to stay club level at HRH at universal or not???

[Mom3girls]

We are headed down to the world in mid August and have decided to stay at the Hard Rock Hotel for two nights prior to checking in at Beach Club. Not sure if I should book club level or not. Anyone stayed there and booked club level? Any and all help would be appreciated. I have no idea what is offered food wise and trying to decide if it's worth the $100 over poolview. I'm thinking the grab and go breakfast items would work out great to help us get out to HP early. Any idea what beers are available? (Hubby wants to know!)

 

[Marionnette]

It's been a long time and things may have improved but I remember the snacks and whatnots in the club level lounge were less than impressive at PBH. You might want to ask this question on the Universal board. I think you will get more input there.

 

[Mom3girls]

Thanks, I did post there also but that board is not nearly frequented like this one. Every time I see a post over there that I'm interested in, no one answers the questions! Thought I might get answers from our budget minded group faster!

 

[disneyfreakk]

It really depends. How many people are in your group (adults/kids) and do the adults drink beer and wine?

It is worth it to us because we vacation with a group of friends and the lounge is a great place to meet up with everyone. We also drink... alot. Dh and I (and our group) get our monies worth on the evening offerings and the boose. Breakfast is just a bonus. Plus you get a discount on the cabanas.

 

[Mom3girls]

We are a party of 2 adults and 3 kids (14,12,11). We like our drinks! Just not sure if we would be around hotel from 5-7 much. That is why I ask if the beer and wine are available only from 5-7. This is our first time at Universal so not sure how much we will accomplish. Also, how much are the cabanas after the discount? After spending so much time in the sun they would be fantastic!!

 

[Mom3girls]

And for what its worth, there are only five posts on the universal discussion boards today! Thats right, just 5!! No wonder I posted here too!

 

[disneyfreakk]

The parks really aren't that big. And with the FOTL access, you should have more than enough time to get back to the HRH for the offerings. I am not sure how late the parks stay open in Aug (we go in Oct), but I am guessing you could go back to the parks after a snack and some drinks. Then you are saving quite a bit of money with the three kids eating at the lounge too. And they have water and sodas.

I haven't checked the prices for the cabanas for Oct yet. But there is a thread over on the universal hotels board that says the themed cabanas are $200, and you get $50 off while staying club level. You should call the hotel and ask for the fitness center and ask them about cabana pricing for your time frame.

ETA: Aug hours are 9am to 8pm or 10pm. You would have plenty of time to enjoy the club perks.

 

[Mom3girls]

Do they have hot offerings at dinner time? Any idea what they are? Kids can be picky about certain things.

 

[disneyfreakk]

Do they have hot offerings at dinner time? Any idea what they are? Kids can be picky about certain things.

Yes they do have hot offerings, but we haven't been in two years, so I can't tell you what they are right now. But we went for 5 straight years and the offerings didnt really change over that time period, lol. They used to have themed nights, for example: Mexican night, Chinese night, Itallian night. They offer things like meatballs, tiny tacos, eggrolls, etc. Usually about 2 or 3 hot entrees. They also have big cheese and veggie platters with ranch dressing.

 

[Planogirl]

And for what its worth, there are only five posts on the universal discussion boards today! Thats right, just 5!! No wonder I posted here too!

You must be referring to the Universal Resorts board since I see way more on the primary board. Why not post your question on the general Universal discussion board? You could just explain that no one is responding on the other board.

 

[Mom3girls]

Yes they do have hot offerings, but we haven't been in two years, so I can't tell you what they are right now. But we went for 5 straight years and the offerings didnt really change over that time period, lol. They used to have themed nights, for example: Mexican night, Chinese night, Itallian night. They offer things like meatballs, tiny tacos, eggrolls, etc. Usually about 2 or 3 hot entrees. They also have big cheese and veggie platters with ranch dressing.

