Hi- it's been a while and I have some hotel related questions for an upcoming stay

Koz

DIS Veteran
Joined
Aug 11, 2011
Hello everyone- I hope that you are well. I haven't participated in this forum in some time following our trip to Universal in 2018 but we are back now and focusing upon a trip for 2020.

Our previous stay was @ HRH where we enjoyed a week of club level, afternoon rain and some great memories.

This time, we are looking to mix things up. Universal has all inventory available for late June/early July hotel options. Additionally, we are Costco members where for the higher-end hotels, they are only offering PB in the premium hotel category. Since we had unlimited express pass for both parks during our last stay, we are indeed spoiled and will only consider this option again for our family of 5.

So here are the questions- realize first that we LOVED HRH. What did we like about it? (1) Vibe, (2) decor, (3) Club Level, (4) Ambiance around the pool- specifically layout, activities for the kids, DJ, music, etc.

I've lurked here a bit, and have also visited the Universal site to see if I could get more information specifically about PB and how it might be different- so I'd like to throw a few questions at you.

1) The walk, in lieu of boat service- doesn't seem to be a big deal at all. We are all able-bodied adults capable of going less than 8/10 of a mile on foot- my question, is it THAT much further past HRH? We never went beyond HRH so I have nothing to judge it on.

2) Club level guest rooms- we liked HRH but felt that the room could have been a bit bigger. For a 2 queen room with a roll away for guest 5, were you happy with the space offered?

3) Club level lounge food etc. Did you feel that it was a step up from HRH in terms of size of the lounge and offerings? HRH lounge struck me as pretty small and not able to accommodate alot of guests during peak periods.

4) Pool- biggest thing for me, actually, as we'll spend alot of time there. Is there music at the pool and not only something like opera/classical? We are looking for lively pool atmosphere.
Activities/crafts/games- is it similar to what we saw @ HRH? My fear is that we happen upon pools that are dull and uninviting, with not much to do.

Any feedback you can provide would be greatly appreciated. The difference between the Costco club room for PB and full rate @ HRH is nearly $900, so I'm inclined to try PB, but just want to make sure that we won't regret it in the end. I realize that there won't be a guitar waiting for me in our room, but you have to be forgiving in certain respects.

Thank you for your time!

Koz
 
And a follow up question, please, whether I should be alarmed with the ongoing construction at the hotel. Is it anticipated to be very disruptive when either in your room or in the pool/courtyard area. Thank you!
 
Last question- I don't have any annual pass. Would it be worth considering doing so to get the rate any lower on either tickets or room my family of 5?
 
My thoughts:

1. The walk isn't that much more and it has never been that much of a decision point for us.
2. The PBR rooms are noticeably larger. So if space is a concern, PBR would be the better of the 2 options.
3. I've not stayed on the club level for HRH, but from what I can tell from posts here, the food options tend to be a bit better at PBR (having more hot items like bacon/sausage for breakfast, significantly more room in the lounge, better offerings in evenings, etc.) So from a lounge perspective, I'd give the nod to PBR.
4. I don't remember there being much in the way of music being piped in to the PBR main pool, but I could just be not paying attention as it really isn't a big issue for me one way or the other.) But I will say that PBR has 3 pools, the main one with a slide, a "quieter" more adult level pool and a smaller usually with no one there pool. So it has more pool options that HRH. But even if you like the HRH pool better, then walk over to it and use that pool as you have that option and it is a very short walk.

As for the construction, we were at PBR last October and while there was some construction going on, I never heard it and wasn't bothered by it at all.
 


My thoughts:

1. The walk isn't that much more and it has never been that much of a decision point for us.
2. The PBR are noticeably larger. So if space is a concern, PBR would be the better of the 2 options.
3. I've not stayed on the club level for HRH, but from what I can tell from posts here, the food options tend to be a bit better at PBR (having more hot items like bacon/sausage for breakfast, significantly more room in the lounge, better offerings in evenings, etc.) So from a lounge perspective, I'd give the nod to PBR.
4. I don't remember there being much in the way of music being piped in to the PBR main pool, but I could just be not paying attention as it really isn't a big issue for me one way or the other.) But I will say that PBR has 3 pools, the main one with a slide, a "quieter" more adult level pool and a smaller usually with no one there pool. So it has more pool options that HRH. But even if you like the HRH pool better, then walk over to it and use that pool as you have that option and it is a very short walk.

As for the construction, we were at PBR last October and while there was some construction going on, I never heard it and wasn't bothered by it at all.
Thanks for the feedback- very much appreciated!
 
As for possibly getting a lower AP rate, have you checked to see if the AP rate is available during your dates? You can do that without having the AP. If you find you can save money on purchasing one or more APs, you don't have to have the AP in hand to make the hotel reservation using that rate. You just need it when you check in.
 
Take a read of the hotel sticky PB
It’s helpful to get visuals of the hotel and grounds

Read Lebeau’s trip report in the trip report forum on the UO section
You will get an idea if this is the place for you
 


Last question- I don't have any annual pass. Would it be worth considering doing so to get the rate any lower on either tickets or room my family of 5?
I thought the Costco deals were all packages that include tickets?
 
We stayed at PBH once in a Deluxe room (the room layout/size for club level, but not club level)

1) The walk, in lieu of boat service- doesn't seem to be a big deal at all. We are all able-bodied adults capable of going less than 8/10 of a mile on foot- my question, is it THAT much further past HRH? We never went beyond HRH so I have nothing to judge it on.
It was never a big deal for us. Granted, this was April so weather was more mild. Also, we are used to Disney where you are driving or taking a bus, so we found the transportation easy. We often chose to walk, but boat service was excellent.

