Portofino or Hard Rock?

[wendlle]

I have HRH booked for 5 nights with a rate of $235 (AP rate) 2 Queen Standard which is 375sq
I can get PBH for the same price, but their room is 450sq

We are Two Adults and Two Kids, one will be needing a crib.
We liked HRH because we want to easily walk to the parks and city walk for dining.
I've stayed at Royal Pacific before but not either one of these.

The Portofino has a much bigger room which would be great for our crawling baby and 3 year old, but is it really that much further to the parks?
Is the "vibe" ok for kids at this resort? I really liked the "look" of HRH and the pool looked like fun.

 

[macraven]

Short walk from HRH to the Studios
Easy to leave that park for returning to take the kids back to the room for a nap
Return later to the park

Could be a 15 minute walk from PBH
Using strollers you would cut that time back

Depends on what works best for your family

(When I stayed at hrh I cut thru the side parking lot and made it to the studios in 5 minutes
Not sure if that is still allowed)

 

[Robo56]

I stay at PBH it’s my favorite Resort.

HRH is the closet to parks and CityWalk you can go right out the back pool gate (not sure if you can still do that) and you are right at Studios. So as far as proximity it is a winner.

You can also ride the water taxi from HRH little ones might like that.

PBH rooms are bigger and having the extra space for cribs etc is nice. It is the farthest Resort from parks and also the farthest walk. The vibe is quiet and a little more laid back. The beach pool is fun for the kiddos.

I would take a good look at the Resort Sticky’s and pick the one that best meets your families needs. Look at onsite restaurants and other amenities also.

 

[Captainkidd76]

I would always take the Hard Rock if it's an option. The convenience is unparalleled. Hotel has awesome vibe, great service.

 

[cfoxga]

I'm in the same boat. I have a Deluxe 2 Queen (490 sq ft) booked at PBH now because that is the only AP rate I could get. I really want to stay at HRH because of the proximity and the vibe (kids are 11 and 13). Go onto Google Maps and you can see how much farther away PBH is. You have to pass HRH to get there, so it might not be a walk you want to do every time. But the water taxi is a very nice alternative too, we all like it alot.

If HRH gets an AP rate for our same days, I'm probably going to switch. But I'm not going to be unhappy if we are "stuck" at PBH...

 

[macraven]

I'm in the same boat. I have a Deluxe 2 Queen (490 sq ft) booked at PBH now because that is the only AP rate I could get. I really want to stay at HRH because of the proximity and the vibe (kids are 11 and 13). Go onto Google Maps and you can see how much farther away PBH is. You have to pass HRH to get there, so it might not be a walk you want to do every time. But the water taxi is a very nice alternative too, we all like it alot.

If HRH gets an AP rate for our same days, I'm probably going to switch. But I'm not going to be unhappy if we are "stuck" at PBH...

I have my room booked with the smsm rate at rph as it was lower than the ap rate when I made it.

I have been checking for a friend trying to book at hrh and nothing showing up she told me when she searched.
Depending on your dates, I did a search and found availability for hrh for Oct first week and prices were about $265 with no discounts.

People are booking rooms and then quickly cancel them due to various reasons.

Since what we see on the booking sites might not be updated at the time we look, call UO booking and ask them what are hrh room rates with or without the ap/smsm promotional rates.

I found the rate for my friend by making a call yesterday
They were available but not put into the site yet but was told it could be booked now.

 

[wendlle]

The rate that I have is for early september and it is $238, it's an AP rate and same price for 2Q room at both Portofino and Hard Rock.
I'm really torn, I love the look of Hard Rock but the much bigger room at PBH is really tempting.
But I'm torn about this entire trip, I'm still thinking of just staying at Cabana Bay and saving $1000

 

[robl45]

Portofino is a longer walk but definitely doable. I did it at least 8 times last year. Hard rock is a better walk for sure, but portofino has the better pool. I would stay at the hard rock as its closer to the park, but the pool is 3 feet deep. We tried to go one day last year, but the slide was broken that day so we left, but I was not impressed with the pool at all.

 

[Captainkidd76]

Portofino is a longer walk but definitely doable. I did it at least 8 times last year. Hard rock is a better walk for sure, but portofino has the better pool. I would stay at the hard rock as its closer to the park, but the pool is 3 feet deep. We tried to go one day last year, but the slide was broken that day so we left, but I was not impressed with the pool at all.

It's a bit deeper than that. In the middle, around 4 feet. It is very shallow, but not as bad as the pool at the Royal Pacific. I actually love the Hard Rock pool. It's set up very well, without any volleyball net in the middle that kills half of it like at RPR. Best slide on property, has an awesome pool bar, great set up for dive-in movies, and is literally right outside the bank of elevators that services every room in the hotel.

 

[robl45]

It's a bit deeper than that. In the middle, around 4 feet. It is very shallow, but not as bad as the pool at the Royal Pacific. I actually love the Hard Rock pool. It's set up very well, without any volleyball net in the middle that kills half of it like at RPR. Best slide on property, has an awesome pool bar, great set up for dive-in movies, and is literally right outside the bank of elevators that services every room in the hotel.

Hopefully the slide works this time and we will probably try it again. The slide at Portofino was pretty good though.

 

[Captainkidd76]

Hopefully the slide works this time and we will probably try it again. The slide at Portofino was pretty good though.

It's all personal preference. Some people love the RPR pool and I can't stand it. I think it's all about what you're looking for, vibe and theme.

 

[wendlle]

So I went ahead and cancelled Portofino, my Husband just didn't like the look of the place. I thought it was beautiful but I think he just really had his heart set on Hard Rock or Cabana Bay. It looked from online videos that the main pool was very far away from some rooms and just looked a little too spread out.
How long before I get a refund on my deposit?

 

[Captainkidd76]

You can usually expect to see a refund after 3 or 4 days.

I'm currently in the same boat. My wife and I are taking a Labor Day Weekend trip. We love Hard Rock but the best AP rate was at Portofino, so we booked it. It's our 1st stay there, but I'll switch to Hard Rock if a good rate comes out. We just love the whole vibe of the place. We went to Portofino a couple times and both times got lost.

 

[anierodzik]

We currently have HRH booked for 5 nights at Thanksgiving, but we will be switching to PBH. Those large rooms (I have 3 teenagers) are worth it. And we love the harbor area at night. After the activity at the park, it is nice for us to be in a relaxing place.

You know your family best- we have stayed at HRH, PBH, and RPH, as well as Cabana Bay. You can't go wrong with any of them, in my opinion. We have done 2 split stays- one between RPH and CB, and one between PBH and Cabana Bay.

 

[tinkert77]

Hard Rock is the way to go. Great pool, food, location, rooms, and staff. Express Unlimited made our time in the parks well spent.