My thoughts on Royal Pacific

bookbabe626

DIS Veteran
Joined
Aug 25, 2006
Just returned from a long weekend at Universal. Stayed club level at Royal Pacific. This is a very nice hotel, and I’d happily stay there again, although I probably wouldn’t do club level there again.

We arrived very late Thursday night (okay, so More like 1am Friday morning) after an unexpectedly very expensive Uber from the airport (late night surge pricing doubled the $25 fare). Check in was easy, no problems. We hadn’t really made any requests other than “same floor as lounge” and our room reflected that. It was the very last room at the far end of the hall, the furthest from the elevators that you can get, with a “lovely” view of the highway and the convention center rooftops. Nice room, lots of space and a decent amount of storage. The bed was comfortable, housekeeping was unobtrusive and efficient, staff was friendly and helpful.

The club lounge was a nice space, but a bit underwhelming if you’ve done club level at Disney hotels.

The club lounge food is a bit more limited than at Disney. Breakfast was mostly pastries and such. There was a pancake machine but it was fairly slow and not worth lining up for, IMO. Coffee was good and always available. They’d hand out bottled waters if you asked or there was a jug of water if you just wanted a glass with your snack. Afternoon chips and trail mix were nice but nothing special. We never made it to the evening appetizers. The cookies and other desserts were nice in the evenings. Again, nothing special or unique, though.

The lounge staff were helpful in answering specific questions when you asked, but didn’t go above and beyond in any noticeable ways. My sandal started to come apart, and I stopped in the one afternoon looking for glue and was directed to the gift shop in the lobby to buy the overpriced glue there. They did have a piece of tape when I needed some to fix a postcard I was mailing, but unlike Disney they didn’t offer to take the card and put it in the mailbox for me, which the Disney CMs usually do. They were also late in setting up the offerings a few times, and just seemed to be working on their own schedule, without apology or even comment to the people who were obviously waiting there. It wasn’t like they were rude or anything, they were just pleasant and doing their jobs but that was it.

The pool was nice. No slide but a decent size and nicely heated. There are two hot tubs…look for the smaller hot tub hidden back between the cabanas and the kids play structure, the large one fills up with people faster since it’s easier to find. The free sunscreen at the towel hut is a nice touch. The assortment of beach balls floating around the pool is a major bonus for the kids, less so for the people who prefer fewer projectiles in their vicinity. There’s a good assortment of lounge chairs, definitely get one of the free chair covers at the towel hut. And the hours are fabulous…8am to 11pm, so you can get a swim in no matter what time you get back from the parks.

Location is great. The walk to the parks is quick and easy, or there’s the boat which seemed to run quite frequently, much more often than the advertised every 20 minutes. If you’re in tower three, cutting the the pool area to get to the walking path is a great tip that I picked up here. It saves a lot of steps, and the checkin folks won’t point out the shortcut, only the path via the main lobby, and it’s longer and has a hill. The bus to Volcano Bay was okay, but didn’t run as frequently as the park boats.

Overall, the hotel is very nice, although not as nice as the price would suggest, but that’s par for the course at theme parks. We toured the other hotels, and while they were nice enough, we agreed that we made the right choice with Royal Pacific. Thanks to everyone who has posted on this thread and the others in the forum. Your information and assistance was very helpful, and we really appreciate it.
 
Thank you for your post. I have been considering the club level at RPR- your post helps make the decision!

Glad you enjoyed your stay!
 
Thanks for the stay report. Nice review. :)

I will add that at RPR all the club rooms are (usually) on the club floor in the same tower too. And given your late arrival time, you very possibly were the last to arrive that evening (or early the next morning.) If the club level was booked, then you received the last room which probably had the worst view. If you ask at check-in for the "best" view, they will normally try to accommodate, but if your last in, then there isn't much they can do at that point.
 
I love the Club lounge at RPR! We were there in December and they did everything they could to accommodate us and make us feel welcome. The first evening's entree had shrimp in it and my Wife expressed disappointment as she is allergic. They had a plate of chicken alfredo made up just for her. I can't say enough nice things about the level of service we experienced there.
 


