What would you choose for a long stay?

[lilsonicfan]

Hey there Looking for opinions on what is definitely a personal choice!

I am perpetually contemplating vacations and always have a ton of choices in my mind. One of our choices for this year includes Orlando for WDW, a cruise, Universal - and possibly a week for each of those. We are a family of 5 (kids will be 11, 8 and 7). In 2017 we did 4 nights at Portofino Bay, we didn't pay for a rollaway because the kids were still small-ish and didn't mind sharing the queen. We stayed in Club level so had a deluxe room. I really liked the access to the club lounge, but not 100% sure we got the value out of it, though with a longer stay it's possible we would use it more.

APH rates aren't out for the time frame we are considering, but as it is a 7 night stay I wonder whether APH would even be less than the Stay More Save More promo.

So here are the options. Let's assume that we could bring an inflatable mattress instead of a rollaway. Kids still wouldn't mind sharing, but of course it's more difficult now.

RPH standard room $217/night
HRH deluxe room $304/night
HRH club room $328/night
PBH garden view room $259/night
PBH club room $347/night

 

[macraven]

What dates did you use to pull up those rates?

I've been watching the 3 premier hotels and see for my time period RP at $334 + tax per night standard room
No discounts listed yet for my dates but hopeful

 

[lilsonicfan]

What dates did you use to pull up those rates?

I've been watching the 3 premier hotels and see for my time period RP at $334 + tax per night standard room
No discounts listed yet for my dates but hopeful

Oh I apologize. That is for late August. 22-29. Should have mentioned that in my post.

 

[macraven]

Rates are so much better for your dates than mine that I am looking for

If I could get RP for $217 a night, I would do so-in a heart beat
Late September is the date I’m going
I find that SMSM trumps the AP rate for my time period

The hotel just had a renovation done and from the recent pics I have seen, it looks lovely

I like this hotel as it has onsite dinning of two restaurants besides a grab and go

Bula Bar has drinks, food and snacks for the pool area
Inside the hotel, Jakes is open until 2 am
Islands the other table service has breakfast and dinner hours

Don’t pick your hotel based on pools as you can pool hop

 

[macraven]

Forgot to say in my above post SMSM discounts is at its highest when 7 nights or more are booked
Ap rates are really not as discounted in late September usually

 

[Suprachica79]

5 people in a RPR standard room sounds like a really tight fit. I am biased toward PBH, it is the only premium hotel I’ve stayed at, but the extra space would be very nice for the family.

 

[damo]

You'll appreciate the larger rooms at PBH.

 

[hhoope01]

I would agree that the extra room at PBR or a deluxe room at HRH can definitely make a difference. Also, I'm sure you already have thought about possible food/snack/drinks saving with a Club room (to help off-set the extra cost.) But I thought I'd throw in another benefit of a club room, a quiet space. I wake up earlier than the rest of my family. I really enjoyed being able to head over to the lounge in the mornings, make a nice cup of tea and read through the daily news, work out what we were going to do that day, etc. It was calm, quiet and I didn't have to worry about waking anyone else up. In the afternoons, my daughter (in her mid-twenties) still likes to head back to the room for an after-lunch nap. I usually head over to the lounge to read for an hour or so while waiting for her to wake back up for the before dinner run to the parks.

Personally, with a family of five, I'd think the club room would easily pay for itself in food/drink/snack savings, but as I mentioned, the benefits go well beyond just that. And I'd go with the PBR club over the HRH club. The PBR lounge is definitely larger (i.e. usually less crowded) and better stocked with food than HRH's lounge was. And if you go with a PBR club room, you also get the PBR Deluxe room which is very spacious (490 sqft).

 

[cfoxga]

We stayed in a PBH Deluxe room (no club level) and a standard RPR. We are only 4 but the RPR felt tiny compared to PBH. When we walked in the PBH room and saw the massive bathroom and space to spread out, we were all smiles. Didn't hurt that I love the theme there too; it just feels elegant even though it is a bit older.

Choosing another hotel just to try something else is worth considering. Even though we loved PBH our next trip it HRH to give it a shot.

 

[nkereina]

We love HRH, but not sure I'd recommend it for kids those ages. Kids are of course more than welcome, but IMO, it has a more adult vibe and the pool area seemed to be more adult oriented. I don't think the kids would feel or be out of place, but it just would probably be less interesting to them. That said, the convenience of HRH on that long of a stay, especially in that heat, is hard to beat.

I'd probably vote for PBH too, even though its the furthest resort which I'm not fond of. Kids will appreciate it more, the extra space will be nice, and since you'll be there for a week and presumably not rushing to get anywhere, taking the leisurely water taxi each day hopefully won't be a big deal.

 

[lilsonicfan]

Thanks all for the advice I think we will be booking the PBH garden view. Club level was nice but over 7 nights that's about $700 ... we may just try to grab some groceries for breakfast and spend the money on dinners instead.

 

[cfoxga]

Thanks all for the advice I think we will be booking the PBH garden view. Club level was nice but over 7 nights that's about $700 ... we may just try to grab some groceries for breakfast and spend the money on dinners instead.

There are so many restaurants at the parks, hotels, and CityWalk that we have not even considered paying for club level. Even if we spend more eating out, we really enjoy the diversity of choices at Univeral. If I've paid for club level, then I would want almost all of our meals to come from there...