As has been mentioned, the rooms at RPR are smaller. At RPR most of their rooms are 335 sqft. At PBR their base rooms are 450 sqft and the Deluxe rooms are 490 sqft. (Just for comparison purposes, an Endless Summer 2-bedroom suite is only 440 sqft.)
Also as mentioned, there are 3 different pools at PBR compared to only 1 at RPR. And each pool at PBR has a different vibe. The main "Beach" pool has a zero entry side with sand around it and it has a nice waterslide. This is similar to the RPR pool, but instead of a waterslide it has an interactive water play area (which when my kids were very young, they liked, but as they got older, they preferred a slide.) The Villa pool, while not technically an adults only pool, tends to not have lots of kids there as it quieter with no slides, water play area, etc. And then there's the Hillside pool which has a secluded, "homey" feel and quite often has very few people there (note that it is at the very end of the East building.)
PBR has a SPA which none of the other on-site hotels have and has the only hotel rooms (though not a lot) with a balcony (these are all Deluxe rooms though, not base rooms).
Personally, I prefer the food variety at RPR over PBR, but if you like Italian, PBR is your choice. At RPR, we really like to get the sushi one evening, the Wok experience is great, Jakes has general "American" food, and the Luau has decent food with a nice show.
If you are staying in Club access room, I prefer the PBR club over RPRs. There is more space in the PBR lounge with a sizeable overflow room if you are there during a heavy morning rush. Plus just outside the Club lounge is a nice balcony with a couple of chairs that you can take your food to and enjoy a nice view with your meal. If you really want a room close to the lounge, RPR club rooms are mostly on the same floor in the same wing as the lounge (i.e. no elevators required and not a lot of walking.) For us that really isn't much of an issue, but I know some really like that.
The walk to the parks from PBR is a bit longer than for RPR, but I don't think anyone has mentioned the short-cut through the HRH parking lot. It can shave a few minutes off the walk if you are in a hurry. But as others have mentioned, the water taxis are great and are themselves a ride with some of the captains providing entertainment (corny jokes, park information, general stories, etc.). And I don't know if they still have them, but there were tricyclists providing complementary rides between the hotel and City Walk (note that they do work for tips, so it wouldn't be a totally free ride like the water taxis.)
For coffee/tea/breakfast/snacks, RPR has the Tuk Tuk market which is very nice, though we have had a few times where they have run out of certain coffee/tea products. PBR has a Starbucks which has all the usual Starbucks drinks and food items.
When the kids were younger, RPR was everyone's favorite as they liked the pool's interactive water play area and we liked the food options, as they hit their teen years PBR became the favorite due to the pools and the larger rooms. So for us, if PBR was less expensive, there wouldn't even be a question as to where we would be staying.
Also as mentioned, there are 3 different pools at PBR compared to only 1 at RPR. And each pool at PBR has a different vibe. The main "Beach" pool has a zero entry side with sand around it and it has a nice waterslide. This is similar to the RPR pool, but instead of a waterslide it has an interactive water play area (which when my kids were very young, they liked, but as they got older, they preferred a slide.) The Villa pool, while not technically an adults only pool, tends to not have lots of kids there as it quieter with no slides, water play area, etc. And then there's the Hillside pool which has a secluded, "homey" feel and quite often has very few people there (note that it is at the very end of the East building.)
PBR has a SPA which none of the other on-site hotels have and has the only hotel rooms (though not a lot) with a balcony (these are all Deluxe rooms though, not base rooms).
Personally, I prefer the food variety at RPR over PBR, but if you like Italian, PBR is your choice. At RPR, we really like to get the sushi one evening, the Wok experience is great, Jakes has general "American" food, and the Luau has decent food with a nice show.
If you are staying in Club access room, I prefer the PBR club over RPRs. There is more space in the PBR lounge with a sizeable overflow room if you are there during a heavy morning rush. Plus just outside the Club lounge is a nice balcony with a couple of chairs that you can take your food to and enjoy a nice view with your meal. If you really want a room close to the lounge, RPR club rooms are mostly on the same floor in the same wing as the lounge (i.e. no elevators required and not a lot of walking.) For us that really isn't much of an issue, but I know some really like that.
The walk to the parks from PBR is a bit longer than for RPR, but I don't think anyone has mentioned the short-cut through the HRH parking lot. It can shave a few minutes off the walk if you are in a hurry. But as others have mentioned, the water taxis are great and are themselves a ride with some of the captains providing entertainment (corny jokes, park information, general stories, etc.). And I don't know if they still have them, but there were tricyclists providing complementary rides between the hotel and City Walk (note that they do work for tips, so it wouldn't be a totally free ride like the water taxis.)
For coffee/tea/breakfast/snacks, RPR has the Tuk Tuk market which is very nice, though we have had a few times where they have run out of certain coffee/tea products. PBR has a Starbucks which has all the usual Starbucks drinks and food items.
When the kids were younger, RPR was everyone's favorite as they liked the pool's interactive water play area and we liked the food options, as they hit their teen years PBR became the favorite due to the pools and the larger rooms. So for us, if PBR was less expensive, there wouldn't even be a question as to where we would be staying.