Polynesian vs Royal Pacific

[RedMar]

Hi All,

We are planning our first visit to Universal Studios this year. We've stayed at several Disney resorts and have enjoyed them all. The Polynesian is one of our favorites. How would you rate the Royal Pacific compared to the Polynesian?

Thanks,
Tony

 

[dlbbwu]

We are a Disney family by trade and we ALWAYS stay at the Polynesian. The only comment I have is room size. The rooms at the Poly are much larger in szie than at the RPR. We like the day bed at the Poly for my 8 year old DS can sleep on it!

 

[nateryan]

RPR is very similar to the Poly...can't go wrong staying here.
Here are some pics...
The Bed

The Bathroom

The View

The $7.00 Water

The Pool - ignore my family in the picture

 

[cbdmhgp]

Only difference really is that a the monorail doesn't go through RPR

 

[damo]

Royal Pacific is a lot newer and was just refurbished.

 

[Disneyhappy]

Royal Pacific is a lot newer and was just refurbished.

The Polynesian is our favorite WDW resort. We also love RPR and have stayed there many times as well. I agree with everything posted here so far. The Poly rooms are much larger than RPR. The RPR is a newer resort and their rooms have been refurbished in the last year. The Poly's rooms have been refurbished in the last 2 years. Both have great pools. Amenities are similar but the Polynesian's concierge level is our favorite out all WDW and USF resorts. Overall, I think the Polynesian has more of the authentic South Pacific theming which is why it probably reminds me of the Brady Bunch episode when they went to Hawaii. The only thing I wish the RPR had that the Polynesian has is a quick counter service restaurant. I would rate the Polynesian a slightly higher deluxe. That said, $ for $ and amenity for amenity, RPR is definitely the better deal. The price for the acccomodations plus the front of the line access is a much better bargain than the Polynesian. Because of the the price for the Polynesian these days, we stay there much less frequently and only for a night or two after a DVC stay. While we can still afford the Polynesian if we choose (just barely), we feel that it has become overpriced which is one of the many reasons we spend almost as much time in USF as WDW anymore!

 

[ScottyGams]

good to know cuz i just booked RPR a for August!

 

[MarkMichaels]

The Poly is our favorite resort to stay at anywhere. I really don't see how you can even start to compare the two. I'm not trying to put the RPR down, they are just completly different types of hotels/resorts in my opinion. RPR is fine, we stayed there about a year ago, before it was refurbed. To me, the room is a nicely decorated hotel room, very standard fair, the pool is large, but less fun than the HRH or PBH's pools. (the play area is nice, but our teens wanted the HRH slide) The nice thing about the RPR is that you can switch hotels and use the pools at the HRH or PBH. The Polys rooms are bigger, great sleeping arrangements with the sofa sleeper and two beds, but smaller buildings with great scenic walks between them. There is much more of a "wow" factor to the Poly for us that was missing from RPR.

I would probably stay there again, if thats all that was available. We much prefer the HRH, next month we are trying PBH for the first time. We know we enjoy PBH's pool, we went there pretty much every day we stayed at RPR. We'll also be at the Poly for a couple days. If we could get RPR's rates at the Poly, now that would be a great deal!

You will definately enjoy RPR, great location, great hotel for the price.

Just my opinion,
Mark

 

[tubtruck]

I have stayed in both and will be staying in the Royal Pacific in August. Of the Two I think that the Royal Pacific is a much nicer hotel than the Poly. The poly in parts looks really dated, i.e the lifts look really old.

 

[czycropper]

I'll let you know in after the 29th - we're going in a couple of days and I was able to change from the CBR to Poly (my favorite) and then we're going to RPR for the end of the week for our first time at Universal.

 

[Disneyhappy]

I have stayed in both and will be staying in the Royal Pacific in August. Of the Two I think that the Royal Pacific is a much nicer hotel than the Poly. The poly in parts looks really dated, i.e the lifts look really old.

The rooms were renovated two years ago at the Polynesian but I agree the elevators appear a bit old. The atmopshere at the two resorts are very different, although both themed for the South Pacific. RPR is much more modern but the Polynesian was designed by Disney to be authentic South Pacific with the individual longhouses, thatched roofs, etc. Like I said in my prior post, the outside reminds me of the Brady Bunch's Hawaii episode from the 70's with the colors and all. After I got used to that, I fell iin love with the resort. I still maintain that RPR is the better bang for the buck, though and is s truly beautiful resort. My girlfriend just returned yesterday from the RPR and said it is a place she plans on visiting frequently. She loved RPR! She has a 9 year old son and enjoyed Universal better than WDW. Another convert!