RPR or HRH: Which do you prefer?

[bookgirl2632]

We are going for our first trip to Universal this September. In your opinion, which resort is better? I'm leaning toward HRH, but RPR seems nice as well. Any and all opinions are welcome.

 

[damone]

I've stayed at each once. I liked the Hard Rock's pool better, but overall, I preferred the Royal Pacific. The service was excellent. I preferred the grounds, and the walk to Universal was beautiful. I also prefer the food at Royal Pacific.

 

[bookgirl2632]

That brings up another question. How is the walk from both hotels?

 

[damone]

That brings up another question. How is the walk from both hotels?

It's cake. Probably 5 minutes from HRH. Maybe 8 minutes from RPR. We never once used the boat. The walk from RPR is gorgeous. Palm trees everywhere, and right along the lake.

 

[rpbert1]

Never stayed at HRH, but have stayed at RPR and PBH, if we had no kids with us ,i would stay at PBH everytime, but have been staying at RPR for 5 years, and its a lovely resort, very relaxing and love the pool area, and lots of things going on around the pool for DD.

 

[BrerFoxx]

Never stayed at HRH, but I have stayed at RPR and PBH and love both of them. I will be staying at HRH this coming August.

 

[patster734]

I've stayed at all three. RPR is the favorite, next is PBH, and last is HRH.

HRH is last because we received inferior room service when we stayed there a couple years ago. The Kitchen is the only restaurant at HRH that we like. We did the Palm restaurant once and were disappointed with it; An entre' consists of only the steak, with side dishes costing extra.

At RPR, we like three restaurants: Islands' Dining Room, Jake's American Bar, and Emeril's Tchoup Chop. The layout of the hotel is simplified. RPR also usually costs less. I adore the bridge that seperates the parking area from the hotel entrance. Some of the rooms offer a great view of IOA!

 

[Worfiedoodles]

I think this is one of those cases of whom is in your party -- RPR is definitely our favorite, and especially if you have smaller children. HRH has more of a happenin' vibe, I would recommend that for people with teens or young adults. We also enjoy PBH, but it has a more adult feel.

HRH is a closer walk to the Studios, RPR is a closer walk to IOA. You can also always take the boat or a pedicab, really transportation is not an issue, all the hotels are close to the attractions.

You can also pool hop at will, so if you want to get a good feel for a hotel where you are not staying, grab your suit and your room key and go on over!

Maria

 

[francie57]

We love the HRH and will be returning in Aug. The walk to Universal is about 5 min. and a few more to get to IOA. We really like the pool area and the snack/bar area at the pool. We usually don't eat at the hotel anymore, we love too many of the places in the park and City Walk. Our first few trips we did eat at The Kitchen and it was really good. Guess the answer is really up to what atmosphere you are looking for.

 

[cbsnyber1]

We've stayed at PBH and HRH and we prefer the HRH - mostly for the great vibe we got there. PBH is beautiful, but way laid back. HRH has an energy that's hard to describe - but if you grew up with rock 'n roll you'd understand.

Both pools were great, and we preferred the HRH location. Very easy to walk to both parks.

Never stayed at RPH, but did visit there on our last trip - ate at Tchoup Chop - but on our way there we got lost and ended up walking all around the resort. Based on what we saw I would definitely like to stay there someday - lovely grounds.

 

[crazy4dis]

We have only stayed at HRH once and decided to try the other two after a bad experience there (probably 7 years ago). The service at RPR and PBR is much better. My favorite is RPR while my husband's is PBR. Our kids prefer RPR. The pools are great at all three and pool hopping is easy and encouraged. When we get tired of the busyness of RPR we go over to PBR's villa pool.

I think the restaurants at RPR are the best among the three on-site hotels.

Both HRH and RPR are close to UO and IOA respectively.

You will probably enjoy either one.

 

[JAL2525]

I think this is one of those cases of whom is in your party -- RPR is definitely our favorite, and especially if you have smaller children. HRH has more of a happenin' vibe, I would recommend that for people with teens or young adults. We also enjoy PBH, but it has a more adult feel.

HRH is a closer walk to the Studios, RPR is a closer walk to IOA. You can also always take the boat or a pedicab, really transportation is not an issue, all the hotels are close to the attractions.

You can also pool hop at will, so if you want to get a good feel for a hotel where you are not staying, grab your suit and your room key and go on over!

Maria

You hit the nail right on the head Worfiedoodles...Depends on the individuals in the party. Though you could stay in any one with any age group they are definitely targeting specific ages as you stated. Well said.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

This is a topic you'll never get a definitive answer on. Each hotel has it's devoted fans. I do agree that it has a lot to did with your party demographic.

