ-5/RPR-10
POFQ only has a food court with average food court fair varied by a few bland versions of Cajun/Creole food (jambalaya, red beans, begniets). We did walk over to POR's Boatwrights for breakfast. This was quite good and very good value for the money. RPR has Tchoup Chop (sp?), an Emeril restaurant and City Walk's many dining venues are only a short walk away.
On-site perks: POFQ-8/RPR-10 +
We tried two evenings EMH, Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom. There's not really enough open at AK to fill 3 hours of my time. The EMH at MK was really nice. The only ride we couldn't get to was Peter Pan which was mobbed all night. Everything else had little or no wait. Universal Express is absolutely fantastic, the best resort perk I have ever experienced. Walking onto rides like Spiderman and the Mummy was unbelievable. Some of these rides had hour-long waits. It was so great it was almost embarassing.
All in all we enjoyed both resorts. The Royal Pacific was definately more conveniently located and you can't beat the Express perk. Still..... I don't know exactly what it is but I enjoyed just being at POFQ more. It just has that special indefinable Disney feel to it that I love. I really loved returning to the resort for a rest or the night. I enjoyed my stay at the RPR but will always remain a Disney girl.
Jennifer
Resort theming: POFQ-10/RPR-5
Much better at POFQ. Not really like New Orleans but I'm from Louisiana and didn't miss the drunks, noise or smell a bit. The Mardi Gras pool is festive and cute. A mixture of zydeco and jazz is played on the sound system and the resort just feels special. At RPR theming consisted of a lot of rattan and a few palm trees. I didn't care for the color scheme (mustard and burgandy) and the pool-side music was your standard easy listening mix. The resort felt much more Hilton-like than POFQ.
Resort location: POFQ-7/RPR 10 +
POFQ is really not badly located. It just suffers in comparison to RPR. POFQ bus service was prompt and, except for the boat to DTD, uncrowded. It's a quick drive from POFQ to almost any WDW location. The location of RPR is FABULOUS. City Walk was a ten minute walk from our room. Once there, we never got the car out. If it were any closer I would probably have been bothered by the noise.
Room size: POFQ-5/RPR-7
Slight edge to RPR. Having a king bed (we had 2 doubles at POFQ) made the room feel much more spacious.
Room decor: POFQ-9/RPR-5
I found the POFQ room to be very pretty and fresh looking. Bedspreds were festive without actually SCREAMING at you. The carpet looked very new. The room at RPR was in need of a re-hab. The bedspread was worn looking and the carpet had stains. Not awful, just tired-looking.
Bathroom-Cleanliness: POFQ 10/RPR-4
Our bathroom at POFQ was spotless. Really, it looked brand-new. The bathroom at RPR had stained grout and rust spots. Not gross, just a little worn around the edges. More like a Days Inn than a 4 * hotel.
Bathroom-Convenience: POFQ 5/RPR-8
Bathroom area at POFQ is very small. The pedestal sinks leave very little room for toiletries. Privacy curtain was nice. Shampoo/soap was standard Disney issue. Bathroom was much bigger at RPR with plenty of counter space for our stuff. Towels, soap, shampoo, etc. were of a very nice quality. Both rooms had double sinks.
Beds: POFQ-7/RPR-7
The mattresses at POFQ were newer and more comfortable. The bed at RPR was triple-sheeted which is something I really like. We were uncomfortable in the double bed at POFQ and ended up using both beds. We slept well at both resorts.
Housekeeping: POFQ-10 +/RPR-3
Really no comparison here. Our room at POFQ was kept absolutely perfectly. The bathroom was shiny-clean and every surface was obviously cleaned daily. They even straightened out our shoes on the floor of the closet area! The houskeeper must have seen some of our anniversary stuff around because we came back one day to find a Magic Moments certificate, a note congratulating us and a room full of towel flowers. The few times we ran into the housekeeper she was very, very pleasant. We had a completely different experience at RPR. The room just didn't feel as fresh as the one at POFQ. The bed was sloppily made and the extra blanket was just left crumpled in a chair. We were only there two nights but the floors and furniture were not cleaned during our stay and there was hair (ours, fortunately) left in the sink. If we had booked a longer stay I would have complained.
Pool: POFQ-7/RPR-8
Both pools were very nice. RPR gets higher points for size and the comfy sun beds. The pool at POFQ was warmer though both were at comfortable temps.
Restaurants: POFQ-5/RPR-10
POFQ only has a food court with average food court fair varied by a few bland versions of Cajun/Creole food (jambalaya, red beans, begniets). We did walk over to POR's Boatwrights for breakfast. This was quite good and very good value for the money. RPR has Tchoup Chop (sp?), an Emeril restaurant and City Walk's many dining venues are only a short walk away.
On-site perks: POFQ-8/RPR-10 +
We tried two evenings EMH, Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom. There's not really enough open at AK to fill 3 hours of my time. The EMH at MK was really nice. The only ride we couldn't get to was Peter Pan which was mobbed all night. Everything else had little or no wait. Universal Express is absolutely fantastic, the best resort perk I have ever experienced. Walking onto rides like Spiderman and the Mummy was unbelievable. Some of these rides had hour-long waits. It was so great it was almost embarassing.
All in all we enjoyed both resorts. The Royal Pacific was definately more conveniently located and you can't beat the Express perk. Still..... I don't know exactly what it is but I enjoyed just being at POFQ more. It just has that special indefinable Disney feel to it that I love. I really loved returning to the resort for a rest or the night. I enjoyed my stay at the RPR but will always remain a Disney girl.
Jennifer
We are so excited to get back there in Feb.
I have 2 kids DD9 and DS8. Do you have any kids traveling with you? Are you getting excited yet! I sure am! 
