POR Standard Royal Room vs Standard Room

[heidiot99]

Is it worth the upgrade? Why?





2009 POFQ
2010 AKL
2013 POR

 

[minnie mum]

Welcome to the Disboards.

Whether or not the upgrade is worth it or not is completely a matter of personal taste.

You can find some very good descriptions of the rooms and locations, and photos on the resort specific threads.

 

[heidiot99]

I have read the descriptions but would like more feedback on what experienced POR people have seen 1st hand.

 

[snykymom]

1) I liked the decor.
2) The location - they're in the two buildings closest to the main building & food court. It's kind of like having a preferred room, but on the Manor side.

 

[minnie mum]

I have read the descriptions but would like more feedback on what experienced POR people have seen 1st hand.

Well, alrighty then. I don't like the decor. I think it's gimmicky unless you are blessed with a princess obsessed little girl. If I'm going to pay an upcharge, I would rather stay in one of the preferred buildings. #14, 15 and 18 are more convenient to the main building. Certainly much closer than if you are on the parkinglot side of Parterre Place.

 

[dansdad]

I have read the descriptions but would like more feedback on what experienced POR people have seen 1st hand.

I would start with reading the official POR thread. Tons of first hand reports/experiences there!

 

[TaraPA]

I stayed at POR in a standard room in October, the other half of our group stayed in a RR, so I was back & forth between the rooms several times. While I didn't dislike the RR decor, I preferred the standard room decor more. Much more light & bright.

We requested our room to be in Magnolia Terrace so that we were in the building next to our friends in the RR, and one wasn't much closer to the bus or main area than the other. So for me, there's no reason to pay more for a RR.

 

[Brownsfan317]

We stayed in a Royal Room earlier this month. I cannot compare to a standard room, but we were happy with our choice. Enjoyed the location of our building, very quiet and beautiful scenery.

I went with DS12. He actually picked the room because he thought they looked like rooms we could not afford! LOL

In my opinion, if I did not stay in these rooms, it would not be the end of the world, but since the resort is a larger resort, I would at least select a preferred room.

View of one of the Royal Rooms building from the bridge to main building:

Our room -- enjoyed the fireworks on the headboard!:

 

[Tarheel girl 1975]

We stayed in a royal room on the last night of our trip last year. For the first 9 nights of our trip we booked a garden view room. We ended up in an Alligator Bayou room in building 26. We thought the royal room was pretty, but DH and i both preferred our room in AB. Our Royal room was a standard view room and it was in Parterre Place near the back of the building so it seemed very far away. The furniture in the royal rooms seemed larger than the furniture in the other rooms which in turn made the room feel smaller. If I was going to pay for an upgraded room category, I would rather spend that money on a preferred room.

 

[heidiot99]

Thank you everyone...this was very helpful! TaraPA...I live near Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area...we are not far from you

 

[dminnie]

2) The location - they're in the two buildings closest to the main building & food court. It's kind of like having a preferred room, but on the Manor side.

You might want to find a map of POR. I don't think the royal rooms are in the buildings closest to the food court. Those would be preferred rooms in AB, not royal rooms.

 

[nkereina]

When we stay at POR, we just book a standard room. We have no kids so no interest in Royal Rooms. Royal Rooms are the furthest from the main building/food court/main pool - similar to the pirate rooms at CBR. They do this strategically because it spreads people across the resort. If someone wants a themed room, they will go for the theme room over the location most times. The Royal Rooms are in the mansion buildings Oak Manor and Parterre Place only. It's a decent walk to the main pool, but there is a quiet pool in between. And you do have to walk across the bridge and up the path to the food court. Not an ideal location, IMO. Far from being like a preferred room.

When we had standard rooms, we stayed first time in Magnolia Terrace and second time in Acadian House. Both were great.

 

[shenaniganzz]

We stayed in a Royal Room on our last trip and, fwiw -

- Our 4 y.o enjoyed the headboard for all of about half an hour the first day and then barely touched it again for the duration of our trip.

