Portofino or Hard Rock...Opinions please!

[cyndisue]

Hello:

We will be making our first trip to Universal this February. I am holding reservations for a deluxe room at the HRH as well as a deluxe pool view at the Portofino.

There will be 2 adults, and three kids (11, 3 and 6 months).

I love the idea of the Portofino, but have heard that the Hard Rock rooms are bigger. Also, have heard raves about the Hard Rock pool, but am a little turned off by the whole rock and roll theme (My husband is a travelling musician, so this doesn't seem like much of a vacation to us!)

I would welcome any comments.

 

[E.Jane]

We are in the same boat as you - first trip to universal in March, with a reservation for a deluxe room at both Hard Rock and Portofino.

I'm leaning towards the PBH as I've managed to get some good discounts vs. no discounts at all at the HRH. The PBH definitely looks more like an "adult retreat", so I guess it depends on how you think your kids will feel.

From what I've heard, the HRH room is only ever so slightly bigger than the PBH in overall size, but the bathroom at PBH is much bigger, so I'm assuming the actual living space will feel smaller than at HRH. Personally, I think I prefer the idea of the larger bathroom - I hate feeling cramped with wet towels everywhere, and wet bathing suits hanging from every nook and cranny. There is a pull out sofa in the room at the HRH though, which is great for kids who won't share that second bed!

I also hear the pool at HRH is very busy. We plan to tour the parks in the morning, and sit by the pool in the afternoons. I like the idea of having 3 pools to choose from at PBH, vs. only the one pool at HRH. How do you get away from all those kids at HRH?! We can always visit the HRH for an afternoon and use the pool if our kids need some more "action".

Not much help, am I?! As you can see, I'm still fighting with the decision myself!

 

[PartyofSix]

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[kathyclownfish]

Just got back yesterday from HRH. It was really a neat place w/ a great pool slide......but very nosy!! We stayed at WDW for 6 days and ended our vacation w/2 days at US. We expected a relaxing atmosphere at the HRH like we had at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. NOT SO. HRH is anything but relaxing. It has a party atmosphere w/loud music playing through the hallways, pool areas and your housekeeper keeps the radio on in your room after making the room up. We then had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe. OMG, again loud music while you are eating. I love rock and roll, but we had a room on the 1st floor pool view. The music plays loudly until 11:00 around the pool. NO EXCEPTIONS!! I told security that no one was in the pool, can they please turn the music down because my children cound not sleep. They apologized but said no. Its nice, but if you want quiet, this is not the place for your family, IMHO. Hope this helps.

 

[corvair]

Hi, we are doing the same thing you did. We are going to AKL and then over to HRH. I booked pool veiw. You said you were 1st floor. I did not think there were any rooms on the first floor. Could you walk out of your room to the pool? I am still thinking maybe we should stay at Portafino. I chose HRH because the pool seemed nicer. My kids love a good pool and slide. Any other tips or info or your thoughts would be great. thanks..amy

 

[kathyclownfish]

Hi Amy,
The HRH was really nice, don't get me wrong. I would definately stay there again. But I guess I was spoiled with the peacefullness of the AKL. At Disney my mother and I felt that the employees were really cast members and at Universal Studios they were more like employees. Do you know what I mean??Maybe we were trying to compare the 2 and we really shouldn't have. HRH is great for kids and adults. Its just that it was sooo upbeat and we were at the end of our vacation, that we wanted it to be alittle quieter when we got to our rooms.
The pool view is very nice except you don't have a balcony, so you still have to walk a distance to get to the pool entrance. We didn't get a chance to use the pool, since we were only there for 1 night. The slide is much, much larger than the one at AKL. Your children will love it! The lobby is on the 2nd or 3rd floor, very similar setup to the AKL. We left Disney at 8:00 am got to Universal by 8:30, checked inn by 8:45 and off to the park with our FOTL room keys. They were wonderful. What was nice about the HRH is that its a 5 minute walk to the parks. I don't know how far the other hotels were. But this was very convenient. Join the Loews card club. Its free on line. It got us a late checkout, cookies & milk in our room and an upgrade to pool view.
And use your park tickets for discounts throughout the park. This is good for merchandise and sometimes food. On the back of your ticket it will say Destination Universal. (something like that anyway) It will save you 15 to 20% on things. We brought lots of expensive sweatshirts........the discount helped a lot!!

I loved Universal!!! We liked the park sooo much better than MGM. I think if we stayed at the HRH first and then went to AKL, we would have been happier. But don't second guess yourself. Its a really nice, elegant hotel, I'm sure you and your children will love it. Its just no AKL IMHO. (I'm just Disney spoiled)

Have a great trip....I'm jealous!!
Kathy

 

[karin037]

We stayed at both the PBH and the HRH last month. PBH is beautiful. The pool is really nice, and the slide is great. Both hotels are nice, but I really liked the PBH more. I think the pool is even nicer than the HRH pool. I have pics of both the PBH pool and the HRH pool, as well as pics of the rooms. If anyone wants to see my photos, just pm me your e-mail address so that I can send you an invitation to view them.

