Which Hotel is Closest to the Parks?

[oceanluvn]

We just booked a room at Portofino Bay. Am I correct in assuming that it is close enough to the parks to walk to? Is there a pathway leading to it or do you have to cross the street? We will have a 3 year old with us, so we wanted to be pretty close. Which of the 3 Universal Hotels are most convenient? I was afraid the HRH would be a little too noisy for us,,,,,we really want a quiet relaxing place to stay when we are away from the parks. I sure would appreciate any input from those that have stayed there before. Thanks!

 

[Melisa1]

I have stayed at HRH and RPR. The HRH is the closest in my opinion. There is a nice pathway that leads right to Universal. RPR has a longer pathway that leads out right by Margaritaville at Citywalk and is closer to IOA. RPR also has a boat that goes to Citywalk. I have never stayed at PBR but I know they have a boat and bus service. Hope that helps!

 

[patster734]

Portofino Bay is farther away from the parks than the other 2 hotels. All hotels have direct pathways that follow the canal and pass underneath streets. Also each hotel has their own dedicated boat to transport guests to and from Citywalk which connects the two parks. We stayed there last December and loved it. It's rooms are larger than the other 2 hotels.

 

[LuvTigger]

Ditto what Melisa said.

I stayed at HRH and it was definitely the closest, maybe a 5 minute walk.

We walked to Portofino because I wanted to check it out for a possible future stay. The walk way is safe, and no crossing streets or anything like that, but it is the farthest away from the parks. My guess is that it would be a 15 minute walk. However, they do have water taxis that can take you to and from the parks as well, so walking is not the only option. It did look like a beautiful resort, and I'd like to stay there in the future.

We enjoyed our stay at HRH, but we don't have children. We had a pool view room, and while people were out at the pool pretty late, I don't recall noise as being a problem.

I didn't get a chance to see RPR since it's in the opposite direction as HRH and PBH, but from what I've read, it's supposed to be 2nd closest in distance to the parks.

 

[oceanluvn]

Thanks so much for the very useful information! Is there a very long wait for the boat to the parks?

 

[Melisa1]

I think the boats run every 15 or 20 minutes......