Royal Pacific- not a premier hotel anymore?

[macraven]

To travel to Orlando or any destination vacation, you plan a lot

I know of no one personally that hops in a car for a ten hour drive or goes to the airport and buys a ticket that day for Orlando

If you plan in advance for transportation I assume a person does the same for hotel accommodations

 

[chmurf]

To travel to Orlando or any destination vacation, you plan a l

Yes, and one of the biggest complaint is that it requires too much planning

And ''WE'', for example, make a point in telling how simple, easy and hassle free it is to stay at universal compared to wdw

That certainly will give some guests the impression that it's as simple as thinking that same category = same perks.

When too much planning is involved (and mucho planning is required for orlando), people will find comfort and relief in known territory : if it's in the Entree section of the menu, it must be an entree. I shouldn't have to sneak into the kitchen to find out that it's an appatizer and the chef just found it appropriate to insert it in the entrees section just because it made the menu look more balanced

Well I guess we'll have to agree to disagree

 

[macraven]

planning for the motherland does take a lot of work.
planning for the darkside isn't.

both have planning needs for room reservations, travel set up, ticket purchase and a budget to spend.

disney is large and spread out.
many resorts on site.
4 different parks and a shopping (disney springs) section miles from the parks/resorts.
entertainment places which require a car, bus ride or taxi: mini golf, La Nouba, sports center, etc.
not walkable

universal is not large.
it is compact.
onsite hotels which is walkable
city walk which is walkable
2 parks.

disney can require more advanced plans for booking restauants, special events, and rooms.
windows open 180 days in advance for dining, 60 days out to decide which fast pass to book, etc

universal, buy the tickets on line in advance or in the park or hotel when you arrive.
not difficult to decide where to eat a day or two in advance or the day you are in the parks.

I do both parks on each vacation.
I put a lot of effort to set up my motherland portion of the vacation.
I put in less effort over all for my darkside portion of the same vacation.
book room online anytime of the night or day.
renew my ap on line.

i don't have to sort out my time periods in the park in advance.

 

[schumigirl]

Yep, never heard folks over here complain there is too much planning involved in a Universal trip.

We see so many folk come over last few years love how little planning is involved compared to the Disney part of their trip.

Things are only complicated at Universal if people make it so.

 

[VacaPlanner2012]

I agree with Mac and Schumi on this one, Uni is very easy to plan. Almost scary so after planning a Disney vacation...I constantly ask myself what am I missing, and the answer is nothing.

However, I think this is not the greatest move made by Universal in their media (website, mailer, etc.). It was months ago that I asked the same type of questions, but more in the light that this gave HRH the opportunity to be $40 more per night. Don't get me wrong, as a CPA, I get the supply/demand thing and HRH is small with great demand, blah, blah, blah.

It's just that they are consistently now $75 - $90 more per night than RPR, which I cannot justify over an 8 night vacation. When I bump to that level, I will go over to Portofino since we have never stayed there.

It's a good thing that we also love RPR and are very excited to continue to stay there. The pessimist (or realist) in me still thinks this a set up for things to come when they start building additional hotels on Wet n Wild site and the new land purchase (rumors I know), so I don't see the EP benefit at RPR come 2022 or so...hope I am wrong. Just no other reason to start breaking things down into multiple tiers - it will ultimately come down to pricing structure or benefit structure. It is ALWAYS about the money and the long view...at least in my world.

 

[Disxuni]

I do agree that planning a Universal trip is easier, especially since for the most part the resorts have better benefits. As you not only get early entry, but at three of the main hotels you get express pass, which is a huge benefit considering it can be a lot of money if you decide to purchase it out of pocket depending on when you go. There is not too much variety, so it doesn't become too much, and the benefits are clearly stated on multiple pages and even parted bolded for emphasis.

But with my customer service experience in different jobs, I can still see people assuming certain things, or making outlandish claims of facts (when they are incorrect). It's interesting some of the things I've heard. I've had a customer for one example claim for something to be a certain price and when I would inform them of it being the wrong price, they would state they just made the purchase yesterday.

That's just one of many examples I can share. Whether a misunderstanding, or blatantly lying, nonetheless it happens all the time. I concur that Universal is a wonderful and easy environment to plan and I do think that people do put a lot of planning in, especially if they're staying here, but that doesn't mean there will be a few, let's say, chosen one's that might get confused, or just bluntly make certain claims.

 

[macraven]

If you are staying insite in the summer months or certain holidays, you find those crazy high rates at the deluxe
Hrh raises those rates a lot
They only have 650 rooms and the place stays at high occupancy most days

Different dates can be surprising to find rpr higher than the other two.

Have no idea how this can be, but I've ended up with a higher room rate by staying at rpr

Book your room now and modify if the rate lowers before you check in
I book at rack for specific dates in October up to 11 months out then wait for smsm, AP, etc discounts to be released
I call and modify for the lower prices then

My dates of stay are non negotiable and a priority

But I would be crazy to past up lower rates when they are released

 

[gotomu212]

To travel to Orlando or any destination vacation, you plan a lot

I know of no one personally that hops in a car for a ten hour drive or goes to the airport and buys a ticket that day for Orlando

If you plan in advance for transportation I assume a person does the same for hotel accommodations

I know most people on the disboards plan a lot, but I have honestly woken up on a Saturday and decided to drive 17 hours to Florida at 10 am- found a hotel on my phone on the way.
Last time we were in Florida we were in the Gulf coast and on the last day said hey why don't we hit Disney on the way home tomorrow. I just throw it out there to say that some people do travel spur of the moment and don't spend much time researching vacations.

