Hard Rock Hotel

[danpam1024]

Anyone stay there lately? How was it? We plan on staying 4 days in August for my birthday, in a kid suite. Looks nice. We are planning on visiting Universal, but do like to spend a lot of time at the hotel. Any advice would be appreciated:wave:

 

[BrerMouse]

I've stayed at all three of the hotels at Universal. They are dramatically different but all very nicely themed. The Hard Rock is decorated very similarly to the resturants as one could imagine. The only potential drawback is their is loud music EVERYWHERE you go and I mean EVERYWHERE. But the hotel is quite nice lots of things to do. Royal Pacific has the least to do but is nice to go see at least once and the best of all is Portofino Bay, you have to go see this. This is one of the most beautiful hotels I've ever stayed at. There is so much to do and see, walk around at night to all the shops and eateries. Hope that helps. Have fun.

:ROFLOL::ROFLOL::ROFLOL:

BreMouse

 

[danpam1024]

Thanks! Love loud music, the louder the better! :sohappy: We actually stayed at Portofino when it first opened and had a TERRIBLE time, so terrible, we were given a free stay (4 days I think) AND universal park hoppers. When we came the second time, the manager did our check-in (he informed us he used to work for the mouse), and that was about the only good thing that trip! The service was NON EXTISTANT!! I would have to imagine that they were just starting out and needed to work out a few (many) bugs, because no one in their right mind would pay that much for that kind of poor service. Anyway..now that my tyrate is over..it kinda put a bad taste in my mouth, and I'm one of those people that hold a grudge:ROFLOL:

 

[BrerMouse]

Sorry to hear that about the Portifino Bay. Hope this stay is better than your other two stays. Hope your time at the Hard Rock is better. Have a blast.

 

[goodtimes5286]

Hardrock is way over priced imo. I feel I get a MUCH bigger value at a disney VALUE hotel! The only plus that made me wanna go to universal hotels was the fact that there room keys we're free fast or speedpasses (w/e they call em) onto all of the rides, it was AMAZING. Now they charge $25 per person per DAY if you want that added to your card. I just cant go back out of principle now. Liike what if Disney started charging for magical express, rides to and from the park, towel animals in the room, and all of the other things that only disney can provide.

....just my two pennies....

 

[rwdavis2]

Hardrock is way over priced imo. I feel I get a MUCH bigger value at a disney VALUE hotel! The only plus that made me wanna go to universal hotels was the fact that there room keys we're free fast or speedpasses (w/e they call em) onto all of the rides, it was AMAZING. Now they charge $25 per person per DAY if you want that added to your card. I just cant go back out of principle now. Liike what if Disney started charging for magical express, rides to and from the park, towel animals in the room, and all of the other things that only disney can provide.

....just my two pennies....

I'll respectfully disagree. We were there 3 weeks ago and the Express Passes were still free if you stay at one of the 3 hotels. You just show your room key. We loved the hotel and after booking initially at $254 a night we were able to re-book later at $211. We took the boat to City Walk and IOA and walked to US. Still not as cheap as a WDW value/bid resort but we thought it was worth it. Heck, the very good coffee for the in-room coffee makers was almost worth it.
Bob

 

[DarrenLevesley]

Hard Rock is amazing we stayed there in 2007 and it was fantastic, we have booked for 4 nights in September this year for our next trip.

Can you take trips over to the other hotels to check them out I mean?

 

[danpam1024]

I'll respectfully disagree. We were there 3 weeks ago and the Express Passes were still free if you stay at one of the 3 hotels. You just show your room key. We loved the hotel and after booking initially at $254 a night we were able to re-book later at $211. We took the boat to City Walk and IOA and walked to US. Still not as cheap as a WDW value/bid resort but we thought it was worth it. Heck, the very good coffee for the in-room coffee makers was almost worth it.
Bob

We paid for the express passes last time we were there and that was well worth the extra $$. I think we'll like it, looks comparable to a Disney Deluxe resort..maybe there will be a FL Res discount

 

[timeman]

My friend stayed there back in October and loved it. since you are going in August you will love the Express pass lines you will be able to use with your Hotel key.

Since you are going for your birthday you might want to check into doing the VIP tour while you are there. The tour costs $150 per person for the two park tour and last 7 hours and is worth every penny.

