Portofino v. Royal including walking distance

[hhoope01]

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.

 

[akadada]

Thanks everyone for the great tips. We're going to try PB even though our experience at Royal was awesome across the board, the deal and the tips all you shared are too good to pass up.

I ended up locking in a package via Costco Travel at PB. After I was going through it I was able to save another $300 (So $700 approx cheaper, of which I then added in Volcano bay ticks for $130, so net $550 or so) because I was able to get a Deluxe room for less than the Garden View Room.

Question - That frankly doesn't make sense because isn't the deluxe bigger and nicer room?

Note, part of the $700 spread is a $220 Costco gift card when we return, which to us is as good as cash since we frequent Costco a lot.

This seems good I think.

 

[hhoope01]

One more point, usually RPR is the less expensive resort than PBR. Quite often when you see rates being less at PBR that means your probably seeing a base room at PBR and a non-base room at RPR. If that is the case in your situation, what are the 2 room types you are comparing? That could make a difference as well (i.e. your getting a club room at RPR, but a base room PBR or maybe a suite room at RPR and a base room at PBR, etc.) Note that the difference can also be from rate differences (i.e. you are getting an AP rate at PBR, but that rate is sold out at RPR, etc.)

The difference in your deluxe room vs. a base room could be a rate difference as well. For example, you are getting a Stay More rate for the deluxe room, but only a normal/rack rate for the base room. This happens as people tend to reserve the cheapest rooms first. So those can sell out at the discounted rates before the better rooms do.

 

[akadada]

One more point, usually RPR is the less expensive resort than PBR. Quite often when you see rates being less at PBR that means your probably seeing a base room at PBR and a non-base room at RPR. If that is the case in your situation, what are the 2 room types you are comparing? That could make a difference as well (i.e. your getting a club room at RPR, but a base room PBR or maybe a suite room at RPR and a base room at PBR, etc.) Note that the difference can also be from rate differences (i.e. you are getting an AP rate at PBR, but that rate is sold out at RPR, etc.)

Good catch...

Deluxe 2 Queen at PBR via Costco Travel

Waterview 2 Queen at RP via Universal

Possibly a big reason for the spread?

 

[hhoope01]

Neither are base level rooms. So you are probably getting a discounted rate through Costco Travel where the RPR room isn't as discounted.

Another pointer since it looks like you will be staying at PBR in a Deluxe room. If you would like a balcony room, if possible try to check-in very early that morning (i.e. 7am or 8am) and ask for a balcony room. There is no room rate just for balcony rooms. They are randomly handed out or given to people who ask for them. So if you want one, get there before others ask for them and they hand them out.

This has worked well for us as we like a balcony room. Note that we normally get a club room which comes with a deluxe room. I don't know if paying a club rate helps or not, but using this approach we've been successful more often than not in getting a balcony room.

 

[lisam70]

RP standard room is the cheapest deluxe when looking at rack rate so it’s more likely to sell out first. I prefer PB slightly because of the pools and food choices but will stay wherever is cheapest. Last April we went for our anniversary and the cheapest room with AP was a deluxe at PB which I happily booked!

 

[TyRy]

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.)

THIS! We learned about the shortcut from the boards and used it when we stayed at PB last Nov. Granted we were in the west wing and it was two adults walking over, but we made it in under nine minutes each time. Took us longer to get to RP each time we walk on the stay before that. I think it is due to all the twists and turns. We couldn't belive how quickly we got to Universal from PB.