room availability not good in March 04

[Mainebound]

hi all,

I just called 1800BEASTAR and asked about availability for March 6, 7, 8 (we are trying to tack Universal on the end of our WDW vacation) at the RPR and HRH. Neither resort had any bare bones standard rooms available. Our least expensive choice was waterview at RPR for $249 or pool view at HRH for $269 (this does notinclude tax). this makes me wonder whether it is too risky to wait for the Ent rate. Will there be any rooms left by the time it comes out? any info?

I thought the Universal part would be the less expensive part of our vacation, but it looks very expensive to stay there. Maybe we won't do it.

--Mainebound

 

[Flyfly_Eclipse]

It would be very risky, I think...but you may want to contact the hotel itself to ask about availability.

Don't give up Universal, even if you don't stay onsite! It looks like you'll have a couple days to explore the parks and FOTL access so be as neccessary. I'm wanting to go to Universal for my birthday...3 nights...and decided I'd rather stay offsite than not go at all. I don't want to miss out on all the fun

But, call the hotels themselves and check with them. Also check some websites to see what they offer.

 

[FayeW]

I say go ahead and book the dates you want now, because you only have to pay for one night when you make your reservation, and you can cancel it up to 5 days before the reservation date and get a full refund. Once you have the room booked, you can call when entertainment rates come out and ask them to apply it to your reservation. I have one night booked at HRH, March 9, and that is what I plan to do. I confirmed at the time that I could change to a discount rate when they were available, and the difference would be rebated to my credit card. I booked more than a month ago, and I asked originally for RPR. They were fully booked for March at that time.

 

[JessicaR]

I cant imagine March being fully booked already. It is Mardi Gras and they could also have a convention at the same time so anything is possible but more than likely rooms may still be held and released at a later date.

I would do exactly what Faye did and hold your dates and call back after ER's become available and see what happens. We went last year in March for Mardi Gras and I watched the rates closely, they were high right up until just before our trip. Less than 2 weeks before our trip I was able to book a fan club rate and it was a good one too!

Like Faye said you can cancel 5 days prior with a full refund. Good Luck!

 

[Mainebound]

Thanks for the tips! I'll keep trying.

 

[DanG]

I also called in last week to get a sense of rates and rooms for the last week of March and was told by the reservations agent that the only rooms available for my dates at the Hard Rock were a King Suite or a Kid Suite starting at $429 a night, at the Royal PAcific the only rooms available were King Suites at $299, with better availability at Portofino for standard garden rooms starting at 309.

When I asked whether they were holding back rooms, the reservationist said that they weren't and in fact are nearly booked.

I regret that this is an unfortunate result of this excellent board in increasing demand. I would not be surprised if there were no Entertainment or other discounts available for the prime Spring break time, simply because Loews does not need to discount these hotels at prime time any longer.

I will continue to follow up and call in, but I am starting to work on Plan B. We have 5 kids, so 2 $350 rooms each night are not in the cards for us.

 

[Mainebound]

Originally posted by DanG
I also called in last week to get a sense of rates and rooms for the last week of March and was told by the reservations agent that the only rooms available for my dates at the Hard Rock were a King Suite or a Kid Suite starting at $429 a night, at the Royal PAcific the only rooms available were King Suites at $299, with better availability at Portofino for standard garden rooms starting at 309.

I will continue to follow up and call in, but I am starting to work on Plan B. We have 5 kids, so 2 $350 rooms each night are not in the cards for us.

Dan,

Let us know what Plan B is! We need two rooms, too, and those rates are impossible. Are there offsite hotels which are close to US that people could recommend? Or should we just "commute" from WDW?

 

[dorisdvu]

I was trying to reserve a room for March 26-28, 2004 and there was no availability. Does anyone know if Portifino Bay has entertainment rates?

 

[SpideyHulk24]

PBH does have entertainment rates. It varies, but it has been $155 for the most part for garden view. It may increase for 2004, but it shouldn't by much....hopefully.

 

[Hilary]

I tried just a couple of days ago to book for the Friday of Easter weekend (April 9th) with the hotel direct. HRH had only Kidsuites ($524) on the Friday, but did have garden view rooms ($274 + tax) on the Thursday and Saturday! RPR had rooms all three nights.

I eventually booked with Expedia for HRH garden view for Friday 9th for $228 incl tax. Of course, I had to pay up front and won't be able to take advantage of any discounts if they appear, but I'm happy that I've got a room at all!

 

[DanG]

MaineBound, given that we are still 6 months out I will hold off on maling alternate arrangements until December or January in hopes that there may be a block of rooms released at some point.

Orlando is pretty easy to get a decent hotel at a low price, even during break periods. If I can't get on-site, I will likely look at Vistana Villages, HGVC or another timeshare for daily rentals so we can be comfortable and spread out. We will be staying at DVC for the five nights prior to Universal, so it will be hard to squeeze into hotel rooms.

I want to stay at the Hard Rock, but can't justify $1,000 for two nights. By the way, for what you get, the Loew's resorts are a good value for most, but two rooms changes the value calculation for some of us.

I will post if I find something better. Good luck to you.

 

[Mainebound]

FYI -- things may be getting a little better.

At Expedia, the rates are 199, 229, and 259 (without taxes) for RPR, HR, and PB respectively on March 6-9 2004.

But at Hotel kingdom, the rates are 169, 189, and 229. If the cancellation policy is reasonable (we would cancel if ent. rates or better rates came out), we may just book these.