2) Club level guest rooms- we liked HRH but felt that the room could have been a bit bigger. For a 2 queen room with a roll away for guest 5, were you happy with the space offered?
Rooms were very large. We had 5 people and lots of groceries, luggage, etc. (no rollaway, an air mattress). We felt like we had enough space.

3) Club level lounge food etc. Did you feel that it was a step up from HRH in terms of size of the lounge and offerings? HRH lounge struck me as pretty small and not able to accommodate alot of guests during peak periods.
Did not stay Club level. Lounge looked nice and large. Pictures of food looks like more offerings to me than HRH. The club level rooms are spread out from the lounge, though.

4) Pool- biggest thing for me, actually, as we'll spend alot of time there. Is there music at the pool and not only something like opera/classical? We are looking for lively pool atmosphere.
Activities/crafts/games- is it similar to what we saw @ HRH? My fear is that we happen upon pools that are dull and uninviting, with not much to do.
There are actually 3 pools, I believe.
We rented a cabana at the main pool and had a blast! Kids enjoyed the water slide. There was definitely a DJ (we requested some songs) and games and a lively atmosphere at the main pool.
 
Last question- I don't have any annual pass. Would it be worth considering doing so to get the rate any lower on either tickets or room my family of 5?
Often, the Seasonal annual pass is the same price as multi-day tickets. If there are not blockout dates when you are there, I would definitely consider that as an option. However, depending on dates, you may not see club level rooms come up. For our dates this Feb, I have not seen any club level rooms that can fit 5 people come up with an AP discount.
 
We stayed at PBH once in a Deluxe room (the room layout/size for club level, but not club level)

1) The walk, in lieu of boat service- doesn't seem to be a big deal at all. We are all able-bodied adults capable of going less than 8/10 of a mile on foot- my question, is it THAT much further past HRH? We never went beyond HRH so I have nothing to judge it on.
It was never a big deal for us. Granted, this was April so weather was more mild. Also, we are used to Disney where you are driving or taking a bus, so we found the transportation easy. We often chose to walk, but boat service was excellent.

2) Club level guest rooms- we liked HRH but felt that the room could have been a bit bigger. For a 2 queen room with a roll away for guest 5, were you happy with the space offered?
Rooms were very large. We had 5 people and lots of groceries, luggage, etc. (no rollaway, an air mattress). We felt like we had enough space.

3) Club level lounge food etc. Did you feel that it was a step up from HRH in terms of size of the lounge and offerings? HRH lounge struck me as pretty small and not able to accommodate alot of guests during peak periods.
Did not stay Club level. Lounge looked nice and large. Pictures of food looks like more offerings to me than HRH. The club level rooms are spread out from the lounge, though.

4) Pool- biggest thing for me, actually, as we'll spend alot of time there. Is there music at the pool and not only something like opera/classical? We are looking for lively pool atmosphere.
Activities/crafts/games- is it similar to what we saw @ HRH? My fear is that we happen upon pools that are dull and uninviting, with not much to do.
There are actually 3 pools, I believe.
We rented a cabana at the main pool and had a blast! Kids enjoyed the water slide. There was definitely a DJ (we requested some songs) and games and a lively atmosphere at the main pool.
Smiths thanks so much- exactly what I was hoping for. The sticky thread is great but in looking through the first couple of pages some of it is very dated.
 
They do include tickets. I was curious to see if I could do better with an AP and booking hotel/tickets on my own.
Just noticed that our proposed dates are blocked out- so no AP for us. Not a biggie- we are in NY and wouldn't go more than once per year anyway.
 
PBH is our preferred hotel. Have never stayed club level as we book through AMEX Platinum Hotels and Resorts which gives us free breakfast. We normally book the portofino king parlor suite with the connecting 2 queen room, which is plenty of space for us. We don't find the walk to be that far from HRH and we generally do half boat, half walking when we go. There are 3 pools. The main pool has the music, games, bar, sand. The villa pool is quieter and more adult and then there is a hilltop pool which is very quiet with just a few lounge chairs, no music.
 
Just noticed that our proposed dates are blocked out- so no AP for us. Not a biggie- we are in NY and wouldn't go more than once per year anyway.

While the Preferred Pass (needed to remove the blockout dates) is $90 more than the Seasonal, it comes with an extra benefit of discounts around the park and CityWalk. Between that and the APH rate, you could still come out ahead. You only need one AP to qualify for APH rates.
 
Just noticed that our proposed dates are blocked out- so no AP for us. Not a biggie- we are in NY and wouldn't go more than once per year anyway.

There's an easy way to get around that. Just buy normal tickets and upgrade them once the block-out dates are over.
 
While HRH is our favorite, I would for sure do PBH for that price difference! PBH is a nice resort, and it’s only about a 10 minute walk past HRH.
 
There's an easy way to get around that. Just buy normal tickets and upgrade them once the block-out dates are over.

That did not work for us. When we upgraded from regular tickets to AP in March 2019, we could not purchase seasonal passes because we had already entered the park (US) on a blockout day (Mardi Gras concert day). Apparently the Ticket desk/Guest services can tell when & where your ticket has been used. We upgraded to Power Pass instead.
 
That did not work for us. When we upgraded from regular tickets to AP in March 2019, we could not purchase seasonal passes because we had already entered the park (US) on a blockout day (Mardi Gras concert day). Apparently the Ticket desk/Guest services can tell when & where your ticket has been used. We upgraded to Power Pass instead.

That's the first time that has been reported. Interesting! There have been many people who have reported success. We'll have to wait and see what recent experiences are.
 

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