- She loved the note Tiana left and still talks about it to this day.

- The decor was nice - I didn't think it was any better or worse than CSR. The rest of the rooms at POR didn't really appeal to us.

- As a PP stated, Oak Manor isn't close to the main building, feature pool at all. It's a bit of a trek and made it a pain when the kids wanted a snack or to get a drink, etc. - especially after a long day in the parks.

We wouldn't stay at POR again for many other reasons, but if the Royal Rooms were at another resort, I am not sure I would pay the premium a second time to stay in them.

 

[snykymom]

You might want to find a map of POR. I don't think the royal rooms are in the buildings closest to the food court. Those would be preferred rooms in AB, not royal rooms.

Sorry if I was unclear - I meant the closest Manors to the food court.

My problem is, contrary to the other posters on this thread, that I don't like AB at all, so I would never book a preferred room. The only way to guarantee a Manor room, and a closer one at that, is to book a Royal room.

I wish one of the Manors were preferred.

 

[KELLY]

I'm so glad you asked this question.After looking at the royal rooms and the standard rooms. I think standard room look just as nice. Plus we are going for 14 nights so the upgrade is another 500.00.

 

[minnie mum]

The only way to guarantee a Manor room, and a closer one at that, is to book a Royal room.

I wish one of the Manors were preferred.

Actually this isn't correct. Families of 4 and under are generally booked into Manor rooms. Resort booking likes to reserve standard AB rooms for families of 5. The OP was asking specifically about standard RRs. These face away from the river, and often are parking lot views. They are quite a long trek to the main buildings, ESPECIALLY Parterre Place. You would have to get a RR with a river view in Oak Manor to meet your specifications. And there is no way to guarantee that particular building.

 

[snykymom]

Actually this isn't correct. Families of 4 and under are generally booked into Manor rooms. Resort booking likes to reserve standard AB rooms for families of 5. The OP was asking specifically about standard RRs. These face away from the river, and often are parking lot views. They are quite a long trek to the main buildings, ESPECIALLY Parterre Place. You would have to get a RR with a river view in Oak Manor to meet your specifications. And there is no way to guarantee that particular building.

I was in a standard RR in Oak Manor. Back side of the building. It took less than 5 minutes to get to the food court. No, I was not in the furthest part of Oak Manor, but I wasn't anywhere near the river. Not an issue for me.

And it's also not true that parties of 4 or fewer are put into the manors. There are only 2 manors that are not Royal rooms. That's not nearly enough rooms for all the families of less than 4 that want to stay at POR but not be in a RR. (There are only 512 rooms that are not Royal in Magnolia Bend, and 40 of them are king and not available for families of 3 or 4.)

It is true that families of 5 must be in AB. But it does not mean that families of fewer will be in Magnolia Bend.

According to Andre, who created www.portorleans.org, the furthest room in Parterre Place is only a 5 1/2 minute walk from the food court:
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=47331007&postcount=3171)

 

[nkereina]

I'd say all the mansions are equal distance to the food court. From Parterre, you have to walk across the bridge, walk up the path, walk by the marina/surrey bike rentals to the food court. From Acadian, which is the furthest mansion from Parterre, you have to walk across a bridge, past the main pool, walk by the big mill wheel into the food court. About the same. The only edge the non-RR mansions have (Magnolia Terrace and Acadian House) is that they are much closer to the main pool than Oak Manor and Parterre Place.

 

[heidiot99]

We upgraded to the Royal Room for our 10 day stay in September after speaking with a friend who stayed in RR in the summer. We have 2 young girls that are going to love it! He said it is close to the front of the resort especially if you get the Oak building. His family loved it and the resort and even though they have been to Disney numerous times, staying at diff places, he will be going back to RS and staying in the RR. It is just over the bridge from the food court. He said the only negative was that the RR are the last bus stop for the resort and I believe he said they have 3 or 4 stops