Royal Pacific- not a premier hotel anymore?

[schumigirl]

I just think that there were different points that were being discussed and that lead to some confusion. Some people were discussing that the various categories would or would not mislead people and others were discussing that the different categories might or might not be indicative of something else.

Yes, that's one of the problems with this thread.

 

[macraven]

Yes everyone has their point to make

This is just one of those threads that gets derailed

Sometimes it is beneficial to start a new tnread and request all posters stay on topic

When I see posts like that, I can help out to keep it on track

Just enjoy this present thread if you want to continue your opinions
It's veered too far off track for me to sort through it as everyone has been enjoying it this way
One discussion has lead to another
which easily happens
I see this in many threads

 

[RedAngie]

I was browsing the Universal site for a possible October stay. The new Sapphire Bay was almost as costly as the Royal Pacific for the random four nights I chose. True, they're offering a dining credit for Sapphire, but the Express Pass at Royal Pacific is much more valuable to me.

 

[EveDallas]

If RPR ever did pull the Express Pass perk, I'd just stay at one of the hotels that offer it. No big deal to me.

 

[damo]

If RPR ever did pull the
Express Pass perk, I'd just stay at one of the hotels that offer it. No big deal to me.

My concern there would be that the high demand for those two hotels would jack up the prices. Hopefully, things will just stay as they are.

 

[ElenaJane]

If they pull the EP perk from RPR, surely they would have to announce it before people can even book it! I am booked for RPR in September and would be so mad if they pulled the EP perk! That is way more important to me than the "category" of the resort. If EP unlimited was offered at a Holiday Inn a mile away, I would stay there.

 

[macraven]

With many rooms running about $260 and up a night, I doubt rpr would give up the ep as one of their hotel perks

 

[damo]

If they pull the EP perk from RPR, surely they would have to announce it before people can even book it! I am booked for RPR in September and would be so mad if they pulled the EP perk! That is way more important to me than the "category" of the resort. If EP unlimited was offered at a Holiday Inn a mile away, I would stay there.

If EP was there when you booked, you'll still get it. I'm sure we would have heard if something was happening.

 

[schumigirl]

With many rooms running about $260 and up a night, I doubt rpr would give up the ep as one of their hotel perks

Yep, it's going nowhere.

 

[chmurf]

With many rooms running about $260 and up a night, I doubt rpr would give up the ep as one of their hotel perks

Room size/view does not change the 'category' of the hotel.

For example, Art Of Animation at Disney's has rooms as low as $150, and as high as $500+ depending on room/suite, and it's still a 'Value'

More expensive rooms = premium rooms with more space, nicer view, concierge service, whatever. The higher price comes with better ammenities/service. Perks come on top.

The EP perk is not related to the premium room price as compared to the standard room price.

Now, what could happen, purely speculating, could be that RPR loses EP for 'standard' and only get EP for the Club Level and some of the higher prices suites.

Disneyland Paris hotels work that way.
Guests staying Castle Club (= Club level) and some suites receive a 'VIP Fastpass' which is basically an Unlimited Express for both parks.

That could even be a way for Loews to push forward the benefits of the Youfirst program, with a $50 upgrade towards a 'EP enabled' suite.

if you look at how both the Motherland and the Darkside have benn moving towards milking the cashcow ($100+ 10/31 MNSSHP tickets, anyone ? and an HHN almost every night this year), as well as very steep price incresases for tickets/APs, I don't know if it's going somewhere or nowhere, what I know is that it's gonna hit my wallet pretty soon.

 

[macraven]

Room size/view does not change the 'category' of .

Chmurf
Please stop quoting me when you change the point I was making.

If you want to write your point or opinion, do so but make it stand alone.

 

[chmurf]

Please stop quoting me when you change the point I was making.
.

May I ask how the point was changed ?
You introduce price of some rooms as a reason to keep perks. I elaborated on that point

 

[macraven]

You can make your posts without linking to mine
Let your thoughts stand alone from mine

What I posted had no correlation to your post

There will be no more discussion on this in the threads

Use your pm if you want private conversations

 

[nerdboyrockstar]

Disneyland Paris hotels work that way.
Guests staying Castle Club (= Club level) and some suites receive a 'VIP Fastpass' which is basically an Unlimited Express for both parks.

Speaking of Disneyland Paris, I almost booked a hotel there that had no air conditioning. You read that right. AIR CONDITIONING was not an amenity at this Disney resort. And in the middle of Summer.

Sometimes, a little research IS required people.

 

[toonaspie]

Look at me, bringing back old threads!

Disney has it's own areas where they've built a new hotel and changed the definition of a perk. Prior to the AKL, staying at a deluxe resort mean direct access to at least 1 and most of the time 2 theme parks without taking a bus (Either Monorail or Boat). AKL is different. So, if you want direct access to the parks it's stay deluxe except AKL. In the Moderate level, Coronodo Springs is the only moderate with a convention center attached. In the Deluxe Villa catagory, OKW and SSR have parking in front of each building and are "condo style". BWV, AKV, VWL, BLT, VGF are hotel style with a central parking lot, valet parking, room service etc.

