Royal Pacific vs Sapphire Falls

[Laura353741]

I am looking at a trip in January and am pondering between Sapphire Falls and Royal Pacific. SF with the express passes added will still be a teeny bit cheaper than RP. We have only stayed at SF and loved it so I was wondering whether giving RP a try would be worth it. Any strong feelings either way?

 

[Skippyboo]

What did you love about Sapphire Falls? The hotels are right next to each other. Taking the express pass out of the debate. RP is closer to IoA if you want to walk. I didn’t think the RP pool was that great. But in January, probably not a big issue.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

When you priced out EP separate did you price it out for more than 1 day and for the Unlimited one?

Keep in mind RP will be EP for the days you're saying for all in the room. If you stay 1 night at RP that gets you 2 days of EP.

We found RP to be a very easy walkable trail to the IOA side. You can also take the boat which we did one time. Sapphire Falls would have a bit longer of a walk.

I did like RP but did not utilize a ton within the resort. We did eat at Jakes and ate outside. We looked at reservations and didn't see one for a while but called down and because we were staying there they did give us priority reservations and had one for 15 mins later.

 

[Laura353741]

Well it's the only place we have stayed at Universal and like it.. my son likes the food there and I thought the lobby/room was nice and we love the boat. Just wasn't sure if RP was heads and shoulders above SF in terms of room/lobby, etc

What did you love about Sapphire Falls? The hotels are right next to each other. Taking the express pass out of the debate. RP is closer to IoA if you want to walk. I didn’t think the RP pool was that great. But in January, probably not a big issue

 

[saskdw]

Well it's the only place we have stayed at Universal and like it.. my son likes the food there and I thought the lobby/room was nice and we love the boat. Just wasn't sure if RP was heads and shoulders above SF in terms of room/lobby, etc

IMO the hotels are very comparable.

RP has been our go to resort for many years, however SF has been very tempting since it's been built.
For us when push comes to shove we just aren't willing to give up the express pass. We've been spoiled by it and Universal just would be the same for us without it.

The rooms are about equal. Both lobby area's are very nice. SF has the edge in the pool. The lounge at SF that over looks the lagoon is very nice. But we can always walk over to enjoy that.

 

[Skippyboo]

Well it's the only place we have stayed at Universal and like it.. my son likes the food there and I thought the lobby/room was nice and we love the boat. Just wasn't sure if RP was heads and shoulders above SF in terms of room/lobby, etc

I don’t think it’s head and shoulders above.

 

[MinnieMSue]

We are at SH now and I greatly prefer the hotel itself to RP. But I would really try to stay at RP for the express passes if doing daily park time. We got our SF for around $200 (2 of us) and RP was $600 give or take. We only needed express for 1 regular park day so we stuck with SF as we are mostly doing HHN. But if I was doing the parks daily I totally would get an express included hotel.

 

[tony67]

We are at SH now and I greatly prefer the hotel itself to RP. But I would really try to stay at RP for the express passes if doing daily park time. We got our SF for around $200 (2 of us) and RP was $600 give or take. We only needed express for 1 regular park day so we stuck with SF as we are mostly doing HHN. But if I was doing the parks daily I totally would get an express included hotel.

Agree with this completely - as a hotel I prefer SF - but RP has express pass - it all comes down to the rate and what express pass would cost

 

[namelessoracle]

Having stayed at both in the last 2 months....

Room Quality: Rooms are noticeably bigger at RP, bed quality is the same and I would argue Sapphire Falls is better. The room we stayed at in SF had a newer bathroom (Royal Pacific had traditional tub/shower, SF had a nice sitting shower). For a family you will like the room size difference for Royal Pacific.

Transportation: Islands is Walkable, both have Water transport, Water Transport is busier at Sapphire, but it was quick and reliable at Sapphire.

Pools: Royal has the nicer pool but you are going in January. Both have hot tubs (a nice perk in winter months to me), Royal has 2, Sapphire has 1.

Food: I was not impressed by Royal Pacific breakfast buffet. We did not eat at Sapphire. Both have reasonable offering.

Check In: At Royal our room was not ready till 4:30PM which caused a lot of issues for us to hit Horror Nights. Sapphire had our room ready at 12:30pm. Sapphire has more capacity and supports convention usage. They also do incentive programs to check out early. If you care about when you get your room Sapphire is plus. Universal Deluxes pretty much never have your room ready till close to 4 in my experience.

Express: You get it check in day and check out day. But Mummy wasnt taking Express, and neither does Hagrids or Velicoaster. Everything else dips to a 30 minute wait if you are patient. Express isn't a massive benefit unless you have small children or really want to get the parks done in 2 days time. This isn't Disney where 45 minute wait is the normal for everything.

When its all said and done, your paying for a bigger room that is a bit more family friendly and the express passes. Otherwise the 2 are pretty much the same experience.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Universal Deluxes pretty much never have your room ready till close to 4 in my experience.

Ours was ready before then. The hotels have rooms ready when they have them ready. They vary by room category as well. So I wouldn't make a generalized comment like yours. OP could just as easily get a room ready late at Sapphire Falls and an earlier one at Royal Pacific. We had a room ready about 10am for Endless Summer Surfside but it could easily be later, I wouldn't be able to tell someone that they'd get a room ready that early just because it was a Value.

The room we stayed at in SF had a newer bathroom (Royal Pacific had traditional tub/shower, SF had a nice sitting shower).