 

[danpam1024]

Ds will only be 7, he's a pretty cool and relaxed kid, but 7 hours is a stretch:lol:. There will be time for that in 14 years when DH retires:sohappy:

 

[MKCP 1985]

I'll respectfully disagree. We were there 3 weeks ago and the Express Passes were still free if you stay at one of the 3 hotels. You just show your room key. We loved the hotel and after booking initially at $254 a night we were able to re-book later at $211. We took the boat to City Walk and IOA and walked to US. Still not as cheap as a WDW value/bid resort but we thought it was worth it. Heck, the very good coffee for the in-room coffee makers was almost worth it.
Bob

agree 100%. Stayed at Hard Rock a few years ago and couldn't have had a better stay. There is no comparison between the awesome Hard Rock and any Disney value motel, other than price, but if it was about the price we'd be on 192 or I-drive, right? :hurl:

 

[danpam1024]

agree 100%. Stayed at Hard Rock a few years ago and couldn't have had a better stay. There is no comparison between the awesome Hard Rock and any Disney value motel, other than price, but if it was about the price we'd be on 192 or I-drive, right? :hurl:

I don't know where the Disney Value comparison came in:shrug:, I would rather not go than to stay in a value simply because we do stay at the hotel quite a bit, we're not there just to sleep.

 

[SeaBreeze]

My friend was in town over for a business conference at the Hard Rock Hotel so I crashed with her for a few nights to check it out I really enjoyed it! It's one of those hotels that just feels luxurious even though it doesn't totally break the bank. It was fun walking over to City Walk at night too...especially since she'd never see The Blue Man Group

Enjoy your trip :wave:

 

[danpam1024]

How is the Blue Man Group? DS (who will be 7) wants to see it badly, but I'm not sure if it is worth the $$:shrug:

 

[SeaBreeze]

How is the Blue Man Group? DS (who will be 7) wants to see it badly, but I'm not sure if it is worth the $$:shrug:

I thought it was a great show and it seemed like the kids around me were really enjoying it. It's loud, which is true of most live shows. The humor is very quirky and interactive and I've enjoyed it multiple times now :lol:

You can call to see if they have any discounts (I randomly had a college discount offered one of the times) It's definitely cheaper than most of the Blue Man Group shows though so if you want to give it a shot, I'd say go for it in Orlando :wave:

 

[LSonDubz]

ive stayed at the hard rock and loved it both times.

 

[morgan22]

We stayed at Hard Rock last May and it was fantastic ... actually only booked it to take advantage of the Express Passes (got a good rate that meant it was dramatically cheaper than purchasing express passes for 5 people for 2 days)

We had a pool view room (the night a bear was spotted there .. didn't see him though) .... and had 1 criticism .... the music around the pool was played loud until at least 11pm ... great during the day but we were travelling with a 1yr old and she couldn't settle as the crib was positioned by the window (only available space in room) and the noise was tremendous.

Plus points, the pool was fantastic - so quiet when we were there ... looking back at home videos ... looks like we were alone! Kids pool great with inflatables and floats to play with.

Ate breakfast at 'The Kitchen' and that was wonderful ...

Check-in was a breeze - got there early to get express passes and room was ready ...

 

[protiius]

stayed there twice last summer (june & september) and i have to say it's one of the best hotels i've ever stayed in...excellent service all round, clean, beautiful complex and MUCH fancier than the restaurants (marble floors in the lobby etc)...

we stayed in club 7, which was boss, but perhaps not worth the additional costs if you are price concientious...personally when i'm on holiday i am stoopid with money (you've got the rest of the year to worry about that!) so i enjoy the little extras (free booze between 4 & 7, free snacks throughout the day, the extra touches fom the concierge room etc)...

the staff were incredible, very friendly...the pool bar & pool side service is excellent...the staff are very laid back, not necessarily the quickest in the world but what's the rush when you're on holiday? ask for tash at the bar, she's amazin! has remembered us over the last few years that we have been goin which i think is amazin considering the amount of people that must pass through...but then again we do go through some booze

they have "dive-in" movies twice a week at the pool which is great for kids!!

the pool has underwater speakers so you can never escape the rock!! problem is that it isn't very deep so you can't really swim..but it's nice to chill on the steps of the pool with a beer and catch some rays...

if you bring a car then the parking is kinda expensive, but that's a minor problem with an otherwise great resort!!

i don't know if you used to have to pay for the express passes (i think you did years ago) but you certainly don't now...you just show your room key when joining the queues and skip straight to the front, which is a great bonus!!

i'm going back for new years!!! can't wait...enjoy your stay!

 

[danpam1024]

How much does it cost to park???

 

[protiius]

think it's about $14/$15 per day (more if you want valet)...it's not extortianate, but you don't expect to have to pay at all when you're staying on the resort...