Which hotel for a room for 5

[mmmcq]

I realize I'm going to have to spend some significant time on this board to absorb all the info.....and I promise I will do so, but in the meantime I could use some help.

My two daughter's school vacations in April '04 we just learned have been extended to 1.5 weeks. We adjusted our WDW reservations to 4/14-4/24 to take advantage of a lower DVC point schedule. We are now thinking of spending three days at Universal before heading over to WDW.

With girls 15, 13 and 4 years...which hotel would you recommend? I looked through the websites quickly yesterday and it looks as though two of them offer "kid suites" which might be fun.

And how in the world do I choose what tickets to buy? We've never been - so I have no idea where to start. Is it better to purchase the room and tickets separately (the latter from a ticket broker or wait for a special discount)?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[JessicaR]

The 13 and 15 year old will love HRH and the 4 year old will most likely be happy anywhere you are. The kids suites are great. Gives you extra space and a room of your own. Just one bath however. The deluxe rooms at Hard Rock are spacious and offer 2 queens and a pullout sofa bed.

I would start by looking at Universal's website and Loews website to see which resort holds the most appeal for you all. The best ticket deal right now is the 5 day bonus pass. It actually costs less than 2 days passes and allows you 5 days for the same price. Right now they are 89.00. They do expire on the 5th consecutive day. If you think you may return again within a year check out the AP's some great deals and prices, they are a great value and gives you resort discounts as well food and shopping. You could even just buy one of those for the park discounts and it would be worth the savings.

www.universalorlando.com
www.loewshotels.com

make sure you join Loews First program. Its free.

 

[Nan]

We love the HRH. I have 2 daughters 18 and 15. We stayed in a Kid's Suite at HRH last New Year's.

The Kid's suite is large with one room with king size bed and pull out sofa and another room with two twin beds. While there is only one toilet, there are two bathroom areas. One has toilet, sink and tub/shower. The other seperate area has two sinks and a shower.

We have stayed at the HRH twice. Both times we have experienced excellent service-concierge helped set up offsite birthday dinner for daughter, etc. Housekeeping was great. Staff was warm and friendly-always speaking to us when we passed them in halls, etc. We have stayed at PBH, also, and we like HRH the best. The stay at PBH was years ago when it was the only hotel available, but we had some problems there that we have never had at HRH-housekeeping, etc. And the proximity of HRH to the parks, especially US can't be beat. Everyone has different experiences at the same hotels. You just have to pick the one that appeals to you the most.

Nan

 

[FeeFeeWhite]

With those three girls you may want to look into a Deluxe at Portofino for that very large bathroom. It would work with an air matress or they will bring a rollaway bed.

 

[mmmcq]

I joined Lowes First and then went online to look at rooms. Portofino Bay looked best, but it doesn't look like there's any availability. I haven't had time to call, but I'll do that next week.

In the meantime I did the easy thing and got another hotel room at Sea World as a back up for the three days that I needed.

US Air is already sold out for the end weekend of our vacation so I'll be waiting for Southwest to put their spring fares online.

I can't believe I'm doing this so far out.....and yet things are so full or sold out!!!! It is Easter of course. I'll get it all together I'm sure.

Thanks for your help.