Portofino Bay vs Royal Pacific

[cdurham1]

At the end of July, we want to stay just one night at a Premier Universal hotel, mostly to get the Express Passes.

I do think we will take an afternoon break and maybe swim for just a bit.

So, which pool do you think is better (ages 44, 19, and 10)? And is there a difference in walking distance to the parks from each hotel?

 

[hhoope01]

Both hotels have nice pools. PBR has 3 pools to choose from and the main pool has a nice slide. RPR has one large pool with an interactive play area for the kids. One nice benefit of PBR is the rooms will be noticeably larger (430 sqft vs. 335 sqft). RPR will be a bit closer to the parks (especially IOA), but with the Water Taxis, it is very easy and quick to get to the parks from either.

For one night, I'd probably go with the less expensive option. If they are both the same price, I'd go with PBR as it is our favorite on-site hotel.

 

[schumigirl]

For one night, it really won’t make a difference hotel wise.

Pools are fine in both hotels, we do enjoy RP pool the most out of all the hotels, but you can’t really make a bad choice with either hotels.

 

[macraven]

Both are popular hotels
Can’t go wrong with either one

I prefer RP as it is a a short 7-8 minute to IOA
Last fall when I went, had 4 days the boats were not operating due to rain and lightning

PB has a longer walk to the hotels if the water taxis are not operating

There are busses to use if boats are not running but when it rains, it can be a very long wait for a bus

 

[tony67]

I prefer RPR - its a shorter walk to IOA and probably city walk - but also a short walk to SF and Adventura - so you can check out their bars and the pool at SF is really nice IMO

 

[blschuster]

I was wondering this too. I have only stayed at the Hard Rock and we were thinking of staying at Universal for a night or two before we head out of the Cape for our Disney cruise. It sounds like RPR is a better choice, as I prefer to walk than use a water taxi anyway.

 

[HsimSleepy]

I have a 8 and 10yo, which is better for our family? I’m leaning toward Royal Pacific since it’s $50 cheaper a night. Anything else I should consider?

 

[macraven]

I go to RP based on the food choices
I am not a fan of italian food

 

[disneyseniors]

I believe you can pool hop at Universal? Am I right? So you could do both pools.

 

[hildarumpole]

I have a 8 and 10yo, which is better for our family? I’m leaning toward Royal Pacific since it’s $50 cheaper a night. Anything else I should consider?

RP is a quick walk to the parks and City Walk. It makes it easy to take a resort break and go back in the evening without wasting a lot of time. Being so close, we only ate grab and go breakfast at the resort. Portofino is further away with a much longer walk making the transportation options more attractive. Because of the distance, we stayed in the parks for the duration. It's a beautiful resort, but we found having to go outside to get to our room and the lobby was a hassle with a lot of up and down elevators and stairs. It got especially tiresome on rainy days.

 

[Skywalker3]

I have a 8 and 10yo, which is better for our family? I’m leaning toward Royal Pacific since it’s $50 cheaper a night. Anything else I should consider?

I'd choose RP. We've been wanting to try Portofino for years, and finally did this last year, and it was great. Beautiful resort, but didn't love the bathroom layout. ALL in one room,. Toilet area not separated from sink.
But, we've also had 3 wonderful stays at RP when kids were around those ages, and really enjoyed that resort. It's a much closer walk, for ease of going back and forth. . We loved the pool, and w kids that young, less space in the room didn't bother us. RP is still DH's favorite Universal resort.

 

[HsimSleepy]

Thanks everyone, I’m going with Royal pacific!

 

[patster734]

I vote for whichever one is cheaper. I prefer RP, but on our upcoming trip, we have a “Be A Savvy Traveler” rate at PB for a deluxe room at $388 per night. That’s $10 cheaper than a RP standard room at $398 (rack rates/no discount).