I have never done club level at Disney, so I can't compare. The resorts are too far from the parks there for me to feel it would be worth it. We have done club twice at RPR and liked it very much, especially the beer and wine with the evening appetizers. It's been a while, but I remember a lot more for breakfast than just pastries? I'll have to go searching now as I just booked 2 club rooms for Thanksgiving weekend.

So the list of RPR breakfast foods include fresh fruit, oatmeal, hard boiled eggs, and lunchmeat type stuff. I wonder why those weren't there for the OP? Has the menu changed? Actually looks similar to the Polynesian club at Disney, according to easyWDW, they have no hot breakfast entrees either.
 
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We toured the other hotels, and while they were nice enough, we agreed that we made the right choice with Royal Pacific.

Did you check out Hard Rock Hotel by chance? We are big RPR fans, but HRH has won us over recently. It's an even shorter walk to the parks, and we like the pool and atmosphere better overall. Rooms were comparable and I can't speak to club level.
 
There is more than pastries for breakfast. We’ve just come back and it’s the same as it’s always been........

Different breads, bagels, assorted mini pastries, various mini muffins and doughnuts of different types, yoghurts, hard boiled eggs, assorted cold meats, cheeses, cinnamon bun, oatmeal with various toppings, fresh chopped fruit including different varieties of melon and strawberries usually, various cereals, pancakes and of course all the teas, coffee and various juices available.


It’s a shame you didn’t feel Club Level staff went above and beyond........we’ve stayed there many years and are always made to feel extra special and they certainly do go above and beyond from what I’ve seen.

If you’d asked them to deal with your postcards they certainly would have, they have taken them from me on our long trip in September........

The lunch offerings aren’t anything special in any of the club lounges, but most don’t come back for them.

Evening appetisers, we see many enjoy them and many can and do make their evening meal from it.......food always look tasty and is very popular.

I’m sorry you didn’t have the same experience we always have, but just wanted to offer another perspective for anyone reading your experience.

We alway have our regular room on the 6th floor we prefer that.........maybe they could have moved you for a better view if you had asked.

But, I’m glad you enjoyed the hotel overall..........that’s nice to read.
 


I have never done club level at Disney, so I can't compare. The resorts are too far from the parks there for me to feel it would be worth it. We have done club twice at RPR and liked it very much, especially the beer and wine with the evening appetizers. It's been a while, but I remember a lot more for breakfast than just pastries? I'll have to go searching now as I just booked 2 club rooms for Thanksgiving weekend.

So the list of RPR breakfast foods include fresh fruit, oatmeal, hard boiled eggs, and lunchmeat type stuff. I wonder why those weren't there for the OP? Has the menu changed? Actually looks similar to the Polynesian club at Disney, according to easyWDW, they have no hot breakfast entrees either.

I'm allergic to fresh fruit, and not a meat at breakfast fan. There wasn't a ton of it, though. A bowl of bananas and one of apples. Oatmeal was a bit heavy for the weather. Did have an egg one day, but pastries, bagels, cereal were the main items other than that. Glad I'm not gluten free.
 
There is more than pastries for breakfast. We’ve just come back and it’s the same as it’s always been........

Different breads, bagels, assorted mini pastries, various mini muffins and doughnuts of different types, yoghurts, hard boiled eggs, assorted cold meats, cheeses, cinnamon bun, oatmeal with various toppings, fresh chopped fruit including different varieties of melon and strawberries usually, various cereals, pancakes and of course all the teas, coffee and various juices available.

Yup...menu sounds right. It's just that most of it is stuff I don't or can't eat. First five items plus cinnamon buns = various pastries. Can't eat fruit, which eliminated the yogurt too. Oatmeal is a winter food. :-) Pancakes had a long line. Not really a fan of lunch meat for breakfast. So, yeah, there was a lot of food if it matches what you'd eat for breakfast. It just didn't suit our eating habits.

And that's really one of the big parts of staying club level. The offerings and timing have to match your style. And this didn't match ours. Nothing wrong with it, it just wasn't for us.

They did have some of the best coffee I've had in the States. It was surprisingly good, not burnt-tasting like a lot of the chains.

