Resort Opinions!

[Calee]

I know people all like different things-thats ok, I want opinions!

I havent stepped foot on Uni property in 30 years! Planning a first trip for family of 5 (kids are 12, 10, 8). I am intending to buy an AP for myself. 2+2 tickets for everyone else (most likely slipping VB)

Ok. So. I'm looking at weekdays in the Fall (flexible dates-no weekends or holidays). I'm considering a split stay- 1 or 2 nights at an EP resort and then 1 or 2 at something cheaper but on site.

Trying to be relatively economical. For the EP nights I think we will do RP, bc it is cheapest. From what I see it isnt my favorite looking resort ever, and the kids will be a little bummed there is no slide at the pool, but they'll survive! It also looks like the standard rooms are just that-standard-so no extra room for family sleeping. Correct me if I'm wrong! Honestly the EP is what attracts me here-if not for that I think there are other resorts I would like better. What do you love about RP?

For the other night or 2 I was considering moving somewhere were we could still stay on property but for less $$. We will have 2 more days of tickets with no EP. Places I've considered:
dockside/surfside- the layout of the family suites looks great for a family of 5, and so cheap for the space! Downside is the pool.

Cabana Bay-exterior exit family suites look good as far as sleeping space. Theming doesnt do a ton for me, but if the big pool is open it looks very cool.

Thoughts? Other considerations?

 

[cfoxga]

We stayed at the CB family suites and did like the larger room for the 4 of us (kids were 8 and 10 at the time). My wife and I did not case for the theming, but the kids liked the pools and lazy river.

Second trip was RPR. It has very small rooms at 335 sq ft, so it will be tight for 5. Much nicer hotel and having the boats at the hotel was awesome. But the kids like the CB pool better. You do have the option of pool hopping, but that isn't something we would do.

Third trip was to PBH. We were in a deluxe room at 490 sq ft and it was great. The regular rooms are 450, so would fit your family much better. Our favorite resort of the 3.

The DS/SS family suites with the separate bedroom for the parents would be fantastic, assuming you are ok with the hotel amenities. My guess is that you won't be in the room enough for it to really matter, since it is your first trip with the kids.

Unfortunately, you won't get everything you want from 1 hotel.

 

[macraven]

If you only do a one night stay at a premier hotel, you will have 2 days of free ep for entire family

I would book the premier hotel that is cheapest and then move to Cbay for remainder of your trip.

RP will be tight quarters for a family of 5, but still doable.
You will have two queen size beds and can request additional linens/blankets to make a pallet on the floor for the 3 rd child.

Don’t know if you are going September or October.
Sunday thru Thursday would have lower rates for the rooms than Friday and Saturday.

 

[chiisai]

I really like the price of RP. If I could get within $30 a night, though, I’d do Portofino. I love that hotel. I bookend my stays at Sapphire Falls (because I can’t seem to give up the boat ride entry). Those standard rooms would be very tight for 5. Others have posted about better options.

What I like about RP (though I haven’t been since they did some remodeling - not sure if things like the lounge are the same...):

Islands has (had?) a great breakfast buffet and a nice non-buffet selection, and they went out of their way to make it a great experience. The servers were exceptional.

The outdoor area in the middle with the elephants was a delightful place to sit and eat a quick breakfast.

The sushi, music and ambience in the evenings was truly lovely in the Orchid lounge. My kids love sushi so this was a nice place for all of us.

The walk to the parks from the main entrance never felt long. And often took less time than getting to the boat launch and waiting (this also likely depends on which wing you are in).

The pool was fine for the kids, I don’t really remember much of it; they didn’t complain!

 

[Calee]

I really like the price of RP. If I could get within $30 a night, though, I’d do Portofino. I love that hotel. I bookend my stays at Sapphire Falls (because I can’t seem to give up the boat ride entry). Those standard rooms would be very tight for 5. Others have posted about better options.

What I like about RP (though I haven’t been since they did some remodeling - not sure if things like the lounge are the same...):

Islands has (had?) a great breakfast buffet and a nice non-buffet selection, and they went out of their way to make it a great experience. The servers were exceptional.

The outdoor area in the middle with the elephants was a delightful place to sit and eat a quick breakfast.

The sushi, music and ambience in the evenings was truly lovely in the Orchid lounge. My kids love sushi so this was a nice place for all of us.

The walk to the parks from the main entrance never felt long. And often took less time than getting to the boat launch and waiting (this also likely depends on which wing you are in).

