Heaven on Earth

The Royal Pacific was great. Front of the line on the park rides was great, also. Only had one problem with front of the line at MIB II ride. Spent happy hour at the Hard Rock Cafe. Eat at the bar, no waiting. Nascar Cafe was a good for lunch. Not priced too high. The pool was great. People were as nice as I have ever seen. Water taxi was great. If I had to look for something, Checkin could have been faster. This resort was booked full. Priced right. At times, a lot of kids around, but great. I would go back every year.

A great experience!

My wife and I stayed at the Royal Pacific during the first week of September, 2002. We found the room to be clean, well-stocked, and maintained. Watch out for those $7 evain bottles though! I broke down one night and opened it. It comes to $7 and change on the bill after tax. It's cheaper to just use the vending machines in the park. The staff was excellent. On our last day, I forgot to book a taxi to the airport (I thought it was included in the package). One of the valets outside noticed us waiting and informed us of the error. He quickly directed us to a (free) phone and helped us connect to a cab company. He really went the extra mile to help us out. The waitstaff in the restaurant (can't recall the name but it had a great breakfast buffet) were friendly and courteous as well. A few people in other reviews complained about the prices. And it's true that things in the park and it's hotels can get a bit steep. But I didn't find them any more expensive than anywherer else. Certainly not more than Disney. Anyway, you're on vacation so enjoy! One thing to keep in mind though; City Walk stays open until 2, but the hotel grounds close at 10. We got stuck out there one night walking down strange paths among palm trees. Yes the paths were nicely landcaped but there were roaches (or palmetto beetles) big enough to strap a saddle on and ride! Another helpful employee saw us struggling with the locked gates and let us into the hotel. I think this had more to do with us getting lost on the winding paths around the hotel pool than with a hotel defect. We had a blast. You should go.

Wow!

I couldn't believe how this hotel actually made you feel you were in the South Pacific. Everything was thought out to the highest detail, and service was executed to the highest level. Universal Express Pass was priceless, allowing us to "skip" everyone in the park-- that was a priceless amenity when you only have one day in the park.

Dissapointed in Royal Pacific

We spent 6 days at Disney and then went on to Universal...

we decided to stay on-site to reap the benefits of the "no waiting in line" perk for on-site guests. The landscaping and lobby of the hotel are both beautiful, and the staff at check in were very courteous. Our rooms were booked as non smoking, and both smelled SO bad that you would swear there were at least a dozen people smoking non-stop all night the night before. There was a dirty wash cloth in our bathtub on arrival (yuck). We had to ask for soap and toilet paper on our second day. There was a bottle of Evian on the counter with a note attached that said there would be a SEVEN DOLLAR charge if it was opened. The ferry operators were VERY rude, and did not even speak when greeted with a "good morning". No one seemed to have the correct information regarding the hours of the parks or what time the pools at the other two on site hotels closed. To top it all off, the food was TERRIBLE and very expensive. The hamburgers were seven dollars and the meat was pink inside. The absolute creme de la creme was the buffet breakfast at the Island restaurant....we had to ask for our juice twice (everyone was nearly finished with their meal before the waiter brought the warm juice), and there were GNATS flying all over the place...we had to continually shoo the gnats off of our plates. My mother in law asked for some jam for her toast, and she was brought three OPENED and NEARLY empty individual sized bottles. (YUCK!!!) That was the straw that broke the camel's back, and we complained to the manager, who did at least take care of our breakfast bill. This hotel leaves a LOT to be desired...I was very dissapointed with the whole Universal experience because of it. Next time we will stay at Disney the whole vacation...nobody knows customer service like WDW.

Had a great time

Just spent a week at this hotel and I am very glad that I chose to stay there. As several have stated before, the grounds are beautiful and a good amount of detail has been put into the south pacific theme, right down to a "beach" area at the back of the hotel where the water taxi picks up (to go to CityWalk, Universal Studios, and Islands of Adventure) complete with an amphibious plane out in the water to add to the look. Swimming is limited to the pool, which is very large and a great place to pass an afternoon or evening. Towels can be checked out at the pool at no charge. There is a kids play area at one side of the pool that is designed to look like part of the top deck of an old steamship from the 30's. Water sprays down for the kids to play in. There are also several small cabanas that can be rented around the pool as well. They are canvas sided with a wood frame and have a ceiling fan, tv, phone and hot tub.

