Universal Did it AGAIN!

[lookingforward]

We just got back from a quick trip to Orlando designed to coincide with Daytona 500. We stayed at the Royal Pacific and it was really nice! We were upgraded from a standard room to a king suite for FREE! A great deal for $99 rate. (I am a gold Loews member). The suite was fantastic and included turn down service, dvd player and a choice of ammenities to include: foam pillows, down pillows, chenille blankets, air purifiers, sound machines, walk-mans, exercise equipment, etc. (Just phone and they will send it up to your room) PLUS, free dvd rentals from the front desk.

We ate at Emeril's new restaurant Tschop Chop (sp??) which was awesome. Had the kobe beef ribs, filet mignon, sushi special, and a bunch of appetizers and way too much wine. Service was excellent and atmosphere was great.

Islands Rest. in the hotel was a bit dissapointing. We waited 25 minutes to get in our drink orders. They were very, very crowded but when we finally were served dinner it was fine. To their credit, they encouraged us to have a free salad and desert from the buffet (we ordered off the menu) to make up for the delay. The breakfast buffet was awful (although GREAT service from Joey).

The pool was fun but we like the Hard Rock better for the kids. The parks were really crowded but a great time.

Any questions let me know!

 

[JessicaR]

Sounds like an excellent quickie! I'm happy to hear Islands did the right thing by you for the delay. Nice room upgrade, do you know off hand if the suites compare to HR or Portofinos? I cant wait to try Emerils new restaurant, the menu sounds great.
What didnt you like about the breakfast buffet?
As far as the pool goes, how old are your kids? Mine love HR and Portofinos pool too! Thanks so much for the report and welcome back!

 

[lookingforward]

Hi Jessica! The suites at the Royal Pacific (king suites for purpose of comparison) are a bit smaller than the Hard Rock and Portofino but I liked the furnishings better (more dark/earth tones) and of course they had less wear and tear on them. They are much smaller than the Portofino BUT the sink was seperate from the bath at the Royal Pacific..not so at the Portofino. Not sure if they include all the special "sweet" ammenities in the HRH and Portofino because I don't remember them.
The breakfast buffet was poorly run. The food kept running out and was cold and tough(bacon). The fruit was nice but the selection was limited. Not worth $15 for an adult or even $8 for a child.
My kids are 4, 10 and 13 and they like the HRH pool and Portofino much better. (I think it is the slide!) One really cool thing, the fried Plantains with cheese sauce by the Royal Pacific pool was awesome. We ordered some with our drinks and it was a perfect mid day snack!

 

[JessicaR]

lookingforward, thats so much for replying to my questions.
Thats interesting about the "sweets" extras. Now I am so curious if this was also added at the other 2 hotels. When we last stayed in a suite at Portofino I dont recall any mention of anything like that.
Yuck! The buffet doesnt sound so great to me either, what a shame hopefully they will make some changes in that area. We usually do the buffet one time per trip, as it is very expensive and my family doesnt eat all that much for breakfast. My kids are like yours and have only one requirement, they need a slide at the pool! Cant blame them, I like the slides too
Thanks for the mention of the plantains by the pool...I will certainly try that out...I love plaintains! Did you find the pool to be too crowded at any time?

Thanks again, love your details!

 

[Disney Debbie]

Thanks for the info!