The pool was fine for the kids, I don’t really remember much of it; they didn’t complain!

I don't know if it is an anomaly, but RP is about $150 less than the other two top EP hotels for the dates we are considering!

I have come around to RP pool, I hadnt noticed the water play area. I'm still wondering 1) if we will need EP this Fall, enough to justify the added expense of the resort and 2) my husband really likes the theming of CBBR so I can go with it lol. Still wondering if I should split 2 and 2. Also if the pools are not both open in the Fall it is less appealing.

 

[macraven]

With hhn cancelled, I doubt the premier hotels will be full this fall.

 

[georgina]

I don't know if it is an anomaly, but RP is about $150 less than the other two top EP hotels for the dates we are considering!

I have come around to RP pool, I hadnt noticed the water play area. I'm still wondering 1) if we will need EP this Fall, enough to justify the added expense of the resort and 2) my husband really likes the theming of CBBR so I can go with it lol. Still wondering if I should split 2 and 2. Also if the pools are not both open in the Fall it is less appealing.

The rate difference sounds odd. Are you looking at AP rates? They can change frequently, so keep checking.

With hhn cancelled, I doubt the premier hotels will be full this fall.

I hadn't heard hhn was cancelled, thanks!

 

[macraven]

 

[Calee]

The rate difference sounds odd. Are you looking at AP rates? They can change frequently, so keep checking.

Yes....under $200 for one and over $300 for the others

 

[schumigirl]

I don't know if it is an anomaly, but RP is about $150 less than the other two top EP hotels for the dates we are considering!

I have come around to RP pool, I hadnt noticed the water play area. I'm still wondering 1) if we will need EP this Fall, enough to justify the added expense of the resort and 2) my husband really likes the theming of CBBR so I can go with it lol. Still wondering if I should split 2 and 2. Also if the pools are not both open in the Fall it is less appealing.

Wondering if you decided which way to go.......it`s nice to have options, and whichever way you go I`m sure you`ll have a lovely trip.......

 

[nkereina]

What do you love about RP?

We've stayed at RPR several times solely because its been the cheapest of the three premier resorts. Its a great resort and while its not our favorite, we certainly are never disappointed. Its relaxing, tropical feeling resort and water taxis are a great benefit. Its also a pretty easy walk to the parks, and its the only premier resort on the Islands side of the property which is convenient if that happens to be where you'd spend more time.

Cabana Bay-exterior exit family suites look good as far as sleeping space. Theming doesnt do a ton for me, but if the big pool is open it looks very cool.

Are you planning to do Volcano Bay? CB has a walking path to VB which is a nice benefit. It would be good to do VB during the CB portion of your stay both for the walking path, and because you won't be missing the EPs during that time.

You do have the option of pool hopping, but that isn't something we would do.

I believe pool hopping is prohibited right now due to COVID restrictions. Its possible that could change by the Fall when OP travels, but I wouldn't count on it.

The other thing I would add for OP is to keep checking those AP rates, especially as you get closer. In a couple of instances, we've found cheaper AP rates at HRH than at RPR. PBH is also getting ready to re-open (or they recently have), so they may be wanting to draw people in with lower rates as well. HRH is our favorite resort, but personally, I think it would be tough to leave there and then move to CB or another non-premier resort.

 

[Monykalyn]

With HHN cancelled I do wonder how much EP is really needed.
If you plan at all to go again with rest of your party look into the premier AP-if you go before October they are doing the 1 x per ride EP with that pass starting at 2pm. And passholder can purchase EP for a discount right now as well-so do the math. But if you do plan on going again within a year the EP after 4 with premiere allows cheap off property stays as you at least have a few hours of EP "built in".
We've stayed 5 to a room at RPR and had a rollaway cot in there. Definitely tight but doable (although we stayed club so we had the club room to go to).
Love CB though, in fact staying one night there next week as DH wanted to stay one more day after our condo rental ended.

 

[glocon]

Definitely keep watching room rates. A couple of years ago we had a standard RPR room reserved and later found a deluxe room at PBH for quite a bit less. Also, some PBH rooms have balconies and I don’t “think” RPR has any balconies. They’re both nice resorts. But we prefer RPR anyway. PBH does have a nice looking pool area, but RPRs is nice too. I’ve never seen HRH costing the least when we went, but others might have had a different experience.

