My family has been to Universal Orlando twice and each time we have stayed in the same place. There are some unique reasons Loew’s Royal Pacific Universal Orlando is where we have choosen to stay. And choosing a hotel when you travel to Orlando can be a daunting task at best and an absolute confusion meltdown at worst. On-site vs off-site, budget vs luxury, family size rooms vs standard, hotel food vs. park food. The choices are endless. And trust me Orlando has everything and something in between all that. But you will agree with me after reading this list that the Royal Pacific is wonderful when visiting Universal Orlando. It’s above the rest for some key factors that you can’t get at off-resort properties. The unique touches put it just above it’s neighbors too.
Origami bath towels
(You just had to know I would lead with origami right?) While folding towels in origami fashion isn’t solely unique to this hotel, the fact they actually did it is reason enough for me to visit the Royal Pacific. And seriously, can you believe they actually created a towel tooth brush holder (this means somone had the guts to touch my son’s toothbrush). The best part about this was that I immediately turned over the hair brush stand and started figuring out how they made it. Perhaps now I can recreate a little bit of what I loved about my vacation at home.
Best swimsuit selection
Being themed as a tropical hotel their boutiques had the best swimsuit selection. And believe me we know. My daughter forgot her swimsuit. (I was completely shocked too). You see here is the kicker, in our family, if I buy the suit it has to be a one piece. I refuse to deal with lost bottoms, wardrobe malfunctions and the like when it comes to swimsuits. And one piece, teen-approved swimsuits are hard to find when given an entire winter season and the internet. So finding one at the swim boutique says –amazingly great taste and selection. They had a nice mix of separates too, including several cute tankinis. There is bound to be a swimsuit you’ll like there also.
Pool area and Pool areas
If you have kids, there will be a visit to the pool. And look at this gorgeous pool. Lots of space loads of toys and a pirate ship to play on. Seriously, can you ask for more. A slide right? Well that’s over at Cabana Bay hotel and you can go there too, it’s just across the bridge. And as an on-site hotel guest you can visit all the hotels and pick your favorite pool. My family likes a pool with less crowds where we can almost take over. Royal Pacific had just that. A great pool facility, but it wasn’t full to the gills. Both times we have visited, once during a busy season, we were able to enjoy the pool area without fighting for a spot on the man made beach (which is another cool feature a sand area poolside). Order a churro for me!
Walk to city walk + the parks
This has got to be one of my favorite features. The parks are accessible by a foot path right from the hotel. It does take about 10-15 minutes to walk from room to park entrance. But that means no lines for buses, no finding parking, not even a water taxi wait. If you think that is too long to walk take a peddle cab for the price of tips. And as you cross City Walk you can decide where you want to have dinner that night.
Early hour admission to Wizarding World of Harry Potter
Ok if you have teens, like me, Universal Orlando appeals for 2 things: roller coasters and Harry Potter. And this benefit is only for on-site hotels. There are limited rides available, but seriously you get in early. One hour before the rest of the crowd. We got on the Forbidden Journey in 10 minutes. We even rode is again. That does not happen, at all, the rest of the day. It is truly a unique reason Loew’s Royal Pacfic is a better choice than any off-site hotel. By the time the lines were crazy busy we were eating in the Three Broomsticks having a morning butterbeer.
Leis upon arrival
This is another small but wonderful thing. It’s cliché that a tropical-themed hotel will give you a lei upon arrival. Yet the cliché quality is what makes it unique. I am not getting that at a certain Inn of the Holiday. The kids love it, the parents love it. We wore ours up to the hotel room and then my teen decided he wanted to attempt lei juggling. –This is not as easy as it sounds.— It was just the ceremony we needed to launch break us out of our long plane ride stupor.
This awesome carpet
Again with my random things I love. But seriously look at this carpet. The hallways are filled with this design. Any hotel that takes the time to put in fun flooring like this deserves my dollars. We jumped from flower to flower coming to and from our room. That may not be how you enjoy the carpet. But that usually dull and kinda bleak hotel hallway got way more interesting for us.
Grab and Go breakfast in the Orchid Lounge in the morning
We didn’t discover this until our second trip. You can get a warm croissant sandwich or some cereal or yogurt in the morning when the Orchid lounge turns into a pop-up grab n’ go breakfast center. There is still Island Dining if you prefer to sit down, but the morning is the best time in the park to avoid crowds and there is no time for food service and table tipping. Get out and get to Gringotts.
Express pass
This is by far the best reason to stay at the Royal Pacific. As an on-site hotel you get a complimentary express pass. This is your ticket to shorter lines in the park. Flash it and you get the faster moving line. On one of our trips there we randomly bumped into friends who chose to stay off-site (with family, I understand the pocketbook savings there). But they were moaning about the line time. We’d seen the whole park by evening and they had missed a few attractions due to long waits. Go Express Pass or Go Home.
Water taxi service
My family doesn’t use this feature a whole lot. But every trip has that day you spend way too long in the parks, you barely stopped to eat, and you ended up standing through the fireworks display. At the end of that day the water taxi is probably the most relaxing thing you will do during your whole stay. Off your feet into the cool canal breeze. It makes those finale moments getting back to the hotel feel less like a struggle with your drained patience and your child’s petulance.
I told you there are some unique things about Loew’s Royal Pacific Universal Orlando. I realize you may not consider the carpet or origami towels to make or break your stay at a hotel, but it’s these little things that tell you they are taking care of the big things. Stay there and tell me what little things you loved.