First timer... HRH or PBH? Opinions needed

Figaroo

Mouseketeer
Joined
Nov 21, 2016
Looking forward to our first trip to Universal! I currently have two options booked and would like to cancel one of them, but not sure which one! I'm hoping to get some opinions from folks who have been before.

We are booked for PBH 2 queens for the first two nights and CBBR for the last night of our 3 day stay. The reason we would switch for the last night is that PBR rate jumps way up that last night.

Also booked for 3 nights at HRH in 2 queens.

The difference in cost is $100 more for HRH. It would definitely be nice not to have to switch hotels, but if we would enjoy PBH way more than HRH, then it would be ok. It will be DH, DD (8), myself. We plan on using the pool of weather permits.

Any opinions would be appreciated!! TIA
 
@Figaroo We love HRH, but it just 'fits' us better as a family. If cost is a factor, go with the hotel that best fits your budget. If cost isn't a cost, pull up each hotel on tripadvisor.com and look at the user posted photos and go with which hotel most appeals to you.
 
I prefer HRH over PBH

It is such a short walk to the studios from hrh....
and if you want to go to IOA, the water taxi works fine if you don't want to walk.

For me, I can't deal with the long walk to pbh at night.
I'm tired and want the closest hotel possible.

If i miss the water taxi during the day, usually have a wait for the next one to pbh.
water taxis schedule could be 15 minutes apart in the early afternoon.

Some peeps consider the costs when they decide which onsite deluxe to book.

My first thought is convenience and closeness to the parks.


 


I also prefer HRH because of the proximity to the parks. You can make the choice: walk or take the boat. You can walk to the boat dock, ask the security guys when the boat is due, and make your decision then. If a boat just left, and you don't want to wait 15 minutes, the walking path is right there. If you're feeling tired/lazy you can take the boat anytime. It's a bit of a walk to PFB and I wouldn't want to do it after a day putting in serious mileage at the parks, especially in the heat.
 
I prefer HRH over PBH

It is such a short walk to the studios from hrh....
and if you want to go to IOA, the water taxi works fine if you don't want to walk.

For me, I can't deal with the long walk to pbh at night.
I'm tired and want the closest hotel possible.

If i miss the water taxi during the day, usually have a wait for the next one to pbh.
water taxis schedule could be 15 minutes apart in the early afternoon.

Some peeps consider the costs when they decide which onsite deluxe to book.

My first thought is convenience and closeness to the parks.
This is exactly what I was thinking. We are at PB right now and it is a beautiful resort. But every time we take the boat, I pass the HRH and think that location would be more convenient.

We are at PB because it was actually quite a bit cheaper than HRH when I booked. I was surprised because I thought in the past that PB was the top of the deluxe, HRH was the middle, and RP was the bottom of the deluxes. It could be that now more and more people want HRH because of its proximity.

I wouldn't pay much more to stay at HRH, though. It's not that much farther to PB. If it were a few bucks, I think I'd pick HRH over PB. But for $100 or more difference for the length of stay, I'd stick with PB.
 
We prefer HRH - it suits us better and the shorter walk to the park is a definite plus! We find HRH more laid back and it's our "home" so we've gotten to know the TM's there!
 


Another vote for HRH! It's our favorite, not only due to the close proximity to the parks, but we love the vibe too. We stayed at PBH and it was very, very quiet in July. HRH has more of a fun vibe. We really love the atmosphere at HRH and the pool area. Great food options, fun music and games for the kids.

When we did stay at PBH, we found the walk to be too long, especially at night after the parks. The boats seemed to be very busy, so we would often take a rick-shaw ride. They work on tips. We really liked the rick-saw bikes and would use them many times during our stay.
 
let me toss in something... you didn't mention whether you would have a car available , and if you don't, when you switch hotels you'd most likely have to store your luggage at either 1 or both hotels....at PB if you want to check out and go into park. Then retrieve luggage from PB, to go to CB. (and if you don't have a car you're gonna be dragging your luggage around.)-- If your room isn't ready yet at CB you'd be storing your luggage again. If you do have a car it might be slightly less hassle if you wanted to just store your luggage in your car. Either way you're moving a bunch of luggage around.

We did a split stay in April (HRH/CB) to get EP at HRH, but it was kind of a pain with the switching. for $100 I think I would have stayed put, but during our time the difference was a LOT more for our xtra days so in the long run it was worth it to switch to save some $, but still have EP for 2 days. Only you can decide if the $100 is worth the xtra trouble of switching. (plus the shorter distance to HRH that others have mentioned)

Also, on another note...you're allowed to pool hop between hotels, so you could still experience the PB pool if you'd like.
 
let me toss in something... you didn't mention whether you would have a car available , and if you don't, when you switch hotels you'd most likely have to store your luggage at either 1 or both hotels....at PB if you want to check out and go into park. Then retrieve luggage from PB, to go to CB. (and if you don't have a car you're gonna be dragging your luggage around.)-- If your room isn't ready yet at CB you'd be storing your luggage again. If you do have a car it might be slightly less hassle if you wanted to just store your luggage in your car. Either way you're moving a bunch of luggage around.

We did a split stay in April (HRH/CB) to get EP at HRH, but it was kind of a pain with the switching. for $100 I think I would have stayed put, but during our time the difference was a LOT more for our xtra days so in the long run it was worth it to switch to save some $, but still have EP for 2 days. Only you can decide if the $100 is worth the xtra trouble of switching. (plus the shorter distance to HRH that others have mentioned)

Also, on another note...you're allowed to pool hop between hotels, so you could still experience the PB pool if you'd like.
The hassle of switching was one of the things I was concerned about. We will not have a car. I think Ive decided that the $100 difference (which is actually a bit more now- boy do APH rates/availability fluctuate!) is worth the convenience of not having to switch, EPs, and the ability of walking to the park. Plus, i think my daughter will enjoy the theming more.

Thanks to all for your input!!
 
Loved HRH would do again. Used all modes of transportation to parks (boat, foot, rickshaw bike) for a short stay last Dec. We got up early 2nd day for EH and then came back in time for our check out, stored bags and we were back at the parks in no time... Could not have pulled that off anywhere else! Worth it with their perks. I enjoyed the ambiance and tried to teach my son about a few of the musicians featured... Lol!
 
Never stayed at PBH because the atmosphere/theme/vibe of the place hasn't appealed to us, but we loved HRH. Always seemed to be something going on there, liked the laidback vibe of the staff, fun music at the pool, love the sand area at the pool as well. The walk to the parks was very quick, never used the water taxi. Plus, I'm not a fan of split stays. So my choice would be HRH.
 

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