Royal Pacific Resort - at Universal/IOA

[Ursulinda]

From a distance, the RPR looks like boxes with windows and roofs. Up close and personal, I stopped noticing the boxes and started seeing the details.

Lets get the negatives out of the way right away.

No balconies. It's a hotel room with a big window but no way to get outdoors from said room.

Valet Parking is $12 per day plus tips, and self parking can be a hike or a very long hike, depending.

No food court. Cheap eats there aren't.

Too many doors / gates that required two hands to open and they were not 'accessable' with push buttons

On the plus side.

EASY access from I4 and I-drive

Hotel is laid out in three spokes around a central hub. One spoke is convenient to the pool and walkway to IOA, one convenient to the pool and the boat to US/IOA, and the third convenient to a convention style meeting space.

Rooms are larger than AKL and WL. Two queen beds, dresser with minibar and still 6 drawers, table and two chairs, tropical arm chair. Closet. Split bath with tub and toilet in the closed room and sink/counter in the seperate space. Foyer large enough to hold an ecv and still allow egress.

Sufficient elegance in the public spaces to encourage parents to control their children.

Fantastic pool for kids. No slide, but a water play area for the kids that looked like SO much fun. Volleyball. Zero entry, and not particularly deep in most places. An ice cream / smoothie bar by the pool, AND an adult bar with circulating wait staff. Plenty of umbrellas, loungers and tables - and staff that went around and picked up towels off the obviously "reserved but not used" or "we've really left for the day" loungers.

2 shops and about 5 restaurants including the incredible TschopChop.

FOL access to US/IOA

Walk or boat to IOA through beautiful surroundings.

Helpful, friendly but unobtrusive staff.

This was my first stay here but will NOT be my last. I was incredibly impressed and will be there again in September.

[Tagrel]

Thanks for the great review. Universal is not in our plans this year, but will be next year. And we learned the hard way that staying on Universal Property and FOTL access is the ONLY way to go!

[sandar]

hi Linda,

Glad you enjoyed your stay at Royal Pacific. I appreciate your taking the time to share your observations. Good details!

Sandi

[Robin]

The babyboomer in me 'loved' the Hard Rock Hotel. Of course I immediately thought of Moley when I saw the Elvis display. :lol:

http://cgrobin.com/plunderfest2003/HRH/index.htm

If you're going to stay at one of the Universal hotels, be sure to sign up for the LoewsFirst club for the free benefits. I got a $10 credit for the minibar. :D

http://www.loews-first.com/Loewsfirst.asp

[sandar]

hi Robin,

I did sign up for Loews First, as part of the prep for our stay at Portofino this summer. We're booked at a Fan Club rate, however, and I've read elsewhere that we are not eligible for Loews First benefits if we're using a discounted rate.

Do you happen to know if that's true or not? It's no biggie either way, 'cause we're really happy with the rate we got. I'm just curious about what we can expect.

Sandi

ETA: Groovy photos!

[Robin]

I had Universal Fan Club rate too, but was still able to use my LoewsFirst card. Maybe it's only combining discounts you can't do. I was simply asked which 'freebie' I wanted.

I did have a problem at check out, as for some reason it wasn't noted on my bill, and I'd packed the card in my luggage. I had to wait a bit for the desk clerk to go into the back and straighten it out, but they did give me the credit. Keep in mind, even with the credit they 'tax' the mini-bar items. Still, paying about a dollar for two bottles of water and a mini-vodka wasn't a bad deal. :wink:

[ddoll]

Thanks for the review! We're headed there for four nights in August.

I'd be interested to see if the Fan Club rate affects the Loew's First benefits too.

[WillCAD]

I went resort hopping to RP and Portafino in December and was similarly impressed with both. They are incredibly beautiful resorts, each with a unique charm and high attention to detail in the public areas. I didn't see the rooms, but if they are as nice as the public areas, I'd be very comfortable staying at either resort!

[WDWDen]

I have stayed at Portifno and Hard Rock so far and have only walked through the Royal Pacific. I didnt like PB at all. The HR was fun, but I really enjoyed the atmosphere at RP. Jenine and I were touring it one night and we walked into the bar/lounge area and noticed that our favorite TV show (at the time), Paradise Hotel was on. SO we sat down for an hour and just ordered drinks and watched our show. It was really a nice relaxing evening. Both of us agree that our next Universal stay will be there!!!

[sandar]

Thanks for the tips, Robin. I'll be sure to keep the card with me for checkout, just in case.

[Tagrel]

We thought Portofino Bay was great! What didn't you like about it Dennis?

[WDWDen]

Hmmmmm?? let me see here. We actually made a list to complain, but just never followed up on it. I will have to find it. The biggest thing was the room was a dump. LIke the maid just never cleans them. Off the top of my head, there was cracking plaster falling on the floor b/c of a leaky roof. There was writing from the last guest on a note pad in our drawer. The carpets were ripped and stained. I can't think of the others right now, but the list goes on. I wouldnt mind if the prices were fair, but if that is their idea of a first class resort, then I don't agree. I payed a lot of money and felt like I was a motel 6. Then to top off all of our complaints, the fire alarm kept going off at night. At like 3am it would go off for like 20min. then a half hour later. I think it happend like 3 times in one night. Now that coulda happend anywhere, but it was just one thing after another. I also was not impressed with the architecture! It is nothing next to Disney standards. They cut SOOOOOOOOO many corners its unbelievable. They relied on nothing but painting to make the outside of the resort cool. Its pretty much just a straight rectangular building, with no balconies, no eves or dormers. Its all painted on. They literally save millions of dollars on building the place, yet they still charge 5 star prices. Even the hallways were bland. I guess I thought I was going to get an experience that is the same as Disney. After all, that is their competition, right. Disney does everything right! When the build a place, they pay close attention to details. Maybe being a builder makes me look more closely at this stuff, but a lot of it is obvious to anyone. Just look at a hallway at say the AKL. The lamps that they put in. Do they need them?? NO, but they probably spend another half a million alone just on that stuff. Universal did nothing like that. They just cut every corner they could and say its a 'deluxe' resort. I say, NO WAY!! :lol:

I really have to find that list. Oh, and then, they charge $7 for a bottle of water on my table?? Please!!

Thanks for the rant Dave :lol: I feel much better now ;-)