Portofino Bay ?? questions/ advice

[aaronandterri]

Hi Weve been to universal before, but have only rearly stayed onsite with disney, however this time wed like to stay onsite at universal as well.

Am a bit of a disney nut but dont know much abount universal, and am looking for advice.

We have flights booked for middle april for 3 weeks, and am doing a disney cruise, and hope to have 4 or 5 days at universal afterwards, after reading lots , im steering towards Portofino Bay , as we have little ones, and i think it will be better suited and it looks so lovely.

But theres no prices on the web yet, i have no idea what to except to pay.Did anyone go last april#???

We are a family of 6 2 adults 4 children 9 8 4 and 2, so will need either two rooms, or im quite liking all the suite pitures im seeing on here, would i still need an additional bedroom with that, is that an option? it doesnt go into to much detail on the universal site about room sizes or max occupancy etc.

Also what is the diffrence bewteen the suites and villas? can you add club level to either?
is it worth paying the extra?

I have aaa but should i get an AP for universal , does it make much price diffrence?
I want to make our trip rearly special, can anyone help with my ??? questions

thanks in advance for any replies, u guys r so knowelgeable.(woobly spelling )

 

[dsmom]

I know the experts can help you here but just wanted to say we love Portofino! We are headed back in Sept for our 5th stay this year. It will be our first time in a suite so will let you know how it goes. Check out the FAQ here on Portofino- there is lots of good info there. Also check out Loews offical website. They have pictures of suites and the floorplans there.
We were there in March and May of this year but not April. April is a perfect time weather-wise to go.
We have eaten at all the resturants at PB and love them all- we have yet to be disappointed in anything there!

 

[calgarygary]

Here is the link for maximum occupancies at the Portofino occupancy

Following this link will give you more detailed room descriptions and floor plans
http://www.universalorlando.com/ht_pbh_accomodations.html

I would hold off on purchasing an AP if you only intend to use it this trip as the difference between AP and AAA may not be that large in April. Make sure you join Loews First prior to your trip and have the # applied to your reservation.

Yes you can add club level to a suite and unless you are a hot breakfast type of person I would. There is a good choice of cereals, fruits, pastries, etc. available during the breakfast hours in the club lounge and eliminating the cost of breakfast for your family would recover most of the cost of club (50 - 60/night) plus you would have access to snacks and beverages during much of the rest of the day.

 

[aaronandterri]

HI
Thanks for the info, i rang the hotel last night and made a ressie, the aaa or APH rates werent out but they said i could change the rate at a later date.

The price was 888$ pnight,plus tax will it go down much with aaa or APH rate???
anyone know?

i did look into club level but it bumped price up to 1400 per night plus tax, as they only had villa suite left and i just couldnt justify the price diffrence.

we booked 2 bed suite as theres 2 ad 4 children, anyone had experience of this many in a suite? the lady on phone said we didnt necessarily need second bedroom, that wed fit, but i didnt want to be cramped so i thought id book it anyway, anyone ever slept on the pull out bed in the living room? whats it like.?
thanks again!

 

[aaronandterri]

bumping this up anyone???

 

[bubba's mom]

I haven't stayed at PBH ....YET! ...but there's a sticky at the top of the page that has other's dates and rates. In April of last year, someone stayed at PB, but it was EARLY April and their rate was $329 for a deluxe room. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1322866 Did you book a deluxe room (2 queens w/ pullout?) I think the rack rate is really high, and it should come down w/ AAA or a supersaver rate eventually.