[Pooh Fan]

Without ruining DD's trip report, I will not go into details about our stay at Hard Rock until she is finished. Suffice it to say that after having problems at HRH two years in a row, we will no longer be staying there. That said, I can't imagine not staying onsite when we go to Universal. Thus our choices for our hotel will be Royal Pacific or Portofino Bay. We just earned enough stays to finally be considered Loews Platnum which means we will be automatically upgraded to a suite on our next stay--FINALLY!

I have looked into the suites at both hotels and they are the same size. Which do you think would be the better choice Royal Pacific or Portofino Bay and why? I plan to have the next trip booked by the end of January before DH can change his mind. Last year, he kept saying that after the trip we just finished we were going to take a break from Disney and do other things. He said he enjoyed it more this trip and would like to stay at AKV before we start taking other trips.

Anyhow, I am really long winded this morning... Advice and suggestions are always appreciated.

[E&B's Mom]

I haven't stayed at Portofino, but personally I'd like to try it. If it were up to me we'd never return to HRH - horrible time with housekeeping last trip. They are the most popular hotel there and they know it. They're customer service stinks because they know they can fill the rooms no mater what.

Anyway, I personally loved RPR, which is supposed to be cheaper. If you can get a better deal I'd go with RPR. If it's not that much more $, I say try Portofino.

[ddoll]

Wow. I am stunned. We have never had anything but top notch service at HRH. We just LOVE it there!

Dh prefers RPR for the theming. We've never stayed at PBR.

[mickeymotto]

Another vote for RPR. We have never stayed at Portifino, but RPR was great. I loved the pool and the theme.

I'm sad to hear about your stay at HRH. I was looking forward to staying there in the future, I sure hope the service gets better soon.

[Pooh Fan]

I called Loews yesterday to book our room and learned that they did not have a free upgrade suite big enough for all of us--it only accommodates 3, so we are booked at Portofino Bay. They have a suite that accommodates 5 on the free upgrade. The only thing that Royal Pacific could offer me is an upgrade to a water view room. After staying in a deluxe room at HRH, there is absolutely no way we could cram into a 335 square foot room at RPR. We spend way too much time in our room when we get to Universal for that.

I am fine with staying at PBH, but the kids are a little disappointed. We stayed at RPR on our very first trip to Universal, and they have very fond memories of that resort. Is PBH furthest from the parks? Do we just need to resign ourselves to using the water taxis instead of walking on our upcoming trip?

[ddoll]

PBR is further than HRH, but I would guess it's about as far a walk to City Walk as RPR is. You'd be surprised how close it is to HRH. They really are right next door to one another. And as you know, HRH is VERY close to Universal Studios. I like to run from HRH up to PBR and then all the way over to the parks when we stay there.

If it were me, I'd take the boat if it was there, but walk if not.

[E&B's Mom]

We never had any problem with the boats from RPR - it seemed like it was always a very short wait. Not so the couple of times we tried to take a boat to HRH (rain). We waited forever and finally gave up. I think they run fewer boats to HRH.

I know what they mean about RPR - it's a great hotel, but the rooms are small. You'll have to post a detailed review of PBH after you stay there.

[nitaworm]

I loved Portofino, its beautiful and when there had great service. However when you downgrade a resort based on housekeeping, its very subjective because staff comes and goes.

[E&B's Mom]

Originally Posted by nitaworm

I loved Portofino, its beautiful and when there had great service. However when you downgrade a resort based on housekeeping, its very subjective because staff comes and goes.

I tend to think this is angoing problem at HRH. Although ddoll has had good experiences, ours was terrible (hotel rooms on club level should come with blankets and complementary shampoo, right? You shouldn't have to ask 4 times for each and then complain to management before they cough them up), and I'm pretty sure Pooh Fan has had bad experiences on both of her last 2 trips - a year apart.

I might be willing to try HRH again, only because the kids LOVED it. And to be honest, the pool staff made up for the poor housekeeping staff. They were absolutely wonderful.

[ddoll]

We've stayed at HRH 4 times now with nothing but top notch service. I guess it's dependent on who you deal with. We wouldn't keep going back if our experience wasn't wonderful.

I've always wanted to try PBR just once, but we like HRH so much we haven't taken the time off from staying there.

[tiggerlover1971]

Isnt portofino the one that was shown on the travel channel ( With Sandra brown ? I think thats who does it ) if so I really want to stay there once if I go to Universal ...

[Pooh Fan]

Originally Posted by E&B's Mom

I tend to think this is angoing problem at HRH. Although ddoll has had good experiences, ours was terrible (hotel rooms on club level should come with blankets and complementary shampoo, right? You shouldn't have to ask 4 times for each and then complain to management before they cough them up), and I'm pretty sure Pooh Fan has had bad experiences on both of her last 2 trips - a year apart.

I might be willing to try HRH again, only because the kids LOVED it. And to be honest, the pool staff made up for the poor housekeeping staff. They were absolutely wonderful.

You are right. The last 2 trips have not been good. In fact, I was given one free night to use on my last trip because the general manager of HRH agreed with me that what happened to us was not right. Then, when we checked in, I had to fight to get the free night because they said the person who made my reservation did not do it right. The front desk staff was extremely rude and the housekeeping was terrible. Not to mention the fact that my reservation noted that my son and I have severe asthma and allergies and we were originally put in a smoking pet friendly area. My son and I started to have trouble breathing. We were eventually moved thanks to the bellman that helped us with our luggage. Then, there was the issue of being told that I was not allowed to have a late check out even if I was a platinum member of the Loews program (We became platinum members between the time of our reservation and when we checked in). I had to argue with the manager who finally agreed to let me have the late check out that I get as a perk. I was offered another free night by the general manager, but I refused because I did not like the way we were treated by the staff at HRH. It will be a long time before I care to stay there again.

I don't mean to sound negative. I was trying to explain why I gave a bad review of HRH. It was not just the housekeeping--it was the attitude of much of the staff.

[gabes_mommy]

We have stayed at all 3 UO hotels and HRH was by far our least favorite too.

That being said, PB is truly fabulous!!! You'll love it!

[LittleMissMagic]

We stayed at Portofino this July. It's wonderful. We loved it... felt like we were really in Italy.

Hard Rock is closer to City Walk and I believe it is slightly less expensive. Famous people have stayed there (the Hogans... ). I don't really like the design... kinda goth-y, hardcore (well, it is hard rock...).

Also... i've noticed that Hard Rock books a lot faster... i'm not sure whether by size, price, or popularity. Just something to keep in mind, I guess.