We decided to splurge on a premier resort for one night in order to get the free Universal Express Unlimited Passes that are included with the rooms. Since passes are included for both check-in and check-out days (and any days that you stay in between), we only needed a one night stay to cover both our park days.
We stayed at the Endless Summer Resort Surfside for our first night since that was our driving day and we weren’t visiting a park. When we woke up the next morning, we ate breakfast and went straight to the Royal Pacific. We had to pick up our room keys before going to the park because they are used as your Express Pass. I had read that they will hold your bags for you if your room isn’t ready yet, but they had rooms available so we were fortunate enough to get an early check in. We dropped our bags in the room before heading to the park.
It was an interesting experience to leave the room of a value hotel and be in the room of a premier hotel less than an hour later. I was immediately struck by how similar the rooms were. The layouts were essentially the same and at 335 square feet versus 313 square feet at Surfside, the size difference was negligible. The furniture, bedding, and bathroom were all upgraded but the difference wasn’t nearly as drastic as I would have expected, an observation that I don’t mean as a knock on the premier resorts but instead a comment on the quality of the value resorts at Universal. I did find our room at Royal Pacific somewhat dark (as opposed to the bright rooms at Surfside), but I think that was because we were on the first floor with a good number of trees in front of the window.
While we didn’t find the rooms drastically better at Royal Pacific, the overall resort is a significant step up from the value resorts. Featuring a Polynesian theme, the resort is beautifully decorated and has some gorgeous common spaces. There are 4 on-site restaurants and a lobby marketplace, all significantly better in ambiance and quality than the food court at Surfside. We ate dinner at Jake’s American Bar and really enjoyed the opportunity for a sit-down meal after a long day at the park.
The pool at Royal Pacific was also a significant upgrade over the value resort. If only we could have used it! When my husband decided to go back to the hotel to relax while the boys and I went on the water rides at Islands of Adventure, he got settled in at the pool only to have them blow the whistle 10 minutes later to close the pool. We were sure it would be open when the boys and I returned 2 hours later but it was not. Then we were sure it would be open after we ate dinner but again it was not. It was closed for the rest of the night and STILL closed when we returned from the park the next afternoon at 6:00.
Apparently the resort had been having ongoing issues with the chemical composition of the water and this was not the first time they had to close it for extended periods over the previous weeks. They did offer to let us use the pool at Sapphire Falls Resort, but that involved a long walk and we had to be escorted by a Royal Pacific employee in order to gain entrance to the other resort. Overall this was a huge disappointment to us and would have been a pretty big issue had we been staying longer. The pool is a key amenity when spending a long, hot day at an amusement park in Orlando in June.
We really liked the location of the resort. It was convenient to the parks, which you could reach by walking trail, shuttle bus, or water taxi. We walked the first day, following the scenic path along the water. The second day we took the water taxi, which was very fast and convenient on the way there but had a decent wait on the return from the parks.
Aside from the snafu with the pool, we were very happy with our stay at Royal Pacific. The resort itself and the grounds are beautiful. The rooms are nicely decorated and comfortable. The location and accessibility to the parks is great. The early check-in was a nice bonus. But I’ll be honest. The hotel on its own is not at all worth the $750 a night we were charged. I couldn’t fathom spending that much on this resort if not for the included Universal Express Unlimited Passes. But the included pass is a game changer. The Express Unlimited Pass was an astonishing $260 per person per day for our dates, making the total $2080 for 4 people for two days! (And that is on top of park passes!) So in that light, $750 a night for a premier hotel that includes the passes is the best deal in town. I would stay here again at that price in a heartbeat as long as the passes are included.
