What UO resort is your favorite?

Shavsmimi

Earning My Ears
Joined
Jun 7, 2019
Help me pick one !
It’s a girls trip with me and my 2 friends we are in our 20s. We are looking to relax, And be in the center of everything!
The resort must have amazing food!
 
Our favorite by far is PBH. The rooms are massive compared to the other deluxe hotels. We loved the old Italy theme; taking the ferry in to the harbor is really nice. They do have some really nice pools as well. But it is probably geared to an older crowd.

Our next trip will be to HRH, since we have never been there. The proximity to the parks and CityWalk seems like they are a nice perk.
 


Our favorites in order- but we liked them all!

Portofino
HRH
Royal Pacific
Sapphire Falls
Cabana Bay
 
Depends on if EPs are a necessity or not. If so, then the top three would always be the 3 Premier hotels. And our normal ranking would be:

Portofino Bay
Royal Pacific
Hard Rock

PBR has the biggest rooms. Has the only on-site hotel balcony rooms. Has 3 different pools to choose from and has a number of different restaurants to choose from. The other Premier hotels only have 1 pool to choose from. My wife likes that it has an on-site SPA (the other hotels don't have one.) And we like its Club Lounge the best of the Premier hotels. We like the theming of RPR the best. We like the restaurant choices the best at RBR. We have to get sushi at least once while there. And we like the Club Lounge here better than the one at HRH.

If EPs aren't a necessity, then the Cabana Bay hotel moves in the list. We love the theming there the best of all the hotels and the food court is great. Plus it has a bowling alley and 2 large pools and a lazy river. We also will eat at the Diner next to the Bowling Alley once while there. But it is definitely a step down in room quality compared to the 3 Premier hotels, but with its lower price and other great features, we stay here the few times we weren't worried about having EPs.
 


You can't go wrong with any of the hotels, but if you want to be close to the action, Hard Rock, Portofino Bay, and Royal Pacific will be the closest and also include EPs.

Hard Rock is physically the closest, and probably has the youngest/hippest vibe that I think would appeal to people in their 20s. Sometimes they have live music, always good music at the pool, quick walk to the parks. DH and I are in our 30s and its our favorite place to stay. We also love the Kitchen - best breakfast on property! Hard Rock is also close to Portofino Bay and City Walk which makes it easy to walk elsewhere for meals as well.

We also like Royal Pacific, but it has less of a party vibe. It is likely the cheapest option of these three, however. Portofino is beautiful aesthetically but IMO, a touch more upscale and grand feeling which I think wouldn't be the vibe of 20-somethings.
 
For those who listed Portofino as their favorite, can I ask why? We usually stay on property at WDW (we've stayed at Caribbean Beach and PO-Riverside once each, usually stay deluxe) and have only stayed on prop at Uni one time (Thanksgiving 2017). Seems silly, but I'd wanted to stay at PB after seeing Samantha Brown stay. We had two connecting rooms. BOTH rooms showed obviously shoddy workmanship (over cuts under outlet and switch face plates, face plates badly slanted), and the rooms were run down (discolored face plates, fixtures, worn carpet, etc). There was also dirt and dust in corners. Since both rooms were the same, we figured it was a resort-wide issue and combined with travel fatigue, we didn't complain when we probably should have. I'm not sure if the other Uni hotels are in similar condition? I wrote basically the same "review" on another thread earlier today, and someone else responded that they also felt PB is very run down, and that Pacific Royale was in much better condition (but has smaller rooms).
 
For those who listed Portofino as their favorite, can I ask why? We usually stay on property at WDW (we've stayed at Caribbean Beach and PO-Riverside once each, usually stay deluxe) and have only stayed on prop at Uni one time (Thanksgiving 2017). Seems silly, but I'd wanted to stay at PB after seeing Samantha Brown stay. We had two connecting rooms. BOTH rooms showed obviously shoddy workmanship (over cuts under outlet and switch face plates, face plates badly slanted), and the rooms were run down (discolored face plates, fixtures, worn carpet, etc). There was also dirt and dust in corners. Since both rooms were the same, we figured it was a resort-wide issue and combined with travel fatigue, we didn't complain when we probably should have. I'm not sure if the other Uni hotels are in similar condition? I wrote basically the same "review" on another thread earlier today, and someone else responded that they also felt PB is very run down, and that Pacific Royale was in much better condition (but has smaller rooms).
I'm not sure I follow - where did you stay on property that you felt had run down rooms and shoddy workmanship? I've stayed at RPR and HRH and haven't experienced that at either. Royal Pacific rooms were renovated within the last couple of years, and I believe Portofino Bay is in the process of receiving refurbishments, which has unfortunately been delayed because of the closures.
 
I'm not sure I follow - where did you stay on property that you felt had run down rooms and shoddy workmanship? I've stayed at RPR and HRH and haven't experienced that at either. Royal Pacific rooms were renovated within the last couple of years, and I believe Portofino Bay is in the process of receiving refurbishments, which has unfortunately been delayed because of the closures.
Portofino Bay.
 
