WOW!! A Fabulous Fall Trip to HRH Sept-Oct '18-& Live TR's 8/5-8/7, 9/7-9/9!!Plus Bonus TR 11/1-11/3

[pattyw]

Your pictures are great!

Thanks!! I forgot how lush and beautiful this property is!

 

[pattyw]

We were just exhausted! Troy took a nap, but I wasn't able to fall asleep so I toured the lobby area and checked out the shops and restaurants.

The lobby bar area was just opening so I decided a drink and snack was in order!


The service was wonderful!

I had a glass of Moscato- and they brought ice water & snacks:




These are meatballs with cheese!

 

[pattyw]

Newly energized, I checked out the various dining spots here







They also have a Starbucks in the lobby!! And there is an outdoor restaurant poolside! The pool area includes a huge lazy river area!!

 

[macraven]

Such a gorgeous place

 

[pattyw]

Such a gorgeous place

Yes it is!! And the staff here has been wonderful! They are so friendly and accommodating! We definitely want to stay here again soon- when the rates allow us to do so!

 

[pattyw]

Troy met up with a friend for dinner. They went to Disney Springs to Chef Art Smith's Homecomin'. He said it was very good!

Joe and I chose to stay put and have dinner at Primo. It was excellent!



We started with two sangrias- Joe had red, I chose white. They were great!



I guess my lack of sleep kicked in as I forgot to take pictures of our dinner and dessert. I had:
Parpadelle, cacio e pepe, 63˚C egg, wild mushrooms, fried leeks, shaved summer black truffle (Pasta with mushroom cream sauce and topped with a poached egg)

Joe's choice was:
Braised Lake Meadows Pork Belly & Diver Scallops, tomato fondue, kale, butter poached pearl onions, sunchokes

For a side dish we had:
Fried Brussel Sprouts, red pepper jelly

Our dessert choices were housemade pistachio gelato and creme brulee cheesecake. Very good!!

Truly a LONG day, and we slept well! Saturday, we hit up the Universal parks!!

 

[pattyw]

Our room rate included breakfast at Citron. They have an amazing buffet! So many choices!

 

[pattyw]

More....

 

[pattyw]

Still more....



They also have chefs that will prepare an omelette for you!

 

[pattyw]

Here's what Joe and I started with:



Joe likes a little fruit with his whipped cream! Hey, it's vacation! No judging from me!

 

[pattyw]

We were having a late breakfast. They serve until 11:30 am and we arrived at 11:20. There was plenty of food choices and they didn't start removing the food until a little before noon. We were not hurried along at all and were the second to last party to leave- a truly wonderful breakfast in a lovely atmosphere!

 

[macraven]

Didn’t see bananas on your or Joe’s plate

Tsk tsk

Minions always take at least one banana

 

[ckmiles]

OMG Creme Brulee Cheesecake!?!?!?! That sounds amazing!

Your pics are awesome! I love breakfast buffets- they are my favorite. This one looks really good.

 

[pattyw]

Didn’t see bananas on your or Joe’s plate

Tsk tsk

Minions always take at least one banana

We did have sliced bananas with coconut sauce! Very good!! Ok- today a whole banana for the road!

 

[pattyw]

OMG Creme Brulee Cheesecake!?!?!?! That sounds amazing!

Your pics are awesome! I love breakfast buffets- they are my favorite. This one looks really good.

It was delicious!! I got a little taste!

This is one of the best breakfast buffets!

 

[pattyw]

We walked around the grounds after breakfast. So pretty!

Joe & Troy on the way to the pool:



They have a huge vegetable and herb garden! Picked fresh for use in the restaurants!

 

[pattyw]

Now that we were well fed and toured the hotel, we were ready to move on to Universal!! It's a short drive from the JW. Our destination was the Hard Rock hotel. We were going to have a late lunch at The Kitchen restaurant. They validate parking so it's $5 plus tax for valet parking! We leisurely walked around the hotel, visited with staff that we know, and relaxed in the lobby. It started to rain pretty heavy so we just stayed inside until lunch. We always enjoy our lunches at The Kitchen. Lunchtime is usually uncrowded. Today there were many there for lunch. I think the storms brought them in from the pool- which closed for a while.

After lunch, we headed to The Studios. There were people EVERYWHERE! We saw that Rock the Universe was that night so there were lots of groups gathering for entrance. We headed to the turnstiles when a TM noticed our AP lanyards and pointed us around to the back where there were a small amount of people entering. Wonderful! No wait at all!

The parks were obviously packed! But we have the after 4pm EP, so we were confident we'd be able to get on some rides with minimal waits!

 

[Lynne G]

Totally enjoying the food porn!

Never thought about that place, but the breakfast buffet looks so good.

We enjoy the kitchen too, but for some reason, never did any Hard Rock dining during our late summer trip. May have to correct that in October. That is the fun thing, so many places to eat. And little did I know the BK Bar at CityWalk was crowded at 11:45 on one night. Tried to get little one to eat at Breadbox, but the lure of a fast food burger won. Thankful they take the AP discount and almost shockingly, about the same prices as home. May have to correct that choice too, though have never been to Breadbox.

 

[pattyw]

Totally enjoying the food porn!

Never thought about that place, but the breakfast buffet looks so good.

We enjoy the kitchen too, but for some reason, never did any Hard Rock dining during our late summer trip. May have to correct that in October. That is the fun thing, so many places to eat. And little did I know the BK Bar at CityWalk was crowded at 11:45 on one night. Tried to get little one to eat at Breadbox, but the lure of a fast food burger won. Thankful they take the AP discount and almost shockingly, about the same prices as home. May have to correct that choice too, though have never been to Breadbox.

Yep- there are so many restaurant choices- we have a big list of ones that we still have to try! Breadbox is one of them! I've heard a lot of good things about their sandwiches! That's great about BK giving an AP discount! Nothing wrong with a fast food burger anywhere!

 

[pattyw]

So when we entered the Studios, we headed to our favorite ride, The Mummy! Passed by some HHN decor! Looks so cute in the daylight. I think they should have daytime HHN for people like me- horror wimps!!