If it were only my DH & I, we'd always stay at PBH. Our son (teen) always chooses HRH, so that's where we stay most of the time. We also love the location. As has been noted, you can get to US from there in about 5 min. We can also get to IOA faster from HRH than we can from RPR, but others may disagree. Speaking of RPR, it's our least favorite. We probably won't stay there again, unless we happen to be traveling with young kids. Their pool is better for little ones.

We like the food options at PBH best, followed by HRH. The kitchen has a great breakfast. We also like dropping by there to get a sandwich on the way to our room for a midday break. That said, we have limited experience with RPR's restaurants. We don't like Tchoup Chop, even though we love Emeril's at CW. We've never eaten at Islands.

 

[Larrabe]

We are going for our first trip to Universal this September. In your opinion, which resort is better? I'm leaning toward HRH, but RPR seems nice as well. Any and all opinions are welcome.

I'm glad you posted this! We're going in September as well, but I've been wondering lately if we should have booked at HRH instead of RPH. (Okay, more like agonizing, stewing, bashing my head against the desk. ) The grounds at RPH are so lovely but my teenage boys would have a better time at HRH and there might be more kids they can hang out with in the evenings so we'll probably change our ressie.

Hope you don't mind me hijacking, but what kind of food do they serve at the snack bar at HRH? We do plan on eating at City Walk a couple of times but for the most part, we'd rather grab something casual and hang by the pool rather than have sit-down meals.

I should also call and see if they have another basketball court besides the one at the pool. That'd be the deciding factor with my guys!

 

[tfoster]

I'm glad you posted this! We're going in September as well, but I've been wondering lately if we should have booked at HRH instead of RPH. (Okay, more like agonizing, stewing, bashing my head against the desk. ) The grounds at RPH are so lovely but my teenage boys would have a better time at HRH and there might be more kids they can hang out with in the evenings so we'll probably change our ressie.

I'm right there with you agonizing, stewing, bashing my head against the desk! We have reservations at PBH for December, and I keep rethinking it over and over. And over. And over. I would like to be a little closer to the parks and I would like to save some money (for six of us, we need two rooms), but the kids REALLY want to stay at a hotel whose pool has a waterslide, I can't seem to wrap my head around staying at a hotel with a "vibe" (I want outside of the theme park to mean quiet relaxation), and I'm having a hard time stepping away from gelato and Italian pastries. Oh, why is it so difficult to decide?!

 

[mjohnson96]

Hope you don't mind me hijacking, but what kind of food do they serve at the snack bar at HRH? We do plan on eating at City Walk a couple of times but for the most part, we'd rather grab something casual and hang by the pool rather than have sit-down meals.

The Pool Bar is GREAT We have to go over there at least once and sit by the pool and have lunch. The food was pretty good, a little more expensive than RPR pool bar but the atmosphere made up for that.

Here is a link to see the menu

http://www.loewshotels.com/en/Hotels/Hard-Rock-Hotel/Dining/Overview.aspx

my husband had the Cobb Salad and I had the Blackened Mahi Mahi and they were both excellent and way more food than we needed. For 2A and 1C we we spent around $60 but my husband had one or 2 beers with his meal

 

[tinkerdorabelle]

Do HRH first. We have been to HRH and RPR and love both BUT HRH everything seems easier for some reason to us, easier, closer, faster walk to CitiWalk also, etc., etc. Also HRH has a slide. You can always go visit RPR and do it next time.

 

[Claire-Bear]

If we decide to stay onsite at some point, are they any disounts around? My dad is with AAA. I was just looking at the rates for this summer - $250 for 2 adults for 1 night! Really expensive!

 

[schumigirl]

RPR gets our vote.

Fantastic atmosphere, fabulous eating places. We love Jake`s bar, Sushi restaurant at night and the pool bar is really cool.

Our now 16 year old son loves it here too and was not overly impressed with HRH. We haven`t stayed in it just wandered around. Food options are lovely at HRH as well.

We can`t envisage staying anywhere else apart from RPR now

 

[patster734]

If we decide to stay onsite at some point, are they any disounts around? My dad is with AAA. I was just looking at the rates for this summer - $250 for 2 adults for 1 night! Really expensive!

Usually to get the best AAA rate, you'll need to call the Universal hotel reservation number as that rate normally doesn't appear on their website. For one night, AAA would probably be your best bet. Depending on which month you go and what day of the week you visit, it's possible that you could get a rate around $150 with AAA.

There's also an AP (annual pass) rate usually available, but that means purchasing a preferred or premiere annual pass.