Portofino Bay.
As I mentioned, they're in the process of receiving a refurbishment so that may address your previous concerns. We have previously visited the resort, not stayed there, and we enjoyed the immersive theme. We have a stay booked in the Fall and are looking forward to several new dining options as well as the different pools.
 
As mentioned, PBR is in the middle of a renovation, but my reasons for staying are:
  1. Largest base and deluxe rooms (450 sqft and 490 sqft) especially with large bathrooms. RPR for example has 335 sqft base rooms.
  2. Only on-site hotel with balconies. Some of the Deluxe rooms have balconies with very nice views.
  3. Only on-site hotel with SPA services. Yes, I know if you are staying at one of the other hotels you can make SPA reservations here. But you have to travel to this hotel to use the SPA services. Much nicer to have it in the hotel your staying at.
  4. 3 On-site pools. The main pool with a nice slide, an "adults" pools, and a smaller more secluded pool that tends to be empty more than it is used. If you want to get away from the crowds for a bit, this pool is a great option.
  5. Has the best Club Lounge of the 3 on-site Premier hotels. OK, this might be more of my preference, but it does have (or at least used to have) hot breakfast items like bacon that the others don't have. And it has a lot of space with an secluded over-flow room (which I've never had to use, but nice to know it is there if I wanted to use it.)
  6. The only on-site hotel that has a jacuzzi with a waterfall into it. I love to relax in that jacuzzi with hot water falling down over the water fall on me. Very relaxing.
  7. Again, my personal opinion, but I would say that PBR is the most romantic of the on-site hotels.
I will say that when the kids were younger, we tended to stay more at RPR as they really liked the interactive water play area at the pool and we liked the restaurants there better. But as my kids have grown up we tend to stay at PBR more for the larger rooms and my daughter likes having the adult pool there which is quieter and my wife usually hits the SPA at least once per trip, sometimes twice. We tried the HRH once and it just didn't fit us very well. So we don't usually stay there any more (though we did a few years ago when I received a really nice conference discounted rate there for a suite room.)
 
As mentioned, PBR is in the middle of a renovation, but my reasons for staying are:
  1. Largest base and deluxe rooms (450 sqft and 490 sqft) especially with large bathrooms. RPR for example has 335 sqft base rooms.
  2. Only on-site hotel with balconies. Some of the Deluxe rooms have balconies with very nice views.
  3. Only on-site hotel with SPA services. Yes, I know if you are staying at one of the other hotels you can make SPA reservations here. But you have to travel to this hotel to use the SPA services. Much nicer to have it in the hotel your staying at.
  4. 3 On-site pools. The main pool with a nice slide, an "adults" pools, and a smaller more secluded pool that tends to be empty more than it is used. If you want to get away from the crowds for a bit, this pool is a great option.
  5. Has the best Club Lounge of the 3 on-site Premier hotels. OK, this might be more of my preference, but it does have (or at least used to have) hot breakfast items like bacon that the others don't have. And it has a lot of space with an secluded over-flow room (which I've never had to use, but nice to know it is there if I wanted to use it.)
  6. The only on-site hotel that has a jacuzzi with a waterfall into it. I love to relax in that jacuzzi with hot water falling down over the water fall on me. Very relaxing.
  7. Again, my personal opinion, but I would say that PBR is the most romantic of the on-site hotels.
I will say that when the kids were younger, we tended to stay more at RPR as they really liked the interactive water play area at the pool and we liked the restaurants there better. But as my kids have grown up we tend to stay at PBR more for the larger rooms and my daughter likes having the adult pool there which is quieter and my wife usually hits the SPA at least once per trip, sometimes twice. We tried the HRH once and it just didn't fit us very well. So we don't usually stay there any more (though we did a few years ago when I received a really nice conference discounted rate there for a suite room.)

I like your review a lot.

And also agree about the quiet pool.....it is lovely.
 
Agree with prior posts indicating that PBH is in need of a renovation - so glad to hear that is happening as it is a very nice property. Also agree with hhoope01 on all points - we did enjoy PBH club lounge better than RPR (I wouldn't bother doing club level at Royal Pacific again) Pools are very nice at both resorts - DD, likes PBH pool better however, DS6 really enjoyed the interactive play area at RPR.
 
Well I’m going to go against the grain here and say Sapphire Falls- lovely pool. Fantastic bar in Strongwater. Great food at Amatista. Fun boat ride to the parks. However I’ve not stayed at Hard Rock- only visited. For girls weekend go for the lively atmosphere that’s more likely at Hard Rock.
 
Well I’m going to go against the grain here and say Sapphire Falls- lovely pool. Fantastic bar in Strongwater. Great food at Amatista. Fun boat ride to the parks. However I’ve not stayed at Hard Rock- only visited. For girls weekend go for the lively atmosphere that’s more likely at Hard Rock.

Agree about Sapphire being a fabulous choice.....and Strong Water in my opinion for what it`s worth, is the BEST bar in the whole of UOR.....:thumbsup2
 

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