Which EP room do you suggest

[wdhinn89]

We plan on staying two nights at Universal to see Harry Potter, we would like to stay at a hotel that has EP included. Which hotel would you suggest? Royal Pacific, Hard Rock or Portofino Bay? We would select a garden view or standard view if that makes a difference.

 

[Disneylover99]

I prefer Royal Pacific or Hard Rock, but I’d go with whatever is cheapest at any of the 3 resorts.

 

[macraven]

How many in your group?
Will it be adults only?

 

[cfoxga]

They are all great resorts, so it is hard to go wrong...

Cost (low to high): RPR < HRH < PBH
Room Size (smallest to largest): RPR < HRH < PBH
Proximity to Citywalk (closest to furthest): HRH < RPR < PBH

We've stayed in all three multiple times, and prefer PBH for the theme. If you want a short walk, HRH and RPR are very close. We like the pools at PBH best, but don't spend much time there.

HRH is currently undergoing renovations. We were there 4 weeks ago and it does hurt the overall experience with all of the construction.

 

[wdhinn89]

How many in your group?
Will it be adults only?

Yes, 4 adults

 

[wdhinn89]

They are all great resorts, so it is hard to go wrong...

Cost (low to high): RPR < HRH < PBH
Room Size (smallest to largest): RPR < HRH < PBH
Proximity to Citywalk (closest to furthest): HRH < RPR < PBH

We've stayed in all three multiple times, and prefer PBH for the theme. If you want a short walk, HRH and RPR are very close. We like the pools at PBH best, but don't spend much time there.

HRH is currently undergoing renovations. We were there 4 weeks ago and it does hurt the overall experience with all of the construction.

Thank you, very helpful information! Do you know when the renovations at HRH will be done?

 

[DizneyFamof4]

Best price!

 

[schumigirl]

Thank you, very helpful information! Do you know when the renovations at HRH will be done?

Should be completed around September.

 

[damo]

Whatever is the cheapest.

 

[Dawn Peterson]

If you are going to spend time in the room, with 4 adults I would choose Portofino. Largest room and biggest bathrooms. We love Hard Rock for the quick walk and Portofino for the size and theme.

 

[wdhinn89]

Is the walk from Portofino Bay a lot further than the other 2 hotels?

 

[mlreed328]

There's a shortcut through the HRH parking lot that's posted on here somewhere. Not sure how much time that cuts off, but google will take you on a 17m walk vs 11m from the HRH.

 

[zillayen]

Is the walk from Portofino Bay a lot further than the other 2 hotels?

It's definitely longer. We clocked it at about 0.8 miles, usually took us about 18-20 minutes at the kids' pace.

 

[Sue M]

They are all great resorts, so it is hard to go wrong...

Cost (low to high): RPR < HRH < PBH
Room Size (smallest to largest): RPR < HRH < PBH
Proximity to Citywalk (closest to furthest): HRH < RPR < PBH

We've stayed in all three multiple times, and prefer PBH for the theme. If you want a short walk, HRH and RPR are very close. We like the pools at PBH best, but don't spend much time there.

HRH is currently undergoing renovations. We were there 4 weeks ago and it does hurt the overall experience with all of the construction.

I’m surprised they haven’t lowered room rates for HRH with construction!
Regarding rates, it doesn’t always follow that, for my August trip PBH was the cheapest. Go figure. Guess they had more rooms that needed filling.

 

[cfoxga]

Is the walk from Portofino Bay a lot further than the other 2 hotels?

I would say it is twice as far away than HRH. I really like to take the ferry, so the distance to PBH is actually a good thing. I typically just walk back to HRH/RPR because they are so close, so we rarely get to take the ferry...

 

[Sue M]

HRH is by far the closest to the parks (Studios). Path lets you out steps to The Studios. One night last Oct we took the path from HR where we were staying to PB for dinner and we were surprised that it wasn’t as long as we thought.
RP is a little longer of a walk and closest to Islands. But with 4 adults I think it would be too cramped. So I’d go with HRH.

 

[NicoleLarson]

As others have said, all are great and we usually go with the cheapest but our favorite is PBR, HRH then RPC. I agree that the RPC rooms are and feel smaller vs PBR and HRH so 4 adults might be a bit cramped. But if you don't plan to be in the room much you can probably manage it just fine.

 

[wdhinn89]

We went with RP. We would have gone with HRH but we did not want to deal with the construction and PBR was furthest away and the most expensive so that had 2 strikes against it. We will just have to deal with the smaller room. It is only for 2 nights. Thank you everyone!!

 

[DizKids2]

PBH is my favorite of the three. The rooms are large and the resort is beautiful. It doesn't feel like you are staying at a theme park hotel at all.
I do have to admit though, after a long hot day at the park, I am a bit sad when I have to keep walking past HRH to PBH

 

[hhoope01]

Regarding rates, it doesn’t always follow that, for my August trip PBH was the cheapest. Go figure. Guess they had more rooms that needed filling.

That is true but in general, a base room at the base rate will have RPR as the least expensive, HRH in the middle, and PBR the most expensive. But there are other factors at work. HRH has the smallest number of rooms of the Premier hotels. So it has a tendency to fill up both the discounted rates and the base rooms quicker than the others. PBR being the most expensive can sometimes be the last of the Premier hotels showing discounted rates and base rooms. Conferences can also play a part as those can get large groups of rooms (usually the base rooms) blocked out for the conference members to reserve.

So as you assert, it is usually good to check all the hotel rates and then keep checking them as rates change, people make/cancel reservations, conference blocks are released to the general public, etc.

For us, which we choose depends on what our situation is around each trip. If we want to be cost conscious, RPR usually ends up being our go to hotel. But if we want to splurge, PBR is our favorite and we try to stay there as much as possible. We've only stayed at HRH a couple of times as it has that "middle child" feel. It isn't usually the cheapest and it isn't the most luxurious or have the largest rooms. (Note HRH does have larger rooms of course, but they charge more for those Deluxe rooms which are spacious and comfortable). For us since, all 3 have the water taxis which we like to use more than walking, is essentially another ride and a number of the captains can be very entertaining, means the extra couple of minutes walking from RPR or PBR is not an issue.