We spent a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend at the Hardrock Hotel in Orlando. The Hardrock is just a short walk to the parks!!
Staying on property certainly has its advantages. Early entry into Islands of Adventure to ride Harry Potter's Forbidden Journey and Express Pass - never wait on the regular lines.
The rooms at the Hardrock are well appointed with flat screens and ipod docking stations, beds are very comfortable and bathrooms are outfitted with nice toiletries. The rooms were very clean, but I do not like the smell of the deodorizer they use in the rooms. WAY to strong for people with sensitivities!! The airconditioner in the rooms are questionable. The halls are nice and icy but the rooms tell an entirely different story. HOT! HOT! HOT! I found out, the air conditioners have motion sensors. So you go to bed nice and cool and wake up with the sheets stuck to your body!
We booked Club Level. I feel bad complaining because the staff is very NICE but, Club 7 did not meet my expectations. Breakfast was fine,, cereal, oatmeal, muffins, danish, coffee, juices... Everything you would expect at a Continental Breakfast. In the early afternoon snacks were served. Snack time left us a little wanting, a few bags of chips, granola bars and soda/water. Late afternoon drinks...UGGGHH...people wait in line for free beer, wine or champagne. The wine was fine, the beer was warm, consistently. The staff could not keep up with the flow of people coming in for drinks. I cannot comment on the evening service, we did not take advantage Club 7 during this time. The Club room is way too small to accommodate all the people that booked Club Level. We stopped in between service to get some water and just sit until our car came to take us to the airport. I am sorry to say that the room was not clean. Tables dirty, food on the carpet and the booth seats in the back of the room were sticky and dirty. Compared to other resorts we have stayed in, Club 7, missed the mark!
The pool was nice, clean and had activities all day long for children and adults. The music played all day but, it was never to loud. The chairs are too close together for my liking but, I guess they don't have much choice in order to accommodate all the guests in the hotel. Pool side service was very good, drinks were made well.
We walked over to each of the hotels and found the facade of the Portofino was in pretty bad shape. Nail pops, exterior peeling, boats sinking... It really looked like it needed a face lift.
On Friday night we ate at the Kitchen during our stay, the food was average and the service was good. Saturday we had a car take us to Jiko, The Cooking Place, I had to get a little piece of Disney in somehow.
Dinner here was fantastic!! The service was wonderful and the wine pairing was awesome! Sunday we ventured over to Emeril's Tchoup Chop at the Royal Pacific Resort. This resort is lovely, understated and beautiful. Tchoup Chop has excellent food and the service was very good, we enjoyed our dinner here. Monday we ate lunch in the Hardrock Cafe, food was typical for the Hardrock we were not disappointed!
The parks were well kept. I think Suess Land needs a coat of paint other than then that, everything looked lovely.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter gets VERY crowded! The park opens at 8am to folks staying on property. Take advantage of this!! The crowds get nuts! The area is too small for the influx of people, bottlenecking occurs right at the entrance by the train and continues thru the entire area.
Well, that’s our story. We had a nice time, enjoyed the attractions, ate good food and relaxed by the pool.
:wave:
Staying on property certainly has its advantages. Early entry into Islands of Adventure to ride Harry Potter's Forbidden Journey and Express Pass - never wait on the regular lines.
The rooms at the Hardrock are well appointed with flat screens and ipod docking stations, beds are very comfortable and bathrooms are outfitted with nice toiletries. The rooms were very clean, but I do not like the smell of the deodorizer they use in the rooms. WAY to strong for people with sensitivities!! The airconditioner in the rooms are questionable. The halls are nice and icy but the rooms tell an entirely different story. HOT! HOT! HOT! I found out, the air conditioners have motion sensors. So you go to bed nice and cool and wake up with the sheets stuck to your body!
We booked Club Level. I feel bad complaining because the staff is very NICE but, Club 7 did not meet my expectations. Breakfast was fine,, cereal, oatmeal, muffins, danish, coffee, juices... Everything you would expect at a Continental Breakfast. In the early afternoon snacks were served. Snack time left us a little wanting, a few bags of chips, granola bars and soda/water. Late afternoon drinks...UGGGHH...people wait in line for free beer, wine or champagne. The wine was fine, the beer was warm, consistently. The staff could not keep up with the flow of people coming in for drinks. I cannot comment on the evening service, we did not take advantage Club 7 during this time. The Club room is way too small to accommodate all the people that booked Club Level. We stopped in between service to get some water and just sit until our car came to take us to the airport. I am sorry to say that the room was not clean. Tables dirty, food on the carpet and the booth seats in the back of the room were sticky and dirty. Compared to other resorts we have stayed in, Club 7, missed the mark!
The pool was nice, clean and had activities all day long for children and adults. The music played all day but, it was never to loud. The chairs are too close together for my liking but, I guess they don't have much choice in order to accommodate all the guests in the hotel. Pool side service was very good, drinks were made well.
We walked over to each of the hotels and found the facade of the Portofino was in pretty bad shape. Nail pops, exterior peeling, boats sinking... It really looked like it needed a face lift.
On Friday night we ate at the Kitchen during our stay, the food was average and the service was good. Saturday we had a car take us to Jiko, The Cooking Place, I had to get a little piece of Disney in somehow.
Dinner here was fantastic!! The service was wonderful and the wine pairing was awesome! Sunday we ventured over to Emeril's Tchoup Chop at the Royal Pacific Resort. This resort is lovely, understated and beautiful. Tchoup Chop has excellent food and the service was very good, we enjoyed our dinner here. Monday we ate lunch in the Hardrock Cafe, food was typical for the Hardrock we were not disappointed!The parks were well kept. I think Suess Land needs a coat of paint other than then that, everything looked lovely.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter gets VERY crowded! The park opens at 8am to folks staying on property. Take advantage of this!! The crowds get nuts! The area is too small for the influx of people, bottlenecking occurs right at the entrance by the train and continues thru the entire area.
Well, that’s our story. We had a nice time, enjoyed the attractions, ate good food and relaxed by the pool.
:wave:
