Which Universal hotel would you choose?

[krorx]

If you had a choice of the Universal hotels, which would you choose and why? We went years ago, before the hotels were finished, and stayed outside the park but would like to enjoy the benefits of an onsite stay. Thanks for any info

[Disneymom4ever]

We used to stay offsite, until we experienced the onsite hotels, and the benefit of using your room key to bypass the lines. Worth every penny in my opinion! We will always stay onsite now. As for which one, we've tried Hard Rock twice, and Royal Pacific twice now. To me either one is great, and I know not much difference in price, but we actually prefer RPH. Yes, HRH is closer when walking, and has that cool rock theming, but we like that tropical feeling, so pretty, and the short boat ride is quite nice. (There is a path to walk as well, if you feel like it). I don't think you can go wrong with any of them, and like I say, those room keys are like gold when it's crowded!

[buzznwoodysmom]

We stayed at a Universal Resort for the first time in December. After much research we went with Hard Rock Hotel, and were very, very pleased with that decision.

I asked, on several websites, which of the resorts was closest to the parks, and again and again the answer was HRH. That combined with the fact that I have two sons (12 and 10), the 12 year old likes to think he is a rock star, so we knew the Hard Rock was definitely the resort for us. We would highly recommend it and will definitely stay there again in the future. As a matter of fact I can't imagine us ever visiting Universal again without staying at one of their resorts.

For the time being we are completely content with staying at HRH, but later on down the line we may want to try the other two.

[Bethanymouse]

We have stayed at the Portofino and at the Royal Pacific. The Portofino was amazing, beautiful, nothing short of perfect. However....the price was not so perfect. Therefore, on our next trip, we opted for the Royal Pacific. We were not disappointed! It was also an amazing resort. We loved it so much we are returning this year!

[tinksmom02]

We stayed at Royal Pacific last year and really enjoyed it. I was all set to book it again for this year, but now I think I'm leaning towards Hard Rock. Reason? RP doesn't have a pool slide--which is a BIG deal for DD! (Hard Rock DOES have a slide, right?) And I thought we might like to try something new...

[krorx]

Thank you for all the great info!

[BigRedDad]

We have only stayed at the RPH. It is gorgeous and not too bad of a walk. We went in the Summer and quickly found some of the pains. The boats do not run if there is lightening (logical). The problem is you walk in the rain if it is. Not too big of a deal for HRH or RP, but PB is supposedly a LONG walk.

The other problem I had with the resorts is lack of activities if there is lightening. Once the pool shutdown, there was almost nothing for kids to do other than run around the lobby which caused looks from others. They really need to plan for this.

[texas211]

Especially since Orlando is the lightning strike capital of the country...

[DVC2004]

We've stayed at Royal Pacific each time we visit Universal and we love it. It's the newest, least expensive and we love the theme of the South Pacific. Food is great.The pool is fantastic. There is a water play area for the kids. It's a short walk (10 minutes) or water taxi ride away from the parks and Citywalk. We want to try the others, but we are always so happy with our stay we go back. Really though since they are all run by Loews I am sure they are all equally great. Just like anything else theme, location and price play into personal preferences.

[thrillme]

Sucker for Royal Pacific. I love the polynesian theme and the pool has movies at night.