The rooms are very comfortable and nicely furnished. I never had any problems with hot water as another reviewer stated, nor with housekeeping. The Evian bottle labeled with the $7 charge (and restocking fee which actually makes it cost almost $8.50) is something that I have seen in several other hotels before. Same with the minibar. Food can be very expensive and in small portions from room service and Islands restaurant there in the hotel. I found the food to be so-so, overall. I walked or took the water taxi down to CityWalk and enjoyed much better food there for less money.

The staff seemed to be very attentive to my needs and very friendly. They were happy to try to help me get some items that I had forgotten to pack, and to correct some charges on my bill. Finding my way around the property took a little exploration as the main lobby is on the third floor and most other things are off the first floor, but I was never lost for long. The hotel is very close to Islands of Adventure, Universal Orlando and CityWalk, without being too close.

I'd definitely stay there again, but eat somewhere else. :)

Commendable Experience!

Universal Studio's new Royal Pacific Resort has a few wrinkles to be ironed out, but is overall a wonderful place to stay.

My family and I chose to spend our the Labor Day holiday at the resort, which had only opened approximately six weeks prior to our visit. We battled six hours of Labor Day holiday traffic in blinding rain, passed no fewer than fifteen accidents along the highways, somehow managed to miss the proper exit for the resort and got lost in greater Orlando's labyrinthine highways, and arrived relatively late at night, having not eaten lunch or dinner. Needless to say, we were not happy campers. The wrinkles that need to be ironed out? The hotel staff initially assigned us to a smoking room even though we had requested non-smoking, albeit they happily changed our room upon request. Additionally, no staff members seemed to be able to tell us exactly how to get to the designated path upon which to walk our dog, which we brought with us. We had to literally feel our way in the dark, in the rain, to the dog walking area. Then, we were not able to trace our way back because the staff had closed the gates to the hotel's pool area. Getting back to our room involved jumping those gates, poodle in tow, possibly risking life and limb and probably breaking some hotel regulations in the process. But then again, we were already in a nasty mood from the trip, so take those comments with a grain of salt.

We got a good night's rest, and the next day the hotel lived up to every claim of being a tropical, South Asian paradise. The grounds themselves are beautiful...lush, tropical vegetation and rice paddies, Indonesian furniture, antiques and artwork, resplendent display of orchids and fountains. The staff is incredibly friendly, and went out of its way to cater to our every whim, including last minute reservations to the spa. We made use of all of the excellent facilities. The pool was in a beautiful setting, with lots of lounge chairs available, and never seemed overcrowded despite the holiday weekend. Rent one of the private cabanas, complete with fans, telephone and television, if you want to camp out poolside all day! The gymnasium has a good variety of Cybex, freeweights and cardiovascular equipment, although there is a minimal daily fee. The Islands Dining Room offers an excellent buffet breakfast with not only the breakfast staples, but made to order omlettes, plenty of tropical fruits, and a Japanese breakfast option. Most importantly, the staff welcomed our poodle with open arms...definitely the place to stay if you are travelling with pets in Orlando!

Another great thing about the Royal Pacific -- its location. You are literally a five minute walk from the Universal theme parks and Citywalk (restaurants, clubs, shopping, etc.)...slightly longer walk for the other Universal hotels. The waterside stroll amidst the lush vegetation and occasional water taxi passing by makes it a very pleasant stroll. Also an excellent and safe jogging path.

After several days, we couldn't stop talking about how wonderful the Royal Pacific was, and definitely plan to return!

A nice resort with good value

My girlfriend and I just returned from spending one (1) week (July 29 - Aug 4) at the newest resort in Universal Studios. It is a very nice resort with a South Pacific theme. The resort contains three (3) tower and each tower has about 7 floors. We were in tower 3, on the fourth floor and our room faced towards the rear of the resort. When you walk into the resort, you are actually on the third floor of the resort.

We were having a great time at the resort until Thursday night. At about 12:00 pm or so, all the alarms to the resort started blaring. We found out that some kids (not staying at the resort) had pulled the alarms as a prank. Needless to say, it took the engineers over 2 1/2 hours to figure out how to stop the alarms. Many people were so upset that they packed up and left the hotel. Also, at no time did they attempt to inform any of guests of what was going on. Most, if not all of the guests were huddled in the lobby or were outside. Many parents brought pillows and blankets outside so their kids could sleep. At no time did the hotel offer an appology/free breakfast/reduced rate/etc for what occured. I also found out that the kids were apprehended but hotel security "lost track" of them.