Glad to hear they have a variety of offerings in the evening. How about midday? Any lunch items or just soda and water during that time? How about mornings...Is it typical continental breakfast offerings such as donuts, bagels, cut fruit, muffins, cereal? Sorry for all of the questions?! Like I said club level is all new to us. TIA

 

[Mom3girls]

You must be referring to the Universal Resorts board since I see way more on the primary board. Why not post your question on the general Universal discussion board? You could just explain that no one is responding on the other board.

I took your advice and posted on the general universal discussion boards...within minutes they moved it to the resorts board!!! Oh well!

 

[disneyfreakk]

Glad to hear they have a variety of offerings in the evening. How about midday? Any lunch items or just soda and water during that time? How about mornings...Is it typical continental breakfast offerings such as donuts, bagels, cut fruit, muffins, cereal? Sorry for all of the questions?! Like I said club level is all new to us. TIA

They dont have lunch, but they do offer snacks like crackers and stuff. nothing major. And they have water and sodas avail all day too, so stop by before you go to the parks and grab some water. Dont open it until you get into the parks though.

Breakfast is just typical continental.

I really think your family would like club level. The 7th floor is private and all of the club rooms are on the 7th floor. You have to insert your room key into a slot in the elevators to gain access. AND, club is where they put the famous folks. We have seen quite a few rock stars from the 80's, and my DH met Judd Nelson in the club lounge too.

 

[maggiew]

We haven't stayed at HRH club level but we are staying at RPR club level in July. We stayed club level at Beach Club at Disney on our last family trip and we found that it suits us great! The continental breakfast in the morning is just what we need. We are not big breakfast eaters (like pancakes, waffles, bacon, etc.) unless it is a sleep in day or we do a character breakfast.

We also go back to the room for afternoon breaks. Cooling off in the pool is fantastic on those hot summer days. Usually my older DD and I swim in the pool and my DH and younger DD nap in the room.

Then we partake of the evening snacks/drinks and head back to the parks for a little bit or head out to dinner. At Disney we would then do the fireworks.

We went to Universal a few years ago and it was so amazing what you could get done with the FOTL access! We did everything more than once plus spent our afternoons at the pool. (You can pool hop at Universal too!)

We did rent a cabana at HRH last time. I don't remember how much it was and it was several years ago, so I am sure the price has changed from then. We did this on our "down" day. We stayed at the pool most of the day (I think we might have gone to the park in the late afternoon to ride a few rides or eat dinner or something). Then we came back to watch the Dive in movie! It was great!

There are a few threads where people have posted food pictures from the club lounge in the Universal resorts board. Do a search for "club food pictures" or something similar to get an idea about the food.

Maggie

 

[tinatark]

We stayed there a few years ago during spring break - yikes, rack rate! While we were at the hotel, we kept saying to ourselves "not worth it"... while we were at the parks, "so worth it"... it really was nice, though.

 

[3kidsfordis]

We stayed there April 2010 and found it to be well worth it for us. Continental Breakfast 7:30 -10, Snacks and drinks 12-3, beer & wine and Hors d'oeuvres 5-7, evening sweets 8:30-9:30.

I remember breakfast being toast, bagels, cereal, fruit. It was great as we have three kids. One parent could take one or two down the hall to get started while the others were finishing getting dressed. Also got us to the park early. We stayed all day in the park until about 5. Stopped in for a beer/wine soda and appetizers on the way to our room. Can't remember any of the offerings. We'd put on our swim suits and stop at the lounge on the way out to pick up some drinks to go. After swinmming we'd stop in for desert on the way to our rooms. They usually had good cookies and some other dessert each night along with coffee, tea, milk, hot chocolate. I do remember some people asking for and receiving alcohol at this time. I remember the staff person going into the back and bringing it out. Not sure if that was a regular occurance.

We had a great room with a fabulous pool/park view. FOTL was the best perk ever. I would definitely stay at the HRH and do Club again. Pool was nice and Flo-Rida was on our floor and at the pool. I had no idea who he was but my 12 year old thought it was cool!