I've never paid for a preferred room at POR. If you really want to be close to the main building, then I suppose it would be worth it, but with the different bus stops, and the fact that the further walk from room to main house really isn't THAT bad (maybe 7-10 minutes), I don't think it's worth it. If you book preferred, then you will be in the alligator bayou, just an fyi. I could see a preferred room at CBR being a big deal considering the layout and size, but not at POR.