This resort needs more time to get its act together. I was standing in line at the front desk during my stay when all of the people helping the guests left the front desk for no reason! I also talked with some other people who stated that they were rudely talked to. Another couple we talked with complained that their "water view" room was a joke! If they looked way off to the right, they were able to view the pool. The hotel considered this a "water view" and charged them accordingly.

Also, drinks and meals are very pricey. A mixed drink for my girlfriend and I (that's two (2) drinks) at the poolside bar came to almost $20 (including tip!). The buffet breakfast is @ $14.00 for adults and @ $12.00 for children. It's not bad but a bit pricey since I can go to my standby (Waffle House) and get a great breakfast for two for under $15.00.

Parking at this resort is very, very scarce. There were people parking their cars in the general lot any way they could (including taking up handicapped parking). Valet parking got so full that they had to have cars parked near the entrance to the resort. I never paid for the parking, when I heard about the parking fee from another website I complained about it when I first checked in.

They have a bar near the pool. It's called Jakes Bar and is open to 2:00 am. It also has live entertainment on Friday and Saturday nights. The wait people there were very friendly. We took our drinks outside to be under the bridge so we could see and hear the waterfall.

Overall, it's not a bad hotel but needs to polish it's act. When that many people are leaving a hotel (and they really didn't seem to care) because they can't figure out how to shut off an alarm, they have big problems. An offer for a free night or free breakfast would have gone a long way to soothe an upset patron (especially if you want them to return again). This episode would never have happened at a Disney Hotel. Lowes has a long way to go before they'll ever match the service that Disney provides (and Disney doesn't charge for you to park your car!)

Royal Pacific Resort

Nice place to visit and beautiful landscaping.

But ...

poor housekeeping, no hot water, very expensive restaurants with moderate food, no space to park for $6.00 a day, and new - inexperienced staff.

Royal Pacific Resort, Brand new, not the greatest

I stayed at the Royal Pacific Resort for a week, the last week of july into august. When first arriving my family and I immedietly had trouble. We were guaranteed 3 rooms on the same floor, 2 of those rooms were to be connected. When we got there it was 3:30pm (check-in is at 4:00pm) we were informed the rooms were all seperated, after talking with the extremely friendly staff for about 40min. we got our rooms. When I went into my room located on the 5th floor of tower one I noticed a large bottle of evion wateron the drawer, I thought thats really nice of them to give free water, when I went to open it I noticed a tag that said 7$, not so free, one thing I noticed is this hotel has many hidded fees. The hotels resteraunt is great, very nice with themed dinners and character dinners, the food is great but very expensive. Great pool, the largest in Orlando, very warm, the life gaurds are also very friendly. For kids they have a water play area wih water guns. The watertaxi is very convienient it'll take you directly to City Walk from there the two parks are just a short walk away. The hotel overcharges you for everything, for example a bottle of coke normally costn $1.25 costs $2.50. One night at 1:30am th fire alarm went off and the hotel was evacuated, we were let n after 40 minutes of standing outside but the alarm continued to sound for over an hour, than at 6:00am it wen off again for 5 inutes just long enough to wake my whole family up, we were first told it was a group of kids that pulledth alarm but later found out from a bell boy it was a planed drill which was supposed to go off during the afternoon but did not we were given a 50$ refund. The hotel is beutiful, huge, with a beach and putting greens. The pool is open from 8am till 11pm and the water taxi runs until 2:30am besides te room mix-up, the many hidden fees, the annoyance of getting to the disney area, and the fire alarm, it was an ok hotel, I recomend it hopeing you'll have better luck, but I will not

fastpass. Anyone that shows there key at universal's theme parks can skip the line, this feature is great and i would stay at this hotel just for that. If you have anymore qeustions contact me:

Infared358@aol.com I will soon have my pictures i took of he hotel, email if you'd like to see some

- InfaRed358@aol.com

Great Resort and Value

We just completed our Orlando vacation July 12-16, 2002.We had heard about the Royal Pacific Resort and read a few review's via the internet that really made the Resort sound inviting so we decided to give it a try and boy am I glad we did! It is within walking distance to the Universal Parks and City Walk. This hotel captures the charm of the South Pacific down to the last detail. The guest rooms were nicely decorated with the South Pacific theme. We found our stay to be very enjoyable the staff was very helpful and accommodating. You can't beat the Express Pass. A benefit of staying at a Universal Property, we bypassed most of waiting lines at each park.

The only downside is the $6.00 day fees for very limited parking, for your 6.00 you get to park far away from the main lobby. We opted to pay the $12.00 per day for valet parking. Valet personnel told me that even they sometimes run out of room All and all I would recommend this location very highly.