Our room at Royal Pacific was a shower not a tub/shower combo.

 

[Skywalker3]

Just stayed a night at SF, and really enjoyed the resort, but it was only 1 night, and mainly just a place to stay for HHN. Deciding whether to stay at a deluxe w express would depend on a lot of things: how many people going, if it's been a while, and you will be wanting to do lots of rides, multiple rides, and how many days. If price between RP and SF plus express separately was close, I'd pick RP.

 

[MinnieMSue]

Interestingly enough SF was offering an incentive contest of a free night. You got a number of entries based on how early you checked out. The paper said for people checking out 10/16 they were having a drawing for a free room. We got 3 entries because we checked out at 7:30 - we checked out early because we were going to the park for early entry. They seem to be encouraging early checkouts to increase guest rooms turned over faster.

 

[Skywalker3]

Interestingly enough SF was offering an incentive contest of a free night. You got a number of entries based on how early you checked out. The paper said for people checking out 10/16 they were having a drawing for a free room. We got 3 entries because we checked out at 7:30 - we checked out early because we were going to the park for early entry. They seem to be encouraging early checkouts to increase guest rooms turned over faster.

We had that paper too, last Monday, usually we'd be checking out before 8AM for early entry, but the night before, we'd been at HHN. I wish I'd taken a picture of the paper. I think it said 5 entries before 8, 3 before 9, and 1 before 10.....we didn't get out until just before 11 ,so no entries for us.

 

[MinnieMSue]

We had that paper too, last Monday, usually we'd be checking out before 8AM for early entry, but the night before, we'd been at HHN. I wish I'd taken a picture of the paper. I think it said 5 entries before 8, 3 before 9, and 1 before 10.....we didn't get out until just before 11 ,so no entries for us.

I was wishing I had taken a pic too as I didn’t pay much attention since we were checking out in the before 8 time (even having gone to HHN the night before). I honestly can’t remember how many entries and also I haven’t gotten an email that I won. What the heck? Lol

 

[0FF TO NEVERLAND]

If its only a little bit more to stay at RP, just stay at RP. You have already tried SF, so might as well try a new place for the next trip. I highly doubt you will be disappointed.

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

My family and I did not have a great experience at RPR at all (minus the pool area and Bula Bula). The big draw is express pass which we’re kind of a waste at times.

Would’ve much preferred to stay at Sapphire (I’m also a rum drinker for Strong Water is on my list of must tries). Sapphire also seems slightly smaller.

 

[vakamalua]

Stayed at SF once & hated it--poor service & all the food outlets were similar with so-so food. Went back to staying at RPR; always happy with the service, food & vibe there.

 

[Brett Wyman]

For the same cost(basically) you should definitely choose Royal Pacific. The only thing better at SF is the pool, and you can pop over and use that if you want.

 

[namelessoracle]

Ours was ready before then. The hotels have rooms ready when they have them ready. They vary by room category as well. So I wouldn't make a generalized comment like yours. OP could just as easily get a room ready late at Sapphire Falls and an earlier one at Royal Pacific. We had a room ready about 10am for Endless Summer Surfside but it could easily be later, I wouldn't be able to tell someone that they'd get a room ready that early just because it was a Value.


Our room at Royal Pacific was a shower not a tub/shower combo.

I had heard some of the rooms at Royal Pacific were renovated, I think its based on which tower your in.

My experience with Universal Deluxe's after 4 times, (and having stayed in all 3) is that you will get your room later. Earliest we ever got a room was 3:30. (and that was when i went up there and asked them if it was ready) 2 times we got messaged at 4 on the dot. The other time the room was late, AND we didnt get the room we paid for (they changed it from King to 2 Queen and worse view, and didnt give us anything to comp it that was Royal Pacific and it left a bad taste in my mouth). To be fair we always checked in on a weekend day, I could imagine a weekday check in would change that experience.

Meanwhile the half dozen times i've stayed at a value or moderate, they had the room ready immediately. Check in was between 11 to 12 for those, and i was pleasantly surprised. It should be pretty uncontroversial that the higher capacity hotel is more likely to have a room immediately ready and available for you.

 

[schumigirl]

I had heard some of the rooms at Royal Pacific were renovated, I think its based on which tower your in.

My experience with Universal Deluxe's after 4 times, (and having stayed in all 3) is that you will get your room later. Earliest we ever got a room was 3:30. (and that was when i went up there and asked them if it was ready) 2 times we got messaged at 4 on the dot. The other time the room was late, AND we didnt get the room we paid for (they changed it from King to 2 Queen and worse view, and didnt give us anything to comp it that was Royal Pacific and it left a bad taste in my mouth). To be fair we always checked in on a weekend day, I could imagine a weekday check in would change that experience.

Meanwhile the half dozen times i've stayed at a value or moderate, they had the room ready immediately. Check in was between 11 to 12 for those, and i was pleasantly surprised. It should be pretty uncontroversial that the higher capacity hotel is more likely to have a room immediately ready and available for you.

No, all rooms were renovated in 2016.

All Towers have a mix of rooms with showers only or shower and tubs.

If you want either, put a request in for a certain type of room.

We moved from Sapphire to RP on a Sunday in September and our room was ready at 11.30am, so you can get a room early. Usually when we check in it`s after 5pm so we have no issues with that, but many folks do get a room earlier than check in time.