Universal is attempting to rate the resorts based on quality with the new ratings system. Prior to Cabana Bay, RPR was often called the "moderate" of the Universal hotels. Sapphire Falls looks to be significantly fancier than Cabana Bay and on par if not potentially fancier than RPR. So putting them in the same quality category makes a certain amount of since.

I never saw the Disney resort category setup as a perk-based thing. The biggest notable difference between the three categories at WDW was no doubt the sizes of the rooms so I always based it on that. Plus the notable way these hotels are laid out and designed make it obvious what category each of them are in. It is a bit unusual for AoA to be listed as a value considering the highly priced suites make up the majority of that resort.

This could also be what Universal is doing though. The difference in size between the standard rooms at SF and RP isn't that big (321 sq ft vs 335 sq ft). From that angle the categorization makes a little sense.

I wouldn't be surprised if RPR were to lose EP in the future. Hopefully I can take advantage of this before that happens. However I think Universal doesn't want to risk business at that hotel to go down which could possibly be the case if they were to drop that perk for that hotel. Plus they're planning on more value hotels and I think it would be in the best interest for RPR to keep EP to maintain balance between hotels with perks and those that don't.

 

[ckelly14]

Look at me, bringing back old threads!



I never saw the Disney resort category setup as a perk-based thing. The biggest notable difference between the three categories at WDW was no doubt the sizes of the rooms so I always based it on that. Plus the notable way these hotels are laid out and designed make it obvious what category each of them are in. It is a bit unusual for AoA to be listed as a value considering the highly priced suites make up the majority of that resort.

This could also be what Universal is doing though. The difference in size between the standard rooms at SF and RP isn't that big (321 sq ft vs 335 sq ft). From that angle the categorization makes a little sense.

I wouldn't be surprised if RPR were to lose EP in the future. Hopefully I can take advantage of this before that happens. However I think Universal doesn't want to risk business at that hotel to go down which could possibly be the case if they were to drop that perk for that hotel. Plus they're planning on more value hotels and I think it would be in the best interest for RPR to keep EP to maintain balance between hotels with perks and those that don't.

I don't agree room size is the biggest notable difference between the resort classes at Disney, but I do agree that the re-categorization of RPR doesn't really make sense. What is the big differentiator between RPR and Hard Rock? Still puzzling to me, that's why I started this thread last year!

 

[wookiebeck]

Ooooo...zombie thread...

 

[keishashadow]

Look at me, bringing back old threads!

I never saw the Disney resort category setup as a perk-based thing. The biggest notable difference between the three categories at WDW was no doubt the sizes of the rooms so I always based it on that. Plus the notable way these hotels are laid out and designed make it obvious what category each of them are in. It is a bit unusual for AoA to be listed as a value considering the highly priced suites make up the majority of that resort.

This could also be what Universal is doing though. The difference in size between the standard rooms at SF and RP isn't that big (321 sq ft vs 335 sq ft). From that angle the categorization makes a little sense.

I wouldn't be surprised if RPR were to lose EP in the future. Hopefully I can take advantage of this before that happens. However I think Universal doesn't want to risk business at that hotel to go down which could possibly be the case if they were to drop that perk for that hotel. Plus they're planning on more value hotels and I think it would be in the best interest for RPR to keep EP to maintain balance between hotels with perks and those that don't.

Nothing has changed in a year since the new categories were introduced.

Not a stretch to think there's a small chance that RPH might lose the EP if grouped into the 'medium' category but a) they'd have to announce before the next dates/rates are inputed into the calendar & b) they'd have to lower the rack rates to entice people to book it as losing the EP does devalue it IMO. Not saying it's NOT a lovely property, just that most expect the EP to be included with their stay based upon past practice.

While AoA may be mostly suites, they still are located in a value resort. The rooms there are well-themed but not deluxe or moderate by any means. Their suites are set up to hold more people/cheaper than booking 2 hotel rooms there. This is not the case @ RPH wherein the suites only hold 3 maximum vs standard rooms that can accommodate 5 with a rollaway.

I enjoy DVC studios, which are classified as deluxe. Most are IMO, SSR is seriously stretching it (cement floors in the hallways don't equate to a deluxe/lush appearance).

Rates are all based upon what the market will bear. The owners can classify their properties whatever they want but traditional star levels are generally standardly assessed. overall amenities can be of the same or more importance vs the size of the room. Disney properties tend to get that sort of nudge up the rating scale based upon location, ME, EMH and ability to book their DP.

Ooooo...zombie thread...

Gotta love 'em

 

[nkereina]

I realize the thread is old, but the discussion is still relevant. But any chance the Loews brand on RPR has anything to do with the reason why they still have EP? I suspect that draws more people to stay at RPR than a true Universal hotel like SF or CB. Perhaps Loews isn't agreeable to Universal removing that perk, since they'd likely see a decline in the number of guests.

 

[macraven]

For some families, they would not stay at the 3 major hotels if the free unlimited ep was not given

The value hotels would stay at 100% occupied