 

[corvair]

Karin, why do you think the pool is nicer at the Portifino? I have never been to any of the Universal resorts. I like the idea that HRH is a closer walk to the parks. How far is the Portafino? I am still undicided. I could get a good rate on either one with the entertainment rate. Is the PBH pool bigger than HRH? Which one has the better hot tubs? How about restaurants? thanks...amy

 

[pauldents]

Hi,

Cindysue- Hope this helps .This is just my opinion, I would be more inclined to go with the HRH. We have been there 3 times now. Our last trip was 13 nts there and my wife was pregnant so we couldn't do the parks every day. We found relaxing by the pool was just perfect, So don't let the "rock and Roll" image put you off. The pool is fantastic . The people are fantastic and the rooms are great. With no more than a 5 minute walk to USF, it is the closest hotel.

The PBH is a lovely hotel aswell and has great surroundings. The view as you get the boat upto the jetty is out of this world. BUT the main reason the HRH edged it for us was the fact that there was too many people at the PBH on work conferences and that put me off a little. The HRH doesn't have the facilities for a lot of conferences, so you can almost guarantee most people are on vacation.

kathyclownfish - I mean this in the nicest possible way, but you first post comes across as though you were amazed to hear music being played at the "HARD ROCK" hotel !! This is the a big part of the hotels selling point -"Live like a rock star". So i cannot understand how you expected the HRH to have a relaxing atmosphere like the AKL. It's a bit like saying we went to the AKL and there was too many animals ! In all of the times we have stayed there, we have never experienced any music which was excessivley loud. The music that was playing during our stays just added too the whole atmosphere. We love the background music whilst walking through the hotel and when you get back to your room and the maid has put a CD on is a great little touch. FYI We booked 2 nights at the Yacht Club (lagoon view concierge) on our last trip ( last month) , because we wanted to do some Disney aswell. After a few hours of being there we decided we wanted to get back to the HRH ! We decided to stay one night to give it a chance, but we felt we were spoilt by the Hard Rock, so we checked out one day early. Whilst the Yacht club was very nice and had lovely rooms with great view over the lagoon, it was just not the HRH. We felt even though Disney is fantastic, it just could not compete with eveything Universal has to offer. Now I guess we are just Universal spoiled

Kind regards

Paul

 

[karin037]

Amy, to me the pool at PBH is just nicer. It is beautiful. The slide is just as much fun as the one at HRH. There is a waterfall and the slide is hidden within a stone structure. It just seems more relaxing. I didn't really go into the hot tubs, the water was way too hot for me. The pool at the HRH was nice too. Both pools are very big. My daughters (21,16,14) really liked the PBH better than the HRH. But they would pick the HRH over the PBH, only because there were more teens there. There were lots of children at PBH, but not as many teens. We just thought that PBH was more luxurious and nicer than HRH. There was just a very peaceful feeling at PBH, and we felt like we were treated better (although we were treated well at the HRH also). We didn't think the music at HRH was too loud. We thought the restaurants at PBH were better than the HRH. PBH is a little bit further than HRH. If you take the water taxi, it is just a couple of extra minutes. It really doesn't make a difference. If you walk, it is about 5 or 10 minutes further than the HRH (depending on how fast you are walking). The walking path from PBH passes right by the HRH. I would say it is about a 15 minute walk from PBH to the parks. We are used to walking, so it really didn't seem far to us at all. We walked most of the time, because we didn't want to wait for the water taxi. They run about every 20 mins. When we missed one, we would just walk and get there faster than waiting for the next water taxi.

 

[corvair]

Thanks for all the great replies. I need to apply my down deposit in 2 days. I am still undecided. they both sound wonderful..thanks...amy

 

[PartyofSix]

o

 

[corvair]

What kind of room would you book if you want to look over the beach pool at the PBH??? thanks..amy

 

[PartyofSix]

o

 

[corvair]

partyofsix. I have a deluxe room on hold. Is this what a need to be in this location. Are all the deluxe rooms located here? How do I request this room location. OK, now I am leaning toward PBH. thanks..amy

 

[PartyofSix]

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[E.Jane]

Tammy, does "your" room have a parlour attached?

I'm nervous about requesting a certain room, because ultimately I'd love a chance at being upgraded using our Loews card. If I request a certain room, and have them work to get it for me, I would feel terrible switching my request last minute when I check in. Would they be less likely to give me an upgrade if they've already worked with me to secure my initial request?

Gees....I don't want too much, do I?!

 

[PartyofSix]

o

 

[corvair]

Partyofsix, just wondering if room 2663 has 2 queen beds...thanks..amy

 

[PartyofSix]

o