southjerseymom
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2004
- Messages
- 620
Just returned from US and RPH on Friday. I found a lot of helpful info from these boards so hopefully this will help someone else. I will try and be short and sweet and hopefully somewhat interesting.
Cast of Characters:
DH lover of all rides and theme parks but he absolutely does not want to do WDW for awhile. The only way I got him to FL again was to do Universal and promise...no WDW!
DS almost 6 and DD almost 4. Veterans of 4 trips to WDW and Disney Cruise (maybe DH does have a point......)
Me 46 yo (do the math - I had my guys late!!) who absolutely loves taking my kiddles on vacation.
I booked through Lowes (who transferred me to Universal). I went with the package available online that included 4 nights a RPH, Dollar Rental car, Kids Eat Free at Lowes hotels and Parks, 5 days of 2 Park passes. I got the whole package for $1160. Compared to Disney I felt it was the deal of the century.
Originally had booked HRH but at the last minute we switched to RPH. Just went with a gut feeling that HRH not be for me. We did go there for dinner and a swim and I will talk about that later.
Bottom line RPH is a winner.
I have stayed at the Beach Club, Polynesian, Wilderness Lodge, Carribean Beach and All Stars at WDW. They all have their charming and not so charming sides. But I felt that RPH was just a notch above the Disney deluxes.
Great check in with Lowes First membership, however, I was told I would not receive my points because I had booked a package. She did give me the upgrade to pool view and was more than nice. I didn't feel like arguing that I should get my points because I had called Lowes to book. I mentioned all of this in the survey I received when I got home so we will see if anyone responds.
Check In: A+ (it wasn't her fault about the points - I have read on this board there is confusion)
We were assigned room 1306. Background...my family tells me we have never stayed in the original room we have been assigned. I thought this one might be it.. but.....lots of scuff marks on the walls and the Indonesian style wall decoration between the sink area and the beds was very dusty. Just kind of a beat up room. I went back to the Lowes First desk and was cheerfully moved to room 1312. This room was recently painted. I'm not a complete nut...there were some stains on the carpet...but the linens were clean...the bathroom was clean and it was our new home for 4 nights. Since the rooms at the Lowes properties don't have balconies the view was kind of secondary. We had a nicely lit palm tree outside and we were happy. Housekeeping was good. Star service for extra pillows and towels was good. Nice glasses for our adult beverages. The RPH's rooms are hotel rooms. So are the Disney rooms. I was as comfortable and happy in the RPH room where I was spending less than $200 a night than I ever was in my WDW "deluxe" room for over $300 a night.
Room: B+
RPH Amenities
I will talk about the food in a later post but we liked the amenities offered at RPH. Great continental breakfast in the Orchid Lounge every morning. Good coffee and toasted bagels, cereal, danish, juice etc. We went there every morning. Sometimes we took the food back to the room but we also sat and looked out over the beautiful gardens. Think Poly Tambu Lounge but bigger.
Pool area could use a little help. Just some general sweeping and more staff. There were no pool activities. Some of the water guns did not work. I understand it was the "off" season but I would have like to see some effort. DH said on the last day that there was a lot of debris (leaves etc) in the pool. Ducks and birds fly in there also and I am sure they do their business there. That can't be helped but I would have loved to see someone check the PH of the pool once. Generally I would have like to see more attention paid to the pool area. Otherwise, grounds were beautiful. Fitness room lockers (we used them to change into our travelling clothes after we checked out) were spotless. Game room was nice. Walk ways and paths beautifully maintained.
General Atmosphere: A+
Grounds: A+
Pool Area: B- (by no means nasty.....just needed some attention)
Water Taxi: A (some nice "captains" - some cranky) Ran frequently and didn't wait to fill up. As good as WDW water transportation.
Whew...these trip reports are harder than I thought....and I am not feeling a bit clever......I will finish in the next few days. Still have some dining reports and general newbie impressions of US and IOA.
Overall RPH rating: A
Family rating: A
Convienence: A+
Cast of Characters:
DH lover of all rides and theme parks but he absolutely does not want to do WDW for awhile. The only way I got him to FL again was to do Universal and promise...no WDW!
DS almost 6 and DD almost 4. Veterans of 4 trips to WDW and Disney Cruise (maybe DH does have a point......)
Me 46 yo (do the math - I had my guys late!!) who absolutely loves taking my kiddles on vacation.
I booked through Lowes (who transferred me to Universal). I went with the package available online that included 4 nights a RPH, Dollar Rental car, Kids Eat Free at Lowes hotels and Parks, 5 days of 2 Park passes. I got the whole package for $1160. Compared to Disney I felt it was the deal of the century.
Originally had booked HRH but at the last minute we switched to RPH. Just went with a gut feeling that HRH not be for me. We did go there for dinner and a swim and I will talk about that later.
Bottom line RPH is a winner.
I have stayed at the Beach Club, Polynesian, Wilderness Lodge, Carribean Beach and All Stars at WDW. They all have their charming and not so charming sides. But I felt that RPH was just a notch above the Disney deluxes.
Great check in with Lowes First membership, however, I was told I would not receive my points because I had booked a package. She did give me the upgrade to pool view and was more than nice. I didn't feel like arguing that I should get my points because I had called Lowes to book. I mentioned all of this in the survey I received when I got home so we will see if anyone responds.
Check In: A+ (it wasn't her fault about the points - I have read on this board there is confusion)
We were assigned room 1306. Background...my family tells me we have never stayed in the original room we have been assigned. I thought this one might be it.. but.....lots of scuff marks on the walls and the Indonesian style wall decoration between the sink area and the beds was very dusty. Just kind of a beat up room. I went back to the Lowes First desk and was cheerfully moved to room 1312. This room was recently painted. I'm not a complete nut...there were some stains on the carpet...but the linens were clean...the bathroom was clean and it was our new home for 4 nights. Since the rooms at the Lowes properties don't have balconies the view was kind of secondary. We had a nicely lit palm tree outside and we were happy. Housekeeping was good. Star service for extra pillows and towels was good. Nice glasses for our adult beverages. The RPH's rooms are hotel rooms. So are the Disney rooms. I was as comfortable and happy in the RPH room where I was spending less than $200 a night than I ever was in my WDW "deluxe" room for over $300 a night.
Room: B+
RPH Amenities
I will talk about the food in a later post but we liked the amenities offered at RPH. Great continental breakfast in the Orchid Lounge every morning. Good coffee and toasted bagels, cereal, danish, juice etc. We went there every morning. Sometimes we took the food back to the room but we also sat and looked out over the beautiful gardens. Think Poly Tambu Lounge but bigger.
Pool area could use a little help. Just some general sweeping and more staff. There were no pool activities. Some of the water guns did not work. I understand it was the "off" season but I would have like to see some effort. DH said on the last day that there was a lot of debris (leaves etc) in the pool. Ducks and birds fly in there also and I am sure they do their business there. That can't be helped but I would have loved to see someone check the PH of the pool once. Generally I would have like to see more attention paid to the pool area. Otherwise, grounds were beautiful. Fitness room lockers (we used them to change into our travelling clothes after we checked out) were spotless. Game room was nice. Walk ways and paths beautifully maintained.
General Atmosphere: A+
Grounds: A+
Pool Area: B- (by no means nasty.....just needed some attention)
Water Taxi: A (some nice "captains" - some cranky) Ran frequently and didn't wait to fill up. As good as WDW water transportation.
Whew...these trip reports are harder than I thought....and I am not feeling a bit clever......I will finish in the next few days. Still have some dining reports and general newbie impressions of US and IOA.
Overall RPH rating: A
Family rating: A
Convienence: A+
