Royal Pacific, PBH, or Hard Rock

have2getaway

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jul 5, 2005
We are planning a split stay with Disney, and I have honestly been all over the map regarding where to stay at both parks. We started out just planning a throwaway room at Universal to use for Express Pass, only to decide we really want to stay deluxe at Universal and experience all that Universal has to offer, so we cancelled our Beach Club/Poly split stay, and are now ending our trip at the Polynesian. We have 3-9 year old triplets who love Harry Potter, so it’s the right time. That said, I now am on the fence as to which hotel to stay at, while at Universal. We know we want the Express Pass, so that eliminates Sapphire Falls, which we were considering for the two room suites. I’m leaning towards Portofino Bay in just a standard room, although we were considering club level to use for breakfast each day. For us, I’m just not sure club level make sense other than for breakfast?We want to experience the parks and the restaurants — the Harry Potter ones and City Walk, Sal’s, Mama Dellas, etc. I don’t know that we will do that if we use club level? I was considering Royal Pacific for the proximity to Islands of Adventure and for the kid’s suite, But the kids suits is considerably more and we don’t plan to spend a lot of time in our room. Our biggest concern with Royal Pacific is the room size, as there are five of us. Has anyone ever stayed at Sapphire falls, but just bought one night stay at RPR to use for Express Pass? I have actually considered that. I don’t love the room Decor at hard rock, and to me, it screams teenagers, which we won’t have with us. I love everything about Portofino Bay, except the location, and the fact that it doesn’t have a washer and dryer. Also, my TA said we would not love RPR, but did recommend PBH. We will be arriving around 3:00 pm on a Saturday and heading to Disney on Weds. Does anyone have any suggestions for us?

The Disney portion of our trip is considerably more expensive. we do have the dining plan included so that’s part of it, but the Poly room is more expensive as well. One thing we have considered is staying a 4th night at Universal and doing a day at Sea World or Volcano Bay. Our boys all love penguins, so that would be the primary reason to go, and I’m honestly not sure they makes sense when the Montreal Center has Antarctic Penguins and we can see them next spring. We are going in January, so Volcano Bay seems kind of silly. But...it was something we did consider.
 
We've stayed at Royal Pacific 3 times. The standard queen room is a good fit for the 3 of us. I could see 4 working just fine. But 5? I think it would be pretty tight. When there a couple weeks ago, my daughter and I were trying to figure out where the roll-away would go. You'd have to keep your luggage in the closet and have not much room for walking. We spend most of our day at the parks with the exception of mom's mandatory mid-day nap (or pretend to with no tech allowed). I know there are rooms with more square footage and those might work for your family. I am not sure why you wouldn't like it. It's clean, the pool is very fun for kids. We did have a bit of trouble with a noisy floor this last visit and USB plugs not working. I'm not sure if being at another property would make it better. We've stayed at RPR when my daughter was 9 and 10 and she liked it. When you check in, you can ask to see the key cards and your triplets can choose what character (there is a HP one, but your name is printed on the card, too, so they can't get mixed up).
 
Sounds like you are really torn between PBH and RPR. We find the HRH too brash for us as every time we have gone it’s been mobbed by the pool........the food choices are very good there though.

Club Level is excellent for breakfast but if you’re looking for value for money you probably won’t get it if you want to eat around the parks and Citywalk.........I hear you on that. We love Club Lounge but don’t fully utilise it for dinner, some people however do manage to get back every day and eat early dinners there. We prefer to eat dinner later and around Orlando, hotels or Citywalk.

We’ve only ever had 3 in the rooms at RP, it’s always been fine for us but we are happy to share a hotel room for any length of time.

If you aren’t planning on spending a lot of time in the room like most don’t, it’ll be fine. Not sure why your TA wouldn’t recommend RP?? Would she get more commission if you booked PBH?? RPR is a fabulous resort.

It’s easy to get to other hotel restaurants from the other deluxe hotels.........

Sounds like you just need to decide which theme between RPR and PBH suits you more........
 
Hi I have stayed at Cabana bay resort for their family suite and bought a throwaway room at Royal Pacific for one night for the express pass. It worked out great for us, so you could do it for Sapphire Falls. This might be a good option for you if you really like the theme and resort. Sapphire gets a lot of good reviews and people enjoy it.

We just stayed at Portofino and loved it and the room size was bigger. We stayed club level with two teens but we did do resort time. We have been to Universal a lot so didn't need to spend as much time at the parks. I love the club level there but could understand your point about experiencing more at the parks. I think Royal Pacific is a pretty resort but would agree it might be a bit small for five. The location for Portofino honestly is not bad at all. It is about a 10-15 minute walk on the path. You have the boat and if it is bad weather you do have the buses from city walk. It wasn't the best option but it is one. I will say the washer and dryer was a bit of a problem for me too. However, I did some laundry at Cabana Bay because we stayed there one night for Volcano Bay.
 


Sounds like you are really torn between PBH and RPR. We find the HRH too brash for us as every time we have gone it’s been mobbed by the pool........the food choices are very good there though.

Club Level is excellent for breakfast but if you’re looking for value for money you probably won’t get it if you want to eat around the parks and Citywalk.........I hear you on that. We love Club Lounge but don’t fully utilise it for dinner, some people however do manage to get back every day and eat early dinners there. We prefer to eat dinner later and around Orlando, hotels or Citywalk.

We’ve only ever had 3 in the rooms at RP, it’s always been fine for us but we are happy to share a hotel room for any length of time.

If you aren’t planning on spending a lot of time in the room like most don’t, it’ll be fine. Not sure why your TA wouldn’t recommend RP?? Would she get more commission if you booked PBH?? RPR is a fabulous resort.

It’s easy to get to other hotel restaurants from the other deluxe hotels.........