Maybe we just caught the staff at awkward times, but I always got the impression that we were interrupting them. So we didn't ask for much, especially after asking to borrow some glue and getting told to go buy it in the gift shop. It wasn't that they were rude or anything, I just felt like we were a bother. Maybe it was just us? ;-)
 
Did you check out Hard Rock Hotel by chance? We are big RPR fans, but HRH has won us over recently. It's an even shorter walk to the parks, and we like the pool and atmosphere better overall. Rooms were comparable and I can't speak to club level.

It was nice, but I found it felt busier, if that makes sense? I'm sure the same number of people were around, but the layout seemed to make it feel more crowded. I do really like it's location, though. Being that close to the parks would be awesome.
 
Op, we appreciate reading about your experiences at rpr club

Some that stay there had a different experience and I wish yours would have been marvelous as theirs

You sound like you believe it was a decent place to stay but did not feel that Mummy dust as others do

Wish you would have, but maybe one of the other two deluxe hotels onsite in the future, will be a good fit for you

We thank you for an honest review of your stay there
 
I'm allergic to fresh fruit, and not a meat at breakfast fan. There wasn't a ton of it, though. A bowl of bananas and one of apples. Oatmeal was a bit heavy for the weather. Did have an egg one day, but pastries, bagels, cereal were the main items other than that. Glad I'm not gluten free.

If you are gluten free or any other allergy or intolerance they make you separate food and it’s delivered every day before breakfast/early evening services arrives. The mix of food looked impressive that arrived the days we were there. So being gluten free wouldn’t have been an issue. Anyone who has allergies should contact them before they arrive really, but you can inform them when you arrive and they’ll still be able to accommodate you with any dietary issue. They were very good about it.

We saw the meat plates replenished regularly whenever we are there, I don’t really eat the meat for breakfast either but there’s always loads of it......breakfast always had an abundance of melons, strawberries and blueberries.

Yup...menu sounds right. It's just that most of it is stuff I don't or can't eat. First five items plus cinnamon buns = various pastries. Can't eat fruit, which eliminated the yogurt too. Oatmeal is a winter food. :-) Pancakes had a long line. Not really a fan of lunch meat for breakfast. So, yeah, there was a lot of food if it matches what you'd eat for breakfast. It just didn't suit our eating habits.

And that's really one of the big parts of staying club level. The offerings and timing have to match your style. And this didn't match ours. Nothing wrong with it, it just wasn't for us.

They did have some of the best coffee I've had in the States. It was surprisingly good, not burnt-tasting like a lot of the chains.

Maybe we just caught the staff at awkward times, but I always got the impression that we were interrupting them. So we didn't ask for much, especially after asking to borrow some glue and getting told to go buy it in the gift shop. It wasn't that they were rude or anything, I just felt like we were a bother. Maybe it was just us? ;-)

I eat oatmeal anytime of year! But it was certainly another option.

The glue could have been one of these silly health and safety issues where they’re not allowed to give out glue......I’ll certainly ask them next month when we’re bakc there if they’re not allowed to hand glue to anyone. Yes, it’s a shame you felt that way.

So many restaurants, so little time... :-)

I agree......we don’t eat the evening offerings as meals. We do like to have a little salad or cheese of which there is plenty of choice.........and have been known to sample the hot option as well as it’s usually very good, unless it’s the vegetarian option, I don’t eat that..........as a little early snack then, and we eat later in the evenings.

We love eating out at the many restaurants available around Orlando. But for us that suits us fine as we stay for so long so can be in the lounge most days as we dont have to be in the parks all day every day we can go sit in the lounge for a couple of hours.

As I said I just wanted to clarify to anyone else reading that there wasn’t just pastries for breakfast for anyone considering staying there. And I am glad you enjoyed your stay overall.
 
Just to add to the conversation--I was at RPR with my family at the same time as the OP (got home last Tuesday, checked in the Thursday before).

Although we definitely enjoyed our vacation and the stay at RPR, I felt that the staff members at Universal in general seemed a little less happy to be working than the last time we were there. At RPR they only cleaned our room two of the nights/days and the little extra touches weren't there. I figured that maybe this was due to the Easter/Passover holiday? It was incredibly busy in the parks and hotels, and it makes sense that many employees would have been less than enthusiastic about working.
 

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