 

[tony67]

Yeah check room rates daily. Only option for the rest of the year (it seems) will be RPR or HRH as far as Premier Hotels. Prices and availability for AP change daily. If your their on a weekend you really want EP IMO. Weekdays its probably not needed - but its nice.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I know people all like different things-thats ok, I want opinions!

I havent stepped foot on Uni property in 30 years! Planning a first trip for family of 5 (kids are 12, 10, 8). I am intending to buy an AP for myself. 2+2 tickets for everyone else (most likely slipping VB)

Ok. So. I'm looking at weekdays in the Fall (flexible dates-no weekends or holidays). I'm considering a split stay- 1 or 2 nights at an EP resort and then 1 or 2 at something cheaper but on site.

Trying to be relatively economical. For the EP nights I think we will do RP, bc it is cheapest. From what I see it isnt my favorite looking resort ever, and the kids will be a little bummed there is no slide at the pool, but they'll survive! It also looks like the standard rooms are just that-standard-so no extra room for family sleeping. Correct me if I'm wrong! Honestly the EP is what attracts me here-if not for that I think there are other resorts I would like better. What do you love about RP?

For the other night or 2 I was considering moving somewhere were we could still stay on property but for less $$. We will have 2 more days of tickets with no EP. Places I've considered:
dockside/surfside- the layout of the family suites looks great for a family of 5, and so cheap for the space! Downside is the pool.

Cabana Bay-exterior exit family suites look good as far as sleeping space. Theming doesnt do a ton for me, but if the big pool is open it looks very cool.

Thoughts? Other considerations?

1. I haven't been since before covid, but have stayed at US many times.
2. CB is one of the few US resorts I haven't tried. (also the very newest one).

I love Royal Pacific. It feels a little like WDW's Poly. While I also wish it had a pool slide, mostly I don't miss it when I'm there. In the past, the pool was very good about providing the inflatable-type beach balls for guests to use. (Probably not offered now.) So we'd just play water volleyball to amuse ourselves. Universal usually also does a good job of providing music to make pools fun.

Compared to WDW, another feature of the US hotels is the frequency of the shuttle boats to the parks. The wait between boats and shuttles at WDW just feels like forever, but at Universal- they feel frequent. At very peak times, there could be a wait, but most of the time we hardly wait at all.

If you do walk from RP, it is a short, pleasant walk to both parks, much shorter than the WDW hotels.

The downside of CB is that it isn't nearly as close. The provided transportation is by bus, AND the CB bus drops you off further from the parks than RP's boats.

When we don't stay at RP, we usually opt for Sapphire Falls. We've also tried Aventura. I'm not sure either is open right now.

Another option - if not RP - that I really like is the nearby (Marriott) Residence Inn ( "Residence Inn Near Universal"). Again, my most recent stay was pre-covid, but the place is very close to Universal, super clean, suites, and the breakfast was decent. It is hard to say succinctly, but I just love the layout of the rooms. Just details like plenty of electric outlets, and a subtle nightlight in the bathroom. Every room feature is right where I'd like it to be. It is nice having a full size fridge. I don't even cook, just mostly water and some snacks. It is just nice to be able to stick a case of bottled water in fridge no hassle. While possible to walk, and they do provide some kind of shuttle, I've always had my own car. So I can't vouch for walking or the shuttle, but lots of people walk to US. (maps says about 25min walk.)

Last, when we do stay at RP, we often choose club level. For about $100/day (current rate difference), you get access to daily continental breakfast, bottled water, (canned) soft drinks, coffee/tea/hot chocolate, mid day snacks, evening appetizers, desserts (usually cookies, like the last hour the lounge is open), and beer/wine.

If you have 1 person CL isn't worth while, but if you have 4 people, it would be easy to get $100 of value out of CL. I mean just a light breakfast for 4 people is almost $100 if you buy it at the hotel. When I can't get CL, or get a good CL rate, I liked RP's grab and go breakfast. I'm not sure what they are offering now. I also liked their Orchid Lounge. We usually eat lunch in the parks at one of the Harry Potter places. The only downside of CL is that you have to go back to the hotel (from parks) to eat in the lounge. Normally the CL lounge is served buffet style, but I think they are packaging food instead. Another upside of the CL lounge is that it is usually on the same floor as your room, so it is very convenient for breakfast. And you can always bring food to your room to eat. On top of that, the CL staff is there to answer questions you might have.

Last, I think - at least in the before times- Universal allowed pool hopping (for onsite guests between US hotels). I've never done it, and I'd double check it is currently allowed, but it looks like it is only a 10min walk from RP to CB.