Which hotel would you pick?

[glassslipper2004]

Aside from price differences, what are the pros and cons of the Universal hotels? Which has the easiest access to the parks? Which has the best pools for teens and adults? Which has the best restaurants? Which would you pick if you weren't worried about price differences? We've never been to Universal and would like to stay onsite.

 

[horseshowmom]

We stayed at RPH for several days and absolutely loved the hotel and the ambience. The boat trip was always nice.

We'll be staying at HRH just before Christmas. I really wanted RPH again but couldn't get it for my preferred date.

I do know that RPH has the smallest rooms (not a big deal on my last trip because it was just my daughter and me). This time there will be 4 adults (husbands are coming too this trip), so I think the larger room at HRH will probably be better. If I can get a decent rate before we leave, I will probably change to PBH due to the room size (but I like how close HRH is to the parks - very quick and easy walk).

 

[damo]

If you are walking:
HRH is 5 minutes from the Studios
RPR is 7 minutes from IOA
PBH is about 10 minutes from the Studios

There is a boat and a bus shuttle from each hotel as well.

PBH has 3 pools...one with a slide.
HRH has 1 pool with a slide.
RPR has 1 pool with no slide.

PBH has Sal's Deli which has wonderful pizza and casual fare. Also has Mama Della's and Bice which are more upscale. Trattoria del Porto serves breakfast and a family style lunch and dinner. Splendido Pizzeria is beside the pool and offers afternoon foods.

HRH has the Kitchen and The Palm. There is also Emack and Bolios for ice cream and snacky stuff.

RPR has Jake's which is casual fare, The Islands which is a mixture of casual and asian flare, and Tchop Chop which is asian fusion.

Everyone seems to have a different favourite, so it is really tough to recommend!

 

[horseshowmom]

If you are walking:
HRH is 5 minutes from the Studios
RPR is 7 minutes from IOA
PBH is about 10 minutes from the Studios

There is a boat and a bus shuttle from each hotel as well.

PBH has 3 pools...one with a slide.
HRH has 1 pool with a slide.
RPR has 1 pool with no slide.

PBH has Sal's Deli which has wonderful pizza and casual fare. Also has Mama Della's and Bice which are more upscale. Trattoria del Porto serves breakfast and a family style lunch and dinner. Splendido Pizzeria is beside the pool and offers afternoon foods.

HRH has the Kitchen and The Palm. There is also Emack and Bolios for ice cream and snacky stuff.

RPR has Jake's which is casual fare, The Islands which is a mixture of casual and asian flare, and Tchop Chop which is asian fusion.

Everyone seems to have a different favourite, so it is really tough to recommend!

Have you eaten at The Palm? My son-in-law is interested in eating there. It's probably out of my price range, but he and my daughter may go there. The Kitchen is probably more my style! I'm looking forward to trying out the breakfast buffet there.

 

[damo]

Have you eaten at The Palm? My son-in-law is interested in eating there. It's probably out of my price range, but he and my daughter may go there. The Kitchen is probably more my style! I'm looking forward to trying out the breakfast buffet there.

I haven't eat at either. We tend to eat at the cheaper places.

 

[HLAuburn]

I'm interested in reading opinions on the different resorts, too. This will be our first "real" Universal stay, although I did stay one night at HRH a long time ago with my parents. This time, it will be a family trip with 2 young kids. I think PBH might not be as kid-friendly as the others and I'm not too into the HRH theme, so I think we are going to try RPR.

Which one of the 3 would be best for little kids?

 

[horseshowmom]

I haven't eat at either. We tend to eat at the cheaper places.

That's us too. We didn't try the breakfast buffet at RPH because the desk clerk had upgraded us to club access (not club level - just access because I booked several rooms), and we used it some.

I thought we might try the breakfast buffet at The Kitchen though.

 

[damo]

I'm interested in reading opinions on the different resorts, too. This will be our first "real" Universal stay, although I did stay one night at HRH a long time ago with my parents. This time, it will be a family trip with 2 young kids. I think PBH might not be as kid-friendly as the others and I'm not too into the HRH theme, so I think we are going to try RPR.

Which one of the 3 would be best for little kids?

RPR is probably the best because of the great interactive water area at the pool.

 

[lkmom]

If you are walking:
HRH is 5 minutes from the Studios
RPR is 7 minutes from IOA
PBH is about 10 minutes from the Studios

What is the walk from HRH to IOA? Or isn't it walkable?

 

[donaldduck352]

What is the walk from HRH to IOA? Or isn't it walkable?

Add another 2min to what Damo posted..

 

[damo]

Add another 2min to what Damo posted..

lol. Yup, the parks are about 2 minutes apart from gate to gate, walking.

 

[horseshowmom]

lol. Yup, the parks are about 2 minutes apart from gate to gate, walking.

We love Disney and certainly don't think anybody has to pick one over the other, but my daughter absolutely prefers US/IOA's convenience. They're so close to each other and so easily accessible. The parks aren't as large as the Disney parks, but they're so much more manageable in our opinion!

 

[SmallWorld71]

Aside from price differences, what are the pros and cons of the Universal hotels? Which has the easiest access to the parks? Which has the best pools for teens and adults? Which has the best restaurants? Which would you pick if you weren't worried about price differences? We've never been to Universal and would like to stay onsite.

I think it depends on what kind of vibe you are looking for. HRH was a great fit for my family - there were tons of teens and tweens there so my boys fit in and enjoyed all the pool activities. We saw very few young kids for the whole nine days we were there. Most families had school aged kids and above; I never saw anyone in the kiddie fountains. DH and I both liked the music that was playing everywhere, too. We are both late 30's and it was all stuff we grew up listening to.

 

[SandraLee]

DH and I both liked the music that was playing everywhere, too. We are both late 30's and it was all stuff we grew up listening to.

Is the music everywhere? How loud? If I have a room overlooking the pool, will I be able to hear the music? Does the band play constantly at the pool?

I'm concerned it will be too loud and I'll be sick of the music everywhere. Can you tell me more about when / where you would hear music at HRH?

 

[SmallWorld71]

Is the music everywhere? How loud? If I have a room overlooking the pool, will I be able to hear the music? Does the band play constantly at the pool?

I'm concerned it will be too loud and I'll be sick of the music everywhere. Can you tell me more about when / where you would hear music at HRH?

The music was playing in the lobby, the hallways, the elevators, by the pool, in the pool, in the club level lounge... it really wasn't as obnoxious as it sounds, but if you are looking for quiet, this is not the hotel to stay at. The rooms themselves were very quiet.

I can't comment on hearing pool noise from the room, as were were on the 7th floor and did not face the pool.

I suppose another factor is how much time you actually spend at the hotel. Our kids love the theme parks and we are a family that tends to be on the go a lot, not the kind that sits still. We do take frequent breaks as we usually travel in the summer, but we're not looking to lounge around in perfect tranquility. We actually live right by a nice quiet beach and get plenty of that at home in the summer.

 

[damo]

Think of music in a store...you can tune it out if you want but it is there.

 

[SmallWorld71]

Think of music in a store...you can tune it out if you want but it is there.

Good way to describe it.

 

[GingerJay]

The Royal Pacific is beautiful and the boat ride is nice to and from the parks- in our case we ran into a little snafu and had to walk back to the resort because the boats were down due to high winds. That was a long walk