Staying at Universal for the first time...

[JimS4210]

Hi everyone,
We're DVC members and long time Disney veterans who are about to embark on a trip to the Dark Side (Universal) thanks to Harry Potter We are a family of four ( Me, DW, DS & DD) and have decided to start our November trip a few days early to stay at Universal. Unsure about which hotel to stay at. Everyone really likes the look of Portofino Bay and that'll probably be out choice, but I have a few questions.
First, we are definitely non-smokers and are a bit concerned about being stuck in a smoking room or even close to one. Are they in a separate location or all through the hotel?
Next, we'll be staying Club level and from what I understand, PB doesn't have a separate floor for Club. You stay in a regular room and are granted access to the lounge. So the standard rooms are identical to Club rooms. Is this correct? Is it possible you could be stuck in a room a long way from the Lounge and have a long schlep back to your room with a plate of food if you'd rather eat in?
Thanks ,
Jim

 

[damo]

Don't worry about the smoking. There is a smoking floor (generally the lower level) and as long as you don't request it, you should be fine.

As to the club access, firstly if you book club level you will get a deluxe room which is a tad nicer than the standard rooms in that they have a separate shower and generally a small pullout couch. They also have crown moulding. You will be placed in the villa or west wing which are close to the lounge.

 

[GOOFY26]

I've stayed there 3 times club level and never had a pull out sofa and always a long distance from the club lounge. We really didn't seem to mind it that much I would always send the kids down to get some food and drinks if I was too tired too take the elevator down a few floors. The lounge is small but not as small as the Hard Rock lounge just get there early for breakfast so you can have a table and chairs to eat. Love going Club level especially for the drinks (soda and water).

 

[cbsnyber1]

Couple of considerations:

PBH is farther from the two parks than are the other two hotels. I've stayed at the HRH, and have walked from CityWalk to the RPH - fairly short walks. PBH is at least a five minute longer walk; in fact we took the boat almost every time, back and forth, so we had to wait for it. I like to walk to the parks, so the PBH location was a bit of an inconvenience for this reason.

I thought the walk from our PBH room to the lounge was pretty long even though we were in the west wing. in contrast, the HRH club rooms are on the same floor as the lounge, very convenient. We always ate in the PBH lounge because we did not want to haul everything back to the room.

On the other hand, the PBH is by far the most laid back of the three hotels, IMHO. We did enjoy our time there. But in the end I prefer the HRH for its location and "vibe" - seemed to have a lot of energy.