 

[chmurf]

Things are only complicated at Universal if people make it so.

That's precisely the point of this topic

Planning for Universal is so simple. Things are only as complicated as you allow them to be

That's why the whole point of this topic is asking why complicate things for guests by having different hotel perks for the same hotel category
That's the kind of stunt one would expect from Disney where planning often feels like you're planning a mission to mars ...

Universal is simple and that's why we love it so much. Why introduce confusion where things used to be straightforward ?
When you book the ''middle category'' (moderate) at disney, you know what you get
But when you book the ''middle category'' (preferred) at universal, you need to make an additional choice because depending on that choice you could end up with a ''deluxe'' or a ''value'' (perks wise)

In that regards, the move we're talking about (creating the preferred category without aligning the perks) has made the hotel choice more complex and possibly confusing for some guests
That's a very small thing, I agree, but it could look like universal is starting to grow some Ears ... And even though I know that, so far I'm exagerating, that's precisely the point. Keep things simple and straightforward but an EP hotel with a non EP hotel is just like apples and oranges. They don't belong in the same category if you want to keep things straightforward and easy

 

[macraven]

Yea, schumi already said it doesn't have to be complicated unless you make is so

 

[hydrotony]

Back to the category of hotel. From rumors I have heard, two tower hotels will be built on the Wet & Wild property and be in same category as Cabana Bay. When that is done, the EP rules will be adjusted for the mid level hotels. All the new categories are to set up future changes.

 

[johde]

Universal is simple and that's why we love it so much. Why introduce confusion where things used to be straightforward ?
When you book the ''middle category'' (moderate) at disney, you know what you get
But when you book the ''middle category'' (preferred) at universal, you need to make an additional choice because depending on that choice you could end up with a ''deluxe'' or a ''value'' (perks wise)

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.

 

[tinydancer09]

Yep, never heard folks over here complain there is too much planning involved in a Universal trip.

We see so many folk come over last few years love how little planning is involved compared to the Disney part of their trip.

Things are only complicated at Universal if people make it so.

I sometimes stress about the fact that I don't have to plan for universal. I'm a special kind of special though... I'm a planner and I enjoy doing it. After planning a disney trip and then going to universal I feel like I'm forgetting things.. Nope, it's just that easy and I LOVE it once I calm my planning nerves down.

 

[macraven]

Back to the category of hotel. From rumors I have heard, two tower hotels will be built on the Wet & Wild property and be in same category as Cabana Bay. When that is done, the EP rules will be adjusted for the mid level hotels. All the new categories are to set up future changes.

whats the source for the above rumor?

 

[schumigirl]

Yea, schumi already said it doesn't have to be complicated unless you make is so

Thank you.......I like things simple and don't look for confusion. Those that do are welcome to.

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.

Absolutely makes sense..........people sometimes clump them altogether anyway as "Universal" hotels, which technically they are not.......no one seems to get confused with that.

I genuinely don't see the confusion here.........

whats the source for the above rumor?

Yes, would be interested in seeing the source of that one!

 

[chmurf]

I like things simple and don't look for confusion.

Same here

AP structure : simple
Premier
Preferred
Power

3 levels or categories. I don't need to know the exact value of the discounts to see that each level/category has its own perks, and the higher the level the bigger the perks

Simple as can be

RPR and SF in the same category with different perks can be liken to splitting the preferred AP in two

It's like creating a 'Red Prefferred AP' giving the perks of a Premier AP and a 'Blue Preferred AP' giving the perks of the power AP (including blackout dates) and still calling those 'Preferred'

That's not simple anymore. Maybe it looks simple or harmless to us, because we know how it all works.
But from the first timer perspective it's complicated


The whole purpose of making categories, is to group things that are alike or similar. That's how we keep things simple and organised. Grouping things that are not similar will only complicate things,

I like it simple that's why I don't like that move.

 

[schumigirl]

Guess we have different ideas as to what's complicated.

I don't see this as complicated at all. If you can read even as a first timer, it's fairly simple.

 

[damo]

I don't think it is complicated but I don't see the point of having the categories. If perks are going to change so drastically down the line, then just leave the categories until down the line. There is really no reason to categorize anything right now. It's pretty easy just to list the hotels in order of general price category. Portofino, Hard Rock, Royal Pacific, Sapphire Bay, Cabana Bay. Just list them and make their amenities clear. Later on, when more hotels are added and perks are finalized, then categorize everything.

 

[ckelly14]

I don't think it is complicated but I don't see the point of having the categories. If perks are going to change so drastically down the line, then just leave the categories until down the line. There is really no reason to categorize anything right now. It's pretty easy just to list the hotels in order of general price category. Portofino, Hard Rock, Royal Pacific, Sapphire Bay, Cabana Bay. Just list them and make their amenities clear. Later on, when more hotels are added and perks are finalized, then categorize everything.

Agreed. The point of the post was not that things were excessively complicated, but why have categories when there is different amenities within the grouping?

Let's face it, Express Pass is the amenity at Universal. Having a difference in this perk among hotels in the same category is, well, dumb...

 

[macraven]

We need to get on track with the original question of the thread

Bottom line is rpr is a deluxe and listed in a different category
Deluxe as in all the same hotel perks, high room cost, ep included in the stay, services provided at the hotel the same for hrh, pbh, and rpr

If you read the sticky, you will learn all amenities it includes
They are on the same level as the other two resorts .... Pbh/ hrh


Can't see much more of a debate about it

If you want to beat a dead horse more, start a new thread to discuss it


We all love opinions and debates but we have veered away from the topic, me includedo