Sounds like you just need to decide which theme between RPR and PBH suits you more........

Our TA didn’t book Universal at all, so it wasn’t that. She just didn’t like the resort herself I guess.

Thank you for the input, especially on Club Level at PBH. It is pretty much what I thought. I don’t think it will make sense for us to do it. Are the Club Level rooms much different than the regular rooms at PBH?
 
Hi I have stayed at Cabana bay resort for their family suite and bought a throwaway room at Royal Pacific for one night for the express pass. It worked out great for us, so you could do it for Sapphire Falls. This might be a good option for you if you really like the theme and resort. Sapphire gets a lot of good reviews and people enjoy it.

We just stayed at Portofino and loved it and the room size was bigger. We stayed club level with two teens but we did do resort time. We have been to Universal a lot so didn't need to spend as much time at the parks. I love the club level there but could understand your point about experiencing more at the parks. I think Royal Pacific is a pretty resort but would agree it might be a bit small for five. The location for Portofino honestly is not bad at all. It is about a 10-15 minute walk on the path. You have the boat and if it is bad weather you do have the buses from city walk. It wasn't the best option but it is one. I will say the washer and dryer was a bit of a problem for me too. However, I did some laundry at Cabana Bay because we stayed there one night for Volcano Bay.

Thank you! I may look into doing that at Sapphire Falls. I’m not too worried about the washer/dryer as we are only at Universal for 2 days and 3 nights, so hopefully can wait on laundry until we get to Disney.
 
Our TA didn’t book Universal at all, so it wasn’t that. She just didn’t like the resort herself I guess.

Thank you for the input, especially on Club Level at PBH. It is pretty much what I thought. I don’t think it will make sense for us to do it. Are the Club Level rooms much different than the regular rooms at PBH?

Rooms are the same size.......you are just adding Club Level........:thumbsup2
 


I just happened to look at the Hard Rock and noticed the Deluxe room with pull out sofa. Would we mind the Hard Rock? Would it be worth it for the larger room and resort that is closer to the park? Just wondering if it’s ever a problem to get a rollaway at PBH, which I’m assuming we will need?
 
We had 5 in a room once at RPR when our kids were younger (I think they were 16, 14, and 11). We took a blow-up mattress for my son, and stood it up against the wall during the day to be out of the way. It was tight but we stayed club level so there was the lounge to hang out in also.
 
We liked RP. It has been a while but I think you could put a roll-away in front of the window. It would be tight with 5.

If you go the Club Level route that would give you a little more breathing room by utilizing the Club.

We are one of those families that utilized the Club for dinner. With three park days and express pass you won't need to rush around. We usually had a leisurely sit down lunch and then toured more or headed back to the resort to swim and stuff. I'd never do that a Disney because it would feel like a waste of time. It was nice to eat dinner in the club when the kids were tired at the end of the day and just needed to chill out before heading back to the park. And we enjoyed the drinks, of course.

I guess I'm just cheap. I'd squeeze into a room at RP or PB and deal with it. I wouldn't want to waste money on a throw away room.

I do like the looks of the new hotels. Whatever you decide, have fun.
 
We liked RP. It has been a while but I think you could put a roll-away in front of the window. It would be tight with 5.

If you go the Club Level route that would give you a little more breathing room by utilizing the Club.

We are one of those families that utilized the Club for dinner. With three park days and express pass you won't need to rush around. We usually had a leisurely sit down lunch and then toured more or headed back to the resort to swim and stuff. I'd never do that a Disney because it would feel like a waste of time. It was nice to eat dinner in the club when the kids were tired at the end of the day and just needed to chill out before heading back to the park. And we enjoyed the drinks, of course.

I guess I'm just cheap. I'd squeeze into a room at RP or PB and deal with it. I wouldn't want to waste money on a throw away room.

I do like the looks of the new hotels. Whatever you decide, have fun.


Thank you! The price difference between the PBH at RPR is only $25 per night. That’s for a standard room. For $75, it might be worth it for us to go with the bigger room at PBH. It would be more expensive to book a room at SF and a throwaway room for EP, so we’ve ruled that out as a choice.

Club level is about $400 more at both resorts, which is where I’m on the fence. I’m not sure what our food costs would be without Club Level, so can’t determine if it makes sense to do it?
 
We love RPR and PBH, each has a kids suite. The room is huge at PBH with great food choices. Can't go wrong with either.
 
The Club room is huge or the standard room is huge at PBH?

The standard room. And the bathroom is so big you can have some friends over and have a party in it. I'm telling you, you'll love PBH. Sal's is awesome as is Mama Della's. The main pool is great your kids will love it, and make sure to eat at the pool bar, it was delicious. My favorite part of each day was going down to the Starbucks for our morning coffee and relaxing at an outdoor table while looking out onto the harbor. What a great way to start each day. Just a great resort.
 
The standard room. And the bathroom is so big you can have some friends over and have a party in it. I'm telling you, you'll love PBH. Sal's is awesome as is Mama Della's. The main pool is great your kids will love it, and make sure to eat at the pool bar, it was delicious. My favorite part of each day was going down to the Starbucks for our morning coffee and relaxing at an outdoor table while looking out onto the harbor. What a great way to start each day. Just a great resort.

This is great to hear! Thank you! So...you don’t think we necessarily need to do Club Level then?
 
This is great to hear! Thank you! So...you don’t think we necessarily need to do Club Level then?

You are fine in a standard room and, if you want to try restaurants at Universal, I wouldn't pay for club level. Do you plan on renting a cart for the 5th person?
 
You are fine in a standard room and, if you want to try restaurants at Universal, I wouldn't pay for club level. Do you plan on renting a cart for the 5th person?

I think so. We have an air mattress one of our boy actually likes better than a bed, so we may use that. What is the cost to rent one nightly?
 

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